The class of 2014 arrived in the Dominican Republic on Monday for their class mission trip. Today started off with a wonderful breakfast at our resort, Barcela Capella at 7:30 a.m. Our taxi arrived to pick us up for a full day of ministry. We started the morning by visiting the city of San Pedro De Macoris, which is also called short stop city because of the great number of major league players that have come out of this tiny town. Jake Stoshak brought a huge suitcase full of baseball gloves, hats, bats, and jerseys that he had worn as an athlete growing up. The under privileged kids were overwhelmed by the gifts that Jake gave out. Next we went to a Jumbo grocery store to shop for an entire village. Each student grabbed a grocery cart and followed the Score missionary thru the store. They were able to purchase one weeks worth of groceries for 50 families. They loaded the bus and headed to Labalsa, the Haitian sugar cane village. These Haitians are hired by the government to plant and harvest sugar cane, making about 18 dollars per week. The UC students were so excited to get off the bus to play with the children of the village, while the Score missionary walked around from hut to hut handing out numbers for the families to receive their grocery bag. All of the families met in the center of the village. Lia Batista told them about Jesus and how He came to save them from their sin. She also told them that they were there in the name of Jesus. The seniors then made an assembly line to distribute the groceries. It was awesome to see our students handing out candy, coloring with the children, and playing with the children out of genuine love that flowed from their hearts. The class did not want to leave, but eventually they loaded back on the bus. Their next stop was at the Pacito de Jesus Girls Home, which means little step of Jesus. This ministry is the home to 45 girls who have either been abused, taken from unfit mothers, or abandoned. The founder of the home shared with our group that she prays over the girls daily and is determined to share with them that God has a plan and a purpose for their lives, while building their self worth. Our girls brought fingernail polish and enjoyed pampering the girls and ladies of the home. The first girl that came to live at the home was a little girl who had downs syndrome and had lost her mom because she had been electrocuted. Our students were told that today was the first day that she came out of the house and interacted with a group. Our group had a natural ability to connect with the girls. At the end of the visit, the girls sang to our group. It was an emotional moment as hugs were exchanged as they boarded the bus to go back to the resort. The night ended with a special time of reflection about how God had impacted our students lives as a result of the days ministry. All of the leaders have been impressed by the heart for service and selfless nature of our UC seniors.
Posted on: Wed, 12 Mar 2014 03:38:19 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015