In a few hours, our CE-DR 2018 team will depart for the Dominican Republic where they will join other churches under International Teams (ITeams) to serve the Lighthouse Project. We are grateful for the partnership with ITeams and Lighthouse, and the willingness of this 10-person team to serve and learn with the nationals there.

Earlier this evening, I briefly shared four points with them:

  • We call these “compassion experiences” because their stance is to come alongside people in their suffering (compassion = “with suffering”). As their lifepaths intersect within the team and with the community, they can learn from others.
  • Each of them are ambassadors of their church, of CBOQ and ultimately of Jesus. As such, we need to represent well.
  • In the midst of all their experiences, we’re challenging them to consistently ask, “God, what do you want me to notice right now?” (and see what God is showing them).
  • Ultimately, our attitude to serve comes from a desire to want to serve (not to “have to” serve). It’s our pleasure to serve!

We pray for this group as they prepare for their journey and await their stories when they return.