Recently, Amaury offered a new class in the men’s prison called “Corazon Quebrantado” or “Broken Heart.” The class participants analyzed a book written by Roger Fernandez, a Dominican pastor from Santo Domingo, of the same name. Every week, the participants had to turn in two chapter summaries.

The following summaries were written by two students in the class, and we wanted to share them with you. We hope you are as blessed by the lessons they learned and in turn teach us as we were! English translations follow each summary.

Resumen 1/Summary 1

El corazón quebrantado reconoce la gloria del señor.


Un corazón orgulloso es un corazón que no puede ver lo hermoso y lo grande que es Dios.Y un corazón quebrantado puede reconocer que solo Dios hace hay hombre feliz.Cuando nos movemos con el corazón lleno de orgullo demostramos que nada a nuestro alrededor tiene importancia pero cuando quebrantamos nuestro corazón aprendemos y reconocemos el amor a los demás. Quebrantar el corazón es humillarse a Dios y entender que si n el nada somos. Qué triste el de corazón orgulloso porque no puede ver lo hermoso de la vida. Qué lindo el de corazón humilde porque ve todo con amor.

A broken heart recognizes the glory of the Lord.

A proud heart is a heart that cannot see the beauty and greatness of God. A broken heart can recognize that only God makes men happy. When we live with a heart full of pride, we show that nothing around us is important, but when we break our hearts, we learn and recognize the love of others. To break the heart is to humble yourself before God and understand that without Him we are nothing. How sad is a proud heart because it cannot see the beauty of life. How beautiful is a humble heart because it sees everything with love.


Amaury reviewing one week's worth of summaries!

 Resumen 2/Summary 2

Cuando hablamos de corazón quebrantado nos referimos a un corazón que ha sido debilitado. El quebrantamiento provoca en el corazón una actitud que hace humilde al hombre, carente de altivez, y libre de todo tipo de temores. Eso le permite escuchar la voz de Dios.

Quebrantarse es difícil porque en el hombre implica rendir todo a Dios y depender totalmente de él. Para citar un ejemplo del quebrantamiento hablemos de “Job.” Humanamente diríamos que no tenia de que arrepentirse porque era un hombre justo que conocía a Dios, buscaba el rostro del señor día a día, y el mismo señor decía que no había otro hombre como Job. Sin embargo permitió que Job fuere quebrantado.

When we speak of a broken heart, we refer to a heart that has been weakened. The breaking process provokes in the heart an attitude that makes a man humble, devoid of arrogance, and free of every type of fear. This permits him to listen to the voice of God.

Brokenness is difficult because it means a man must give everything to God and completely depend on Him. For an example of brokenness we can talk about Job. From a human perspective, we say he did not have to repent because he was a righteous man before God, seeking the Lord’s face every day, and the same Lord said that there was no other man like Job. However, He allowed Job to be broken.

Pastor Fernandez spoke at the graduation for this class, which was a special blessing for Amaury and the class participants. He had the opportunity to congratulate them on their successful completion of the course and pray with each of them – it was one of the most memorable graduations to date for the classes in the men’s prison! There are more pictures of the graduation and of other areas of our ministry below, including pictures of Amaury baptizing Argeny - the young man who was featured in our last blog!

As we are now in the midst of the Christmas season, may we remember to completely depend on the One whose birth we celebrate, allowing ourselves to be broken before Him so that we can "see the beauty of life” around us and be “free of every type of fear” as these men have learned to do through this course!

May God bless you and your family this Christmas season!

 With love in Christ,
Amaury and Catherine

Below are recent pictures from different areas of our ministry ...

From the "Corazon Quebrantado"graduation ...

    commentary given by one student and a special song performed by another ...



      Amaury and Pastor Fernandez with all the graduates and with those who received medals as special commendation for submitting the best summaries!



     Graduation in the men's prison of the "Financial Harmony in the Home" class  ...



Argeny's baptism!




Our Drama Group in their Navidad Con Mama shirts and rehearsing for the production ... 

The wedding of one of our Drama Group members - Amaury was the "Padrino" or "Godfather" of the wedding!

 

At the end of September, Catherine took her students at SCS on "pilgrimages" to Santo Cerros (Holy Hills), outside of Santiago, following the example of Chaucer's pilgrims in The Canterbury Tales.  They wrote stories that taught lessons about problems they saw in society that they told as "entertainment" along the way and dressed up as "pilgrims" for the trips - they were fun days that also taught many life lessons!
 

Amaury taught a "Financial Harmony in the Home" class at a local Christian conference in October, and in November he taught a Protocol and Etiquette class for the parents of children at Project Manana - a Christian school where 115 children are blessed by the education and nutritional care they receive!

