Gloria a Dios

Okay, so I'm a little late again at posting. My apologies.

Last week was a crazy week. In the mornings we stayed and worked with the boys. We tried to finish up teaching them the fruits of the Spirit, which was interesting. I think they had a lot of fun with some of the activities. One day, they painted rocks with the word Paz (which means peace in English) so they could keep them in their pockets and remember to pray for peace.  On another day, they made instruments out of cups, paper, and hard macaroni to make praises for the Lord. As far as the lessons, I'm not sure how much they took in. They were really good, however, at memorizing Scripture, which was encouraging.

During the afternoons we went to a small church out in the community. God had me teaching English with two other girls/women who are very head-strong. It was definitely a learning experience for me in terms of preparing and carrying out the lessons. That's part of the reason that I said in my last post that it was a time for pruning. God was trying to show me to be patience through every circumstance He put me in. On the first day, we tried to teach them to say "Hello, my name is ___________. What's your name? Nice to me you." We used little puppets we made to make them feel more comfortable with acting it out with each other. It worked really well with the girls, but with the boys it didn't really work at all. On the second day, we taught them how to say My favorite animal or color is _________________, and we had a list for them to look at. We stood in a circle and passed the ball. When they received the ball they would say "My favorite color is _____. What's your favorite color?" and passed it. All the kids loved it. The boys were still a little roudy, but it worked better than the first day. On the third day, a day I don't think I'll ever forget, as you will see later, we wanted to review everything and teach them some verbs. We had each group split into two teams. I held up a flash card that had a picture, and the first person to say the correct word in English won a point for their team. The girls, once again, did well. The big boys did not do so well. When they got to our station, they were out of control. They kept pointing toward Dan and saying some word that I didn't understand. I ignored it at the time and tried to keep their attention. They were so hard to work with that day that we couldn't even really play the game. After they left, we had the little boys, and at that point Dan told us that our station would only be 10 minutes long and that we wouldn't have closing. Our stations were usually 20 minutes long, and we always had a closing of about 10 minutes or so of singing songs. I knew at that point something was up. However, I continued teaching the lesson with the little boys. Halfway through, Dan came by and told us to pack up our stuff and get on the bus. I didn't hesitate because I knew he was directing us to do so in our best interest. As we were leaving, I kept telling all the kids that I would see them the next day. Once we were all on the bus, he and Brian told us that they made an executive decision to pull out because they found us to be in a possibly unsafe environment. Later, I found out that one of the boys who got kicked out of camp for not behaving came back with his friends. I don't think I can say much more here on the Internet, but just know that what they had with them and what they said definitely made it unsafe for us to be there. Needless to say, we didn't return the next day. Please pray for these boys. My heart breaks for them, I can't even describe to you.

On Thursday, instead of having camp in the afternoon, we just did work projects. Work projects here have consisted of a lot of ho-ing, which is great exercise, let me tell ya.

Friday was a marvelous day. We got to take the boys from the orphanage to the beach with us!!!!!!!! The beach was absolutely breath-taking. I was in awe for the first five minutes atleast. It literally looked like something off of Survivor. The water was crystal clear and bright brillant blue in the distance. Oh it was beautiful.  It was sooooo much fun to play with the boys. It gave me an opportunity to bond with some of them that I had yet to bond with. I got to throw footballs, frisbies, go fishing with a parachute thing, swim underwater with them, even help teach them how to swim. Oh my it was a blast. I met some other people there as well. There was this girl named Perla, which means Pearl in English, there who introduced herself to me. She was with a bunch of guys. They all played catch with me, too. Oh yeah and some of the boys got burried in the sand, which was amusing. Oh my goodness, I can't describe how fun it was to play with them. I really wish we could do that every Friday.

On Saturday, we were supposed to go on some fun excursion, but Amanda cancelled it because she didn't want us to have too much fun in one week. She also gave all the workers a day off, which was definitely needed. They hadn't had a day off in months I think. However, since she cancelled our trip, we didn't have much to eat. For breakfast we had cereal, for lunch we had PB&J (for which we ran out of bread), and for dinner we had mac and cheese that the staff had left for us. Saturday was a very trying day for me. I was in such a bad mood. Everything had just caught up to me and I couldn't shake it for awhile. At first, we heard that we weren't going to off site this week. Then, since we really wanted to go offsite, they suggested combining the Christian and the secular group to do a camp together. However, the camp would not have a Bible station. This really upset me, yet everyone else seemed to be okay with it. One person made a really good point, a Bible station is not the only means by which one can show God's love, which I totally agree. But we were going to be going to a place that we had never been, and I signed up for the Christian program so that I could share the name of Christ with people. That's what I believe in. That's why I'm here. I couldn't believe that no one else was upset about not being able to share the Gospel. It would be different had we been going somewhere that we had already held a Bible camp once this summer, but that wasn't the case. As it turned out, however, Amanda and Tom decided that this would be a good week to stay on campus because I guess in the following weeks we would be having camps off campus in the morning and the afternoon.

