Here’s an inside-look on what ministries we were involved in while in Azua…
During an all-church retreat, we had the opportunity to discuss with the church topics such as the parable of the sower and the power of the Holy Spirit. During this all-day event on the Carribean Sea coastline, our team shared with them what was on our hearts and the local church, in turn, shared what God was revealing to them. What was amazing to me was almost every woman present shared a particular passage with the rest of the women about what God was saying to them individually through the Scripture. I couldn’t help but notice that We were surrounded by mighty women of God that had as much if not more to pour into us as we did into them. I greatly admire them for their trust and confidence in the Lord.
Our team was also given the chance to teach the local children how to play sports such as volleyball and basketball. I was involved in the volleyball tutorial where we taught them the basics of bumping and serving the ball. It was awesome to see that many of them were catching on rather quickly even with our limited grasp of the Spanish language. The children seemed to really enjoy the game and continued playing with plastic pop bottles after the balls were put away.
Pastor Raul also asked us to teach English language to anyone in the community that wanted to learn. For a few hours each day, members of our team (Indelible and Gentle Warriors), taught children, teens, and adults the ABC’s as well as how to say “What do you want to eat?”. Through this opportunity I found that my husband, Noah, has a knack for teaching and keeping his students interested.
One final ministry opportunity that I’ll mention here was the cell groups that we led during the week. Before arriving, I wasn’t sure what a cell group was so for those of you reading that aren’t familiar with them either let me try my best to define a cell group for you… A cell group is an evangelistic tool with a meeting at someone’s home where neighbors can meet and hear the Word of God without having to walk into a church building. In my cell group, we met in the street with about 20 children and a dozen adults. The cell group met 3 times a week where we would begin with a time of worship through singing songs that the people knew in Spanish. Following the music, one of our team members would share a passage from the Bible and explain the application of the Word to our lives today. We would then open it up to anyone who wanted prayer or to make the best decision of their lives by choosing to follow Christ. In our cell group, we had two young men surrender their hearts to Christ. What was encouraging was the two men were at the following cell group meetings. Perhaps they will one day walk across the threshold of the chuch building for further discipling. This is my prayer.
Our team was involved in other ministry opportunities as well, but this blog would quickly turn into a novel if I were to cover them all. Our first month on the World Race, serving in the Dominican Republic, was a great experience. Pastor Raul, the church, our host family (see left picture), and the kids have made our stay so pleasant that it is tough to think that we will be leaving Azua tomorrow… But, we must move on to our next destination in Haiti. Please be in prayer for our squad as we transition into our new ministries starting in February. Please also pray for the people in Haiti that the Lord will prepare their hearts as God uses us to us to reach the Haitians.
