Senior Mission Trip Update!

Day 7

Hey funky bunch! My name is Sarah. That’s S-A-R-A-H. With an H because that’s how my parents spelled my name.

After a relaxing day spent at the beautiful Catalina Island, we went back to work and rode the majestic bus back to Freedom. Today was rightly named “construction day” because, well, that’s exactly what most of us did. Everyone but Allie, Juli, and Katharine (they spent the day with the kids at the school instead) went and helped the construction workers at Freedom who are building a four-story apartment complex for those who work at Freedom. The workers had already completed the first two floors and were working on the third one when we arrived. We were given several tasks the accomplish that included: sifting sand, pulling thirty pound cinder blocks on a pulley system up to the third floor, taking the cinder blocks and stacking them on the third floor, and knocking pins out of the ceiling on the second floor. We took breaks every thirty minutes to keep us sane and to stay hydrated. By the end of the day everyone had the Sahara in their shoes and dust covering their whole entire body.

The rest of the night was spent by eating cupcakes and drinking chinola (I think that’s how you spell it??) at the Lily House, a local pastry/gift shop/spa and relaxing by doing devotionals and playing some games.

We are all sore today (Saturday) and are looking forward to sleeping in our own beds but at the same time we are all sad to leave this amazing place. We’ll see you all in a couple hours!

Love,

Sarah

Day 6

Day 6 of being stranded on the inhabited island. I, Carter have been tasked with recounting our tales—as the only one who can read and write- in the event that we never make it off. If you are reading this than we are most likely dead.

Today we found natives who have discovered an uninhabited island. Legend says Blackbeard’s treasure is buried on it and his ghost protects it. The natives call it Catalina. Before we landed on said accursed island we hunted for food in the coral reefs off the coast in hopes of catching a fish or two. Despite our advanced snorkeling gear, we were unsuccessful and were mostly taunted by the colorful fish as they swam around us. Only a box of granola bars and some beef jerky remain. Once on the island wooden necklaces were distributed to ward off Blackbeard’s ghost. However, one of our very own, Katharine, was attacked and escaped, but not without scraping her knee. Our very own Wilson was found, but he served a much better purpose in curing “bordomitis”. Despite numerous applications of our sun blocking protective salve, sunburn was had.

After being scared away back to the main island we visited a local shop that had been set up called Lily House. There many exotic drinks and sweets were procured. Later, my second in command Kurt Flemming taught us a valuable lesson about poverty in order to stimulate our minds in the absence of school. Our extra provisions were counted and divided among the organizations we saw fit and Noah provided supper. Thanks to his killer arm, a large rock, and a distracted monkey, we had a large helping of tree bark for dinner. This is Carter signing out and retiring to bed, hoping his partners don’t try to drown him in his sleep, again. Till next time…hopefully.

P.S. Ethan, if I don’t make it. Keep my plant watered. And don’t let Victoria kill my fish like she did Alexandra’s.

Day 5

Family and friends, I welcome you to the report of Day 5 brought to you by the one and only Nato!

Today we were able to attend Freedom International for our third consecutive day. We were back to working with the Pre-K 4-year olds. We added another helper to join us for our adventure. Her name is Becca and she will be in the Dominican for the next three months as an intern. She was a great help to have as there were 26 of the little munchkins in school today. Each of us had two children to work with, two members of the group had three (Juli as well as myself), to help teach English at the different centers, or stations. Today the focus was on the number “16.” There were fourteen different stations and some of them included building with blocks, painting, reading stories to them, or even going on a safari to look for different animals. I had the privilege to work with Roldany, Yubelqui, and Noah. Roldany (Roll-don-ee) is a very loud and energetic boy that was not the most interested in speaking English, but even though he was a bit rambunctious, he was full of love and smiles. He looked to get lots of hugs and attention by being held. Along the same lines of getting jealous when I was holding or hugging another member of my small group was the girl in my group, Yubelqui (Ju-bell-key). Both Yubelqui and Roldany are from the same village that we have our VBS in, which is in Lima. Yubelqui was very energetic but would say any English word that you tell or ask her to say. She loved to go on my shoulders and look around from a much higher perspective. Noah is the son of one of our missionary helpers, Scott. He is a sweet kid and loved to show me all the cars, trucks, boats, and planes in one book. He would point to a vehicle and say, “Whoa! Look at that one! Isn’t that cool?!? It is so big!” Though there was a small problem of sharing amongst the three of them, it was still great to see the hearts of these kids and the amazing progress in their education that they have due to Freedom International’s mission, success, and ambition to teach these children.

