Thanks to the Lord and you, our partners, the Dominican mission trip was amazing! We traveled with a ministry called Athletic International Missions (AIM) who has labored in ministry for 6 summers in the Dominican Republic and other countries.

Many of you watched and prayed with us as the first miracle of our mission trip to the Dominican unfolded. Raising $16,000 in less than a week in order for our whole family to go on the mission trip far surpassed our expectations!

Our children’s childlike faith shook our dignified “dead faith” that told us, “It’s too late, too much money and too much effort.” But God showed up! Thank you to everyone who participated!!

This was our 3rd summer of giving to the Dominican Republic. We arrived with our AIM team and were welcomed by the many smiles and hugs of friends we had made on the mission trips to the Dominican the last 2 summers. We got settled into a lovely hotel on the Caribbean where we always felt the Lord’s refreshing.

A typical day for us in the Dominican started out with breakfast around 7am and then a group devotion 45 minutes later. Then we all jumped into the safari buses and headed out to the many villages to do sports camps and Vacation Bible Schools (VBS) for thousands of children. The buses returned after we fed the children (unless they forget us, which happened one of the days we were on this mission trip :0). A bit different than in the U.S., but we made the best of it when it happened.

The safari bus brought us back to our hotel where a delicious fresh lunch was ready. We shared cool God stories while eating and then had free time to enjoy the beach and building relationships during our break between lunch and dinner. After dinner we all went into a village where open air crusades were planned by the local churches. Amazing worship preceded preaching by Saleim who ministered to the precious Dominican people.

Saleim also preached a Sunday service where two main drug lords of the area attended and heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

We thank the Lord for the opportunity to love and minister to the Dominican people. Hundreds of Dominicans came to know Jesus and many were encouraged to keep running the race. God bless you for your prayers and support! Melanie Kahleh