Hola from the Dominican Republic!

It is hard to believe that after months of prayer and preparation we are actually here in the Dominican Republic. Over the next few days we will be updating the HOH Journal to keep you posted on the amazing things God is doing during our time here. While you may not be with us in person, we encourage you to come alongside us through prayer as we continue on this journey.

Upon our arrival on Saturday afternoon, we visited a local orphange where we spent time with children with special needs. Many of these children were abandoned at infancy, and this orphanage is their home. We had the honor to talk and play with them; people raced with them in wheelchairs, strolled the hallways enjoying their company and helped them eat their snacks.

A personal favorite moment was when we were blessed to hear the children sing songs. One young lady named Lydia truly melted our hearts. Lydia is young girl who is mentally handicapped who organized a group of members from our team to sit in a circle and taught us hand motions to a song as she praised the Lord. Her love for God, and sharing His love, was easily seen.

On Sunday morning, we had an amazing time together in praise and worship. We were reminded to use our talents, resources and time for the Lord. This could not have come at a better time as we prepared to visit and minister to families at a local children's hospital. We aren't doctors or nurses, but we can spend time with these children and show them Gods love through smiles, music, conversations and prayer.

At the hospital we partnered with a local church called Iglesia Bautista Internacional (IBI). In small teams of ten we visited various rooms with sick children and their families. The bilingual members of the church spoke a short message on Psalm 23, and closed in prayer. We then distributed gift packages, stuffed animals and bibles, and spent time with the children. One of our team members learned to play "piedra, papel, tijeras" - or as we call it rock, paper,scissors- and lost against an eleven year old girl named Mari-Lu. She says, "It was the best loss of my hand-gaming career." The time at the hospital ended with our team, nurses and even the families from the hospital singing worship songs in Spanish through the hallways. Yes, the hallways.

We are now back at the hotel about to sort and organize crafts that will be given to the 1500+ children we will meet this week through Vision Bible School (VBS). It is going to be a late night.

We will begin to post photos and personal testimonies from our trip tomorrow morning, so don't forget to check the HOH Journal throughout the week!

Also keep us in prayer as we go out to minister and begin our construction projects.

Que dios le bendiga (God Bless)!