Some Words from our Seniors

This week has been fabulous! We have experienced God’s love in so many ways. The students having been sharing every evening what God has shown them throughout our different ministry opportunities. We have six seniors this trip and they would like to share with you.

I really love the culture in the Dominican. The people here are so independent but at the same time, share everything with each other. In America, we have so many privileges that are taken for granted; things like food, education, and wealth. Dominicans have no money, scarcely can afford education for their children, only eat when they can, and are the happiest people I have ever seen. It’s silly to think that our own nation, founded on Judeo Christian principles, has less hope, happiness, and independence than a third-world country, but it’s true.
-Britton J. Medley







This week has been a life changing and thought provoking week for me. I have made a ton of new friends, strengthened old friendships, and learned so much about God. There are two things that happened to me this week that have changed my perspective on a lot of things. First, we visited a huge school. We did our lessons, etc. but I remember turning and looking outside and seeing these little kids standing on the other side of the concrete walls trying to listen to our lesson. These kids want to go to school and they can’t. Why? One reason is because they don’t have a uniform. Do you want to know how much that costs? Approximately $10 to $15 and we get to go to school for free.

The second thing is when we went to the girl’s orphanage. It was opened by one woman who had a calling from God. I remember going there thinking how sad the girls should have been, but instead they were happy. I was amazed. Instead of us helping them, they took our nail polish and paints and brushes and treated us like giant Barbie dolls. They had the time of their lives. I realized then that real beauty isn’t in a photo or sunset but in a child’s smile, one that is truly happy.
-Ashley Daniul 

My highlight this week was in LaYeugada. I met five sisters Marisol, Mariana, Daniella, JoanDe, and Rapheala. These girls took me to their house and my mom shared the gospel with their mom. The mom whispered in my ear “You are welcome here any time and if you need anything please ask we would love to help.” This family has nothing and was more concerned with my well being. It brought me to tears. -Emily Major

Through this mission trip I have sensed a common theme, God can work miracles through one faithful follower. We went to an orphanage that was run by one middle aged woman who felt led by God to care for the needy girls. Through her faithfulness she now has her own facility that cares for 34 girls. Later that day we visited the Emmanuel House which is run by a woman name Mirqueya, she grew up in poverty and went on to become a teacher. She grew up in, Quisqueya, the same village that Alfonso Soriano came from. She saw a need for a school to educate the extremely poor and disabled. Through her faithfulness, she too has a fairly new building that currently teaches and feeds 152 kids daily. This trip has encouraged me to be faithful to God despite my circumstances and whether or not I am doing it alone.
–Ben Burtis

For me, the highlight of my week was going to the all girl orphanage. It was awesome to see how excited the girls were to have people willing to play beauty shop with them. All they wanted to do was paint our nails and do our hair and it was great to let them do that for us. I also loved seeing how willing the guys were to have their nails painted and do what the little girls wanted. It brought us together as a group and really showed how simple acts of kindness can be.
–Nicole Watterud 


 We did so many great things this week in the Dominican Republic that it would be impossible to choose one thing that was my favorite. One of the best however was the experience of going to the girls’ orphanage. We went there in order to show them the love of Christ yet they showed us God’s love just as well if not better than we did. My time at the orphanage was split exactly into three activities. Almost immediately after stepping off the bus, I encountered a small girl who motioned to be picked up. She then proceeded to lead me all over the yard, pointing and naming things; talking for the sake of speaking. For example, window, Jessica, go over there, puppy, kitchen. But she was so happy. When she finally got tired and wanted to sit in the shade, her “sister” decided to paint on me with nail polish. This triggered a reaction in some teenage girls. They came up to me “levantos sus manos” we need to wash your hands. Those girls used valuable polish remover to clean my hands off in their home. With a girl on each side and one in front of me, the girls I came to take care of provided for me. If that does not exemplify a servant’s heart, nothing does.

