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!