We have arrived!

Our trip has gotten off to a tremendous start, and it is obvious that the Lord's hand is in this and His spirit is with us.  We all hate the Atlanta airport and the 2 hours or so that it takes to move a group this size with this much luggage through check-in and security.  However, God declared Himself even there, using the testimony and smiles of the group to speak His name.  One agent dismissed a very large extra baggage fee, another agent moved some of us (that had been delayed) to the head of the security line, and one agent weighed four boxes, then declared that "everything else is 50 lbs and the right size -- we don't need to weigh all these because they are supplies for the camp".  

 

Greatest of all, another Delta agent who admired our shirts praised the blessed name of Jesus out loud as the Savior who died on the cross for her sins.  This was in front of the few hundred people in the security line!  We hope that she still has her job today, but are praising the Lord that we still have the freedom to declare His name in public.   In our team prayer time on Thursday night,. we specifically prayed for God's stuff that we were carrying to the Dominican Republic and our time at the airport -- He can take care of his own!

 

Another praise is that when we got here, it appeared that very few suitcases had been opened by TSA -- and none of the camp supply boxes had been opened at all!   Additionally, Abel & Rebecca's musical instruments, recording equipment and computer and accessories were not bothered, nor were they charged any customs fees for the equipment -- another miracle!  We  are excited that with such a good start, God is going to bless tremendously this week.  We are more prepared at this point in time than we have ever been for a camp. 

 

We have spent Saturday in final preparations for classes, and will do visitation this (Saturday) afternoon.  Please pray that God is working on hearts even now, as the kids begin arriving Sunday afternoon, and the real work begins.  

 

In the blessed name of Christ, and in anticipation of great fruit,

 

Debbie, for the Dominican Mission Team.

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In the Air!

Thanks to 15 minutes of free wifi on the plane, we are blogging from somewhere over Florida. 

We think we made it out of the hotel and to the airport with all of our luggage (except for Levi’s pillow).  Checking in that many people and bags proved a little challenging, but it went okay except for a slight problem with Matthew’s ticket (they don’t allow babies to travel with one way tickets).

It took awhile to get through security, since there was a long line.  By the time most of the group was ready to go through, the De La Cruz family had gotten things settled with the ticket and were put in the fast lane to join us (thanks to David’s problem solving skills).  Most everything went through security okay – Abel left water in one disposable bottle (which was confiscated), and they didn’t know what a bread machine was (all the interesting things you get to carry when moving a family…)  We think we got everything after going through security – if not, it’s too late to get it now.

After riding the “plane train,” we made it to our gate – with just enough time to refill water bottles, stop by the restrooms, and purchase some lunch.  Our plane took off around 10:35 a.m. and we should be arriving in a few hours.

We received several comments and questions this morning because of our shirts – including the lady guiding people through security commenting loud enough for everyone around to hear, “Jesus is the one that died on Calvary for our sins.”  We can’t wait for opportunities this week to share that!

Lisa, for all the team

On Our Way!

After getting a late start to our trip (practicing being on Dominican time) we made it to our hotel this evening with lots of luggage in tow (all of our personal luggage, camp supplies, plus lots extra for four people who are moving back there).  The hotel gave us a meeting room to store all of our luggage in.  After checking weights and making sure everything was in a suitcase, we had a little time to relax in the pool and weight room (or just work on other stuff).  We closed our evening with everyone gathering in one room for prayer.

Tomorrow we get an early start, as we have to be downstairs for breakfast no later than 5:45 a.m.  Since many of us are tired already from packing, etc., it will probably come too soon.  After we eat we'll be loading up the shuttle and heading to the airport - quite an adventure in itself!