Nehemiah 12:43-“And they offered
great sacrifices that day and rejoiced, for God had made them rejoice with
great joy; the women and children also rejoiced. And the joy of Jerusalem was
heard far away.” Humanity exists to worship, adore, and praise our Heavenly
Father. As we get glimpses of who God is and as we clearly see Him unfolding
His Kingdom here on earth, it results in our amazement and joy in Him. I pray
that this story results in much praise in our Heavenly Father whose
faithfulness, love, mercy, and compassion is far greater than we can ever begin
to comprehend.
In February when I was working with
the Whitefield ministry, I was bombarded right away with the intense physical need
around me. Love requires an action, and 1 John 3:16 challenged me to respond to
the needs of my brothers and sisters. I desired to help the Dominicans that I
knew in some way but honestly was quite unsure how. Handing them food and water
would help them for that moment, but what about the next day and the day after
that? How could I help without creating a dependency? As I lived more life
there and understood more of the culture, I realized their need for uniforms. I
came to the understanding that a child in the Dominican Republic cannot go to
school unless they can afford school uniforms and supplies. Due to the poverty
in this nation, many families cannot afford to send all of their kids to
school, thus leaving their unschooled children in the same economic situation
as their parents. Every child should have the opportunity to go to school. After
this realization, I was particularly led to start investigating this further. I
did not personally know a family that I could buy uniforms for, but I started
praying that the Lord would lead me with this idea if it was something He
wanted to be done. One day, near the end of February, three of us hopped on a
motorcycle to go to a nearby village to see if there were any children in need
of uniforms. On the way there, it started down- pouring, and we were all stuck
under a tree soggy and wet for a long while. We decided to return back home. Shortly after,
I left in March for the United States.
While I was home, I read some
missionary biographies that really convicted and challenged me as a follower of
Christ. I believe God used these biographies to refresh my perspective on what
He desires of us as His believers. God ultimately wants me to love Him and love
others. It awakened a new thirst and desire in me to love my neighbor and truly
listen to the needs of others. Shortly after this, I made the decision to go
back to the Dominican Republic with Marcos.
After making the decision to
return, the Lord reminded me of the need for school uniforms. I had a deep
sense that He had a particular family or person in mind that He wanted me to
encounter when I returned to the Dominican Republic. He wanted to provide for this
family in a particular way (specifically school uniforms) for the praise of His
glory. I started praying that if I heard Him correctly in this, He would
provide the money and resources to provide their needs. I fully believe that He
conformed my will to His, led me to pray specifically for this family and His
provision for them, and He knew it would overjoy my heart to watch Him respond.
One day, a friend of mine kept
coming to my mind. He is currently working in downtown Chicago through a
ministry called Inner City Impact. I was curious to hear how the ministry was
going. We started talking, and he asked me if I needed any more financial
support for my trip. He shared that he had some extra money that he wanted to
give to someone he knew and trusted. I immediately knew God was responding to
my prayer. I explained to him what I had been praying, and he became excited
with me and sent me even more money than what I was expecting. When I arrived
in the DR, I received another email from a couple I had met at MGM in January.
They also asked if they could support me financially. I had not advertised or
told people what I had been praying, and it was amazing to watch the Spirit
work. I had abundantly more money than I ever thought I would receive. After
watching God’s provision financially, I was confident He was going to lead me
to this particular family. I knew that He was already working in them, and He
wanted me to join Him in that ministry.
The next step was to be in constant
prayer for His guidance, leading, and clarity in regards to this money and
family. It is an amazing thing when we commit His work to Him rather than feeling
like we must control it. The Spirit is truly at work within us to lead us and
bring His work into fruition. I found myself grow anxious a couple times when
another week had gone by, and I still had not met them, but He continued to
remind my heart to trust Him. I knew, deep down, that He had led me this far,
and He would continue to lead me not for my name’s sake, but for His. He wanted
to reveal Himself to this family, and I was only His messenger. So then why
would He forsake me?
There was one particular morning
that I distinctly remember. I was extremely led during my morning time with the
Lord to pray that the Spirit would be leading both Marcos and I that day. I
sensed that we really needed to go walk in Brizas del Mar (the neighborhood we
did most of our ministry). I felt a little bit like Philip when the Spirit led
him down the desert road. I was not sure why I was going, but I knew God had a
wonderful plan and purpose in it. Later that morning, Marcos told me that he
was not being led in any specific way that morning, and I could decide where we
went. I told him that we needed to go walk in Brizas del Mar. So off we went.
As we were driving into the
neighborhood, I noticed a little boy walking down the road playing with an old
motorcycle tire. We parked our car in front of Hope Mission and got out of the
car. It didn’t take too long before we saw the little boy again. I told Marcos
that we should go follow and talk with him. After we caught up with him, to my
extreme disappointment, he was not interested in talking to us AT ALL. He
mumbled a few things and walked away. And there Marcos and I stood. I looked
around, and there was no one outside which is very unusual for the Dominican
Republic. I remember thinking, “Oh great, now what…”
About 30 seconds later, we heard an
“Hola!”, and a little eleven year old girl (Meliza) came out of her house and
invited us inside. I had a deep sense that this little girl and her family were
the reason the Spirit brought us out there that day, and now looking back, I
know for a fact they were the reason.
We entered the house and met the
family. Meliza lives with her grandma, DiNora, who is raising six grandchildren
all under the age of fifteen with the help of her older daughter. They live in
a tiny, pink shack with just enough room for a table, couch, and a couple beds.
