Last Day of Orientation
This is a picture of the group of children participating in Children's Orientation. The three boys and little girl on the left side of the picture are going to Guatemala for two years. The three girls on the right side (who are not Ruis') will be spending at least a year in Nicaragua.
Today was a good day. The kids spent most of the day at the Grand Rapids Zoo. Rachel and I had sessions on Communication, Spiritual Warfare, and Finances. All of the sessions were very helpful.
The best part of the day was the Commissioning Service that happened in the afternoon. We had a special service for all of the missionaries. Many people from World Renew and World Missions and local friends and family members attended this service. It was powerful to worship together as a large group and hear God's Word preached by Pastor Reggie Smith.
The service ended with each one of us being anointed with oil and given a Bible verse that was chosen for each member of the family. We have decided to use each of our verses as a Daily Meditation Verse for our entire time in the Dominican Republic. Here are the verses each of us received.
I received “Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:7, ESV)
Rachel received “They who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:31, ESV)
Olivia received “Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.” (1 Timothy 4:12, ESV)
Erin received “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6–7, ESV)
Lauren received “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11, ESV)
Zoe received “One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple.” (Psalm 27:4, ESV)
Now, we are re-packing everything and getting ready for traveling tomorrow. We will be picked up at 3:45am tomorrow morning for a 6am flight out of Grand Rapids. We should arrive in Atlanta around 8am and fly out around 10am. We should arrive in Santo Domingo around 1:15pm. We are praying for smooth traveling tomorrow.
Here are some prayer requests:
Pray for packing to go well tonight
Pray for us to get enough sleep tonight
Pray that attitudes (both children and adults) are helpful tomorrow
Pray that flights are on time and that travel goes smoothly and safely
Pray that things go smoothly at immigration in the Dominican Republic
Pray that we get settled in at the Ministry Center in Santo Domingo
Some have asked for our address in the Dominican Republic. Here is what I have: Calle 4 #6, Barrio Los Angeles, Avendia Monumental km 13 Autopista Duarte. (I have no idea how that should look on an envelope :-)
Thanks for the prayers so far. We appreciate the prayers we will receive tonight and throughout the day tomorrow. We are ready to be in the DR. We'll try to give you an update tomorrow night after we are settled into our apartment.
Buenos Noches!