Y’all. Here we are in the Dominican Republic!
My entire squad is here- all 42 of us! It’s a giant month long slumber party. We are working with Hope for the Dominican out on a mountain near Santo Domingo. We live in a small town a few miles up the mountain with one main road. We have no WiFi, little electricity, living in a small town with few people and few Christians.
Our ministry this month- we are working with a wonderful and passionate missionary family with Vicky and Reuben Dominguez. We do whatever Reuben and his family need! We’ve had days of construction helping build roofs or organize woods or build chicken coops or dig trenches or clean pools- we are hands on!
We are also challenged to seek out ministry because with so many of us and just a few projects, there’s not a lot for us to do. We make friends with the people of the community, hugs the mamas, thank the store clerks, play patty cake with the kids, and feed the dogs. We go on regular prayer walks through the town and pray for construction workers, coffee house employees, taco truck cooks, etc. We are challenged to keep our eyes open to how God wants each day to be even though we may not have a lot planned.
We have reflected and seen how this month may be a bit slower because we really need to sit with the Lord and pour into each other because the coming months we know are going to bring many challenges that we need to be ready for.
This month we are putting on the armor of God.
We are meeting as a team daily and giving feedback and encouragement to each other every day. We have prayer partners that we sit with every morning during the sunrise and pray together for what God has for us on this day. Our friendships and unity are growing stronger and we can see that D Squad is becoming a force to be reckoned with on the mission field! This month we are growing stronger and finding the Lord’s blessing every day.
We are singing and dancing with the cook as we help with meals and dishes.
We laugh at the ducks, chickens, dogs, and goats that walk around minding their own business.
We form assembly lines in organizing wood and carrying buckets of cement, we dig trenches, and we clean campus.
We run through town together every morning as the local dogs run alongside as our companions and personal security.
We do yoga together as the sun rises.
We help each other when we clog toilets and laugh and pray for a plunger (and God provides!)
We go on regular prayer walks.
We support the local business of tacos, burgers, and hot dogs every weekend evening.
We play basketball with local teenagers and go shopping for supplies to fix their basketball court.
I sleep in a hammock in a tree house, y’all! Every morning God paints me a beautiful sky that elicits my praise for him every. single. morning.
It is raining almost every day here and the rain decides what we do each day.
I attempt to speak my best Spanish with the community here and sometimes it is wonderful and I absolutely crush it and sometimes I am dumbfounded and just laugh and say “no comprendo!”
I am absolutely in love with this place and almost every day just sit in awe that I am here.
“I’m on the World Race. Holy Crap. I’M ON THE WORLD RACE.” A year ago THIS WEEK I got accepted and committed, so it has been a long time coming and I’m finally here, I’m doing the thing! It’s so surreal and I feel so blessed and so overwhelmed by my Heavenly Father’s love for me.
Another statement that I say when I look at views like this every day ^^ is “Holy Crap. I feel like Chris Pratt in Jurassic World!” I am on an adventure with my Heavenly Father and it is amazing!
God is doing amazing things, y’all! He is releasing my pride, He is growing my intimacy with Him, He is giving me confidence and bravery and power in the Holy Spirit, He is overwhelming me with His love, He is dancing with me every day, He is using me to reach my teammates, squad mates, and locals, He is claiming victory over darkness in my life, He is helping me walk in freedom, He is helping me fight spiritual warfare, He is creating friendships and unity in my team and squad, He is speaking with me and loving me, He is growing my prayer life. SO MANY GOOD THINGS. I wish I had time to continue this list! God is good and He is doing good things!
Thank you for your prayers and support! I seriously cannot be doing any of this without y’all.
All my love,
JJ
