Dominican Republic 2025 Day Three
(Internet has been down since last night so just getting caught up on the blogs now!)
Happy Sunday! Today we woke up and had an extra 30 minutes before we had to leave, so a lot of us had some extra God time. We then talked about silence and solitude and got to practice that. Some of us went on the roof and watched the beautiful mountains and all of God’s creation. We got to have a very personal time alone with God which was a great way to start off our day.
We then ate and got ready for church and headed out. This was the first time most of the team members had been out in the community, and that was a very new and eye-opening experience for some. There was music constantly playing, kids playing in the streets, lots of dogs running around, and people spending time in community. Then we got to church! All the kids there were saying “Hola” and waving with big smiles on their faces. We got to listen to their worship music (which was in Haitian) but regardless, it was so moving to see how passionate and enthusiastic they all were about worshiping and how the language barrier didn’t stop us from worshiping the same God at the same time. This was a beautiful experience where we could see and feel God moving in such divine ways. We thankfully had Manoah as a translator while the pastor was speaking so we could understand. The pastor spoke from Ephesians 4 about unity in Christ and how we need to work together as one body, one faith and one God. Towards the end of the message, the pastor kept cutting Manoah off because of how passionate he was about the message. After the sermon, we sang some more songs, danced a little bit, and closed off our time in prayer. After the service a bunch of little kids came running up to us and hugged us with such joy. And the adults came to us and shook our hands on their way out, greeting us so kindly. We then made our way home for lunch, having great conversations along the way.
We had our rest time, where we went swimming, played card games, and became professional synchronized swimmers.
In the afternoon, we went on a community walk and got to learn more about the Lighthouse and the work they’re doing for the community. For about an hour, we got to see some of the different churches, houses and community centers that teams with the Lighthouse have built. It was so moving to immerse ourselves in the culture and get a better glimpse of who we are praying for and helping. Then we played some softball and basketball with a group of guys. It was very fun, do recommend, they were very good. They were very kind and patient, going easy on us, as many of us (Abby Vis) are not the best at softball. We got to have lots of fun with this group and got to connect with them a little bit after, learning about who they are. A few of them had shared that they are Christians as well and were asking about our favourite verses and how they are engaged with the Lighthouse. We did have a very surprising surprise when Olivia Allen surprisingly showed up to surprise us! In shock and awe, we welcomed her to the team.
After that, we came back and had dinner. Taryn, Jacob and Abby were going crazy, they were doing the whip, the nae nae, and bouncing all over the place, busting out the moves. Making concerning donkey noises, doing try not to laugh challenge with water in their mouth, and having a HAHA giggle attack heh heh. Once we calmed down, we all gathered for devotionals and talked all the ways we experienced God throughout the day, and how we are all part of one body, connecting our devos to this mornings sermon.
Throughout the whole day, we got to see God moving in such miraculous ways, through the worship, the community, the solitude, and all the laughs we shared as a team. We are praying for all of you back home and wish you a great night!
Taryn + Abby
