The Harvest is Plentiful

And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”- Matthew 9:35-38

As we get closer and closer to the end of our time here in the Dominican Republic, sometimes we look back over this past year and wonder if we've completed the mission God has given us. Since our mission was simply to serve, it's difficult to actually measure how well we've done that.

When we look back we can see many doors that were opened during our time here. We can also see many relationships built and messages given. We have completed several projects. But, like anybody in a ministry position, our hope is always to see people come to faith in Jesus Christ and grow in their discipleship.

The Nappanee Missionary Church Summer IMPACT Team
singing worship songs in a church service in Guanabano.

We're happy to share with you that we just completed a week full of spiritual fruit! We were privileged to help Pastor Quina host the Nappanee Missionary Church Summer IMPACT Team. Many such teams spend their time planting seeds, but this most recent team was blessed to be part of the harvest!

At some point we lost count of the people who gave their lives to Jesus Christ. We held the first ever Vacation Bible School in the public gymnasium in Guanabano. We did VBS at the church in Hoya Grande. We visited church members in Guanabano and Hoya Grande. We went door-to-door in Guanabano, Picacho and Hoya Grande. We visited the local women's jail. We visited a hospital in Moca. We performed dramas and shared testimonies in the park in Guanabano.

Each event and location produced new believers and/or opportunities to encourage those already following Jesus.

The partnership between Nappanee Missionary Church and Pastor Quina goes back to the first team in 2006. Seeds have been continually planted throughout the years. To see so much fruit in the span of one week has encouraged us, Pastor Quina and the members of the church in Guanabano.

Here are a few specific stories from the IMPACT team:

Multiuso
The public gymnasium here in Guanabano is called the Multiuso. This was the first time we've ever done VBS in the Multiuso. Pastor Quina encouraged us to move VBS out into the community where the kids are already spending much of their time, rather than trying to get them to come to the church. We partnered with an amazing man named Victor who serves the young people of Guanabano as a basketball coach and tutor.

The first ever VBS at the Multiuso in Guanabano was
an incredible opportunity for the IMPACT team to reach
the young people of the town in a setting they're comfortable
with. It was an incredible four days of ministry and many
young people gave their lives to Jesus Christ!

Through this new venture, many children and young people participated in VBS where they heard Bible stories, memorized Joshua 1:9, heard many testimonies and the Gospel.

On the final day of VBS at the Multiuso, more than 15 teenage boys gave their lives to Jesus Christ!

Women's Jail
Since March, we and members of the church in Guanabano have been making regular visits to the women's jail in town. Several girls from the Nappanee team went to visit the jail one afternoon. While there, each girl was able to share a testimony or a word of encouragement. One girl shared the Gospel and three women gave their lives to Jesus Christ!

After this visit, the girls took Bibles to the women and we've been told that they are reading their Bibles together every day in the jail.

Wilson
One afternoon while we were eating lunch at the church in Guanabano, two older men from town came to ask that we pay a visit to a man in the hospital in Moca. We were told he had a broken leg and had no way to pay for the surgery needed to fix it. He also had no family to visit him and no friends who had the means to help him.

The next day a small group from the IMPACT team went to visit this man. They discovered that his name is Wilson and he had been in the hospital 17 days waiting for help. He suffered the broken leg when he was attacked and robbed.

After praying with Wilson we began to explore our options for helping him. We discovered that an orthopaedic surgeon lived one block away from Pastor Quina and he was willing to do the surgery for around $400. The Nappanee students who felt led, generously contributed and we collected the exact amount needed to pay for Wilson's surgery.

As of today (June 2) Wilson is recovering from his surgery. We don't know how much longer he'll be in the hospital, but we do know that he's on his way back to health. Wilson is a believer and he's spending much of his time reading his Bible.


There are so many stories of new believers from this past week that it's impossible to recount them all. But it's safe to say that this IMPACT team was blessed to see more salvations than any other team. Pastor Quina even commented that she feels the town of Guanabano is ready to receive the Gospel of Jesus Christ in a new way.

All this excitement makes us a little sad to leave in about a month, but we trust that God is carrying out His perfect plan for this town. And we have faith that it won't stop with this town, but will spread to the surrounding communities and even into the whole country!