Thank you supporters!

Dear friends and family,

As I reflect back over my year, I am so incredibly thankful and appreciative of you for your encouragement, support, and prayers during my stay in the Dominican Republic. I cannot express enough my deep gratitude to each of you for the ways in which God used you to make this trip possible. A lot of the details of my trip are posted on my blog (http://www.voiceinthedr.blogspot.com/) however here is a quick summary of the events that took place during my time there.

My first trip to the Dominican in January was with Meeting God in Missions and Whitefields. During the first month, most of my time was spent with the short term teams that came down. After the month of January, I shadowed and interviewed the sugarcane pastors that disciple the villagers in the sugarcane fields. Most of the information I collected was used for updating Whitefields’ website and supporters of the ministry. I was also able to help out in Café del Rey, which is a café in the heart of Hato Mayor that seeks to share the Gospel with customers.  This position involved customer service and roasting and bagging the coffee sold in the shop. I found myself involved in other activities such as running a children’s ministry on Sundays in one of the villages, helping weed out a garden for a potential garden ministry, and assisting local Dominicans in various activities. I was planning on staying several months, however the ministry only needed me for a short time which caused my return back to the States in March. Although this was incredibly confusing and unexpected, God had different plans.

After being home a couple months, I returned to the DR to a ministry called Hope Mission run by the Lykins family. I joined the family in their ministry in a local neighborhood called Brizas del Mar and was given the opportunity to go to the local orphanage and teach English. The ministry of the Lykin’s family is extremely Spirit-led and focuses on relationship. It was there that I was able to establish authentic community with Dominicans. I developed a deep relationship with a woman named DiNora and her family, and I watched God work powerfully in this relationship. I posted a story about her family on my blog. I truly believe they were a huge part of why God led me to the Dominican Republic in the first place.

While I was there, I was increasingly overwhelmed and humbled by God’s awareness of the details of our lives. Not only did I see His careful planning and care in my own life, but also His awareness of the needs of those around me. I understood more of His heart for the poor, powerless, and those crippled under the injustice of the world (Matthew 25). He desires for His name to be known by all people, and He will go to great lengths to share it. When we align ourselves with His kingdom purposes, it is there that we find true joy and discover more of His heart.

After returning home, I am even more certain of His call to continue to bring hope to the hopeless (Isaiah 58). I am incredibly thankful for the ways that I experienced Him and the ways that He allowed me to take part in the kingdom work He was orchestrating in the Dominican Republic. He used this time to shape me, sharpen my focus, and lead me in ministry here in the United States with high school students and working with underprivileged children. Thank you for responding to Him and supporting me in this journey. May 2015 be a fruitful year for you and filled with the love and peace of Christ.

In Christ,

Kelly Mook