Wednesday June 27, 2007
First, I have to apologize for not updating my blog in such a long time! I was in the states for six weeks, and I have now been back in the DR since June 6th. I had a bit of trouble getting here, with a delayed flight that led to a missed flight and a night in JFK airport, which led to a change of destination that brought me into Santo Domingo instead of Santiago nearly 8 hours later than I was supposed to arrive! Thankfully, two G.O. staffers came to get me at the airport in Santo Domingo, and I was able to relax a bit on the ride home and once I finally got here.While I could have managed getting to Santiago by myself, it was a blessing that they came to get me and I did not have to deal with negotiating for a taxi to get me to the bus station, dealing with a long bus drive alone, and then giving another taxi driver directions to Hoya del Caimito (which they never seem to know) in Santiago once the bus arrived here. All of that would have been draining under normal circumstances, but it would have been compounded by the fact that I was worn out physically and emotionally, and I had not slept in over 24 hours! I also would not have had a great first meal back at Pollos Victorina (literally “victory chicken” – one of our favorite places to eat here in the DR) on the way to Santiago! God takes care of us in so many little ways that we do not always recognize, and though I was tired and had several frustrating experiences on my way here, I was acutely aware that God was in control of every detail of my trip and even though things did not go how I wanted them to, He was with me every step of the way.
Once I finally got here and got settled, I had a few days to readjust and visit friends, and then things got very busy! My first full week in Santiago, I began teaching two Advanced English classes and one Beginning English class. The two advanced classes are for the students who wanted to continue studying English after the first classes ended last April. One is in Hoyo de Bartola on Monday afternoons, and the other is in Hoya del Caimito on Saturday 
mornings. While those two classes are small, I am enjoying working with these students again and I am at a point with them where I speak very little Spanish while teaching, and the first few weeks have gone well! The beginners’ class is here in Hoya del Caimito on Thursday evenings, and I have changed a few things from the first time I taught these lessons, based on what I learned from teaching them in the Spring, and that class is going well also.
Perhaps the most exciting news of the last week relating to my classes is that this past Sunday, two of my students were baptized – one from each church! Faviola, who goes to church in the Hole, is on the right being baptized by Felix, and Rafeal, who has started coming to church in Caimito, is on the left after his baptism at our church. While learning English is one of the re
asons for the class, the greater goal is that my students will come to know the love of Christ better through the classes, and I was thrilled to learn that these two had made the most important decision of their lives, and it will be even more exciting to celebrate with them one day when we are all in the Lord’s presence and He calls His own by name, acknowledging us as we have acknowledged Him! They each have other influences in their lives leading them to know Christ as their Lord and Savior, and I know the classes are not the reason for their decision, but it is exciting to be a part of their experiences!
This past week, I was also able to work with a team from Dalton First Church of the Nazarene from Dalton, GA. This is the home church of one of our Sports Ministry staff members, and the team worked on constructing the new church in the Hole. They also did children’s ministry at the church in the Hole and another local church. I was with them all week, except for when I was preparing to teach or teaching, and they were a great group to work with! At the same time we had two other teams here – one team that split up to work here in our neighborhood and at another of our churches, and another that went to Haiti, so it was a busy week for G.O. Ministries!
The group at the Hole moved three truckloads of sand and over 300 cement blocks down to the church – more than they were expected to get accomplished!! Moving all of this consisted of having lines for passing buckets of sand and the block down a flight of about 25 uneven cement steps that lead down to the Hole, using wheelbarrows to transport the materials to the church, and then having lines on the other end to pass the sand and block up to the second floor of the church. At the beginning of the week, there were no walls up for the second floor, and by the time the work was finished, the walls on each side of the ch
urch were halfway up! While I spent some time taking pictures and making sure everyone had water, I also got in line and helped pass buckets and block. It was hard work, but it was fun, mostly because during our time there members of the church jumped in and helped out, and several of them were my students. They were all also practicing their English with the team members, and I could not help but smile at hearing them speak so comfortably and ask the Americans how to say words they did not know, showing their willingness to continue learning!
One of my favorite events of the week was our last day at the Hole when they team gathered around Pastor Felix and his family, laid their hands on them, and prayed for them. They were a group gifted in prayer, and I was encouraged and inspired by my time with them. I know Felix and the members of the church in the Hole were as well, and Dominicans and Americans alike shed many tears when it was time to leave for the last time.
This coming week we have a basketball clinic here in Caimito and a medical clinic in Batey Nueve, which is about five hours from Santiago. I will be working here with the basketball clinic as a translator, so I have been learning some new terms this week, and I am very excited about the work this week! I will also be continuing to teach my classes and having meetings with the Administrator of the school regarding planning for next year.
One of the biggest projects I have for the summer is to get a budget put together for the school, which has not been done in too long, so please pray that this will come together well! One of the things that will make this easier is that to date we now have 200 students sponsored as part of the G.O. Kids! program, and we are over halfway to having all of the students in the school sponsored! This would make budgeting much easier, as often many parents cannot pay the full tuition, but Gabriel, the president of G.O. here in the Dominican who started the school 25 years ago, will not deny a child a Christian education, so the school regularly operates in the red. If you are interested in sponsoring a child, you can go to http://www.gokids.blogspot.com/ or www.go-ministries.org for more information. For only $30 per month, you can change the life of a child here in the Dominican, which will not only affect that child but also his or her family as well as his or her community!
