BOARDING... WOOOHOOO!!!

We are boarding RIGHT NOW in JFK to come home!!! Everyone is tired and tired of waiting :). We are on flight #715... so check the Delta website for updates on arrival time!

See you soon!!!

Trying to come home...

Our flight is delayed :( We are due to fly out of Santo Domingo about an hour behind schedule... 2:30 pm (instead of 1:25). If we leave at 2:30, that cuts our layover (customs, etc.) to only about 40 minutes. At this rate, we may miss our connecting flight from JFK to LAX.

Please pray that the God of all Miracles will go before us again and get us home tonight!

Phillippians 4:13, God of Wonders, and other fun stuff :)

This morning, we had the opportunity to teach Rebekah Holbrook's class before we leave for the airport :) Here are some pictures at the school:

Kids gathering and getting ready for school...

All lined up for national anthem, morning prayer & announcements...

That's pretty cool... why don't we do that in our school???

Awaiting entrance into the classroom :)

Last minute prep!!!

It was so much fun teaching the 35 kids that were there :)! We got to teach them Philippians 4:13 (good job, Elizabeth N.!) and to sing God of Wonders (go, Christine!). The highlight was teaching them random vocabulary words and phrases :). The favorites were: I want to pluck a chicken and I want to do a backflip. HA HA HA!!!

Michael tired??? Never!!!

Our flight (Delta #494) is due to leave Santo Domingo at 1:25 pm (9:25 am CA time), flying into JFK at 4:59 pm. At JFK, we go through customs and then fly out on Delta #713, departing at 6:35 pm, arriving into LAX at 10:24 pm. Please pray for us... can't wait to see you all!!!

Let no one look down on your youthfulness...

What a great time to have some scheduled time with the teens of Templo Biblico. We were glad that some of them wanted to play a part of the Speechless presentation last night... it worked out just right :)! Matthew H. did a good job teaching Youth Group in Spanish :) Rebekah H. said that this is a smaller group than usual, but it was just the right mix for the message! We even had some good conversation with some of the guys, especially Werner and Osiris.

May God continue to guard and guide these teenagers as they seek to love and serve Him more and more each day!

Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe. - 1 Timothy 4:12

Casa Monte Plata

Casa Monte Plata is the orphanage that Rebekah is directly associated with through KidsAlive. There are 4 homes on this property, housing 23 children. If you would like more information on the orphanage or school that Rebekah Holbrook is ministering at, please click here.

This afternoon, we had the privilege of spending some time with these precious rescues! We played games, sang songs, shared stories, put on a puppet show, and just loved on them!

This pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father, to visit orphans and widows in their distress...

James 1:27

Amazing Beauty

We took a "just for fun" field trip this morning to witness the incredible beauty that God has placed on this corner of the earth! This was a much needed break (from work and from Spanish :)). We had a blast!!!

Experiencing the power of God's creation!

A time of reflection and devotion...

Jolene made a "new friend". His name is Fred. Please pray that she will not have to buy a plane ticket to bring him home...

This afternoon, we will be putting on a program for the orphans of Casa Monte Plata. After dinner, we have a youth program planned. Before we leave for the airport tomorrow morning, the team will put on an English program. Please continue to pray for us:

• We would finish strong and hit the tape hard!
• God will continue to keep us healthy and out of harms way.
• We would be a catalyst for God's faithful work here in the DR.
• Our lives will forever be changed because we have witnessed the Lord's mighty hand upon this trip.
• God will be exalted and glorified above all else in the lives that we have touched!

The heavens are telling of the glory of God; and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands... Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, my rock and my Redeemer. Psalm 19:1 & 14

Definitely SPEECHLESS!

God is definitely GREAT and absolutely SOVEREIGN and so very FAITHFUL in answering prayers!!!

Thank you for all of you that have prayed for us tonight! We absolutely needed all the intercessions!!! Speechless went very well. We had a full house... somewhere in the neighborhood of 240 to 250 people. Ma Vie (the lady that took in Nadelly and her brother when she was living in the Hatian batey) was able to come. God even answered our prayers for a pig-sitter for her! There were a few glitches in the presentation... but creative improv (good job, Timothy!) allowed the message to be communicated better than planned :). How cool is that?!? The DR teens integrated perfectly. It was fun for Templo Biblico to see their own in the presentation!

At the end of the day, there were 3 decisions made. Two 10 year-olds and one 16 year-old! Most importantly, God was pleased.

Lord, thank You for a perfect ending to a perfect weekend!

Worshipping with Brothers and Sisters of Templo Biblico

If you have ever been in a service in a different language, you would understand when we say that the service this morning was LONG :) No... not long in a bad way, just taxing on the brain. It take a lot of concentration for us to catch the few words that we know in Spanish (in Dominican accent), and then to piece things together to figure out what they are all saying!

Despite our mental exhaustion, this morning was amazing!!! The church ordained 2 new elders. Our Girls' Choir sang during the service. We witnessed several baptisms. The girls wore head coverings. We heard a sermon on Psalm 1 in Spanish. The cistern (the well that we were able to gift the church financially... will get a picture to show you later! Basically, a hole in the ground that provide a water source for the church.) was dedicated. We were all blessed to worship with these brothers and sisters in spirit and in truth!

Final touches on Speechless props

Our pretty pretty princess...

Some of the youths that will participate in Speechless later today!

This afternoon, we are diligently preparing for Speechless tonight! Boy are we NOT READY!!! We are incorporating 9 Dominican youths into our program :). Please pray that there will be no "technical difficulties" or "wardrobe malfunctions" :). Pray that the Gospel message will be heard clearly and loudly and above all, God will be glorified!!!

Thanks for all your prayers for Date Night last night. We hosted somewhere between 50 and 60 people at the camp where we are staying! We worked hard, served yummy lasagna, the girls sang 6 songs, and played games :).

Love you all! Happy Valentine's Day!!!

VBS Fun :)

Thank you for your prayers for VBS... it was a great hit!!! We had over 200 kids packed into Templo Biblico (the church). They LOVED the "Kids' Speechless" and the puppets :) We had a great time working with the kids and playing games with them! Take a look:

Templo Biblico teens that came to help out... many of them will be getting trained this afternoon for tomorrow night's Speechless presentation!

Which one of these is not the same...

Worship Team did a fantastic job!!!

Our Most Valuable (piano) Player :)

Balloon Mayhem :) Our kids are the "net" for this game.

Jill's new special friend :) Jolene wants a piece of the action too...

This afternoon, our team is taking on the "divide and conquer" mode :)

• Matthew and company will be training a group of Templo Biblico teens for the Speechless presentation tomorrow night.
• Grace and Jolene are cooking lasagna for 90 people for Date Night.
• Dan and company are building props for Speechless.
• Elizabeth Nichols and friends finishing up a few final touches on the church painting project from yesterday.
• The rest of the group are on the streets passing out flyers and inviting the neighborhood to Speechless.

We got much done yesterday... the cisterns at the church were filled for the 1st time ever :) So fun to be a part of "history" at Templo Biblico!

Please continue to pray! Today and tomorrow are big push days and we are rearing to go :)

... and whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. ~ Colossians 3:17