T minus 3 1/2 weeks... and batteries

Happy Thursday!  Countdown is on... only 3 1/2 weeks until our first camp of the Summer!!  We are so excited and cannot wait for the group to arrive to love on these children in Sosua and Las Terranas.  However, as I said before, so many people are working extra hard to get all the plans lined up and organized, so please keep praying for Brittney, Fred, Barbie, J, our AIM staff, Pastor Rivas, Luis Chimpin, myself and everyone else working behind the scenes.  (I must admit I do enjoy this work... organizational, spreadsheets, budgets, administrative stuff... nerdy I know!)  :) 

We started Paz Financeria (Financial Peace) with our AIM staff this past Saturday, and the class went great.  They were very interested in what the course has to offer and were willing and ready to do their "homework" of drawing up their budgets.  However, none of the Pastors were able to make it because of a story I'm about to tell you...

This past Saturday, Pastor Rivas's church (and all the Septimo Refugio churches) visited Las Espinas as a time to spend together and do a small fundraiser for Mother's Day (which is Sunday, May 25 here).  They were planning on leaving and returning to Sosua about 3 pm.  However, when they went to load up the safari, the battery had been stolen.  They called another Pastor for help, but while waiting, Tati (Pastor Rivas's wife) got the feeling that the battery was actually still in the area.  As the group was searching the area for the battery, a young man walks up to ask what they were doing.  After they explained, the young man told them he had an idea of where someone may have hidden the battery.  Come to find out, he was correct and they found it.  Pastor Rivas asked everyone in the group if someone had a tract.  When they found one, they made a note on it saying, "We are servants of the Most High God and He watches over us.  Please repent of the things you are doing.  We hope one day to hear someone in church stand up and tell a story that I repented after receiving a tract from the people I tried to steal from."  As the young man heard this, he began to breakdown.  They shared with him the Gospel and he accepted Christ in that moment.  He showed up at church the following day and was greeted with a multitude of hugs and love.  Praise God for "just one more"!!  And please be praying for our new brother in Christ.

Right now, prayers are the most important thing we can ask for.  Thank you for your love and support!

But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.  For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.  Romans 6:22-23

T minus 5 weeks... and Cuba

Hey family!  Aubrey and I landed safely back home in the Dominican this past Monday.  The flights were great and Aubrey was fantastic (slept both flights), Praise God!!  It is great to be back and back at work.  In fact this week has been full which is a blessing.  As of right now, we have less than 5 weeks until our first camp... yes that's right... less than 5 weeks!  Which is so exciting but also a tiny bit stressful as we and everyone in the States try to finish all the details.  So please be praying for this journey and all those involved as we want to put on the best camp possible for the kids. 

We restarted ESL on Wednesday, and it's hard to believe we only have 4 more weeks until we finish the book.  And tomorrow, Saturday, we start Paz Financiera with our AIM staff and several local pastors we work with.  (Many people have heard of Financial Peace by Dave Ramsey, this is the same thing but for Latin cultures and in Spanish.)  I must say I am really excited about offering this course for our leaders, and I pray they will be blessed by the knowledge and wisdom gained from such a course.  And special thanks to the Ablacks for helping get this set up.  The entire package including the leader pack and the additional 11 books were donated by various people in the States... so thank you for your support of these Pastors and coaches!  :)  I will keep you all updated on how this is going as it is a 6 week intensive course.

Tonight, J has a Christian Sports Association meeting which is AWESOME because the whole time will be directed towards our camps this Summer and getting many of the details lined up including numbers of kids expected, sites, sports, etc.  Praise God for this organization and the men who lead it! 

We also wanted to include a few pictures of Cuba and a short letter from J. explaining his time there.  From what I can tell, it was life changing for him but let me let him tell you...

