Pea Ridge Baptist Church

This post written by Johnna Gaunch on behalf of the team…

What a beautiful (and HOT) Sunday morning! We gathered at the Baptist church in San Pedro for church this morning. We sang hymns, praise songs and heard a sermon from the pastor, Gary Hale. We sang along with the songs we recognized and clapped along with the songs we didn’t know. The image that I wish I could convey the most to you was when we were all singing “Shout to the Lord” together- different languages, but one spirit. After a quick lunch, we met back at the church and broke up into two groups. The adult ladies met with the pastor’s wife, Allison, to discuss the way the church reaches out to women in the community. They create and sell jewelry to help provide educational opportunities. Meanwhile, the youth broke up into groups of four and distributed information about the new church school, opening in the fall. We got a quick look at the Dominican equivalent of Walmart and a few of us got to experience a ride on a moped, the most common way to get around in the DR. Then, we came back to the hotel for a little rest! It was a long, but very good day.

One story I absolutely must tell- we met a woman this morning named Julie. She has been coming to church for about two years. She is a believer and has been praying, together with her church family, for her husband’s salvation. This morning she told us that he was going to meet with Miguel, one of the pastors, today. When we came back to church this evening, she told us that he had made a decision to follow Christ. She was so happy, she told us she cried all afternoon! What a privilege to be able to celebrate that with her. Our closing song for this evening’s service sums it up best… “I’m so glad I’m a part of the family of God”!

Julia and Dominque Rogers Family

No helmets!

Thanks for your faithful prayers!