VBS... Dominican Republic Style

 Our Real Life kids are loving on kids and doing a Dominican Republic rendition of VBS. There is said to be over 100 kids there today!
-Elissa

E's VBS buddy

view full image

"My VBS buddy for the day. @reallifegt @gtchurchonline #dr2013 "

Tropical Storm Update

Hey everyone! Wanted to give you all a update on the DR team. As some of you know, there is a tropical storm not too far from them. I spoke to Pastor Eran today and the storm should be passing to the south of them. Plus they are staying in a house made nothing but cement floors, block walls, and concrete ceilings. He says it's like a fortress. No need to worry  Your son/daughter and friends are safe 

Some photos taken by DR missionary, Mitch Martinez

I stumbled upon these photos taken by Mitch Martinez, missionary in the DR, who is hosting our group on Facebook tonight!  What an awesome testimony to see how these youth are serving some of the most underserved populations in the DR...the Haitians!

Here's a little bit more information about the building our team is helping to construct:

"It was a year and a half ago when with a two thousand dollar donation we were able to help in the start of a Haitian school in La Vega.  You can see the impact of this program on the smiling faces of the forty children that regularly attend the program.  These are children who without the school would be either closed up in their homes while their parents worked or else out on the streets with no supervision.  Often they speak no Spanish, have no legal papers to attend public school, and cannot afford the uniforms to attend the public school. Their future would be bleak.  But they have hope now."

-Mitch Martinez, Dominican Happenings

You can read more from Mitch at his blog, where he details the work he and his wife, Debbie, are doing in the DR.  For more info on the Rose of Sharon education center, click here.

Oh, and here's a video of them hard at work!

Keep praying for this team!  

-Betsy

Hola!  Our trip has been amazing so far.  After traveling Monday for  15 hours our team was exhausted when we reached La Vega.  We are staying in missionary houses that were generously offered to us. Our first day was off to a FANTASTIC start! Everyone worked INCREDIBLY hard today as we poured cement, shoveled sand and stones, and cleaned up trash. We helped on a project that our missionaries have been working on. The project was working on filling the cement bond beams for a school that will provide a safe place for children who might not be able to attend school otherwise.  We began at 8 am this morning and ended around 5:30 pm on site. At the end of the day we were COVERED in cement from head to toe.  Then we proceeded to take our showers VERY quickly (yay team) so that we could participate in a church service at The Rieles Church. Our kids did three songs of worship followed by two testimonies and two dramas they worked very hard on. You should all be very proud of your sons and daughters as they kept their energy high even after a long day.

Some of the "God moments" today included:  God using us in ways we never imagined, connecting with the locals while sweating and working hard together, appreciating each others' hard work, praying over a woman who was anointed in the Holy Spirit, seeing the innocence of children and how valuable they are in God's sight, realizing the impact that we are making for eternity, hearing God's voice, using our gifts to worship God, and finally the importance of a school as a place for much more than learning.

A blessing was to meet one of the students from the school.  This child has no parents and had lived with his brother.  However, his brother often stole from him and recently kicked him out of the house.  This young man is currently living in the old school building with the bare necessities.  He came to our site because he wanted to help and lend a hand.  He wanted to be a part of what we were doing, even though he has so little.  We were all impacted by meeting him and know that he represents so much of what we are here for.

Working hard on building and getting super dirty!

Hanging out and Working hard