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.