November 30, 2007

On November 8, I returned to the states from the DR, and since then I have spent time in four states and traveled through four others as I have attended G.O. staff meetings in Louisville, KY, and the National Missionary Convention in Cincinnati, Ohio, and visited family and friends in Virginia and Alabama! The time has been fun and exciting, though I have to admit to being a bit tired from all the traveling. Now, I am in Louisville, enjoying staying in one place for a while, until December 12, when I return to Virginia (via a two day visit in Georgia) to spend Christmas with my family and then return to the DR on December 31 to celebrate the New Year there!

During my last month in the Dominican we hosted three teams (one that was there when Tropical Storm Noel hit!) and celebrated the school’s 24th anniversary, and I also finished up my formal observations and meetings with the teachers, hosted a teacher appreciation meeting for all the staff at the school, and wrapped up my English classes in Hoyo de Bartola and Hoya del Caimito, so my days were pretty full!

Celebrating the school’s 24th anniversary on October 26 with the students and teachers at the school was a great experience! The first picture to the left is of the Administration and a few teachers on the day of the celebration. Our pastor, Gabriel, who started the school in 1983, is at the center of the group. As part of the celebration, the students each drew pictures of the school, and the Administration asked me to select winners from each of the sessions, which was a challenge! It was amazing to see how far the school has progressed from the small house that Gabriel first used to provide around 30 children in the neighborhood a Christian education to the three story building that now provides 420 students a Christian education! Some of the artwork was very impressive, and one of the students who won had taken part in Jen’s art classes earlier this year! She is the student pictured to the right.

Because of my work with the school, I had limited contact with the teams, one of which went to Batey Nueve to do construction and children’s ministry, and another that was from Crestwood, KY, and offered a soccer clinic and a medical clinic in La Mosca, one of the poorest areas of Santiago. However, I was able to spend more time with the third team, which was from California and was in the DR from October 27 to November 3, because when Noel hit, all schools were closed in the DR for three days. It was an interesting experience to be with a team that had traveled so far to work in the DR with their partner church in Hato del Yaque and had left a state where wildfires were raging, that then had to wait out a Tropical Storm and was not able to “do” anything for the first part of their trip.

This experience became one that several team members said was quite a learning lesson for them, and it was one for me as well. The first day of the storm, we were all optimistic that the rain would pass over quickly and we would be able to “get to work” – it is very easy in the Dominican to not pay attention to weather reports, as just about every day is beautiful, so even I did not know that a tropical storm had hit the island until toward the end of the first day. At points the rain would break or slow a bit, and we were able to get out and visit the school for a tour and do a short tour of the neighborhood.

The second day was a different story, however, as the worst of the storm hit that day and we all realized what was happening, and that we would be staying put for a while, unable to do the work that had been planned for the week. Thus, on top of feeling a bit confined and “stir crazy” was the feeling of frustration that we all face when our plans are clearly not going to be followed, mingled with the desire to get out and help the people who were dealing with the effects of the storm. The picture above is of one area of Santiago that flooded during the storm.

That morning, though, we were challenged by the G.O. staff member in charge of facilitating the team, John Martinez, to take some time away from the group and in prayer to ask God what He was leading us to do with this time that seemed to be “wasted.” What came out of that time was an obvious calling to prayer, for the people of the DR, for people back home, and for each other. As a result, this group of 13 people, most of whom did not know each other prior to their trip, came together in a way that I have not seen a group come together since I first moved to the DR and started working with teams. Throughout the next two days, they spent time worshipping God, praying, and being open to where God was leading them to go in a way that would not have happened had they done what they were “supposed” to do according to the plans they had made for their trip.

When, after three days, the rain finally broke and it was safe to travel, instead of being frustrated or irritated about the time they spent waiting, the team members were renewed and refreshed by their time with the Lord and focused on doing His will and listening to His Spirit guide their every step, which led to some truly Spirit-led experiences while ministering to and with the pastor their church supports - he and his family are pictured to the right. It was truly a remarkable week.

Following the storm, during the first week of November, I wrapped up my English classes, having conversations in English with the students to put into practice all they had learned. It seems hard to believe that these classes, which first began in January, have ended, and it was exciting to hear my students speaking in English, some more confidently than others, but all of them having grasped the basics of the language! The picture to the left is of my students in Hoyo de Bartola after I gave them their certificates for completing the class. I will begin new classes in January, and some of the students in this class have expressed the desire to repeat the class to continue practicing their English and improve their skills.

While it was clear that they learned and have gained confidence through this experience, what has encouraged me the most is how God has moved in their lives and in mine through the course of the class. One member of this group was baptized over the summer, and God has used all of them to teach me about what is most important in life. Hoyo de Bartola is one of the poorest areas I have seen, and yet my students there have a positive outlook on life and a joy and contentment in the daily experiences of life and opportunities God provides them that I have not had in my own privileged life in the states. I have never truly wanted for anything materially, and yet I have not had the peace and joy I see in my students here in the Dominican who have so very little materially. This has challenged me in my own faith, and when I begin to feel frustrated by an experience or overwhelmed by the events of my life, the witness of their lives in spite of the challenges they face on a daily basis humbles me and reminds me to look to God, remembering that He loves me, He is in control, He knows more than I do, and He is good.

