Eric - Dominican Republic

Going to the D.R with Quest was and is something I truly do not regret. At first I wasn't excited for it, but as the time went on, I only wished I could be there longer.


One thing that the group was privilege of having was our driver, Domingo. Although he is not a believer, his actions were truly great and brotherly like; he showed love to us. I was honored to be able to speak to him about God, I was able to share with him that when we trust in God, all things are truly possible (which when I thought about, I was speaking to myself as well). He has a family of 3 children, one who was just born 5 month ago, and a wife who works. This man cares for his family deeply, the reason that he doesn’t attend a church is because he has no time, in the D.R. one works simply to gain enough to eat for that one day. But to support his children and their education, plus to feed them, he works extra hard so that they can live a better life. It is extremely rare in the D.R. to see a man who cares so much for his family like Domingo does, he is very encouraging.

I was given the opportunity to pray for him and for his family, and a few of the last things he said to me were that he felt like a family among us, the way we tended him and cared for him. But most importantly, he said that when we see each other again, brothers in Christ we might be. That truly hit the heart, he told me that when I prayed for him and his family, he felt a greater peace, and when he went home, his little child who was sick was recovering (all Glory to God). Domingo truly impacted my life, and I ask that you too would join in prayer for a transformation in his heart and that he wouldn’t only be a great man, but a Godly man. Thank you.

Bekah Ruth - Dominican Republic

This week at Cercadillo the kids didn't really want to come around us when we got there on the first day. God told us to just keep going and treat them with love and that is what we did. Everyday we listened to what our leaders had told us and what God told us as He spoke to our hearts. The relationships grew throughout the week and the joy within all of us was so great. When we got ready to leave Cercadillo the kids were be sad if somebody other than themselves got to sit next to, hug, or just be with us. I believe they had this joy , not because of us, but because of Christ. I know Christians should have this same joy and love for each other and for Christ as we did for the kids at Cercadillo. 

Matt - Dominican Republic

Hello everyone!

I am so happy to have had the privilege of going to the Dominican Republic as a part of Quest 13 to serve God in unique ways. Personally the most amazing and heart-touching way that God worked happened on Monday. Though the churchgoers in the small village of Cercadillo were mostly smaller children and women, the youth had been seen less because they thought themselves too cool for church. However through English lessons, Ina was able to gain a few teenage guys and girls as students. On that Monday, our team helped out with the English lesson, and then the guys and the girls split up. Aaron, Eric, Tommy, and I went with the guys and the three Questies shared our testimonies. After explaining how God had payed the debt of our human sinfulness, and how important a decision to follow Christ was, one of the six Dominican boys, Paulino, said he wanted to make that first step. Soon after one by one the other five guys made the decision to follow Christ and we prayed over them. Following this initial prayer, each of the six Dominicans prayed and asked God to save them! It was so awesome to see how powerful God is when we simply obey Him and serve Him!
 
So often we place Him in a box and say that He cannot do anything outside that box...but the truth is that He can do anything, and is powerful enough to rescue every person on this planet. We serve a powerful God. It was just so cool to play soccer right after that meeting with those new brothers in Christ, just as we might do together again in Heaven!

Pictures from South Africa

Gordon & Jordan with a giraffe

With the Pillays

Sports ministry in Noodsberg

Umthombo street ministry

Back Home

Hello family and friends!
All 3 teams have made it back, safe and sound to the lodge.  Most are sleepy and jet-lagged, hoping to get some much needed rest tonight. All are excited and sharing stories with one another. We're thankful for safety during our long journeys and are looking forward to seeing you all tomorrow at noon.
Q13

akekho ofana nojesu

Akekho Ofana NoJesu = There is no one like Jesus! Greetings & love from South Africa! We are getting ready to head out (it is currently about 11am Thursday here). We venture out to return to our home mission field so grateful for what we've experienced here.

Ministry in the Southcoast primary schools was unbelievable! We learned so much-- including our new favorite worship song that we will share at the closing celebration and the South African national anthem-- which is in 4 of the 11 national languages (that we probably won't be sharing at the closing celebration)!

Yesterday we spent the day with street kids at Umthombo in downtown Durban! Lots of time outdoors, playing games and sharing with other teens...