Part of me is excited, and part of me is still sad. (I know I sound like an emotional roller coaster, I won't deny it.) I'm sad because we are supposed to be doing a progressive program with the boys here at the orphanage with Spanish literacy and Bible classes. If we are going to be off campus for the next three weeks after this, there won't be a program for them. Why in the world are we calling it a progressive program if it's not progressive?! I really don't understand these people. I wish they'd quit thinking in the best interest of the volunteers' experience and put the interests of those we serve in focus. Nonetheless, I have to hold strong to the fact that God is in control of every single situation, whether on the outside it seems good or bad. He does all things for the good of those who love Him and to bring Him the most glory. Thanks be to God that we have Someone who is in control and reigns.

This week with the boys at the orphanage has been sooooo much fun so far. The Christian program split into two groups to better prepare a program tailored for the boys. We have a younger boy group and an older boy group. I signed up for the older boys so that we could dig deeper into the Word. Oh my, it has been so cool. We decided we would go through James with them this week since it is a smaller book of the Bible, but there is so muchhhh to glean from it. On Monday, we read Chapter 1 and I asked them a few questions. One part was super super cool. I have to share it. I asked them which verse stuck out to them the most, and Galan answered James 1:27. James 1:27 says "Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world." We got to explain to him that that is why we are here. Can you imagine how cool that must be for the boys to grasp that verse? That God cares so much for them that He desires for people to visit them? How cool is that. After that we did a fill in the blank activity. At the end of the activity, I asked them, in their opinion, what does it mean to be rich? For the most part they answered that a person is rich if he has God. They answered it that way without any leading or encouragement to answer it in a particular way. Danny, especially, has a special heart for the Lord. He understands who God is and wants to know Him more. I'm so encouraged by that. They memorized James 1:19, which calls us to be fast to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger. We ended by coming up with a prayer. We had learned in James 1 that if anyone desires wisdom, they should ask God for it. So I thought it would be good to pray for wisdom. They had a real hard time coming up with a prayer because they have a prayer memorized that they recite at church I guess. Therefore, Abby and I created a prayer for them. The prayer was about asking God to help us to have the wisdom to do what He desires of us.

Today, we went over Chapter 2. The boys were a little less focused for some reason. They got to learn about how faith is dead without works because if a person truly has faith in the Lord their life will reflect it. It was a hard concept for them to understand. And I guess it would be for children to distinguish the difference between just having faith and living by faith. Nonetheless, I pray they gleaned something from it. We did an activity at the end that we didn't have a chance to do yesterday. In James 1 there is a verse about how every good and perfect thing/gift is from the Lord. So we had cards that each had a different talent on them. We had them select one and act it out for the group. Of course, beforehand we prompted them about where good things come from and asking them what other kind of things the Lord gives us, ie talents. They had so much fun acting out the different talents. Some of them were reading, running, painting, singing, dancing, etc.

In the fields today, while working with the children, some of the kids were being mean to Danny because he has a rash on his face. I ended up hanging out with him to cheer him up. I asked him, purely out of curiosity, who his best friend was. He answered that I was his best friend. I said do you just say that to whoever asks you that question?? He said no. It was sweet, even if it wasn't entirely true. We played a little bit in the fields instead of working the whole time haha. He told me to close my eyes and count to ten. I counted and openned my eyes and he was gone. He had hidden himself in the tall grass. Then it was his turn to count. I wasn't nearly as sneaky as he was and he found me pretty quick. He let me hide again, and that time I did a much better job. Then we ran through the field and if we touched a plaintain plant it meant that we were dead. We had so much fun. He's such a sweet kid.

Tomorrow we will go over Chapters 3 and part of 4 in James. Please pray that they would be interested in what God has to show us through His Word.  We will finish the rest of the book on Thursday, God-willing. On Friday we are planning to go on whatever excursion that had originally been planned for Saturday, which I think might be Santo Domingo..woohooo. (the capital).

I cannot believe that I will be going home in a week and a half. Part of me is ready. But the other part of me is torn to leave the boys. I genuinely love each one of these boys so much. What am I going to do when I can't hear their giggles? Or when I'm not being punched because someone is a little meanie? Or when I have no little kid to read to? And who is going to ho the fields with me after this? There is a time for everything says the Lord. For this reason, I must make the most of it. With love,  Ashley Mae.

