Magical milk and other life lessons.

Saline drops are your friend.

Breast milk is magical. Put it in eyes and ears to help infection. (It works, people!)

Don't give cough medicine after eating a bowl of oatmeal cereal. 
Barf. 
Everywhere.

These are a few life lessons I have learned over the last week while tending to our cuddly little peanut, Josiah. Although he is the happiest sick kid I've ever met... he has still been very demanding :)


As you know, I like to get our blog out every Monday but these last few weeks have proved difficult as we've been busy with teen camp, trips, ministry, groups and of course trying to stay afloat as the craziness of summer winds down.

Ministry has never been 9 to 5... but summer adds its own dose of CRAZY!

Saying that, we are so grateful for the amazing, unforgettable experiences we have had over the years, and the beautiful people we have had the privilege of serving beside.

Last week I gave you a run down on our trip to Atlanta, but had promised some updates on camp. 

It was an incredible (and tiring!) few days where teens enjoyed the preaching of God's Word, Bible competition, worship, sports, challenges and plenty of games. There were several decisions made, including Salvation and dedications. Please be praying for those who made a commitment! That their churches would come alongside them and help them to grow!

Here are just a few photos from Mud Day and one on the last day of camp:

Upon our return from Atlanta, we were able to serve with some of our favorite people!

Robersy has gotten to play a WHOLE lot of baseball lately :) and even translated (YES! Translated!) for a visiting team led by our director (John Zeller) and former MLB player, Keith Madison.

Tuesday Girl's club has been going great too. Last week we were able to share the Gospel with over 31 young ladies. We pray this time during summer makes a lasting impact on their lives!

Of course between groups and ministry we've been able to celebrate graduations, Father's Day (celebrated a little later that the States/Bermuda), and Josiah's 6 months! 

It has been a fantastic summer and we are ready for a little down time before the school year begins again.

Thank you for your prayers and I look forward to updating you again next Monday <3

Love,
The Laras

Fa la la la la...

"Ooooh, it feels like Christmas!"

I squealed with excitement as I got a chill from the breeze after the freshly fallen rain.

Robersy and I were sitting outside on the porch playing Phase 10 since the electricity had gone out for the fifth time today. ("THIS is the reality of the Dominican Republic..." Luci pitch)

Shivering I ran inside to get feety pajamas for our scantly clad child jumping in his Exer-saucer. Robersy gathered the ingredients to make some yummy Dominican hot chocolate and I lit some candles for seasonal ambiance. We love winter!

Brrrrr...

A brisk 77 degrees.

HA-HA!

So maybe it's not a New York Christmas or even anywhere close for our Canadian or UK friends/family... but for just a second that's exactly how it felt.

In fact, aside from the weather, it has felt like "the week after Christmas" since our return from the States last Saturday.

You know what I mean?!

You plan (and plan and PLAN) and prepare and travel and celebrate... then in a blink of an eye, it's over. Oh how you wish you could go back and do it all over again.

That's how we feel :( All 13 of of us!

But in the same breath we can not even find sufficient words to express our gratitude for the love and kindness shown by dozens of people through meals, equipment, uniforms, shoes, accommodation, transportation, time and several, SEVERAL other ways.

We confirmed that neither the English nor Spanish dictionaries successfully describe our hearts.

Yet we shall try :)

My Facebook contains well over a hundred photos of our Atlanta baseball trip but for those who didn't get to see... here are a few highlights from our time traveling with 10 Dominican boys on their first trip to America.

We were excited to see a miracle right before our eyes when Robersy, Josiah and my passports arrived through DHL Express DAYS before our scheduled departure.






The plane ride was especially thrilling as it was the first time for all the boys! We made it with no tears and only 1 barf bag filled which was sweetly handed to me at our arrival in to Atlanta. #thanksbuddy

We were given a warm welcome by Taylor Barnes (the man who put all of this trip together following a life changing mission trip to the Dominican Republic last year), his family and friends!

Immediately we were whisked away to see an Atlanta Braves game!!! 

After a looooooong drive home and a good night of sleep we were up and ready to go again with a visit to a Sunday School class and some time of worship with Pastor David Sampson and Parkway Baptist church.

For the next few days we had a Vacation Bible School in the mornings and practice/games in the afternoon and evening.

We studied Noah's Ark, but this wasn't a VBS for toddlers! We learned interesting facts about Noah and his relationship with the Lord as well as cultural information to help us understand the times in which this historical event occurred. Kyle (our Bible teacher and Parkway's youth pastor) even led us outside to measure the dimensions of the Ark! 





Of course there were games, snacks and music.

Our boys are STILL singing the VBS songs - in English!!!

"It was an ocean commotion!!!"
"Rock the boat. Rock, rock the BIG boat!"

VBS is where many friendships were formed for both the kids and for us adults too :)


Then off to baseball...

The Gospel was preached at EVERY game! 

P.S. See that super cool dude next to the preacher... that is Charles Carter. He, along with his amazing wife, Ashley, helped us translate for the week. We are so blessed by their friendship and ministry <3

I know you can see it in their eyes... but these kids LOVED every second! They even made the news! Not sure how to add the video from Channel 3 news, but here is the article from Channel 9 below...

News Channel 9

Then the boys were invited to a baseball presentation at... Lake Winnie Theme Park!

Bumper cars were their favorite, but we were able to get all the boys on a wooden roller-coaster too. They had a BLAST! Even though one boy claimed he was having a heart attack on a drop during the ride :)






The boys (and their coach) were proud to represent their homeland in the presentation and felt like celebrities as they shook hands/high-fived with each little baseball player of the teams represented.













In one final HOO-RAH, we said our goodbyes at a pool party.

Amazing that language was not a factor in the friendships formed.

Tears were shed by all.








And with that, we packed our bags and headed home once again.

Forever changed because of the sacrifice made by hundreds 

......(Taylor Barnes & family, Pastor David and Melissa Sampson & the Parkway Baptist church, Moriah Baptist (accommodation), Iglesia Misionera Juan Dolio (our home church), van drivers, cooks, cleanup crews, laundry crew, VBS team, the whole youth group, Choo Choo, Cracker Barrell (x2!), Chick Fil A, all other food suppliers, Chick's Lumber Yard (uniforms), all of our fans who traveled near and FAR! Everyone who gave... Everyone who prayed. I know I'm missing people, but please know from the bottom of our hearts we are so, SO, SOOOOO blessed by you!)......

and the love of one ALMIGHTY GOD!!!
To HIM be the glory forever and ever. Amen.