As amazing as it was to witness 222 youth pray to receive Christ, it has been equally amazing to witness the transformations among our Dominican brothers and sister on the team. J attended a Christian Sport's Association meeting this past Friday night where time was set aside to talk about the Nagua trip. Some of this time was to inform the other coaches/leaders about the camp, the work completed and overall how it went, but another time was spent with an "open floor" for whoever to speak about their experiences personally and how it has impacted them. Keka stood up first to talk about the opportunity she was granted to preach and I must say she was utterly thrilled (as J says, she was controlled but she looked like she was going to bust out of her skin). She was not only grateful for the opportunity granted to her to preach, but even more emotional about the fact that although she had prepared something specific for the day (and spent time prepping with Rafael), the Holy Spirit intervened and something completely different came out of her mouth! As she has said over and over, she cannot wait to have more opportunities here in Sosua and elsewhere to preach the Word of God!!
Gary also took the floor and told his story about being asked to give the devotional one morning. As he has stated several times, he was shocked to be asked by J as he had never done anything like this and did not feel he was "mature" enough as a Christian to lead one. However, J reminded him of the friend he had next to him (Luis Santos) who could help. Although Gary has only been a Christian for a short time, he has been working with AIM for many years and is one of our leaders amongst the coaches. It has been amazing to see the transformation in him just over a few weeks. He pointed out that before camp he would read his Bible occasionally, but since camp he has been reading everyday! Praise God!
Jhose also spoke about the impact the trip has had on him personally. Although he works for AIM part time, he also teaches/coaches in a school. He told us that he was sharing his experience with the kids in his classroom when after listening, they decided (on their own) they want to gather old clothing, shoes, sports equipment, basically anything they have and personally deliver it to some of the areas in Nagua. Although this is exciting in itself (and great to hear kids wanting to do something), it was even more exciting for Jhose and us to hear as these kids tend to be "poor me", "I don't have anything"... So to see and hear a change immediately in these children as they realize that although they may not have everything their heart desires, there are others out there who have less.
There are always so many stories to tell of how God is paving the path before the trip and how He works during the trip. But there are also so many important stories of what God is doing and how He is moving after a trip. His work didn't finish in Nagua on the last day of camp, but rather He was just getting started. The camp and 222 kids were the icing on the cake, and now we are cutting deep into the layers to see what happens when people simply share their story and experience. Just like the story I posted a week ago, tell your story (bear witness), tell of God's power and love, let others know what God has done for you because you never know who is listening and how it will impact them.
"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Acts 1:8
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