Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? John 14:1-2
Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.
Proverbs 3:5-6
And, God reminds me that there is HOPE. Stick with it. Trust in Him. I was sent Jesus Calling over Christmas and although I am still reading through the Bible (I have read the same amount in the last 6 months that I had read in the previous year before coming here -- Thanks be to God!), I have found comfort in being able to read snippets of encouragement each morning.
"Trust is a golden pathway to heaven. When you walk on this path, you live above your circumstances. My glorious Light shines more brightly on those who follow this path of Life. Dare to walk on the high road with Me, for it is the most direct route to heaven. The low road is circuitous: twisting and turning in agonizing knots. There the air hangs heavy -- and dark, ominous clouds predominate. Relying on your own understanding will weigh you down. Trust in Me absolutely, and I will make your path straight." -Jesus Calling, 1.27.2014
Tuesday a week ago was a holiday here in the Dominican Republic. I had the opportunity to go throughout Quisqueya and talk to families about their stories. There are a ton of kids whose stories I still do not have for the SCORE website and whose houses I do not know how to get to. Thus, I have to depend on Mirqueya to lead me to the homes and introduce me to the families. On Tuesday, from 12:30pm until around 7:30pm, Mirqueya and I went house to house collecting information. Truthfully, I was completely drained by the end of it. Please pray for the mothers who I met, especially one that sticks out, Nancy. Please pray for their salvation, pray for their employment needs and pray for the hopelessness that they feel. Please pray for me as I continue to have contact with both them and their children -- pray that I would serve them well and that God's will would be done in terms of my ministry with them.
Wednesday and Thursday of last week, I headed to the capital to find books for the library and look for a rug and chairs. I am hopeful to open the library next week and have excepted that everything won't be perfect and that all of the books won't be on the shelf at the opening. But, I have had a few customers already. The kids are eager to read and excited about the new books. Please pray that God would guide me in how to run the library. I have three young adults who are willing to run it when I am not around. Please pray for wisdom in teaching them to use a computer, to organize books alphabetically and to supervise the library.
Saturday afternoon, I had the opportunity to take 5 little girls from Quisqueya to go shopping thanks to their sponsors who sent $25 for their birthdays. $25 is equivalent to 1000 pesos. Many of their parents don't make nearly that much money in a month of week, so going shopping was a complete joy. We headed to San Pedro after feeding the girls a typical dominican lunch of salami, rice and beans and after the girls had spent about 30 minutes reading books. I told each girl that they had 1000 pesos and that she could buy toys or clothes or food. Three of them had a list with needs that their mom had written down for them. These needs included underwear, detergent, shoes, etc. (And, with all of their needs and wants, one of the things that brought them the biggest smiles was the freedom to buy Corn Flakes. Oh, the little pleasures!) But for me, the best part of the shopping experience was turning it into an educational experience. The teacher in me made them do the math. I handed them a pencil and paper and we spent about 3 hours going up and down the aisles, often blocking them, because the girls were adding and subtracting their totals trying to get as close to 1000 pesos as possible. Please pray for continued opportunities to spend with the kids at Emanuel House. Please pray for God to open up more real-life opportunities for them to learn. I praise the Lord for creative ideas and for opportunities to share with the girls in small excursions like going to the store -- something they may have otherwise never done.
Saturday night I had the opportunity to bring food to a family that needed it. After having been there for just 5 minutes, the mom and two oldest brothers arrived with heavy sugar cane stalks on their backs. With no expectations to eat anything else that night, they had gone seeking sugar cane to eat and to sell. I praise God for leading me to their home that night. I praise God for allowing me to get to know their family and to be able to provide a little bit of work to two kids in her family. I also praise God for the Bible / Sermons given to me by my dad that I was able to hand out to the mom who has been feeling sad lately. Please pray that God would bring more employment and daily food to their table.
Today, I had the opportunity to travel with Elpidia, the woman who has cancer and is a mother of 9 children -- 5 of whom are girls under the age of 12. I have fallen in love with each one of the girls and am thankful that God had mercy on Elpidia and saved her soul. Today, we woke up at 6:15 and left around 7:30 to bring Elpidia to the doctor in Santo Domingo. Since I met her late last year, Elpidia has not walked nor left her bed. I actually have never seen her even sit up. She eats liquid food and has cancer in abundance throughout her body. In the States, she would not live where she does and would undoubtedly be in hospice. I am thankful to have been able to take her today an hour and fifteen minutes away to a hospital in the capital where a doctor saw her and prescribed her morphine for her pain. She also had the opportunity to travel to Pasitos de Jesus Girls Home where she will most likely be sending her children in the next few days. Please pray for her husband's heart, that it would be softened to allow her children to leave. Right now, the girls are not receiving the care needed because of their mom's condition. Please pray for the father's salvation. Please pray for the girls and for Elpidia. May she find comfort from her medicine and be able to sleep well through the night.
Praise the Lord for:
opportunities to share Jesus with dominican kids
friends who I can talk to
the ability to provide food for those who don't have it
transportation -- both public and my car
people who want to sponsor kids
prayer warriors
Mirqueya's heart for the kids
Dalma's willingness to take in 5 precious girls
people in need of work
Iglesia Bautista Misionera (in Quisqueya) & for renewed hope in one of its members
continued Bible memorization in Spanish
patience with me missing skype sessions
warm baths
Elpidia's kids and their hugs
Softball practices! YIPPEE
Thank you, Lord for glimpses of hope. Please help me to trust completely in You, understanding that You are in control, that You see everything that is happening here and that You know the desires and the needs of Your people. Help me to not be discouraged, to continue to feel compassion, and to be broken just as I'm sure You are over the circumstances of the people here. Lord, help me to continue to bless those in need around me though Your provisions. Most of all help me to grow more and more in my faith in, love for and dependence on You. To YOU be the glory!
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