One of the lessons God is continuing to teach me is to have patience and wait for His will to be done in my personal life as well as my ministry. This is proving to be a difficult lesson for me to learn and it has caused me to struggle some emotionally and spiritually. I am trying to wait on Him, but I covet your prayers for me in this area, as I know it is only through the Holy Spirit that I will be able to learn this lesson. Please also pray for physical and emotional strength for all of the G.O. staff during this busy summer season – as we will host 17 teams over the next 8 weeks and there is much to be done! The most important thing about all of these teams coming and all the ministry being done in the DR is that we continually bring glory to God and show His love to the people of the Dominican, and if nothing else gets done, I hope and pray that collectively we will accomplish this.
Thank you for your continued support and encouragement! I love and miss you all!
Con amor de Jesucristo,
Catherine
Once I finally got here and got settled, I had a few days to readjust and visit friends, and then things got very busy! My first full week in Santiago, I began teaching two Advanced English classes and one Beginning English class. The two advanced classes are for the students who wanted to continue studying English after the first classes ended last April. One is in Hoyo de Bartola on Monday afternoons, and the other is in Hoya del Caimito on Saturday 
mornings. While those two classes are small, I am enjoying working with these students again and I am at a point with them where I speak very little Spanish while teaching, and the first few weeks have gone well! The beginners’ class is here in Hoya del Caimito on Thursday evenings, and I have changed a few things from the first time I taught these lessons, based on what I learned from teaching them in the Spring, and that class is going well also.
Perhaps the most exciting news of the last week relating to my classes is that this past Sunday, two of my students were baptized – one from each church! Faviola, who goes to church in the Hole, is on the right being baptized by Felix, and Rafeal, who has started coming to church in Caimito, is on the left after his baptism at our church. While learning English is one of the re
asons for the class, the greater goal is that my students will come to know the love of Christ better through the classes, and I was thrilled to learn that these two had made the most important decision of their lives, and it will be even more exciting to celebrate with them one day when we are all in the Lord’s presence and He calls His own by name, acknowledging us as we have acknowledged Him! They each have other influences in their lives leading them to know Christ as their Lord and Savior, and I know the classes are not the reason for their decision, but it is exciting to be a part of their experiences!
This past week, I was also able to work with a team from Dalton First Church of the Nazarene from Dalton, GA. This is the home church of one of our Sports Ministry staff members, and the team worked on constructing the new church in the Hole. They also did children’s ministry at the church in the Hole and another local church. I was with them all week, except for when I was preparing to teach or teaching, and they were a great group to work with! At the same time we had two other teams here – one team that split up to work here in our neighborhood and at another of our churches, and another that went to Haiti, so it was a busy week for G.O. Ministries!
The group at the Hole moved three truckloads of sand and over 300 cement blocks down to the church – more than they were expected to get accomplished!! Moving all of this consisted of having lines for passing buckets of sand and the block down a flight of about 25 uneven cement steps that lead down to the Hole, using wheelbarrows to transport the materials to the church, and then having lines on the other end to pass the sand and block up to the second floor of the church. At the beginning of the week, there were no walls up for the second floor, and by the time the work was finished, the walls on each side of the ch
urch were halfway up! While I spent some time taking pictures and making sure everyone had water, I also got in line and helped pass buckets and block. It was hard work, but it was fun, mostly because during our time there members of the church jumped in and helped out, and several of them were my students. They were all also practicing their English with the team members, and I could not help but smile at hearing them speak so comfortably and ask the Americans how to say words they did not know, showing their willingness to continue learning!
One of my favorite events of the week was our last day at the Hole when they team gathered around Pastor Felix and his family, laid their hands on them, and prayed for them. They were a group gifted in prayer, and I was encouraged and inspired by my time with them. I know Felix and the members of the church in the Hole were as well, and Dominicans and Americans alike shed many tears when it was time to leave for the last time.
This coming week we have a basketball clinic here in Caimito and a medical clinic in Batey Nueve, which is about five hours from Santiago. I will be working here with the basketball clinic as a translator, so I have been learning some new terms this week, and I am very excited about the work this week! I will also be continuing to teach my classes and having meetings with the Administrator of the school regarding planning for next year.
One of the biggest projects I have for the summer is to get a budget put together for the school, which has not been done in too long, so please pray that this will come together well! One of the things that will make this easier is that to date we now have 200 students sponsored as part of the G.O. Kids! program, and we are over halfway to having all of the students in the school sponsored! This would make budgeting much easier, as often many parents cannot pay the full tuition, but Gabriel, the president of G.O. here in the Dominican who started the school 25 years ago, will not deny a child a Christian education, so the school regularly operates in the red. If you are interested in sponsoring a child, you can go to http://www.gokids.blogspot.com/ or www.go-ministries.org for more information. For only $30 per month, you can change the life of a child here in the Dominican, which will not only affect that child but also his or her family as well as his or her community!
One of the lessons God is continuing to teach me is to have patience and wait for His will to be done in my personal life as well as my ministry. This is proving to be a difficult lesson for me to learn and it has caused me to struggle some emotionally and spiritually. I am trying to wait on Him, but I covet your prayers for me in this area, as I know it is only through the Holy Spirit that I will be able to learn this lesson. Please also pray for physical and emotional strength for all of the G.O. staff during this busy summer season – as we will host 17 teams over the next 8 weeks and there is much to be done! The most important thing about all of these teams coming and all the ministry being done in the DR is that we continually bring glory to God and show His love to the people of the Dominican, and if nothing else gets done, I hope and pray that collectively we will accomplish this.
Thank you for your continued support and encouragement! I love and miss you all!
Con amor de Jesucristo,
Catherine
