Well, I’ve been back for 2 weeks now and it seems like we’ve done a lot in that time: found a house to rent, signed a contract, bought a dog, attempted to train him (that’s still a work in progress!), and began looking for furniture and a car.  God has been so good in guiding me along through this process making the decisions clear and fairly simple.  Thank you to all who have prayed with me about those things!

Of course, the reason I am here is ministry, so let me update you on that…I’ve spent the first couple weeks just kind of observing, getting back into the language, culture, etc.  It has been great to reconnect with some of the ladies in the batey and the girls that I was discipling.  Here is a quick update on different facets of the ministry.  Note also there is a special prayer request at the bottom of the page.

Relationship Building

I had the chance to sit down and talk with my friend Leidy a little bit this week.  Continue to pray for opportunities to share the Gospel with her and Miguelina.  Also, Annie started a jewelry making project with a couple of the ladies to sell to the tourists who have been coming by the batey.  They are excited about the opportunity to make a little money and have been working really hard.  This has also been a great time for us to sit down and chat about life, get to know them a little better, and share a little about our walk with God. 

Niños para Cristo

Our Saturday morning kid’s club, Niños para Cristo, is going well.  There are still about 30-40 kids coming each Saturday to hear and memorize God’s Word.  My first Saturday back, the kids had a lot of fun playing with the parachute that my college volleyball coach, Dr. Vickie Denny, gave me to use with them. 

Sunday School

This week, I will begin teaching Sunday School again.  I’m really looking forward to continuing to walk through the Bible with the kids (and any teens/adults who decide to stay around after the service)!  This week we’ll review what we already learned about the journey of the Israelites through the wilderness, and then next week we will pick up in Numbers with the Israelites entering the Promised Land.

Reading Wednesdays

This past Wednesday, we went out to the elementary school to work with the kids on reading.  Typically what we do is pull the kids out one by one to work with them on whatever level of reading they are at (some of the younger ones are still working on learning the letters A,B,C  while most of the older ones are able to write sentences and read short books).  I was very excited to see the progress each one has made since I was last in the school with them.  Between Mike and Annie going out each Wednesday and finally having a consistent teacher in the school every day, the kids have really begun to improve a lot.

Special Request

Please pray for a woman in the batey named Tati.  Tati is a dear, sweet elderly lady who made a profession of faith in Christ a few years back; however, because she is very ill and weak, she has been unable to attend services for some time now.  It is obvious that the Lord will be calling her home soon as she has lost a lot of weight and is in a great deal of pain.  By far, this is probably the most difficult thing that I have seen yet in ministry.  It is hard to even visit her and see the condition in which she is living.  She is literally just skin and bones.  I’ve never seen anyone so tiny.  She is too weak to even get up and use the bathroom, so we are trying to provide her with Depends or bed protectors so that she won’t have to lay in her own urine.  Yet in all of this, she still hugs Annie and I each time we visit her and asks how our families are doing and how things are going.  Please pray for her comfort and encouragement in these last days.  If anyone would like to help sponsor Tati, let me know.  We'll be spending about $50 a month to provide her with Depends, bed protectors, blankets, etc. to keep her as comfortable as possible.  

   I finally made it!  After finding out that I had strep throat on Monday, I had to postpone my flight a couple days, so instead of flying out on Tuesday (Jan. 5) I left on Thursday (Jan. 7).  Southwest Airlines was great about changing my ticket and I didn’t have to pay anything.  I have to say, after a really busy weekend, it was nice to have the extra 2 days with my family.

   During my send-off service on Sunday (and in my last prayer letter), I shared several prayer requests regarding my trip.  Thank you to all of you who texted, e-mailed, or told me in person that you were praying.  That meant so much.  I was really able to see the Lord’s hand in so many of the details of my trip.  Here are just a few blessings:

1.)  Timing - His timing was good for me to leave Thursday.  As I said above, it was so nice to have those extra 2 days with my family after a really crazy week/weekend.  Also, I had really wanted to go to basketball game of one of the girls from my church (whom I used to babysit a long, long time ago J) because it is her senior year of high school.  However, I had not been able to up to that point, so the extra 2 days allowed me to see her play.

2.)  Flight - The flight I ended up taking was better.  It went through Atlanta instead of Chicago, so a lot less air time. Also, because I was going through Atlanta, I had just enough time to go through security to say goodbye to my best friend and former roommate from when I taught in Georgia.   That was a special blessing.

3.)  Luggage - When I got to the airport, they almost didn’t let me take all 7 of my bags.  They thought there was an embargo on how many/what type of bags you could fly into Punta Cana (i.e. I wouldn’t be able to take my 5 tote boxes, so only my suitcase and guitar would be going). I knew that I had already okayed it with the airlines, I just wasn’t sure I was going to be able to convince the people at the counter of that so I started planning what I could take out of my totes and stick into my suitcase.  Eventually they realized that the embargo did not apply to the Dominican Republic.

4.)  Customs - I was really nervous about how I was going to pick up all 7 pieces of luggage by myself in Punta Cana and get them through customs.  I knew I was going to have to find someone to help me, and I was not excited about it.  Probably one of the hardest things for me to adjust to culturally is being “pushy” when you need something.  I really prayed on the plane that the Lord would bring along someone who would help me, that I wouldn’t have to learn to be “pushy” right off the bat, and that I would make it through customs without having to answer 50 million questions about why I was bringing so much stuff since I was flying into a tourist airport.  (You might be laughing right now and wondering how I have the courage to move halfway across the world on my own but am afraid to go through customs and ask for help.  I know…it’s ridiculous!  But it’s my personality.  This was a serious stress for me!  Yes, I did lose a little sleep over it on the plane.)  After the plane landed, I went through immigration and headed over to collect my luggage.  I saw a few cleaning ladies sitting on a bench and asked them if they knew of someone who could help me.  They found someone right away.  I think he must have been the nicest, most helpful person I’ve ever met (ok, that might be an exaggeration but he seemed like it at the moment because I was so relieved to have found someone to help willingly).  He and another guy retrieved all my bags, loaded them on to a cart for me, took me through customs (where the officials didn’t ask ANY questions…they didn’t even collect my customs paper, they just opened my totes and looked in them before sending me on my way), and brought me all the way to meet Mike and Annie (and my friend Kristin) who were all waiting for me.  I just could not get over how God had answered that prayer.  He didn’t have to do that!  He didn’t have to give me any of these wonderful blessings that I listed.  But that’s who my God is…One who delights in answering the prayers of His children…because He loves them!  He doesn’t always answer in that manner, but this particular time it served as a great reminder to me of how much He loves me and is taking caring of even the little things.

Thanks again for all your prayers.  I will update you on the ministry after the weekend.