 

It was also our third consecutive day for running our VBS. We had the blessing of having Scott, Kurt, and Kenzie join us. This time as we got off the bus, some of the children were already waiting for us, ready to greet us and excited for what we had planned. Kurt and Scott stayed behind this time to mingle with the kids while Kenzie joined us on our trip around the village to gather up the other children. Children joined us and instantly wanted to be picked up or hold our hands as we walked back to the church. We had two skits today. The first was “The Lost Sheep” and the second was “The Lost Coin.” The Lost Sheep had lots of kids laughing as Allie was the shepherd looking for Juli, who was the lost sheep. Afterwards, I was the single character in The Lost Coin, which we changed to The Lost Phone. The kids were tuned in and enjoyed both skits. The kids were then split up into three stations: story, craft, and game. The craft included plates that had a heart in the middle of it, and the kids were able to write “Jesus Loves Me” on the plate. Game time included using the parachute. I was able to lead this station along with Noah. We had them play Cat and Mouse, change colors with someone else who had the same color as them, and even played with a ball on the parachute where we split the parachute down the middle to form two teams and they must not let the ball go off the parachute on their side.

 

When we met for closing time, we had three more students share their testimonies. John Mark and Sarah were both able to share their testimonies by reading theirs in Spanish to the group. Kurt and Scott were both able to take a nice break from translating. I also had the opportunity to share my testimony, but I had a slight problem. I forgot to grab my testimony in the morning and bring it with me. So I asked Mr. Flemming if I should do it in Spanish and wing it or do it in English and just have it translated. Mr. Flemming said, “Go for it in Spanish.” So I did. I needed help with a few words or phrases here and there, but I was able to share my story with them based on the Spanish I knew. It was clearly the Holy Spirit working through the entire situation. The opportunity came and God used this as a blessing for both the kids and myself, reminding us that God is in control of any circumstance that comes in our lives. It was God’s time and God’s strength. I was just one piece that He used to create His masterpiece in that moment.

 

The next part was free time with these kids before we left. Most of us went out to the field and played with the kids. Some of the kids stayed behind to say the theme verse for the week, John 13:34-35, which is also our class missions-trip theme verse. Many of them were able to say their verse and they were able to choose a baseball or a stuffed gorilla as a prize. The girls chose the gorilla and the boys chose the baseball. Out at the field, two of the activities that we did included playing with bubbles and having a rematch soccer game of Americans vs Dominicans. Once again, the Americans won! But even after an intense game with highly competitive players, including myself, it was still as if we were all brothers and having fun together. After all the fun we had, and some final pictures being taken, it was time to say goodbye. The coolest part I saw was the relationships that were built from these three days. These kids would come and say goodbye with hugs and wanting to be picked up one last time. Even the older kids came up and gave us hugs or “bro hugs.” It amazed me how the boys that we played with still saw us as brothers to them because we showed them love and we cared about them. We came to play with them and help them learn more about Christ. One thing that hit me is that even when you spend only a few hours with someone over as few as three days, you have done way more than just plant a seed in their life. You have changed their life. For some it may be larger or smaller than others, but I believe that by showing Christ’s love to them and showing them that they are important to us, that we have changed their lives.

