EDCM Summer Newsletter

Did you know that God is always with you and will never forsake you? Did you know that He wants to do some GREAT through you? Well, that was the message of our annual youth camp this year called Connecta2 (Connected). The theme was "Marcados para un Propósito," which simply means "Marked for a Purpose." We led over 250 teenagers through the story of Joseph found in the book of Genesis and showed them that God is always by our side, in the good times and in the difficult times. We also taught them that when we surrender to God, He can transform our life and do immeasurable more than we could imagine, just like He did in the life of Joseph.

The entire weekend was full of passionate worship, deep bible studies and fun team competitions. One night we even held an "American Idol" event where the teenagers were allowed to perform in front of our "judges" in order to see who would take home the 2018 Trophy. We had a dozen or so teenagers and/or groups participate putting their God-given talents to use singing, dancing, rapping and even doing skits that had a deep message. It was great to see the teens using their talents to praise the Lord.

While at Connecta2 2018, God moved powerfully and 10 teenagers gave their lives to Christ. After contacted their parents, we were able to gather around the camp pool and baptize them. Praise God!

Connecta2 2018 was a HUGE success and we thank God for the opportunity to share His Word and love with these teens.

We have had several short-term mission teams this summer and each of them have truly been awesome. We thank God for the partners of EDCM and we thank our partnering churches for taking time out of their busy schedules to come to the DR and serve alongside of us. Here are a few things God did through our short-term teams this summer:

First Christian Church, Carmi, IL
Drew Flannagan and gang arrived ready to help us run Connecta2, our annual youth camp. This great group of adults and teens were some of the most loving people ever to come to the DR. While in the DR, God used this groups to connect to several of the Dominican teens and used their testimonies to encourage many Dominicans through our home visits. Thank you FCC of Carmi!

This great group of about 60 people arrived in the DR ready to rumble! Because of their size, they were able to split into several smaller groups and have an impact in several locations at the same time. One of the groups focused their attention in a neighborhood called Brisas del Mar. This is where EDCM and 1st Pres have a Medical Outreach trying to help some of the poorest people in La Romana. This group led several VBS activities in Brisas del Mar where dozens of children came each day and heard the Word.

One of the coolest things that happen is that God open the door for us to hold our very first
official worship service in our medical clinic! We opened the doors and invited the entire community, young and old, to come and worship Jesus. The La Romana church plant (Pastor Victor, Ricardo Luis, etc..) were able to come to Brisas and help lead the worship services where dozens of people worshipped God through music and preaching. It was an incredible morning of worship. Great job everybody!