Please pray we would finish strong-- especially on our 24+ hour journey home!

final stretch

the time is growing short for each team. thursday is the final day for all teams in country. SA will begin their long journey home thursday morning while many of you hare having breakfast. as you go to bed thursday night the City team will be off the the airport. finally while you sleep the DR team will fly home. all three teams will arrive at the BCNE on Friday by mid afternoon.

we covet your prayers as we say our good-byes and head home. pray as we process our experience,and how it will impact our life.

over the next days we will share individually a brief testimony about our journey. one by one you will read the impact on our life. please continue to follow this site for a few days to hear from us.
the Q13 team

walking the City streets

today the team divided and spent a portion of the day walking and praying through two neighborhoods. we prayed near the homes of two different workers. we are learning to trust God through prayer and asking Him to move  in amazing ways in the City we have grown to love.

tonight we attended English Team Time. ETT is a weekly English conversational group. we played a game, drank tea, and spoke English with locals wanting to improved their language skills.

tomorrow we tour local sights and do a little shopping before our final debrief time and packing to go. pray for our last conversations and good-byes.

hola guapos

Hello from the Time Center. The DR team just finished up a really long day, we're heading to bed, getting some much needed rest before our last day of ministry tomorrow. We've spent the last two mornings and afternoons amongst our friends in the village of Cercadillo. Our students played for countless hours in the heat of the day with groups of 30-40 children at a time. You would be so delighted to see how our students showed the love of Christ and hugged and loved on SO many kids. In the afternoons, we spent time teaching English to a group of teens fromthe village and then split up by gender-the boys played Four-Square while the girls made a sand-art candle.

Our students have had sevreal opportunities to share about their spiritual journies, with testimonies last night at Emanuel Church youth group. Today the team presented their cardboard testimonies,which you will see at the Celebration on Saturday. We are digging deep into the Letter to the Philippians, being challenged by the life and ministry of Paul. Tomorrow we will spend time with the Cercadillo women in the morning, and in the evening lead the youth group with our friends at Emanuel. Please pray that we press on. Much love to our friends across the world! We can't wait to see you all very soon and hear about your experiences!! -sb

R.S.V.P.

Parents and Mentors if you have not RSVP for the Quest Celebration Saturday, noon - 2 please do so:
asouza@bcne.net

thank you

short and sweet from the city

today was a full day spent with really great people who call the City their home. they use their passions and skills in some really cool ways. we will tell you more about these folks in person. during the late afternoon the group prayer walked along the river. we spent the evening at the home of one of our American friends. we laughed and shared about our lives and they told us about their purpose here in the City. on the way home we stopped in a local shop for a late bite to eat. Q12 remember the olive sandwich? the guy still works there! : )

we had a great time debriefing our day but we're ready to crash. short and sweet tongiht. we are doing well thanks for continuing the journey.

Bambalela... part 2

Bambalela means "hold on" in Zulu... Sunday we sang about holding onto Jesus. Today, we're going to try to hold onto Jesus and internet access (at least for enough time to give a decent update)!

Saturday's time in the shelters and streets of downtown Durban were quite the experience as we had the opportunity to visit "The Nest", a local homeless shelter, to pray and talk to many people and connect them to local ministries.

Sunday: we worshipped with a congregation that is new to Quest at the Upper Room Lighthouse Ministries, an Indian and Zulu church. After church, we caught up with Roger and Meg Hesch-- IMB missionaries and long time Quest friends. We learned about some of the things that are happening in local churches here in South Africa. That was followed by an Indian braai (BBQ) with the Pillays (as in Shaun and Deshni Pillay-- they send their love, Shaun and Desh!) at Simone and Carl's home (they went to camp a couple of years ago).

Monday: we got to be in awe of God as Creator as we visited Tala Game Park and hung out with zebras, hippos, and giraffes! The clouds finally cleared up (for the most part) for our time at Tala followed by being tossed by the waves of the Indian Ocean, souvenir shopping, and finally an Indian dinner at Danny and Lally Pillay's home.

Today: we head out to Southcoast to work with primary school children and whatever else the local church has for us! We are continually challenged by our study of Philippians, specifically chapter 3, verse 17: "Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us". We have looked at those we have imitated and have been challenged to consider whether our faith is worthy of imitating too.

