-----Original Message-----

From: Kathy McKey

Sent: Monday, April 2, 2007

Subject: The Last Dominican Republic Report

Dear friends and family,

This is the last day you will be receiving an e-mail from the Dominican Republic. It’s with mixed emotions by everyone that this evangelistic mission trip is wrapping up. I have heard from so many of our young people that the first week seemed so long and this last week has just flown by!

We had a powerful worship this morning. Eric Ramirez challenged us to truly give our lives to the Lord and not just “act” the part. Then Mick (Christian McKee), CJ (Cedric Johnson), and Jordan Ellstrom shared with us a song that they had written. We have such talented young people and they are using their talent for the Lord!

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I have tried to get as many comments as possible each day, so the following are comments from our youth about their experience(s) on this trip:

Youly Valderrama - This is my first evangelistic campaign and it has been a blessing for me. It has helped me spiritually to see these people receive the Word of God so happily. I had a rough first week, but the second week the people started telling me that my sermons were really powerful and that they liked them. One night I talked about baptism and five people chose to be baptized and follow Jesus. I was so happy that God was actually working through me. I never thought I would be preaching. I think if I can do it, why can’t everybody? I mean, I was just a normal girl that sometimes made wrong choices like everybody does, but now I want to be closer to God and follow Him. I just wish everybody could have the same experience that I am having here! This will definitely not be my last evangelism campaign!

Banny Valderrama - To start out, I am going to say that I have had so much difficulty getting here. There were many problems and then two days before I came here, I had decided not to come. But something told me to go. So I did. Before coming here, I had asked God to show me one real miracle so I could really believe that He was here. I had seen a lot of things, but it just was not enough. I wanted one to happen to me. I was 1-½ weeks into the mission trip, and I had not seen anything happen like I had asked God to show me. Sunday, March 25, we went to the beach and we rented quads. The day was excellent and everybody was having a lot of fun. Coming back into town, I got in an accident. The bike slid in the mud and I was not able to stop on time. I hit a tree head-on. I was really shaken up—my hands and my body were in pain, but I was able to drive the quad back. I had my sister record the quad so I could remember it. I had not paid a lot of attention to the damage of the bike and the speed I was going until I put it all together. I was going pretty fast when I hit. The whole front of the bike was dented, and the steering wheel would hardly turn because of the damage. I should have flown off the bike and hit the tree head-on. But God had done what I had asked Him to do. God had made His point and I realized that I should have been hurt more than I was. That experience was really something that I needed for my faith. I would like to thank those people that helped with the ATV expenses. I am extremely thankful for them. Overall, this mission trip has been an amazing experience that I would like to do again.

Cedric Johnson - When I signed up for this, I knew what I was getting myself into. I realized that the trip would be a wonderful Christian experience. However, I didn’t know I would be preaching every day. This, of course, was a shock and I didn’t know if I would be up to it. I prayed about it and hoped that I wouldn’t get sick of it. ,I did after a while, until I realized why I was here. Once I realized my purpose, things got a whole lot better. I realized the trip was not for pleasure, but for business, God’s Business. It’s been a wonderful experience.

Chelsea Vyhmeister – When I made the commitment to preach in a children’s seminar, I knew that I was the last person on earth who should be preaching to others about God’s wonderful plan of salvation. I do not live a perfect, God-centered life, even though I try my best to do so. But the experiences I have had here have really made it possible for me to see that when you believe what you preach is true, it translates into the way you live your life. This was a life-enriching experience. Just seeing how the people here live in poverty and sickness, but are filled with an indescribable happiness that can only come from Jesus, has been amazing. They have so little of the material items and basic comforts that we have, and yet are so much more passionate, loving, and sharing than we are in the States. I have learned from the lives of the people here that love and happiness do not come from the official Treasury of the United States of America. Love and happiness are not printed on pieces of green paper and traded for things, but instead, love and happiness are what we receive when we trade our broken, sinful hearts in for new, clean and beautiful hearts that only Christ can give us. I look forward to seeing the faces of everyone who will be in heaven because of these meetings. That is the best reward that I could ever receive. If you ever have a chance to do something like this, take it. It will enrich your relationship with Christ, as well as give you wonderful memories that last forever.

