Home Again

I apologize. I've been home for 3 weeks and haven't written anything! Graduation was emotional and full of memories. My trip home was full of delays, cancellations, and expensive airport food. Oh, and the cold! I left the DR's 75 degree weather, and came home to below 30 weather. Lots of snow, ice on the roads, and flip flops are a no-go. Transitioning has been rough, but with God, Skype, Dominican coffee, and good friends both here and scattered around the world. Literally - the world! God taught me so much while I was gone: I need to be who I am in Him, not what others want me to be or who they see me as. I am to write children's devotional books and use the money to send out missionaries; I am called to stay in the States and be an editor as well. My biggest calling is to work with women and children who know little to no English, helping them with homework, trips to the doctor, or finding jobs. I start college at Grace College in Winona Lake, Indiana this January. Orientation is on the 24th! I will be focusing on English (literature, grammar, etc.), with a double minor of Spanish (a potential major) and Behavioral Science. Along with my Spanish concentration, I am required to complete a semester abroad! I plan to fulfill this semester while in Madrid, Spain! Another adventure that is sure to add length to this blog site. :) I want to thank you all once again for your prayers and encouragement!
XOXO

Esperanza = Hope

We are now starting week 2 in the town of Esperanza, the only town we've been in longer than a week during this outreach phase. We are working with a pastor who has 20 pastors under him; we are working with only a few, thank goodness. This has been a different kind of experience, mostly because the pastors are all pentacostal have a little different doctorine than we are used to. Thankfully we can still do what we do without clashing - visiting homes to get to know people, work projects, small groups in homes, presentations in churches and in streets (with skirts), and working on our Spanish skills. :) One of girls that Jose, Stephanie, and I have connected with lives by herself and her 15-month-old son. Her 29-year-old husband has been in Haiti for 4 months, building houses, and won't be back until May. She is 17. She is starving for new conversations and new people, she always asks when we will come back. There are so many stories here of how the church is hurting people: This same girl was turned away by viscious rumors and almost commited suicide, an older lady was advised to stop taking her insulin (and trust that God would miraculously heal her without it), and is so sick she cannot even go to church. There is much damage done by the church; we have felt the need over and over again to spread the word of God's love - the people here mostly hear about obedience and hell. There is only so much that we can do, though. This town needs a lot more 'esperanza' - hope.
Teamwise: God is teaching us patience and how to have joy even in trials. Stephanie's ankle ended up being a bad sprain, not a fracture (it was not healing and we went to a different doctor). They recasted it and it doesn't hurt as much anymore! David and Kelsey both have at least 4 different types of salmonella - apparently this is not uncommon around here. Many of us supposedly have it, we just don't show symptoms. My lower back was in a lot of pain last week, but is feeling better, thanks to the pain medicine and muscle relaxers!
Only 2 more weeks...

San Francisco de Macoris

Hey everyone! We are now on our last stretch of outreach in San Fransisco de Macoris. As our first week comes to a close (hard to believe!), we get a free day, and I get to tell you what we have been up to! This last week we helped to level a foundation for a house (two picks, two wheelbarrows, many shovels, and lots of dirt!), played with kids, did about 3 presentations, and presented in 2 churches. We leave on Monday for a town called Esperanza where we will be for the last two weeks. There, a guy who leads 20 different pastors is organizing presentations for us in all 20 churches-plus some work projects! We will be plenty busy, but having a blast! God has really been working on our hearts, and making sure we realize that this is for HIS glory, not our own. We have been convicted of wrong attitudes, repented of those attitudes coorporatly, and experienced the blessings of clean hearts. Please pray that we continue to seek God in this time, even as the outreach draws to a close. One big prayer concern is that one of our girls fractured her ankle while working at the construction site on Wednesday; she is in a walking cast-boot thing for 15 days, but is experiencing MUCH pain and does not sleep well. Also, my back is out of alignment, which causes pain in any position but lying down. Pray for quick healing and continuing health for the rest of the team. I cannot express how much knowing that people are praying for me helps in the rough times; thank you so much to my faithful prayer partners during this time! Only 3 more weeks left. Let´s finish them strong!!