Thanks for following our journey with us! Until next time-- hamba kahle!

ferrys, buses, mini bus and by foot

we begin each day with breakfast on the 5th and top floor of our hotel. the view over the river and across to historic sites on the other side is a wonderful way to begin the day with a clear perspective. we continued our study of Philippians individually and as a group.

once out the door we took a ferry trip up and down the river that divides the City. it was an absolutely BEAUTIFUL day with blue skies and sunshine. the new view provide yet another way to pray for this great City.

following lunch the students met college students in a local bakery for a bit and then took a tour of the university campus across the street. they are doing so well making new friends and learning from each conversation.

we jumped on a very crowded bus, standing for the hour ride in very heavy evening traffic. our ride took us to "Lydia's" house for dinner. she is a friend of Quest. the home cooked meal was incredible, allowed us to visit a local's home and have great fellowship and hear her story.

the ride home on the mini bus was MUCH faster, you will have to ask Kory his version.

as we started the last hike up the hill to our hotel we stopped to see our favorite store keeper. he was proudly wearing the "Boston, USA" fleece be gave him. without an interpreter we do not share one common word so smiles go a long way. with help the other night we had a brief chat about seeing him each year. he said yes, and says we are his family. so cool.

ac had a great visit this morning with the hotel desk clerk who has become a friend. she invited her to visit her home and family!

btw, just outside our hotel window at 12:30 AM a group of men are digging up some type of line, loading rocks in a wheel barrel and chatting like it's noon.... city life!

everyone is doing well, thank you for your support in prayer! the camera assistant is asleep, we will add photos tomorrow.


and here are some photos...

 

the guys and our favorite store keeper

the ladies with "Lydia" looking at family photos

Bambalela!

Sawubona from South Africa! So sorry for not posting as often-- our internet access is limited to where we are staying & our days have been long! Here's a quick recap of some of our journey so far:

Saturday: We headed over to Noodsberg, a nearby orphanage, and played with the most adorable children in a small room to avoid the mist and rain. It was also amazing to partner with and make new friends with the Westville Baptist Church youth as we worked and played together. We played games, sang songs, told stories, while learning new games and South African slang! It was kiff bru! We saw contentment like never before in the smiles and laughter of the children.

After Noodsberg, we met Margot-- who coordinates a street ministry in downtown Durban. We walked the rainy streets, praying with people in shelters and talking to young boys in the most dire of circumstances.

I'm now being pressured to get offline! To be continued!!! And thank you for the encouraging posts and for praying!

eight tables

Today we went to a local church. We sat throught the service understanding little to none, but worshiped in spirit. It was interesting to hear the songs we are use to singing at our very own churches, in another language. After church we met for "coffee hour" with the local people. We did our best to involve ourselves in the conversations, and ended up making new friends. You'll be seeing plenty of new friends added on all of our FB pages :) We took our party of 30 some; diverse followers, across the street to a local resteraunt for lunch. Our mid day lunch was loud and full of conversation.

From there we followed our new pals to the bowling alley! What a time, there were so many HIGH SCORES..and low. At least two students bowled for the first time. We took our group across from the bowling alley into another resteraunt and finished off the day with fruit drinks and banana splits. Every meal we had today started off with watching waitors clash together 8 tables at a time! Today was wonderful, along with the weather. Keep us in prayer, and keep the comments coming! we love them..not just emily

-Moriah

Yesterday (Saturday) we had our busiest day yet. The morning was spent in Cercidillo giving english lessons to the children of the village. It was amazing to see the amount of kids and young teens interested in learning English and willing to work hard on a Saturday morning to do so. Ina has put together work books for all the kids and we had over 50 stop by throughout the morning.

After this we had lunch and headed to Emanuel church and met with the youth that we'll be working with throughout next week. We played even more games with them, this time throwing "Ninja" into the mix which was a great success and much appreciated by the kids. The first half of the evening consisted of much younger children, but by 7:00pm the actual youth group showed up for a youth service with music and teaching. We were able to order Pizza and eat with everyone before heading home in the rain for bed.

