On site team photos

Home...well almost!

All three teams arrived back in New England today. We had dinner together at the Lodge and then shared some funny stories. We are all pretty tired and working on limited sleep. We ended our evening with stories of seeing God in our three countries.

Now most are sleeping as we work toward adjusting time zones and rest. Tomorrow we will share and celebrate with family, mentors, pastors and youth leaders.

Continue to watch this site as members of the Q12 team share accounts of their experience. Thank you for continuing to journey with us.

Q12 Team

City team packed and ready

It is 1:30 am local time and we are packed. Our shuttle to the airport will be here in just over an hour. some of the team are resting others playing cards in the lobby.

We had a great day to wrap up our visit. We got up early and took in one more museum before visiting another campus. Our local friends had a time of debrief with us and then a couple and their two children who used to live in New England joined us for dinner.

We said our good-byes to E & L. We hope to see them again soon.

Looking forward to returning home. City Team

Goodbye SA

We just finished breakfast and will be heading to the airport soon. Although we are all sad to leave, we are excited to come home and share all God has done. Pray for us as we travel.

City team Wednesday

The City team had a slow morning which was nice. We were able to spend some extra time a the hotel before heading out into the cool rainy day. We met one of the workers we spent last Friday with and his wife joined us today. We took about a 30 minute walk to a local mall for lunch and to spend time hearing about the work here. Later in the afternoon we returned to the office.

The group spent a few minutes praying and then setting up for English Tea Time. This is a free conversational English class offered each week. Some of the group make chocolate chip cookies with ingredients we brought from home. We shared the treat with those who attended the group.

After the group we headed out for a late dinner around 9:30. Once again we found great local food in a very small spot. I think 10 people ate and several others had a beverage for about $30. Rice, beans and a salad.

We invited L & E to spend the night at the hotel with our group. So tonight there were 11 all circled up in one of the hotel rooms as we talked about our day and what we learned. Then we prayed individually for L & E. (Tomorrow will be the last day we see them.) It was a special time. As we closed, prayers were shared in four different languages around the circle!

Tomorrow we finish strong.

City Team

Last full day in SA

This whole week we have been very busy, getting up early and staying out late. Today continued in that fashion as we left at 7am, heading to a high school. We arrived in time for the morning assembly. As we have seen before, the assembly occurs outside with all the students standing together facing a platform, or in today's case, one side of the quad. There were maybe 500 or so high school students at this school. They began by singing, in Zulu. Although we don't understand, their voices are beautiful and they are full of joy when the sing. Next an evangelist from a church came and gave a short devotional reminding the students to turn to Jesus. (We found out later this is a Christian school, so churches are welcome to come and share.) When the assembly ended our students went into classrooms to talk with the local students. Some were able to answer questions and share, others sat in on biology or Zulu classes. After this the girls were able to play soccer in the quad, and we all hung out during the break time to make new friends. Its amazing what technology can do, and exciting to know that our students may be able to stay in contact with some students they have met here.

After the high school we went across the street to a local church which has a preschool in it. We all were bombarded with smiling faces as we walked in and began playing with the children. None of them speak English yet (as they will learn it in school), but still we were able to share our love. Our students really enjoyed this time.

Right now we just finished eating at "Wimpy" a local take-away place. We will rest and pack a little this afternoon, then head out for our "last supper." We have invited the different people we have worked with this week to join us for our last meal. It will be a bittersweet time as we have all really enjoyed our time here and we have seen God working in so many ways. The students all say they want to return some day. They have really been able to see that God is moving in all the different communities here, while at the same time there is still so much need.

We read the comments from our posts last night to the students and they enjoyed hearing from family and friends. Thanks for all your prayers!

We leave for the airport tomorrow around 12, then land in the USA Friday morning.
Praying for the DR and City teams!

