God is opening doors!

Okay, so one of the coolest things happened this past week. I have always thought it would be sweet to bring the teams I coach to other cities to play. Well, thanks to the idea and pushing of my wonderful intern, we finally made it happen. So this past Wednesday we loaded up two trucks of people to head down to a nearby city called La Vega (about 30 min away). The boys baseball ministry site also was scheduled to play a game in the same facility as well, but thanks to the rain, theres was canceled which means their whole truck of guys came to cheer (I mean CHEER, for real, loudest cheering I've ever heard). We had two divisions, "infantil" and "juvenil". The infantil was the group of girls I work with (ages 11-14). Then I, Cristi (the greatest intern ever), and some other girls I have worked with in the past wer able to play with the juvenil. The infantil team won but our juvenil team lost. Here is a pic of our team from Jarabacoa (missing Cristi my intern)


However, that’s not the main thing I want to talk about. The best part of the day was that one of the Americans that was on this missions team was able to share her testimony with the entire gym. She had a powerful testimony of coming from an extremely broken home but offered hope of a father above who cares, even when her earthly father doesn't. Wow. So powerful and especially impactful in this culture. Soooo many kids here grow up without a father and personally I think that's why so many marry so young. They grow up longing for that love of a father. As they enter puberty and start getting attention from guys, they CLING on and move in with their boyfriends/ get pregnant.

Anyways, when I got up to expound on her testimony and the power of the love of our father, there were numerous girls crying as a response. Gloria a Dios! (Glory to God) Also, after the game, I was able to connect with the coach and many girls on the older team. First of all, I’ve MISSED good volleyball. I kinda thought when I came here, it meant giving up that part of my life. Well folks, NOT YET!!! This team from La Vega is incredible and they invited me to practice and play in games with them. So today, I went down to La Vega and practiced with the team. I sweated a ton, the coach yelled the entire time… and I LOVED IT! I also talked with the coach and he wants us to bring groups to play every other week now and share a message every time we come. Gosh, experiences like this get me so fired up! I’m so glad God can use our passions for his glory! God is sooo good!!! Below is a picture of all those that participated in our games.


Prayer Request: There have been numerous break-ins during the past month, often to American missionaries. Today at 11 o'clock during the DAY, someone tried to break into my house. My car wasn't in front so I think he thought I wasn't home. Anyways, I grabbed a knife and yelled at him and he left. But it still totally freaked me out and still worries me. Pray that God will just protect my house and more than anything, just give me a peace to not worry about the house.