This morning we made the trek back to Emmanuel Church for service at 9:00am. It was a (loudly) worshipful service where Matt and Makayla were able to share their testimonies with help from Aaron and Eric translating. After lunch we headed back to the TIME Center where we are now, planning a bible study along with skits and our cardboard testimonies for later this afternoon.

Please keep us in your prayers, specifically for energy and a extra grace so that we not only just endure but be able to do so joyfully.

TM

City Streets

We started our third day by reading Phillipians 2. This passage of scripture conveys a message of selflessness and paints a picture of how the church should work with one accord toward Christ's glorification. Then we headed out into the much improved weather and back into the beautiful and hectic city. Thank you for your prayers for the better weather!

We first met up with some of our friends who took us to visit some of the local places of worship. The history within the religious establishments opened our eyes to another world; it knocked our socks off. We experienced a labrinth of heavy traffic, vintage architecture, along with a new culture. Over lunch one of us butted heads with a low ceiling, while the rest of us experienced a good laugh and some new foods.

We devoted the afternoon to an architecture museum with artifacts from l0ng ago. We wrapped up the day at dinner with a family that we met today. We are headed to bed now...zzzzzz. (corny)

admiring the local food

meeting the local people

- Patrick, Kory, Emily & Moriah

Pintando en la Iglesia

Showering and getting used to the cold water, we began our day by walking over to Ina's house. Our great cook for the week, Lydia, prepared a delicious breakfast consisting of toasted bread, eggs with onions and pepers, and probably one of the most delcious cups of hot chocolate I have had. Finishing up our meal we started for the busy day ahead of us.

We set off towards Don Gregorio; a small gated-community where we were going to be painting a church as our project for the day. We met Melvin, the pastor, and two young adults named Alejandro and Oscar. After getting our instructions we went straight to work. We scraped walls to smooth out the surface and than painted them. It took various layers to get to the right shade we needed. As we painted we had the oppurtunity to worship in both English and Spanish. This really gave us the sense of how the language barrier can be no excuse for us. While we waited for the second layer to dry we set out for lunch.

For lunch we went to the Pastor's house and met his family. Being welcomed into his house we had time for fellowship and ate the typical rice and beans with a beef stew. After eating and settling down a bit we sat down to have our bible study for the day which was Phillipians 2. We learned that as servants of the Lord we shuld not complain or grumble when it comes to giving help. This verse hit home becasue the day was already getting tiring.

We left Pastor Melvins house to for the homestretch of the painting project. When we arrived at the church there was a small problem becasue Melvin had forgot the church keys. Waiting for him to return we had some down time to play basketball with local kids. As we finished we really started to notice how we were being the hands and feet of God.

In summary, we had an arduous day that didn't have much oppurtunities for us to rest. The group held strong to what we learned during lunch and didn't complain at all. Becasue of this we were able to finish up the church and left it looking new. We look forward to Super Sabado tomorrow.

-AS

Sawubona!

Greetings from South Africa!

After 27 hours of direct travel, our team made it safely to Durban Thursday afternoon. We were greeted by Deb, Barry and Mike-- friends from Westville Baptist. We settled in and ate a meal-- not knowing whether it was lunch or dinner since our bodies are still adjusting to the time change. It was an early night for most of us.

We had an early morning and headed to Hillcrest AIDS Centre where we met John, a man who has "retired" about 3 times and still finds his way back to Hillcrest to serve & volunteer. At Hillcrest we learned about the food and work development programs and how their goal is to share God's love in a palpable, practical way. We learned that many are learning how to farm, make pottery, make beading, sow, sell goods, etc to provide for their families and how many are stepping away from ancestral worship and experiencing a living, loving God. We also learned about the medical resources provided and the tender care that their Granny program provides many who are facing the last stages of HIV/AIDS.

Hillcrest was followed by lunch and then the afternoon at Kwadabeka. We learned that Kwadabeka was established as a settlement for Zulus in the days of apartheid-- its residents were forced into a 7pm curfew and the only entrance/exit road would be blocked after curfew. With apartheid ending in 1994, most adults remember those days vividly and often show grief over such a sad part of their national history.

