For the last few weeks, I have been looking for an opportunity to be able to sit down and write an update, but each time either the power was out (the last few weeks have been particularly bad with power outages here) or something else happened that kept me from being able to do so. I’m not sure if that was God giving me more time to process what to write, if it was Satan trying to get in the way, or if it was just a string of bad luck and bad timing. Whatever the case may be, today I was able to sit down and write about what has easily been one of the most significant and powerful weeks of ministry I have been a part of since I moved to the DR nearly three years ago!

Last month a team of teenagers and their youth ministry leaders from Northeast Christian Church in Louisville, KY, was here from June 23 to 30, and it was an amazing week! The team had a few challenges to overcome from the start when they arrived but their luggage did not – not one bag – they only had what they had carried onto the plane – and their luggage did not get here until June 26 – halfway through their trip! Thankfully, the ministry was able to provide them with clothes and some necessary items from the donations earlier teams had left, and they handled the whole situation with grace and good spirits that were encouraging and humbling to witness!

Thanks to the strong leadership of the team, their focus immediately became trusting in God to take care of getting their luggage to them according to His timing and being available for ministry throughout their entire time here, regardless of the circumstances – this was one of the most important qualities of this team for us and something that taught us lessons in walking humbly and loving kindness that we will not forget, just as we will not forget them.

The team’s ministry focus for the week was a Drama Camp in Los Guandules – a very poor area of Santiago where GO has built a church and a nutrition center. The week before the team arrived, the community had suffered a terrible mudslide that destroyed 70 homes. Luckily no one was injured or killed, but the devastation to the community is clear just a few houses down from where the church stands. The houses affected by the mudslide lay piled on top of one another down what was once the top of a hill overlooking the nearby river. We shared this with the team and took them to see the area, and then encouraged them that this week of Drama Camp would be an incredible opportunity to share a positive experience with the youth of this community who so desperately needed God’s light and love to be poured into their lives.

And so a youth group from Louisville, KY, took on that challenge and poured themselves into a group of youth from Los Guandules in Santiago, and the results were an amazing week full of blessings, big and small, and the joy and hope that only Christ can bring into our lives!

This Drama Camp was similar in structure to the previous one we held in Hato del Yaque, and the students took classes in Voice and Movement, Stage Direction and Blocking, and Costume Design, but this time, mixed in with the 33 camp participants were team members who helped teach and also participated in the classes! The drama they worked on was different as well – the script for this camp came from the three “lost” parables – the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the prodigal son.

While the classes were going on, other team members were working with Amaury to build movable sets to be used in the drama that would be presented at the conclusion of the camp during the Sunday evening worship service. Building the sets was a new element for the Drama Camp as well, and it has been a dream of ours for a long time to be able to have sets of this type in the churches where the camps are held in order to strengthen the drama ministries that the camps are meant to “jump start.” Each set has two scenes painted on it – the center panels rotate so that the background can be quickly and easily changed during a production. Deciding to do this as a part of the camp was a step of faith, as all we had were the plans and materials but no actual experience putting them together. However, the team easily took on this challenge, and we were thrilled to find out that several of the team members were very artistic and they painted beautiful scenery! The results were better than we had imagined they would be!


































The camp itself went very smoothly, and our Drama Team members and the Northeast team members worked well together, supporting and encouraging one another and the students, and when it came time to present the drama during the church service, everything came together perfectly – we did not think it could get any better than this, but God was not finished with the group yet!

After the drama presentation, the team from Northeast left the service to do children’s ministry with the children in Los Guandules, and when the time was almost over, Amaury came in and told me that I may want to come in to the service or send the team leader in, because 12 of the Drama Camp participants and the father of one of our Drama Team members had come forward at the end of the service to accept Christ as their Savior!!!

After the drama presentation, the pastor, Rafelito, preached on the parable of the prodigal son, to build on the lesson that had been presented in the drama, and God’s message was clearly heard and accepted! Just when we thought everything was coming to an end, God showed us that He was just beginning His work! Please pray for those new believers in Los Guandules, as they are now in baptism classes with Rafelito and have also become a part of the church’s youth group!

Next weekend, August 1 – 2, we will be holding another Drama Camp – this time in Hoya del Caimito with our Drama Ministry team, and I am sure we will note the difference of not having the team from Northeast here with us. We learned many lessons from them, and hopefully, we will put those lessons to good use with this next camp. Please pray that all the details for the camp come together and that God will continue to use our ministry team and the camps to reach those in need of His light and love.

There are not words to express how grateful we are for your continued prayers, encouragement, and support!

With love in Christ,
Catherine and Amaury