One of the things I love about being a part of G.O. Ministries here in the Dominican is that no two days are ever the same! So far this summer I have been involved in translating for our basketball clinic, facilitating and sometimes translating for children’s ministry, as well as being a part of our school’s graduation ceremony and continuing to teach my English classes!
Basketball week is one of my favorite times, as I have been a huge basketball fan ever since attending UK (GO CATS!!). This year was special because the week was actually a “Sports Week” that included basketball, volleyball, baseball, and aerobics – reaching over 300 Dominican children, adolescents, teens, and adults! Each morning there were clinics for each sport, which include “huddle times” where the coaches share with their players about Christ and challenge them to accept Christ or to deepen their faith, and in the afternoon the teams in each level play each other in a tournament.
In the evening there are basketball games between the Americans and Dominicans, so between working with the basketball camp and the evening games, there was a lot of basketball to watch! This year I translated for the coaches working with the 11 to 13 year old level, and it was a great experience to help the children and coaches build relationships. Sports is an amazing vehicle to reach people for Christ, regardless of cultural or language differences, and many of the lessons learned by Americans and Dominicans alike were not only about sports, but also about God, His love for us, and the life He wants to give us!
Another way teams come to share God’s love here in the DR is through children’s ministry, and these times are always fun and a wonderful way to bring light into the lives of children, many of whom live in desperate circumstances and may not experience unconditional love in any other way in their lives. During June and the first part of July I have facilitated children’s ministry with teams in Los Guandules, Hoyo de Bartola, Palo Alto, Los Perez, Hoya del Caimito, Hato del Yaque and Villa Cafeteria, and it has been an amazing blessing to be a part of this ministry.These are all very poor areas, where families may earn the equivalent of $3000 to $4000 (US) per year and many children appear to be neglected and left to their own devices – one child in Hato del Yaque was playing with a “toy car” made from a used juice drink box with stones for wheels held in place with sticks and string. However, when the teams come, they spend a morning or afternoon with the children singing songs, sharing a Bible story, and working on a craft to help them remember the story, while also sharing hugs and laughter, and the light and joy in the children’s eyes when the team arrives, as well as during and after their time together shows how important these times are in their lives!
June 26 was an important time in the lives of our students at Colegio Evangélico Isaías Emmanuel – it was graduation day! Students in our pre-primary program graduated into first grade, students in fourth grade graduated into fifth grade (equivalent to going from elementary
to middle school in the states), and our eighth graders graduated, ready to go on to high school! It was an exciting day for the students and their families that included a parade through the neighborhood of Hoya del Caimito, where the school is located, and a ceremony at the Centro de Cultural (Cultural Center) in downtown Santiago! Around eighty percent of our students will go on to high school – most to a public school setting, which is very different than our school, with an average of 50 students per classroom and classes that meet in the evenings from 5:30 to 9:30. It is difficult for students to learn in situations such as these, which is why we would love to expand to offer high school – one of the long term goals for the school!
One of the exciting events in the English ministry was having a “student teacher” work with me during the month of June. Melissa was one of our interns for the summer, and during her time here she also completed an internship for her education degree. Working with Melissa as she prepared to teach the English classes and then watching her teach was a blessing! She did a great job and had the students up and moving in the class to demonstrate concepts – they played a competitive “game” to learn the difference between “to, two, and too” and the students were very engaged and excited to participate (especially in the class for the Baseball Ministry! Her energy and enthusiasm were evident in the class and in how the students responded to her!July has continued to be full of teams as well as working with the school to prepare for the next school year. Some very exciting things are happening at the school, and I will include more about that in my next blog!
Thank you for all that you do to support my ministry!
Con el amor de Jesucristo,
Catherine
