The Beck's Journey: Summer Group #4- Miami Vineyard and Austin Stone Youth

What another amazing week! God continues to bless us beyond what we could ever ask or imagine! We had the Austin Stone Youth and Miami Vineyard visit Makarios last week and it was a joy to see God at work among His people! ...And boy were they a fun group who knew how to work hard.

We welcomed this group with a great sense of relief because we had an eventful week leading up to their visit. The week before they came, our power lines were cut so we didn’t have power for one whole week! Take one minute and imagine what that might be like. No fans to keep us cool, no light after 8pm except the lights from flashlights and lanterns (but we couldn’t recharge our lanterns, so once they went out they went out!), no food in the fridge, etc. But we (Doug, the interns, and I) learned that we are pretty resilient because we really did get along just fine and made the most of what had been given to us. Bible Study and eating dinner by candlelight was a daily routine. We learned that electricity is a privilege.

Fortunately, power returned to the house on the day they arrived, so that was an added blessing. These two groups followed the same routine as the previous groups and worked as unto the Lord. Scott and Chelsea Frazier and Gwen Mercado led their groups with such servant leadership. It was a beautiful example of the body of Christ at work- two different churches, from two different denominations, from two different states coming together to worship, serve and glorify the Lord.

Nothing like Dominican baseball in the summertime!

They worked hard helping Cakito and Kelvin at soccer camp, as well as helping us finish up the maintenance shed and completing the paint on the remainder of the wall. It’s amazing what a difference it made! From grey cinderblock walls to yellow and cream- it looks so fresh and clean.

One day during recreo (or recess) the students were transformed into princesses and superheros.

SuperHero!
But, check out the Texas Longhorn Mascot
in the background intimidating the princesses!

It was such a hit that this became a part of recreo for the rest of the week. The kids loved putting on costumes and assuming the appropriate role. It was a joy to watch them play around in the school yard with their newly acquired personality!

Once again, we were blessed beyond belief. We made lifelong friends who we were sad to see go. However, we are hopeful we will see them again in the DR. This trip was life changing for so many…here’s a post on Facebook from one of the girls who was on the trip.

"I was so blessed to work with Makarios International this past week. It was by far the best experience of my life, and being able to minister to the Dominican Republic changed my life forever..."

Thanks for joining us on the journey!

Love,

The Becks