Haiti Update

I’m sure most, if not all, of you have heard about the Cholera outbreak in Haiti. As you also know, our team was planning on going to Haiti in 2 weeks to finish out our outreach time; however, because of the intensity of the disease (as well as the fact that there are cases right where we were planning to go) we have decided NOT to go. (Grandparents, you can sleep better now. ) Our director is contacting different pastors within the Dominican Republic, away from the Haitian border, that we will potentially work with. We are all disappointed; we were looking forward to Haiti, as well as being together during this last phase of outreach. We have been divided into two groups for the other times and miss each other a lot. We will be together during the conference in Puerto Plata next week, but that will be the last substantial amount of time. We are only base in Jarabacoa for a few days before graduation and flights home. Please pray for peaceful hearts even within our disappointment, as well as peace within the groups as we, once again, have some hard-core bonding time.  Pray also for health as almost everyone has some degree of a cold or sickness this week (we had class this week). As we have discovered, outreach and sickness really do not go together very well. Pray, also, for me as my homesickness is constant lately – not strong but still there. Thank you for the support so far! Only about 5 more weeks!

Outreach #2 - San Pedro de Macoris

Two weeks of outreach have come and gone. It’s hard to believe that in less than a month and ½ I’m headed home! October 17th until the 24th we were in Los Solares, a tiny community in the province of San Pedro de Macoris. We gutted the inside of an old house that was going to become the new church – hauling out wood, pounding out nails, tearing down walls to create one big room, and shoveling dirt that had somehow piled up inside. I saw the biggest cockroach of the trip inside that bathroom; we dubbed him “cuc-arania” which translates loosely to “spider-roach.” Yuck. We held presentations a few times, visited with people and had mini devotion sessions with them.
Our team’s main goal is flexibility; it’s our f-word. We’ve used this technique over and over again over these last two weeks. In Los Solares, the power went out several times right before presentations (when we need power); we walked for ½ an hour to a school to present, only to be told that we were not allowed to anymore; in Batey Esperanza (our second place), the people did not accept our presentations as evangelism – they were merely entertainment. We canceled the rest of our presentations for that week. We had a worship/sharing night for the church one night, a morning VBS for about 100 kids, and a prayer session for Haiti. We held it in the baseball diamond in the middle of the community; it was amazing! There were about 150 Haitians of all ages on their knees crying out to God for repentance and for healing for their home country. The pastor started the praying, we provided the music, and the Holy Spirit did the rest.
These past two weeks were hard, but I learned so much about the faithfulness of God - He knows what is going on, even though we don't always. When we didn't know what else to do, we prayed as a group, and then shared ideas that God had given each of us. It's amazing how 10 people can share the same 3 basic ideas. God is good - all the time. :D