After a long day of hard and fun work, we cooled off in the pool. We used Carter’s Go-Pro to try some different pictures and videos. Hopefully they will all turn out well and we can reminisce in these memories together.

Tonight we were able to have team devotions and we dug deeper into service. We talked about three different scales of service. The “who,” “why,” and “how?” Each of these had similar components of selfish to selfless, but we were able to pick out biblical examples for each part of all three of these scales. Mr. Flemming left us with reflecting upon where we are in each of these areas and how we can improve the service aspect of our lives. He also left us with asking how we can “level up” in a couple specific areas of our lives.

And now, as I am typing this update with three guys snoring around me, we prepare for our fun day at Catalina Island tomorrow. Don’t worry, Mom, I will wear lots of sunscreen and drink lots of water. J We are looking forward to being able to enjoy God’s beauty and enjoy more fellowship together creating even more cherished memories.

We are officially over the half-way mark of our trip! Most importantly, we are already seeing areas that God is working in. They are spectacular and even unimaginable ways. What a blessing it is to be part of this trip with amazing people serving a truly amazing God!

Continue to pray for safety and great health as we have had on this trip so far! Also as we prepare our minds for Construction Day on Friday, please pray that we are open, willing, and dedicated to whatever task that is handed to us, and that we do it without complaining and without anyone being injured or dehydrated.

Signing off until next time. God bless! See you soon. Eagles for life! Brothers and Sisters for life! Family for life!

For God’s Glory,

Nathaniel “Nato” Cessna

Day 4

Hey friends and family! This is Mikayla bringing you the update for Tuesday, our fourth day of our Dominican trip.

Today was our second day of school at Freedom International and our second day of VBS in the sugar cane village of Lima. Our morning school day at Freedom went really well. We worked in the same classroom as yesterday, but instead of 4 and 5 year olds we had mostly 3 year olds, so there was a new batch of students who only come two days a week. To our surprise these little guys were a bit mellower. We took them around the classroom to different learning centers and were constantly talking to them in English, asking them to repeat the colors and shapes and letters of the alphabet. We held them and read books, showed them different objects of different colors and worked on writing the letter “e”. I personally really enjoyed our morning with these little guys because they love to be held and cuddled and love high-fives and stickers. I found that my two little Dominican friends, Miacol and Jeckenne didn’t know much English, but were very bright and very well behaved. They are hearing English worlds every day and starting to understand that the sky is the color “azul” in Spanish, and also “blue” in English. The teachers at Freedom are making great progress already, because kids going into first grade from public schools can hardly write their name and sometimes don’t even know their colors. It’s just shocking to hear how poor the public school system in the Dominican really is. The fact that God has provided the funding for Freedom International and the students who are only 3 or 4 years old are learning even more than students in 1^st grade that have been attending public school shows that God really does care for the “least of these” by providing for this school.

I think that I speak for the whole group when I say we all felt more peace about our second day of VBS because the first day of VBS went so well. This time around we had an idea of what to expect. God is big and provided for us through our awesome missionaries at Freedom who have spent their afternoons being our tour guides as we make the trek out to Lima and then being our translators. Our missionaries Kurt and Scott have done many VBS activities like this in the past so they have solid relationships with the kids and they are respected in the community. There are a huge blessings and it would be utter chaos without them. They help us corral the kids into the church and settle them down. Today we started off with a skit about the Good Samaritan. The kids responded really well in the story time and thoughtfully answered the questions that Kurt and I asked them. Many of them have already memorized our theme for the week, John 13:34, in which Jesus says that since He has loved us we must also love others. It was really encouraging to see how some of the older kids understood that meant that they needed to be nice to people that they don’t get along with. After everybody had a chance to make a bracelet at the craft station, play tag outside, and learn the theme verse we spent the next half hour outside just hanging out with the kids.