When I am back in the states, it can be easy to get caught up in the rush of “getting things done” according to plan and being overwhelmed by all that has to be done; however, I pray that throughout this time I will remember these lessons God has taught me over the last few months. I pray that He will also guide each of you to take some time away from the “busyness” of the holidays to take some time to spend with Him in prayer and to find joy and contentment in the daily experiences of your own lives, regardless of whether or not your plans work out according to schedule.

May God bless and keep you all!

Con el Amor de Jesucristo,
Catherine

October 8, 2007

I can hardly believe almost two months have gone by since the last time I updated! On August 22, school started and my schedule became very full very quickly! The week before school started, I did my first teacher training for the year, and then after classes started, I began informal observations that led to formal observations and written reports for the teachers. Additionally, we took the teachers to the beach for the day on September 1, and from September 11 to 18, we had a team come down to do construction and children’s ministry and a Women’s Conference! On top of all of that, the school administration threw a surprise birthday party for me on September 6, and in mid-September I moved to a new apartment!

The teacher training was held on August 14, and in it I presented some of the same ideas from the training I had done in April to remind the teachers about the importance of strong classroom management, including setting class rules and using a seating arrangement that allows the teacher to move easily around the classroom. Many of the teachers have embraced both of these concepts, and the improvement in the behavior of their students is clear from last year to this year! The picture to the left is from the training as I presented a "sample" first day of school with some of the teachers as my "students." We also reviewed the school-wide discipline plan that we put into place last January to remind teachers of the importance of using the demerit/detention and award system, as well as to address any concerns or unclear aspects of the plan. Using a plan such as this one is a new concept here, so it will take some time for the teachers to truly adopt it, but they have been utilizing it. As well, at our “Welcome Back” meeting for the parents we explained the plan and afterward several parents commented that they liked the plan and were supportive of it!

The other main focus of the training was to introduce the teachers to the Reading Program we started for the third through eighth graders. Over the summer a group of students who went to the Church of Christ Youth Camp in Grundy, VA, raised money for the school here to buy books for the library, and with that money, 140 books were purchased. These were primarily books of fiction in Spanish, including C.S. Lewis’s Narnia series as well as several other well-known works of children’s literature. The picture to the left is of one of our librarians next to the books for the Reading Program. The teachers were excited about the concept, though books are such a commodity here that even the librarian expressed concern over letting the students take the books home! Despite their initial excitement, only a few of the teachers have begun using the program, but according to the librarian, the sixth grade students have been avidly reading the books, and this is encouraging.

One of the things that I have to continually remind myself of is that change comes slowly – “poco a poco” as we like to say here – and that all that happens at the school and in my ministry is under God’s control, not mine. God has continually been showing me that my focus needs to be on Him and what He has called me here to do, and that He will accomplish His purposes in my life. Through various situations, I have seen God working and this has strengthened and encouraged me. I have the tendency to want to control everything and think that things are not good unless they are exactly as I want them to be (essentially perfect), but God continues to show me that I am not in control, and that He does a much better job of orchestrating situations and circumstances than I ever could. As a recent devotion taught me, I am trying to focus on working toward excellence over perfection and focusing on the positives in a situation instead of seeing only the challenges.

One clear positive was the day at the beach with the teachers! One of the pastors we are connected with here lives and works in Puerta Plata and each year, he opens up his home to allow the teachers a day of fun and fellowship at the beach. This was great time of building relationships with the teachers, and I was incredibly blessed by the day which included swimming, gathering shells, and enjoying the beauty of God’s creation!

For normal days, however, my schedule at the school has me there on Monday mornings and all day on Wednesday and Friday, and during the month of September, I used my time to informally visit all the classrooms to get an idea of where to start with my formal observations, which began on October 1. I was also involved in the planning and implementation of the two parent meetings we held at the start of the year as well as an event we had for the parents to celebrate the “Dia de la Biblia” (Day of the Bible), which is a national holiday here on September 27. For this event, the students, directed by the teachers, gave short presentations about the Bible and performed dramatizations of stories from the Bible. To the left is a picture of students in first through eighth grade presenting the books of the Bible. I was excited when the sixth grade class decided to present a parable, as a few of the students in that class had been part of the Drama Camp, and they presented the parable of The Good Samaritan in a very similar manner to how we had presented the parable for the Drama Camp!

Aside from my work at the school, I am continuing to teach English classes on Monday afternoons and Saturday mornings, and I also had the wonderful opportunity to be a part of the Women’s Conference that a group of women from Illinois came to do for the women here. This was the second year for the conference, which grew from 90 women last year to well over 150 women this year! While in the states we have many opportunities for conferences, prior to last year, the women we work with here had never had such an opportunity, and it was life-changing for many of them! This year, we started off hearing testimonies from a few of the women who had come the previous year, and I was inspired and encouraged by their stories! We then had a great time of fellowship, worship, and sharing – all centered around being an “Embajadora para Cristo” (Ambassador for Christ). Personally, I was challenged by the lessons I learned and renewed by my time with the women from the DR and from Illinois!

