As I haven't written in a few weeks, I thought I'd up date you on how I've been spending my free time on the week ends.
Last weekend, I went with a group of 12 people to Castillo, a "campo" or countryside in the northern part of the country. It was a "viaje misionero" or a missions trip in which the group took Friday and Saturday nights to hold special services. As a group, we did two different dramas, a dance, showed a portion of the Passion of the Christ and sang. At the end of each service an alter call was held.
In Castillo, Joel and his family have been missionaries for the past 7 years. They work in a barrio called "Barrio Puerto Rico" that used to be a stronghold for drug dealers, prostitution and violence. People were afraid to enter the barrio and police had a hard time keeping all of the problems at bay. The church that Joel is pastoring holds its services in what used to be a bar/brothel that the church has cleaned up and is in the process of purchasing. Instead of being a place of vice, the congregation has redeemed it and made it a place where the entire community can come to receive from God.
Joel has been working with government representatives to pave roads, lay better electric lines and water piping and to provide general community services. The success that he has had so far in the barrio comes from loving people at the most basic level, by meeting their immediate physical needs. It was an honor to be able to spend time with him, his wife and his three young children. Please be praying for them and the work they are doing.
Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to take a picture of Joel and his family or the church. The only pictures I took were quick snapshots on my cell phone when we went further into the countryside and I rode a horse! So, here is a photo of me with the horse:
This weekend I went to Pico Escondido, a Young Life (Vida Joven) camp in Jarabacoa to be a part of the work team for a camp they were holding. Jarabacoa is about 2 hours from Santo domingo and is located in the center of the country in the mountains. The scenery and the weather are gorgeous. It was nice and cool in the morning and at night, a much needed and welcome break from the blistering heat of Santo Domingo.
Vida Joven meets weekly around the country and three times a year for different camps. The first camp in a sequence of three is held in June and is for people who are new to Vida Joven. The second camp is held in November and is a "growth" camp, lots of fun and games like June's camp, but more deep in the word and worship. In April, the "training" camp is held and volunteers, leaders and staff come together for training on how to work with the youth in their respective "clubs." We had the pleasure of serving on the "equipo de trabajo" so that staff could concentrate on giving and receiving training.
We started our day early at 6 a.m. with devotions and then preparing and serving breakfast. We then cleaned the rooms and bathrooms where the students were staying, moved right into preparing and serving lunch and then cleaned up after lunch and began preparing for dinner. Around 3:30 or 4:00 p.m. I was able to take a nap and then get back into it at 5:30 or 6:00 to setup and serve dinner. In the evenings we assisted with activities for youth and got to bed around 12 or 1 a.m.
I really enjoyed my time there, oddly enough considering cleaning bathrooms and pealing plantains might not sound like fun. But the difference is that the 10 people on our work team were amazing. They were all attentive and caring and pitched in to help out everyone even though we had division of labor. I really felt like the Acts church and the love of Christ through an attitude of service was demonstrated through the works of the team. It was a pleasure serving with all of them and it was encouraging to see a team work together so well. When God is the focus, everything falls into place.
Just some of the 150 teens and young adults at the camp
Adani, Auri and Elisa -- 3 awesome members of the work team
myself, Karen and Emmanuel, another part of the work team