Prayer Requests:
-Please pray for those who were at the afternoon camp last week. They need safety and protection from the Lord, as well as changed hearts.
-The boys here at the orphanage of course. But more specifically that they would be growing in their understanding of who the Lord is.
-For me, that I would only find my comfort in the Lord and not in the things of this world. It's so easy to get distracted. Only the Lord can satisfy my soul, and that is what He desires. May it be my desire as well.
-For those I come in contact with, that they would see the light of Christ in me and may know Him more through me.
-For a guy here named Mac who is interested in learning about the Bible.
-For the other interns, that a fire might be ignited in them to be excited to serve Jesus.
-For the kids at Monte Cristi, who are being sent back to their families and separated from their close-knit network at the orphanage.
-For Amanda, the OO in-country director
-For all of us please =)

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

A Time For Pruning

So, since the programs merged this week, God answered a prayer by not leaving me as the only one who speaks Spanish. The Christian program and the secular program are still split, we are all just living in the same place. The Christian camp works with the boys here at the orphanage in the morning by doing a Bible lesson with them and working out alongside them in the fields. This week we have been going over the fruit of the Spirit. Last week they learned about love, yesterday they learned about joy, and today they learned about patience and peace.

In the afternoons we hold camp at a small church somewhere in Jaibon.It's only Tuesday and it has been a difficult week. Abby and I are program leading this week in addition to leading stations. Like last week, I am helping lead the English station. It has been very interesting working with two other people in leading it, though. The first day for our station at camp was not very successful. However, the Lord is teaching me patience in every way possible, I think, over and over again. Today, camp went a little bit better. One girl told me afterwards that the English station was her favorite. I told her I didn't believe her, but she insisted. I'm glad we are reaching someone. Although, I really would love for them to love the Bible station even more. We only have three stations at this camp because of our small number of volunteers this week (due to the 4th of July). The three stations are Bible, English, and arts/crafts.

In addition to the trials of leadership, the Lord has been convicting me left and right, especially today. We finished studying Ephesians yesterday, and started 2 Thessalonians today. Whoa. Did it blow my mind. Literally, every aspect of Chapter 1 convicted me. It kind of hurts when the Lord prunes you. Am I growing in my faith? Is my love for those around me increasing? Am I thanking the Lord for my brothers and sisters in Christ? Am I seeing others as the Lord sees them? Do I have His eyes and His heart for them??? Today was a wake up call for me. How many faces, when I look around here, will I see in heaven?? Let's be real about it. Heaven is not where everyone goes when they die, otherwise what would be the point? And it's not about good works, because we could never do enough good works to cover the abundance of our sin. (ref. Eph 2:8). It's about trusting our lives in Jesus, that He went to the cross holy and undefiled and paid our ransom. He shed His blood in my place. His death was not in vain. I believe that with my whole heart. And because I believe it, I must share it. I want everyone to know Him, and to know Him deeply. When I look around, and I see all these faces, my heart breaks. Why have I not been sharing? Each and every person's life is a thread away from heaven or hell. No one ever wants to talk about hell, but it's just as real as heaven ever will be.

Oh how great is our God!

God calls for unity

Okay, so I'm a little late on writing, but this weekend the Christian camp moved to Jaibon. Please forgive me if I'm not as detailed in the blog.

Anyhow, last week was a crazy week. We had a huge church group and a smaller ministry group come down to serve. Apparently, the large church group comes every year and expects a lot of kids. They come prepared with all there lesson plans and everything. With so many people, the dynamics of the group changed. At first, the devil was trying to get a foothold by causing disunity and dissension within the whole group. I think almost everyone was frustrated at some point on the first day of camp. However, we dealt with it the way God calls us to by recognizing it and taking it to Him. After we lifted it all up to God, He blessed us. We were able to have abundant unity where we didn't have it before.

So in terms of logistics, we had one huge camp in the mornings at the orphanage site. There were 400 children if not more who showed up. It was crazy, but in a good way. That means that those 400 children got to hear about salvation, and were shown the love of God through us. Please lift them up in your prayers.

