Hey guys, this past week in the DR has been a blast! I’ve had the opportunity to work with special ed kids these past two weeks. During school hours, I get to help in the classes. In the classes, I help the kids with writing and math. During recess, we played zombie tag and basketball. Then, after school was over, we painted the play structure and helped do work for the teachers. We then returned to the base after we were done at our site. I would usually change and either read or take a nap. Then we had dinner and a night activity. The best night activity was worship. That night, we had the opportunity to worship God in multiple ways. We could sit, pray, journal, draw, or wash each other’s feet. What impacted me on this trip was how to serve and love others better. Going to the special ed site showed me I can love others better. At the site, the way I was able to love the kids was to do things that they loved to do, and it made them happy. I can take this back to the building or wherever I go.
-Alex Martinez (Currenet Student)
Oh man!! The DR has been incredible! The colors, the sports, and the community all make up the warm culture here! I had the privilege to play Baseball with the kids and I discovered that they had more of an impact on me than I did on them.
The past two weeks have been so powerful. I witness the Lord break the barriers of language and move through the kids who played. Our site leaders, Dave and Samuel were so intentional with me and the other Joshua students. They asked the hard questions, they exposed what was buried deep, and they encouraged the spark that is inside.
One of the most important lessons that I learned was that God does not need me to fix problems, but He lets me be in the same room when it happens. It is an American idea that we believe that we must leave for two weeks and fix as many problems that we believe exist. But we miss the most crucial part, relationships.
The goal of our trip was to hang out with the kids and be exposed to the lives of missionaries abroad.
Overall, this trip has stretched me in ways that I never thought I would get to do! One year ago, I didn’t believe I would be in the Dominican Republic, sharing my faith and playing baseball with kids!
-Ethan Carpenter (Current Student)