The boys spent the day playing basketball and sharing how their faith has shaped their sportsmanship and life. The ladies spent the day playing with young children on the playground and briefly sharing with teenage girls who passed by.

After showers and dinner we headed off to youth group at Westville Baptist to play games, get to know South African teens and share testimonies and faith stories. Tomorrow we are looking forward to spending the day worshipping in various congregations, in various languages!

Thankfully, jetlag has not hit us too hard after yesterday-- praise God! Please pray for continued opportunities to share and live the gospel as we go throughout our journey! Thank you for your prayers!!!

Buh-bye!

c.o.l.d.

Unlike the DR and SA teams we are not seeing the ocean or warm weather. Today it was quite cold but we were able to move about the City. We participated in a modified version of Amazing
Race seeing some famous local spots and praying for people along the way. We met a friend of Quest "e" and spent time with her. The group attended a local youth group and were blown away at the power and volume with which the teenagers sang. No sound system or band...just one guitar and deep faith.

The group loves the local food and drink. Our two gluten-free guys are managing just fine! Our team is learning how to sit and have conversations. Pray for opportunities to engage others in conversations. Pray for warmer weather to help the team moving around and during times of prayer walking.

Zip Zap Zooooooom (From the DR)

After arriving to the Time Center at around 5:00am local time, we moved our luggage in and set up our beds to catch some sleep. We began our day at noon looking at Philippians one, then headed over to Ina's house for lunch-- a delicious plethora of rice, beans and chicken with fresh squeezed passion fruit juice to drink. After lunch we received an orientation of the village in Cercadillo and afterward hopped into our van and made the trek out there with our driver, Domingo.

We arrived in the village with Ina and were almost immediately greeted by local youth. Ina has been developing a relationship with both children and teens, and before we knew it we had almost 10 visitors playing games like Zip Zap Zoom and Chieften with us. After a few hours of playing, we made our way back home where we had some Jamon con Queso (Ham and Cheese) sandwiches and finished our english-spanish translations for our cardboard testimonies.

We're back at the Time Center now and having already debriefed our day are journaling about our experiences, unpacking/organizing our supply bags, and relaxing before bedtime. Tomorrow we plan on spending the day painting at Don Gregorio Church. The weather is overcast and very cool with breezes all day and night. It's rather comfortable!

Please keep us in your prayers as we continue to love and serve others in worship to Jesus.

TM

City on a Hill

After checking into our hotel and greeting the staff (the front desk manger has become a friend) we drove to the highest point in the City for an overview. It was a beautiful site. We enjoyed our first meal which was awesome. Back down the hill we attended and orientation with our contacts, learning about the people and city from old friends. The group had a slow relaxing dinner with 4 of our friend before returning to the hotel. Before bed we bought water and snacks from the store owner we have befriended. He greeted us right away. Now we are off to bed after 30 hours. Tomorrow we are following an Amazing Race format to learn the city and people who live here. Then Friday night youth group to finish the day. More soon.

bienvenidos a la república dominicana

Hola, greetings from warm and sunny Santo Domingo! After a very smooth flight, the DR team arrived early this morning. We met our 2 contacts here for a quick bite to eat and settled into our home away from home. We have rested and are about to get started with our day! The students are currently on our roof-top getting a bird's eye view of the area we will be serving this week. Happy Day! -sb

city

The City team arrived safely with all our luggage. Not much sleep on the plane but we have checked into our hotel now off for our first outing. More soon. Since we don't call this serves as our safe check in. more soon.

Take Off

Quest 13 teams: SA and City arrived at the Rice Lodge tonight and after a brief orientation settled in. The SA team will depart the lodge at 4:30 AM for Logan airport. The City team will follow later in the morning. Excitment is high.

Pray team members will be able to sleep during portions of their flights. Both groups arrive during the day on Thursday and jump right into exploring their surroundings.

The DR team will arrive at the lodge late afternoon on Wednesday and depart for Logan at 6 PM. They have an overnight flight and arrive VERY early Thursday morning. After a few hours of sleep they will kick off their Quest experience.

We are looking forward to you following our journey. Each group will have different levels of access to the internet. All groups will post as soon as they have the opportunity to let you know they have arrived at their destination.

Off to bed for a short sleep!