Summer 2019

Summer 2019 really was a summer to remember. We need to write a song about it or something! haha.

INTERNS-

We hosted three amazing interns this summer. Two from Alabama and one from North Carolina {or Washington, or the Ukraine} She moves around a lot. They were such a great help and really made summer ’19 a great time. Two of those young women already have plans to come back as full-time missionaries with us next year, which is a huge answer to our prayers!! Yay!

TEAM HIGHLANDS-

Our first team of the summer was from Atlanta, GA. We had an incredible time with their youth group and several moms who came along. By the end of the trip we had many jokes about the “mom squad”. They were such a hard working and prepared team. Pastor Caleb does such a great job getting everyone ready for all the week’s events. We prayed for the sick at the hospital, fed children at the Dream Center, taught classes, visited schools, held an impromptu outreach at the city park when one of out school outreaches got cancelled because of protests, prayed for strangers in the downtown area, and worked so hard in the hot sun at the new property to move rocks and dig a rain gutter! We went on tons of home visits and Adopt-a-Block visits. These guys out did themselves. The best part of their trip though had to be the Soccer Tournament they helped us host. We invited 4 other area teams to play in a mini-tournament. The teams included other Dream Centers, an orphanage and schools. The team spirit was so awesome! It was a great day to be a DC LION! We love Highlands Students and we sure hope to see you guys again next summer!

TEAM IFC-

Our second team was a young adults team from Boston. These guys were so bold and courageous! From the moment we begin praying together for the sick at the hospital we connected with them. We had a monumental outreach at a University. We have been praying for an open door at this University for many years now and the answer came while this team was here. Over 500 students came during the two evening sessions. We played a few icebreakers and talked about mental health and how Jesus is the only answer to depression and anxiety. We were amazed that at this secular university so many young people raised their hands in front of peers for prayers. They worked so hard from sunrise to sunset on the new Dream Center garden and planting grass on the hill to prevent erosion during the upcoming rainy season. They played soccer with the boys and ministered {and cried + laughed} at Girl’s Club. Pastor Jason shared at ICON {our youth/young adults group} and they gave away food at our monthly grocery giveaway. IFC, you guys are family. We are already looking forward to next year.

TEAM CITYHOPE YOUTH-

The teens from our home church were team #3 of the summer and they were awesome! They pushed themselves hard and had great attitudes, even when we climbed a literal mountain together!! Some shared their faith for the very first time during our evangelism times at the hospital and downtown. We were so impressed with their boldness! Others were able to love on the children and play with them at the Dream Center and at school outreaches. This was a soccer loving team so they led a DC Lions soccer practice and played a group of boys from a orphanage in a match. They all brought down LEGOS and helped us start a creative room at the DC which has been extremely popular since they left! They made friendships with our translators and we can’t wait to see them again on next year’s trip or as interns!

ADMONI PHOTOGRAPHY-

This summer the amazing duo of Robby + Keegan McWhorter, who just happen to be Kim’s brother and sister in law, came down to spend a week documenting all that we do as a Dream Center. They must have taken a million photographs and based on the ones we’ve seen so far are INCREDIBLE!! Its been so fun to see what we do through their eyes. They have caught different angles and perspectives that we never would have thought of! We are so grateful for their time and professionalism and are sure hoping this can become an annual trip! Kim’s bother also got to run in a local 10K race while he was here!

TEAM PURE GRACE-

Pure Grace has been bringing down teams with us for years led by Andrew and Melissa Turner. We appreciate their friendship and support so much. One fun extra tidbit of information about the Turners is that they gave towards Kim’s very first mission trip to Mexico when she was only 17 years old. They are definitely missions-minded people! Their trip was so memorable this year and the big project they took on was to provide a brunch and gifts for hospital staff at the public hospital. Together we prepared over 300 hand-written thank you notes, dozens of very nice gifts, and brunch for doctors, nurses, cleaning staff, and security guards. We also spent time praying for the sick while at the hospital. Later in the week, we hosted several school outreaches and teacher meetings. The teacher meetings were really special and many teachers asked for prayer. There is such a grace for this team to reach out to teachers. We laughed together and cried too during the home visits and Adopt-a-Block visits. It was a great week! The fun thing for us is that even though they’ve been coming for years, the trip never looks the same as other trips. Each one is unique.

TEAM MAHONEY-

The last team of the season was a family team. They brought lots of fun STEM projects to do at the Dream Center. We built and raced cars and made slime! Everyone loved it so much and we enjoyed seeing everyone’s creativity come alive. They spent time praying for babies and new mothers at the pediatric wing of the public hospital and shared with our soccer teams at devotionals before the practices. They did a great job loving on the children and suffering through the hot Central American climate! They helped us serve lunches at the feeding program and we visited many DC children at their homes. It was a great week for family bonding and seeing what the rest of the world lives like. It was eye opening for sure and we can’t wait to have them back again!!

We will be sharing our 2020 pricing guides for teams soon and we hope that YOU will join us next summer on a mission trip! It will change your life.