Cuba.  A lot of emotion tied into a simple name.  Fear, mystery, anger, pain…  I admit my own level of fear beginning our trip to Cuba was considerable.  I recited scripture and remembered stories of the saints who faced the fear of the unknown.  Yet, I am grateful for this experience and the fear I felt because I was given the opportunity to see God in a new way. 

God, in His wisdom, allowed me to experience this fear knowing He would provide my comfort.  And He showed His power multiple times in our stay in Cuba.  I cannot imagine how what we saw with human eyes looked like in the heavens.  We saw God change the attitude and spirit of the woman who checked us in at the airport.  Within 15 minutes, she changed from a woman who was obstinate in her assertion that there would be no room for the equipment bags we brought to a woman who collaborated with us in making sure those bags were on the plane.  Later, as we gathered our bags in the Cuban airport, God showed us we were indeed "invisible to the enemy".  And throughout our time in the country, God showed His power and mercy over and over. 

Also, Cuba is simply a beautiful country.  The people are beautiful.  The land is beautiful.  The coaches are beautiful.  The church (body of Christ) is beautiful.  Many of these people have so little.  Little food.  Few jobs.  Little hope.  And yet people smile and greet you.  They hug each other, they laugh with each other, and they share what little they have.  The coaches are dedicated to the idea that through sport, they can reach a generation with the Gospel and discipleship which will change their communities.  And they do this with one glove to share between all the kids. 

I loved my time in Cuba and eagerly await the opportunity to return.  I encourage others to visit and be a blessing to the people God is using to change the world.

 

And some pictures of Cuba...

J and Rudy (our brother who lives in Cuba).

"Yo tengo my caballo amarrado..." (this is Fred's favorite song) :)  Just riding some horse statues in Cuba... which apparently were SUPER HOT! 

There is a prehistoric park in Cuba made up of cement statues (where the horses were from above).  Here Fred is saving J from the mammoth.

A view in Cuba.

A picture of a beach.

One of Rudy's wife's family members.  J had a "first" here as it was his first time to use an outhouse... great experience from what I understand.

About 1/3 of the cars on the road are cars that were imported from the States before the Revolution.  Therefore, the cars are "seasoned".  But awesome...reminds me of Back to the Future.  According to J, you don't throw anything away, you just fix.

This is an enormous Sago Palm.

 

Another view from Cuba.  According to J it is a very beautiful country.

 

 

Thank you for all the prayers and love!  We love you guys.

“He told them, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.  Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field…’”  Luke 10:2

Black and White

Hey prayer warriors!  Fantastic news, J and Fred have landed safely in Santo Domingo in the Dominican.  From the few minutes I have been able to speak with J., there are some amazing works being done by our God throughout Cuba.  And I understand there are some stories about what it's like being "invisible to the enemy"!!!  Gloria a Dios!  As I find out more, I will write them to share the power of our God, for He is mighty and big! 

Everything else is going great.  Aubrey and I are getting ready to head back on Monday, May 5.  And I must say we are ready to see J. and ready to hit the ground running for all the planning and items needing to be accomplished before our first camp in June.  I'm ready to tackle it! 

And just one short story about God taking care of EVERYTHING, as always!  :)  When we found out J was going to Cuba (we didn't know until a few days before he was going to leave), we started making arrangements for Aubrey and I to stay in the States until he was back in the Dominican.  Now, to change the date for our flight is a $200.00 fee plus the difference in plane ticket.  Luckily, Aubrey is still a "lap baby" and doesn't have her own ticket.  So, I was praying for God to make it easy, simple and "black and white" for me because you may not know that I am "resourceful".  J sometimes likes to say I'm "cheap", but I prefer resourceful.  Therefore, I think any amount is too much (I want it to be free!).  :)  I realize that desire is a little ridiculous, but I can dream.  Anyways, so I call and ask about Friday, May 2... which was going to cost $700.00 ($200 for the change and $500 for the difference in ticket)!! (not pesos mind you!)  Immediately a negative.  So the lady (who was amazing) asked about Monday, May 5 because the ticket was..... drumroll.... a -$175.00 difference from our original.  Therefore, we only had to pay $25.00 for the ticket change!!!  Praise God for He answered in the way I needed!!  He made it very "black and white" for me.  And then to top it off, Aubrey's fee was only $40.00 when it is normally about $100.00!!  (Although she doesn't have to buy a ticket yet, she still pays for taxes and fees and such.)  Anyways, just another story of God providing in everything and answering the "small things".  I pray you all continue to seek God even in the "small things" and "red lights"!