On a personal note, I was blessed and overwhelmed by the love, encouragement, and support I felt from the teachers and administrators as they helped me celebrate my birthday! The party itself was a gift and a blessing, as I was feeling a bit alone, and to top it all off, there was a wonderful cake and some very thoughtful and special presents! Through the night, God reminded me that I am not alone, and while I miss my family and friends in the states, he has provided me with a Dominican “family” here, many of whom are here in the picture!

Finally, in the middle of the month I moved to my own apartment – another gift from God! While living in the ministry apartment with my roommates was a great experience and one that I am very grateful for, I had not realized how much I missed having my own space until I had it again! My new apartment is one street over from the ministry center and right next door to Jen’s – one of my old roommates. We took the apartments because we liked the idea of still being able to share resources but have our own space at the same time. Both apartments are pretty small – mine is the bigger one with about 250 square feet! – but they are new, and our landlady is taking very good care of us! We also know several of our neighbors, and while there was some stress involved in moving, it has been a blessing overall!

I am looking forward to returning to the states in November and December, and I hope to have a chance to see as many of you as possible! One of my focuses for my time home will be fund raising for my ministry as well as for the school, so as always, if you know of any churches, individuals, or organizations I could talk to, I would love to hear from you! Also, we are currently putting our schedule together for teams for 2008, so if you would like more information about putting a team together, please let me know!

As always, thank you for your love, prayers, and support!

Con amor de Jesucristo,
Catherine

August 17, 2007

The month of July was an incredible and incredibly busy one here in the DR, and the first two weeks of August kept up that pace as well! In July, we hosted eight teams, which did everything from basketball camp to construction to medical clinics, and so far in August, we have hosted an additional five more! Also, in the first week of August, we had our very first Drama Camp!

Additionally, we had a total of five interns here this summer who all did excellent work, which also meant that the three female interns were living with Jen, Jackie, and I (we each shared our room with one of them), so there were six females in our apartment! The down side to being so busy and having limited internet time (since we only have three DSL cords, and one of them randomly chooses not to work) is that I have not had a chance to update my blog in much too long!

July started off with a team of 62 people from Eastview Christian Church in Illinois, most of whom were teenagers, that split into two groups doing construction on the churches in Hato del Yaque and Hoyo de Bartola, and one group traveling to Haiti to visit the school and orphanage there. They were a great team, and each group did more work than we expected them to do! We then had two teams here at the same time, one from Oldham County in Kentucky doing a basketball clinic, and the other from Lincoln Christian Church in Illinois doing construction on a new home for the national partner they support, Marisol who works in our kitchen and has seven children and 14 grandchildren and is in desperate need of a new home!

The third week of July brought three teams, one from Morgantown Community Church in Kentucky that continued to work on Marisol’s home, another from Cross Point Community Church in Nashville, TN, that worked on construction of a church for the Haitian pastor, Moises, whom they support (the picture to the left is of the team praying for him on their last day at the site), and the third from Warrenville Bible Chapel that held a medical clinic in Batey Nueve (a community in the sugar cane fields where there is desperate poverty). July wrapped up with two more teams, one from Hikes Point Christian in Louisville, KY, that also continued to work on Marisol’s house, and the other from Northeast Christian Church in Rockford, IL, that worked on constructing the church in Hoyo de Bartola and providing children’s ministry in Los Guandules, the church they partner with here in the DR.

I worked with the teams from Eastview in Hoyo de Bartola, Lincoln Christian and Hikes Point on Marisol’s house, and Cross Point on Moises’ church, so I have been doing a lot of construction! As a result, I have lost a little bit of weight, which the ladies in the kitchen and some in our neighborhood have expressed concern over, but I have to say I’m not complaining, and I kind of like how my arms are now showing some definition! I have also discovered that shoveling is a great workout, and I enjoy it! However, more important things certainly happened as a result of the construction we did, and it was inspiring to be a part of constructing two churches and building Marisol’s home, all of which will be places where God’s love will be shared with the people of the DR! At the site of Moises’ church, I was even able to witness some cultural barriers and prejudice give way, as I introduced Moises to two Dominican women and their children from the community the church will serve who were at first hesitant about meeting a Haitian, but warmed up to him and stated they would come to the church when it was finished!

The first week of August brought a team from Hope Springs Community Church in Lexington and two people from Woodland Hills Church of Christ, my family’s church in VA! The group from Hope Springs did children’s ministry in eight of the churches we support, a medical clinic in another, and on-going training for our pastors to learn about the Celebrate Recovery program! For the first two days of the week, Neal and Andrew, from Woodland Hills, and I helped with the children’s ministry and then we did a two-day Drama Camp that prepared the children involved to present the “Parable of the Unmerciful Servant” to our church here in Hoya del Caimito!

