Boca Chica

This is a post from one of our fellow missionaries about the area where we live...

 

The following was from a local English newspaper in the DR. These are the places we have been passing out tracts & sharing God's Word (from the front door & at safer hours - so no one freaks out!) Please pray for this city where several of our Lily ladies live & missionary friends.

Raids in Boca Chica

Over the weekend of June 8 and 9, the National Drug Control Agency (DNCD) and eight Assistant Prosecutors carried out a series of raids throughout Boca Chica on the south coast, including houses, discotheques and amusement centers where they dismantled drug sales points, arrested six people and confiscated hundreds of portions of drugs, firearms, munitions, weighing scales, hookahs and cash.

 Ricardo Antonio Tavera, Nelgica Encarnacion Segura, Ermin Zapata Araugo, alias Rafelito, Gilberto De la Cruz, alias Fili, Miguel Jimenez and Joel Ventura Julian were arrested in the raids.
The discotheques raided were El Fogon and El Batey, the PlayBoy and Candy Shop establishments, Relax Cafe Bar, and other local amusement places.

 According to the DNCD, as a result of the raids they confiscated 148 portions of cocaine, 88 of marijuana, 20 of crack, three pistols, one weighing scale, 28 9mm bullets, 12 cartridges and 13 hookahs.

 

Appreciating prayers more than ever.

Lesson Learned...

I had planned to sit down and write a little update on Saturday night… HOWEVER, after a little bout of food poisoning, this is the first day I’ve had energy to do so J

Thursday night was AMAZING but eye-opening! We walked in to the busy down-town streets of Boca Chica and met with several of the “regular” prostitutes. These are girls who know us, have seen us, can repeat the Gospel back to us… but still stand blinded by the world.

These girls are BEAUTIFUL. I mean, model-worthy beautiful! But they just give themselves away like yesterday’s garbage. It’s so sad to see. But it’s exciting to sit down and just talk with them. I spoke with 2 girls sitting alone waiting for clients. Emphasized how much Jesus loved them and the price He paid to have a relationship with them. They sat wide eyed and I stayed alert for any returning “Johns.” I was able to finish my message and hand them a gift bag and tracts before anyone came along.

Of course at the sight of the gift bags about 30 other girls came by asking for one. It was like watching children arguing over who got more and who got less. Then you realize it’s the drugs talking…

Shortly after we took a drive by a local brothel and again, when the girls saw that there were gifts there were swarms of women in their undergarments at the front gate looking for more. Breaks your heart.

Continue to pray for these women trapped by Satan’s lies.

Saturday I decided to make tacos, and that’s when things went downhill… bad chicken = food poisoning! Lesson learned. HOWEVER, it didn’t affect Robersy AT ALL. Stomach of steal I guess! Spent most of Saturday night being sick and then Sunday I slept aaaallll day. Thank the Lord for 2 missionary doctors, who gave their advice and medication. And dun, dun, DUN… I ate for the first time TONIGHT since I was sick. YAY! And so far so good. It was only a salad and frozen yogurt… but YAY!!!

Thank the Lord for His many blessings J

Let's catch up :)

I started this blog a month and a half ago, but after working on the page and trying to get it up and running (this is my first blog site), I think I finally got it.

So let’s back-track a bit! As of today, Robersy and I have been married for 2 months! Crazy how time flies. I am so thankful for the man God blessed me with and the ministry He has blessed us to work in.

Robersy has been busy with his baseball ministry. He plays, coaches and disciples mainly in Los Fundos, Juan Dolio, Guyacanes and Boca Chica but has the opportunity to travel with visiting mission teams to new areas. He loves it and wishes there were more hours in a day so that he could do more :)

As for myself, I have been working with a few different ministries, but truly love the times of discipleship in the Lily House. The Lily House is a rescue house for prostitutes. They come voluntarily from the streets, knowing the rules and guidelines of the home, and are taught life skills. It is meant to train them and show them how to live in society without degrading the body God gave them. Of course, a part of that is discipleship and showing them who they are IN CHRIST. Currently I am discipling the 3 newest ladies. They have been saved since the beginning of April and are just soaking up the Word. It’s exciting!

Another part of my ministry within the Lily House is actually going out on to the streets and speaking with the prostitutes! We let them know that they are LOVED and VALUED. We’re heading out again tonight, so I’ll let you know how it goes!

Of course Robersy and I get to do a bit of ministry together too! Two weeks ago we had the privilege of taking a family to La Vega. The goal was to share the Gospel one last time with the father’s father (who visits the Dominican regularly) before heading back to the States. Apparently God makes NO MISTAKES and had been previously working in this gentleman’s heart. He was ready to hear the Word and at 83 years old he closed his eyes and asked Jesus to be his Saviour! TOO COOL!!!

