Day Thirty-One in the Dominican Republic

Today was filled with "wrapping-up" type of activities.

I started today off by joining the ministry center staff for their weekly devotions. This morning they were talking about the importance of having a vision for ministry and reaching into the community. They talked about how important it was to have a vision that guides your actions. They also talked about how important it is for them to be raising up leaders with a similar vision for ministry.

Following the devotional time, I was able to visit with Mario Matos for a bit. Mario is the director for the Center for Transforming Mission in the Dominican Republic. He is very passionate about his work in this area. One of the areas that he invests a lot of time and energy into is raising up leaders. He said that this is absolutely necessary if we want to see long lasting change happen. I completely agree. We also talked about how this process can be messy and slow at times, however, in the long run, it creates lasting, sustainable change. That's really what we're all looking for.

After my meeting with Mario, Rachel and I met with Steve Brauning (my supervisor) to "debrief" on our time in the Dominican Republic. It was nice being able to think back on all of the different things we've done over the past month. We spent time talking about what worked well and what didn't, what struggles we had and what joys we experienced. Rachel and I both walked away with a smile, remembering that various ways we've seen God at work over the past month.

One of the highlights for our family today was dinner at Giudo and Louisa's home. Giudo is the property manager at the ministry center and Louisa does a lot of work around the ministry center as well. Our family has grown quite fond of both of them and were very excited to join them for supper in their home tonight. Louisa made quite a spread for us and the food was very good. We all walked away "stuffed to the gills" and ready for a good night's sleep. We also enjoyed the conversation we had around the table, getting to know them better.

I think that's all for tonight. It's been a good day and I'm ready to cap it off with a shower and a good night's sleep. Talk to all of you tomorrow night.

Buenos Noches!