The Drama Camp was a great success! Since school is currently on break, we were able to use three empty classrooms in the school for our camp, which provided excellent space for our classes. There were 13 children involved, ranging in age from 8 to 12, each of whom received a Bible and a beanie baby for participating in the camp, as well as two GO staff members and one Dominican young woman from our church.

During each of the days, we had classes on Voice and Movement, Stage Direction and Blocking, and Costume Creation, and we also assigned roles and practiced, and practiced, and practiced, the drama! The children seemed to truly enjoy each class and were very excited before, during, and after the presentation in church! All of the children were from the neighborhood, but only about half of them attend church, and what was perhaps the most exciting thing for me was knowing that while they clearly enjoyed the camp, they also essentially memorized a parable, and my hope is that the lessons they learned from Jesus’ story will have a longer lasting impact on their lives than the lessons they learned about acting.

It was also wonderful to have two people I know from “home” here to experience this with me! They were patient and loving with the children and more than ready to jump in and help whenever needed, and overall their week here ranks as my favorite of the summer!

The day of the presentation in church was also an exciting day for me, as my Goddaughter was dedicated at church during the same service! Godparents are a tradition here in the DR in the Christian churches, and I was honored when Kathy, our school principal, asked me to be the “madrina” for her daughter, Shanie! The picture to the left is of Kathy, me, Shanie, Kathy's mother, and Samir, Shanie's Godfather.

Throughout the summer, I have also continued to teach my classes, and they are continuing to go well! We are close to wrapping up the advanced classes, and the students have expressed a desire to continue studying, so in September and October, I will be having “conversation” classes with them to reinforce the lessons they have learned and give them more practice speaking English. An exciting new development with the English ministry is that a group of young men in our sports ministry may have the opportunity to go to the states to play baseball but need to learn English to do so, and so, beginning in September, I will be teaching this group three days a week to help them take advantage of the opportunity if it arises!

Just as I know the school year is starting in the states, it will also be beginning here. The teachers come back to school on August 21, and the students come on August 28, and this year, my role with Administration will be more clearly defined, and I will be at the school three days a week to continue working with the teachers on classroom management, school wide discipline, and lesson planning while also continuing the English and Drama ministries, so it should be a busy fall!

There is much more I could write about the school, but I will save that for my next update, which will be within the next few weeks!

Thank you for your prayers, encouragement, and support!

Con el amor de Jesucristo,
Catherine

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 reasons 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 church 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

May 3, 2007

I am now back in the states for a little more than a month and trying to get rested up from the last few weeks, which were a bit busy! The first weekend of April, our church had an Easter pageant that covered Christ’s birth to His resurrection, and the children in my drama class were responsible for the first part of the presentation, which was our culminating activity and took the place of them doing a presentation on their own for the church. Additionally, both my English classes wrapped up with the students taking an exam – which they asked to take! I was also able to complete my observations and reports for the year and host a second Teacher Appreciation event on March 25!

The students in the Drama class were very interested in and excited to be a part of the Easter pageant, and it was fun, though at times a bit exhausting, to direct them! They presented the birth of Christ in silence while I sang “Silent Night” (in Spanish!), and we ended the scene with a “tableaux” of the manger scene. Casting was a bit of a challenge, since the class on that day was almost all girls and they all wanted to be Mary, and initially we had three Queens instead of three Kings, for the same reason. However, the girls did some recruiting, and we ended up with a Joseph and Mary, three Kings, four angels, and four shepherdesses (instead of shepherds) who all did wonderfully!

Behind the scenes pics: In the picture on the left, the angels in the pageant patiently wait for the program to start, and in the picture on the right, I help the three kings prepare to go onstage. My roommate Jen took these pictures, and she helped me organize the children backstage - I could not have done it without her - thanks Jen!

The students in the English classes asked me toward the end of March if they could have a test to determine their progress, and though I had not initially planned on giving one (which I am sure is a shock to my SHA students!), I prepared one and gave it to them in the second to the last class so that I could return the tests and answer any questions the students might have in our last meeting. This kept me from completing the curriculum I had planned for the twelve weeks of the class, but based on the results, I think it was a good change. In my adult class, each of the 15 students who came regularly also came to take the test, and they all passed, with half of them getting “A’s”! The results were a bit more varied in the class for adolescents in Hoyo del Bartola where 14 students took the test, but only seven passed. There were a few “A’s” in this class as well, and in each class, there are two or three students whom I think are potential assistants for the ministry in each church. At the last meeting for each class, I also had the students introduce and describe themselves to the class in English, and they all did well. This showed them that even if that had not done as well on the test as they had hoped, they had learned enough English to have a basic conversation with another person, which was the primary goal of the class.

While I love teaching and am very grateful for the opportunities I had to teach the Drama and English classes over the last few months, I also enjoyed my time working at the school with the teachers. This month I was able to wrap up my observations and reports, and by the end I was doing better on the translating, though I still had the reports checked before giving them to the teachers. When I return to the Dominican in June, I will be meeting with each of the teachers to go over the reports and make sure my suggestions were clear and see if any of the teachers have questions for me. I will be using this time as preliminary training for the next school year and to get a better idea of the needs of the teachers as I prepare future training sessions.