Lots of love to all of you!

 

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!  Philippians 4:4

Prayer Requests

Hey prayer warriors!  I have a special prayer request for all of you... today, Fred (the president of AIM) and J. made their way from the Dominican to Cuba.  I know they boarded the plane to Cuba mid-afternoon, and I know it was going to be a trek upon arriving to Cuba (not only getting through security and out of the airport with the sports equipment they took) but also to get to their final destination.  Basically it would be an 8 hour bus ride after their initial flight or another plane ride.  I am not sure which they decided on, but regardless I know it would take a toll on them.  So, I am asking each of you to lift them up during this next week.  Their trip is to spend time with our brother, Rudy, who lives in Cuba and as a prep trip for a sports camp this Summer.  Please continue to pray for God's hand as He paves the way, for the enemy to remain blind to them, and for strength and endurance throughout the week.  Although their was some slight fear from all of us regarding this trip (when you mention Cuba to people their is always a slight intake of breath), I know our God is in control and BIGGER than anything or anyone.  I know J and Fred are in His hands which is more comforting than anything I could ask for.  But as always, I wanted to ask all of our mission family to be praying for them throughout this week.  I will update if I hear anything (right now I'm going on a "no news is good news" as we were not sure what the communication would be like from Cuba). 

In other news, God has been moving throughout the FCA camp this week.  Please continue praying for the 200+ Dominican coaches present, the varying mission groups, the Americans present and all those in charge of the camp as they finish up strong tomorrow. 

Look to the Lord and his strength; seek His face always. 1 Chronicles 16:11

He is RISEN!

Hey family!!  Sorry for not being better at keeping up... I think this is the longest I have gone without blogging and letting you all know what is going on with us.

First, Happy Easter to each of you.  I hope you all had a chance to reflect on this special time and what it means for each of us.  Church today was excellent and I must say I should have worn waterproof mascara as more than once I was brought to tears about this season and Christ's sacrifice for me.  But, He is RISEN!!  Praise the Lord!!

I think many of you know, but we returned to the States this past Monday night, and what a whirlwind of a week it has been.  Lots of family time and lots of working.  But. as always, God paved the way and so many people we need to see or reach are falling in our path.  My mom was able to visit as well which was great.  Aubrey is loving her time here and enjoying her family time.  And in other exciting news, we visited the doctor the other day and had a sonogram done for baby Siete (what the Dominicans are calling the baby).  And although I was 100% sure it was a boy...SURPRISE... it's a girl!!!  Needless to say we are beyond thrilled (I know we would have been either way) and cannot wait to meet this little miracle in July.  The thought of Aubrey being a big sister is still unreal to me as she won't be the "baby" but the older one.  Just crazy to think about. 

Also, please be praying for J, his dad, Fred and Daniel as they make their way to the DR this coming Wednesday for a FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) camp on the South side of the island.  This camp hosts baseball coaches from all over the island for a few days of training, leadership development, and most importantly discipleship.  We actually have over 100 coaches attending the camp from Sosua and the surrounding areas and San Luis.  We are very excited for these coaches to attend and for their growth, so please continue praying for them. 

Thanks for all of your love and support throughout this journey!  We love you guys!

