Las Terrenas, San Luis and so much more

So sorry you all have been neglected for 10 days!  It has been a crazy week plus but an amazing one.  Let's see...

This past Tuesday we left early for Las Terrenas (we held camp there for the first time last year) to meet with the coaches, pastors and team and meet again with the hotel and restaurant to prepare for camp.  On the way, we stopped at an airport to find out who flies in there and determine if it may be of use for us later.  After this we headed through the mountain to Las Terrenas.  For the first time ever, we had some car trouble (and we have done our fair share of traveling over the past year and a half).  This mountain road is not an easy one for any car.  In the last mile or so we realized that the car was about to overheat.  We stopped and waited for it to cool down a bit. Checo (who came with us) even went to some people who lived nearby to ask for some water for the car.  As we got the engine to cool we decided to restart the car... it wouldn't start.  The noise was clearly a battery issue.  At that moment a man drives next to us about to get on the highway.  He agrees to give us a jump but he explains the car he's in is less convenient than the manual truck at his house.  The house is only a stones throw away but there's a catch... he can't drive stick.  We give thanks to God that J's parents bought him a stick shift for his first car (it was a beautiful Mitsubishi Precis... Precis is French for piece of junk hatchback according to J) and knew how to drive the truck (see beauty below).  Turns out this guy is the former Captain of Police for Nagua (where we did camp with the Dominicans last March).  We got his contact information and went on our way.  As we were getting the car fixed (one of the hoses had a hole) we wound up running into him again.  We eagerly await to see how God will use that chance encounter.  P.S. There appears to be nothing wrong with our battery.

In Las Terrenas we met with our main contact David who has been house searching for us and helped us with camp last year.  We met with the local coaches, pastors and ultimately our team who helped with cooking, serving, etc.  It was a great meeting and they are eagerly waiting for our return.  After several more meetings (hotel, restaurant, etc) we visited some possible new sites outside Las Terrenas.  La Colonia (a gorgeous community) with up to 7-8 leagues (the same thing as teams) on one baseball field.  We met and prayed and shared with several coaches, 2 pastors, ladies from the church and several community members. We are praying fervently for this community because God was shining brightly here.  I would love to see how God would use this camp to outreach.  And to top it off, this baseball field is connected to an area where many churches hold camp in the summer.  Not only could we reach the baseball kids but also the youth attending the camp!

The coaches meeting with Pastor Max (blue shirt in middle), ladies from the church and David.  Pastor Max has been preaching two times a week on the baseball field to continue reaching the youth in Las Terrenas since camp last Summer!

A view from the hotel in Las Terrenas.

 

The baseball field in La Colonia.  Gorgeous, right?

Some trees next to the baseball field.  I thought this was absolutely beautiful and interesting.

The hole was basically as tall as J.  (Insert short joke of your choice here)

A covered area next to the baseball field in La Colonia. (Anyone else think this is an amazing place for VBS??)

The "kitchen" for the church camp next to the baseball field in La Colonia.

Some new puppies in the kitchen.  They were tiny and adorable.  Being a city girl and never having a dog who had puppies, this was exciting to see.

Praying together before leaving La Colonia.  A beautiful area.

David and his bride.  We were invited into their home for lunch.

 

After Las Terrenas we headed out to San Luis to meet with Pastor Joaquin and do some work there.

This is Pastor Joaquin.  He is a wonderful leader and man after God's heart.  He is currently learning and practicing English regularly.  English makes the 4th language he has learned (Spanish, French, Creole, and English).  Needless to say, he is very intelligent!

Again in San Luis, we had several meetings with the hotel and other places for camp.  We also met up with some new coaches in Santo Domingo (the capital) for new places for camp.  At this specific field, 8 leagues practice and the complex has 4 fields.  Imagine the youth we can reach at this site alone!

Joaquin, J and 2 new coaches.

Picture of the baseball field in Santo Domingo.