“Hanging out” looks like this: An open field bordered by sugar cane stalks on the outside of our little village. Horses and goats tied to stakes are grazing in the field only 40 yards away, while rambunctious adolescent boys running barefoot and shirtless inflate with pride as they challenge the Americans to a soccer game. Over in the shade you find all the little children gathered around Mrs. Miencke who is twirling the jump rope while the senior girls have little mobs of children following them. Everyone has sticky, sweaty foreheads as the warm wind blows over the village during the hottest part of the day. It’s simple, but feels so incredible to be a part of.

If you are competitive like the Dominican boys and us, you should know that the Americans won the soccer game. Scott told us we needed to win because they have too big of egos, which if you played with them for a little while you found that to be true. The comradery helped us further those relationships, afterwards we were all able to say “Bueno partido,” (good game) and there were no hard feelings about the American victory. Although, tomorrow there will likely be a rematch.

Our favorite thing we like to do when we return to SCORE is to take a swim in the pool and cool off. We have been taking videos with Carter’s GoPro camera and have enjoyed laughing and just relaxing. After dinner we spent some time in fellowship with the other group staying at SCORE with a time of worship and a message from the head of SCORE, Frank. We ended the night in celebration of Allie’s 18^th birthday. She’s an adult, folks! We had the most delicious cupcakes from the Lily House and ended the night playing card games.

To all you worried mommas out there, everybody is doing great. God is taking really good care of us! He has kept us healthy and safe and we have really been enjoying the fellowship with God’s children and each other. Keep praying that these kids will understand how much God really loves them.

For His Glory,

Mikayla

Day 2 & 3

Sunday started off with us walking down to the Spanish church down the street called “Missionary Baptist Church”. It was completely in Spanish which was to be expected. It was awesome to see the enthusiasm in the people around me worshiping the God they love especially when we were all singing, you could definitely feel the presence of God as the Dominican people sang their hearts out for Him. It was really encouraging to see these people be so spiritually uplifted and it made me see God in a new light. After church we decided to go to the beach! The beach was BEAUTIFUL! The water was so blue and clear and the sand was speckled with seashells as well as sea weed. We staked a claim on the beach and we dived right into the water. At first, swimming was great! Until we all got that super salty Caribbean water in our mouths and eyes. That wasn’t too pleasant but body surfing the waves was amazing. I being the stubborn person that I am decided that I wasn’t going to wear any sunscreen even though EVERYONE told me I would regret it later. Which they were all right, of course. But, after coming back from the beach we all showered and gathered back up to go to a place called “The Lilly’s House”. This place has a really cool ministry behind it. Basically this place was established to have women who were apart of human sex trafficking a chance to make money for their families in a safer way. So, while we were there, there were 3 different little shops that we saw: The Salon, The Bakery, and The Gift Shop. We didn’t go into the salon but we did head straight for the bakery because Frank, the director of SCORE, was telling us that we HAD to try this drink made up of a popular fruit that grows here called Chinolla. (Probably not how you spell it) IT WAS AMAZING! We also decided to get some different kinds of cupcakes. Allie got a pineapple cinnamon cupcake and I got a chocolate marshmallow cupcake. Both were very rich and very delicious. After we were done taste testing we walked on over next door to the little gift shop. They had a lot of really cool little trinkets and knickknacks that some of us bought. Once we finished up there we headed back to the complex and ate dinner and we all went swimming in the complex pool. We played a pretty violent version of “Monkey in the Middle” which consisted of three teams of three trying to keep the ball away from the other teams. Although it was violent it was rather fun! We ended the day with devotions from Mr. Flemming (aka Uncle Kurt). He talked about taking adventures and stepping outside of our comfort zones to do hard things. Coming to another country where I only understand the language but do not speak it is definitely a step out of my comfort zone. I have never been out of the country before this trip so it has been very different from what I am used to but I am enjoying every second of it and allowing God to fill my heart with passion for the people who need His love to be shown to them. (End of day 2)

