A Day of Rest!

Today is another declared "Day of Rest" for our team! We all welcome these days with joy! We have had a very busy week, though things have not gone as planned thus far. Sunday we were able to go out to Cercadillo in the afternoon along with some new amigos from Ina's church (Pepín, Maria Jose, "Mama" Rosa, and Laura) to present a lesson on the fall of man. It went very well, and both children and adults listened well to the message. We are going through a series of lessons specifically designed for missions that begin with creation and go all the way through God's plan of salvation. It is very important, especially in this culture, that we give a strong basis for why man needs to be saved and God's plan through Jesus before asking people to make a decision to follow Christ. Here in the Dominican Republic (as in many cultures around the world) people will say whatever they think will please you. For example, when we were trying to find a location in the central city on Saturday we asked several different people how to find it and got several different answers. Only one person admitted that he didn't know and didn't want to lead us astray! They simply give you some directions instead of saying they can't help. It is the same in the mission field. If you asked a group of people here to respond to the Gospel, most of them would reply with a "Yes!" but then would reply "Yes!" every other time you asked because they know that is what you want to hear. Therefore, it is more difficult than simply preaching and asking for a response. Teaching has to happen so they know why Jesus is so very different from what they currently believe to be true.

On Saturday, Ina's vehicle began making some not-so-healthy sounds so she called her mechanic, and he came and took the car on Monday morning. Since we were unable to go to Cercadillo as planned without a reliable vehicle we spent the day planning and making materials for our first day of classes. It turned out to be a much needed day of preparation!

On Tuesday, we began our day early with an awesome Spanish lesson at the Institute down the street. They usually teach Dominicans English but are reversing the lessons for us! Our teacher, a man named Joan (pronounce Joe-on), is a lot of fun and committed to teaching us as efficiently as he can in three one-hour sessions per week. He has spent some time in the United States so he knows English well. I am very excited about this opportunity! After returning to Ina's house after our lesson, we discovered that the car had not been returned yet and Ina was not feeling well so we spent another day in preparation. Again, this day proved to be very productive. After our sabbath day today, we are hoping and praying to be able to finally start our classes on Thursday!

Please pray for the health for our team (a couple of members have had rumbling stomachs, Kasi has a cold/allergies, and my back has been aching for three days now and my many bug bites drive me loco at times :). Ina's vehicle was returned this morning so please pray that it will prove reliable now. Please pray also that we will not be discouraged as we have not been able to be in Cercadillo as much as planned up to this point. We know that we are in a battle not against flesh and blood but against spiritual forces (somebody doesn't want us to do ministry here) so please pray that we will be strong in the name of Jesus against attacks. What satan means for evil the Lord will use for His glory!!!