That’s Pedro, Pastor Rodney Fouts, and my REVOLUTION partner Michael Bergstrasser riding three deep on a tiny motorcycle in the Dominican Republic. Classic.
Archive for July, 2010
Funniest Picture from the DR
Posted: July 27, 2010 in Funny, Life, People, Random, TravelTags: Dominican Republic, Funny, Life, People, Random, Travel
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DR Mission Trip 2010 – Day 7
Posted: July 21, 2010 in Faith, Life, Ministry, People, Spirituality, TravelDR Mission Trip 2010 – Day 6
Posted: July 20, 2010 in Faith, Life, Ministry, People, Spirituality, TravelTags: Dominican Republic, Faith, Life, Ministry, Missions, NORTHchurch, People, Spirituality, Travel
July 20, 2010
Day six of the NORTHchurch 2010 Dominican Republic mission trip was very similar to day five (except for the Dominican Republic cheeseburger stand and ice cream).
Instead of repeating a lot of stuff, I wanted to share a quick story of how I saw God today.
NORTHchurch has partnered with this local DR church and Mission of Mercy for many years. As a pastor, I love seeing growth over people and ministries over a long time. I am often reminded that ministry is marathon, not a sprint. The joy is seeing the small victories and growth throughout the journey. And today I saw just that…
I am on the sports camp team during the day. That means that I get to play basketball and volleyball with tons of Dominican Republic kids while they are waiting to go through our medical clinic. It is a chaotic site. Tons of kids running around and balls flying through the air with reckless abandonment.
The sports team always has to have one person guard our bottled water and backpacks while the other members of the team play with the kids. This one person has to be tough and very attentive because these kids while try to sneak past you and are always jonesing for a bottled water.
The past two days I have noticed one particular girl seemingly rummaging through our stuff. Picking up our bags; grabbing basketballs that are not supposed to be touched; etc. Being the protective student pastor that I am, I ran over there to see what was going down.
This girl, who is in the Mission of Mercy project, was not doing anything malicious. In fact, she was organizing our stuff and helping us protect our stuff. In other words, she was serving us.
It is so amazing seeing growth in people. It is so amazing to watch a girl who for years has been served by Mission of Mercy, the local church, and so many others starting to serve others. She did not have anybody tell her to help. She simply saw a need and decided to meet that need. She served.
I share this story with you because organizations like Mission of Mercy and Compassion International are making a huge difference. People around the world are loving and serving kids who are learning how to love and serve others.
And that is beautiful.
DR Mission Trip 2010 – Day 5
Posted: July 19, 2010 in Faith, Life, Ministry, People, Spirituality, TravelTags: Dominican Republic, Faith, Life, Ministry, Missions, NORTHchurch, People, Spirituality, Travel
July 19, 2010
Day five of the NORTHchurch 2010 Dominican Republic mission trip. The day were months and months of preparation collided with reality. Meetings that I had when I visited the DR in December and a lot of our preparation time in our mission meetings were for days 5, 6, and 7 of this trip. This was the day that we started our medical clinic, sports camp, and Vacation Bible School (VBS).
Simply put, our day was amazing. God’s fingerprints were every where.
During the VBS and sports camp, we experienced immeasurable joy and countless smiles in the faces of the Mission of Mercy children. We had a lot of fun. We sang silly songs in Spanish. We played hard. We used a lot of energy. We sweat a lot. We hugged children and gave high fives. All of this for God’s glory!
As for the medical clinic, I was blown away with what I saw. God promises us that He will give us more than we could possibly ask or imagine, and He did just that with the medical clinic. The medical team saw hundreds of children and their families. Their efficiency, time management, attention to detail, and compassion for the children was so evident. So much prayer, preparation, and hard work went into making the medical clinic happen. HUGE props goes out to Mary Morris, Jamie Gary, Jay Peck, and the rest of the medical team.
Also, HUGE props goes out to all the NORTHchurch family who donated money, supplies, medicines, and sporting equipment that helped today happen.
God did BIG things today. Can’t wait to see what He has in store for us tomorrow.
Here are some pictures from the medical clinic:
DR Mission Trip 2010 – Day 4
Posted: July 19, 2010 in Faith, Life, Ministry, People, Spirituality, TravelTags: Dominican Republic, Faith, Life, Ministry, Missions, NORTHchurch, People, Spirituality, Travel
July 18, 2010
Day four of the NORTHchurch 2010 Dominican Republic mission trip was all about recharging our spiritual and physical batteries so that we could be at our best for the rest of our mission.
Our schedule was simple…
Rest.
Eat.
Church.
Eat.
Rest.
Church.
Eat.
Rest.
Oh yeah…and…this dancing little girl…
DR Mission Trip 2010 – Day 3
Posted: July 18, 2010 in Faith, Life, Ministry, People, Spirituality, TravelTags: Dominican Republic, Faith, Life, Ministry, Missions, People, Spirituality, Travel
July 17, 2010
Day three of the NORTHchurch 2010 Dominican Republic mission trip was a day full of firsts.
Our day started early as we made our way to the local Dominican church to get a tour of Sal Si Puedes, which is the community where many of the Mission of Mercy sponsor children live. This was a first for many of on our team. Many on our team had the opportunity to personally give a gift to their sponsor child.