Today started off early with us getting on a bus with Jason from Freedom International! We had the opportunity to be teaching preschool at Jason’s school near the sugar cane villages. On our bus ride over Jason explained what we were to expect and gave us some background of this ministry he started back in 2010. He was so enthusiastic about the work he has been doing down here and I was encouraged to hear about all the success he has had. We arrived at the school eager to begin working with the kids but Jason gave us a tour of the property first. The school was rather interesting and absolutely nothing what I thought it was going to look like. It was all concrete and there were only three classrooms and only one story high. Jason explained to us that they are in the process of making a school big enough to have 1800 students preschool through 12^th grade. Hearing him speak so passionately about his plan was really awesome because he knows what God’s plan is for him and he relies 100% on God to fulfill that plan for the school. After the tour we were all split up among the 22 preschoolers that were there today. I got two little girls named Yeylin and Angelica. Yeylin was rather quiet but very obedient but on the other hand Angelica was really rambunctious and sassy. She just wanted her way. After we were all paired up with our kids we went around the room in stations. Each station had a different task of counting or writing their letters or reading. It was difficult to keep the children focused on what they were learning especially because they speak Spanish and we speak English but we surprisingly weren’t supposed to speak to them in Spanish because they are trying to learn English. The principal of the school told us that out English is a gift to these children and we should use it as much as possible. I slipped up a couple times and used the simple Spanish I do speak to get the girls to listen a little better in a way they understood. School ended and we sent the kids off to their different Betays. We ate lunch and refreshed before he headed off to Betay Lima which is a sugar cane village that Freedom International (Jason’s team) first started. We had prepared a VBS (Vacation Bible School) ahead of time to teach the children when we arrived. I was completely overwhelmed by the amount of children that attended. We started off with 41 and ended with more than that. I was in charge of the crafts part of the VBS. We made coffee filter butterflies which they LOVED! I was encouraged by their enthusiasm yet I was frustrated because they have a “riot mentality”, meaning they want whatever you have right then and there. I had kids crowding around me all telling me to give them more markers or to look at what they had colored or to spray them with the water bottle. It was overwhelming but it was definitely fun. As the VBS was coming to an end, I had a chance to give my testimony. I basically told them about how I am adopted twice. Once by my earthly parents and once by God because I have accepted Jesus into my heart as my personal savior. Hopefully they got the message! Sweaty and tired we got back on the bus and headed back to the complex! We showered and ate and headed to the beach for devotions. I love the beach here because I just love looking at everything God has made for us. God is so big and is doing so much with our group. I’m excited to see what he has in store for us tomorrow and the rest of the week to come!

 

Signing off,

Juli

Day 1

Today is the first day we begin our journey to the Dominican Republic. We all woke up at 3 A.M. Excited and filled with adrenaline to begin our journey. All the parents and the students gathered around for their last prayer and then the students, the two teachers and the one brave parent was off to the airport. We all boarded the plane for our 5:30 A.M. flight and took off to our first stop, which was New York. After hanging out in New York airport for 3 hours we got on another plane and flew straight to the Dominican Republic. As we were flying Mikayla Henke was sitting by an energized little Dominican boy that wanted to play and make a friend. Instead of ignoring him she took an interest in him and talk to the boy and showed love to him like our Senior theme bible verse John 13:34-35 tells us to do. After 4 hours on the flight we finally arrived in the Dominican! We got all our suitcases, got all our stuff situated, and found our driver who name was Hector and drove for 45 minutes and were in awe at the beauty of the Dominican Republic. Once we made it to the SCORE facility we got our stuff in our rooms, ate dinners, and went over the rules of the facility. After we got done with orientation we went straight to the pool and had a very intense game of keep away. After we were all done with the pool we headed up to do devotions. During the devotions we talked about Paul and taking your opportunity to make an impact on someone. Once devotions were we all headed back to our rooms to get rest for the next day. Signing out Noah Ryan Meincke.