Once again, we thought we would do something a little different with our blog! :) The following was written by a young man who is a member of 8/28 Productions, which is the name of our Drama Group. He wrote in Spanish and each paragraph is followed by a translation. Last January, we invited him and other members of the group to a Christian concert in a mountain community outside of Santiago called Lajas de Yaroa that was put on by a worship team from a church in Santiago. After the concert, a message was preached and those who attended were given the opportunity to accept Christ as their Savior. This young man and two other members of the group who were with us went forward and accepted Christ! In the next play we presented, he was awarded the Responsibility and Punctuality Certificate and was one of the members who sold the most tickets to the performance! Recently, he began visiting our church, and God is clearly working in his life! Here is his story …

Mi nombre es José Argenis Ramos. Naci en el año 1994 hijo de José Agusto Ramos y Ana Luisa Paula. Desde muy pequeño fui alguien activo me gustaban las travesura y las cosas extrema. A la edad de 10 años mis padre se separaron vivía con mi madre pero mi padre también quería tenerme. Ellos llegaron a un acuerdo que vivirías con ellos por temporada y así aprende distinta cultura de distinto pueblo. Me llamo mucho la atención la actuación porque mi madre veía novelas, y mis pasatiempos son ver tv, escuchar música, explorar e intentar cosas distintas. Quizás muchos creen que no soy buena persona pero cuando me conocen ven que soy y siempre vivo alegro buscando el lado positivo de la vida.

My name is Jose Argenis Ramos. I was born in 1994 and am the son of Jose Agusto Ramos and Ana Luisa Paula. Ever since I was very small, I have been very active and liked adventures and extreme things. When I was 10, my parents separated, and I lived with my mother but my father also wanted me to live with him. My parents came to an agreement that I would live with each one for different time periods and in this was I learned about different cultures in different towns. Acting gets my attention because my mother watches soap operas, and my hobbies are watching tv, listening to music, exploring and trying new things. There may be many who think I am not a good person, but when they get to know me they see that I am always happy and looking for the positives in life.

Al principio cuando tuve la oportunidad de integrarme al grupo producciones 8:28, me sentí un poco extraño. No sabía si le iba agradar, pero tenía una meta por delante y eso me impulso acercarme más a Amaury y Catherine lo cual me brindaron una sincera amistad. Al pasar el tiempo fueron tantas las cosas maravillosas que compartir con ellos y el grupo que ya no lo veía como amigo sino como una familia, y me siento agradecido por su sinceridad y su amistad incondicional.

When I first had the opportunity to join 8/28 Productions, I felt a little strange. I did not know if the group would like me, but I had a goal in front of me and this led me to get close to Amaury and Catherine who reached out to me with sincere friendship. As time passed, so many wonderful things happened that I shared with them and the group that I do not see them as friends but as family, and I am grateful for their sincerity and unconditional friendship.

En el grupo he aprendido muchas cosas. Sobre todos que es una experiencia única que nunca podre olvidarla. En las dos obra que he tenido la oportunidad de actuar, gracia le doy a Dios. Cada una me a enseñado algo diferente. Por ejemplo la obra Navidad: Tiempo para Cambiar fue una obra que me identifique con ella pues ahí pude ver que lo más importante no es el dinero, que el amor y la solidaridad valen mucho. Es bueno pensar en los demás y compartir con los que menos tienen.

I have learned many things in the group. Above all it is a unique experience that I can never forget. I give thanks two God that I have had the opportunity to act in the two plays. Each one has taught me something different. For example, the play Christmas: Time for Change was a play I could identify with because I could see that money is not the most important thing, that love and solidarity have a lot of value. It is good to think of others and share with those who have less in life.

En la obra La Elección pude aprender que el amor es el lazo más fuerte, no importa la diferencia que pueda a ver entre dos personas, familias, países, etc. Pero cuando el amor llega se cambia todo, trayendo paz, armonía y tranquilidad. Es importante dejar fluir en nosotros el amor. Si todos practicáramos el amor, este mundo fuera diferente y todos fuéramos iguales.

In the play The Choice I was able to learn that love is the strongest tie, regardless of the differences that can be seen between two people, families, countries, etc. When love comes it changes everything, bringing peace, harmony and tranquility. It is important to let love flow in us. If we all would practice loving one another, this world would be different and we would all be equals.

Me siento orgulloso de pertenecer al grupo de teatro. Sé que en un futuro seré un buen actor, gracia a Dios y a Amaury y Catherine. Ellos dos cayeron aqui como del cielo.