Our Week in Matagorda

Week 2 is complete! We were only aboue 20 mintues away from the base, but felt like we were farther. In outreach, you learn to be ok with being dirty, letting dirty hands touch you, opening your water bottle for dirty mouths to drink from (realizing that you won't get a drink until you clean that bottle). You also learn to not rub your eyes or put your fingers anywhere near your mouth, wear bug spray (I have 95 bites on my legs as payment); if you had a nailbiting problem before, it's now gone. This week, we went into a public school and (literally) took over one of the classes (at the teacher's insistance). We didn't have any instruction, really, just "teach whatever you want!" We did a Bible story and some English. The teacher enjoyed the English lesson more than the kids, I think. :) We were there two differnt mornings, and then a 3rd we did a mini presentation for them. In the afternoons we split into small groups of 2 or 3 and went to visit people in their houses. This was such a crazy experience in different ways. We would ask them about their lives, tell them about ours, and possibly talk about Jesus (if it was a good time). We were mostly there just to love people and experience time with them. There were so many sad stories, so many hurts, so many broken lives. We prayed a lot this week, both with the people and in the house we were staying in. One morning in particular was really cool. We had just finished breakfast and devo time, David (my leader) told us that the plans we had had for the day were not going to work out. We all sat down, prayed for a while, and compared what we had recieved from God. We decided to go clean some houses for people and pick up garbage around the community. Later, some of us washed the hands of some of the kids and clipped their fingernails. They were so excited! They didn't want to touch anything. :) One family in particular was very poor, and we bought the kids sandals. One little boy was so happy that as soon as he put them on his feet, he shot out the door and started running home to show them. :)We did street presentations pretty much every night, just in the main areas people hung out. One night, we went to the Haitian part of the community and were planning to present in front of the "colmado" there (a very small, grocery store-type builing); however, it started to rain. We ended up just all cramming into the colmado, talking and just hanging out. At first, only the people who could communicate fairly well in French/Creole were inside (the rest of us were in an attached garage), but by the end, almost everyone was inside, a mix of French, Spanish, and English. Some of the guys learned a little bit of Creole, and I ended up with a sleeping 4-year-old on my lap. The night ended with the rain stopping and all of us outside, singing our national anthems (Haiti, DR, and the US) in our own languages. It was a beautiful night. We were all friends, no prejudice, no barriers. There was that connection for the rest of the week (and is hopefully still there). God had sent the rain to accomplish more than a presentation ever could.

First Week of Outreach!

I have returned to my own bed (safe, whole, and sore) after our first week of outreach. My team of 9 other people went to Santiago for the week, Monday afternoon until Friday after lunch. We worked with a school and did VBS-type activities Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning and afternoon. Each evening we walked to different communities and invited people to come to presentations we held in the street. These usually consisted of dramas and choreographies along with a testimony and mini “sermon.” Afterwards we spent time just talking to people and listening to their stories and praying with them. I really enjoyed those times. Wednesday and Thursday morning we picked up trash in the streets – it’s amazing how much one curbside corner can smell!! I actually didn’t mind it too much, our team knows how to work together and make things fun. We enjoy each other a lot and it shows in how we interact and work on projects. We were staying with a pastor and his family, and since they usually had a service on Thursday night, we helped and ended up doing half of the service. It was really cool to see people that we had talked to earlier in the week come to the church and interact with the people there. One Haitian guy came, and Jose translated the service into French for him (God knew what he was doing when he put Jose David in the DTS!). This man’s story is heartbreaking: He was in Haiti at the time of the earthquake, in a house with the rest of his family. When the earthquake hit, everyone but this man was killed. He watched the 5 people closest to him die, right in front of him. He was injured, so he was placed in a hospital in Port au Prince, but was later transferred to Santo Domingo, then to Santiago. He now works in construction, but has a hard time sleeping at night because of nightmares and heart/chest problems he now has (from debris crushing him). He is searching for God and is very open to the gospel. He touched our lives with his attitude and lack of bitterness. Everyone on our team is looking forward to the Haiti outreach even more! Friday morning we all went to “The” monument in Santiago; we had a time of intercession and prayer over the city. It was an amazing view! There will be pictures up on Facebook as soon as I can get them up. It was nice to feel useful for once – during class, I don’t feel like we actually DO much. We now have a week of class, and then 3 weeks of outreach!!

Prepping For Outreach

We're starting our first week of outreach on Monday! My group is going to Santiago until Friday; VBS type programs on Monday and Tuesday, and then whatever the pastor has for us the rest of the week! The last two days have been planning and skit practicing, they have flown by. I am really excited about outreach, but know it will go super fast. Please pray for our two groups as we split up. Also, there are two girls who are really sick right now, they have been to the doctor and have medicine, so it's only a matter of time. Pray that God heals them quickly!! Also, there are some people that have not been able to raise the money to go on outreach - pray that God works miracles.

Where Has Time Gone?

