Here is a link to a slideshow of pictures from the trip:
Mission X: Dominican Republic/Haiti
Here are some awesome testimonies from people who participated in Mission X:
Lauren Andrews
Considering the countless ways God revealed Himself during my mission trip to the Dominican Republic and Haiti, I am overwhelmed with gratefulness in my heart. July 18th-25th, I joined a team of 10 individuals and traveled to Santiago, Dominican Republic, and to Haiti to encounter the plans God had in store. One of the first stand-out blessings of my trip was the privilege to serve alongside the team of people God carefully and purposefully put together. It was no coincidence that God allowed me and my sister, Jordan, to share the experience with each other, as well as side-by-side our new friends who desired to carry Jesus' name to the ends of the earth. The first part of my trip, was spent in Santiago where our team was hosted by Iglesia Cristiana Oasis Church; a church family who had hearts that reflected the ultimate Servant. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday my team and I held a VBS at a nearby park in the downtown area of Santiago. Children who were forced to work in the streets gathered at Parque Duarte to sing worship songs, learn Bible verses, hear the Gospel message preached through a puppet show, and escape their rough home lives, if they even had home lives at all. The children who came to the VBS meetings ranged in age from 5-16, but each and every one was attentive to the activities our team organized, but more importantly to the Word of God being proclaimed in their language. None of the children who attended the VBS spoke English, like the majority of other people we encountered in the Dominican. Yet, God used the language barrier not as an obstacle, but as a reminder of my incapability to accomplish anything in my own power. God was so faithful to give me the words to speak and the means of understanding His people who He ultimately desired to minister to. Our team's leaders, Carmen and Miguel, guided our team with their compassionate hearts to reach others with God's love. During the evenings of our time spent in the Dominican, our team joined the Oasis church in speaking to teachers in the church and community, spurring on the small group leaders of the church body, and sharing with the youth and young married couples of the church. On Wednesday night, my team and I attended a small group for the young people in the church. The Godly character of the younger individuals was evident to all and boldly glorified Jesus Christ. During the meeting, the group sang familiar songs like, "Glories of Calvary" and "Blessed Be Your Name" in Spanish while my team sang the same songs in English. It was such a powerful moment of witnessing two cultures, languages, and peoples joining together to praise the name of the Lord. God spoke to my heart with the Scripture in Philippians saying "every tongue will confess that Jesus is the Lord of all." I walked away from the meeting resting in the promise that I will be worshipping with my brothers in sisters in the Dominican Republic again one day in Heaven. The Oasis church body quickly gained a precious place in my heart as their Biblical example of humility, hospitality, and unconditional love challenged me and encouraged me greatly throughout my time there.
The last half of my trip was spent in Haiti. I do not even possess the words to speak of all God did in my heart during my time in one of the poorest countries in the world. My team and I had the humbling opportunity to visit and minister to a village in the outskirts of the city. We partnered with a missionary couple who have given up their comfortable lives in the US for the sake of the Gospel, as they serve everyday in the Haitian village we visited. Faced with yet another language, Haitian Creole, God was faithful to provide translators to share the Word of God with the hundreds of children who gathered together. God showed me just how powerful His love can be, even without any words involved. One of the most compelling moments during my time in Haiti was when the team and I provided medical attention to the mass of needy children and women in the village. The Haitian people were desperate and welcomed all the medical assistance we could give them, even the simplest of tasks, like cleaning and bandaging a cut. The shelters, surroundings, and lack of resources the people were faced with, challenged my perspectives and my heart of gratefulness. I found myself more amazed than ever before at the thought of God choosing me, a lowly sinner and an enemy, to be welcomed into His perfect Kingdom and seated at His table. The people in Haiti will always hold a unique place in my heart. God became greater in my eyes throughout the course of my trip, worshipping alongside brothers and sisters who speak another language, yet trust in the same unshakable truth. Experiencing His kingdom going forth to all peoples first-hand, the Lord allowed my eyes to be opened to my selfishness in my own little world, and revealed the mercies of His great Kingdom on a grand scale. No matter what language Jesus' name is spoken, it has power to save. Whether it is said "En el hombre de Jesus," like the Dominicans, or "Nan non Jezi a" as it is said in Haitian Creole, may all that I do and say be done "In the name of Jesus."