Before I left Santiago on April 28th, I was able to host another Teacher Appreciation on April 25th for the teachers, teachers’ assistants, and administrators at the school, and it was a fun event! I bought gifts of chalk holders, chalk, and stickers for each teacher, colored pencils and stickers for the assistants, and small gifts for each of the administrators, and I was surprised when several of the teachers brought me gifts as well! We began our time together with prayer, thanking God for all His blessing and for bringing us all together, and I then thanked the teachers and administrators for welcoming me into the school and being so open to my ideas and suggestions, and I thanked them for all the work they do for our students. I also told them that one of my goals is to help the school through working toward having every student supported through our G.O. Kids program so that we can have the financial support needed to make significant improvements in the school. If you would like more information on the G.O. Kids program, you can check out the blog that the program coordinator, Audrey, keeps updated. The address is http://www.go-kids.blogspot.com/.

Perhaps the most exciting thing for me about this part of the afternoon was that I said all of this in Spanish without the help of a translator! After I was finished, I passed out the gifts and then we all enjoyed some refreshments and a great time of fellowship with one another. The principal then thanked me for the work I had been doing at the school and asked if any teachers had anything to share, and a few of them also shared their thanks for my suggestions and said that they had helped in their classrooms and with improving student behavior.

I was grateful for all they shared with me, and even more grateful that when one of the administrators closed our time together with prayer, she gave glory to God for all He was doing in the lives of everyone involved with the school. It can be very easy to get caught up in being the person people go to for answers to problems or questions, and I hope and pray that the focus of this ministry as well as the English and Drama ministries continues to be God and that His light, His power, and His glory will shine through anything that is accomplished through them!

The next few weeks will surely be busy ones, but I will try to update my blog at least once before I return to the Dominican, and I hope while I am in the states I will be able to see as many of you as possible to share more about my ministry and life in the DR and all that God has been teaching me!

At our recent Partnership Conference that G.O. hosted here in the Dominican, I was reminded on one of my favorite verses, and I wanted to share it here as well. It is Isaiah 43:18-19, and through it God says to us:

18 Forget the former things;

do not dwell on the past.
19 See, I am doing a new thing!

Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?

I am making a way in the desert

and streams in the wasteland.

I cannot truly express how grateful I am for the opportunity to live and minister in Santiago and all of the "new things" God is doing through G.O. Ministries and in the lives of the people of the Dominican, and I thank all of you who support me in this!

Dios te bendiga! God bless you!

Con el amor de Jesucristo,
Catherine

Wednesday – April 4, 2007

We have a few days of down-time right now as our last team left on Tuesday morning and we do not have another one coming until Friday, and since it is Holy Week, the school is closed and things are generally quiet in Hoya del Caimito. So, I thought I would take advantage of the time and do a quick update!

During the last two weeks we have had two groups here doing construction on the church at Hato del Yaque (tying rebar for the second floor – more on that later) and children’s ministry in the churches at Guandules and Los Perez. The first group, from Northeast Christian Church in Rockford, IL, also painted and helped with electrical work in the new church at Guandules and offered a dental clinic for the children there. This is the church and partnership I mentioned in my last blog. Ever since I joined G.O., I have heard wonderful stories about the results of this partnership and how involved Northeast in IL is in the lives of the people of Guandules in Santiago, and during the team’s time here I was able to witness this first hand. Many of the children remembered team members who had been here in the past, and every day we were in the church there were smiles and warm hugs shared by the members of both churches.

The church at Guandules is the model for all the churches we are building here in the DR – there are currently five in process – with a feeding center on the first floor and a sanctuary on the second floor. The building at Guandules in nearly complete now that the painting and electrical work are done, and the first service in the new sanctuary was held during the week the group from IL was here! It is a beautiful building, but what is even more beautiful is seeing the hearts of these people from the US and the DR as they work together to reach out to this community. One thing that strikes me every time I go to Guandules is that this community of dirt roads and ramshackle houses sits on a fully-paved, busy street in Santiago, yet it seems to have been forgotten – or simply overlooked – by the majority of people in Santiago because it is a place that has been overrun by crime, and the land is not worth much as the river that runs through the community floods (over the tops of many houses) on a regular basis. As a result, only the desperately poor live there, and each day is a struggle just to survive. However, these people have not been forgotten by God who sent their pastor – Rafelito – and his family to live and work there, or by the family of Northeast Christian in IL, as they work together to bring help and hope to His children there.

The second group that came was a special treat as they are from St. John’s United Methodist church in Louisville, KY! It is always fun when groups come from KY, and it was especially fun to have a group of basketball fans here during the NCAA Tournament – there was a lot of discussion through the week about the recent events in KY and what the future may hold for my beloved Wildcats! As many Dominicans like to say, “Vamos a ver!” which means, “We will see!” Additionally, the team watched the final game of a basketball tournament here that was sponsored by our Sports Ministry, and we all also watched the final game of the NCAA Tournament together. On a side note, I would be remiss in not telling you that yours truly happened to win our G.O. staff NCAA Tournament pool (no money was involved – just a free lunch and bragging rights until next year)!

