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by Mike Reed, Director of Student Ministries @ MBC Loudoun

This will be a 5 part recap of the Senior High Missions trip to the Dominican Republic

God blessed us again this year with a life changing mission trip. Here are just a few ways God worked….

We left the hotel early each day and headed out to our designated neighborhoods for each team. We spent a lot of time working in these neighborhoods where SCORE International (the Christian mission organization we partnered with) is planting churches. These are poor neighborhoods where our kids delivered food, cleaned up trash, and shared dramas and messages with the people living there. Our baseball team held clinics in these places and shared Christ. Our construction team worked in unbelievable heat to put in a huge covering to allow the children at the orphanage to play in the rain or the hot sun. They also did a huge makeover for an orphanage day care of 50 kids under the age of 9. There were no toys, food, refrigerator, stove, or hardly any books or things for the children to play with. After two days of work it was repainted, cleaned, the electricity was fixed, a TV/DVD player was mounted on the wall, and a brand new kitchen was put in, complete with appliances, so the kids can receive a meal there each day. The team also left additional funds for rent and food for six months after they left. It was an unbelievable thing to watch the adults and students give to and work in this place, and then see the daycare leader come back surprised. She was crying and praying. It was very moving; pretty hard not to get choked up.

On the final day, our students threw a surprise party for 32 kids from Jackie’s orphanage. It was so moving to see these disabled, abused (some physically, others emotionally or sexually) little children come into the hotel with balloons, cake, cookies, popcorn, pizza, and gifts for each of them with their names on it. Then Jackie and her husband, Ernesto, shared the story of how it all started and how faithful God had been. This was another tough time to hold back the tears. You would have been so encouraged by our students! What a blessing to see how God can use high school kids to make a difference for Christ.