Finally, they sang for us right before we left. The girls have beautiful voices and while they sang they came out into the audience and hugged us all. These girls have been taken in because they have been orphaned, abandoned, or abused. Some cannot go to school because of learning disabilities and others because legal records could put them back into abusive homes. Despite these struggles every single one of these girls loved on us as Christ loved them. My life has been nowhere near that, yet I do not show that kind of love to everyone I meet. These girls provide a valuable lesson on the strength and depth of God’s unfailing love.
–Caitlin Radziewski

We would like to say once again how much we appreciate all the prayer and support we have had from home in order to make this life-changing week a reality. Please continue to pray for each of us as we return to North Syracuse. We don’t want the lessons learned here to stay here. We want our lives to continue to impact our world and communities as we return home!
-Liz Sorber

Our Last Day of Ministry by Nick Rivers

So today was the last ministry day here in the beautiful Dominican Republic.

We started the day with packing 75 bags of food for the two villages we have been involved with through this week. Each bag was filled with sardines, TP, rice, pasta, oatmeal, chocolate, soap, beans, salt, powdered juice, sugar, oil, corn mix, powdered milk, etc.



After we filled the bags we took a group picture, loaded up the buses, and took off to the first village, La Yeguada.




 Once we arrived we got out and waited for what seemed to be about 20 minutes until the kids came out and then went on to start a whiffle-ball game. During the game some of the adults started coming out and one man named Manuel came out and after telling him we were not going to play a big baseball game with the older guys, he joined the game and started pitching. The game lasted about hour or so; then we moved on to the small pavilion-type building where we did crafts and other ministries like the evanga-balls earlier in the week.

Once we all gathered Pastor Ceasar said a few words to the people in the village, and then Pastor Jake thanked the people for their hospitality in allowing us to come and witness to them.

After meeting Cesar’s wife, I helped set up chairs for the group for lunch time. After lunch we all went into the church where Jake thanked the people of the church for allowing us to be with them this week.

We had testimonies from Ashley, Greg, Taylor, Wyatt and Renee. Zaida, Cesar’s wife, and Nando, one of the members of his church gave their testimonies as well. After this, our food distribution was similar to the one at the last village. We gave out 25 bags of food, one for every family in the village, and each family had two teens pray for them as they handed out their bag of food.

After that, we had Josh and Marissa give their testimonies and when they had finished Ceasar started calling off the names of the people to come and take food bags. Now in this village we gave 50 bags away and the way it was done is a person from our group would take the bags and hand them to the people called and pray with that person before they left.

At the end of this process we began playing with the kids again. While this was happening Manuel came to a few of us and had us all sign his baseball cap and told us because of the impact we had there that we had strengthened his faith and we later found he had been saved for only a month.

Then it was time for all but one of us to load the busses for the trip to Los Altos. But I had the privilege to take a joy- ride with Pastor Cesear on the back of his motorcycle!


We finished our time in the village with some games for the little ones, and a baseball game for the older guys. Our baseball game ended quickly with a rainstorm.

When the girls returned to SCORE, many had a chance to return to Lily house to have some ladies braid their hair or give manicures before they returned home. 

 This day was just a blessing to be able to give and be very flexible because of a lot of open time to just keep building the villagers up. Please pray for us as we head home and looking forward to seeing you all when we get back.

Nick Rivers

A Hot (but Amazing) Day on the Streets of the D.R. by Janice Cooper

We have been blessed with another amazing day of ministry! God gave us a beautiful hot day to be able to get everything accomplished that Score has arranged for us. We are thankful every morning that God is holding off the rain so that we can do our ministry outdoors.

We loaded our buses at our regular time of 8:30 am and headed into the city of Santo Domingo to begin our morning of tract distribution. We entered into the old part of the city at Independence Park. Every member of our team was given a handful of tracts and off they went. For many of them this took them completely out of their comfort zone. As we walked through the street many of our team were surprised to see how quickly people accepted our literature. Most began to read it immediately! Those at the back of the group had the privilege of walking through the street and seeing so many people on either side reading about the love of Jesus.

One man that our teens spoke to asked if he could take extras with him to hand out at the prison and back in his village. There is no telling how much impact this morning’s activities will have for the kingdom of heaven.
We then did some sightseeing, having the opportunity to walk through Christopher Columbus’ fortress. We all put on soggy headphones that were pre-moistened by the group that went before us. Did I mention that it was 100 degrees today and FYI there was no air conditioning in the 14th century?!

We stopped at McDonalds for lunch and then on to the market for an hour of shopping. In case you were thinking it was any cooler there it was not!! The teens loved the chance to barter for their souvenirs.