We did more than talk about and watch basketball, though! This team continued tying rebar for the church in Hato del Yaque, finishing up that task so that next week we can begin pouring the concrete for the second floor. One of my favorite things about this week was that the group loved to sing while they worked! We sang a little bit of everything – worship, tv theme songs, country, and classic rock (and yes, we showed our ages in the songs we chose!) This made the work go quickly, and almost before we knew it, all the rebar had been tied! For those who may not know how to tie rebar – which included me prior to the beginning of this round of construction at the church – it involves using a goncho to secure two pieces of iron bar together with a thin wire. This creates a lattice of sorts that will reinforce the concrete for the floors and walls once it is poured. It is wonderful to be able to be a part of building this church and seeing each piece that the teams complete. The first time I went to Hato del Yaque, the walls of the first floor were only half way up, and now, the first floor is complete, and starting next week, we will begin to build the walls of the second floor! This is a true example of how doing God’s work is a relay race, not a sprint, and we are all called to different tasks. When it is completed, the building will serve as another hub for the ministry, and it will house a feeding center, church, and dormitories for teams, and I can only imagine the work God will do in this rural community through this church!

During the last two weeks, I have also continued doing observations at the school and teaching my English and Drama classes, and everything continues to go well with them. One area I need to get worked out is getting my observation reports translated in a timely fashion. Currently, I am using an on-line site to translate the reports, but as anyone who has used these types of sites knows, the translations are not always dependable, and it is very important that the teachers understand what I have written out for them, so they have to be checked over carefully. There is a young woman in our office here helping me, but she has other duties, and as a result, the reports are not getting to the teachers very quickly. Ideally, in the future, I will be able to translate them completely on my own, but for now I need the help. Please pray that all the reports are completed in the next week so that I will have time to meet with any teachers who may have questions for me before I leave for the states on the 28th.

My schedule when I return to the US will be a busy one! Right now it is as follows (but is subject to change!):

Virginia from April 28th through May 2nd
Louisville from May 2nd to May 9th
Virginia from May 9th to May 16th
Louisville from May 16th to May 23rd
Virginia from May 25th to June 1st
North Carolina from June 1st to June 4th
Return to Santiago June 5th/6th

I would love to see as many of you as possible, so please let me know as soon as possible if you would like to get together while I am home for this trip! This is also a time for me to continue fund raising, so please let me know if you are part of a small group or organization that may be interested in hearing more about my ministry and I will be happy to schedule a time to meet with you!

Thank you for your prayers and your support of my ministry – I thank God each time I think of you!

Con amor de Jesucristo,
Catherine

Thursday - March 22, 2007

The last few weeks have been busy ones, as I started the drama ministry, we hosted the men’s soccer team from Indiana Wesleyan University for a soccer clinic for the children in Los Perez, and I traveled (by myself!) across the country to La Romana on the southern coast of the island to work with a group from my church – Northeast Christian Church in Louisville, Kentucky!

On February, March 26, I taught my first drama class to 20 students in third through fifth grade, and we had a great time! Each class meeting has had 15 to 20 students, and I have a core group of 10 girls who come regularly – they even asked if the class could meet every day! So far our classes have been focusing on movement and teamwork as I am trying to prepare the students to learn a ten-minute mime presentation called The Redeemer that I am hoping a team from YWAM will be able to come and teach to them either this week or next week so that we can present it to the church in April.

The IWU Soccer Team was here from Friday, March 2, to Friday, March 9, and while they were here, they ran a two-day soccer clinic and played in games against local Dominican and Haitian teams, and they even traveled to the capitol, Santo Domingo, to play the Dominican National team! The team left the Dominican with a record of 1-2, but they played well in each game, and they kept their focus on serving and showing others the love of Christ.

I shared with the team before they left that prior to watching them play, I did not think I had ever watched a whole soccer game, and I was impressed by how physically demanding the game is. For those who may not know, a soccer field is longer than a football field (since there are no endzones, only a goal), and there is constant motion by the players up and down and across the field as they work together to score a goal. I was also impressed by how much they communicated with one another on the field. They not only encouraged one another, but they also watched out for one another and called out warnings to let a player know what was best for him to do or if there was a player from the other team approaching him that he could not see. When this happened, they called out “man on,” and this told the player with the ball that there was an imminent threat to his game. Additionally, the team members also were trained to listen for and respond to the voices of their teammates and their coach.

As I sat there watching and listening to them play, I could not help but wonder what would happen in the body of Christ if we were to apply these principles of communication to our lives as Christians. What if we were more encouraging of one another? What if we were not afraid to call out to a brother or sister in Christ when we saw him or her going down a path that we believed would lead to heartache or possibly lead away from Christ? What if we trained ourselves to listen to the voices of our “teammates” and our “Coach” so that we could hear their encouragement, directions, or warnings? How different would our lives be if we lived this way?

