When Pastor Alvaro Sauza asked us if we wanted to go to the Dominican Republic, I was really excited. I didn’t want to preach, but there were other things that I could do. Then the Pastor said that they were looking for more preachers and that he may ask a couple of us teens if we felt impressed to preach. When he said that I was scared, I started praying. I didn’t know why he would ask me to preach, but I knew that he was going to ask me. After the Lord calmed me down, He told me that he would be with me. So, when the Pastor asked me to preach I was more than ready to say yes.

On the night of the first meeting, I was really excited, and a little nervous. I told the Lord that I was ready to be a part of His work. The first night STUNK! My translator quit not even five pages into the presentation. I tried to get her to keep going, but she wouldn’t. She was done. She told me to skip to the end because she would not translate any more. I apologized to the audience. I told them that I wasn’t ready to preach like I thought I was and told them that it would be wonderful if they would come back the next day and give me another chance to share the Word of God with them.

Now I had no translator. I thought I might be asked not to come back and preach again. I prayed. Pastors Sauza, Serns, and Loor heard and were shocked by what happened. I was again filled with disappointment and even anger and what had happened, but I prayed again and the Lord lifted all that pain and anger away. I didn’t know what would happen, but I was at peace.

I was blessed to have been matched up with one of the best translators. His name is Victor. He was the one who comforted me after the first night’s disaster when Satan tried to stop the meetings, but God picked me up and guided my words and actions through the whole thing.

During this trip I felt something that I had never felt before. I felt like I was being pulled toward ministry and possibly being a pastor. Now, I love to preach and even more, I love seeing the reaction from people who are hearing the Truth of the Lord for the first time. It is so exciting to watch people making decisions for Christ and it is amazing to know that God wants me to be a part of that with Him. I have always wanted to be a scientist, but perhaps my science will be the science of winning souls with God. (That’s what my mom said). – Michael J. Graham