We arrived home late afternoon and this gave most of our girls an opportunity to walk down to the Lily House and see first hand how this ministry works. We were overwhelmed with the favor that God has shown to Erica in her vision to get women off the street and free from prostitution. We were able to walk through the new facility located right across the street from where they live. This facility is used as a base from which they can work to earn money for themselves and their families. They were busy making jewelry and handbags today. Three women in the room had just received their first “clean” paycheck.  Praise God for this chance for a better life.

We then went upstairs (still under construction) to see the rooms that will be the future site of their bakery with café and their salon. This should be up and running by July! Our final stop was to the Lily House Residence where these women live with their children. The children are taught school during the day while their moms are across the street earning their income. The staff, the women and the children were all so friendly and beautiful inside and out. What a wonderful way to end our afternoon.

Tonight we participated in an Argentine BBQ prepared by the pastors of the villages that Score supports. We not only enjoyed an amazing meal but got to hear the testimonies of Pastor Greg and Pastor Joander! Another great God story of how in 2008 these men were saved as teens, discipled, and now are leaders of their own churches.

 

We as leaders are so proud of the testimonies of the teens that we hear every night about what God is teaching them!!! Pray that we finish strong tomorrow as we have our last visit to our villages. We are so thankful for your prayer support!

There's Nothing Quite Like Little Girls by Tony Panayil

Hello North Syracuse Baptist Church family.




We started today with our devos focused on John the Baptist and how he went before the One who was worthy. Our focus was to go and serve before the One who is worthy returns for His children.




 Our first stop was to “Fundacion Pasitos De Jesus” (Little Footprints of Jesus) which is an orphanage for girls from as young as one year till they are eighteen. Our hearts were set on serving those precious children, but God has been consistent in letting us know He has other plans for us.

 Our first encounter was to have these little bundles of joy run through the middle of our group and latch on to hands, arms, legs and hearts.

 We had brought nail polish and face paints to apply but had the tables turned and found that they wanted to serve us. We were doused with love by having manicures done. Yes, even some of our young men participated.

















To see the smiles and see those little girls eyes light up was epic. The ladies had the opportunity to have their hair braided. The girls said they loved doing it because they felt like they were playing with dolls.

 We were blessed to hear the testimony of the young lady who ran the orphanage. We again were blessed to hear the girls sing two songs. It was like listen to angels sing. On their second song, it spoke of “receiving hugs that God gives you, cherish the time you have with each other”. At that moment of the chorus they decided to challenge our hearts and our tear ducts, and bring us to a whimpering mess by hugging each and every one of us. We left there with softened hearts but knowing that those little girls were safe, clean, happy and were cared for by a women who loves Jesus and them.

We came back to the complex for lunch and were able to recharge our emotionally worked hearts and reflect on the experience God has blessed us with.

 We then went to “Emanuel House” which is a school for the poorest of the poor. There, they educate children from preschool to fifth grade. We were given a quick overview of the goal of this beacon in a poor city. Our evangelism teams were called upon to minister through music, puppets, and story telling. They did a phenomenal job. They have stepped up to the plate and hit home runs every time. The presence of the Holy Spirit has truly been palpable.





Then came time to interact and play with the children. There our hearts were stolen once again. There was so much love. I can’t speak for everyone else but I know if we get stuck here for a few more days I would love to spend it in either of these two places.







 We were so moved by today’s events. I am leery for what God has in store for us tomorrow for I know what He has already pleasantly surprised us with. I am looking forward to some amazing and rewarding experiences.


Tony Panayil

A Day in the Life of a Student Missionary by Bob and Lois Clark

A day of missions in the Dominican Republic might look like this.

It’s 6:00 am time and the rooster is crowing, must not of heard him @ 5:30. Time to get up. Personal devotions at the pool with a cup of coffee. Lots of journaling then group devos with your room. Breakfast then on the bus @8:30 with our ministry supplies. Lather up the sunscreen as its going to be hot and sunny instead of shoveling snow.



Arrive @ LaYaguada village and the little kids come from the village ready to get some loving. My friend I met the first day came to say hi. A four year old boy wearing the same shirt and boxer shorts from yesterday, no shoes but so happy that I came to play again.