This team clearly led lives that were different from the norm for many. On and off the field, they encouraged one another, prayed together, spent time getting to truly know one another, and were transparent with one another. This was not a team that kept secrets or had members who tried to do everything by themselves. My prayer for them as they left was that they would continue to live their lives in this way, and my prayer for myself was that I would not forget the lessons I learned from them about what it means to live a Christian life.

The same day the IWU team left for the States, I left for La Romana. I was a little nervous to be traveling the country by myself, but I had relatively clear directions, money, my passport, my cell phone, someone waiting for me on the other end, and many prayers being lifted up on my behalf, so I figured I could handle just about anything that might come up on the trip! It was a long one – five hours total – consisting of two bus rides and a taxi ride in the capitol from the bus station to the “parada," which is a bus stop, where I caught the bus to La Romana, but it was relatively uneventful, and I had plenty of opportunities to practice my Spanish! The team from Northeast encountered a few problems, though, and was delayed for close to five hours! When we were all finally in La Romana everyone was more than a little bit tired!

Since our first day was a Saturday, things were kind of low-key as the doctors and some of the nurses began to prepare for the dental and surgical clinics that were to be the focus of the week, and those who were not setting up began the process of painting the labor and delivery room in the medical clinic of the center where our clinics were being held. It took two days to prep and paint the room that had been a dark institutional green, and now it is a pale yellow with Winnie the Pooh decorations that make it much more warm and welcoming.

During the surgical clinic, I spent most of my time talking to the patients, many of whom were children, and translating for the doctors and nurses. There were a few times when I could not completely understand everything a patient was trying to communicate to me, but each time Rick or Suzanne, the full-time missionaries in La Romana with whom the group had gone to work, would be there to help. These were times when I experienced God clearly providing not only for me but also for the patients. He knew I was in a situation I could not handle alone and that the patient needed to be clearly understood, and He made sure to take care of all our needs!

On Wednesday, I went with the dentist to a rehabilitation clinic and helped her as she worked with children who had cerebral palsy, and this is one day that had a lasting impression on me. Most of the children had never seen a dentist, and though they could not communicate clearly, their fear was clear in their eyes and through a lot of nervous crying. Also, since the children could not support themselves, they each had to be held by an adult throughout the dental exam and whatever procedures were necessary. One mother could not handle holding her daughter through the extraction of two of her teeth, something I do not think I could have done either, and I had the opportunity to pray with and talk to her (in Spanish!) through the procedure. With each patient, the dentist was patient and calm, offering quiet words of comfort and love to each one through what had to be a difficult experience for the children and their parents. Her patience and gentleness were clear examples of Christ to her patients, and I walked away from that day that had been full of fear and crying feeling calmed and strengthened by her example and all I had witnessed.

The next day, as I was preparing to return to Santiago and saying my good-byes to the team members, I was unexpectedly asked to step into the operating room and translate for the anesthesiologist and surgeon! The patient had been given a spinal, and they wanted to be sure she was ready for the procedure, so I put on a mask and cap and went in. Two days prior I had scrubbed in to watch a surgery but had only lasted a few minutes before I felt queasy and needed to leave, so this time, I focused my attention on the patient and did not watch any of the operation! After they started operating, I asked if I could stay and talk to her while they worked because I imagined that if I had been in a similar situation, I would want someone to stay with me with whom I could communicate. I have also had a spinal done for a minor surgery, and I remember the feelings of fear and confusion I experienced during the procedure. The surgeon said I could stay, so we talked about her children and her job, found out we were the same age and had a few similar circumstances in our lives, and before we knew it, they were almost finished!

When I went to La Romana, I was not sure what the week would hold, other than the opportunity to see one of my best friends and get to know others from Northeast better, and there are many more experiences – big and small – about which I could write, but these two stand out the most to me. Both were times through which I felt God telling me that I was right where He wanted me to be, doing exactly what He wanted me to do at that moment. I also learned lessons that will help me in my ministry in Santiago, and I am grateful for the experiences of the whole week!

This week, we have a team here from Northeast Christian Church in Rockford, Illinois, and we are working on construction of the church in Hato del Yaque and doing activities each day for the children in Guandules, another of our feeding centers. The church and feeding center at Guandules are an excellent example of the power of partnerships between churches in the states and the Dominican. Northeast Christian in IL supports Rafelito, the pastor of the church in Guandules, and one of the US church members (who is also soon to be our newest GO staff member!) has organized another facet of the GO Kids program to sponsor children in the feeding program there. These partnerships have benefitted the church significantly, which in turn strengthens Rafelito’s work in the community. What was once the site of a pool hall and place where prostitution occurred is now the site of a growing church that provides spiritual as well as physical nourishment for the people of the community. What an amazing testimony to the power of God and what happens when His people work together to fulfill His purposes!

I miss all of you and look forward to hearing from you and seeing you again soon!

