Much more to report! :)

Well hello again dear friends & family!

While I was in the back seat of the van today with my head sticking out of the window with the wind blowing in my hair, I thought about how much I love this country. Many of our people were able to experience prayer walking this morning. We all continue to learn about the gentle hearts and spirits of the Dominican people and their reaction to the gospel. We are happily welcomed into their homes, and pray with them as much as possible. The pictures in this blog show the true determination and skill of the men in our church who painted this home IN ONE DAY, transforming the plain wood to a hot pink!(The men did not choose the color!). The first day of our baseball & basketball camp went smoothly. Many children and teens participated and our ARBC crew kept the tempo despite the heat and little water. The soon to be famous Dominican artist Suzanne Berry was dropped off in the park to draw caricatures of the children and adults... and was almost forgotten until a van was sent to pick her back up! One of the joys of being on this trip has been the unification that we see in our church group and the bonding that takes place. Funny Story: A random stop by the police while Bill was driving led to the police wanting to get a closer look at Steve Runnels (apparently he resembles a WANTED Haitian!). Ah, many a good laugh has been shared as we grow closer to each other and the Lord. Good news- more translators arrived today! We rejoice in other peoples' ability to speak Spanish against our broken spanish/texan lingo. "Its Como te llamas", not "Kooomow Tea Ya-masss"! I try my best to get a report from each team, but be sure to ask more members when we return how their experiences were. New news- The "buisnessman group" from our church(A.C. Blair, Warren Matlock, Andy Bunn & Jim Clark) are going to make breakfast for the firemen tomorrow. Tomorrow night all of the married couples in our group are attending a couples banquet with members of Pastor Franklin's church, and we shall continue all of our activities/camps with the community to witness. I also hope to get the chance to ride on the back of the motorcycle through Barahona again! (Gina Runnles & I were offered a ride, who would resist ;] ). Many blessings are received and prayers are answered each day even when we are unsure of how God will provide, he has yet to prove otherwise. We serve a mighty God who calls us ALL to missions. May everyone be able to be an ambassador of Christ everywhere. We learned in our devotional today some tales of the martyrs and their compelling faith to follow Christ to the death. May we pray for the boldness to do so! For those of you reading this, I encourage you to stop. Look at your car, look at the food on your table, look at your full belly, look at your home- then look inside your heart. If Christ is not in the center, all you have is lost. The people of the Dominican Republic do not have much by our standards, without our salvation we all are empty handed.

*Our group sent a note in a bottle to you in hopes that it reaches Texas.... Not really but we do love and miss you all!!! =]

Alright folks, here it is, the moment you have all been waiting for... The Spanish phrase of the day- Me gusta comida (I like food)..... Might I add that the food here is muy bueno (very good), me gusta mucho pollo (I like chicken very much, this is also a free lunch invitation ;]!)

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