DR- small town, big needs, small me, big God

The DR team is settled into the Time Center, a mission house in Villa Mella, a small town north of the capital. We began working with Ina York- a missionary who formerly worked in New England and has been working in ministry with the women in Cercadillo. Cercadillo is an impoverished neighborhood where many people are undocumented. We learned that many are not given birth certificates and if they are not given birth certificates, they are not given ID's and thereby do not exist to the government. If one doesn't exist then neither can one's children. This affects everything from work to education. Beyond that, many in the community believe that implicit message- they are "nobody".
We are seeing how God is ordering all things to bring the good news of His love and grace to those who are seemingly forgotten. In the past couple of days, we've heard amazing God-sized stories of things happening here. We've been able to show God's care in a practical way by playing with children and, most uniquely, providing manicures and pedicures to girls and women who have never had anyone care enough to massage their hands with lotion or wash their feet. In this time the girls have been able to mutually share stories, songs, testimonies and ways that God has worked in their lives. Tomorrow we will be working exclusively with the adult women in a discipleship group called "Cafe y Coser con Cristo" (Coffee and sowing with Jesus) where women learn Scripture in community and learn a trade (usually sewing) to help maintain their families. We've felt very honored to be a part of what God is doing in Cercadillo- whether its been through prayerwalking, playing or providing manis/pedis (and we can definitely see God knew what He was doing when He set up an all girls team)!
More to come! We do miss home even though we are enjoying every 80 degree minute of it here! THANK YOU for your prayers! -the Q12 DR Ladies.

City team

Our day began with a visit to a local university where we heard about the school and took a tour. The University is brand new, only in it's second year. The school rep is actually an American and talked about the opportunities to study abroad and he told about his own experience. We then drove out to the site of their new full campus and prayed for the expanding school and God's purpose.

Our host most of the day was a great guy who actually was a summer intern in N.E. about 10 years ago. It was pretty cool to swap stories.

This evening we visited the home of one of our friends. Others stopped by to visit and we made cookies. More conversations. We are learning a lot about listening and sharing stories.

On the way home we had a late dinner near our hotel. We love the local food and drink. We enjoy the local food servers hospitality and trying new foods.

Our time is winding down but we hope to finish strong. Thanks for your continued support, comments, and prayers.

(a.p. - thanks for the sports update! sooo ready to watch baseball!)

Monday in S.A

Today we had the opportunity of going to a near by AIDS trust, when we first arrived we joined the workers for their devotions. They started in traditional Zulu fashion where one person started singing a song they were lead to by the Spirit. The devotional that was shared encouraged each of us to wake up daily with a positive outlook. We were taught about the AIDS trust and the self-sustainability of it. After being given a tour of the facility at the end we walked into a garden where there was a memory wall, of all the people that have stayed at the trust and passed away. This moment was emotional for us all, and touched us in different ways. God has been breaking our hearts and showing us his redeeming love for the people we have encountered. Tonight we will be joining Westville Baptist church and doing street ministry. We need to run now to eat some South African pizza! Thanks for all the prayers!

Praying for you DR and City teams!

RSVP

Quest families, mentor's, youth leaders and pastors are asked to please RSVP to the Quest Celebration, Saturday, February 26 beginning at noon. Please RSVP to:
jspringer@charter.net.

City team Monday

It's all about relationships, and God has a purpose in everything, big or small. These are two key lessons we are learning.

Today we traveled to he highest point in the City and the sun peaked through the clouds long enough to see how vast this City really is. It can become overwhelming if we loose His focus.

We did our shopping today in a very, very, very old "mall". This evening we hosted a bowling party for local friends and then went to dinner. Great conversations and laughter together.

We are mastering travel in the City life; walking (lots of walking), buses, ferry's, and taxi's again today. We are on the back stretch of our time. More soon.

Glad to hear an update from SA.

City Team

Sowabona from South Africa

God is doing amazing things here in South Africa. The team has been very busy, but loving every minute, meeting amazing people, and eating wonderful food. We have so much to share, but little time. We are currently at Shaun and Deshni's family's house for dinner and enjoying the wonderful fellowship and food. Earlier today we went to a game park and saw so many animals, then went to the beach to swim in the Indian ocean.

