As I lay in bed in disbelief that our time in the DR is over, I can’t help but sit in awe of what the Lord has done.

This morning we left for the beach at 6:30 to witness the most beautiful sunrise we’d ever seen. On top of that, we got to witness Brooklin and Molly take a bold step in their faith and get baptized in the ocean!! There wasn’t a dry eye on the beach. The joy that was in this moment is truly unexplainable and will be something that we hold close to us for the rest of our lives.

After breakfast we drove to the handicap orphanage where the emotional morning continued. Not knowing what to expect, we prepared a message to share with them, but soon realized no words were needed. Many of the kids were paralyzed to their beds, strapped to wheelchairs, unable to speak/comprehend, and obviously living completely different lives than us. Our hearts shattered as we laid our hands upon the paralyzed and did what we could to make them feel loved. Nothing could have prepared us for this moment. The next hour or so was filled with a lot of silence, tears; but, yet, lots of joy. Their glimpses of smiles gave this to us. What an opportunity.

After the handicap orphanage, we stopped at the store to get some snacks and drinks. Some of us tried cultural foods and others went straight to the familiar American labels. We then drove to Pasitos de Jesus (girls orphanage) to give the bracelets we had made them. When we got to the orphanage, we realized that we had left Coach’s suitcase with the bracelets in them at the handicap orphanage (yikes). To make the trip a little more interesting, we drove 35 minutes back to the handicap orphanage and then back to Score for lunch.

From 1:30-4:30 we hit the beach! It was crazy to think that Christmas is in 7 days when we were boogie boarding in the ocean and reading in the sand. Thankfully, the beach wasn’t as crowded as it was the other day and we were able to enjoy it a little more.

Tonight’s devotional after dinner was really good. Our new friends, Courtney and Mike, got to join us again and experience a small part of what’s going on within our team. We talked about Matthew 5:13-16 and what it means to be the salt and light of the Earth. Courtney, if you ever read this, thank you for sharing your kind, wise heart with us! You impacted us more than you know!

After the devotional, all of us just began having conversations about how the week went and what the Lord had been teaching us individually. To put it shortly, by the end of the night we had one teammate choose to follow Jesus and another decide to get baptized! WHAT?! Heaven is REJOICING over Belmont Softball tonight. It is so humbling to think about how many people have prayed over this team. It’s evident that God has been in every detail years leading up to this trip. Thank you to everyone who has kept up with us this week and to everyone who has been praying over us. As much as I want to win an OVC Championship this year, no victory will top what happened today. 12/18/18 is a day that this program will remember forever. It is a day of boldness, revelation, and new life. I’m confident that this is just the beginning. We are eager to tell our teammates that couldn’t come on the trip about what we learned and how it changed our relationships with each other.

Keep up with us in the spring! Go Bruins. Go Jesus.

Prayer: that our deep love for one another continues into season and that we all travel safely tomorrow! up