 

After completing the remainder of our work, we headed home.  (As I get older, I understand the desire to be back home and sleeping in your own bed.)  It was an amazing and exhausting 60 hours, but I love preparing and visiting places for camp.  To see the excitement of the coaches and pastors and other involved in our return and to see the desire in the coaches, pastors and locals for new camps.

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In the news at home, we have been meeting with our guys and have been able to continue pouring into them (and they into us).  Our individual meetings have gone well, but please be praying for each of our guys as several of them have decisions to make.  We are grateful for their growth, but we continue praying for each of them as our enemy tries to attack and bring them down. 

 

And for some pictures of daily life...

 

Outside playing a week ago.  We were playing "airplane" so we were all buckled in and eating food to help us with our ears.  It's amazing what kids remember.

We visited Mercedes a week ago and here she is in the tree getting sour oranges for us (they make great juice).  J didn't wait around because he didn't want to see her fall.

Mercedes after climbing.

A picture of our new tires we were blessed with from the Canadian missionaries.  They brought a retired mechanic with them who checked our car and Praise God everything looks good.  Our tires were worn so they purchased 2 new "shoes" for us.

J and Checo at his individual meeting.

Cangrejo last Saturday.  Checo wanted to kick off the 2015 year with some lunch.  After practice we served Riquis (Dominican sloppy joe) to the kids.  It was awesome!

Sorry for the poor photo quality, but we were blessed to spend some time with Salomon this past Monday celebrating his marriage!  I know, it was a surprise to us to, but we met his beautiful bride and got to spend time with them along with our AIM brothers.  Please be praying for them as they begin their journey together.

 



 

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth".  -Genesis 1:1

P.S. God forgive us... the verse was a bit tongue in cheek.  I asked J which verse we should put and he suggested this one since the post was about as long as the Bible anyway.

Blessings in La Cienaga

We have officially been back a week and it has been great.  After getting settled and reorganizing (we always come back with more and more stuff), we have been preparing and planning for summer camps!  Although it's only a start, I am getting very excited about this summer and all the youth and communities we can reach.  So on that, join us this year!!  We need more people to love on the Dominicans, the Guatemalans, the Cubans, the Puerto Ricans and the Mexicans!  We will basically be having a camp somewhere in Latin America every week of summer (or the vast majority), so look at your calendar now and decide when you can come.  (And get your passport!)

We had our first official meeting with the guys last night and it was fantastic to see and hear the growth in them.  They had several ideas at continuing to outreach to the coaches and how to continue reaching out to other communities.  There is still some work to be done for these guys to be independent, but we are so excited about the growth we have seen and as always their hearts for Christ and sharing the Gospel.  Please lift up all our brothers here but especially Freysy who has been very sick with bronchitis.  Pray for healing for him and easier breathing.

We have had the privilege to meet some amazing Canadian brothers and sisters who are working in La Cienaga the past few weeks. They have constructed a house for Pastor Johnny (on the same lot as the church), are painting the church, school and orphanage and are constructing a jungle gym. Without knowing each other face to face, we have worked alongside these brothers and sisters for years. It is a privilege to meet them in person!  And now I have had the opportunity to meet the famous Alan.  Alan has been outreaching for many years in Latin America and through God's circumstances (I'm not going to say various because God has had it all planned out for the beginning) we have followed in Alan's footsteps through the DR, in Cuba and Guatemala. Thanks to his heart for Christ, maturity, and love, he has helped set the foundations in these countries to trust and accept our ministry.  Thank you Alan for listening to God's commands and following His lead! 

Alan and myself in La Cienaga today.

 

Our house is still a hotspot for neighborhood kids and we have had a great time being here playing and loving on them.  All of our new Christmas gifts have been a hit and Aubrey is loving spending time with each of them.  (But I must say the biggest toy has been the whiteboard and markers we bought to use during meetings.  Just like all kids, might as well give them the box because they are actually going to have more fun with the box than the toy in it!) 

We are restarting our individual meetings this week and are looking forward to hearing what God is doing in each of our staff's lives and how the future looks for them.  Please continue praying for these meetings!

And for some pictures of Pastor Johnny's new house:

The front of the house.