Just a quick word about our weekend. We were able to be a part of a missions training and outreach experience with a local Indian church. The team shared testimonies, taught on youth ministry and missions, then went out doing door to door evangelism in a remote area amongst Zulu people. It was great to experience God working in so many ways.
On Sunday morning we were blessed to be able to worship with our Zulu brothers and sisters out in a remote area in a tent. Then in the evening we were in Westville, a suburb of Durban worshipping in a large church. It was a great day.

Internet is sparse here, and I am writing this from an iPhone. We hope to be able to update more soon.

City team Sunday

The City team started the day with the breakfast buffet before heading off to meet Esin at a local familiar statue, the "boa" (bull). We got on a bus and 35 minutes later arrived at Esin's church for an interesting service, where no English was spoken. We sang a couple of songs that we recognized from home that were sung in the local language. After communion and the service, we headed downstairs for fellowship with the members of the church. Lunch was at a great restaurant where the City team from 2 years ago ate.

The afternoon was more relaxed as our new friends, Esin, Lizzie, and Pablo, came back with us to our hotel, where we played many loud but fun games of spoons. After about an hour of annoying our leaders and fellow hotel residents with our excited yells, we went out to a local spot to watch the big soccer game. We took advantage of this place to eat a "fishy" dinner. As OUR team scored the first goal, a crowd of people (Allyson being the loudest...videos can prove this astonishing event), cheered as representatives of the rival team silently hated us. During half time we walked back to the hotel and some of us finished the game in the lobby.

We need our sleep for a long day tomorrow, more coming soon.
-City Team

DR travel day!

It's Sunday!! Our mid-way point!

We spent a great day yesterday taking a walking tour of the city center with one of our friends, Alex. He showed us some of the historical buildings as well as some important landmarks. San Francisco has the only school for the deaf, and we learned that the church has a ministry for these people, some of whom we will meet today during services. We also visited the offices of the most famous CACAO in the world. The president gave us a brief lesson and we hope that a tour of the actual plant will be available for future Quest teams.

In the afternoon, the girls had some down time, which they spent getting to know some of our new young friends- a lot of playing "never-have-I-ever" and learning very interesting details about each other's lives (please ask what that game is all about). We also visited another small neighborhood and spent some quality time with children and youth, playing and sharing. In the evening, we attended and participated in the youth service. Our girls are learning about what it means to be "transformed" and how to relate that back to life at home.

We've reached the mid-way point in our journeys and with it comes a change in our location. After services this morning with our friends in San Francisco, we will start our drive back down towards the capital where we will visit a new community to Quest. We are anticipating and waiting for new adventures and lessons to learn.

We are thinking about and praying for our friends in SA and the City, very excited about what they are experiencing.

city team day 2

The City team is settling in and learning our way around. Only a few sprinkles which was nice since we were outside a great deal of our day and evening. We visited the really, really, really old sites we planned. One site that has been under major renovation is now free of scafolding and beautiful. The team ended the night at the school we visited yesterday.

We are already beginning to wrestle with hard questions. Our walking to and from the bus and ferry as well as the ride time allows for good conversation. We continue to run into people at meals, in the hotel, the small market a few doors down and other locations who remember our teams and we are able to reconnect.

Tomorrow we see our friend E and worship with her. Many of you who attended CW will remember we skyped with her the last night. Thanks for your comments we read them out loud as a group tonight.

Families, everyone is doing great.

Praying for the DR and SA teams. More soon. CityTeam

Update from SA

Good morning! The SA team has limited access to internet right now. I have gotten some updates from a friend in SA and want to share with you all.

They spent the day Friday at 3 different elementary schools visiting with the students. On Sunday they will travel to visit with Barry and Deb at Westville Baptist. Once they are there they will be able to post an update with details of what they have been up to during their first few days.


Luggage . . .It seems that the luggage should arrive on Sunday! Thank God!

day 1 around the City

We crashed last night and slept pretty well in our new home away from home. The group loved the breakfast buffet with some very different options.

Today alone we traveled by foot, bus, taxi, subway, and ferry. The group has really taken to the food here. They're adventurous and trying new dishes. One of our contacts, who is new to the whole group spent the entire day with us. We learned some of the amazing history found just down the street from our hotel, visited a private school and attended a youth group. We had great weather today and are probably going to puddle jump tomorrow as we tour some really, really, really old sites.

