HoMe SWeeT HoMe

Well, almost a year after having written on my blog, I find myself  back working at SCORE International as an intern.  I decided this year not to bring my computer, but after having been here for over two weeks, there is a lot that I want to share, and thus, I am going to write when I get the chance to use someone's computer.

First and foremost, I want to say that God is so good.  Being here has given me an abundance of time to read the Word and pray and just focus on everything that I do -- and doing it for the Lord.

When I first arrived here, I instantly felt at home.  I was greeted by Ryan and Margaret, two missionaries who I met in past years.  Then, when I arrived at the complex where I am staying, I was constantly greeted by familiar faces.  I saw my dominican family and had the opportunity to spend the night with them as well. My first week was spent with a team from Chapel Hill, NC -- a group of kids many of whom I knew from last summer.  


Well, while I could go on and on about my experiences here since the day I arrived, instead, I am going to tell some prayer requests that I have...


First, I am working twice a week with children at a ministry called Lily House.  Lily house is basically a safe house for former prostitutes and their children.  These ladies want to get off of the streets and the missionaries here are working with them to provide a home and teach them how to make jewelry to sell for money in lieu of selling their bodies.  Please pray for this ministry.  Juan Dolio, which is the city in which I am living, is rampant with prostitutes.  Prostitution looks a little different here than in the United States.  Yesterday, one of the missionaries showed me three prostitutes in the middle of the day... dressed in shorts and tank tops.  They looked young -- no older than 16 or 17.  I couldn't believe it!  Please pray that these girls would find work and that they would find worth in themselves enough not to sell their bodies.  May God soften their hearts.  Also, please pray for the ladies in Lily House and their children.  I am working there twice a week spending time with the kids to help them with reading and math.  They are sweet kids.  Please pray that God provide for me activities to do with them, that He give me the words to explain in Spanish, and that my relationship with these kids would grow and grow so that He can use me to share the gospel with them.  The kids' names that I am working with are Brandy, Evelyn, Magi, Daniel, and Jennifer.  Please pray especially for Magi.  He is 12 and hasn't been in school for 2 years.  His reading level is probably at the level of a 1st or 2nd grader.  But, he is so smart -- Pray that these last few weeks will impact his abilities!!


My next prayer is for a place called Emmanual House.  I have had the opportunity to go there three times thus far and should be going twice a week regularly for the remainder of my time here.  Emmanual House is located in Quisqueya which is a city about 30 minutes outside of Juan Dolio.  The people seem to be very friendly and very poor -- some being the poorest in the district.  Many of the kids can't go to school because in Dominican Republic, if you do not have a birth certificate, you cannot attend school. It is an area lacking electricity, water and often food. But, God sent them an angel -- Mirqueya.  She started a school out of her house years ago, where she was educating 55 kids in her one-room apartment.  This ministry was then picked up by SCORE and a famous baseball player (Sorano??) and now has moved to a two-story building.  She is in charge of 100 kids. There she, along with a staff of teachers, and people who truly love kids, educate, feed and show love to them.  I have fallen in love with Emmanual House and what it stands for!  Pray for Mirqueya, she has had some minor health problems recently.  Pray for the health of the kids.  Many only eat when at Emmanual House, many don't have water at home and many are sick at home now with the chicken pox.  After two weeks of being closed because of so many people with chicken, the healthy kids will come back on Monday.  Please pray that when we do house visits on Friday, we will find more healthy kids than sick ones.  Pray for Andy, a new missionary from the states who has been working at Emmanual House for four months and is now in charge of helping organize, raise support, and find sponsors for the kids.  Please pray for the kids to each get sponsored.  The goal is to have each child have 3 sponsors.  Once this happens, they can grow the ministry to help even more children.  Please pray that God would use me in this ministry for the remainder of my time here and even when I come home.


My third prayer and awesome ministry that I have been involved with is the little girl that I sponsor here, Nicole.  She is 9 and she lives at an orphanage about an hour away in a city called La Romana.  The orphanage houses somewhere between 150 to 200 girls.  You can imagine the energy, I'm sure. I met Nicole last year and started sponsoring her around Christmas this past year.  She is beautiful inside and out, loves the Lord and sings!!!  I have had the opportunity to see her twice sense I have been here.  This Friday she will be singing in a competition.  Supposedly, she is one of the favorites.  I do not have a grasp on how old the other people are that are in the competition, but this Friday is the final round.  Pray for humility for her and that she would sing to God's glory!  Also, she is in the orphanage because her mother is dead and her father does not take care of her -- or even call her.  (I do not know the whole story.)  She did tell me that before arriving at that orphanage, she was bounced around between other family and lived in another orphanage.  Please pray for her continued safety at the orphanage, pray for her growth in relationship with Christ, and just that she would feel loved by me, by those around her and mostly by God.

My final prayer is just for the SCORE staff (me included).  Pray for endurance, energy, and joy when doing His work!