A new trip to the Dominican Republic.

On 21 March the time has come again: we are travelling to the Dominican Republic once more. Fellow travellers will share their motivation for coming and what they expect.

Mathijs' motivation

Together with three friends I have got to know well over the past years through the Betuwe in Bloei movement, this year I am going on a mission trip for the first time in my life. It is certainly not something that was on my bucket list, though I do enjoy having conversations with people from other cultures. Going on a mission trip is quite a big step into the unknown for me, outside my comfort zone. I have been walking alongside people from Betuwe in Bloei for a few years now. It has changed my life, my thinking and my actions. When Marien invited me to an information evening about mission trips, I simply went along. Then I wrestled with the question: will I do this or not? If you do not do it now, you may never do it. I did not hear a very clear “yes” from God, but the phrase “Go and make disciples of all nations” often came to mind. I now see it as an “internship” in which I will discover more of God and His Kingdom and how God can work through me. And of course I am also going there to give, to bless the people there materially and spiritually. I am curious how I will come back from this trip!

Motivation: Marjan

I am Marjan Vonk, and after I was filled with the Holy Spirit I fell in love with Jesus. I wanted to pass this love on straight away and go all out for Him. It turned out, however, that the infatuation faded and that my thinking first had to be completely renewed. Above all I had to learn to do everything in the power of the Holy Spirit instead of relying on and acting from my own insight and understanding. "Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD", it says in Zechariah 4:6. My faith also still had a lot of growing to do. The facts I feel or see are not the truth; what is written in God's Word is the truth. This meant first of all that I was moved above all by the Holy Spirit, received insights and had to act on them and persevere. And also that I learned to step out into the incredible things Jesus already said we should do when He left us on this earth: bringing His Kingdom by casting out demons, laying hands on the sick, bringing the gospel, and so on. Only raising the dead I have not yet experienced, and I hope to be able to do so in His Name. The enemy steals, destroys and kills. But Jesus wants, through me among others, to set people free from bodily, spiritual and physical prisons and bring them healing and restoration. I want to be a Christian in the full sense, namely to be like Him!! So that people say: "Hey, you must be a Christian too, because you are like Him!" This means I have to walk on water and trust in Him. It is an adventure I am learning through trial and error. But I am encouraged by His love that surrounds me, leads me, lifts me up and warms me like a fire. Again and again He sets me on fire and urges me to do, say and be who He wants me to be, namely a daughter of the King. I think the time has now come for me to step out in faith in places other than the Netherlands too. That is why I am going to the Dominican Republic.

Motivation: Arne Bode

I am Arne, I am 22 and I come from Westervoort. The main reason I want to go on a mission trip is that when I watched a video of Marien's earlier trips, I was touched by the images of the poorest people, who have to live on nothing. While watching the video I was filled with so much love for the people who had to live on nothing.

Another reason is that I have taken several courses in which I learned to step out in faith. This seems a great opportunity to step out, proclaim God's word and support the poor.