 

The kitchen and livingroom.

The indoor bathroom.

Johanna's new room.  It is a beautiful pink!

 

Pastor Johnny.

Aubrey, Johanna and me outside the house.  (And Hendy on the right.)

The men working on the jungle gym.

 

The jungle gym.  (To the right is the church.)

The inside of Pastor Johnny's church with a fresh coat of paint.

Outside our house, Genesis (left) and Angie (right) posing next to their artwork.  It said "Casa Arredondo" beneath the rainbow. (Genesis is a true blessing with both girls.  She is basically a babysitter who loves to be here and gets paid in cupcakes or cookies.)

Ryann and Aubrey playing.

Since we got back, we have been low on water.  Well, one morning we were completely out of water in both the cistern (the container outside) and the water tank on top of our house.  So, we used bottle water to wash our dishes.  A little while later it started raining...

 

And here's a picture of the empty cistern.  But basically the entire day we used only bottled water (to clean dishes, for the toilet and to bathe).  Our neighbor, Jose, the best neighbor in the entire world, hooked us up to his tank Sunday night so we could receive more water.  (Basically the city "sends" water at night to varying areas of Sosua to fill up the cisterns.)  Jose gave us his portioning to add to ours to help.  When we finally received enough to turn our pump on, Aubrey was ecstatic running around saying "the water's on, the water's on."  We are still running low and being extra cautious with our usage.  Please pray for us as we continue to seek God's provision.

 

Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. -Matthew 7:7

 

Blessing upon blessing

Bienvenidos a la Republica Dominicana!  We arrived safely yesterday afternoon and were greeted with 6 of our Dominican brothers!  It was such a blessing to be so warmly welcomed and they followed it up by having a pizza and soda ready for us for dinner.  It was very nice not having to run to the store and make something for dinner while getting resettled.  And it has been great seeing all our friends on the street.  :)  They came over yesterday afternoon and basically have not left since (minus a few hours overnight and morning school time).  But it is great to be home again and back into our routine.  However, we are all still adjusting to the 2 hour time difference.  We are excited for the work we have ahead including (God willing) moving to Las Terrenas, more discipleship and SUMMER CAMP PLANNING!  I know God has HUGE things in store for this summer and I cannot wait to get started on this. 
But, first our stay in the States was such a blessing.  It was refilling and rejuvenating and prepared us for more time here.  Family time was amazing between both J's family, my family and all our extended family through church and friends and the world!  We were blessed in numerous ways and God continues to pour out His blessings on us.  If you don't know, we actually hosted a Dominican fundraising dinner while in the States to ask for donations for our time here.  When we initially set out, we agreed on 1 year to 18 months.  Now that the specified time had passed, we needed to renew and increase our fundraising for both our family and our ministry.  And you know, God provides!!!  Although He may not always provide or answer prayers in the way you think, He answers in His perfect way.  :)  This past Monday alone was so joyful as God poured blessing after blessing into our lives.  We are humbled to be on this journey with Him and I pray we continue to seek Him in all we do both in the ministry and in our lives. 

Now for some pictures of our time in the States...

We visited my mom in Amarillo over Christmas.  It's hard to see but it's actually snowing in this picture.  (Can you tell we are raising a Caribbean little girl?  She was not overly excited about the freezing weather nor the snow.)

A picture of my mom and Aubrey playing.  (Sorry Mom, I liked this one!) :)

Ryann's first Christmas morning!

Aubrey on the drive back to Houston with her new "Frozen" blanket.  But I had to take a picture of that hair and all the static.  It was crazy.  (Something I am definitely glad to have again- humidity.)

The girls playing at J's mom and dad's house.

 

 Aubrey and Grandpop (J's dad) posing for the camera.

 

Aubrey waiting in the airport to head back to the DR.  We bought her some Minnie Mouse kid headphones for Christmas not knowing exactly when she would use them.  However, God provided an amazing gift from Dr. Ramsey when she gave us this Nabi Jr. tablet on Monday night!  What a gift and blessing!  (It's like God has everything planned out and knew what was to come!)  :)

Back in the DR.  We always bring a few crafts back.  So here they are painting butterfly magnets.  (Another blessing, most of the clothing Aubrey will be wearing for quite some time was donated from the Forward family including this shirt!)   

