Week 3: A Turn of Events

We love you, everybody! We have been super busy, but here's the update we know you've been anxiously awaiting:

-Wednesday the 16th we were incredibly blessed with the opportunity to go to the beautiful beach at Puerto Plata. Even though the day started off rainy and dark, the sun broke through and we had more gorgeous Dominican weather to enjoy. When we walked to some Haitian shops along the beach, Hannah, Mitch and I (Angela) had the opportunity to pray for and share the gospel with a shop owner named Felipe. Bryan, Brad, and Colin had the opportunity to pray with another man who was working on the beach. The rest of the day we enjoyed relaxing and building relationships with the healing conference team from Washington.  

-Friday the 17th We began the second healing seminar in Santiago at the church Congregacion Cristiana. Once again, we came in expecting to lead worship...about 20 minutes before we were scheduled to start, the sound guys showed up...and little by little so did another entire worship team. We had another wonderful night of combining our worship teams into a beautiful conglomeration of praise and diversity. During the ministry time that followed we prayed with many people. We are learning more effective ways of praying according to the will of the Lord and seeing people impacted deeply as a result.

-Saturday the 19th was an all day event at the healing seminar. We were each able to pray with many people as they responded to the workshops following the teachings on words of knowledge, forgiveness, and spiritual healing. During these times we saw the walls of self-focus and intimidation come crashing down as strangers prayed together over the deepest areas of their lives. The afternoon ended with one of the most significant times of prayer I have witnessed. Pastors and the members You could feel something break as humility and unity flooded the room. We came home to delicious Dominican food prepared by two friends from Cien Fuegos. 

-Sunday the 20th We had Bible Study with Cantico Nuevo. We were very encouraged by all the people who came. We had eighteen people total which is huge growth that we have seen due to the connections we are making here. John Martinez led the study and it truly revealed his pastor's heart to teach and lead. After today, it looks like we will have a very full house next week as well due to all the people we are meeting who would like to get involved. Please be praying for this bible study because Cantico Nuevo will grow out of those who attend. 

-Monday the 21st it was our joy to make breakfast for the healing team. They were so generous in every way with us, so we wanted to bless them with a nice breakfast. That evening was the final night of the healing conference at Congregacion Cristiana. The pastor invited the entire congregation to come to the front and express their thanks to us. We were swarmed with hugs and kisses from every side.The people are so loving and thankful. I could get used to how they do relationships :)

The last two days we have been getting into a regular schedule which we enjoy immensely! 

So, Praise the Lord!

Please be praying for our relationships with each other. We sense that things will be a bit more challenging over the next few weeks. Pray that we will communicate well, be forgiving, and remain in the Spirit.

Also, please pray for all the relationships we are building. That we would have time to purposely connect with the people we are meeting. 

Iglesia Congregacion Christiana and Cantico Nuevo

Beginning on Friday evening, our team took part in a Healing Seminar in one of the 41 congregations of Iglesia Congregacion Cristiana in the area of Cienfuegos. Since last Wednesday, the healing team who led the conference has been staying with us at Tom's apartment. The team consists of spirit-filled Methodist believers from Washington State. On Friday, the conference teaching was on the Baptism with the Holy Spirit. We led worship for the conference and prayed at the end for people to receive the Baptism with the Holy Spirit. During the day on Saturday, the teaching was on forgiveness, spiritual healing, emotional healing, and words of knowledge. We also led worship that day and participated throughout the conference in all the teaching activities. Monday evening was the last session of the Seminar, and the teaching was on physical healing where we laid hands on people to be healed through prayer. We saw people give their lives to Christ, be healed physically, and delivered from the demonic. It was an extremely powerful night! When the conference ended, we could sense that God had moved mightily in Cienfuegos.
              On Sunday night, we were given the opportunity to lead worship for the main congregation of Iglesia Congregacion Cristiana's evening service. Until we got there, we were not aware that we would be having our team partner with theirs for worship that night, and it was good and pleasant as we were unified in strong worship unto the Lord! The following Tuesday, they had asked us to be interviewed on a show aired on the church's TV station. Our entire team ended up singing three songs in Spanish on the show, after which they interviewed Bryan and Angela along with John and Diana Martinez. It was a great experience and allowed us to get the word out about Cantico Nuevo. Overall, our schedule has been very busy, but God has been using us to draw attention toward the church multiplication and to minister the love and power of Christ here in the DR! Pray for us as we head into another weekend of the Healing Seminar, believing that many will come to know Jesus, that many will be healed in spirit, mind, and body, and that the Lord will deliver them from the oppression of the enemy. Praise God for what He is doing!