And in honor of this special season:

He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.  Matthew 28:6

Llanta de Fortuna

Happy Monday!!  Hard to believe we only have 1 week left until we head back to the States.  It doesn't seem like we have been here another 3 months.  But praise God for work as the time flies by when you are busy.  :)

This past Saturday we attended a baseball tournament with 2 of our AIM guys teams.  Alfre from La Cienega played Checo's Cangrejo team and let's just say Alfre's team demolished Checo's team.  But it was so much fun, and before the game Jay got to share a few words with the boys after their Bible lesson...  Jay shared with them that the States and the Dominican share the same problems.  We both have issues with violence and drugs and bad things happening, but luckily we have a solution, God.  Jay explained that he is grateful for each of these boys because even though we are two teams against each other in a game, we begin and end the game as 1 team, brothers in Christ.  As Jay and I have continued along this journey and this work, God has continued to lay on our hearts the importance that these youth and young adults learn that there is more to life than baseball or sport.  There is a big world out there and the majority of them will not get signed to a major league team (one of the primary dreams on the island).  So, imagine how much time we all spend practicing our sport and how little time we spend teaching these young boys how to be proper husbands and fathers and leaders of their community.  As cliché as it sounds, these children are the next generation, so we need to continue to raise them up and prepare them for this time.  Please continue to pray for this island and these people! 

On another note, we played "Llanta de Fortuna" in ESL this past Wednesday... Wheel of Fortune (or when actually translated it was Rim of Fortune...but we will just say Wheel).  It was so much fun, but I must admit slightly frustrating because they kept trying to guess the entire word with no letters or 1 "E" or 1 "A".  We were like just guess a letter, any letter, and they would respond with "pass".  No, you can't pass, you have to guess a letter!  :)  But it was so much fun and they worked on their verbs.  We also made a crossword for them to complete which again was interesting as the majority of them have never done one.  They were like, "how can there be two 13's?"  We would explain one goes across and the other down, but it was still mindboggling to them that this could be possible.  One of our guys actually turned his crossword 45 degrees so his letters would be written toward the bottom of the paper (rather than just writing the letters one above the other in the "down" columns, he wanted them to be correctly horizontal together).  One of those things that just makes me smile. 

And some pictures...

Aubrey with Ruth Ester this past Saturday during the baseball games (Alfre's little girl).

After the baseball game and morning...out cold!

 



And something very special for our AIM family... last week after the meeting our guys were able to pray over Gabriella, Rafael's daughter.  She has sickle cell and has been having lots of pain, nausea and bleeding in the past several months.  Please continue to lift her up, Rafael and her family throughout this time.  As Rafael told us yesterday, "I have to give her to God."  So please say a few extra prayers for this situation.

God is light. In Him there is no darkness at all.  1 John 1:5

 

(thanks Sarah Morris for the verse!)  :)

Water, water everywhere

Hey family!  Once again, another week has flown by.  I keep meaning to blog in the evening once everything settles down and Aubrey is in bed, but I also keep falling asleep so the blogging hasn't happened.  But again, things are cruising along here. 

We visited Las Terranas this past Thursday/Friday and as always, our God paved the way for us!  It was an excellent trip and so many details were discussed and decided.  We had a meeting with the coaches on Thursday night and about 12 showed up from Las Terranas and Limon (a community about 15 minutes away) where we will have camp this summer.  And I must say the 12 coaches who showed up were pumped up to hear what AIM is about and what we do during camp.  And for me, 12 coaches to show up was a big deal especially for something new and unknown.  We followed this with a meeting with 2 pastors and a brother from the church.  It is always important to us to have a church and pastors on board when we preach the Gospel and during camp as it means so much more to the Dominicans coming from their own people and not the "white Americans".  Generally the pastors are the ones we have more trouble with jumping on board, but man were they excited!  Praise God!  On Friday, we visited a sister in the church who owns a colmado (basically a small grocery store) and who is excited to help us with the purchasing of sodas, cups, ice, bags, etc.  All the needed items for camp... and directly next door to her was a brother from the church who works at a panaderia (bread shop) who is going to help us with the bread for the hot dogs.  Again, so easy!!  The traveling was great and easy (no police stopped us this time!)  :).  So thank you for all the prayers for this trip!  God truly laid the foundation.