I’m really struggling with how to share what I learn in class during the week without going through the whole class over again. I’ve never been very good at summaries, and this proves it again.
Spiritual warfare week (3 weeks ago) wasn’t so much about demons and rebuking the devil as it was about making sure there are no doors of opportunity in our own lives for the devil to work in. We have spiritual battles going on in our minds every day, whether there are sins or not; Satan hates the purpose of this DTS and will do as much as he can to hinder our progress in Christ. People here are struggling with family situations at home, sickness, doubt, and fear; there are nights where no one sleeps well at all, we’ll pray the next night and sleep fine, but restlessness is back the next night. We are all learning the real power of prayer.
Last week was Divine Plumbline – measuring ourselves up against God’s straight line to discover where we placed a brick wrong or are not straight in our thinking. We had a time of confession and sharing on that Thursday, and all of us girls agreed that we feel closer and deeper in friendships now. We were able to pray for each other and share burdens, ask forgiveness, and release things that we have been carrying around for a long time. Me, as well as many of the other girls, feel lighter as we finished the week – just talking about things helps the healing and processing process.
Like I said, this week was Biblical Studies. Basically, the teacher took us through a method to actually study the Bible, not just read it. We studied 2 Timothy through the inductive process, something similar to the spiritual warfare week when we studied Ephesians, but a little differently. The teachers know each other and are familiar with both methods, which helped our understanding. We were able to build off of the first time and do 2 Tim. much faster.
It’s about to rain, and I’m super tired. Kind of a bummer day…yesterday I was super happy for no apparent reason, so for today to be any less is kind of a bummer. I smell the Swiss and German food cooking for our Celebration of the Nations dinner. Each week one country is celebrated with food from that country and intercession for that country. Ramona (German) and Nathalie (Swiss) are making dinner tonight; the two countries have similar food, so they are doing both tonight. It smells amazing, and I know there’s chocolate mousse for dessert!! I’m really excited about that part.  The fog is moving down the mountain toward our little base – so gorgeous. There are really no words to describe it, and I would need a super wide lens to capture the full effect, so I guess you’ll just have to fly out here to visit so you can see this amazing work of God…
We have one more week of class, and then we have one week of DR outreach (one group to La Vega, one group to Santiago). The following 2 weeks are class again, then 3 weeks of DR outreach (#1 San Juan, #2  San Pedro); one week in Puerto Plata for the 50th anniversary of YWAM conference (yes, at a resort, but classes and meetings all week—not much time for the beach); the last 3 weeks we are in Port au Prince, Haiti (all together). There are 2 days of debriefing back at the base, graduation, and then I fly out on the 12th of December! It seems so close when you break it down by weeks – that’s only 87 days – almost ½-way done (official ½-way is in 2 weeks!). I will see everyone sooner than you’d think. Time has gone by so fast.

Isaiah 55

Today’s devo passage was from Isaiah 55, and I have claimed it for myself. As I was reading it, I realized that many of the parts of the passage describe ideal situations that I want for our outreach. Verse 5 commands us to summon the nations that we do not know – Haiti is unchartered territory in my book, especially now with all the destruction; we are going to Port au Prince, right in the middle of worst destruction. Verses 8 & 9 are God reminding us that his ways are not our ways, his ways are higher, better, stronger, and more effective than anything we can ever think of. One of my prayers for this trip is that we are sensitive to what God desires with our time, our work, our words, and our intercession. I have never really evangelized before, and I am only slightly nervous (ha.), so verse 11 encouraged me a lot: the word that goes out from my mouth: it will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. How cool is it that God promises that our words will not be empty! Realizing this helps prepare me for the scariness of the unknown. We are also commanded to go out in joy and be led in peace (v. 12). What this looks like, I’m not exactly sure. “Going out in joy” seems to me that I need a good attitude, no matter what I run into – sleeping on the floor, no showers, little food, funny smelling water, bugs, hot weather, language barriers – being “led in peace” is to continue that attitude throughout all 3 weeks. Verse 13 is also an encouragement: it says that pine trees will grow instead of thorn bushes. At the very end it declares that all of this will be for the Lord. Amen. Please pray that we will follow God’s will, that our words (and dramas) will impact lives, that joy and peace will fill us the whole time, and that thorns will not create a barrier.