In the afternoons, we had two different groups. The big church group went to the Magacua batey (which we had camp at a couple weeks ago), and the smaller group along with the interns went to the Madre batey. The camp at the Madre batey was very small, but awesome. When camps are smaller you are able to form better bonds with the children. However, when camps are bigger you are able to reach more children, therefore, both have pros. Anyhow, last week a younger boy volunteer and I led recreation. We did different things with them, such as jump rope, baseball, duck duck goose, coloring, and bracelet making. All the kids went nuts over bracelet making. They wanted as many beads as they could possibly get. Even some of the mothers came over and started making some. One woman asked me to make a braid with beads in it, but I didn't understand how to do it. Nonetheless, there were no age barriers in making something as simple as a bracelet with yarn and beads. It's amazing to see how the smallest things can bring some light to someone's day. On the first 3 days of camp we only had a small amount of children, like 20 or less. But on the last day, there were tons of people, adults included. It was so strange, but so cool. Normally you expect more to show up on the second day, but not really on the last day. We had parents going from station to station, which is so awesome. They want to learn, and they don't really have the opportunity to do so. I wish that we could provide adult camps along with the children camps. It might be a suggestion I make at the end of the trip. It wouldn't really work logistically this summer, but it is so needed. One thing that has been neat about doing camps is realizing that now that I know how a camp runs, I feel confident that I could come back and do my own camps if I had enough people with me (if not through Orphanage Outreach). It's just neat how God prepares us to do His work. Oh yeah, like I was saying, on the last day we had a lot of people. And on that day, at the end of camp, we passed out stuffed animals, toothbrushes, and toothpaste. It was like Christmas for them. It's amazing when children and adults alike are excited to get a toothbrush and toothpaste. People in America don't get excited over these things.

As far as what I was struggling with when I wrote my last entry, God works in mysterious ways (as I'm sure was through some of your prayers). I knew from the first full day I set foot in Monte Cristi that the purpose I thought I had was different than the one that God had given me. So, for the last week, I figured I would focus on that, which was encouraging the other interns and volunteers in their faith. But isn't it mysterious how God works? When I wasn't trying to be intentional with the kids, they would approach me at the most random times. I was dumbfounded, honestly. The last week ended up being the best week at Monte Cristi in terms of spending time with the orphans and becoming more connected with them. I still don't understand it, but I praise God for it.

This last weekend was really hard because a lot of my fellow interns went home. It has been such an awesome summer with them. I have never been in a more cohesive group. During the whole month that we were together, we had no fights or dissensions among us. I feel honored because I was able to grow in my walk with God alongside them and to witness their growth as well. It's funny because at the beginning of the summer I was really nervous about how the summer would pan out faithwise with all of us, but honestly, I had absolutely no worries the last couple of weeks. I'm probably not making much sense, but that's because I'm not sure how to describe what I mean. It just felt like we were all close sisters growing in the Lord together. I think that says it well enough?

Friday night, Dan our Christian program leader, planned something really cool for us. We all sat on the rooftop after dark in a circle. We took turns going to the center and inviting someone to join us to break bread. During that time, we would tell the other person something about how we were encouraged by them or blessed or just whatever we wanted to share. It was a really awesome experience.

On Saturday, we (those who are staying longer than a month) moved to Jaibon. And let me just tell you, it is awesome!! I know I tend to use that word a lot, but it truly is. We live on a farm in the country. There is a pig, there are goats, cows, chickens, everything. The orphanage here is an all boys orphanage, and they are so sweet. I immediately was welcomed when I arrived, which was very encouraging. This place has a different atmosphere all together to it. The stars at night are amazingly breath-taking. They literally draw you into them. The food here is also great. Since we are on a farm, we have a lot of fresh herbs and spices, all of which they use to make the food deliciously yummy.

This week there are two church groups here. For camp purposes we are split into two groups. For my group, we go to a Haitian batey in the mornings (which means we are still in the D.R. but this batey/plantation is run by Haitians). I looveee it there, and cannot wait to share pictures with you all. It's a little harder to manage there because the space is tight. This week I decided I wanted to teach English, which I have loved so far. It's really interested to see how much the kids do or do not know. The first day, during the first rotation, we had little girls. They just kept repeating my Spanish, even when I would ask them a question in Spanish. So we though, okay maybe they speak Creole. Nope. One of the ladies here asked them something in Creole and they didn't answer. Their language skills were very little. I think they did know a little bit of Creole, but not at a conversational level or anything. Therefore, it was very interesting trying to teach them English, as I'm sure you all could imagine. The older boys were the funnest to teach because they actually wanted to learn, and they picked it up pretty fast. In fact, we had to change our lesson plan for today because they already knew the words we were going to teach them. Yesterday we taught the kids how to say day, night, bright, dark, sun, work, school, sleep, and wake up. Today we taught them some animals and had them make some animal sounds along with it :). It was a lot of fun. (We had prepared transportation words for the older boys, but they didn't show up). We, or a tleast I, really want to teach them words that will be useful. Since the area around here is a lot of farming, we thought animals would be good. I wish you guys could see this batey. It's a prime example of a third world country. There are kids running around with only a shirt on, no shoes, bathing in the street, etc. But they are so precious. Today I held a little girl who was only 3 years old. She was the most beautiful little girl I have ever seen. She was definitely of Haitian decent. Her smile is one of those smiles that just makes you melt. And Sara, if you are reading this, she reminded me of you soooo much. I don't know what it was but I just was reminded of you by being around her. It's hard because you want to take all these kids home with you, and they aren't even the orphans. But hopefully, with each interaction we have with them, they can get a little taste of the richness of God's love toward them.

