Good morning my name is Trey Brouwer, and I was on this last mission trip to the Dominican Republic. My mission site was working with young kids in sports, mostly soccer. I was able to make connections with all the 30 kids each day. The funnest thing we did was a handshake. It goes like this: high five, backside, stack, stack, pound it, cross your arms then throw them down them and yell Siuuu! Which means yes in Spanish, and I would do this handshake with every kid more than twice a day.

After being with those kids for two weeks I saw their: passion for sports, their community, and their love for everyone. I think everyone that went on this mission trip would say that the People in the DR are always happy and caring.

Every morning before the kids arrived, my site leader Josue and I would prepare peanut butter sandwiches and sweet tea for each kid. The kids aren’t even allowed to touch the food until all the kids come and they pray over the meal. After that we would play soccer.

Seeing their passion for sports was really exciting, nothing would stop them from being the best they could be, even if they didn’t have shoes. All of the sports donations made the kids burst with joy, and they instantly started a game of soccer. Watching these kids really showed the characteristics of Godly children. The first day the kids saw me they were all shocked and then they pointed at the basketball court, they talked in Spanish to me, I didn’t know what they said, but I knew they wanted me to dunk. When I ran over and slammed the ball down all the kids’ faces lit up. Next thing I knew there was a line of kids that eagerly wanting me to throw them in the air so they could dunk too. Once the second week came around we did something different. We held a VBS at the base, with the Elementary site, containing Caryss and Tyler. I’m sure both of them would say that the kids really wanted to win every challenge given to them.

One day my site leader and I drove around town to see the community and all the houses where the kids were living. We stopped at one of them and Josue asked to hear how they were doing, as he was talking with the mom. All the kids came out and we had a blast, even just playing with some trash that was on the gray graveled ground. All of these houses in the small town are nothing like the ones here in America, some of them looked like they made them themself out of concrete and most of the houses have seven or more people in them. But nevertheless they are still content with what they had and manage to always give a heart warming smile.

Seeing these smiles really showed their love for one another. Every morning the kid’s hugs were strengthening, and heart touching. The kids never were shy, they just always joined the fun anytime. One day we did a Limbo Competition, every kid got to try and everyone was so happy. It was like a movie scene where everything is bright and joyful.

In the course of this Dominican Republic mission trip, I was able to see God’s Glory: in their passion for sports, their community and their loving care for all. I would heavily encourage anyone who wants to expand their knowledge of Christ and explore the world, to join Students International on a mission trip. Hebrews 13:21 “May he equip you with all you need for doing his will. May he produce in you, through the power of Jesus Christ, every good thing that is pleasing to him. All glory to him forever and ever!”