We spent Monday to Friday at the university in Santo Domingo doing what we do here in Panama; sharing God's love with students. La Universidad Autonoma de Santo Domingo is the oldest university in Latin America. It was so cool to know that we were in the first country that Christopher Columbus came across (I love history haha!). The students in the Dominican blew me away! They were even more open than Panamanian students to hearing the gospel and so friendly and warm. I fall in love with the Dominican Republic and with its people. We saw lots of fruit that week, which was very encouraging to everyone, especially to the Dominican staff workers Prospero and Leyla. I will share more specific stories in my newsletter.
If there's anything that God reminded me of during this trip was that we can have our own expectations, we can have our own plans and agenda but at the end of the day God is God and can do whatever he wants, and that's just what he did! :) He blew me away with what he did on that campus in the Dominican! I don't think any of us were prepared to see the fruit that we saw and not only that but the Lord granted us favour with the administration too. A few people from our team met up with the Vice President of the University, which was not in our agendas at all, but God blessed us with this appointment and as result of it we were able to have a concert and a big party with more than 300 Dominican students in attendance both Wednesday and Thursday. It was incredible.
The verse that God continued to bring to my mind was the following:
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. Ephesians 3:20-21
I absolutely love these two verses because I have seen this over and over in my own life, how I'll have my own ideas but then God has had even better and bigger ideas and plans for my life. God did some beautiful things in my own heart during the trip as well. I experienced an overflowing of his love and joy all week that at times I thought my heart was going to explode! lol! I knew it was God loving people through me the whole time and his joy in me even during sickness and despite other challenges that came up is something that I will always be grateful for. I serve an awesome God and I pray to Him that I will never forget all the things I saw and experienced, but above all that I won't forget that he was behind everything.
The team before our flight to the Dominican Republic
The team after the big outreach event on Thursday.
Prospero and Leyla (the Dominican staff workers)
