On our final day, we visited two different locations. First, we visited the old city of Santo Domingo. We began with visiting Basilica Cathedral of Santa María la Menor, the oldest cathedral in the Americas. With reverence, we explored different areas of the main sanctuary. Afterwards, we had a chance to shop in the tourist area of the old city. In the afternoon,
This was our final day of work. We wanted to leave a positive impact in the communities we worked with. As we returned back to Villa Altagracia, this time, we had a chance to walk around the community. Felix (a Lighthouse staff) shared some of the future plans they have in the area. We got to hear briefly about who lives in this particular neighbourhood. Then we completed a
This morning (around 4:30 am), some of us were awakened by an earthquake located approx. 80 km away from us. It was very brief and there was no damage at all; some of our team members didn't notice it. Our morning brought us back to the CBOQ school. This time, the morning classes were there i.e. those ages approx. 4-6 and 11-13. We rotated through some crafts and outdoor
Today was a day of rest from work. We started our morning by joining the Open Walls Church within the community. Their congregation welcomed us by teaching us a song and praying for us. In the afternoon, we were up against one of the softball teams in the neighbourhood. We were told they practice twice a week; we became their practice round. While our
There was one key word that summarized our day: PAINT! In the morning, we divided into 2 groups: one that joined a ESL class and another painting the interior and the washrooms for a satellite school (that was named after CBOQ). In the afternoon, we continued painting, this time some metal storage unit that will be used in the Lighthouse compound itself.
This morning, we started our day with devotions on the rooftop of our residence - a nice cool breezy morning. In the morning, Felix guided us through the area around the Lighthouse school. We briefly visited some local churches, satellite schools and neighbourhoods to familiarize ourselves both with the community's history and its relationship to the Lighthouse. After our community walk, we took time to
7:04 pm local time: After getting through security with some minor delays, we took off on time and have now landed in Punta Cana. 8:09 pm: We have all our bags and are on the Lighthouse bus. Plus pizza as we travel! 11:09 pm We arrived safely at the Lighthouse compound. It's been quite the travel day. With some great food waiting for us, the Dominican hospitality
This is the first time our entire team was able to gather together as we prepare for this Compassion Experience. After some heartfelt good-byes with parents, we centred on why we're in this, had a Spanish primer lesson led by Karla Campbell and began working through the logistics of our final preparations (including shuttling between our office and our hotel).
We are excited to be sending a team of 15 students and leaders from Kingsway Baptist Church and Mimico Baptist Church on this compassion experience to the Dominican Republic on March 9-16. They will be joining the Lighthouse Project which CBOQ Youth has supported for 20+ years. Starting on March 9, we'll have a daily update from our team so you can see what God is doing through our team.
On February 25, over 750 youth leaders and student leaders converged at Bayview Glen Church for the first time in-person in 3 years. Essentially 2 simultaneous conferences happening, it was a time of deep learning, inspiration and conviction. Also, a special announcement on this 40th anniversary was the hosting transfer from Youth Unlimited to Youth Worker Conference. (You can see a glimpse of what the day was like in