Lost and Found

What I left behind: Real milk, brushing my teeth from the sink, understanding how my friends think (I’ve had to start over), water warm to shave my legs without butchering them, my boyfriend, my family, Ivanhoe’s, anytime internet, constant highway traffic noise, tornadoes, daily mail, bad allergies, dessert, coffee (it’s too strong here for my stomach ), normal driving rules, seatbelts, dryers, Mexican food, China One, my hoodie (oops), sitting in the grass (too many mosquitoes), apples, corn fields, flat nothingness, taking showers barefoot, being able to cook/bake whenever I wanted, going places by myself, driving, Polar Pops

What I have now: 16 best friends that will last for (hopefully) the rest of my life, Coke in a glass bottle, a bedtime, limited internet access, taxi rides for only $1 (once the whole group splits the cost), riding in the bed of a small pickup truck with 9 other people, street dramas (there’s something cool about dodging motorcycles as you portray the message of Jesus), bleach-stained clothing (we use a LOT of bleach here), clothes that smell like gross rain (our clothes never dry fast enough to avoid the rain in the afternoons), hurricanes, expensive phone calls, palm trees, fresh coconut milk (yum!), constant music of various genres, daily use of bug spray, BON ice cream, hand-washing clothes, white rice, brown rice, rice with corn, rice with beef, rice with veggies, rice with chicken, a padlocked front gate, tostones (fried plantains), beautiful mountains

Chicos del Rey

This weekend I was the ¨mother¨ of 4 Dominican kids. Only one spoke Spanish, but thankfully their ¨dad¨ speaks some English too. The Chicos del Rey (King´s Kids) program that YWAM does was held this weekend at the base. We had 32 kids, ages 8-15, on the base from Friday afternoon until Sunday afternoon. It was intense because most of them only spoke Spanish, and the ones that spoke some English didn´t speak it well. It was a constant goinggoinggoinggoinggoing until Sunday afternoon, but it was so much fun! I don´t think I could do a summer camp though...that was only two days and I was exhausted. Maybe I´ll rethink the Gull Lake counselor thing; then again, they don´t speak my language. Maybe it´s easier when they speak the same language as you...I´ll post some pictures on Facebook!!

Specific Prayer Requests

Here are some specific things you can pray for:
• The sickness that’s going around. We’re not sure if it’s a parasite, the water, lack of sleep (see below) or just Satan messing with us, but please pray! We work better when we’re healthy.
• My knee. I am getting fewer vitamins and no calcium; combine that with all the stairs on base (I live upstairs, as well) and all the walking/activities/dancing we do, my knee is weak and overworked. There are lots of places to slip here, and I’ve found a lot of them. My knee is also popping and achy a lot. I’m very nervous because it is not completely healed from the surgery, and if it comes out of place, I will probably have to come home. Crutches are not an option here.
• A YWAM program that happens once a month is King’s Kids. It is a program for kids from about age 8-15 to come here for a weekend and do a mini DTS. There’s choreography, street evangelism, and “family” small groups. I am helping to lead one of the groups with one of the guys, and we’ll have four 8-10 year olds. Please pray for safety, clarity (for me and the other non-fluent Spanish speakers), and an encouraging atmosphere. I will be learning almost as much as the kids, and we don’t get breaks, so pray for energy as well! 
• There is a little tension regarding some of the rules of the school. Some of us are getting really frustrated, but feel that we aren’t in a place to say anything. Please pray for understanding, wisdom, and patience in this situation – it’s nothing that will harm us, but we would like to see some change.
• Many of the girls, and some of the boys, are having a lot of trouble sleeping at night – me included. Nightmares, random noises outside waking us up, and general restlessness are making us exhausted during the day; we have pretty full days, so most of us are ready for a nap right after lunch. Pray for restful and peaceful sleep. It’s amazing what a good night’s sleep will do!

