The team spent the day putting finishing touches on the set panels and welding frames for the platforms. The decision was made to forego our “day off” and to return to the work site on Saturday. It’s our hope that by the end of the day, we’ll have all the sets in place so the ministry leaders can see them assembled when they come for pick-up. Each day, our team has been doing group devotionals. Today, we were touched by the story of the writers father who was a missionary, building more than 150 churches in his community. The writer shared that his fathers dying words to him were to “win one more for Jesus”. We are honored to have the opportunity to provide ministry tools that we know will be used by the churches to do just that - win one more for Jesus!

The past few days can be summed up in a few words: awesome teamwork and amazing effort & ingenuity. And today, at the end of our 12 hours at the job site while there’s still much to do to finish the platforms, the panels of the sets that really give them the WOW factor are nearly complete. Even the flat tire on the van being used to transport the team worked in our favor as it gave us more time at the job site. The best part has been seeing the children get more excited as the sets’ appearances are coming into focus. So at the end of the day, we are tired but it’s a good tired. (those of you who have served on mission teams know what we’re talkin’ about, right?) We are all well and send their greetings to family & friends at home!

Thank you all for being patient with the blog. We have been having technical difficulties.

January 15, Day 1:
The team was dedicated during the first service then were off to the airport. Thanks to Christine & Mike for getting us there. After an event free day, the team arrived in Santiago. We were happy to be in the tropical weather and away from the cold in MD! After checking into the hotel, we had a brief planning meeting. The team’s mission is to create & construct sets for children’s ministry in four churches - two in Santiago and two in Santo Domingo - a mission that’s been in the works for many weeks. Many thanks to our imagineer and creative genius, Brian Tetter. His detailed plans gave the team their wings so we can fly through the building process!

January 16, Day 2:
After a great breakfast in the hotel restaraunt, we headed out for a morning of “shopping”. It took a few hours to purchase the lumber and other supplies that will be needed to create the sets. At the job site, we stopped for our morning devotions then it was game on with nothing but the sound of power tools and hammering throughout the afternoon. While the guys focused on frame construction, the ladies began the set decor. It was great reconnecting with old friends and neighbors in the surrounding community but especially the neighborhood children. At the end of the first day, everyone was amazed at the amount of work that was accomplished but better yet was the great teamwork. Once again, God has brought together the people needed for this unique mission.