The Mission Team from Woodland Hills Christian Church has safely arrived!! Here is a picture of the group after arriving in Santiago ...









AND they surprised us by bringing my sister, Mary, along!!! What a wonderful surprise and blessing!! Here we are just minutes after the team arrived ...










Tomorrow the team heads up to Palo Alto to begin their week of ministry! Please pray for safety, open hearts and minds, and most of all for God to be glorified through everything that happens this week!

Con amor en Cristo (With love in Christ),

Catherine and Amaury

“Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it.” Proverbs 22:6

Ever since members of the Fern Creek Christian Church Youth Group came here in the first week of April on a mission trip to provide a Drama Camp in Villa Gonzalez, I have planned on writing a blog update that began with this verse about them and their time here. Then, last Friday, during the graduation ceremony for the Santiago Christian School Class of 2011, the seniors were recognizing their teachers and chose this verse to beautifully conclude that very special part of the ceremony!

At that moment, my mind went immediately to the group from Fern Creek, how special our time had been with them, and how much I wanted to get the blog updated … and then I could not help but think of the last two months with the youth in our Drama Group and with my seniors. God has certainly given us many opportunities to “train up a child in the way he should go” …

Personally, I was very excited about the group from Fern Creek coming, since several of the youth who were coming had been members of the Kidz Choir at the church when I had been the assistant director, nearly 10 years ago! They are pictured here to the left - all grown up! I had no idea back then that I would be here in the DR now with the opportunity to work side by side with them as missionaries. Being able to spend time with them, talking about future plans, hearing them share their faith, and watching them teach and reach out to others as Christ’s hands and feet in the community of Villa Gonzalez was an incredible blessing that I do not have the words to fully express! I get choked up now just thinking about them and their time here! I also did not realize how much I missed being called “Miss Cathy”!

Here are some pictures from their week here:














On our last bus ride to the airport, I shared with the group that I could see how their parents and youth leaders had clearly “trained them up in the way they should go” and their actions and attitudes throughout the week had shown they were not “departing from it” – what a blessing to see and experience!

When the group left, there was an emptiness in our hearts and our home, and we hope many of them will be able to return!

Time seemed to pass too quickly from mid-April through the end of May, and before we knew it our Drama Group had presented La Elección on May 20 at the Cultural Center in Santiago, and the SCS school year ended!

La Elección (The Choice) is a retelling of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, and in this version, the night before Tybalt, Mercutio, and Romeo fight, which is the turning point of the play, Tybalt gets attacked by a gang of thugs and Benvolio comes to his aid, just as the Good Samaritan came to the aid of the man attacked on the roadside in Luke 10:30-37. The play’s message is given by the Friar when he explains, “para sanar o dañar, la elección es nuestra para hacer, de la vida y la muerte hay mucho en juego,” which means, “To heal or harm the choice is ours to make, of life and death there’s much that is at stake.” The play as a whole shows that when we follow God’s word in our lives, everything changes for the better! Below are some pictures from the presentation:

















We had a record attendance of nearly 170 at the performance, and everyone did a great job! They get better with every performance! As one of our newest members of the group said about the play in his “bio” for the play program, “cuando uno tiene el amor de Cristo, lo que uno quiere para uno lo quiere para otros,” which means, “when someone has the love of Christ, what he wants for himself he wants for others.” We could not say it better ourselves! There are so many wonderful opportunities to “train up” these young people in our Drama Group, and we are so grateful that we will have more time to work with and teach them and any others who will join the group when we begin meeting again in August!


More time was just what I found myself wishing for, though, as the school year ended at SCS. I have felt such a burden on my heart for this class of seniors, and while my heart skipped a beat when they read Proverbs 22:6, I could not help but long for more time with them. I wish I could say that I knew each one has a strong and growing personal relationship with Christ and they “will not depart” from the path they have been shown, and some clearly do – their faith and testimonies are encouraging to have witnessed – but I cannot say it is true for all of them. I can only continue to pray for those I know are struggling and leave them in God’s hands now. I know they have heard how much He loves them, and I know He longs for each one to come to know Him as Lord and Savior even more than I long for that for them, and now I have to trust Him to complete His work in them.

Please pray with us for these groups of young people that God has brought into our lives – they are each special to us and we know God has a plan and purpose for each one!

Thank you for praying for and supporting us in our work here! We are blessed beyond measure!

Con el amor de Cristo (With the love of Christ),

Catherine and Amaury

Here are pictures from other areas of our ministry during the last two months:

We purchased our ministry van!! Thank you to all who helped us reach this goal!!















Graduation day for Amaury's most recent classes in the men's prison! These were for Business Principles for Principled Men and Self-Esteem/Self-Help.










Mother's Day service in Palo Alto (Mother's Day is the last Sunday of May here) - Amaury preached a beautiful sermon about his mom, using Proverbs 22:6!

