Dominican Republic. My heart will be forever changed.
Thank you so much to each and every person that prayed for me and our team, donated items, purchased items from the Amazon wish list and donated money. The trip to the DR would not have been the same without you.
Satan was working overtime to keep me from going to the DR but God won the battle and I got on the plane, despite a sick baby, a last minute move, a new teenager in the family, and my friend forgetting that she was supposed to take me to the airport!
I got to the airport. Weighed my baggage. 50 pounds exactly---thank you Lord! Got through security and found Amber {that was worth the last 6 day in itself} and we started our journey to what would be one of the most rewarding things I have ever done in my entire life.
One of the first devotionals we heard was about how God has prepared us for this very moment. How God has worked out every single detail and taught us exactly what we would need to know for the week ahead of us! If you're reading this, you probably know most of the different circumstances I have been through in life so it won't surprise you that I had specific encounters with women struggling to get pregnant, an autistic child whose mom was so ashamed of her, a tiny premature baby with a brain injury had 2 seizures in my arms, and the list goes on. There is no doubt that God had prepared me, not only for the week but for the specific patients that I treated.
When we arrived we were put into groups that we would be working with the entire week, over the course of the week God also revealed Himself in big ways, matching us up perfectly.
Our team treated over 400 patients in 4 days and two of them will forever be in my heart. A baby boy covered in scabs, had necrosis, and so dirty that I grabbed a tub and we gave that sweet boy a bath on the alter of the church that we were using as a make shift clinic and a blind tiny premature baby girl with a cleft palate/lip.
Even with everything that Satan was trying to throw my way God removed all obstacles and made the way clear. I went to Dominican exhausted, afraid, and really questioning if I should have even left America but the spirit of fear is not from The Lord and He made that very clear to me. I was restored, spiritually rested and even more spiritually prepared to take care of the things at home when I got back.
You can read more about the organization that we worked with at www.stchm.org Please continue to pray for the orphanages that are partnering with STCH Ministries and the team that lives in DR full time.