Praying the SA folks get their bags, some of us know how that can distract. Glad to hear all the DR open doors.

Need to rest, more soon. CityTeam

DR team up and running!

These have been a very busy 2 days for the DR team in San Francisco. Our first full day in country had us visiting a private school with students ages 9-13. The girls split up, met in small groups with the children, and practiced Spanish as both groups shared stories about their lives. After a delicious home cooked meal of rice & beans, we spent a few hours in a neighborhood that the church has been starting to visit recently. We walked and talked with neighbors and even practiced our swing on the baseball diamond. These girls can hit!!

Although it has been raining on and off all day today, it hasn't slowed us down. We visited a nursing home this morning, loving on some wonderful folks, painted a lot of nails in pretty bright colors (even blue), lots of hands-on opportunities to love and care for our elders. We also visited an orphanage, and played with 9 precious little boys. We are excited to be a part of a new connection with our friend here.

Next it was off to a local hospital to care and pray for patients in Pediatrics, the Womens ward and the Trauma unit. In one day we've had the chance to minister to widows, orphans and the "least of these". We've been in awe at how God has been enabling and equipping us to share and experience His love and grace. Tonight we're looking forward to working with more children at local small groups meetings the church is holding to continue to share the gospel in the community. Hasta manana! -the Quest DR ladies.

News from SA

Quick message from SA - The team has arrived safely. They are missing a few bags, all the leaders bags! Pray they get to them quickly. They will update us more soon.

city team reaches the City

We arrived on time and our luggage did too! Smooth day of travel. After dropping of our luggage we went to a brief orientation with our friends here and then dinner at an awesome spot. We met briefly to chat and now headed to bed. More soon, praying for great rest. CityTeam

DR team has landed!

After an early wake up, and 2 flights, the DR team has arrived in balmy 80 degree temps. We made our way through the hussle and bussle of immigration and customs and are now in our guagua (bus) headed to San Francisco de Macoris, our home away from home for the next 4 days. We're praying for safe travels for our friends headed to the City and South Africa.


The Q Ladies :)

Quest 12 is ready to go!

Ready to go!

Most of the Q12 Questies are in Northborough tonight. The first two teams DR and SA have a 3:15 AM shuttle pick up. (They're just hearing about that now.) And they will be off for the day's journey. The DR team will be on site by late afternoon. SA will arrive in Durban just after noon Thursday, Durban time.

The City team will all be together by late morning Wednesday and begin their journey overseas late afternoon. They have a shorter flight than the SA team but also arrive in the City just afternoon Thursday.

We are excited... watchful, for God.

Thanks for joining us in this journey!

Quest 12!

Q12 Teams

DR
1. Jess, Hope Chapel, MA
2. Bekah, Friendship, CT
3. Kathryn, Hope Chapel, MA
4. Bekah, Faith, RI
5. Yasirie, North Park, CT
6. Lisa, Friendship, CT
7. Maggie, Community Cong, MA
8. Alex, Middletown, RI
9. Itamar Elizalde, Faculty
10. Susie Ibrahim, Faculty
11. Vinetta McCann, Faculty
12. Tatiana Burgos, Q7 alumni

SA
1. Teresa, Middletown, RI
2. Miesha, Waterbury, CT
3. Dan, Sudbury, MA
4. Aidan, Friendship, CT
5. Irene, Manchester, CT
6. Bethany, Friendship, CT
7. Ken Hall, Faculty
8. Lynn Kobus, Faculty
9. Ababa Abiem, Q7 Alumni

City
1. Brianna, Community Cong, MA
2. Jackie, Celebration Saugus, MA
3. Dean, Pleasant Street, MA
4. Bryan, Faith, RI
5. Erica, Hope Chapel, MA
6. Ashlee, North Park, CT
7. Allyson Clark, Faculty
8. Rob Morzella, Faculty
9. Tommy Moore, Q7 Alumni