Stories

ABIDING IN HIM 

I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
(John 15:5 ESV)

Little did I know when the Lord led me to the theme “Abide” last summer just how important it would be for this school year– both for the mission trip and for me personally. I was excited by what I learned last summer from being in the DR and through reading the book Helping Without Hurting. I was grateful to see my growth as a leader and to, for the first time, try something new with how I trained the team each month leading up to the trip. I sensed that God would use this shift in focus to deepen both the team and the trip, and I eagerly anticipated how He would work. Besides, seeing as this was the fifth mission trip to the DR that I have led, I thought that it would be easy. We simply needed to focus on the heart of the mission, and all would be well.

Yeah, no.

From beginning to end, this year was full of frustrations and discouragements in trying to prepare for the trip. Whereas in the past the planning details have always gone smoothly overall, this year brought one “distraction” after another and another… culminating with losing all of the girls who had planned on going on this trip, leaving us with only four guys. In the past, our teams have averaged around 15 participants. What was going on?

“Laura, do you trust Me?”     

To be honest, I struggled to believe that this trip, my last with OCS, would be the trip I had dreamed would mark the end of my career in education. Some even questioned whether or not this trip should continue. 

But God.

As I have repeated many times since the trip began, He saw the end from the beginning and simply asked me to hold on to my Deep Hope: “Embrace the process and trust God in it.” And now I cannot imagine having missed this trip with this team. God was in every single detail– all along. On the morning of our first full day, the Lord was already answering some of my deepest prayers leading into the trip. By that afternoon, He was then giving answers to things that I had not even prayed for. And before the trip was even over, He had fully shown how mindful He is of us. I had carried abundant evidence of God's faithfulness in my life with me to the Dominican, but the way He revealed His goodness during this trip has left me overwhelmed and in complete awe of Him.                                          

“FIRST THINGS FIRST”  

One of the most important aspects of these mission trips has been how we start each day. Before breakfast, each person spends around 30 minutes in a time of pre-reflection that prepares each heart for the day’s devotional. After breakfast, for the first time in five mission trips, instead of dividing into separate groups, this year our team remained gathered around the table, joined by Dominican friends, as we opened God's Word together and dug into this year's theme. With “Abide” being the theme, the devotionals were all centered around the Fruit of the Spirit. However, the first day started with “Walk in step with the Spirit” (from Galatians 5:16 & 25), a phrase that then became the thread that ran throughout each day. But students were not only encouraged to see how the notion of “walking in step” allowed them to better see and exercise the Fruit; they were also challenged to “walk in step” with each activity and interaction beyond that table. The eager anticipation that I felt when thinking about the trip at the beginning of the year already gave way to abundant joy on the first morning, as we took our time and spent 1½ hours talking about walking in step with His Spirit. It was beautiful. 
 

WALKING IN STEP IN COMMUNITY  

With the distinctive nature of our team this year, Partners in Christ wanted to intentionally explore what future trips might look like with other schools, churches, and organizations. The goal every year has been to focus on our relationship with the Lord and with others, instead of merely on projects, but this year– thanks to the vision of PIC’s executive director, Sondra Dellaripa– we all began to see the beauty in bringing down a small group of young men. Because of the uniqueness of this group, after our morning team devotional, I went to work on tasks for the ministry that utilized my experience in education, while the guys headed to the church. There, they spent another 1 - 1½ hours with different pillars of the community, and because it was a group of only men, they could then be more transparent and go deeper with one another. As they worked through Patrick Morley's How God Makes Men, they explored how God shapes a man's character through surrender, hardship, and faithful obedience– themes that seemed remarkably fitting for this team. Ironically, what initially felt like one of the greatest disappointments in preparing for the trip became one of God's sweetest gifts. Had this year's team looked like every previous team, this opportunity simply would not have existed.
 

