Report for July 19, 2010
2010-07-19 - Janie for Drew Johnson
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Just heard from Drew - they are at the airport, about 15 minutes from boarding and all is well. As far as he knows, travel should go as planned!
Regarding the prayer stations last night, they had 27 stations and it went so well. Everyone learned so much about the value of prayer and Drew felt that it was very timely and well-received.
Please continue praying for safe, UN-eventful travel today.
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Report for July 18, 2010
2010-07-18 - Janie for Drew Johnson
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Drew called again this afternoon with today's ministry report.
This morning they went to the church service in the morning, worshiped, and then split up into different teams. Sara led a singles group (ages 15 to about 35 who are not married), teaching on the fruit of the Spirit and MaryBeth Hoffer and Max Turkbas shared their testimonies. Then after that, Kevin Schoen spoke to the adults, teaching from Ephesians. VBS was about Noah today. It was raining today - they still played some baseball - they lost 8 to 5 but still had fun.
They just finished dinner, and then they are going to have a prayer service. They plan to walk around to different prayer stations, learning and praying together. Drew will teach on the importance of prayer.
Drew ended the call by assuring us he will call to confirm that return travel is going according to plan tomorrow!
Everyone on the team greatly appreciates your faithful prayers!
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Report for July 16-17, 2010
2010-07-18 - Janie for Drew Johnson
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Hello, everyone - two things:
1. Drew did not get a chance to call in to report for Friday & Saturday until about 7am today.
2. I was out of town today and did NOT have access to a computer. This is the first opportunity I have had to transcribe Drew's report from this morning.
Here are the reports for Saturday and Friday, respectively.
First of all, sorry I haven't called over the past few days - it's been hard to remember to provide the updates!
Saturday was the beach day - really fun - very hot - went to the island by catamaran. It began to rain - the water was really warm and the rain was cool, so it was very refreshing. Took the speed boat back. Everyone had a great time - enjoyed some starfish sightings!
In the evening, played Carlos' kids in some basketball and volleyball. We lost 2 basketball games, won 1. Same stats for volleyball! It was a great and fun time to hang out and relax.
On Friday, they went to a village and had chinese food (fried chicken, french fries and fried rice!) Went to evening service - Drew spoke on the importance of obeying God. Carli and MaryBeth led worship. Went to Natasha's BD party - including BD cake. It was a very good time
Today they are going to the morning service and then playing a softball game at 2pm. In the evening service, Drew will be teaching about the power of prayer.
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Report for July 15, 2010
2010-07-15 - Janie for Drew Johnson
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I'm rather confident that Drew doesn't realize he didn't call in a report yesterday... sorry to all of you parents who are probably sad when we don't have something to report! I know Drew is doing his best to get information to me every evening.
Here's his report for today:
They spent the morning in Kilo 16 with VBS and evangelism, as well as construction. Kevin Schoen's team was the team that did VBS and they taught on Daniel in the Lions Den. The evengelism team had a really good morning, too. The house is coming along very well, with not much left to complete.
After lunch they went to Kilo 12 - perhaps an area where no other Woodridge teams have visited. They had an awesome time. Our students did very well and got along great with the local kids. The parents were very involved with all activities we conducted in this village. When they first set up for VBS, about 16 kids were there. It quickly grew to 30 and by the end of their time, about 45 kids were there! Drew & Patti's team taught on David & Goliath. Before they left, they played baseball and discovered that the local kids were impressive athletes!
Transportation didn't allow them to return to Kilo 16 for an evening service, so instead they are just hangin' out together and, in fact, Drew ended the call rather abruptly, as he was being called onto the volleyball court.
Thanks for praying! It sounds like they are doing great.
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Special Report: 1st Student Team (Delta) Returns Safely
2010-07-14 - Janie
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Just a quick note to thank everyone for praying for the Student Team's delayed return to MSP. Although quite late (3am) their flight from Atlanta was safe and uneventful and all bets are that every team member is soundly sleeping at this moment! Of course, because of the outstanding Student Ministries leadership (namely Matt & Annette) the team's extra day in Atlanta was made as enjoyable as possible. Events included breakfast at the Waffle House and an afternoon tour of the Coke-a-Cola factory!
Please continue to pray for these kids and leaders as they re-enter their lives here at home - for patience and grace and wisdom as they balance everything they have learned in the Dominican with their "normal" day to day living.
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Report for July 13, 2010 - ECHO (Team 2)
2010-07-13 - Janie for Drew Johnson
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Drew called just a few minutes ago with the following report:
After breakfast, they went to Kilo 16 and painted the house that the Delta Team built. They are almost done. Then they took a walking tour and the pastor shared about how much the church is growing - they are presently meeting outside because of space issues!