Singin' in a Cigar Factory

Yesterday, February 4, was quite a full day. We started it off with a "field trip" to the cigar factory. (Tobacco is a major crop here in the Dominican, and Tom said it was important for us to understand this cultural / historical aspect.) After viewing the processes of drying, storing, and rolling the tobacco, we got to sing a song for some of the workers there...only 100 of the 13,000 total employees! The video is shown below. It was one of the richest moments, looking out over the group of Dominicans and proclaiming "Senor Eres Fiel." I was reminded of God's love for this nation and felt such a spirit of perseverance and celebration among everyone! After our trip to the tobacco factory, we met the lovely Martinez family (John and Diana, the pastors of the Cantico Nuevo church plant, and their adorable daughter Sarita) to help them move into their apartment. We cannot wait to spend the next months serving them and supporting them! To end the day, we headed over to the Cienfuegos community center, where we had built the unity wall. This was a powerful night, the start of a great work the Lord is doing in that community! The Lord's hand was noticeably upon the time, which was filled with people connecting, pastors / businessmen sharing their vision and heart for Cienfuegos, and us singing two worships for the group. I was very moved during the worship as I was reminded again of the wonder of Christ's global church body!

This morning, February 5, we said good-bye to the Ft. Wayne folks, who were such a joy to serve with this week! The second highlight of today was when Tom called us home from the mall for an "emergency call from Tennessee."We knew Tom must be brewing some surprise. When we arrived home, Tom lead us into the dining room and then walked over to the window. "Oh, que fresca!" he said unnecessarily loud... and then the bathroom door opened and out walked four young Dominicans, whom we'd never seen before. It turned out they were university medical students that Tom had planned for us to connect with for some time! We had a blast, finding out about them, eating pizza, and singing the night away. It was such a privilege to enjoy such rich company, who have such a passion for life and facing challenges. We look forward to more times spent together soon!

Video Blog 1

We have finally made it to Santiago, Dominican Republic. We hit the ground running and have already done so much. To all of us, it feels like we have been here more than 5 days! We traveled all day Saturday: drove to Atlanta at 5am, flew from Atlanta to Miami, then Miami to the DR. It was a long day of travel and we were extremely excited when we arrived to the airport, greeted by Tom Hinton (the missionary we will be living with for all 3 months). We found out as soon as we got to the airport, that there would be 9 men living our apartment with us! They are helping with the water station going up in Cien Fuegos (the poor area of Santiago). The people of Cien Fuegos have a canal that runs from a river and goes through a garbage dump. They have no source of clean water, yet they use that dirty water for everything...swimming, cooking, going to the bathroom, etc. This water purification system will be a huge blessing to the community long-term. Sunday we went to the mall and walked around to get more oriented with the city. We made a great connection with a man named Sandy who works in the mall. He is Catholic and but does not know the Lord. We are believing for his salvation. We had more of a relaxed day. The next few days, we were with the construction team in Cien Fuegos working on the building for the water station. It was a very somber time, seeing how these people live...It is true poverty. We also met a girl named Marlin who volunteers for Tom with his ministry, Barnabas Task. She does not know the Lord and we are also believing for her salvation. We had a great time of connecting with her on Tuesday. Today Tom took us around Cien Fuegos and showed us some of the houses there. The conditions that these people live in really impacted all of us. We will never forget the experience of seeing the extreme poverty of this area. Overall we are all doing well! The Lord has protected us from sickness and we are relying on the Lord's strength.

Prayer Requests:

- For completion of the water purification system

- For the salvation of Marlin and Sandy

- For continued health

Here's a video updating you on the first few days of the trip:

Gettin' Ready

Hello...or should we say "Hola!" Friends, we are so excited to start this blog and tell you all about what God is doing. We leave January 29 for our trip to the Dominican Republic....wait let me back it up! Some of you reading this may have no idea what I'm talking about!

Let me explain.

Back in August, we began Global Boot Camp at our church, New Song Christian Fellowship. GBC is a 9-month Christian worldview and missions discipleship program: five months are spent here in the U.S taking Bible, missions and apologetics classes and serving in local ministries, three months are spent overseas in Santiago, Dominican Republic, and one month is spent debriefing and reintegrating into our home culture.

