Calvary Church

At about the middle of last week, I couldn’t believe how slowly it felt like these two weeks were going. After living out of a suitcase for almost a month I have been getting a bit of cabin fever. Somewhere along the way though, I must have blinked because the first week of camp flew by! I was so impressed with how so many of the students took their efforts seriously, and I have been awestruck of the passion of all of the students that I have had the pleasure of teaching with! I think that God has really been at work individually in each one of their hearts, urging them, and encouraging them to push beyond their comfort zones. This week, I was the nurse to a continually growing number of sick students, and am happy to report that those who started out the week under the weather are no back at full force, and the rest are quickly gaining energy! Something you can pray for is physical, mental, and spiritual stamina--as this last day coming up is going to be one of the most draining for the students. Thank you so much for all of your support! We can’t wait to share more with you!
-Becca B.

Wow what an amazing week!! I’ve really seen God work during the children’s camps. I love spending time with the children and get to share God’s word with them as well. The way they show love and affection is so cute :)
Back at the Kellogg Center our bible study through Phillipians has been absolutely amazing. I’ve learned and grown so much and I can’t wait to live out what I have learned here. It was also so encouraging to watch my other brothers and sisters in Christ grow closer to God throughout the week. Our team has really come together and we’ve really been serving each other every chance we get.
I can’t wait to come back next year to see how God’s ministry has expanded!
Love in Christ,
Lisa M

Heyyyyyyyy!
o,o,o OO my goodness! What an incredible,amaaazing, awesome, impacting, and just super GREAT trip this has been! First week working with kids and teaching was simply A M A Z I N G!! The energy that Adam and I brought as a teaching combo was crazzzayyy and SUCH a blast!! It’s so incredible to see how united and together our team has become just in these past two weeks! I have learned soo much here and love how close I was able to become to the people on this team! Learning how to be a true servant in Christ is what I’m learning SO much through everything we’re doing! I’m so sad to leave this amazing place where I have learned so much and seen God work in amazing ways, but I’m wayyy pumped to be able to tell amaaazing stories and live out all the awesome things God has taught me here! AH! Can’t wait to see everyone!! LOVE YOU! Thanks a million for the prayers!
Leah Janae Rutt!!

The End.

For me at least. My role in this trip has come to a close. But it has been a joy and challenge to lead these dynamic and passionate young men and women of God. A joy because they have each chosen to pursue a life with God at the center and with Jesus as the foundation. A challenge because leading such people has required that I run faster and pusher harder then I often do. Any moment of complacency was going to result in being overcome and passed by those I had been asked to lead. Watching them love children, ignore illness, heat, and fatigue, exegete scripture, laugh together, and worship God will be a source of joy and celebration for the rest of my life. Hug your children. They are beautiful.
Pete Dymond

Having come to the Dominican two years already, both times being blessed with amazing Dominican friendships and an ease in communication, my expectations for the amazingness of this trip were pretty high. But like always, God blew my expectations out of the water. Since even before we came He’s been stretching me in exciting ways, especially in the area of leadership and organization, as my responsibilities are greater this year. And He’s driving home one of the points of our nightly Bible studies-- unity-- even as He provides new friendships this short week at camp. In all, its exciting to see God’s hand in my life and our team as we wrap up another trip to the DR.
Kourtney Mable

No trip is ever the same even if you go to the same place with the some of the same people. This year has been very different to me as I have stood from the perspective of leading the trip. I have been more than encouraged by the attitudes and unity of the students even despite some of the sicknesses. They have really extended themselves probably further than even they thought possible but all for the sake of Christ. We have been learning a lot in Philippians about unity in the body and looking out for the good of others above ourselves. I see that they are applying it here in the DR and my hope is that it can continue in their normal everyday life back in PA.

Kiki

We kind of took a little break from the blog today to relax and spend some time learning about the history of the Dominican Republic and attending the Sunday service at the church which we partnered with for the first week of camp.