After lunch - PB & J sandwiches - they went to Guayabal to do VBS and they played a cool game and Randy Pate taught. Another team did evangelism. This team is a little bit shy - be praying for boldness - that God would speak through them.
Kevin & Grant Schoen (who had a passport issue yesterday and had to dely travel) will be arriving any moment. Andrew Taylor went to the airport to pick them up.
Tonight the service will be in Guayabal and Alyssa Overturf and Carli Daly will be giving their testimonies and Randy Pate will be speaking.
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SPECIAL UPDATE for Delta Team (returning to U.S.)
2010-07-13 - Janie for Matt Youngstrand
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This message came in at 12:30am our time - parents are already aware of a delayed return for this student group. Here are the details:
Everyone is just fine, but due to weather, the first leg of their return flight from the Dominican was delayed on route. They first flew the plane in a holding pattern but then determined there was not enough fuel to continue, so they had to land the plane in Florida (Matt was uncertain of the airport name) and wait out the storm. Because of customs restrictions, they were not able to disembark the aircraft and waited about 1 hr. 40 min. until it was safe to fly again. Once in Atlanta, they had missed their connecting flight. There is not another one until 9:50pm on Tuesday, which they are now all booked on.
Robert and Ben Bjork and Michele and Shelly were all able to leave on different flights/carriers, due to specific reasons. All remaining leaders and students are safely asleep and waiting together for the evening flight. Matt urged everyone to hold your calls until after 10am so everyone can rest.
Thank you for praying. Any updates will be reported right away.
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Report for July 12, 2010
2010-07-12 - Janie for Drew Johnson
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Just received word from Drew - the 2nd Student Ministry Missions Team (Team Echo) has arrived safely in the Dominican. They enjoyed a spaghetti dinner and they're just hanging out together. They are about to do circle time and then they will go to bed early so they can get a good start on their ministry day tomorrow. They plan to do VBS, evangelism and complete the house that Team Delta built.
Everyone is well and happy, just tired from the day's travel. Drew did not have a report on the return of the Delta Team - but hopefully, they are on time and had a safe return to the states.
Thanks for praying!
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Report for July 11, 2010
2010-07-12 - Janie for Drew Johnson
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Drew just now called with the following report from yesterday:
Sunday began as a typical ministry day, with morning Bible Study and then the church worship service. A very sad thing happened and was reported DURING the worship service - a local 27-year-old mother of two died from an illness that everyone had been praying she would be healed from. She actually passed away at her home, while the church service was going on. It was difficult news for everyone to process, including our team.
The decision was made to continue the ministry day as planned, which included a softball game (our kids lost 10/4) and the typical "last day on the field" events.
During the evening, there was discussion about canceling the evening worship service due to this young woman's death - they apparently do a reviewal and funeral right away - however, preparations were not complete so the evening service took place after all. The funeral took place after the church service, but our leaders decided not to have our American group attend the service (due to health concerns and respect for the family).
Although this put a slant on the day that was completely unexpected, the team finished their ministry well.
As of 9:00am our time today, the team is on its way to the airport - the beginning of their travel day going along without a hitch. Drew hopes to notify me when he hears that they are making their Atlanta connection and we'll post that update immediately!
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Report for July 10, 2010
2010-07-10 - Janie for Drew Johnson
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Today was their free day and they went to the beach! They got to enjoy a catamaran ride for a couple of hours to a national park island - hung out there for awhile. They also shared the adventure of opening and eating a coconut - Halle Marr was the one responsible for cracking opening the coconut! Steven Gibbs ate some coconut, Naja had some, Monica had a little. Katie LeNeave ate 3/4 of the coconut and discovered a passion and great love for the taste of fresh coconut. (I could hear laughter in the background during Drew's dramatic account of the coconut-eating episode!)
Jessie gave Drew some spray on sunscreen which was terrible (didn't work on Drew...) Ironically, Jessie has a golden brown tan (not fair.) Brian Sailor got a little sunburned (Brian thinks he looks great, though!); Matt Youngstrand got a little burned, too.
On the boat ride back, they saw some amazing starfish.
Tonight they are back at Carlos' and they are working on their affirmation books and they're playing card games, and enjoying the evening together.
Tomorrow they have church services and a softball game against Carlos' church.
Everyone is doing great - they're learning a lot and having a wonderful time.
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Report for July 9, 2010
2010-07-09 - Janie for Drew Johnson
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Friday night report: They had a great day - travelled for about 2.5 hours to a new village. They had a very good lunch fried chicken, french fries, fried rice, & coke-a-cola. Very Good!
