2001 Missions Trip
to the Dominican Republic

July 2 - 10, 2001

On July 2nd, eighteen youth and adults from Central will be headed back to the Dominican Republic to minister to the people of Pimentel. A group from Central ministered in the same area last summer on a short-term mission trip. They returned so excited over seeing the hand of God working mightily in the area, that they wanted to return to the same area again.

Our team emailed updates from the Dominican Republic during the week they were there. We hope you checked in to see what was going on as you prayed them through the week. Now, check in a little later for their final reports and photos.

This year the team grew from 18 members to 44 members, representing six different churches from the Baltimore area (including 5 members from a Spanish-speaking church in the city), all working in conjunction with Youth For Christ. The trip has also grown from a 'youth' trip to a trip for all ages. For some families, parents will be joining their children to learn and serve together.

• Last year our main ministry was through Vacation Bible School. This year the majority of us will again be involved in running a VBS program for 500 children. That means "small groups" of 160 kids doing crafts, singing songs or playing games. We will present the lesson through skits each day to the entire group at the same time.

• Some team members will be involved in setting up a medical clinic to provide services to the community. This will provide opportunity to share Jesus with those who come to the clinic.

• Others will be working with some Dominicans to build more classrooms on the mission grounds for the school. There will also be the opportunity to perform some dramas in the villages that portray an aspect of God.

• During the evenings, a mini-pastors conference will give more training to the young pastors who have not had any seminary training. Sixty pastors are expected to attend, with the average age probably 19 or 20 years old.

God has brought together a diverse group with various ministry skills, all willing to be used by God in any way He desires. The team is excited to see what the God of the Universe has in store for them.

The Central team members are Marie B., Theresa B., Colleen C., Katie C., Celeste C., Allison D., Lori H., Teri H., Julie H., Erin M., Brandon P., Lauren R., Pam S., and the adult leaders are Rick Barnes, Ken Duncan, Bill Pitts, Marty and Linda Hansell.

Prayer requests for the trip are:

• Dominican hearts open to the Gospel
• safety and health
• patience and stamina
• joyful attitude outside our comfort zone
• flexibility to different culture
• open minds to God's work
• servant hearts
• effective communication in different language
• team unity with Americans and Dominicans

Your prayers for our trip July 2-10 are greatly appreciated. It is only God who can do a miracle through us on this trip.

Email Reports

Date: Tuesday, July 3rd, 2001
Checking In On Arrival:

We had a delayed flight but going through customs was a breeze. Only a few bags were checked and all was ok. It was a short night of sleep from 3 am to 6:30am, but we are all doing fine. We are ready for VBS, construction, some type of a basic medical clinic, and the pastors leadership conferences.

A walk through Pimentel was an eye opening experience with many children and adults along the way. God is at work in pimentel, we heard the testimony of Pastor Radhames. He explained God's calling him to this ministry. We are blessed to be called to serve God in this ministry.

Thank you for your prayers, we will keep in touch. love to all.
His servants
(schedule included)

Date: Thursday, July 5th, 2001

Hola to mommee, Dad, Kristin and shelley, hi! guess what? i'm still alive!! haha, no really, i'm having a great time, love you all. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SHELLEY!!!. Julie.

Hi Mom!! we're doing great! tell susan and carolin we said hi! marie has lost her camera, but that's ok, we'll just get doubles, we are having lots of fun and the kids are great, love you!! Rick, Theresa and Marie.

hi mom, casey, vicki and corin. we are better than wonderfull in this beautiful country. my birthday was awesome! you all were here in spirit. thanks for the card casey. God is definitely working in my life! thanks for all the prayers. love, Deanna B ( Diana)

hi lois and rebecca,
we built a 27 roof trusses for the new school. the 18 oz hammer works great but i went through 4 shirts. not much conversation with dr construction crew, but i enjoyed a long discussion during siesta with victor and albanjo using their littler english my littler spanish pantomime and my white board. i like that. allison was accompany the vbs in 3 shifts) in the building next to where we worked so we heard it all and even sang along sometimes. i slept very confortable in my hammock, so i gave allison the mattress that MIVA provided me. love, Ken.

Hi Mom Rebecca!
we miss you a lot, but we are having fun. we enjoy playing games with the the children, some that we teach them and some they teach us. we are also learning lots of new spanish words. please pray for God give us humble servants hearts. Love, allison

Date: Saturday, July 7th, 2001

Vacation Bible School
The four day vacation Bible School that we put on for 320 dominican kids, has been very successful. The children are bused to the compound MIVA in the morning by 1 bus and 2 trucks each vehicle takes 2 trips. The children are fed breakfast and start the day with singing and dancing to dominican music. Then a bible story is acted out for all the kids. After that the group of 320 is broken into3 different groups, one goes to games, another to music, and the last to crafts. They all rotate and then meet back together for questions that wrap up the lesson. This vacation bible school would not be possible without the help of the many dominican teens. They give the directions to the children and do the discipline. The children here refresh our spirits and teach us that we only need God to be truly satisfied. They wait very patiently in a single file line to be fed their meals and they are thankful for every bite they take. The entertainment for the children often consist of hand games, baseball (without gloves) and using a STICK as a bat, and activities that don't require equipment. We came on this mission trip to serve but the children have ministered to us in an unexplainable way.

- Teri Hansell

Greetings from the Dominican Republic!
This week many of the men have been involved with School Construction Project. We have enjoyed working with the dominicans men. The first day was a challenge because we had american ideas and methods that had not been used by the dominicans prior to our arrival. After both teams worked out the roof geometry, the work began. The first day the americans worked on one team and the dominicans had another team. As the week has progressed we have become one team. It is far better to work together - it is more fun AND the constuction produced a better finished project. One of the men is leaving an electrical saw and a complete tool boxfor the mission. This will make the work easier for the men in the future. We have been blessed by knowing that we are leaving something we have built - something of ourselves behind.

The "Leaders Conference" has been an exciting experience. Marty, Rob, and Rick have enjoyed the time of preparation and prayer leading up to the evening meetings. We are teaching on how God raises up ordinary men and woman to become His Leaders. We pray that these evening meetings will inspire the young pastors to meet the challenge and through God's grace and power lead His people to Christ. There is great need here. There is great Love Here. We Have been truly blessed by Living and working with the dominican people. God is doing great things. We rejoice that He has given us these days to serve Him . Now Off to Work!!

- Rick Barnes

We greatly thank all of you for your sacrificial prayers and we are praying for you as well, God Bless! Doing God's Work God's Way!

Date: July 12th, 2001

They're all back home now. No more emails, but you can read a trip summary report written by Linda Hansell. Hopefully we'll get a few photos added here soon too.