Returning from the DR

Ask and I’ll give the nations to you. Oh Lord, that’s the cry of our hearts. Distant shores, and the islands will see your light, as it rises on us. Oh Lord, we ask for the nations!

Dear Friends and Family,

As my family and I enjoyed my first solo attempt at Dominican cooking the other day (rice, beans, chicken, fried potato patties, and hot chocolate), I was reminded again of how much I have been impacted by the last month that I was priviledged to spend in the beautiful country of the Dominican Republic. I have been back from the DR for nearly two weeks now, and I am writing this to you to thank you again SO very much for your prayers and support, your e-mails, and your financial help as well. This trip was certainly possible only through the grace of God and the way He used SO many people to help us get to the Dominican Republic, all of you who were praying, and all those who worked with us while we were there. It was truly a month of seeing God at work, in small simple ways of building relationships and just living life alongside others, so often in spite of our inadequacies.

Just to reassure you all, since my last e-mail left everyone
somewhat in suspense, we are all back and everyone is,
for the most part, fairly healthy now I believe. Continued
prayer for a couple girls who are still not feeling great would
be good, but praise the Lord for the ways he provided,
financially, and in health and time to rest. This was especially
clear in all the challenges we faced at the end of our trip, and
something that the Lord really used to ask me “are you really
willing to trust me? Who do you say that I am?”

Well, I have no idea how to begin to describe this last month,
and as my first attempt with pictures failed to actually send,
I am going to have to try to use words  Just as a review, our
main activities were spending the first week with my cousin Jessica and getting to explore and learn so much about the culture, history, and life in the DR from her. We then moved up to Los Higos, where our daily activities included cooking, cleaning, and living with our host families, teaching Kids Club (computers, English, piano and guitar) and several times each week, gardening with the children. We had Bible studies or church services in the evenings, and then went home to have supper with our families and spend time talking and playing cards.

It is hard to describe, though, the actual impact of the time that I was priviledged to spend with 9 other amazing girls in the DR, getting to know the missionaries from SI (Arlene, Andre, and many others), the children in club, and especially our families. By the grace of God, each person on our team, regardless of her Spanish ability, was able to build close bonds with the host families, in a way I never thought would be possible in only 3½ weeks there. The way I have been describing the trip to myself is that God opened up the heart of Los Higos to us, allowed us to learn, live, and grow with the community, and then as we left, allowed us each to take with us a piece of their community and love, and to leave behind part of our own hearts. As cheesy as this may sound, it is really what I feel has happened. As difficult as it was to leave the community, seeing how impacted they had been- through our companionship, desire to learn, and simply through the grace of God- I was encouraged simply to know that we were allowed to enter into this community, and to see a little piece of the way God is at work there. He began the work before us, it is He who draws people to Himself, and He will continue the work after us as well. I hope and pray that I will be able to return soon to Los Higos, as I know that my “Dominican family” is waiting there with an empty bed and open doors for us to come back. Most importantly though, no matter what happens, God has been at work- in our own lives, in our team, in your prayers, in our families (here, and in the DR), in our willingness to trust God to provide financially, in health, and in language, and the fact is, that He is not done! He is just as real in Los Higos right now, here in Spokane, and wherever you are, and He is the one who is faithful- always, no matter what. I pray that this will be an encouragement to each of you, and that you will know how incredibly awesome the Lord Almighty is.

May the grace of our Lord shine upon you, and thank you again, so very much, for all your prayers and support. Please continue to pray for the Dominican Republic, for Los Higos, for our team as they all return home, and for the families that impacted each of us so much. I would love to hear from all of you about what has happened in your life, and how I can be praying for you as well.

In Christ’s mighty name,
Erin Stearns