Then they went to a Hatian Church Service - this community was almost destroyed at one point and it's cool because they translated from Hatian to Spanish to English to Spanish to Creole - Drew Donlin gave his testiomny - it was a "little too good" so he'll have to start preaching soon! Then Monica Wilson also gave her testimony about how God is moving in her life which was very moving for our community and the local community. Amazing how God tears down the language barriers.
Drew spoke in the evening (he said he did a really good job...hahaha.... a bunch of people were standing around - might have been the best message ever preached... smile ) He talked about how God is jealous and wants to have our whole heart. During the worship service, they sang a really funny song about how we have a lot of weight in our life about stress - the Hatians put Bibles on their heads to symbolize their weight.
Drove back and actually went to a Burgar King & got ice cream. It was a very cool day.
Tomorrow is their "free day" so we look forward to that report!
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Report for July 8, 2010
2010-07-09 - Janie for Drew Johnson
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This message came in at 7:30am today!
Yesterday they had a great day - taught VBS and did evengelism in Guayabal. many good conversations the students are getting very comfortable sharing and opening up and turning conversations to a spiritual subject and figuring out a rythmn as God gives them boldness and confidence to share their story with others. There have been a ton of good stories to share when they return. VBS went very well again - students are taking the time to prepare their lessons well and they love hanging out with the kids.
In the afternoon, one group went to Kilo 16 - half of that group went to minister to a pregnant women's group (12-15 year old girls, all living in the same house) They had met these women on their tour at the beginning of our trip and that's why they went back - many of the girls from our trip ministered to these young women. The rest of the group at Kilo 16 completed construction on the house they had begun in Kilo 16. It was fun to build the house and overcome the challenges associated with this project. We also sent a group to play soccer with the teenagers in Guayabal - an opportunity to share and do life together. (We lost, 6-4, but all is good!) A group of Dominican students from Carlos' church have served alongside our American kids in each of these areas - they've worked hard at breaking down language barriers and communicating so well together - it's been a good experience for our students to connect with these kids.
In the evening they returned to Kilo 16 for their evening worship service. There was no electricity, so they ran a rope to a tree, hung a lantern, and this was their light for the service. Some powerful testimonies were shared by Katie LeNeave and Tim Miller - they made use of a translator which was great. A young woman interning with Carlos from N. Carolina gave the message and it was very powerful. Our team members prayed for all those who came forward for prayer. An excellent day!
TODAY they are travelling to a village that's quite a distance away, a little different experience. We'll learn about that adventure on the next report! Thanks everyone, for praying!
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Full Report for July 7, 2010
2010-07-07 - Janie for Drew Johnson
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This came in about 9pm - Last night they had a service in Guayabal. Shelly and Taylor Marr led worship and it was excellent. Halle Marr and Brian Saylor shared their testimonies and they were so good that it really could have sufficed as the evening's message! Matt talked about the power of invitation and challenged people to invite people to a personal relationship wtih Jesus.
In the morning they went to Kilo 16 to do evangelism and VBS. In the afternoon the guys did construction at Kilo 16 and some of the women and a few men went to Guayabal and did small group with some women. After dinner, they played a great volleyball game... just kind of hung out.
Pray specifically about staying hydrated, they've been getting a little car sick and pray that some basic transportation issues would be overcome. These conditions are not overwhelming, but important to solve.
Things are going well - the trip is good - the team is united.
Thanks again for praying!
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Mini-Report for July 7, 2010
2010-07-07 - Janie
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Thanks for praying about the missing luggage - it was safely delivered to Drew Johnson and Alyssa Overturf late yesterday afternoon!
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Report for Tuesday, July 6, 2010
2010-07-06 - Janie for Drew Johnson
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Just received word at 4:45 DR time from Drew. They started the day with a tour of Guayabal and Kilo 16. It was cool to hear Carlos talk about the different communities and what God has done since he's been in partnership with Woodridge over the years. After lunch, they met up some DR youth, then split into teams to do evangelism and VBS - it was great to see the interaction between the students and the locals. It's been a great trip so far, for everyone! They will be attending a service in Guayabal again tonight.
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Report for Monday, July 5, 2010
2010-07-05 - Janie for Drew Johnson
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Just received the first report from Drew:
Travel was great - very smooth, no issues. They were greeted with the local people dressed in Dominican Republic Flag & hats with fruit on their heads. Very unusual and cool. Everyone except Drew and Alyssa Overturf received all of their luggage. It should be delivered tomorrow about 1:30pm, so pray that they have it soon!
Everyone is (naturally) very tired and ready to eat and settle into the evening and begin ministry tomorrow!
Thanks for praying.
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