It has been a joy to personally witness the way John and Kelly Webb serve here in Santiago. They are wise, humble and compassionate servants of Jesus. And their love for Him and others is contagious. It flows through every part of their ministry. It is amazing to realize that a little over 12 years ago, there was no Vida Nueva Church in this place, only a desperate need for the Gospel. Now there is a thriving Gospel church, and they continue to humbly give their lives to see Christ’s kingdom furthered one changed life at a time.

Another highlight this week was reaching out to college students at Universidad Tecnológica de Santiago or Santiago University of Technology (UTESA). We handed out about 1500 green flyers inviting students and faculty to Vida Nueva. It was a pleasant surprise to see how open most people were to receiving these invitations from the church. Almost all of them accepted the invites; some of them even asked questions about where and when the church met.

While we were handing out invitations, Steven placed himself in a high foot-traffic area across the street from the university. It happened to be in front of a white building with a wrought iron gate. After handing out more than half his stack of flyers, some people from this white complex came out to ask about what he was passing out. He showed the flyer to them. They read it over. They invited him to come into he compound in order to talk some more. He gently (and wisely) said, “No thanks”, thinking to himself, “I’m stayin right here.” After looking at the sign with him for a bit and sounding out the words in Spanish, we eventually came to realize something. Steven had planted himself directly in front of the headquarters for the Mormon Church in Santiago. Can he pick a spot or what! Who knows, maybe this was a first step of help for the people trapped in this cult.

Today we head up the mountain to Jarabacoa. It is unlikely that there will be any internet access from this point on. Let me say again express our thanks to all of you who are praying for us. As we approach the next few days we are mindful that all the many months of preparations are leading up to this point.

• Pray that the camp would be effective in the life of each person the Lord brings up the mountain.
• Pray that in every area God would bless the speaking of his Word by the power of His Spirit. Whether in the main sessions, the breakout sessions, the children’s lessons or as people casually talk together about God and the things of God. Ask that He would bring light and change to all of our lives.
• Pray for safety as we travel. Kelly and Charlotte and some others will travel up the mountain early to prepare the facility. Everyone else will come up by bus later this afternoon.
• Pray for each of the team members physically. There are times when folks have not been feeling too well. Sometimes it is as simple as car sickness, or a lack of sleep, at other times it has more to do with our diets adjusting, whatever the reason – ask that the Lord keep us together physically so we can be focused on the work He has called us to here in the DR.
• Pray for the logistics of getting everything up to camp that we need to carry out our assigned roles. That the supplies of all the children’s activities would make it. That the whiteboards and working pens would be there. That the song sheets would have the correct songs and that Andrew and others who lead in singing would feel comfortable leading song in Spanish.
• Lastly, keep praying that we stay FAT – flexible, adaptable and teachable.

Thank you for carrying out your critical part in this missions trip by praying for us. Your prayers for us have been very effective throughout our time in the DR. Please don’t stop. We look forward to giving you our report of the many things God accomplishes this weekend.