The time I spent in the Dominican Republic will never be forgotten. I met many new brothers and sisters in Christ, from both the church there and the teams from churches in the Southeast US. My host family was the head pastor of Christiana Iglesias Oasis. Unfortunately the girls took up too much space in the house so three other men and I stayed in an apartment close to his house. Each day at 7:00 we met at the church, packed into a van and headed of to Villa Alta Gracia, a large yet poor community crammed onto the side of the mountains. Even though the majority of my time was spent building a school, laboring with the Dominicans was a unique experience. I couldn’t even talk to most of the people there properly, but we all soon worked together without needing to speak much. One day I went out to spread the gospel with Jesse, a man from one of the teams. That man had absolutely no fear of man; if anybody said hi to us, he would bring us over to them, ask them how they were, and then ask if they were saved. One time he led us to a group of young men playing pool. Jesse pretty much walked over, said ‘hey, how’s it going?’ then pulled out his Bible and read John 3:16. I was blown away by his boldness; I aspire to be like him. Among the people that I might there I made many good friends that I will never forget. I am thankful for God and the people that made this mission trip happen.
Jordan Andrews
My trip to the Dominican Republic was fantastic and better than I ever imagined it would be. God blessed my trip so much and was with me every step of the way. I am so thankful to God for letting me have this experience and protecting me through it.
On the last couple of days before I left, I began to feel anxious and nervous. I surprised myself with feeling this way because before, I had been so excited that I hadn’t even thought about how I was going out of the country and going into a whole other world. I spent a lot of time praying to God for peace and the verse Philippians 4:6 immediately came to me. This verse says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” This verse was just what I needed, it reminded me that God is in control of everything and the best thing for me to do when I was feeling anxious was to take it to him through prayer.
While I was in the Dominican Republic, we did a VBS for four days for kids who live on the streets or are very poor. Kids have a very special place in my heart so I loved getting the opportunity to spend time with them and give the kids the care they needed. We did many fun things with the kids, we taught songs and bible verses; we gave them food, and just talked to them and cared for them. These kids did not have a lot but were all so joyful and always had huge smiles on their faces. One day, we got a chance to go and see where some of the kids that came to the VBS lived. This was a very eye opening moment for me. They all lived in small wooden houses and in very bad environments. Just seeing all this made me appreciate my family, where I live, and everything else God has given me.
One of the nights my team and I were in the Dominican Republic, we were given the opportunity to go to a youth group for a church that helped us through the trip. This was an amazing experience. The first thing we did was worship God. Everybody except for the people in my group spoke Spanish, so when we worshiped they sang in Spanish. Fortunately, they sang many songs that we sing at Sovereign Grace. So while the Dominican people sang in Spanish we all sang in English. You would never know how beautiful this sounds until you are right there in the moment. We all described it as a little glimpse of heaven. We are both from totally different countries but we all praise the same wonderful God. The youth’s passion for the Lord was incredible and so evident in every single one of them. One of the qualities that stood out to me, which was in a lot of the teens there, was their no fear of man. They did not care at all what others thought of them, they only cared what God thought of them. I know God brought me to that youth group to show me that example and to encourage me to work on it in my own life.
That last two days I was on my trip, I was given the opportunity to visit Haiti. This was a little intimidating at first for me. I was anxious to get there but I was also trying to prepare myself for the state of poverty I would see. When I was in Haiti, we went to a village for both days. This village had so many kids in it that we couldn’t even count them all. These kids all ranged from the ages of 1 to 14. They all lived in a total number of four huts that wouldn’t even be considered a house. It was so heartbreaking to see how little these kids had. Some of the kids there didn’t even have clothes on because they didn’t have any. They were dirty, malnourished, and unhealthy. But again, even though they had nothing they were still as joyful as they could be. Their joyfulness is God’s light shining through them. While we were there we did a lot of the same things that we did at the VBS. We played with them, taught them songs, did a puppet show for them, and also cleaned their cuts or did any other medical treatment they needed. We mostly just wanted to care for these kids and love on them. They enjoyed every little thing we did and were so grateful for it. These kids will always have a special place in my heart and I will never forget their joyful spirits.
Being back here in America for these past couple of days, I have become so much more grateful for everything I have. My trip far more exceeded any of my expectations. This was the one trip that I did not want to leave when it was time to go. I made many long-lasting relationships and am so grateful to have met all those wonderful people. God has shown me just how big he is during this trip. He is made known to everyone whether it’s us here at sovereign grace, the church in the Dominican Republic, or a small village in Haiti. He is so great and I feel so honored to be able to worship the one true God.
"If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it."
- Luke 9:23-24
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