So, after this week, we are losing all of our Spanish speaking interns, except for me. Yikes. I'm not even fluent, only conversational. There are a lot of times that I don't even understand what a native is saying to me. Most of the time with the children I am able to understand, but not with the adults. Many people here kind of mumble, which doesn't help. Not to mention, a lot of their Spanish is broken. Anyhow, I could really use a lot of prayer. I forget to mention this, in the afternoons, my group works with the kids here at the orphanage. We teach them a Bible lesson, Spanish literacy, and English. The team leader here wants it to be a progressive type of thing, meaning we would build upon each week. As the only Spanish speaker, this is going to be really difficult. This means that I will most likely be the one preparing these lessons and translating at all the camps, which is nearly impossible. However, I have no idea who might show up each week as a volunteer. And there are a few girls here who really want to learn. Abby, who I've been with for a month and will be with for one more month, has already picked up a lot. I am currently teaching her how to conjugate verbs. I know that God will provide. I will have to be completely dependent upon Him not only for the ability to translate, but also not to grow weary, because I am sure I will be exhausted if I rely on my own strength.

In addition to the teaching the boys at the orphanage, we do work projects with them for an hour. The last two days, we went out to the fields and hoed. I'm enjoying being able to serve in whatever capacity the Lord provides. These boys get up at five in the morning to start chores. The kind of responsibility they have been given is impressive. For example, we have a tool room here that has machetes (not sure how to spell it), and we as volunteers are not allowed to use them, but the boys, however, are. It's crazy. Don't worry, we have used any machetes for anything yet. :) I trust them though. They've been working out in the fields from a small age.

This week, a girl within our group decided she wanted to study Ephesians. So we are going over a chapter a day. At first, I didn't want to study it since I just studied it last semester, but I'm so glad I did. It is such a great book of the Bible, and there is so much to glean from it. She asked me to lead the study today, which was over chapter 2. It was really interesting to dig into the role circumcision had in those days and to be able to connect it with so many other passages in the Bible. I'm truly amazed that the more you read, the more everything comes together as a whole and connects. I didn't realize how much I knew from different parts of the Bible, but had never connected. I'm thinking about after this week maybe starting up a Bible study. It is definitely something I love doing.

Anyhow, this blog is forever long now. And someone else needs to use the computer so I will close.

I love you all.

Prayer Requests:
-To have a gospel centered purpose constantly on my heart and mind.
-To have new revelations of the Lord and to be driven to share those.
-To love the kids with the heart of Christ. There is one boy here who is a little meanie sometimes. But, something really awesome is that is name is Imanol--which is similar to Immanuel, which in the Bible means God with us, so it encourages me to love him through his meanness.
-That those who are leaving this week would have safe travels, and that Abby and I would handle it well.
-That you all would be blessed by the Lord and have a rich and abundant relationship with Him ;)

For He knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust (Ps 103:14)

The verse above is something I've been trying to cling to this week. I have felt very worn out from the past two weeks and I think it all caught up to me at once. Who would have thought that being around a bunch of kids and lesson planning everyday could be so tiring?! I now have a new appreciation for teachers ;).

This week, I decided to be a group leader instead of a station leader because I needed a break. The responsibilities of a group leader is to come up with a group name and chant and take the children of your specific group from one station to the next. Sounds much easier, right? It was, which was delightful. However, it wasn't always easy. My group was made up of little boys, two of which were only around 3 years old. And one was certainly a handful!

Our camps this week were at Manzanillo and at a chapel right outside/on the edge of Monte Cristi. The camp at Manzanillo was held at a local park, which was nice because there was shade. The little boys that I had were really timid, but I think they had a lot of fun. Michael, the boy who was a handful, was all over the place. He was really too young to even be there because he did not have the capability of paying the least bit of attention or sitting still haha. On the other hand, he was the cutest little chunk. On the last day, another boy around the same age would copy everything he did. They would run off together, play in the dirt, roll around, anything and everything. During the activity station, the boys got to play with bubbles, and Michael ran as fast as he could to catch them. Needless to say, he endured a few falls, one of which split his pants right up his crack. It was then very apparent that this little boy was going commando. haha. We could not help but to laugh. It was so funny when he discovered what had happened. He loved attention, so he wouldn't stop showing everyone. I think all of the leaders, or atleast me, laughed out of stress, while the other boys just couldn't contain themselves.

