Pea Ridge Baptist Church

This blog entry was written by Sarah Whitt on behalf of the entire team…

On Thursday morning, we rode out to another sugar cane village. We hadn’t planned on doing another VBS, but we had the opportunity and the materials. On the way, we picked up some kids who needed a ride to the church. When we arrived, we walked around the village gathering kids to bring to VBS. Some of the mothers washed their children’s faces, fixed their hair, and changed their clothes, before they sent them off to church. That was interesting, since no one had done that at the villages we had been to earlier. The kids especially enjoyed a game that we played with a parachute and beach balls.

The following blog entry was written by Carla Whitt on behalf of the entire team…

While here in the Dominican, we have spent a considerable amount of time interacting with Gary and Alli Hale. They are from Huntington and pastor a church here. We attended church services on Saturday and Sunday, then helped passed our information about their new Christian school that will open in August.

Today, we toured the school. They are at 20% enrollment right now and need your prayers to obtain teachers, administrators, students, and to get the building ready. Next, we watched part of a baseball game that their team was playing. Their baseball ministry includes boys from ages 7 to 16. Then, we rode via bus (We’ve spent a lot of time on buses this week in chaotic driving conditions – Praise God for His protection for us thus far!) to 50+ acres of debt-free property where Gary and Alli intend to fulfill the vision God has given them. The campus will be home to a field for their baseball ministry, of course (We are in the Dominican after all.), a school, a university, and a rescue home for girls among other things.

Later, the boys went out to do basketball ministry where they had the opportunity to share the gospel. It was really hot and Paul was so tired that he cannot even remember what he said. We are thankful that the Holy Spirit filled in his “gaps” this evening.

Meanwhile, the girls went to the dress shop where Alli explained this branch of their women’s ministry. Evidently, the Dominican women LOVE to dress up so the renting of formal dresses is quite profitable. They have lots of formal dresses that have been donated; in fact, we brought a suitcase full of dresses down with us. They rent the dresses and use the profits to rescue girls and women from things like sex slavery. For example, girls are led to believe that they are going to different countries to be maids and are enslaved instead.

It was inspiring to learn about their ministries and see their heart for the Lord’s work. Their ministries are so practical and have such a direct, profound affect on people’s lives.