University Christian School - Student Missions

Mission Field

The senior class of 2010 traveled to Dominican Republic to serve for 5 days at orphanages and other locations with S.C.O.R.E. International.

Tuesday - March 9, 2010

Yesterday was a great day. We went to the Casa De Luz, an orphanage for handicapped children. The children there are severely handicapped and most are totally bedridden. Our students did an incredible job of ministering to them. Mrs. Ratliff had collected childrens books in spanish and they were a big hit with the orphans, the children loved the colorful pictures and simple games. Our seniors did not hesitate to roll up their sleeves and and get right into ministering to the orphans, they played with the children and walked them to the garden area and most of all gave alot of attention and affection to some kids who desperately needed it. The impact on our seniors was obvious some loaded the bus with tears in their eyes as they said goodbye to the orphans. On the way back to the hotel the seniors were already planning student led drives at UCS to aid the Casa De Luz.

After lunch at SCORE we were off to the straw market to buy souveniers, this was a real eye opening experience for our seniors. They had no idea how popular they would be with the merchants there. I think they will always appreciate a peaceful stroll through the mall now that they have seen how chaotic it is in other places in the world. However some of our kids proved to be very strong in their haggling abilities.

A 20 minute ride found us in the capitol city of Santa Domingo where we passed out hundreds of gospel tracts. We were all amazed at how the Dominicans responded to the literature, we did not see a single one thrown down and most people immediately read the tracts. We know that even though we can't speak their language we still can be used by God to get the gospel to them.

Taco salad was the main dish for dinner and afterwords we assembled for chapel with the SCORE missionaries. The service was very moving as we listened to Kiko share his testimony of how God delivered him from a Dominican street gang and called him to preach.

Game time followed chapel and my team of Jewon and JJ was defeated by Caleb, Jeff and Jelani in a game of take it like a man dodgeball, poolside.

We slept well and are now headed for some fun at the resort.

Keep us in your prayers. The seniors are doing great and I have never been any more proud of a UC group.

Wednesday - March 10, 2010

Today we went to the Barcelo Beach Resort and enjoyed every minute of it! The water was sparkling blue and the scenery was picture perfect. Several guys snorkeled and were amazed at the colorful fish and coral. We had snacks and drinks available to us all day at the beachside canteen and had a Dominican buffet at the beautiful Barcelo Restaurant. Brooke, Jessica, Jay, Caleb and Jefferson were pulled by a boat on a giant banana raft and were thrown off at least three times! We have to mention the serious beach volleyball tournament...the team made up of Tenisha, Frank, Sissy, JJ, Candace, Caleb and Milan won! While most of us were enjoying one another, Tanner and Travis were hitting on other Chicas!

We met together by the pool tonight and was challenged by "Uncle" John Wasdin. He spoke to us about letting Christ take control of the driver's seat in our lives and us taking the passenger seat. We also were encouraged to make God first and ourselves second. We ended the night with a huge prayer circle and it was cool to hear the seniors genuinely pray that God would use us and change our hearts.

Please keep us in your prayers tomorrow as we will be visiting the Sugarcane Village where the residents are seriously stricken with poverty. Tomorrow morning we will be purchasing groceries at the local store and will be handing out the food and tracts to the people of this village. We will have the opportunity to play with the children in the afternoon once they return from school. We pray that we can spread Jesus even with the language barrier.

This trip has already been a life changing experience. God is doing great things in the lives of these seniors..we are praying that we will ignite the rest of the student body as a result of this missions trip.

Thursday Evening, March 11, 2010

We woke up early this morning and left to go shopping for the people of one of the sugarcane villages. We went to a giant grocery store called Jumbo and we all took part in the shopping. Each of us took a basket and were instructed on what to purchase for the families. We each shopped for two families and spent eight dollars US per family. We hopped back on the bus and headed for the village. The poverty was even worse than we imagined. Homes were made of pieces of tin. The people of this particular village live on harvesting the sugarcane much like slaves or by selling items that they find at the huge island trash dump which is located nearby. The children began swarming the bus as soon as we drove up to their village. We walked around the village and handed out tickets for the food. They were instructed to meet us at the church where Pastor Frank and John Wasdin gave the gospel through an interpreter. The Dominicans led us in a couple of songs and also sang a special birthday song to Charmaine Lowe. At the end of the service, we handed out the bags of food to each family. Our hearts were touched by the sweet children of the village.

We went back to the Score headquarters for lunch which consisted of beans and rice, but how could we complain when we had just left a village of hungry people who were ecstatic about receiving beans and rice and will eat it for many meals? After lunch we went to another village where we planned to play outside games with the children. We pulled up to a small school house of which students from all ages were taught together in just two small classrooms. This was a public school and it was cool to see a picture of Jesus hanging on the outside wall of the school. (No separation of church and school!) The missionary asked if we could have an opportunity to play with the school children and the teacher was amazingly accommodating. There are so many children in these villages that the students have to be schooled in shifts. Jesus was shining through our class today..Milan and Travis were playing soccer with several kids; Je"Won was throwing the football with a few older guys; Gabbie, Crystal and Megan were drawing with sidewalk chalk with a group of girls; Caleb and Jefferson were letting the younger boys in the classroom jump all over them; Tenisha, Candace, Chelsea and Brooke taught and played the game, heads up seven up, with the children in the other classroom; Monekia, Charmaine and Ariana handed out candy to many very excited children and adults; Jessaka shared her testimony through an interpreter. Every senior was busy loving this village in the name of Jesus! Six children prayed to receive Christ today..that was the coolest part of it all!

Two of our classmates have told us that they feel a calling on their lives to the mission field as a result of this trip. As we look at the pictures that we have taken throughout the day, we are moved to tears for compassion for the Dominican people. Our hearts and lives are forever changed because we came on this trip.

Tomorrow, Friday, we are going to go white water rafting. The missionary told us that the rapids are really fast, so we are excited. It's going to be a three hour trip one-way, so pray for us.the driving here is crazy. It seems like stop signs, red lights and traffic flow is only a suggestion! The drivers don't ever follow the rules. We can't wait to get back to school to share our experiences and we hope that we can ignite the rest of the student body!