Independence Day!

At 8am I was woken by the sound of distant drums and honking. At first, I thought I was either dreaming or just hearing the regular sounds of the morning commute here is Santo Domingo. But as the noise continued and steadily grew louder, I realized something very different was happening.

Turns out an impromptu fiesta had erupted at the end of the block, not far from my apartment, in honor of Dominican Independence. After taking Sam for his morning walk, I wandered to where the action was and attempted to make sense of the chaos. Teenagers layered in rags attempted to perform some sort of play, men dressed as women ran through the crowd, large groups of uniformed girls with batons danced to the music performed by several marching bands, and people dressed in extravagant Devil costumes all contributed to the spectacle!

Breaking Ground

Constuction on Jackie's new house has started! This is a huge blessing because it shows that progress is being made! The pictures are of the children's dormitories and bathrooms (eventually a school house, kitchen, and dining room are to be added). The funds for this project are slowly trickling in but would you join us in praying for this property? The sooner the construction is finished, the sooner Jackie and her children can move into a safe neighboorhood with lots of room to play outside!

If not for you

"And then I saw him...He appeared alone in the middle of the crowd. He was a double amputee who had worked his way through the sandy beach. Just as I had noticed him, one crutch slipped, and he fell hard against the sand. Undaunted, he pulled himself back up and began again, only to fall a second time.

"It all happened in what seemed like an instant, long enough for me to see him to my right and choose to turn to my left....

"So I turned to my left. I gently placed my arm on my son's shoulder, turned him away, and began talking to him to distract him from the scene below. We went a few feet, and I felt sure we were free from any responsibility - until my son stopped me. To my surprise, he said, 'I have to go help that man.'

"I watched my ten-year-old son run across the beach and, without explanation, begin to pick the man up...I watched as the crowd turned and saw Aaron's futile effort to help the man back to the hotel deck. Almost immediately I watched the crowd more towards Aaron and the man. Someone picked up the crutches, while others reached down and picked up the man. The group moved as if they were one unit, committed to helping the man complete his journey.

"After the group helped him return to the hotel deck, Aaron came running back to me, and there were tears in his eyes. He looked at me with his innocent conclusion: 'I couldn't help him. I wasn't strong enough.'

"He couldn't see that no one would have helped the man if he had not taken the initiative...I explained to Aaron that his strength carried the man. It was because of him that the others came to his aid."

-Erwin McManus "Chasing Daylight"

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!