Even though we didn't exactly sit on strangers, we got pretty close
on our Sunday morning here in the Dominican Republic. We started Sunday
morning with a quick breakfast before heading of to the English church
East in the east side of Santo Domingo. (In case you are curious, Santo
Domingo is divided into east and west sides by the Ozama River-both
sides are equal) On Sundays, many people need a ride to the East church
so we pack everyone in together like a big family. We had nine people in
the car-the record is fourteen :) While this may sound uncomfortable,
it is actually really fun and you get to know your fellow passengers
very well :) When we arrived, we helped set up with the other church
members. One of the singers in the worship bad was gone, so I got the
chance to sing with the worship band. Although the East church is
smaller than the west location, God is still at work and we enjoyed the
chance to come and join the service. On the way back, we stopped for
ice cream and all nine of us ate in the car while Bill drove :)
When we returned home, many people were at the apartment for lunch.
We had a great time of fellowship, just dance, and singing songs in
Spanish before we ate. Bethany and I made lots of new friends yesterday
and everyone has made us feel like a part of the family. As Peg would
say, "Dominicans love people before they even know them". She is
completely correct, and that was proven by our experience yesterday.
After lunch, everyone walked over to the church (2 blocks away) for
English lessons. We sat in on the intermediate English class taught by
John Hemmingway (a former intern from Texas who now lives here with his
wife Pamela). For the remaining time we are here, Bethany and I will be
teaching his English class. Hopefully, we can be as engaged and helpful
with the students as John is.
After English lessons,
church began. Both worship and the message were phenomenal. Everyone
sang together loudly and with so much joy to our Savior. At the end of
worship, the praise team did a special meringue dance to a worship song
for Nathan because it was his last Sunday here (we took him to the
airport this morning :( we will miss him soooo much!!). After worship,
Bill gave a message on Romans 12:1-8 where he challenged us to examine
our lives and carefully consider our actions because every move we make,
we make in the presence of the Holy Spirit. After the sermon, we again
walked back to the apartment and had a dinner together. Overall, it
was a very busy and rewarding day.
Today, we are relaxing and
recovering before we take off again tomorrow. Thank-you for reading
and continuing to pray for us!
-Emily
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