January
This past month has been quite the adventure from a quick hospital visit to vacation in the mountains to a day of meet and greet with other ministries in the Dominican Republic to the beginning of a new semester.
In spite of how challenging it was to spend the holidays away from anything or anyone familiar, it did help to bond our team to one another as we spent many hours playing board games, eating dinner and getting to know our city a little bit better. (I've included a some pictures below from the past month.)
But, mostly, I wanted to share a short story with y'all about a student I've gotten to know this year.
Her name is R, and she's a student at UASD university here in Santo Domingo.
I had gotten to know this particular student over the past few months because she participated in the small biblical concepts study that I led. She, along with 4 other girls, would meet with me and my student co-leader once a week to do a short Bible study on basic aspects of the Christian faith (like assurance of salvation, repentance, the Holy Spirit, growth, the Bible, etc).
During one of the first studies, R shared about how she felt a spiritual emptiness inside even though she had grown up attending a local Catholic church. In spite of the many attempts we both made last semester, neither I nor R were able to get together to a greater length.
One cool thing that CRU does each winter is host a conference for all students and staff involved or interested in the ministry in the MidSouth region of the States. This past winter break, around 1,000 students and staff attended the conference, known as Encounter, to be refreshed in their faith over the holidays. A few weeks before the conference, our team was asked for pictures and prayers requests of specific students in Santo Domingo so that the students at Encounter might pray for them.
I sent in R's information and picture, and thought, well, Lord, I guess it's all up to you now.
My first day back on campus, I ran into R and asked if she'd like to get together that day and talk about her vacation. About two hours later, I was sitting with her at the library, listening as she shared about her break.
She began to tell me that at some point over the holidays, she realized that she was searching for something, spiritually. She wasn't really sure what it was or where to find it, but she thought that she'd try the Bible. She opened it to Isaiah, and not really understanding much, began reading all the same.
I asked her, then, if she still felt that same spiritual emptiness. She responded with a yes, so I told her plainly that the only person who could fill that void is Jesus Christ.
Praise the Lord that in that I was then able to share the Gospel with R and pray with her as she prayed to receive Jesus as her Savior and Lord!
I can't help but know that each of those moments that we couldn't meet last semester led to this small conversation last week; that each of those prayers for R by the students at Encounter moved mountains within both of our lives to make that moment a reality, a fact, a concrete event that could not be changed.
One small moment, one short conversation, one simple prayer, one life transformed- that, my friends, is the power of prayer. That is the power of the Holy Spirit of God.
It kind of reminded me of a small story of the apostle Phillip from the book of Acts-
xoxo,
kme
In spite of how challenging it was to spend the holidays away from anything or anyone familiar, it did help to bond our team to one another as we spent many hours playing board games, eating dinner and getting to know our city a little bit better. (I've included a some pictures below from the past month.)
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| Team + youth ministry at a local church |
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| Getting to know student and other ministries at Guavaberry |
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| During vacation in the mountain town of Jarabacoa |
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| It was cold! |
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| A picture of Santo Domingo from a university rooftop |
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| Picture from a national baseball game |
But, mostly, I wanted to share a short story with y'all about a student I've gotten to know this year.
Her name is R, and she's a student at UASD university here in Santo Domingo.
I had gotten to know this particular student over the past few months because she participated in the small biblical concepts study that I led. She, along with 4 other girls, would meet with me and my student co-leader once a week to do a short Bible study on basic aspects of the Christian faith (like assurance of salvation, repentance, the Holy Spirit, growth, the Bible, etc).
During one of the first studies, R shared about how she felt a spiritual emptiness inside even though she had grown up attending a local Catholic church. In spite of the many attempts we both made last semester, neither I nor R were able to get together to a greater length.
One cool thing that CRU does each winter is host a conference for all students and staff involved or interested in the ministry in the MidSouth region of the States. This past winter break, around 1,000 students and staff attended the conference, known as Encounter, to be refreshed in their faith over the holidays. A few weeks before the conference, our team was asked for pictures and prayers requests of specific students in Santo Domingo so that the students at Encounter might pray for them.
I sent in R's information and picture, and thought, well, Lord, I guess it's all up to you now.
My first day back on campus, I ran into R and asked if she'd like to get together that day and talk about her vacation. About two hours later, I was sitting with her at the library, listening as she shared about her break.
She began to tell me that at some point over the holidays, she realized that she was searching for something, spiritually. She wasn't really sure what it was or where to find it, but she thought that she'd try the Bible. She opened it to Isaiah, and not really understanding much, began reading all the same.
I asked her, then, if she still felt that same spiritual emptiness. She responded with a yes, so I told her plainly that the only person who could fill that void is Jesus Christ.
Praise the Lord that in that I was then able to share the Gospel with R and pray with her as she prayed to receive Jesus as her Savior and Lord!
I can't help but know that each of those moments that we couldn't meet last semester led to this small conversation last week; that each of those prayers for R by the students at Encounter moved mountains within both of our lives to make that moment a reality, a fact, a concrete event that could not be changed.
One small moment, one short conversation, one simple prayer, one life transformed- that, my friends, is the power of prayer. That is the power of the Holy Spirit of God.
It kind of reminded me of a small story of the apostle Phillip from the book of Acts-
Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of the Kandake (which means “queen of the Ethiopians”). This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the Book of Isaiah the prophet. The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.”Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet.“Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked.“How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. Acts 8:26-31
xoxo,
kme
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