Playing on the patio.  (Morris family- the princess shoes are getting LOTS of wear here!)

Loralee and Ryann playing this afternoon.  (And, yes, it's mid 80s here!)

 

 

Being the worrier I am, I tend to over stress about the little things and how to provide this or that.  I know our God is sovereign and takes care of all of it (even the red lights).  So why do I spend so much time worrying and stressing?  Because I am human.  This is part of my faith and my spiritual life I am growing in.  It is hard (very hard) and I try to take control of it EVERYDAY!  But it's at moments like these when I realize and see God provided us everything including the needs and some desires.  We are humbled for the blessing to live here in the DR with our brothers and sisters.  And I pray God continues to grow us to be more faithful and more dependent on Him. 

 

 

 

"You are radically dependent on God to do something in your life that you could never do." 

-David Platt

 

 

p.s.  Ryann has a tooth!  I can see it and feel it.  Please be praying for comfort for her as she is definitely uncomfortable.

 

p.p.s. Funny moment of the day... mix up of the words enojado for mojado. 

What was said: Be careful, the butterflies (magnets) are still angry (enojado).

What was meant: Be careful, the butterflies are still wet.  #spanishfails (not a real twitter but should be)

 

p.p.p.s.  Speaking of Twitter... AIM is on twitter now!  @AIMforGod  And thanks to the best Director of Communications, J and I are on twitter.  @JaimeAIMSforGod

Although I do not fully understand (showing my age here) how to use twitter, this is going to be awesome to share God's story here in the DR and all across the world.  So please follow us, or join us, or like us or whatever you do with twitter so you can be a part of the work God is doing all around.



Unspeakable Joy

My blogging is a time for me to share my thoughts, struggles, joy and love for Christ.  I often have several drafted and written but don't post as I continue to work on them.  I came across this one and wanted to post as a reminder in this new year.  Let's seek joy in all we do for this year to come.  Let's be joyful in the story God is writing in our life (even when it's hard) and show others the joy we receive when we make that decision to accept him as our Lord and Savior.----

(written early November)
A few nights ago I stayed up way past my bedtime watching the movie "God's Not Dead" (an excellent movie if you haven't seen it).  It was a blessing from God to see it because it was the reset I needed for the work we have been called to.  Lately life has been hard.  And I don't mean with the kids or family, but we have been under attack spiritually for quite some time now and it's tiring.  As soon as one thing clears up our enemy presses down on us with another.  A few days ago J was struggling with the work needed to be done.  One of his gifts is mercy.  While this is an essential part of him and makes him who he is at heart, our enemy likes to take and twist this so J ends up allowing others to take advantage or run over him.  His eyes get blinded to the truth at hand and a haze sets over him.  When the situations are brought up, he can see the truth but does not necessarily want to deal with it.  It's easier if there is no conflict.  And I'll admit this is something I deal with (people pleaser- I don't want anyone upset with me and I will often let people take advantage of me) but not to the degree J struggles.  We have had many tasks present themselves that makes us ask ourselves, "why is this happening?  why do I have to deal with this now?"  J gave the example of your All Star 3rd baseman who makes 3 errors during the final game of the World Series- why now?  And ultimately, we understand and know (thanks in part to Fred- president of AIM) that these attacks are simply our enemy fighting with all he has.  Fighting to get us down, fighting to make us feel alone and tired, fighting to make us lose our joy.  And believe me, it can be very easy to lose your joy.  But seeing this movie helped renew and restore my joy.  As J and I discussed these attacks, I realized that at the heart of it this is the goal- these attacks come to steal our joy. Because let's face it, this world is not all rainbows and sunshine.  But thanks to one sacrifice, one death on a cross, one Son, we are renewed with a hope of something far greater and better.  Praise God for these reminders of the joy we have now and the joy to come.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  John 3:16