The camp at the chapel outside of town was an awesome experience. The first day we didn't have any kids waiting on us, so we had to go recruit some. There was something different about these boys. You just couldn't help but to love them deeply. One of the most memorable and touching experiences was on the last day. I had a boy in my group that thought he was tough stuff. He wouldn't really talk to me, but he sat next to me. He walked with an attitude and seemed to enjoy having a smirk on his face. But when I tickled him, his smile lit up. It was very obvious that desperately wanted to be loved. He would try to act mean when he didn't get his way, but when he was given positive attention his whole demeanor would change. At the end I gave him some stickers off of our sign. I told him that if he waited and didn't leave, he would receive a present. We planned to give all the kids a dental set with a toothbrush, toothpaste, and floss at the end of camp. I don't think he believed me at first, but when all the kids lined up he ran to join in. He was so excited when he got his own set. He gave me a big hug and had a huge smile on his face. I didn't want to leave that day. I wanted to stay and just take care of this little boy. It's really hard to leave when you feel like you have made a strong connection.

This trip has been a roller coaster for me. God has been really awesome, but the trip has been trying. I think I have had a breakdown every week now. It has been hard to connect with the kids at the orphanage here. We hold camps out in the community throughout the week, at which the kids at the orphanage don't always attend. The orphanage has specifically planned certain weeks with orphanage outreach to attend the camps. We are still located here on the same grounds, and are able to hang out with the kids during our free time. We just don't always have a lot of free time. Not to mention, the kids themselves aren't exactly excited to build relationships with the volunteers. I think I had this mental picture before I came that the kids at the orphanage would be so excited to have people come spend time with them and play. But the reality is that they've seen so many volunteers come in and out, they just aren't as eager to build friendships. The other side of that is that I'm not a super extroverted person. This is just something I've been thinking about this week and struggling with. I'm trying not to compare myself to others, and just focus on pleasing the Lord. It's hard though. I've spent much time in prayer over this. In just one week, the Christian program that I'm in is moving to a different orphanage in Jaibon. I've obviously learned through this experience how to start out differently at the other orphanage. But as for this last week, I'm trusting the Spirit would just lead me and do a work. I just want to be a vessel for the Lord to use for His glory. And the truth may be that He has sent me to this particular location to make an impact in the community and with the other volunteers here. I have strongly felt since the first week that God wanted to use me to minister to the other interns here, whether it be by encouraging them or shedding light/truth. I have no doubt that the Lord has been using me in this way.

Last night, I was utterly broken after my friend shared her testimony. I think that was the first time I actually sobbed after hearing someone's story. Part of it was that I care for her so much. It's amazing to me what God takes us through in order for us to know Him. For me it was losing my dad. For others it can be just as painful, but in a different way. It's hard to understand at the time, but the Lord knows what is best for each one of us and He wants us to seek Him with our whole hearts. Sometimes we are blinded to who He is, until something is ripped from us and our eyes are openned. I ended up going up to the roof (which is a flat patio like setting) to spend time with God last night. It's amazing how comforting His Word can be. I openned up my Bible, and it fell to Isaiah 40. The title is Comfort for God's People. How perfect. Then I was read on to Isaiah 41. Fear Not For I Am With You. The night sky was awesome. It was soo good just to see His glory revealed in the moon and stars, and to know that He was there with me. I am so thankful that He has repeatedly brought me to a place of brokenness so I am more aware of Him.

Prayer requests:
-This next week, as it is my last week in Monte Cristi. (The kids here at the orphanage, and saying goodbye to many of the interns who are leaving---it's going to be really hard---definitely another breakdown in the near future (:  )
-That camps would go well this week. We have a huge group of volunteers this week and hope to have a giant camp in the mornings, then we will be splitting into two in the afternoon and going back the slums/bateys.
-For God's strength in my life. I need to be energized by Him.
-For continued brokenness and humility.
-For the health of each one of the volunteers.
-For God's glory to revealed through each and every one of us.
-That we may have the pleasure to see the fruit of our work this week through atleast one child. ;)

Praise and Glory be to God alone!

Love from the D.R.

"Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand and makerd off the heavens with a span, enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure and weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance?" Isaiah 40:12
"He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength." (Isaiah 40:29)

I must be weak so He can be strong

So at the end of last week I had a break down. I really missed my friends from back home and other sisters in the faith who have the same mind and heart for the Lord. It has been hard adjusting to the environment and learning how to really let God capture my heart. My problem at first was that it was uncomfortable for me to be around some others who were not also passionate about the Lord and was not as focused on the mission at hand. However, through it, God has revealed to me that He may have a different purpose for me here than what I thought was going to be my purpose. Nonetheless, I have learned that brokenness is essential in order for God to fill me and work throught me. I must be weak so He can be strong. Once I understood that, I was given an abundant joy. What a blessing it is to be able to let the Lord just take hold and lead and guide me. May not my will be done, but His.