Last month the high school principal of Santiago Christian School spoke at the graduation of Amaury's classes at the men's prison, and a comment he made afterward about how seeing each of the men made him curious to know their stories inspired this month's blog. So, Amaury wrote the blog to do just that - share one of those many stories and how God is working in these men's lives. Each paragraph is translated into English right below it.

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Hola
Mi gente bella, quien le escribe es el hermanito Amaury Gracesqui del ministerio de ustedes aquí en Rep. Dom. Le pedimos escusa por el tiempo que tenemos mi esposa y yo que no escribimos una nota en el blog. La verdad es que la culpa es mía pues ella me había pedido que lo escribiera, pero ustedes saben que mi mente camina con gasoil y mis inspiraciones son lentas como el Internet dial-up, pero segura.

Después de un día acalorado la temperatura a 94 F y una noche un poco fresca, nace la inspiración de hacer el blog.

Hello
My beautiful people, your brother Amaury Gracesqui from your ministry here in Dominican Republic is writing to you. Please excuse my wife and I for the time we have not written the blog. The truth is that the fault is mine because she had asked me to write it, but you know my mind runs on diesel and my inspirations are as slow as dial-up Internet, but they are real.

After a hot day of 94 * F and a cooler night, the inspiration came to write the blog.

Esto ultimo meses hemos estado trabajando fuertemente en todas las área del ministerio. El Marte de la semana pasada en la prisión, empezamos un nuevo curso, mejor dicho un nuevo proyecto, llamado Persevera y Triunfa y trata sobre debatir diferente temas y esto motivar a la persona a estudiar y aprender de la Biblia y de la vida real.

These last months we have been working hard in every area of ministry. Last Tuesday at the prison, we started a new course, rather a new project, called Persevere and Triumph that discusses different topics, and this will motivate a person to study and learn from the Bible and real life.

También, el viernes precisamente comienzo el curso de Autosuperación y Autoestimas con un nuevo grupo de estudiantes en el cárcel. Después que leemos la Biblia y hacemos la oración para empezar, yo acostumbro en este curso a darles un test de autoestimas a los estudiantes. Entre ellos esta una persona que había hecho los cursos Etiqueta y Protocolo y Principio de Negocio para Hombre Íntegros en Enero y Febrero. Cuando esta persona termina su test, comenzamos hablar.

Also, Friday began the Self-improvement and Self-esteem class with a new group of students in the prison. After we read the Bible and prayed to start the class, I gave a Self-esteem test to the students, which is something I have become accustomed to do in this class. Among this group is a person who had completed the Protocol and Etiquette and Principles of Business for Principled Men classes in January and February. When he completed his test, we started talking.

Después de un momento, el comienza a contarme su historia. Me dice que anteriormente, el había durado 9 años preso y esta no era su primera vez, y que el había viajado 12 países ilegalmente. Yo continuo escuchándolo. El no sabia porque estaba vivo. El se levanto su polo shirt y me enseña las cicatrices de las heridas que el tiene en su cuerpo y me dice que esa cicatrices son de 5 disparos, incluyendo uno que me enseño en su cabeza. El sigue hablando y yo mirándolo a los ojos. Me dice que un día estaba en una fiesta con su hermano y comenzó un tiroteo y su hermano que estaba a su lado murió de un disparo. Las familia comenzaron a llamar pensando que era a el que lo habían matado su hermano. Su hermano era un hombre de trabajo y mucho decían que por que Dios no se lo llevo a el en vez de su hermano. También, me dice que tiene un hermano preso a 168 años en los estados unidos.

After a moment, he began to tell his story. He told me that this was not his first time to be in jail and earlier he had spent 9 years in jail, and he had traveled to 12 countries illegally. I continued listening. He did not know why he was alive. He raised his polo shirt and showed me the scars from wounds that he has on his body and told me that the scars are from 5 shots, including one that he showed me on his head. He kept talking and I looked into his eyes. He told me that one day he was at a party with his brother and people began shooting and his brother who had been standing beside him was shot dead. The family began to call, thinking that it was him who had killed his brother. His brother was a working man and many questioned why God took his brother instead of him. He also told me he has a brother in prison in the United States serving a 168 year sentence.

El me dijo que tiene 11 años preso y es gastado 20 años de su vida en la cárcel. Se quedan 9 mas por cumplir. El dijo que sabe que es sido un hombre malo en esta vida por que ha hecho de todo. Pero ya se canso como dicen aquí “ya guinde los guante.” Yo lo único que le dije “¿tu sabe cual es el propósito por el cual que Dios te tiene vivo? Dios tiene un propósito en usted. Piénsalo.”

He told me he has been in prison this time for 11 years and has spent 20 years of his life in prison. He has 9 more years to finish his sentence. He said he knows he has been a bad man in this life because he has done everything. But he got tired of it, and as they say here "hung up the gloves." The only thing I said was, "Do you know what the purpose is for which God has you alive? God has a purpose for you. Think about it."

