I wrote this first blog to share with you all what ministry and my life looks like so far. The blog I’m going to post right after this (which I wasn’t originally planning on sharing) is what my heart looks like right now. I wanted to share both aspects with you because both are so real in my life. Anddddd apparently I’m going to post another one very soon because the wifi won’t let me add pictures, so you’ll be hearing from me a lot this week:))))))
At 5:15 am on September 11, Squad O left the Holiday Inn and headed to the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Some how, Hurricane Irma didn’t wreck our travel plans completely- praise Jesus!! We arrived in the Dominican Republic late Monday night after a quick plane ride and a… not so quick bus ride. Our home for this month is breath takingly beautiful in every direction, our hosts are profoundly amazing and beyond hospitable, and……. the food is to die for!!!!
This first month happens to be a squad month- meaning Squad O (all 40 whatever of us) are staying at the same location. Our six teams are rotating through four types of ministry- outreach, hospitality, property, and administration.
- Outreach involves prayer walks around the community and visiting Hope for the DR”s children’s centers (which I haven’t gotten to do yet but am soooooooooooo excited).
- For hospitality, teams clean the dorms, bathrooms, do laundry, serve food, straighten everything up, etc.
- Property ministry is responsible for making the land more livable for the hosts (especially after hurricane damage) and preparing areas for new ministries.
- The team working on administration helps do the background work for the ministry.
Some of my favorite moments so far have been….
The prayer walk!!! I expected to hate having to walk around their neighborhood for an hour and pray. Being human, I love seeing results right away, but being forced to simply pray and leave it in God’s hands (not being in control) was a challenge I had never experienced before.
Administration!!! I learned so much about human trafficking, slavery, and sex trafficking. I don’t think I ever knew how prevalent it was today. I learned actual facts and terms about it. My heart has never hurt for this the way it did. Our wise host told us to take the energy we were using to be mad/sad/etc. about it, and turn it into a passion and a prayer.
Playing basketball with the neighborhood kids, doing dishes and laughing with the sweet ladies who cook for us everyday, bathing the hosts brand new puppies, playing in the waterfall, and getting to know the host’s incredible family.