There are two other girls here that I've really become good friends with. We have all decided to study the book of James together and to hold each other accountable. I've been getting up at 6:30 every morning to wake the other girls up and to read the Bible. Yesterday, I got up to pray with a different girl here and it was really sweet.

God allowed me to share my testimony this week at our devotional meeting with the group of other interns. It was a really awesome experience to be vulnerable and open up my life. Many were shocked about my past, and would have never imagined it to be so. God really used my testimony in a couple of the girls, which is what I prayed for. It's all about Him, and the purpose of telling my story is so that others may know Him more.

This week we had two different camps. The one in the morning was held here at the orphanage and the one in the afternoon was at a plantain plantation, which are considered the slums. Our theme this week was medieval. A girl named Kacy and I both lead the Bible station this week. On Monday, we taught about the Kingdom of God/Heaven, on Tuesday we taught them about the citizens of heaven and the armor of God. Specifically we taught about the belt of Truth, the sword of the Spirit, and the shield of faith. We also had them write down or illustrate their biggest fear on paper, then we said we were giving it to God because He is more powerful than our fears. So we crumbled up the papers and threw them away in representation of handing them over to God. On Wednesday they remembered the armor, which was really cool. On that day we taught them about the creation of the world because Christopher, an older boy at the orphanage who wants to become a teacher got up at 1 in the morning to prepare our lesson and that's what he came up with. It was soooo sweet. And no, we did not ask him to do it, he did it of his own accord. But because we didn't know he was doing that we prepared to teach them the fruits of the Spirit. Kacy and I made up a song in Spanish of the fruit of the Spirit so the children could memorize it. We ended up teaching both. They absolutely loved the song. On Thursday they wanted to sing the song again and again! For that day, we planned on sharing the Gospel with them. We took colored sheets of paper and made little booklets for them. The first color was yellow, which represented the creation of the world. The next color was black, which represented the fall, or when sin entered the world. Next was red, which represented the blood that Christ shed on behalf of us. White to represent justification. So that when we have a relationship with Christ, we are seen as justified in the Lord's eyes because He sees His perfect Son.  And green to represent new life. It was really awesome to describe each one to the kids. We had them demonstrate it so they could have a visual. Meaning one person stood as God, another stood as man and there was a space between the two. In the middle of the space was a line of children who represented sin. Therefore, sin separates us from God. But Christ paid for our sins with his perfect sacrifice, so that when we personally accept Him and trust in Him our sins may be forgiven. So then we covered the sin with the red paper and united the man and God with Justification and New Life with God. I don't know if any of this makes sense on here, I'm probably better at explaining it in person. Regardless, just know that 60-70 kids learned about the Gospel this week. Pray that at least one would have an understanding, or even that they could share it with their parents.

This week we also had a health station (as well as English and Activities) in our camp, which was really cool. On the last day of camp, each child received a toothbrush and toothpaste. I have never seen kids so excited to receive a toothbrush. It was really really cool.

The whole week was really rewarding. Poco a poco, little by little, we are making a difference in the lives of the children we encounter. Not only are they learning, but I am learning a lot as well. I'm especially excited about now knowing how to share the Gospel in Spanish. It has been a challenge learning how to minister to children, but it's a challenge that has stretched my faith and grown me. One thing that I have been clinging to, no matter how much the kids seem to not be paying attention, or how much they are rowdy, or how tired I am, is that my work for the Lord is never in vain (1st Corinthians 15:58). He will use it for His glory and for His will.

On Fridays we have our culture days with the other volunteers. This week we went on a mangrove tour on a boat. It was so cool. There are all these trees growing in the water and you can see their roots. We even got to swim in the water. Then in the afternoon we went to the beach, which I don't remember if I mentioned that before or not, but it is absolutely the most gorgeous beach I have ever been to. It's like a secluded beach that you might see in a calendar or something. It is surrounded by two mountains, and is just breathtaking. I will have to show everyone pictures. Yesterday, my face got a little burnt. I will have to put on aloe and lotion repeatedly, but it was so worth it.

Today, I am just trying to rest. The weekends have truly become a time of Sabbath. Tonight we get to take a sunset hike up the mountain! I'll be sure to take lots of good pictures.

Prayer requests:
-That God would continue to humble me and to give me a heart that breaks for others to know Him.
-That I would be willing to step out on faith and take advantage of every opportunity that He places in front of me.
-That the kids we encounter this week would be excited and that their hearts would be prepared. That each one would take away something from camp that could make a difference in their life. That they would know they are special in the eyes of the Lord.
-That we would all remain healthy. One girl is sick right now, which is never fun.
-That God's light would shine to each and every person around us.