Aquí viene lo bueno. Otros estudiantes me llamaban y cuando regrese el me dijo, “Profesor, usted puede creer que yo en los años que tengo solo he ido como 3 veces a la iglesia y nunca me he detenido a leído la Biblia. Esta es la primera vez que lo voy hacer.” Me enseñaba el folleto que tiene en las manos y era el folleto de la 100 pregunta de la Biblia que le entregue para debatirla la semana próximas. En ese momento sentí una alegría grande dentro de mí por que poco a poco, Dios esta haciendo la obra.

Here comes the good part. Other students called me, and when I came back he told me, "Professor, can you believe that in all these years I have only gone to church 3 times, and I've never stopped to read the Bible. This is the first time that I will do it." He showed me the packet in his hands and it was of the 100 questions of the Bible I had given him to prepare to debate next week. At that moment I felt a great joy inside me that little by little, God is doing His work.

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Thank you for all you do to support our ministry! We would not be able to be here following God's leading into the "deep waters" without you!

Below are some other pictures from the last two months of other areas of our ministry. We hope you enjoy them!

Dios te Bendiga! God bless!

With love in Christ,
Amaury and Catherine


Amaury teaching a Protocol and Etiquette in January to the "jovencitas" or "young ladies" of the Cuerpo de Cristo (Body of Christ) church in Hato del Yaque.












Our Drama Group practicing for "La Eleccion" or "The Choice," which is Romeo and Juliet meets The Good Samaritan! We started meeting in February and the production will be on May 20!









SCS held its induction ceremony for the National Honor Society on February 18, and these are the new inductees! Several of them are Catherine's student and she is very proud of them! They all clearly show the NHS values of character, leadership, scholarship, and service!











Amaury leading a Bible Debate on Thursday February 24 between youth groups from four different local churches that he organized with plans for more to come!

"Moments of joy. "

On Wednesday night, we had the joy of going to Speedway in Lights at the Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, TN, with my family, and while we were there, those were the words God spoke into my heart.

He showed me those "moments" through watching a young girl skipping to "Joy to the World" alongside of her older sister as they walked through the crowd at the Christmas village, through seeing Amaury share fresh Kettle Corn with my family, and through all of us being awed by the beauty of the lights and music surrounding us.

My favorite moment was watching the Symphony in Lights inside the speedway as the music played Handel's "Messiah" and the lights flashed and danced to the changes in the music, thinking how grateful I was to be there in that moment, listening to music that celebrates our Savior's birth, sharing this Christmas with my family and my husband - it was a moment I will not soon forget.

Standing in the midst of this beautiful Christmas celebration, I was reminded of my favorite Christmas verse from Luke 2:10,

"But the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people.'"

He is the reason we have such moments of joy in our lives.

As I thought more about this today, I realized that God has been giving us these "moments of joy" throughout this Christmas season. One of my favorite things about living in the DR is that Christmas season begins much earlier than in the states - the first decorations in Santiago went up in late September - and it lasts longer too, ending after King's Day, which will be celebrated on January 10 this year!

So, the Christmas season began for us when our Drama Group first started rehearsing their latest production, "Navidad: Tiempo para Cambiar (Christmas: Time for Change)," in mid-September. It then continued through November with the graduation for the two classes Amaury had been teaching in the prison since mid-August, the conclusion of Amaury's residency process, the presentation of the Drama Group's production, and my trip to the NCTE in Orlando, FL, with the other high school English teacher from SCS. And now, we are in Virginia, where all day today snow has been gently falling as we finalized Christmas preparations in anticipation of "Noche Buena," which literally means "good night" and is the Spanish name for Christmas Eve.

It has been a "full" season in many aspects, and many of them blessings! To share these with all of you, we have included below several pictures from the last few months. They are representative of those "moments of joy" and we hope you will enjoy them!

With love in Christ,
Catherine

Rehearsals for and the presentation of "Navidad:Tiempo para Cambiar" - a Christian retelling of "A Christmas Carol" - the Spirits are Angels, and the third Angel gives Scrooge the opportunity to accept Christ as his Savior, which he does!








































Our group watching "Mickey's Christmas Carol" at our house - it was an impromptu moment as we waited for transportation for our day trip with them, and they loved seeing "their parts" being presented by Mickey and friends!










Our "pasadia" with our Drama Group - a day trip for fun, fellowship, and a time of prayer and sharing!











Graduation day for Amaury's most recent Protocol and Etiquette and Intro to Business classes at the men's prison - Mr. Lynch, the Director of Santiago Christian School, shared a message with the participants about Christian business principals, and he was impressed by how attentive and focused the class members were!











Catherine is now directing a "jovenes" (youth) choir at our church in Hoya del Caimito - they sang a special in November and one for Christmas!











Amaury's most recent Protocol and Etiquette class at the church where some of our Drama Group members attend - they are excited about him coming to teach other classes in the future!



Feliz Navidad y Prospero Año Nuevo! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!