I am proud to be a part of this Drama Group. I know that in the future I will be a good actor, thanks to God and Amaury and Catherine. They both fell here as if from heaven.


Below are some picture from other areas of our ministry this past month - enjoy!

Members of 8/28 Productions learning how to work together and being instructed by our Leadership Team .

Handing out parts and rehearsing for our next play, Christmas With Mama ...

Amaury teaching a Protocol and Etiquette class at a local private Christian school ...

Visiting residents at a local nursing home and giving a Drama Workshop at a local church with members of 8/28 Productions ... 

Graduates of Amaury's recent Protocol and Etiquette class in the men's prison ...

Catherine and her SCS students celebrating an Anglo-Saxon "feast" as they shared their Modern Epic Hero poems, telling stories of how they went out and were someone's hero!

Dios les Bendiga!  God bless!

Con el amor de Cristo (With love in Christ).
Amaury and Catherine

Wow! What an amazing summer! Words cannot express how abundantly God blessed us and our ministry, so we thought pictures might do a better job! We wanted to share with all of you some of our summer highlights! There are many pictures and comments, so be sure to scroll down until the end! Enjoy!

We are so grateful for the group from Woodland Hills Christian Church in Abingdon, VA, who came down (the team included people from 3 different states!) to offer a Teaching Week at Amaury's dad's church in Palo Alto and helped to break up the old half-court size basketball court at the church and pour a new full-size court! The Teaching Week included:

First Aid Training! Each family received a first aid kit!

 

Art Camp! The group provided 3 full days of Art Camp for the children in the church!

A respect class for the youth, and a special "Preparing Yourself for the King" class based on the book of Esther for young ladies!

A crochet class for the ladies, and a Love and Respect class for couples that was followed up by a Couples' Dinner in which the men served the women!

Throughout the week some group and church members painted a beautiful mural that represents Christ's love for us! Amaury's father approved the design beforehand and loved the finished result that forms a perfect backdrop for him as he continues to share the truth of God's word in Palo Alto!

Construction of the expanded basketball court ran into some delays because of weather and difficulty in transporting materials, but the finished product was worth the wait and is now being enjoyed by members of the community - especially the youth!

We are also very grateful for the time we had in the US! God gave us safe travels throughout the more than 3500 miles we travelled in the 6 weeks we were there, and we were able to see many friends and family members! Some of the many highlights from our travels were:

Our first stop at the OK Cafe with some dear friends in Atlanta, GA, for some true southern cooking!



After celebrating a dear friend's wedding in Nashville, TN, and spending some time with family in Virginia, we went on to Louisville, KY, where we were thrilled to be able to spend some time with so many friends! We were also able to have some fun at the Louisville Zoo ...

 the Louisville Slugger Museum ...



and the Frazier International History Museum ...

and eat BW3s hot wings with the group that had come down in April from Fern Creek Christian Church!



By mid-July we were in Bloomington, IL, for meetings with Kingdom Seeker Ministries board and ministry partners that were a true time of spiritual refreshment and encouragement! This picture is of the missionaries who are a part of KSM. We are so blessed to be a part of this family!

 After a short stop in Chicago for some sightseeing and dinner with Catherine's younger brother and his wife, we headed to Rochester, NY, where Amaury's best friend lives with his family. Nestar and Marisa have a 4-month-old named Blake Amaury, and while we were there, Blake was dedicated to God at the church with Amaury as his "padrino" (godfather)! Amaury also preached at the church and Catherine translated! Later, we took a trip to Niagara Falls! The power and beauty of God's creative handiwork was truly awe-inspiring!

From Rochester, we headed south through PA and MD to see some friends and family, and then on to Lebanon, VA! During our time in VA, we were able to take a trip over to Dollywood where Amaury rode his first ever roller-coaster!

We also took some time out for a car wash fundraiser for our ministry! We are so thankful for those who came out and helped - it was a great day!

We returned to the DR on August 9, and the last few weeks have been eventful! School started at SCS for Catherine, a new Protocol and Etiquette class began for Amaury at the men's prison, and our Drama Group began meeting again as well to prepare for our Christmas production! And in the midst of it all - Hurricane Irene! Schools across the country were closed for two days so that the public schools could be used as shelters, and there was significant flooding in some areas of the country. Here in Santiago, we had rain and some areas of the city had flooding, but overall we were not severely affected by the storm.

We want to thank all of you for your prayers and encouragement! God continues to amaze us as He works through you to help us in our ministry!

Dios les bendiga MUCHO! (May God bless you GREATLY!)

Con el amor de Cristo (with love in Christ),

Catherine and Amaury