Ok so this trip is super fun and i was kinda nervous about how much I was really going to be able to impact and love on these kids but it has been really cool to see how God works. This is really cliche but whatever I am going to say it anyway the language of love has really been evident. I always heard that expression and was like yea sure whatever but now coming down and seeing the impact that simply loving on kids playing silly hand games really has. Our whole team is loving these kids and loving doing it. God has really been showing me how much God gives me energy and allows me to be apart of his awesome plan if I just make myself available. This trip is so much fun today we started a second week of camp with new kids and a new church so the team is very excited to see what God has for us to do since God showed up in such an amazing way last week. Your prayers are so important and extremely appreciated! For real we could not do this without them. For the glory of God,
JERRY SHENK

so this trip has been so amazing and we are only half way through. i cant wait to see what God has in store in this next. the first week we had such an amazing time at a kids camp with about 700 kids. our job was to teach english to the dominican kids. it was so cool watching how excited the little kids were when they got a simple thing like a little bag of skittles. some of the kids wouldnt even eat their snack because they wanted to share it with their families not knowing when they would get there next meal. it has really shown me how blessed i am to have so much more than i need when some of these children dont even have necessities. another amazing part has been our nightly bible studies. we have been studying through the book of philippians and each of us students have several verses to teach on. we have had many great discussions that have led very late and have given us great insight. thank you all for your prayers and encouragement. God bless you!
Katie Herrmann

THANK YOU FAMILY & FRIENDS FOR YOUR PRAYERS!!! Please continue to lift us up to the Father - for energy, for good attitudes, for stamina, for love for new kids and Dominican leaders, and for health (a few students are really struggling with intestinal issues).
It was a great day today at the second camp. This church is located in the country, whereas last weeks’ camp was in the middle of the city. This camp is much smaller - only about 150 young kids in the morning and 100 older kids in the afternoon. The church building is much smaller as well - so the kids have a lot of opportunities to be outside. They love to play wiffle ball, soccer, steal the bacon, and hand slap songs. I love to see the kids singing about Jesus. Today they learned about His birth. Please pray that MANY will make Him the King of their lives!
Judy Marley

Today was a tough day in many ways. My sister Leah had been in bed sick for two days. It is very tough to leave here, but I am comforted that Becca is taking care of her.
We had several struggles in our camp today communicating with our Dominican leaders, but it is always comforting that we have the same goal: to show the love of Christ to the children in the camp. This week has been very different and more challenging then the last, but it is very exciting and rewarding to do the work of Christ.
Ben Rutt

Wow... I honestly don’t know where to begin. This trip has been so much more than I expected, it is truly incredible. God is so present here! Although the lack of sleep is catching up with me, I still feel a sense of excitement when I wake up to begin a new day.
At the new camp, I have formed a special bond with a girl named Cielo. She is certainly a bundle of energy, and the only time I can rest when I’m with her is when she’s playing with my hair (which I don’t mind at all!). I was touched when today, she continued to offer me her candies that we gave the students during the lesson. She only had 10, but she would continuously ask me if I wanted a “dulce,” and wouldn’t stop until I took one. That is something that I have noticed of all the Dominicans - their selflessness. They just seem to have such willing hearts to serve, and their constant joy and energy is contagious, even on days when we’re most tired. I will miss our interaction once we return home, but I pray that I can take their outlook on life back home with me and share it with whoever I come in contact with.
-Sarah Jamieson

Well...all I can say is that this trip has been really life changing! It is so awesome to see all the little kids and all the dominicans! They all are so loving and kind. Many people have gotten sick and I pray that no one else will get sick on the trip. I don’t even know how to describe the feelings that I have for all of these people here! Although I miss all my family and friends, I am going to miss my family and friends that I have made here! I can see that our group has grown so much together in the past week and couple of days! In a last few words I just want to say that I miss my family very much and can’t wait to see you! (make sure your right outside the bus when we get off on sat. night cause i’ll be the first one off :-D)
Jul Gerlach

This is my 2nd time to DR and I’m having the time of my life! This place feels like home to me. I’m so sad our trip is almost over. God has been doing amazing things though our camps. He continues to show me how great of a God he is. This week has been nice because we don’t have as many kids. I feel like I can connect with the kids more and remember their faces from day to day. Although I’m loving it here I miss my family and will be excited to be back in the states. Thanks to everyone who has been keeping us in their prayers. continue to pray for the sick. See you soon.

Courtney Nice