WALKING IN STEP IN SERVICE 

While the goal of the trip was to deepen our relationships with one another and with the Lord, part of the “rhythm” for this team– and the vision for future teams– was to learn what it means to walk in step with the Spirit in the ordinary rhythms of daily life: spend the entire morning centered on God’s Word and community, eat lunch together, enjoy the practice of siesta, and then help with whatever tasks were needed on the grounds of the school and of the church. This year the focus was mainly on scraping the walls surrounding the basketball court so that they could be primed and repainted, and then painting the walls of the church in preparation for graduation ceremonies (and then cleaning up the mess we had made– ha!). But our good friend, Mayki (pictured below), taught us the value of working hard while playing hard, as he was always singing and taking dance breaks, but he probably worked harder than all of us combined. So even in the midst of scraping, painting, and serving, we were continually reminded that when we are learning to walk in step with the Spirit, even ordinary work becomes worship.

WALKING IN STEP IN WORSHIP   

In addition to our devotional times, coming together as a community in worship is one of the more important aspects of being on mission. Due to the length and timing of our trip, we have the opportunity to worship together on Wednesday night, Saturday night, and Sunday morning. Wednesday night has always been impactful to me, because the service starts with openly sharing prayer requests and praise reports, and then the congregation breaks into small groups to pray for as long as necessary. The night then ends with a sermon. Saturday evenings are devoted to the youth group, which always includes worship and a message as well. However, this year they also had us participate in a variety of competitive games to test our Bible knowledge (it may have triggered a PTSD response from my childhood experiences– lol). One such game was called “Flour Wars,” where if you didn’t respond to the question before your opponent did, you had to faceplant into a plate of flour. Although these games did produce a bit of anxiety, they became an unexpected opportunity to walk in step with the Spirit by laying aside.   self-consciousness, embracing humility, and entering wholeheartedly into the joy of the community around us. One of the things I love most about this ministry is that worship is never confined to music. As we spent time praying, singing, studying Scripture, serving, and even laughing together, we were continually reminded that every part of life can become an act of worship when it is offered to the Lord.

 

WALKING IN STEP IN LOVE  

One of the most memorable parts of every trip is, without a doubt, the kids. I always tell our teams, “Prepare to be loved on like you have never experienced in your life”– and these Dominican children never disappoint. The endless piggy-back rides have become a staple of each trip; however, this year– as seemed fitting for this unique team– brought new games, like “steal the hat” and “raise the bench.” While these children face temptations and distractions just like children in the U.S., they continue to remind us that joy is often found not in having more, but in wholeheartedly embracing what is right in front of them. So every year, they remind me that one of God's greatest teachers is a child. The more I watch them demonstrate love, joy, peace– and all the rest of the Fruit– the more convinced I become that we adults learn to walk in step by doing as they do. They receive love. They give love. They trust easily. They forgive quickly. They delight freely. They don't worry about looking foolish. Jesus said, "Unless you become like little children" for a reason, and the older I get, the more my heart longs for that level of childlike innocence.          

WALKING IN STEP IN UNITY  

As I already mentioned, God saw the end from the beginning, and I cannot imagine 
having missed this trip with these specific people. The very day that we arrived, a couple 
of the Dominicans that I am close to, as well as Sondra, each commented separately on
how there was a peace about me that was undeniably evident. That’s when I knew it was
real– His fruit had taken genuine root in my life. I want to give all the glory to God, but I also
want to honor this team. From the moment they trickled into the airport at 2:45am on June 7th until the end, they exhibited the Fruit of the Spirit. And as soon as we stepped foot on familiar soil in Juan Tomás, I saw why it had to be this team and this way. It brought peace and calm, but also joy and lightheartedness. Not until I stepped foot in the Dominican again did I fully realize just how much my soul was craving the release I felt at the end of the night on the last day of school. I realized the joy of letting go and just enjoying life for what it is– a beautiful adventure that the Lord graciously gives to us. With a small team, I hadn’t fully envisioned how we would do everything together: study, play, eat, serve, dance, worship, explore, laugh (a lot!), sing, share… and BEHOLD. God is so good, and He is so mindful of us. Every detail of our lives is being orchestrated by a Perfect Father who loves us and takes us to extraordinary places. We may not always understand where He is leading, but that’s okay.   Part of “walking in step” is understanding that with the gentle, meticulous care of the Good Shepherd, we don’t always have to trust our circumstances.

We trust Him.

View our shared photo album HERE 
*Team pictures were taken by our 
Dominican friend, Dharling Cruz