Their house is very neat and organized and is decorated with DiNora’s prized
coffee mugs and stuffed animals. I could tell that their home was well taken
care of and greatly appreciated. I could sense immediately that they were
honorable, hard-working, mannerly, and courteous people. Compared to other
families I had visited in the DR, their poverty was not due to a lack of hard
work or an attitude of hopelessness, but rather due to the sad realities of a
fallen world.
After sitting down and introducing
ourselves, DiNora shared more about herself and her family. She mentioned how
valuable it was for her grandchildren to go to school. Last year they had gone
without eating for multiple days in order to afford school uniforms and
supplies. She, being genuinely concerned for her grandchildren, shared that she
did not have the resources to send all of them to school that year. My heart
leaped after she shared this burden of hers, and the Spirit confirmed in my
heart that this was the family He had chosen. I decided that I would continue
to pray for complete certainty and in the meantime, spend as much time getting
to know them as I could. Jumping on any opportunity to see them again, I asked
Meliza if I could come by and color with her at their house sometime the
upcoming week.
I colored with Meliza the following
week, and I continued visiting them every time I was out in Brizas del Mar. I
grew a deep love particularly for Meliza, who has such a gentle, quiet, and
helpful spirit that even I would like to resemble. A couple weeks later, a
short term team came, and we were out in Brizas del Mar for 5 consecutive days.
This week gave ample opportunity to spend time with them, especially the
younger grandchildren who came to the VBS every day.
The more time I spent with this
wonderful family, I not only realized the love that He gave me for them, but also
God’s immense love for them as well. I was in awe of God’s compassion and care
for them to be so attentive and aware of their needs and concerns. I had been
praying that this family and I, whoever they may be, would have a deep love for
one another that comes only through the Spirit’s power. And I saw Him answering
that prayer in profound ways with DiNora and her family.
I was completely positive that He
had planned for me to meet them. I spent a lot of time praying and discerning
what it was that God desired to say to them. He had gone to such great lengths
for this family, so what was it that He was longing to say to them? I knew
where DiNora stood spiritually. She had heard the Gospel before, and she seemed
indifferent to it. She shared that she had faith and prayed, but she was not
sure to whom. I understood that this provision was not about a kind gesture
from an American girl that decided to help. It was much greater than that. God was
powerfully working before I came, and He wanted to reveal Himself and His
character to this family. This was about God as the Father, the One who has
deep compassion for the poor. He pointed
me to 2 Corinthians 5:20 that says, “Therefore, we are ambassadors of Christ,
God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled
to God.” My humble position was only as a messenger to declare a precious
message.
With just about a week left, I
decided on a day to go over to share the message with them. When we (Marcos and
I) entered the house, only DiNora and her daughter were there. I immediately
knew there was something wrong because DiNora was curled up on her bed. She had
come down with the illness called Chikungunya, a painful disease that had been
spreading like wildfire in the Dominican Republic. Due to DiNora’s frail
condition already, the illness was especially crippling for her. She was in no
condition to have a serious conversation.
I left their house discouraged. Not
only was I burdened with her pain, but also the confusion of why God allowed
that to happen the day I was going to talk to her. He knew I was going there
that morning. What I forgot in that moment was that His plans are much better
than mine. What I didn’t know was that He was orchestrating small details.
The short term team that came down
that week had a medical clinic in Brizas del Mar. After leaving the house,
Marcos and I were able to get some medicine for her. Then one of her grandchildren
needed to see the doctor, so I sent word to the medical clinic that it was
important for this family to get into the clinic. Then Marcos found out that
her family had not eaten for a while, so I was able to bring them the food we
had left over from lunch that day. After running back and forth from our
mission base to their house, I eventually sat down in their house with the
whole family, and we just enjoyed each other’s presence. Meliza, (All Dominican
girls LOVE to do American’s hair) played with my hair for a while and
eventually, she got the whole family in on it. I ended up spending most of my
day with them. God allowed the delay in the conversation so that I could first show them the Gospel of grace and love, and then He would provide me the opportunity to share the Gospel with them in words. I told them I would be stopping in the next morning to share a
story with them.
The next morning, Marcos and I went
over to DiNora’s house to tell them about the money and uniforms. When I walked
in, the WHOLE family was there, unlike the previous morning when only DiNora
and her daughter were there (Talk about God’s perfect timing!). I read Psalm 139
to them and shared in depth how God had been orchestrating and leading me to
them. I cannot explain or convey what happened during these precious moments
with this family, but as Marcos puts it, we were swimming in the Spirit. God,
His Son, and His Holy Spirit were present in that tiny little hut that day. It
is shameful for Dominican women to cry in public, but as I was sharing what God
had done, DiNora keeled over on her chair and wept. She then stuttered, “You
don’t understand, this is a direct revelation of God. I now know that God is
real.” She shared that the morning Marcos and I were walking in Brizas del Mar
and met her family for the first time, she had prayed at 6 a.m., “God if you
are real, if you are really listening, I will trust you to provide our needs.”
Her needs, she shared with us, were specifically about the school uniforms for
her grandchildren. They all had a look of shock, amazement, and wonder on their
faces. This whole event was not conjured up by a mere human, but by a compassionate
and loving God who passionately desires for His name to be praised and exalted
(Psalm 67). His name was certainly adored, praised, exalted, and revered. DiNora
now knew that the God who gave His Son, Jesus Christ, was real. She saw the
Gospel of Grace.
Shortly after this encounter with
them, I came back to the United States. According
to those still in the DR that can keep in contact with DiNora, she talks and acts differently now. She has
deep wisdom and discernment. She reads her Bible and prays every day. What an
Almighty, compassionate, and captivating God we serve.
Vacation Bible School
The kiddos
DiNora and her family
Meliza
