Month 5: Ministry Mini-stories

Ministry here in the Dominican Republic consists of helping with English classes and partnering with local churches and pastors to visit community members. 

We’ve spent weeks in completely Haitian communities, and weeks in completely Dominican communities. 

Some weeks we’ve visited specifically chosen church members, and other weeks we kind of just wander and talk to anyone who will talk to us. 

We have a few talking points our ministry host has coached us to ask about, but for the most part we’re there to encourage the people with Biblical truth and share the gospel. 

Every conversation is different and they’re hard to plan for. We basically just get “prayed up” (in the words of my Costa Rican ministry host) and then let the Holy Spirit lead. My team has become adamant about praying for everyone conversation while it happens, so at least one person is typically removed, simply praying and listening to the Spirit. 

Some moments, that’s my favorite spot and exactly where the Lord leads me. But other times, He gives me the privilege and words to speak directly to His children, so here’s a few short stories of what those moments have looked like. 

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Mini 1: Jennifer 

 

On the last day, in the last afternoon that we were in this specific Dominican neighborhood, my team was led by the pastor to a house right next door to the church.  

We met a woman and her adult daughter and her daughter-in-law. 

We complimented their home as they pulled out chairs for each of us and set them in a circle on their patio. 

We started the conversation very simply. Where are you from? How long have you lived here? Do you like it here? What do you do for work? 

It wasn’t long before the daughter, Jennifer, started dropping small breadcrumbs about religion and church. Just like how we all make tiny comments about things we want people to ask us more about. My mind lights up at these moments, because it feels like a door has just been cracked opened to go beyond the human surface to get to matters of the heart and soul and eternity… you know, the good stuff.  

As she shared, she kept mentioning “the Christian church”. We asked her if she goes to church and she said sometimes she goes to the Catholic church down the road and sometimes she likes going to Christian churches. 

We asked about her relationship with Jesus and she shared that she prays often and likes when people share the gospel, but she mentioned that she hadn’t been to church in a long time. 

We asked if she considers herself a Christian. She said no, and all three of the women kind of chattered and giggled amongst themselves. 

Finally, our translator shared, “they’re Catholic.” 

 

I told my new friend that I didn’t know much about the Catholic church, so I had some questions. I asked Jennifer about the authority of the church, and about who gets the “final say”. She said Pope Francis. 

I told her that as a Christian, I simply follow the authority of Jesus, while Catholics follow the authority of the Pope. 

I asked her if she believes what the Bible says about all humans being sinners. She said yes. 

I then said, “doesn’t that mean Pope Francis is a sinner too?” 

She smiled and laughed and said, “I see what you mean.” 

At one point, I asked her if she believes in Heaven, and she said “yes of course.” I then asked her if she thinks she’ll be in Heaven when she dies. She said yes, because she’s a generally good person. I told her that, according to the Bible, good people don’t go to Heaven, but saved people do. 

By the end of our time with her and her family, my team got to share quite a bit about Jesus and the Bible and grace. We explained that we are saved by grace alone through faith alone, and that Jesus is the only one that can save. 

I got to share the gospel with her, and I emphasized the relationship God wants to have with His children. God has only ever wanted to be in relationship with His people. 

She told us she wasn’t ready to accept Jesus into her heart that day, but that she felt like she’s “in the process”. 

My teammate CiCi told her that we don’t have to get all fixed up to get to God. 

At the end of our conversation, I told her that if she ever had any questions, or whenever she was ready to accept Jesus, that the pastor would be right next door at the church. 

She smiled and thanked us.  

We prayed and gave hugs and said goodbye. 

I think I’ll see her in Heaven one day. 

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Mini 2: Tomás y María 

 

It was the first house we went in to on that Wednesday morning. 

I had shared on the bus with Madison that I had been feeling uneasy in the new Dominican community we were in this week. Nothing had happened, but I just didn’t feel 100% comfortable walking around in it yet. 

Our church leader led us to a dimly lit house on a quiet street with a husband, wife, and three small kids. 

They introduced themselves: Tomás and María. 

 

We made small talk for a little bit before we got to matters of faith. 

My teammate Ericka asked to hear their testimonies. 

Tomás lit up as he shared about the goodness of God in his life. He said over and over “la palabra de Dios dice” (the word of God says), as he quoted scripture from memory. 

His story and manner of speaking echoed those of the friends I made in Costa Rica, and my heart immediately was back in the jungle treehouse singing and praising and playing Uno flip and saying over and over “Dios es digno de todo” (God is worthy of everything). 

We asked a few more questions, shared a few words to encourage the family and prayed. 

We asked Tomás if he reads his Bible a lot, assuming so since he knew so much scripture from memory. He told us he actually doesn’t know how to read. 

 

After we prayed, I got teary eyed and told Tomás that I was more encouraged by him and his faith than I felt like we had been an encouragement to them. He teared up and began encouraging us more specifically at that point, telling us to continue sharing the gospel and the hope of Jesus with people. 

We said our goodbyes and I gave both Tomás and María hugs before we walked out the door, hopeful and excited about our reunion in heaven. 

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Mini 3: Twa Zanmi (“three friends”, in Creole) 

 

In this particular Haitian community, we were really looking for conversation with anyone who would spend their time with us. 

We had slowed our pace in front of a small tienda, before Pekat (one of our translators) gave the cue that we could talk with the three men sitting in front of the store. 

I walked up with two of my squad mates and we started with all the basic get-to-know-you questions. Soon enough, we got to topics of faith and community. 

We explained that God wants us to have a relationship with Him, not just simply visit Him at church on Sundays.  

My teammate Zach shared part of his testimony. 

Two of the men are fathers, so I got to explain that God calls us His sons and daughters, and He loves when we spend time and talk with him, just like they love when their own kids do the same to them. I pointed out that because God calls us His children, there’s nothing we could do to make Him love us any less, but that His love is simply unconditional. They smiled at that, as they probably thought of their own kids and how their own love never wavers. 

By the time we said “Amen”, one man was asking us exactly where to find the church and when meetings are, as well as confirming that it’s okay for him to wear jeans, since that’s the best he’s got. We told him the Bible says to come as we are. We also were able to help him download a Creole Bible onto his phone and encouraged him to start reading in John. We’d given a different guy, who had kind of just showed up and sat down, a Spanish New Testament when he expressed wanting to start reading the Bible for himself. And we had a whole audience of kids, watching and listening and observing the interaction, I don’t know what they were thinking but I pray that tiny seeds were planted for them that day. 

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These are just a few of the interactions of dozens we’ve had over the course of the month here in the DR. 

Not every conversation ends up being really deep and spiritual, but most everyone we’ve met is open to talk with us and friendly enough to invite us to sit with them for a while. We’ve shared the gospel I don’t even know how many times, we’ve seen several people accept Christ for the first time, and we’ve encouraged many believers and nonbelievers alike that God loves them and sees them. 

This ministry has been stretching, but it’s also been sweet. God is on the move and He’s so, so good. 

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Please pray: 

• for the continuation of gospel-centered conversations in these communities. 
• for the work of Mission of Hope to be impactful here on earth and in Heaven. 
• for our last few days of this month to be restful and restorative as we get ready to move countries and begin again the process of figuring out how to do life and ministry shoulder-to-shoulder.