#DR2015

This is the view from my favorite hammock in the DR.

Dear Friends and Family,

In Matthew 28, Jesus commands us to “GO and make disciples of all nations.” The Lord has given my family and I many opportunities to be obedient to this call. In June, I have the honor and privilege to return to the Dominican Republic, along with a team of 12 others.  We will be partnering again with my friends Julio and Mercy (local missionaries), who serve the poorest of the poor in and near Santo Domingo. They are school teachers who have surrendered to the call of gospel-centered living.  Most of their work is with the Haitian immigrants who live on small sugar cane farms, called batays. Most of them struggle daily for clean water and their next meal.  

Our team will be flying from Dallas to Santo Domingo, DR on June 17th and returning June 23rd. This will allow us a week to serve the local church in Santo Domingo. During the week, we anticipate serving in several ways.  We will be caring for special needs children at orphanages and helping equip local churches to share the gospel. We will stay in the home of Julio and Mercy and get firsthand experience of the culture. I’m humbled to get this opportunity to share in Christ’s work in the Dominican Republic.

I am inviting you to partner in this journey. How can you partner?

• 

  One of the sweet kiddos in Santa Alicia.

  Partner through prayer. Commit to pray while we serve in the Dominican Republic. You can subscribe to and follow this blog for daily updates on our experiences throughout the trip.   
• Partner through financial support. The estimated cost for the trip is about $1460, which is due in two parts ($700 due by May 1st, $760 due by May 17th). Your donation can be made tax deductible by sending it to The Branch Community Church, P.O. Box 307 Bullard TX, 75757. Please designate the gift: Snow DR Mission Fund

I would love to sit down and talk with you more about what the Lord is doing in our family and this trip. So, if you have any questions, please call or email me. Thank you for taking the time to read about the opportunity I have coming soon and for prayerfully considering your involvement in my support team.

Charis Dia Pistis,

@ZachSnow

903-258-1130

jzacharysnow@gmail.com

A Lot Can Happen In A Decade...Because She Said Yes!

This is a post I wrote a while back but thought it would be appropriate the share again. I love you Mrs. Snow!



Ten years ago this week something happened to me that would change the course of my life forever. She said yes...

I was in my second semester at Arlington Baptist College, she was in her third. All I really knew about her is that she was the curly haired volleyball player with the great legs. What else do you need to know?!?!

We were both apart of a campus ministry called the 4:12 Group and we had been working on a project to restore one of the building on campus, the old SUB (student union building...creative, I know). We had already started flirting with each other and through the course of conversation we found something in common...neither of us had any plans for Valentine's weekend. So, because I'm smooth, I was like, "hey, since I'm not doing anything and you're not doing anything...why don't we not do anything together?" Holy crap...did I really say that? What a tool...

Anyway, again, she said yes. So, it was settled...Olive Garden (because it was her fav) and a movie. Now, something happened that could have ended this thing before it got off the ground, an hour wait for a table at Olive Garden...and because we were good Baptist (at the time) and not quite 21 yet, we weren't even able to enjoy a glass of wine while waiting.

We talked and talked and talked and laughed and laughed and talked some more. Having no idea that it was happening at the time...I was falling in love.

We went to the movies and I literally tried the "stretch move" and was rejected mercilessly. Seriously, I have no idea why she went on another date with me???

From there it was back to the dorms. I dropped her off at the back door and told her goodnight. The next thing I know we are talking on the phone for hours at a time, I'm bringing her flowers (little roses from the rose bush in front of the girls dorm cause I was a broke part time youth pastor), she's doing my laundry and typing my papers (just typing them...I would write them first, I just happened to be a horrible typist back then...I have a gimpy finger, however I do type 45 WPM now...what what!)

That was February 13th 1999 and then 364 days later on February 12th 2000 I proposed to her...she said yes again!

I cannot think of anything that God has created in the expanse of the cosmos that is more perfect for me than my bride. I love her heart, the way she has always told me..."I trust you because you talk to God...I may be scared , but I trust you..." To me, she's the worlds greatest wife, mom and teacher...and by the way, she still has killer legs!

Suzie, I love you more now than ever before...which means during those earlier days when it was all new and fresh and every single moment seemed to steal your breath...multiply that by 10 (years). So, if God gives us 40 more years or 40 more days, there will be no regrets because I never deserved the first one...but for the grace of God..
Thank you for being you and loving me.

And thank you Jesus that she said yes...

ZS

Moments That Cause Me To Worship

I was sitting in a hospital room with a friend the other day. As she told her story of the tragic events that unfolded in a single day that seemed like ten, a day that turned from sickness and sadness and even an extreme since of losing everything in a moment...God showed up. As the cardiologist ran the scope down to take a better look at her heart...it happened, no aneurysm, no tear...nothing but perfection. She is doing great and the twin baby girls in her belly are doing great!

As we spoke, she said, "it's still amazing that we ask God to do a miracle and then we are still so surprised when he does...". How profound...we petition a God who has this kind of ability and then we are shocked beyond reason when he does.

I confessed to God as I prayed with her before leaving, that moments like these cause me to worship Him.
About a month and a half ago, I was teaching at our church and we spend some time on this topic. What causes you to worship God? I challenged our people to begin thinking about this over the course of their week.

So, what is it that causes you to worship God?
~long drives
~your children's laughter
~early morning and hot coffee
~quiet times
~being surrounded by family and close friends
~a long jog with your iPod
~being surrounded by nature
~alone in a fishing boat
~sitting in the bleachers at the ball park, scoring the game (okay, maybe that's just me)

Begin thinking about the things that cause you to worship God and surround yourself with them or make sure you are giving time to them. They will press you into a depth of life few find.

Strive for depth...

ZS

Romans 1:20 - For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.