Another day of seeing God work in beautifully powerful ways.
Of course, the morning started off slow and easy at the hotel. Some of the students took the opportunity to get up early and watch the sun rise over the ocean this morning. Most did not…lol. They decided it was important to catch up on sleep a bit more while they had softer beds and air conditioning (I was also one of those people). Once they were up for the day, students continued the rotation between beach, pool, drinks, and air conditioning throughout the morning. Many of the students also took the opportunity to purchase some jewelry from the vendors on the beach and had fun learning how to negotiate a bit. At one point this morning, a dance water aerobics broke out in the pool and it looked like almost everyone from our group joined in, following the moves of a very enthusiastic instructor. Checkout was at 1pm, so most of the group headed to their rooms, got in a final shower, and enjoyed their final minutes in the air conditioning. That will probably be the cleanest they will feel until we get home tomorrow night around 9pm (or so).
After check out, we at our final meal at the hotel, then took our two hour drive home on the buses. Once we got back to Hota del Yaque, many of the students took the opportunity to run to the Colmados (small stores with food and drink) for their final opportunity to buy some Kola Real, some different types of candies, and one group even found a Colmado that was selling ice cream. We also took the opportunity to create a place for all of the donated items to go. So students sorted through their clothes and placed it in the pile, then began packing their stuff up for travel tomorrow.
After supper, we helped set up for the evening church service that started around 7pm. It was a lot of fun to watch everyone setting up for the service and getting the sound system and stage ready for worship on the basketball court. They also left with buses and picked people up to bring them to join us. It was great watching the place slowly fill up with people ready to sing and hear God’s Word preached. As is typical for Dominican worship, the music was loud and lively. There’s a lot of dancing and clapping and singing. They had a few different groups help lead. One played some more traditional sounding Dominican worship songs. One played some more contemporary worship songs.
It wrapped up with Miguel (our van driver) performing a few of his rap songs for the group. I haven’t mentioned this yet, but our van driver was a professional Christian rapper in the Dominican Republic for quite a while. We were able to hear some of his songs on the radio throughout the week and had the opportunity to find his music on Spotify as well. We also asked if he would teach us how to rap. So, he taught all the boys how to sing a few of his rap songs (or at least parts of the rap songs) and then had us join him in front everyone and sing with him. It was super fun to watch all of the boys singing and dancing in front of everyone to Miguel’s music.
Once the music was over, Miguel preached God’s word to the people. His message was based off of Jeremiah 17:9: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” And Psalm 1:3: “He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.” He talked to everyone about how the world will often tell you to follow your heart, but your heart is deceitful and will lead you astray. It will lead you into paths of destruction. But when we put our trust and confidence in God, we are like trees planted by streams of living water—trees that never wither or dry up, even after rivers dry up, because our roots go so deep. He called everyone to stop trusting in their own hearts and to begin trusting and putting their confidence in God. He then turned to Acts 2 and the people’s response to Peter’s message on Pentecost. It said they were cut to the heart, and their hearts were changed, and they cried out, “What must we do to be saved?” and Peter said, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:38). He reminded the group that that’s how we become trees planted by living water—we repent, turn to Christ, and are baptized. He took the opportunity to ask whether anyone was being cut to the heart by God and if anyone was ready to repent, turn to Christ in faith, and be baptized. One woman walked forward and said that God had tugged at her heart and told her it was time to repent, follow him, and be baptized. So the whole group walked over to the baptismal, prayed over hear, and cheered loudly as she was baptized. Then two more ladies stepped forward and said they’ve already been baptized but wanted to re-dedicate their lives to the Lord. So, the whole group took a moment to pray over them as well. It was a special moment.
We wrapped up the evening by joining Miguel on stage one more time to sing a couple more songs with everyone. It was fun watching the whole group sing and dance. I could see the joy of the Lord on all of their faces—both Domincans and Americans.
It’s always such a beautiful experience to worship with the Body of Christ in places across the word. Every time I’m reminded of this incredible picture from Revelation where there are multitudes from every tribe, tongue, and nation worshiping before the throne of God. We got a beautiful taste of that tonight. We’re very different. We have very different cultures and languages. Yet, we worship the same glorious God who is worthy of all our praise. Such a beautiful thing.
As I’m writing this final blog post, kids are packing and getting ready for traveling tomorrow. Some are still on the basketball courts getting in some final relational time with the kids. Some are taking the opportunity to say their final goodbyes—and struggling a little with that. Soon, everyone will be in bed, trying to get some sleep before a REALLY early start tomorrow morning.
Pray over our travels tomorrow. We have to be leaving Hota del Yaque by 3:45 am. That’s really early after a long, tiring week. Pray that students are awake and functioning well enough to be helpful going through customs and security at the airport. Pray that our drive to the airport goes smoothly. Pray that our flights are on time and smooth sailing. Pray over our long layover in Miami. Pray for the drive home from Chicago. Pray for the drive home from CWC. Pray for a good night’s sleep in our own air conditioned homes and in our own beds.
More importantly than all of that, I’d ask you to Pray for the work that God has done this week to continue beyond this week. Pray that the work we’ve done in Hota del Yaque and in Santiago will spread like leaven through a batch of dough. Pray that the work God has been doing in the hearts and lives of our students will continue to spread like leaven through a batch of dough. Pray that the lives that have been changed as a result of this trip would continue to be changed after getting back into the rhythms and comforts of our typical lives—both in the Dominican Republic and in America.
I also encourage you to take plenty of time to talk to your student about the trip. They’ve been instructed to give more than one word and one phrase answers. They need to sit down and tell you about everything they did AND everything that God did throughout this week. Talk to them about it and help them process it all. By doing so, you’ll not only help the week stick with them longer, but you will also get a taste of what God has done this week.
As always, we’ve felt your prayers and support throughout the week. Thank you so much! It’s been a great week and we’re all looking forward to being back home with our families tomorrow night.
Praise God!
Jason Ruis