Victory

Last night marked the second evening that Jackie, Hernando and I have ventured out to Cercadillo and worked by candlelight. This time we prepared peanut butter sandwiches and passed out several boxes of clothes. It was a wonderful evening filled with lots of excitement and laughter but the highlight of the night came moments before we left.

As we were preparing to leave, 24-year-old Victor stood up and proclaimed that he was ready to accept Christ!! As I witnessed the life of a complete stranger being saved for all of eternity I couldn't help but notice that there were tears in my eyes.

Although I'll never be able to understand or fully appreciate God's love, I am forever grateful for it.

Like a Stick in the Mud

Last night Jackie, Hernando, Wilkin and I had quite the adventure. At 5pm, Jackie came to pick me up and we left for a community called Cercadillo. Because of random stops along the way and horrific rush hour traffic, it took four hours to make it to the village.

Immediately upon our arrival, we were greeted with 12 inch mud where a make-shift road had once been. The van we affectionally call Grace was not made for mud-bogging and in no time, we were at a complete stand still.

Jackie, Wilkin and myself crawled out of the vehicle and made out way to its rear (careful not to loose our shoes in the process), hoping to add enough weight to to back tires to give Grace the extra momentum she needed. But our attempt was in vain. We gagged on black exhaust fumes as Grace spun and spattered, but she wasn't going anywhere.

Thankfully, we were close enough to Cercadillo that our headlights were noticeable and many of the the community members came out to help. We pushed, dug, and rocked poor Gracie and finally, amidst cries of "En el nombre de Jesus Cristo," she broke free!

Hernando drove the mud clad van into Cercadillo as the rest of us followed behind, scraping the remains of the road from our shoes and bare feet.

As we worked by candlelight, handing out shoes, clothes, medicine, and injections of B12, two hours quickly passed. I didn't realize how tired I was until Hernando prayed at the evening's close and I had to keep my eyes open in fear that I may fall asleep. It's nights like these that leave me feeling satisfied and at peace.

A Clarification

After I posted the first update, informing all of you that I will be returning to the States in March, I received many replies containing messages of support, encouragement and promised prayers. I want to thank each of you for your messages of love - I truly treasure the fact that God has blessed me with so many loving and caring people.

The last several months here have been filled with emotional and spiritual battles and I was beginning to question how much more my heart could take. Living here has been difficult on many levels and the leadership team and members of the Church have stood by me through it all, giving me their full support as we undertook this missions effort. My struggle here has become so great that when the opportunity to ome home was presented, I was both releived, prayerfully at peace, and grateful.

I am still committed to doing what God has called me to do. I am committed to continuing to serve the church in its missions effort in anyway that I can. Only this time, I will be doing it from much more familiar surroundings.

I will be returning to the US in March and I couldn't be happier with the decision. I am excited about what God will do in the future with me, with CUMC, with missions, and with YOU!

As we move together on this next step I ask that you would continue to pray for God's will to be done and for His name to receive all the glory.

"The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent." John 6:29

Books!

Last Friday a Canadian woman named Charlene requested my help in delivering books to Jackie's House. She is the founder of an organization called Colors and some of her donors had supplied the money to buy school books for the younger children. The books were a HUGE hit and are going to be an great addition to our classroom! They're heavy duty cardboard and are written in both English and Spanish!! Thanks Tia Charlene!

Decisions

There has been a change of plans and several decisions made concerning my future as a Dominican missionary.

My original purpose here was to help Jackie in both the communities she works in and also as the kid's English teacher. If you've been following my blog, you already know that the first three months here were riddled with set-backs, frustrations, and cultural lessons learned the hard way. Many issues that were not apparent before I moved to the DR have become very visible since I've started working with Jackie's House on a somewhat regular basis.

These issues has lead the church to a very important decision. One week ago I received an email from my boss, the leader of missions and outreach, telling me that the decision had been made to bring me home in March of this year. Although this is only a quarter of the two years I intended to spend in the Dominican Republic, I truly believe it is the best decision at this point.

Christ United Methodist Church still plans on helping Jackie's House by bringing several short-term construction trips down over the summer to work on projects. In addition to these trips, the church and I will be praying about where God is leading us next concerning Jackie's ministry. We still feel called to help the Dominican Republic, but at this point, we're unsure which ways that will be.

I know that this may come as a big surprise, but please trust me when I say that the decision was made based on lots of praying.

Also, it is important that you know that your support has not been in vain. Your prayers and gifts have allowed me to achieve my dream of being a foreign missionary and over the previous four months I have learned more about myself, my faith, and my God then I ever knew possible.

I will continue to work five days a week with Jackie's House until my departure at the end of March. Also, the children's previous teacher, Ruth, has returned and will be continuing their lessons.

As I prepare for my return, I ask that you join me in prayer. Please pray:
-That I would make the most of my last two months here
-That Jackie and Hernando would not feel abandoned, guilty, or burdened in any way due to my early departure
-That God would give me the words to speak in a manner which 32 children can understand when it comes time to inform them.
-That even now, God would be making a way for me in the States involving work, housing, and transportation
-That all the details of my life here would be worked out with the least bit of frustration and anxiety as possible.

I thank you for your continued support and encouragement and would be happy to answer any questions you may have.

Meet Sam.

I rescued him from the Garbage Dump community about two months ago and since then, he has become a very healthy, happy, and curious puppy.

We LOVES going outside and putting himself on sensory overload. His nose always leads him to some bit of trash, mysterious liquid, or stray bit of food that I have to steer him away from or tackle out of his mouth.

Yesterday afternoon we were outside and I saw him chopping on something. Hearing crackling and fearing it was a chicken bone (they are strangly prevelant here), I stuck my fingers into his mouth and pulled out a giant, half-eaten cockroach.

BLAH!!!

Round Two

Nearly two weeks into the new year and I have yet to post something....

In case you haven't heard, after a wonderful month-long vacation in the States where I traveled thousands of miles to visit friends and family in Myrtle Beach, Rock Hill, Michigan and Kentucky, I have finally returned to the Dominican Republic.
upon my return - I wasn't coming back alone! A family of four (actually five, but the 2-year-old was left in the States with a babysitter) came back with me to experience the Dominican life for a few days. And what an experience they received!

From the moment they arrived, the Wisemen's trip was full of excitement, laughs, and memorable moments. Jackie had forgotten what day we were landing and she was two hours away at a fun
Although my transition back to bottled water, HOT weather, and perpetual Spanish has been fairly smooth, it has still held some challenges (my first night here I ruined a perfectly good toothbrush by sticking it under the faucet). And unfortunately, the goodbyes never get easier.

But God sent me a HUGE blessing from the States eral when we arrived in Santo Domingo. Around midnight, her son Roger finally came to our rescue and the real adventure began! Roger's car is about the size of a Ford Escort and after a bit of maneuvering, we stuffed the trunk with luggage, tied two bags on the roof, stuck one suitcase in Roger's lap (his wife was driving), and piled all five Americans in the back seat - it was a very long, hot, and hilarious half-hour drive to my house.

The Wisemen's also got to see the house that Jackie will someday move into once construction of the dorms is complete. It's got a looong way to go, be we hope to bring down mission teams to speed along the progress. We also visited Cercadillo and the Garbage Dump. The Wisemen’s trip was such a blessing for me, Jackie and Hernando, and I hope for themselves.

It's been two days since they left and the void has been hard. It's been a long time since it was just Sam and Me but we're slowly getting used to the Dominican life again and I’m sure that God has incredibly things on the horizon.