Con el amor de Jesucristo,
Catherine

Friday - February 23, 2007

Once again, I can hardly believe so much time has passed since I last updated! Last week, I completed my fifth week of teaching English in Hoya de Bartola and Hoya del Caimito, and both classes continue to go well! I am seeing definite progress in both classes, and as my students learn more English, I continue to learn more Spanish, which is encouraging! Also, since I live less than a block from the church in Caimito, when my students here miss a class, they seek me out to find out what they missed. This leads to one-on-one mini-lessons, which I believe are the best way to reinforce what they are learning in class. I also regularly meet my students when I am out and about in the neighborhood, and they are always ready to practice their English with me! The picture to the left is of the Saturday morning class for adults in Caimito.

Last week we also had a team here from Kansas City Baptist Temple in Kansas City, MO, to do a baseball clinic for the boys in our neighborhood, and it was a great experience! While I will still teach my classes when teams are here, I will not be working at the school during that time so that I can support the G.O. staff who are leading the team. This also continues to teach me more about the ministry as a whole, and I love meeting and getting to know the team members!

Essentially, I spent my days with this team taking pictures for some of the team members along with one of the two women who were here with them (she's actually the one taking the picture to the right of Jen and I posing with a few of the cameras!), doing my best to encourage the boys and the team members, and cheering at the games. Each day started with chapel where we prayed as a group, and one of the team members would share his testimony. As a result of the chapel meetings and the witness this team was to the boys, almost all of them expressed a desire to know more about Christ and many accepted Christ as their Savior at various times through the week! It was exciting to see a group of people so passionate about sharing their faith and see the effects of that on a group of adolescents searching for truth their lives!

After chapel, everyone went to the field for drills and practice in the morning and a tournament in the afternoon. All the men on this team are also part of their church’s sports ministry, playing in softball leagues in the fall and summer, so in the evenings, they played in a tournament with softball teams from Santiago. Many Dominicans are very talented ballplayers, having played since they were very young and being able to play essentially year-round, so it made things a little rough for the American team, but they handled it very well. Their last game in the tournament was very exciting though, as they began to come together as a team and they won the game by a good margin – it was very exciting to watch!

Perhaps one of the best experiences of the week was on Sunday after church when we separated into groups of four to five Americans and four to five boys, and we visited the homes of the boys to share the Truth about God and His love for us, which is the reason we are all here. Throughout the week, we had been at a well-kept field in a nice area of the city that is actually pretty close to Caimito, but visiting the homes of the boys was a different story. Caimito is a lower-class area that is relatively safe compared to some of the poorer areas of the city, such as the Hole and La Mosca, but the majority of the people who live here are still struggling to survive on a daily basis, and their homes show that. We were in sparsely furnished homes of less than 800 square feet with unfinished concrete block walls and tin roofs, and these homes clearly housed more people than we would think could live there comfortably. However, we were always welcomed with the gracious hospitality and warmth that are so much a part of the Dominican people, and the families were open to talking to us. At one house, three of the boys with us and the two sisters of one of them accepted Christ! We prayed with them and took their names and addresses so that our pastor could follow-up with them, and one of the boys with us, who is an active member of our church, made sure to invite them to activities for their age group. To read more about the clinic, the week with KCBT, and our on-going Sports Ministry, check out Will and Audrey's blog at http://www.dominican-updates.blogspot.com/. Will is the Director of Sports Ministry and Audrey coordinates our GOKids program while also working with the Sports Ministry.

Wednesday of this week, I began my formal observations of the teachers at the G.O. school to continue working with them on classroom management and lesson planning. So far, I have observed in both first grade classes and one second grade class, and I witnessed the implementation of some of the ideas I presented in the teacher training last January! One teacher used the “Give Me 5” signal to quiet her students, and another rearranged the desks in her room following my suggestion, which allows her to move more freely around the room and thus have more control and easier access to her students. My students at Sacred Heart would recognize the set-up, as it is the same I used in my classroom the last year I taught there. These two things may seem small, but I am encouraged that the teachers are open to the ideas I am sharing with them, and I am positive we can work together to create a more effective learning environment!

This Monday I will begin the Drama Ministry at the church in Caimito, and I am very excited to get this started! An announcement was sent home through the school to the children in third through fifth grade about the class, and several of the students have stopped me to ask about the class and let me know they would be there. The plan is to put together a small presentation for Easter Sunday, so please pray that everything comes together for this ministry! Initially, the classes will focus on voice and movement, getting the children comfortable working with one another and being in front of an audience.

One last push for volunteers for Derby! We still need volunteers, and it would be a wonderful blessing to me to see some of you there! There is a link to the right to the blog page for Derby that has all the details – check it out and let me know if you will be able to be there! You also may want to check out the link I just added called “Kingdom of Oneness” – it is a short video by Cross Point Community Church from Nashville,TN, about the work we are doing in Haiti.

As always, I am so grateful for you prayers, encouragement, and support!

Con amor de Jesucristo,
Catherine