Sal Si Puedes is literally translated “get out if you can”, so you can imagine the living conditions. What I love is that through the local church and Mission of Mercy, an area known as “get out if you can” now has hope. It is beautiful.
We followed that experience with street evangelism. We walked in groups around a community starting conversations, inviting them to church, and handing out tracks that shared the Gospel.
We ended our day with a powerful youth service. The entire service was filled with Dominican and American young people leading the service. REVOLUTION students performed two skits in Spanish. We also had three girls, who regularly lead worship at REVOLUTION, lead a song at the service. Finally, I had the privilege to share a message at that service. It was my first time to ever preach in a foreign country. It was also my first time to preach with a translator. It was definitely a challenge, but I know that God was magnified. After 15 people shared their cardboard testimonies (in Spanish), I invited people to leave the bondage and messiness of sin for a free life that can only be found in Jesus. Many people accepted Jesus for the first time.
Day three was very long, but very rewarding. Needless to say, we all slept well that night.
Here are some pics from our Sal Si Puedes tour:
DR Mission Trip 2010 – Day 2
Posted: July 17, 2010 in Faith, Life, Ministry, People, Spirituality, TravelTags: Dominican Republic, Faith, Life, Ministry, Missions, People, Spirituality, Travel
July 16, 2010
Day two of the NORTHchurch 2010 Dominican Republic mission trip was all about preparation.
Today was not one of those days that get promoted when you start signups for a mission trip. Pastors do not put days like today on the fliers for the trip.
We did not get to treat any children in our medical clinic. We did not get to teach any children how to dribble a basketball without looking at the ball. We did not help any children make an adorable craft to take back home to their mom. However, we did do some serious preparation to make all those aforementioned things possible later on this trip.
The 39 students and adults on this DR mission trip worked extremely hard today and put forth a ton of effort to make the rest of this week a huge success. I cannot wait to see how God moves through us.
We finished the day by seeking God together. We spent time crying out to God in worship. We poured out our hearts through prayer. People shared about how they had seen God already on this mission. It was a powerful time of getting our spiritual batteries recharged.
I am excited to see what God is going to do tomorrow.
Keep praying.
DR Mission Trip 2010 – Day 1
Posted: July 17, 2010 in Faith, Life, Ministry, People, Spirituality, TravelTags: Dominican Republic, Faith, Life, Ministry, Missions, People, Spirituality, Travel
July 15, 2010
Day one of the NORTHchurch 2010 Dominican Republic mission trip is in the books. And let me tell you, it was a good one.
What was originally thought to be a simple travel day, turned into a day of seeing the goodness of God.
The first part of our day started very early. The 39 students and adults on this DR mission trip met at the Oklahoma City airport at 3:45am. Our first flight took us to Atlanta, Georgia (Heather’s home town). After a little while of reminiscing about the good ole’ days in Hotlanta, we flew to Santa Domingo, Dominican Republic. In nothing short than a miracle from God, we found all 65+ of our checked bags waiting for us at baggage claim. After pounding down some Dominos Pizza, we had a 3-hour bus drive to Santiago, Dominican Republic.
We pulled directly up to the Dominican church that we support for their mid-week service. After a time of worship, NORTHchurch senior pastor Rodney Fouts shared an amazing message about conquering the giants in your life. He hit a homerun. Many people responded to the invitation to receive prayer. We had a chance to pray over many in that church and many from our mission team. It was a powerful time of prayer. Tears were shed. People shared about the giants they were facing. God responded to their openness. People were set free.
Day 1 is in the books and already lives have been changed.
God is good.
I’m currently sitting in the Oklahoma City airport. 39 NORTHchurch students and adults are flying to the Dominican Republic today.
I am honored to be a part of this mission trip. God is doing so many big things in the DR. On this mission trip we have the opportunity to partner with an amazing local church and a child sponsorship organization called Mission of Mercy. We will be putting on a full head-to-toe medical clinic, basketball & volleyball sports camp, VBS for children, purity training for students and much more.
The DR mission trip will be July 15-23. Please keep the mission and the team in your prayers. Check the blog for pictures, videos, and daily updates.
Until then…ADIOS!
Without God We Are Just…
Posted: July 1, 2010 in Faith, Life, Ministry, People, Spirituality, The BibleTags: Faith, Life, Ministry, People, Spirituality, The Bible
DIRT!
Recently, I was reading through Genesis 2. This is the chapter where God creates Adam and Eve. As I was reading through the specific details of how God created people, God hit me square between the eyes with a profound truth.
Look at the process…
STEP 1 – God formed man out of the dirt from the ground.
STEP 2 – God breathed into the man’s nostrils the breath of life.
STEP 3 – The man became a living being.
Here’s what God spoke directly to my heart while reading about this process in Genesis 2…
WITHOUT GOD’S BREATH, WE ARE JUST DIRT.
Whether or not you know it or believe it, we are completely and desperately dependent on God. Without God breathing into life into Adam, he was simply just a pile of shaped dirt (like when you form shapes out of sand when you go to the beach).
Today, think about your dependency level on God. Are you desperate for Him? Are you dependent on Him?