But our adventure didn’t end there! Me and my adventurous-self (and apparently God’s leading lol) suggested stopping at some waterfalls on the way home. Robersy was reluctant, but I’m convinving ;) LOL. So we headed down a bumpy, sketchy path with 3 “gringos” (Americans) in the back of the car. Well long story short, we didn’t have the time to hike an hour up to the waterfalls but we did notice the families and homes in the area!

Jump ahead a few days…

We decided to drive 1hr 30mins BACK to the waterfalls to hike and we thought, let’s bring a few bags of supplies and maybe we’ll share the Gospel with a few people. HA! God is so much bigger than our puny little selves.

Once we got back to our sketchy little dirt road we told 3 boys on bicycles that we’d be talking about Jesus in the park if they wanted to come.  We stopped at 1 other house and a shop on the way to the park and just told them to spread the word. 10 minutes later… 10 MINUTES LATER… the park filled up with over 70 men, women and children. Simply to hear “about Jesus.”

One of the Americans shared his testimony and Robersy shared the Gospel. I’m not in to numbers… but God is. He knows EXACTLY how many of those people accepted Him that day. We were thankful to be a tool in the Master’s hands.

Following the message 3 families approached Robersy begging him to come back and teach them more of the Bible. We had watched kids and women with buckets scooping drinking water from the river, but we understand now that they are thirsty for so much more.

We already have plans to return :)

Another super cool God story is from our day off! Every Monday Robersy and I have a day to ourselves. So this past Monday we decided to go to the beach. Well, our favorite beach hangout was closed, so we headed to Juan Dolio to our second favorite beach hangout… CLOSED! So we thought, ok let’s at least go out for lunch. Yup, you guessed it… CLOSED! So we asked a security guard on the road where he’d recommend and he pointed to a tables and chairs on the beach. We headed down ordered our food and relaxed. THEN the waiter (a young well-dressed 20yr old) asked us if we wanted an alcoholic drink and we explained that we were Christians. This turned in to a 3 HOUR conversation of questions about Christianity and how “Alfredo” (the waiter) could know if he is going to Heaven!

Say what you will, but my God is SO COOL. 3 beach areas CLOSED, which led us to a little spot on the beach. YUP. My God is a God of appointments!

So if you think that is cool… hold on to your seat…

So we say goodbye to Alfredo. The next day we went out with a group to play Softball near Juan Dolio. Now, there are a LOT of baseball fields in the Dominican. BUT WHO TURNS UP TO THE FIELD WHERE WE’RE PLAYING SOFTBALL…

YES! You guessed it. ALFREDO! We didn’t even see him… he spotted us! Came right up and hugged Robersy! Lol. Then at the end of the game, which he stayed and watched, he came and sat on the ground with kids and heard the Gospel preached again.

WOW.

Is there a God? J

Robersy met with him again yesterday (Alfredo called and begged, lol) and they have planned to meet once a week so Alfredo can learn more about God and His Word! 

So that’s our update. God is SO cool. I feel so unworthy to be used of Him. But I am SO THANKFUL that He has entrusted us with His Good News. May we, with the support of your prayers, continue to carry HIS message to the people.

Getting Started

I never thought I’d write a blog. Too public, I thought. But in our “line of work” we want the world to know what we’re doing! Not for praise or a pat on the back… but for prayer.

Welcome to Letters from the Laras!

Robersy and I (Sarah) are new missionaries to the Dominican Republic. Actually, we’re new at a lot of things lately… including marriage, since we just got hitched 2 weeks ago. It’s been pretty exciting after years of long-distance stuff!

Sarah helping at registration

Of course with our hearts for ministry we were diving in days after our honeymoon. Literally. On April 17^th a group of about 250 Dominican coaches and baseball trainers gathered together at the Highlands in Boca Chica for an awesome Baseball Clinic with FCA, SCORE, AIM and other ministries too. Experienced trainers from the Red Sox and other big teams taught about pitching, out fielding, hitting, etc. and then we had others preach from the Word. Robersy even had the opportunity to share his amazing testimony on the first night!

So, you might think, Why would you care about training coaches in the Word?

Do you know how popular baseball is in the Dominican? In that case, do you know how many thousands of young people are influenced by these 250 coaches? I am certain that if we work from the top and train these coaches to be men of God, then their fruit will also be incredible. Can you imagine?

Picture these young people, who put their EVERYTHING in to baseball, with that same passion for Jesus Christ. It makes me excited just thinking about it!

So that’s what we’re up to. I know, I know… you want more. Give us a chance, we’re just getting started J