Today, Saturday:
7:00am - I woke up & got ready for the day.
8:00am - I studied my Bible while drinking hot tea on the front patio.
8:45am - Kids started to arrive for my Saturday Bible Study that I began about a month or so ago. I have quickly gone from the two kids pictured below to 15 this morning. We are studying Matthew. Today we talked about John the Baptist and how he baptized Jesus, didn't consider himself worthy at all to do so, how the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus like a dove, and how God proclaimed Jesus to be His son. Kids then drew what they understood from the lesson. Memory verse for next week? Deuteronomy 10:12
These are the first 2 kids that I invited to Bible Study.
They've been coming faithfully since August.
11:00am - I packed sandwiches for a group of 5 kids who we decided to take to San Pedro. 4 of these kids have not been going to school because they don't have the money for uniforms. Their mother has 10 children. Four of them are of the age to go to school. One, who is 13, cannot read and thus will have to get some help before she goes, and the others are registered, but couldn't go without uniforms. So, today, with huge smiles on their faces, they piled in my car.
We packed 5 kids in the back seat on our way to buy uniforms.
[OH YES! I GOT A CAR LAST MONDAY! It has been a true blessing! And, I am seeing what it is like to have a car and cart kids and Mirqueya around to do ministry. Thanks to all who have donated to me. You've made my life a lot more easy! The 15 kids who came today are kids I met when carting them to get tested yesterday. Doing so gave me the opportunity to invite them to Bible Study.]
Finding a reliable car that doesn't call attention and that
was in the budget was not easy. God blessed me with this 2004
Nissan Murano. I pray that it keeps me safe and has many
miles of ministry!
2:00- We stopped to eat the packed lunches (cheese sandwiches, bananas, vanilla oreo cookies, water) - Oh, did I mention that the little girl threw up somewhere between 12:00 and 2:00... something about motion sickness... [We road the remainder of the time with no air conditioning and windows down. Somehow, 95 degree weather is better than air... I'm just happy that it didn't happen again.] We ate lunch in San Pedro next to the beautiful Carribbean Sea (a first for the kids). They played under a grape tree and collected shells while Mirqueya and I watched.
Going shopping was a big deal for these kids. Some of them had never
been to San Pedro which is just 15 minutes from Quisqueya. They came
dressed in their best clothing! It was quite windy and
we picked a shady spot next to the sea.
3:00 pm - We shopped for new uniforms (2 uniform tops, bottoms, socks and shoes) for the 4 kids. A group from DC visited them last week and left money for the uniforms. Additionally, we bought underwear for all of the kids. Honestly, I told Mirqueya that the money wasn't going to stretch that far. She told me to pray and confidently brought up the uniforms to the counter and watched the screen. I did pray, but it was something like, "God, please let this work. I don't know how in the world it will, but please?" And miraculously, the counter went to 4,600 pesos. (We had 4300). Mirqueya, of course, had a connection with someone who knew the owner and the price went down to right under 4,200 pesos. What? God is crazy... seriously. We both looked at each other and went to the car in shock of God's abundance! We had enough left over to buy a few gatorades even. FYI - 4300 pesos is equal to $100. There is no reason why it should have bought all of that, but the look on our faces when it did... and the joy that it will bring to these kids who will go to school for the first time in their lives on Monday was PRICELESS!!! So happy for Mirqueya's faith today!
These are the kids and their mom when we arrived back
to the house from shopping.
Around 5:00pm - I was testing a little girl named Caterin and heard the gaga parade go by Emanuel House. (I had thoughts to go take a picture, but thought better of it.) Why give the devil that satisfaction?
6:00pm - I decided to let the 11 year old child who was sitting waiting on his brother read a few books that I have. He read four of them and his favorite was Bernstein Bears' Moving Day (in Spanish of course). I can't wait until we have a library. On his way out, I invited him to Bible Study next Saturday.
Over the last month, I have been the "testing coordinator" as
the teachers and kids at Emanuel House prepare to get laptops
(shown above). Standardized testing is a new concept for both
teachers and students and has been a challenge and has opened my
eyes to the incredible needs in reading and mathematics.
7:30pm - The children left. I checked my email, facebook and started cooking dinner for me and Mirqueya.
8:30pm - While eating, I gave Mirqueya a little informal English lesson. Two of Mirqueya's close friends came over to pray and spend the night, and they shared in the meal. (meal = chicken and rice... no veggies today so I ate an apple...)
11:00pm-ish - A nice cold shower and to bed I go!
Tomorrow, Sunday:
9:30am - I will go to church service in Juan Dolio (about 20 minutes by car). I will ride the bus tomorrow to give my car a break. Gas here costs $6 a gallon. I have a mid-size SUV... It guzzles gas!
12:00pm - I will eat the "Weekly Pot Luck Lunch" with the missionaries.
6:30pm - I will go to service in Quisqueya. (I am trying a new Baptist church here. Please pray for me to find a church here that I am comfortable going to.) I think this is really important for my ministry here so that as kids come to know Christ or become more curious about Him, I can refer them to a church that is well-grounded in the Word.
I am currently reading Ecclesiastes. Overall, Solomon is pretty bitter throughout it. And, I think it's a great book for anyone who has turned cynical. After everything that Solomon, the wisest man ever to live, had been through, he wrote at the end of Ecclesiastes: Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone's duty. God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14).
May He continue to bless me and those around me. May He continue to open the hearts of others to know His word, love others, and live in a way that is pleasing to Him! May I continue to fear Him and do His will.
Please continue to pray for me:
- Pray for us to finish testing. Next week we have a workshop the whole week, but there are still loose ends. Pray for endurance for me!
- Please pray for provision in terms of library shelves and Spanish books for the kids.
- Please pray for the other kids at Emanuel House whose parents struggle to provide for them with daily needs (whether that be with uniforms, food or other school supplies).
- Pray for God's continued wisdom and guidance for me in ministry.
- Pray for growing friendships and continued sense of community here.
- Please pray for safety and that my car continues to be in good shape.
- Pray for my days of loneliness and missed friends and family in the States.
- Pray for the kids who live around here... for the spiritual battle that goes on around them!
- Please pray for me to get rest.
- Pray for the oldest girl in the family we were with today. Her name is Yocairis. She needs to learn to read so that next year she can go to school. She, and many others in this community have never gone to school.
I praise the Lord for sending me here. Although I do have hard days and sometimes wonder if I am being "productive" enough, I am grateful to be able to cook for Mirqueya, drive kids, teach them about Jesus, hopefully give the community access to books, and to be able to learn more and more each day about the Dominican culture. I praise God for continuing to teach me about Him, for strengthening my faith, and for helping me learn more about who I am in Him.
On Friday, I celebrated another missionary's birthday. I thank God for bringing friends into my life.
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