In 10 days, we will depart to Santiago, and begin our 3-month missions trip. The main purpose of our trip is to partner with John and Diana Martinez as they multiply a new New Song congregation in Santiago, named Cantico Nuevo. John and Diana will be the pastors of the church, and we will be partnering with them in various roles through leading worship and serving in local outreaches and children's ministry. We will also be working with Tom Hinton from the Barnabas Task, a ministry serving Cien Fuegos, a very poor community of 300,000 people, through micro-finance, clean water projects and health education.

Below, each of us team members will be telling you a little about ourselves and some prayer requests we would like you to pray for. Thank you for reading and we will keep you "posted"...It's a joke....get it? ;-) I hope you are laughing....

Bryan:

I am excited to serve as the leader of this team! Going on this trip is the fulfillment of a promise the Lord gave me four years ago. I am ready to advance the gospel in the DR and to assist in pioneering a new New Song congregation in Santiago. For me, I would appreciate your prayers in the following areas:

1. Please pray for wisdom; that I would have the grace and wisdom to lead this team well

2. Pray for the advancement of the gospel as we do outreaches in Santiago

3. Pray that the missionaries would be strengthened by our service and time there!

Hannah:

Thanks so much for reading the blog and following us..via cyberspace! I have enjoyed this program so much over the past few months; God has been teaching me so much about submission, about trusting Him and about leaning and abiding in His presence day-by-day and moment-by-moment. I have seen God MIRACULOUSLY supply almost all of my financial needs for the program in a little less than one month! Praise. the. Lord. I would like to ask you to pray for these specific things for me:

1. Pray for God's peace that surpasses all understanding to guard my mind, heart, and life

2. Pray that I will grow in closeness, intimacy, and friendship with the Lord during my secret time with Him

3. Pray that during these three months God would cultivate within me a heart to serve selflessly and extravagantly

Brad:

I am so expectant for how the Lord is going to work through us in these next three months! It is going to be a time of stretching and growing together and learning how to live our daily lives like we are on a missions trip. I know this is a season of maturing for me and I know the Lord will be faithful as I seek His face daily. Here are some things to be praying for me:

1. For people to come to Christ as we are in the DR

2. That the church in Santiago will be strengthened as we are down there

3. Strong relationships to be built with especially the youth as well as the missionaries serving in Santiago

Briana:

These past few months have been full of challenging new experiences, hilarious memories, and sweet examples of God's love and faithfulness. In the DR, I anticipate God working mightily through us in the people of Santiago. I'm looking forward to meeting all the new people down in the DR-- the Cantico Nuevo pastors John and Diana Martinez; missionary Tom Hinton; and all the Dominican families and children! Here are a few prayer requests for me:

1. For sweet, peaceful time with family and friends these last two weeks

2. For final provision of funds and packing to come together

3. For vision for what Jesus wants to do in the people of Santiago

Colin:

Thank you so much for supporting us in this season of discipleship training! I know I speak for all of our team when I say that the past 5 1/2 months have been very transformational. My perspective on God and His heart for missions has been greatly shifted as we have taken part in outreaches and studies. God is already doing a great work in my life in this season of preparation, and I am very excited to see where God takes all of us in our passion and faith in the DR. I know God wants to do GREAT things in the lives of those we will meet, and I believe He is willing to move in greater ways than we have anticipated as we seek His face and His Kingdom for the DR. Below are some prayer requests that would greatly bless me:

1. That my faith would go to an entirely new level in expecting God to move mightily among the people in the DR

2. That all finances concerning the program would be in order (I still have around $800 to pay)

3. That my heart and mind would be where it needs to be in preparing and leaving for the trip

4. That our team would be unified throughout the trip

5. For safety and for health

Angela:

GBC has been incredible thus far. I am amazed at how much God has done in each of us within the last few months. I anticipate even more when we go to the DR. We will miss you, but we look forward to returning changed for the better and with new perspectives. 

Please be praying for:

1. For deep connections with people in the DR.

2. For grace on each member of our team.

3. That we would live daily lives of prayer with signs and wonders in between.

4. That we would be a blessing to the missionaries in the DR

Thank you all for your support and prayers! We are grateful to have such incredible families, friends and loved ones supporting us as we launch into this new season of ministry and transformation!