I want to give a small run down of some things I’ve been learning and will still be learning more deeply about even after this blog post is out. I want to lay a lot out, so I’m just going to go for it.
Out of every place I’ve been, I can most confidently say that the Dominican Republic is the country in which I have felt most at home in my relationship with the Lord than I ever have in my life. I think a huge part of this is how much clarity of His true character He has brought forth for me to realize and to take in as truth instead of taking everything other people say of Him as truth.
On this mission trip, I’ve been faced with a lot of moments in which the Lord has humbled me and shown me how wrong I was about Him and His Word before. I have been faced with others who misinterpret who the Lord is, and having to navigate that with Him and distribute grace because that’s what I’m called to do. We are called to speak truth and grace, and to show truth and grace.
I have learned the sweetness of keeping things secret between the Father and I. I have learned that all I have to be is a daughter of the Highest King to be deemed worthy. Nothing more. I’ve been called His daughter from the beginning. It’s so sweet to see Him and to know Him more and more deeply and in a more and more solidified way every single day. It’s edifying to be wrong sometimes. It’s even edifying to be wrong often, and to see Him show up and move in my life to set me straight and love me gently anyways. To softly and yet boldly correct His daughter. I have tasted freedom in discipline. I never thought I would say that before now.
I’ve seen discipline from the Lord for so long as this dreaded and ugly thing that would make me feel shame and hurt more than anything else. But to be so incredibly loved by the Lord that He feels the need to correct me and gently set me straight so that I can experience Him in the fullest way possible….bro. What an incredible gift.
In the Dominican, the Lord has implemented discipline with me in little things like getting up an hour earlier than I would, simply to spend time with Him first before I do anything else with my day. He has called me to reflect Colossians 3:2 and to “Set your minds on things above and not on earthly things.” in even small moments. He has spurred me on and drawn me into telling Him things and sitting with Him on them before I go to anyone else with them. Because it grows intimacy and it allows Him to speak into things before I give anyone else the chance or the power to. He is my freaking Rock. I am saved over and over and over again in the refuge I have in the Lord. Gosh.
The ministry here is amazing too. It looks like teaching English at a Haitian school down the road from a local church and getting to absolutely love the heck out of the kids there. My team and I have been teaching kids from about Kindergarten to 3rd, maybe 4th grade. I love getting to know them by name and getting to see them come to the kids clubs I’ve invited them to and getting to dance and let them pull on my hair at recess and kiss their little hands and cheeks. Recognizing them and them recognizing me and getting excited to see me is divine. I don’t speak but a few key words and phrases in Creole and Spanish and yet I still receive the titles of “mi amiga” and “zanmi.” It’s such a gift. I love it.
We also go door to door within these communities, simply having conversations with both Haitians and Dominicans about their lives and their relationship with the Lord, if they have one. This looks like sitting on dirt floors and meeting these beautiful people where they are at and listening to them and calling them worthy and dignified and beloved in the sight of not only us, but the King of Kings.
Every piece of the ministry we do, we partner with the local churches by literally going to the pastors every single morning and saying: “Where does your community need us?” Ugh gosh I love it. My squad and I are partnering with an organization here called Mission of Hope. Mission of Hope is the organization that partners with the local churches and pastors and sends us out where we need to go. I have loved getting to know the hearts of the staff members here and the translators we have gotten the absolute freaking honor to work with. Oh my goodness. I could legitimately go on and on and on about the translators that Mission of Hope hires to work with us and other teams they send out. Each of them shows me a brand new aspect of the Lord and they get to be part of our ministry and we get to edify them and they get to edify us when we work with them. I have gotten to hear their hearts behind doing what they do.
Reggie, for example, a Haitian man whose heart beats for both us and the people we are ministering to, is a 28 year old man who genuinely does everything he does, simply because he loves the Lord. He loves old music like me and he loves Romans 8:38-39. He spurs us on to lead deep Bible studies at the Haitian youth group we go to and he can dance and get goofy with us in such a lively way that reflects absolute joy of the Father. And Lidany. A man who preaches at the church I go to on Sundays and who gets excited to see us there and waves at us when he comes off stage. A man who walks in wisdom and gentleness that is evidently of the Father. A man whose passion and love for the Father showed through while asking a blind man if he could see after I had fervently prayed over him. A man who is practical and full of the Spirit. Those are just two of the many translators who have seriously rocked my world while being here, and in such a way I can’t fully describe.
About five days ago, I was asked to be an intern for Mission of Hope for two weeks (this past week and a week coming up in March) with two of my squad mates, Alyssa and Josiah. This essentially means that I get to represent Mission of Hope and lead a team throughout ministry. Man oh man. It has been amazing. One of my spiritual giftings is leadership, and it has been indescribable to walk in that with full reliance on the Lord this past week. To get to know a sweet group of 16 men, women, teens, and children and serve with them has been by far one of the greatest blessings that I have gotten to experience while on the Race. Getting to rely on the Father for strength even with very little rest compared to normal, was an incredible experience.
I could not be more thankful for the relationships I’ve made here, the relationships I will continue to create and to deepen, and above all, for the deepening of intimacy in my relationship between the Lord and I.
Like I said before, one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned here, is what a sweet thing it is to keep things between myself and the Lord and to bring all of it into His light so that the darkness flees and each testament is left as nothing less than a piece of His light for all to see. This lesson reminds me of Ephesians 5:13 “But everything exposed by the light becomes visible– and everything that is illuminated becomes a light.” and Psalm 36:9 “For with You is the fountain of life; in Your light we see light.”
Yours,
Landry
The absolute truth expressed so eloquently. Love you Landry
Landry this is absolutely beautiful. I’m proud of you and the way you have allowed the Father to stretch and grow you in the simplest and sweetest ways. He is so beyond faithful and your testimonies are a reflection of His great promise to us. Proud of you friend.
Landry, Your reflections in this blog are inspiring! I feel honored and privileged that our Lord has allowed me to be your grandmother and has allowed me to share in your experiences as they grow your faith. About the time I think your relationship with our Lord is as strong as it gets, I get to witness growth and change as He molds you to carry out His works and fulfill His mission through your ministry to others.