How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, your God reigns (Isaiah 52:7).
This verse was our mission team's focus for our trip to Consuelito, Dominican Republic. As we embarked on the Lord's mission in that small town, little did I know how beautiful the experience truly would be. The Dominicans received and even shared the good news of Jesus, and they humbly blessed us with peace and good tidings through their hospitality, kindness, and love. We went to share, care, love, and serve. Yet we were the ones who were blessed, loved, and learned much! This trip impacted me in many ways, and I'd like to share just a few of the things God taught me.
God taught me more about hospitality.
Dominicans have one of the best spirits of hospitality I’ve ever experienced. Without hesitation, our team was warmly welcomed into their communities and homes with hugs and kindness. We were just strangers on a mission coming into their space, yet they welcomed us with open arms. How often do we struggle to open our homes here in the States, even to those we are familiar with? Yet coffee and food were always readily served and shared with us in Consuelito.
God taught me more about humility.
Humility was beautifully displayed in Consuelito. Humility was dressed as an elderly woman who saw me using my shirt to clean off my phone, which I had just dropped in the mud. With meekness and gladness, this lady peacefully approached me and offered me her clean hair towel for my phone.
This simple yet extremely kind act of humility, hospitality, and love, reminded me of the story of Mary Magdalene drying Jesus’ feet with her hair.
As I watched this elderly woman cleaning my phone, it was such a spiritually charged experience that I broke into tears of gratitude and awe.
God taught me more about gratitude.
That moving experience with the elderly woman brings me to another thing I learned on this trip - gratitude! Just when I thought I couldn’t be more grateful, a cold shower proved me wrong! One might wonder how I could be grateful for a cold shower. Let’s just say that a cold running shower is much better than rinsing off with water bottles filled with even colder refrigerated water when the plumbing breaks in the middle of your shower. Yes, that happened!
Not only did my daily Dominican cold showers have running water (when the pipes didn't break), but they also had clean running water. This is more than what some Dominicans and many others have around the world. Needless to say, God showed me how grateful I should be when I returned home to the States, and I had hot, clean, running water for my showers, something I think a lot of us take for granted on a daily basis.
God taught me more about patience and flexibility.
Not only did those cold showers teach me more about gratitude, but they also taught me about patience and flexibility. When the pipes broke, I had to wait for my mission teammates to bring me water bottle after water bottle to rinse off in the middle of my shower.
Getting accustomed to a different daily schedule, different types of foods, and a different culture also taught me a lot about patience and flexibility. It was also essential to muster up a strong display of patience with the young children we held Vacation Bible School with each day. Not to mention, our patience and flexibility were stretched when eight of our ten mission team members got sick during the trip.
Our final test of patience and flexibility came when we missed our connecting flight from Chicago to Minneapolis due to our first flight's delay of over an hour. After running through the highly overcrowded O’Hare Airport and going through baggage, security, and customs, we missed our flight and spent the night in Chicago. On our taxi ride from the O’Hare Airport to a Chicago hotel, Pastor Dan (our Missions Pastor) shared the gospel with our taxi driver. What an amazing experience to witness!
Had we made our flight, that taxi driver would not have had that opportunity to hear about Jesus.
With no available flights to Minnesota the following day, we rented a suburban and ended our Dominican Republic mission trip with a road trip home. Running through the O’Hare International Airport and having an unexpected road trip home felt like we were in that classic 90's film, Home Alone. The only thing missing was John Candi and his polka band. Although, my son, Caleb, did step up as our road trip DJ!
Despite the challenges, each day of our trip was a blessing.
Each day of our trip, we held a Vacation Bible School for about 100 kids! Our time with the kids included a Creation Story skit, singing, dancing, and crafts. During our time in Consuelito, we also did construction work on their school and had the opportunity to pray with people and share the gospel while making home visits to deliver food. I was also privileged, honored, and blessed to formally share my faith testimony of God’s goodness throughout my life with the community.
You, too, can get involved in missions - near or far.
We are so grateful to those who diligently prayed for us and generously donated to help send us to the Dominican Republic. Sharing the hope of Jesus in that small Dominican community was only possible with support.
If you cannot physically hop on a plane to do mission work in a foreign field, you can still be a part of the Lord's Great Commission right where you are.
Find a missionary to pray for daily and consider partnering with them financially. Or, get involved with a local missions endeavor right here at Berean. We have a few opportunities coming up this summer:
- Family Tailgate Party (Help serve our Lakeville neighbors and make an impact in the Lakeville community.)
- Berean Kids VBS (Help children meet Jesus and learn to follow him.)
- School-A-Palooza (Impact the lives of kids and families who need back-to-school support.)
If you have the opportunity to go on a mission trip, too, I highly encourage you to take it. I genuinely believe it will change your life.
I never thought God would teach me such valuable lessons through 100 little children, a cold shower, a phone dropped in the mud, a missed flight, and an unexpected road trip home. But he did! And he can do that for you, too!
We have a couple of upcoming mission trip opportunities at Berean for you to pray about and consider:
- Uganda Women's Mission Trip | February 29 - March 12, 2024
- Dominican Republic Mission Trip | March 16 - 23, 2024
My son and I will join the trip to return to the Dominican Republic, and we'd love to see some of you there, too.
How will they hear unless we tell them?
Romans 10:14-15 says, "How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, 'How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!'”
Whether it's our neighbors, coworkers, those in our community, or those on the other side of the world, everyone deserves an opportunity to hear about Jesus. But how will they hear unless we tell them?
Pray about getting involved in outreach today!
Consider this local missions opportunity:
Did you know that Minnesota's second most diverse school district is right here in Burnsville? And it ranks fifteenth in the entire nation? God has brought the nations to our doorstep. We can reach the ends of the earth right here in our neighborhoods and be the hands and feet of Jesus to those who need assistance.
On August 19, 2023, Berean is hosting our third annual School-A-Palooza to help families with their back-to-school needs. By providing families with free backpacks, school supplies, clothes, shoes, and more, our prayer is that God will open the door to new connections, relationships, and opportunities to share hope through the good news of Jesus!
You can participate in this special day by donating items, donating financially, or signing up to serve! Click the graphic below for details.
