Dominican and Haiti Updates

" For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is a gift of God "

Ephesians 2:8

The main objective of G.O. Ministries is to empower the nationals to do ministry in their own country. For a long time now, we've been watching, working and observing to see how this can best be accomplished. In the meantime, we've really enjoyed getting to know everyone that we come in contact with. It wasn't until about 3 weeks ago that we realized there is nothing that we, alone, can do to make disciples of all nations. This took place as we watched two of our dear friends get baptized in the church. Simon is a professional basketball player and Alan grew up in the June basketball camp that we have every year. When they told us they were taking baptism classes with our Pastor, we were so pumped that we wanted to make sure that everything was "perfect" for them. Then it hit us, God has a hold of Alan and Simon and He wants to have His way with them, not our way. Wow, watching God move through two men who are seeking Him is a blessing! In the midst of trying to figure out the "best" way to empower the nationals, God showed us that we just need to have a relationship with them and He'll do the rest. Alan and Simon are now on the payroll doing Sports Outreach to kids and adults in their country. For it was by grace, not by works.

Simon, Alan and Pastor praying after their baptism

Well we have completed Summer '07 and it was a blast. We had the privilege of hosting 19 groups in 10 weeks which led to many ministry opportunities. We are so grateful for all of the people who came down to serve the Dominicans and Haitians and we pray that you will return to grow the relationships that you have established.

Last night, we closed out our 2nd annual summer basketball league. For five weeks, we grew to know 100 kids, 12 teams and 12 volunteer coaches. This year was a mighty blessing as all 12 coaches stepped up and took on the responsibility of coaching 8 or 9 kids. They practiced and led devotions with the kids during the week and competed in games on Saturdays. As you can imagine, as the weeks passed, the intensity grew and the tournament was as exciting as March Madness in the States :) We closed things out last night with the awards ceremony. The kids came dressed in their best as they all received medals, trophies and other gifts. At the end, we recapped the 5 weeks together by showing them a highlight film of the league. They went crazy!

It has been two years now that we have lived down here in the D.R. and we have seen God move in some pretty powerful ways. As we think back to the beginning, it's wild to see how some needs have changed and some have stayed the same. Because the kids are so reachable through sports, we've prayed quite a bit about where to go from here. It's growing, more kids are coming and we are excited about what God is going to do next. This leads us to a few prayer requests. We have explored different areas and found a couple pieces of land that would be great for a sports complex. This would allow amazing opportunities for kids all over the COUNTRY! This would be a huge project, but if we've learned anything since we've been down here, it's that we can't put God in a box. We really feel that He is taking us in this direction. Also, to go along with it, we are still praying for a vehicle to use to drive kids to the leagues, camps and clinics that we have. Also, we have finally put together our traveling men's basketball team.....now it's time to travel to other cities and share the Gospel. Please take some time to help us pray about the doors God is opening down here in the Dominican. We are thrilled to be a part of His ministry here.

Upon request, we have added a new section to our side bar of this blog. Many people have told us that they'll never know what we need unless we ask. So we've decided to add a budget update so everyone who is interested in supporting our ministry can see what is needed. Doors are being opened and we are anxious to see what's on the other side. Thank you all for playing such a huge role in this ministry.

Bendiciones,

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Will and Audrey