Final Post .......

This final post regarding our incredible missions trip to the Dominican Republic is by Coach Denny Scott, Director of Sports Ministries at Northland. He was a vital part of the preparation for our trip, as well as a key member while we were there. His wisdom and insight were invaluable to keep us focused on accomplishing the goals we had prayed about for months.

A Total Team Effort

When I returned home from this trip there were a number of people that asked me how things went. My reply was usually the same, “On a scale of 1 to 10, I think it was an 11 or 12.” I honestly believe that the trip of “off the charts” in many ways. God did some amazing things both in us and through us and the glory for whatever was accomplished goes to Him.

Throughout the past few months it was obvious that God was overseeing many details both in the preparation and in the actual participation of the trip. God brought together a great team to do the work He wanted done. I’m not just talking about the actual members of the Northland women’s basketball team. I am talking about all of the people that God brought together for this special experience.

No team can function effectively without a head coach and Coach Whitt provided much insight with his years of experience in leading mission trips as a youth pastor. His spiritual leadership with the discipleship aspect of the team was a real blessing to see and be a part of. He led the team in a study of the book of Nehemiah throughout the trip. Also, his eagerness for sharing the gospel at each game and inviting people to respond was also a great example to the rest of the team. Praise the Lord for one young man that trusted Christ at our last game! There were also a few salvation decisions at the outdoor evangelistic meetings we participated in at Hato Mayor. I believe that a number of our own team members also made personal decisions in their walk with the Lord and future service to Him.

Jennifer Renner was a God-send in helping prepare the girls for ministering through music, puppets, and testimonies. These were all done in the Spanish language even though few of the girls can actually understand or speak the language. She was a great help in interpreting for us as well. I don’t know what we would have done without her. She manifested a real servant’s heart through the entire process of the trip.

Our bus-driver, Marcos was “hand-picked by God” to become a part of our team. He was a tremendous blessing. His enthusiasm and servant spirit was contagious. None of us who were on the trip will ever forget him.

Manuel Sanchez, who is an alumnus of Northland from the Dominican Republic, was an extra special help in planning the trip. I was able to spend a lot of time with him in the planning stages. He always helped me gain some insight into the Dominican culture and put me in touch with the right people to help provide housing, meals, and ground transportation.

Kristy Legg, the basketball team manager and Sports Ministries major did a lot of behind the scenes work in the planning stages. Her burden for sports ministries was “fleshed out” in this trip. She covered a lot of the “nitty-gritty” details of the planning and helped much in the communication of things to the team members.

Denny Vauters provided much advice and help from the Northland Center for Global Opportunities. He helped with many projects like copying support letters, booking airline tickets, getting team shirts, and sending receipts and thank you letters to all of those who have supported us financially.

In the Dominican Republic people like Don Juan (who opened his home for us to stay in), Doña Mechi (who prepared wonderful meals for us), Pastor Roberto Martino, Carlos Sanchez, Pastor Manuel Ruiz, Pastor Carlos Abreu, Yadin Rodriguez, Pastor Amos, Heidi Van Dyke (NBBC Alumnus and missionary) and all of the youth group at Iglesia Bautista Cristiana have touched our lives in amazing ways. It was difficult to say good-bye to many of these brothers and sisters in Christ who became so dear to us in such a short time.

A great blessing to me personally was the testimony of one of our team members who, after seeing Heidi Van Dyke (a single female missionary) being used by God in such a tremendous way, shared with the team, that she could “see herself serving the Lord in a similar way on the mission field in the future”. Prior to the trip she may have been uncertain about stepping out by faith to serve the Lord in this way, but having seen one of our alumni doing it first-hand has increased her faith and encouraged her to surrender to see God use her in this way in the future.

All in all, the trip was a wonderful experience. Praise the Lord for the opportunity to be used in this way. Sports Missions works, but it takes a team effort!