July 17 (Sunday)
After a short night, the team awoke to the roosters, chickens and birds outside of our window. With hot coffee ready for us, the team had the opportunity to enjoy the fresh morning breeze here in the mountainside on the front steps of Kim and Carlos’s home. Because we arrived so late, we weren’t able to really connect with Kim until this morning. Kim went above and beyond to prepare a hearty breakfast for us with incredible fruits! Fruits are a must when you are here!
Afterwards, we went to go worship at the local church here in Jarabacoa. Carlos and Kim are members and serve as leaders at the church as well. The church leadership was gracious enough to let Pastor James serve the pulpit. Jerfelis did a great job in simultaneous interpretation.
After an incredible welcome from the local church, the team went to eat at a new restaurant that just opened near Carlos and Kim’s home. Pastor James wanted to make sure we were taking care of Carlos and Kim by eating at a nice restaurant - that was nearly HALF the price of what we would’ve paid in New York!
After the incredible lunch, we spent the afternoon being led on a tour of Jarabacoa from Kim. We had the opportunity to listen to her experience here as well as the cultural dynamics and see the ins and outs of the area and the community. We also had the chance to eat some excellent ice cream! That never hurts!
We also had the chance to spend time with a missionary who serves in this area from Indiana. Hearing from Brother Jim was also a blessing to be able to witness God work in ways that we would never have even imagined!
In the late afternoon, we created an assembly line and created over 75 goodie bags and care packages for some of the folks we will be ministering to this week!
After supper, we gathered as a team to worship and hear testimonies. We are humbled and excited to see how the Lord will work this week!
Here are some of our prayer points for the week:
1. Pray for the THREE Health Seminars that Elisa will be teaching at this week. Please pray for strength and for the Lord to speak through Elisa mightily.
2. Pray for the Paint Project that we will be doing for the local church.
3. Pray for the physical health and well-being for our Team and the safe travels for our team- especially pray for the underserved, poor, rural communities we will be visiting.
4. Pray that the Team can be an encouragement to our missionaries, Carlos and Kim.
5. Pray for the Marriage Seminar that I will be teaching with Jerfelis interpreting. We have over FORTY SEVEN COUPLES signed up.
