Travel Done, Settling in

 Good evening everyone.  The opening day for the 2026 Dominican Republic Mission Trip has been great.  There have been some bumps along the way but we are settling in to Casa Pastorale and getting ready for a great week.

Travel was a challenge with a delay out of Louisville but we got to Charlotte with enough time to get lunch and be ready to board our next flight.  Getting through airports went smoothly with everyone working together.  We met our Dominican partners and had nice breeze from the windows on the way to La Romana.

We have had a great dinner of chicken and rice and of course cake.  Tonight's cakes were passion fruit cheese cake and dolce de leche.  The group is now playing cards, taking showers, and preparing for some good rest.

Tonight's team devotion centered on Luke 18:35-43.  Our prayer for today and as we begin the week is that God will show us what God wants us to see.  

Each night the team will share about how they are seeing God.  Here are the responses from tonight.

Adeline saw God in the TSA worker who was upbeat and positive even early in the morning

Annalise saw God at work as she was able to sleep on the bus to recharge when that is not usually the case for her.

Lincoln saw God in being able to navigate travel challenges to end up where we wanted to be.

Tim saw God in Charlotte as he was able to have a conversation with a couple about our trip.

McKenzie saw God in that we made it safely and ended up here with all of our luggage. 

Mear saw God in getting a window seat to be able to see and appreciate the sites of the DR countryside as we flew across.

I saw God at work as we encountered Dennis Brinley's sister-in-law in the Louisville airport as part of our trip was funded by memorial gifts for him.

We invite you to share comments and offer encouragement to the team here.  Each night we will share the comments with the team. Photos will be shared on the youth facebook page and as time permits they will be moved to our flickr account as well.  

Thank you for following along and for supporting our team.  May God open your eyes to see God at work wherever you are this week.