"Levántate, toma tu camilla, y vete a tu casa."

(Continued from "In the winterim...")

I thought we'd have a few hours during which to get settled before we had to leave for Monday afternoon's mural tour - wrong. By the end of the week I sounded like the boy who cried wolf every time I said the words "free time." The Concordia Seminary, St. Louis (CSL) gang kept up with me every step of the way, though, literally in the case of the ~1.5 hr. walk through a colorful downtown Santiago neighborhood. 

 

THEN I made them climb the hill to "Golgotha" - in the dark - for dinner with the single seminarians. This isn't something that regularly figures into mission education, but I wanted the CSL students to see what it's really like to be a student here. 

I arrived before everyone else and sent them this picture as motivation for the hike ahead. 

Wesley and Nick.

You KNOW it's a good time when the karaoke starts before dinner. 

Tuesday had us in Palmar for most of the day: leading Christian formation at Concordia Lutheran school, attending Professor Conrad's Predicación (Preaching) class, getting a rundown of Concordia the Reformer Seminary from director Joel Fritsche, and learning about deaconess ministry and formation from a panel of servant-hearted ladies. 

The kids got to act like increasingly violent waves until "Brettsús" calmed them with a word. 

As a result of the deaconess panel, two team members who hold leadership roles in CSL's Student Association plan to work with the Director of Deaconess Studies on a similar event back home! 

After a bout of sitting and listening (to be fair, the team kept asking probing, insightful questions!), it was time for some fresh air and movement. The entire group headed to my beloved botanical garden, where the wives in the bunch met up with the DR seminary wives. After a short walk - and group photo, of course - they enjoyed drinks and appetizers at the Fritsches' before the rest of us crashed the party for dinner. 

Wednesday morning took us to Licey to lead an ESL/Bible lesson for students at the public school adjacent to Iglesia Luterana Cordero de Dios. No, your eyes aren't deceiving you; Christianity is woven into life here in ways that would be grounds for a court case in the US. 

We took at least 3 iterations of this photo with different combinations of staff members!

The 100-strong student body maxes out the sanctuary for weekly chapel, so we were relegated to standing in the back. 

It was Wednesday that the legendary Jesus Heals a Paralytic skit made its Dominican debut...and later went viral. Brettsús's dramatic delivery of the title lines and Ben O.'s convincing portrayal of the paralytic caused word to spread that we had some Oscar nominees among us. All humor aside, the message of "Jesus is God" echoed loud and clear.

I had to be the bad guy and make everyone come inside from recess for a presentation on Himnario Luterano.

We filled up on mofongo for lunch, then spent the rest of the day in Palmar - at the local baseball field with Rev. Idjon Fritz and the Palmar fieldwork students, in worship, and then (for some - sadly, not me) back at the baseball field for some BP!

One of the CSL students led a devotion about forgiveness & reconciliation (featuring, fittingly, the story of Dominican major leaguer Juan Marichal), while I interpreted. (Photo credit: Johanna Heidorn)

Nick, the lone 4th year student in the bunch, started Thursday off by preaching for chapel (through an interpreter). He concluded by saying that from now on, when he pictures the global church, the faces of everyone gathered will come to mind. 

My customary job of taking minutes at Thursday morning regional team meetings was easy with so many guests: introductions + a PPT overview of LAC missions by Regional Director Ted Krey. 

(Photo credit: Jana Inglehart)

Thursday afternoon's activity was a key one for any and every mission education team: visits. We started off together at a public school (told ya) in Pueblo Nuevo for an impromptu reprisal of the viral paralytic skit and then split up between a) El Congo (near Pueblo Nuevo); and b) Licey and surrounding areas. 

The Licey crew organizing ourselves into three groups of five. (Photo credit: Johanna Heidorn). 

Dinner al fresco - with singing! - in the Krey backyard. 

Performance #3 was Friday morning - with a craft this time. The team got their longest stretch of promised free time yet that afternoon before a taco party on Tirzah's roof. 

I went to the first hour or so of the "afterparty" back in Palmar...which I heard went until midnight!

"Closing night" of "Jesús sana a un paralítico" was Saturday morning at Pueblo Nuevo's escuelita ("Sunday" school). I made them act and run to catch their flight.

Did I take a nap Sunday afternoon? Maybe. But I was also so, so satisfied. This team reinforced everything I love about my job and all of the reasons why I believe in the value of short-term missions. They were flexible. They were learners. Their wheels are already spinning as to how they can take what they experienced and apply it to the various ministry contexts they'll soon find themselves in. Speaking of which, you better believe I'll be streaming the vicarage and call assignment services on April 26. I hope to reconnect with a handful of the team members next time I'm in St. Louis and as many of the rest as I can if they wind up anywhere near where my next home service will take me.

Until next time, blessings in Christ!