Hanna Melara - I have three words that I believe accurately describe many of the wonderful and life-changing experiences that I have had since coming on this mission trip: God answers prayer. I never realized, before coming here, that God deeply cares about what we ask Him for, and if we earnestly and fervently pray to Him, He will hear and answer our petitions. I think a lot of times we don’t pray because we are too proud. We think that we can do things on our own. We think that God doesn’t care about the small things that we face everyday. But He does. All He wants us to do is come to Him, realizing that we can’t do anything on our own. God stopped the rain for us, He made our equipment start working instantly after asking Him to fix it, His Holy Spirit was here to preach with us and change hearts—ours and the people who were receiving the messages. A couple nights ago, I was pretty discouraged because the attendance of my meetings kept getting lower and lower. I decided to share my frustration with God, hoping that He would perform a miracle for me. So while in the cramped and bumpy van ride to my site, I prayed the whole time. I asked God to bring people to my meeting. I asked Him for the little church to be packed full of people who were eager to hear the message. I also asked Him to open their hearts so that they would be receptive. So when I arrived at my church and started getting everything set up, I had many doubts in my mind. I was almost certain that that night was going to be just like all the other nights. I thought that there were just going to be a few people. I took my seat in the front row and a couple minutes I turned around only to find that the whole church was completely full, not only with the usual church members, but with many people that I had never seen before! I knew immediately that God had indeed heard and answered my prayer. And I was so touched when four young men decided to give their lives to Christ and be baptized. The thing that really touched me about their decisions was that two of the four people had never come to the meetings before. I was just so amazed and humbled that God could use someone like me to reach these people. Overall, prayer is so powerful and so incredibly important. God wants us to depend on Him. He wants to show us His wonders. He wants to let us know that He is present in our lives, and that is what I have realized by coming here.

Just a footnote to Hanna’s testimony, I visited her site Wednesday night, the night she is talking about, and was amazed. It was exciting to witness the baptism of four young people and then to see four more stand for baptism when Hanna made her appeal. Hanna is a powerful preacher and the people love her at her site. She is showing them Jesus through her smile. I could tell that Hanna had won the hearts of even the new people that had attended that night. When Hanna shared what she had asked for the Lord, she said that she had asked the Lord to impress anyone passing her site to come in. Many were prompted by the Holy Spirit that night.

Anali Romo - I am here in the Dominican Republic, and I am having an awesome time. I am very thankful that my parents were in full support that I come on this mission trip. If it weren’t for them I wouldn’t be here. They are the best parents! This trip has been so good for my spiritual life with Christ and I know that my life has changed. Every day on this trip is a new challenge. I prepare for my sermon and practice all day. I am in connection with God 24/7, I pray 24/7. I have never prayed this much in my entire life, except during the summer when I canvassed. My first night out, I really didn’t want to go to my site because I was so nervous. I was so lucky that I was accompanied by Mrs. McKey and Eric Vandenbergh. I got to my site really late and that made my nerves skyrocket. To say the truth, I sucked the first time, but it is an experience I am never going to forget! I have gotten better over the nights here. I have been through so many trials that I am not afraid of anything that Satan brings to me. I have seen God work in so many ways. Every night has brought new experiences. I think that the sermons have changed my life more than the people that I have been preaching to. I realized when I was practicing for the baptism that I got baptized for the wrong reasons. I was baptized because I was afraid of God. So I just started crying and I prayed to God to help me and change me. I have really been blessed by these sermons. I have been really sick at times and the Lord liberates me from that when I am about to preach. I still can’t believe that God has been using me to do His work. It is such an honor. It saddens me when people I know haven’t fully given their lives to Christ. The love for God’s people has grown in me. I am privileged to be speaking the Word of God to people that have never heard it in their lives. I am awed at the grace and love God has for us. God not only wants us to preach sermons, He wants our lives to be a sermon of His love. If we just would realize the depth of the feelings that God has for us, even a small amount of the love, our lives would be changed. God wants us. He loves us so much that we will never understand, but I am glad that I have comprehended enough that I am willing to let that love change my life. So this is what God has done for us. I would like to challenge whoever is reading this to make God’s love real in your life. Let your life be a sermon of His love!

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This trip has truly been life-changing for many of us. Tomorrow some of our own young people will be baptized. I won’t give you the names because I want them to be able to tell you when they come home. Some of our young people have rededicated their lives to the Lord and are making some serious changes. God has truly been working in all of our hearts on this trip. We praise Him for it.

When our young people come home, please give them opportunities to share their testimonies, because they have many. They will be excited and we want you to share in their excitement about their love for Jesus!

Thank you again for allowing them to come on this trip. May God richly bless you for it.

I just want The Quiet Hour and their supporters to see that the sponsorship money they provided our Thunderbird Adventist Academy (Scottsdale, Arizona) students was well worth it. I hope all of you are blessed.

Thanks a million!

Kathy McKey

Read April 5 e-mail