Thank you all for your prayers. Love you!!!!

By the way, Samantha, the guy who built the Eiffel tower also built a clock here in Monte Cristi which was only guaranteed to work for 20 years and still works to this day. Thought that was pretty cool that we both have a connecting point from across the world.

Estoy aprendiendo a ser una servante de Dios

Hello Everyone!!!!

I have arrived safely in Monte Cristi! The flight was a little rough. The flight from Miami to the D.R. made me motion sick, and when we were on the bus traveling to Monte Cristi we had to pull over :(. It last for a day or two, but I am wayyyyyyyyyyy better now.

So far everything has been great!!! The first couple days were hard for me because I felt timid, but I have slowly come out of my shell. The other interns here, which are all girls, are really nice. There aren't really any cliques or anything, so it has been a very cohesive environment.

The first week, we stayed in ramadas, which are kind of like human chicken coops with bunk beds and mosquito nets. It was just like camping in the sense that you could hear everything outside, including the chickens, dogs, the discotec, and whatever else. When you had to go to bathroom, you would have to get up and go outside to the next building over. In order to conserve water, the stalls say "If it's yellow let it mellow. If it's brown flush it down." You also can't put toilet paper into the toilet because their septics aren't very good and it would eventually come up through the showers. If you accidently put toilet paper in it, you would have to go get a stick and fish it out! ha!  I actually had to do that a couple times.

The food they prepare for us has been amazing. For breakfast we either have pancakes, french toast, cereal, eggs, oatmeal, or corn meal depending on the day. Corn meal is probably the best. I had never had it until I came down here. Lunch is usually the best. They tend to make more traditional food for lunch. We have eaten a lot of rice and beans, chicken, fried plantains, fried eggplant, vegetables, and fruit. I have discovered that the rice here has a lot of sodium in it though because my hands have been swelling up lol. So, I'm not really sure what to do about that. For dinner, we typically have more of an American dish. We have had spaghetti, pizza, Mexican night, etc. I definitely drink a lot of water down here. They provide clean water and juice to drink.

The weather is very humid here. It has been raining a lot as well. We tend to walk everywhere so when it rains the streets are real nasty. They become very muddy and there's already a lot of trash everywhere so you have to be careful. Clean shoes do not last. =)  We typically walk about 4 miles a day on the days we have camp in town. Monday we didn't have camp because the kids had a "rain day" which is like our snow day in the states. We had camp this last week at our English Institute building in town. We had 4 different stations and two camps, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. The stations were actitivies, English, arts and crafts, and Bible. Me and another girl, Abby, led Bible. Tuesday was a crazy day. We only had a few children in the morning, and they were well-behaved. However, in the afternoon the orphanage kids came and many other community kids came. The girls were nuts. They were climbing on the walls and doors and weren't listening at all. It was chaotic. Most of them were kids from the orphanage. We were told that they probably behaved so poorly because they don't get a lot of interaction with the other kids in the community so they wanted attention. They certainly got it. But since they didn't behave the orphanage wouldn't let them come back the next day, which was sad.

During the first couple days, my mind refused to switch over to Spanish, so I found it hard to communicate. Once we started camps, though, it clicked! Thank God! Many of the other volunteers who don't know Spanish have had a really hard time figuring out how to serve the kids since they can't communicate with them verbally. I admit it would be really hard if you couldn't speak the language. Nonetheless, it is awesome when you can break through that barrier.

It has been really neat to see how God has been moving since I've been here. I have been learning that what I think my purpose for being down here is may not actually be His purpose for having me here. In other words, the children are not the only ones I think He is moving me to minister to. I'm really excited to see how the summer unfolds. While I'm here, I really want to grow and fall even deeper in love with Him. He is my Creator and my All, and I can do nothing without Him. Praise be to Him! It has been difficult, but I've been trying to get up early each morning to read my Bible and be fed for the day. At night, me and a couple girls have been getting good fellowship together and praying. I am really thankful to have others with me who have the same heart for the Lord. Please pray that God would teach me how to best minister to those I come in contact with.

This weekend we have moved inside, which seems like a palace compared to the ramadas. All long term interns move inside, but for the first week they want everyone to experience the short-term volunteer housing.

This week we are going to hold camp in the slums, which will be really interesting. We are all very excited!!! Please be praying for the kids we will encounter. Please also keep the other children at the orphanage in your prayers as well.

I'll try to update this every weekend, but I'll warn you, I don't really like to journal.

Love to all of you from the D.R.!!!!