Usually when I start an update of my blog, I do it in a pretty typical style of describing all the things I have done since my last update, and I could do that this time too. My English classes are continuing, there have been meetings with teachers and parents at the school, school started on August 18, and there have also been teams for which I gave school tours and translated. I have included pictures from some of these events below. However, I want to do something different with my blog this time around – I want to tell the story of one of the events that occurred over the last month that significantly affected my life and the way I view my ministry.

The story starts in August 2007, when a team came down from Hikes Point Christian Church in Louisville, KY, and I met Sarah Longest. Sarah was one of the team members, and she was like a bright light, full of energy and a desire to reach out and help and share the love of Christ. At the time, I was actually pretty low and in the midst of a dark time. That summer had been physically, emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually exhausting for me for many different reasons, and when this team came, I was not looking forward to another week of construction, and I was feeling the pressure of completing the planning for the upcoming week’s Drama Camp.

So, I remember Sarah for the light that she was for me during that week, when we began talking about the possibility of her coming down to do a teacher training at the school. Sarah is a teacher – she has taught all levels from pre-school to high school – and after I gave her team a tour of the school, she sought me out to talk about doing a teacher training. Her excitement was contagious, and as we talked, I could see that any training she came down to offer would be beneficial to our teachers.

I next saw Sarah in December when I was in Louisville and I went to church with her, when she gave me 50 books to take down to the school – in the form of two classroom sets of novels – Charlotte’s Web and The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe – which she had because she had asked her family to donate money to buy these books for the children at the school in lieu of giving her Christmas presents (just one small example of her kindness and generosity that continues to humble me). We also met and had lunch to catch up and talk some more about the possibility of that teacher training, which we hoped might take place in February or March. I remember being surprised at how tired she looked, and she said she had been having some health problems, but with her usual smile and bright outlook, shared that a routine procedure would likely take care of everything and that she and her husband were hoping this would also then allow them to get pregnant! I left that lunch feeling blessed by Sarah’s friendship and praying that she would be healed.

But healing would be elusive – that routine procedure ended up showing that at 28 years old, Sarah had a rare cancer that would require a full hysterectomy and months of chemotherapy. Even thinking about that now brings a lump to my throat and tears to my eyes. I could hardly believe what she was going through, and my heart and prayers went out to her. Needless to say, her possible trip to the DR was cancelled, and any thoughts or conversations about a teacher training came to a full stop. There were much bigger things at stake, particularly getting Sarah well – which from the DR end meant praying for and encouraging her as best as I could, and trusting in God to take care of her.

The next five months were incredibly difficult for Sarah – she kept a blog of her experiences, which kept everyone who loved her up to date and current on specific prayer requests, but more than anything else, it showed her love for and trust in God. The grace, confidence, strength, and peace she had throughout this experience inspired and challenged me in my faith, and the one thing that always seemed to remain was her beautiful smile. The results of her chemo show her cancer free – an amazing blessing!

And as a blessing on top of that blessing – on August 13, Sarah returned to the DR and on August 14 she gave that teacher training!! There is professional jargon I could use to describe what she shared with the teachers – including student motivation, teaching to the Multiple Intelligences, using learning centers, and including learning styles in lesson planning – and all of it is important and was information that was welcomed by the teachers – but mostly what she shared was her love of teaching and reaching out to help others, and her bright smile communicated more clearly than any words the excitement and joy she felt in being there to share of herself with the teachers. Below are some pictures from the training!

While Sarah was here, we also visited several ministry sites that she had either been to or heard of before – Hoyo de Bartola, Villa Cafeteria (where the church is with which Hikes Point Christian partners), Hato del Yaque, and La Mosca – and her love for the people of the DR and ministry being done here was evident everywhere we went. The picture to the right is of Sarah and a boy from La Mosca whom we met while he was taking a break from helping his father find metal scraps to sell by picking through the garbage dump that overshadows this community. At each place we visited, one of the things I saw in Sarah is also one of the things God has been working on me to do in my ministry – to see everything with fresh eyes, noticing how God is working, praising Him for what He is doing, and joining with Him in His work. This is what we are each called to do, wherever we are called to serve Him, and this is how Sarah’s visit has affected the way I view my ministry. Over the last two years, I have grown accustomed to life here, and the places and situations of the people in those places where GO is doing ministry had begun to appear “normal” – and though those situations may be “normal” for the people in them, they are not what God wants for His children because too often those situations are ones which lack hope, light, and the life Jesus came to give us. This has also prompted me to reevaluate my ministry focus, looking at what I have been doing with fresh eyes from a more eternal perspective. Please pray that I will see, hear, know, and respond to God’s leading and direction so that I can more effectively join Him in the work He is doing so that all His children will come to know Him and His saving love, grace, and mercy! Thank you for your constant love, support, and prayers! With love in Christ, Catherine PS - See more pics below ... These pictures are from parent meetings we held to review changes to the GO Kids program - all the children in the school are now being treated as though they have sponsors, being given books and school supplies, which means we desperately need more sponsors!!! Please check out the GO Ministries website for more information on sponsoring a child if you are interested! These pictures are from the first day of school - presenting the faculty and staff to the students, and students working in their classrooms - it was a great day!