Wow! God is good, all of the time God is good. We have officially been here in the Dominican Republic as a team for one week and it feels as if we belong here. The morning that we left, I prayed with my family in our family room and my prayer was for God to reveal His purpose for me on this trip. I had doubts until I got to the MSP airport. From there, I felt a peace that can only come from our Lord because he is the controller of EVERYTHING! God has taught me that he is the ultimate controller, regardless of where I am or what I am doing.

            The week began for me at Montaña with our first day of VBS. The kids at Montaña melted my heart. They were so easy to love and get along with. They varied in age from about age 2 to age 15. The first day, one girl named Dennis (pronounced Denise) found out that I was 20 years old and since then she attached herself to me because she is 15 years old. There were many kids that I connected with, but the one that I probably connected with the most was a boy named Gabrielle. He was trouble! But, Gabrielle was just a young boy that needed some love from Jesus and a few hugs and therefore we became great friends. The next site was El Salto, meaning waterfall. The kids there were also very cute, but seemed more independent and therefore I did not feel as much as a connection with them, but that was ok. There were many Dominicans from the New Life church that went with us to El Salto to help with the activities and the kids listened really well to them. So, I know that the kids in El Salto learned a lot and enjoyed themselves, even if I did not feel the connection as much as at Montaña, but God works through many people and those kids were there everyday before we were, filling the small church to the edges.

            I don’t think that I could have survived the week without the help of the Dominicans. They not only help translate at VBS for me all of the time(!) but they have been great friends and have helped me understand the culture more than if I were here without them. During our devotions, we have been reading Ephesians this week. A verse that has meant a lot to me this trip is Ephesians 4:4 (NLT), “We are all one body, we have the same Spirit, and we have all been called to the same glorious future”. This verse has reminded me of working alongside the Dominicans because we are all working through Christ, as He is the controller of everything and the author of the world. Thank goodness for a God that connects us with those around the world to spread the gospel!

            The week was great, but we are all getting tired. Today the beach was a great way to relax! The water was cool and beautiful and the sun was warm penetrating our well worn bodies from hard work during the week. God was working with our team even at the beach. Nancy Monsen and Rachel James were both baptized in the ocean today, a great declaration not only for our team, but all of those who were at the beach as well. To finish our beach day, we enjoyed American cuisine in Santiago at Pizza Hut! We ate so fast, we did’t know where all of that pizza went. Today was a great day to re-energize ourselves for the week ahead of more of God’s work.

            Thank you for your prayers, they are helping. We are all doing great here and pray the same for you. Our God is good and he takes care of us always. This trip has been great for me and I cannot wait to return home and share with you God’s work this next week and my pictures, but until then I will continue to enjoy God’s purpose for me here in the DR!

Emily Mannenbach