 The older kids are done with school now 10:00am, so we begin our puppet show with music & explaining the wordless bracelet. Greg & Ashley talked about the characteristics of God. The arts & craft team did coloring sheets.

 Now it is time for some baseball. Baseball is an essential part of Dominican culture. If you want to be able to create a relationship with many of the men, it needs to happen on the baseball field. Our baseball field today has cows, cow patties, glass, tires, and other assorted items. Pastor Caesar has created many strong ties in the communities he is trying to reach through baseball. While some are playing baseball, others are playing games with the kids or painting nails and faces.

After we are done it is time for lunch and a question and answer period with Pastor Caesar. Pastor Caesar would like to use the country's love of baseball to reach it for Christ. So it is time to go to another village and do it all over again.

 

It now about 90 degrees and the sun is shining bright. The village we went to does not know we are coming. Shortly after we arrive the kids start showing up. By the time we are doing the craft (wordless bracelet) there are about 90 kids in a small brick structure.

Then it was time for baseball again. This time the team was warming up as we arrived. The competition is about to get harder.

 Dan Eager starts out for team Core with a double off the wall in left field. After that things did not go very well. They were very kind and let us score a few more runs.

We were a very hot, dirty, stinky mess as we arrived back to Score. Time to go jump in the pool, clothes and all. Time to catch up on some encouragement notes and then dinner. Group meeting with Score and other churches was a blessing. It was a wonderful choir of students singing praises to our Creator.

It's an hour before bed time & group games are played, others chilling with friends before we head in for the night. Tomorrow we start another day @ 6:00am.

We can feel your prayers and are grateful for them.

Bible Stories, Bracelets, Baseball and More by Kevin and Lisa Eager

Greetings to our family and friends!

Today was an adventure for sure! Due to yesterday’s numerous heavy rainstorms, our bus became stuck in the middle of a muddy road on our way to La Yeguada (Our first village)! Our translators asked us to exit the bus and try to push it out…so…we tried our best, but to no avail! So when they told us to go and sit on the side of the road at the edge of a sugar cane field, many sneakers were also lost in the mud pit!! While we waited for help to come along, Kevin (Mr. Eager) began to fashion new shoes out of the dried out sugar cane stalks and leaves! That helped! We decided that we would make the best out of the messy situation we were in, so we pulled out the arts & crafts bin, and started to use what resources we had to weave a towline! JK, April Fools!

This morning was sunny and beautiful, as we headed out to the first village (there were some muddy spots in the road, but our driver expertly navigated around them)! We arrived at La Yeguada and all of our students’ ministry teams were ready to get started! We had discussed our “plan” of how we would embrace the day, but as we are learning, God sometimes has a different agenda!

As it turns out, God’s plan worked! The teens did GREAT! They were all forced into being flexible, and they all rose to the occasion. The puppet team started our morning off, the music team followed up with some songs, then Elinore and Nick F. were able to teach a lesson about sin, how we are all sinners, and that we need someone to wipe our slate clean, so to speak. It was very powerful, and the adults were all very attentive as well!

 The Arts and Crafts team made “wordless” bracelets with the kids, and most of the adults wanted to make one too! Our evangelism team shared what each colored bead symbolized, and how it can be a reminder to them of what Jesus did for them. Lastly, we were able to reinforce that message using the “evangeball” (a baseball with the same colors on it).
 

 Then, a HUGE baseball game! This has been a great relationship building tool with the adult men in this village!

At lunch time, we left La Yeguada, and headed to los Altos (the 2nd village). Here we ate our lunches under a huge shady tree, and relaxed for a while. The girls/women began singing praise songs and hymns, while the boys/men watched our translators and Pastor Ceasar play dominos. It was a great time to renew and refresh ourselves, because we next headed to a school that allowed us to present the gospel through the puppets, bracelets, singing, teaching and the evangeball again!

 

We had over 100 students participate in these activities, and the principal of the school stood by with a HUGE smile on his face! It was a highly successful day to say the least! God is so good!

Thank you all so much for your prayers, and for supporting our team. This is truly a life changing trip, and we cannot wait to share pictures, videos, and more details of our experiences with you! Don’t forget to RSVP for the report luncheon on Sunday, April 14th.

With love, from the team, Lisa & Kevin Eager