Our meeting last night was great as we started a few more detail planning for Summer camp here in Sosua (I cannot believe we are only 2 1/2 months away!!)... aaahhh!!  :)  Very exciting time (also very busy) but very exciting.  Please start praying for these camps as we begin the detail portion of planning and nailing down important items, and as Brittney and Fred have already started this portion.  Although we will "hit the ground running" when we get back from our visit to the States, some of the preliminary details are getting started now.

And this past week, we got to meet a great group of girls from Arkansas here for a week long mission during Spring Break.  And I must say, these girls are go-getters... wow!  I am highly impressed with their drive and vision.  As only freshman and sophomores in college, they dreamed up this mission trip, sold t-shirts (over 400 to be exact!), planned their trip out, made contacts here in the DR, etc.  When I heard their story I was blown away at their maturity.  We had a great time getting to know them, and who knows, maybe some (or all) will be back this summer!!!  :) 

And now for a few funny stories to brighten your day:
-This past Tuesday evening, Pastor Rivas' church opened a new church in El Catey (about 45 minutes away).  Basically, his church which is the Septimo Refugio church has many locations with different pastors and leaders at each location.  They had a big service and fed the community (what else but hotdogs!).  Right before we leave, Pastor Rivas asks J if he will translate for those speaking Spanish to be translated into English (Pastor Rivas had a group of Canadian missionaries visiting who needed translation).  Of course J says, no problem.  During the course of the evening, however, when the primary Pastor (who is Canadian) steps up to preach, Rivas looks at J and says, "you are doing a great job, keep going."  ok... so J translates throughout the entire message with some help from Rivas and does a great job!  However, the best part comes after the service is over and J is stopped outside by one of the Canadian missionaries who tells J, "wow, your English is very good."  (let us just pause there for a moment... I admit we have all gotten a little more sun and even I have quite a nice flip-flop tan going on, but I don't believe we have gotten THAT tan.)  J's response was, "yeah, it's the Spanish that's difficult."   So, J just wants to take a second to thank his parents, his teachers and the 30 years of practicing English that have made his English "very good".  :)

-Just a true Dominican story here (or a country story, remember I am a city girl)... so J and I return home from somewhere mid-afternoon and see all the kids from the neighborhood near the front of Via Karen (our street) running up and down chasing something.  When we stopped and asked a few what was going on, their response was straight faced, chasing a chicken.  Haha... I don't know why, but this cracked me up.  I mean we have a ton on our street (with more hatching every day) but for all the kids (and I mean 9 or 10) to be chasing a chicken, awesome!

-Lastly, our street has been having trouble receiving water since we returned in January.  Praise God, our cistern has been full for the most part and in fact we have been sharing with our neighbor (Jose- Mister fix it man) and his family for awhile.  However, in the past 2 weeks all of the sudden our cistern was quickly draining.  Jose (again being a fix it man) hooked up a pump to the cistern and water supply so when we did receive water from the city, it would pull it in much faster and help refill the cistern.  However, one night I guess Jose got tired of it and called a friend of his in the press and told him the situation.  Something along the lines of, our street has been having trouble with water for months (I mean some people don't have water at all) and the city is aware of it.  So, Jose tells his friend in the press that he believes the person in charge at the water plant is stealing money because they are not using it to fix the problem... well let me just tell you that our problem now is not too little water, but the opposite.  haha... once again living in a small town and always knowing someone definitely has it's benefits. 

Anyways, just a few stories of our life here.  Things are still going great and we are loving it.  It's nice and warm (some days a little too warm) but we are preparing for summer and excited about what this summer will bring.  Thanks as always for your love, support and prayers!  We are blessed to have such a big team behind us every step of the way!

Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.  Psalm 37:4