Gloria a Dios

“Jesu Cristo” “Gloria a Dios”
This was music to my ears as I was picking up trash in a little village called Monte Largo in the Dominican Republic this last week. As I’m reflecting I still cannot believe this is my job & I get paid for this!
We flew out on Friday, July 17 at 8:30am and arrived around 4pm to our hotel. We had a session and dinner altogether (all 184 of us from McLean). Then Saturday morning, my team (Team D) went to Monte Largo for the first time. It was only about 15 minutes from our hotel. We were greeted by many little faces and hands that grabbed ours and took us into the church. We sang songs with them and did a Bible lesson. Then we played, gave piggy-back rides, blew bubbles, made balloon animals, did face paint, and took pictures. Then we went back to the hotel for lunch and proceeded to the special needs orphanage in the afternoon. This was hard. We heard stories of mothers trying to kill their children just because of their disability by “spilling” boiling water to burn them, and parents dropping them off, or finding them in a box and caring for them in this unfinished house without any medical supplies. Heartbreaking to say the least.

Sunday morning we went to church and the STEP TEAM came with us! The Steppers are 4 guys that do beats with their hands & feet while doing some kind of chant that has to do with the Gospel. That is where “Jesu Cristo – Gloria a Dios” came from. It is one of their routines. The kids go crazy over these 4 guys & they are like celebrities down there! The afternoon was spent at another orphanage with almost 100 children. We spent Monday morning there, too. Monday afternoon we went back to Monte Largo where we got the whole families to come to the church, hear the Step Team, and do a Gospel presentation. We then cleaned up their community and were able to talk and pray with many who committed their lives to Christ. Tuesday was my favorite morning! We went to another little village that was cleaner & somewhat nicer than Monte Largo. Most of these houses had cement all the way around & windows, not just holes in between sheets of random plywood and scrap metal. We did a Bible story & song & drama for over 100 children & some of their families as they came out. About 70 of them prayed to receive Christ! Then we went door-to door evangelizing. This was really intimidating for a lot of students and me, to be honest…I don’t remember the last time I knocked on someone’s door to ask if I could tell them about Jesus and pray for them. But as we went around with one of the church planters we were able to have good conversations with about half of them claiming to be believers and half wanting to hear more about God & His love. Then we only had a few more minutes, but the Pastor thought we could talk to one more group of people. There were 3 men sitting under a tree talking & we went up to them. One girl, named Rachel, had not spoken during the whole time of our group of 5 going house to house, so I told her she should initiate this conversation. She was pretty shy & said she didn’t know how to start. I encouraged her to just ask “Do you know about Jesus Christ?” She did and they said “no.” So she looked at me like They have NEVER heard about Jesus? What do I do?? I told her “Start at the beginning: creation, the fall, sin & redemption through Jesus.” She did a great job, and the other 2 students jumped in a few times to say a sentence or two as the Pastor translated. It was so encouraging to see these students share the Gospel, their faith, and Christ’s love to complete strangers in a way they have never been stretched before! Then one of the guys asked if we could pray for them & they said yes. So they all looked at me to pray & I said, “Let’s pray!” As I was praying I felt like I should offer a chance for these men to admit their sin, ask forgiveness, & receive Christ. I stated, “If you believe what we have told you today & want to receive Christ repeat after me” Then I began into “Heavenly Father, I know I am a sinner and you are a perfect, holy God…” and all 3 men said the exact sentence in Spanish! “I know there is nothing I can to do be washed of my sins and be forgiven or receive eternal life…” *all 3 men repeat out loud AGAIN* “And I want to receive your gift of grace through the death of Jesus Christ to forgive me of all my sin…” *REPEATED* As I continued they stood up and came around us and put their arms around all 5 of us as we stood in a circle praying. I was amazed, encouraged, astounded, and thrilled that the Lord used our students to be bold enough to lead these 3 grown men to saving faith. The Pastor got their names and will be following up with them to get them in a church and a Bible soon.

This is 10 year old Deosenia. She is an orphan. She has been at the orphanage since she was a little girl. She grabbed my hand after we came & didn't let go. She would pull me all around the orphanage & we would sit & she would take pictures with my camera. Whenever she would point the camera at someone she would then yell, "Hey You!" with her Spanish accent. Then they would turn and she would say, "Hola" in a little flirty voice. Whenever I would try to tickle her or make her laugh she would look at me as a mother does her children and say, "Raquel..." She was so funny! Pray for her & that she is a true believer. She told me she has Christ in her heart & she hears lots of Bible stories, but some of her actions of selfishness & sadness should be less because of Christ's work in her.

This is 6 year old Molly. She has a pacifier & will not let go of it-no matter how hard I tried while we were singing! She followed me around all day when we were in her village. She would grab my hand, jump on my back for a piggy-back ride, and sit on my lap while in the church or outside listening to the Bible stories. She has a family, but they live in a house the size of my bathroom. They have little electricity for light at night. This little community was so joyful, despite their poverty...it's only because of the work the Lord is doing through many individuals in Monte Largo!

The very top photo is of the children gathered in the neighboring village of Monte Largo & we were sharing about Heaven.

This is Lisa translating a prayer for Francas. She is 15 and also an orphan. Her sister lives at the orphanage, too. She shared that she believes in Jesus but is afraid of death. I told her my testimony about being sick, in the car accident, and my incident downtown this past February and told her that I am not afraid to die since I know where I am going and that being with Jesus is far beyond any amount of time on earth. She has had so many church groups come in and share that her head knowledge of Jesus is there, but it has not affected her heart yet. I left a little discouraged that she still did not understand, but then she wrote me a letter and another group member delivered it to me at the airport. She wrote about how much she loved me and how much she will miss me. She wants me to come back and see her again. Pray for Francas!

Now I have 2 full days off, one more day of work (a LONG day-Wednesdays are from 8am-10:30pm with Future Leaders and Youth Group), then to TENNESSEE for Matt & Laura's Wedding! I can't believe it is happening...my little brother getting married!?!??!?
This was this past Christmas when Laura spent a week with us. It's clear they are in love and are ready to be married. I think it is very fitting that this be under the "Gloria a Dios" blog post, since it is the Lord's work that brought them together, has sustained them this long, and they are trusting in Him to provide for their life together.

Thanks for your prayers & please continue to pray for SCORE International in the Dominican Republic, these individuals above & for the Rock Student Ministries.