Month 1 Update Part TWO

I am learning so much! I could go all day just in what I read in my morning devotions, and classes have so much information packed into them, not to mention the book we’re reading as well! I keep a journal and notebook for different things, and write in my book, so that I can keep everything I’m thinking and praying about straight. I don’t usually like to admit when I do things wrong, so talking to people about what God is telling me, or what I’m convicted about, is still somewhat of a struggle. As I evaluate the classes and separate the “meat from the bones,” I learn a lot about myself and what I think about topics that I haven’t really talked about or studied before. God has shown me places where I need to work on some character issues, forgive someone, work on a relationship, or just listen better. This week’s struggle has been self-value and self-confidence problems. I’m not sure how to explain it exactly, but God has already pointed out several places where I need to work on why I’m doing something – is it because I believe it would be beneficial for me? Or is it simply to please someone else? One of the teachers said something that has stuck with me: “If you don’t take care of yourself first, you can’t take care of anyone else.”
Getting sick while you are in another country is such a bummer. I started getting headaches and feeling nauseous during the second week I was here; by the middle of the 3rd week, I was getting stomachaches after every meal and really dragging. I wasn’t sleeping well, and I had an almost constant headache. I stopped drinking the milk, thinking that because it was from a powder, my stomach didn’t like it. Next I tried eating less, then not drinking the coffee, and then I finally went to the doctor in town and got some medicine that has really helped – I’ve gone 3 days without a stomachache! Unfortunately, I had to stop drinking Coke as well, but it’s worth it. There’s something about stomach bugs and caffeine that just don’t get along. There are now other people getting sick; two of the girls can hardly eat anything because of the type of parasite that they have. There are other people with sore throats and bad headaches that have developed within the last two days. We’re on a search to figure out what’s going on, all the while praying against the spirit of sickness. God is doing some amazing things in the lives of different people here, and it’s obviously the Devil doesn’t like it (I don’t have the privilege right now to share, but hopefully I will as time goes on!).

Month 1 Update Part ONE

The DTS started exactly one month ago. It’s hard to believe I still have 4 months away from home. The time has gone by so fast, but there is still so much time left. I’m starting to get a little homesick, missing my family, my boyfriend, Ivanhoe’s (stay tuned for a complete list)…well, this will be a mini wrap-up of the last month. Here it goes:

Since this is a bi-lingual school, absolutely everything is translated. Most everyone speaks at least basic conversational English, many speak that much Spanish, and there are several bi-lingual students as well; however, because of the YWAM requirements, pretty much everything has to be changed from one language to the other. One problem with that is that it takes twice as long to say anything – when we share with each other in class about our morning devos, announcements at dinner, some prayers, and instructions for skits – everything. It was really annoying the first week, but I’m used to it now. What I do love about it is the bi-lingual worship. I could sing songs in Spanish all day; there’s just something about the way the words flow that makes praising the Lord that much sweeter. The funny thing is, some of the songs I’ve learned in Spanish, so when I go to sing them in English, if I don’t have the words to look at, I forget the words (translations aren’t always word for word exchanges, so some of the ideas are different).

I have completed 4 haircuts and have at least 2 lined up for later. Kristen said something about wanting her hair trimmed, but didn’t really want to pay for it, so I offered, as I have cut the hair of almost all of my family members. Over the next week, people wanted trims and cuts and before I knew it I had a Twix in my hand as payment for Steve’s cut. J I don’t charge, but he offered, and of course I won’t turn down a Twix! I am already known for my mom-like tendencies; Taylor calls me Mother Rachel when he sees me doing something “motherly.”

I’m sorry I haven’t included many pictures with the blog as of now. The internet connection where I upload and do everything is not the greatest, especially if there are a lot of people using it, so it takes a really long time to upload even the smallest file on this blog. If you have Facebook, I have an album just for DR pictures (they upload faster on there)!

Callejon Mini-Outreach

We finally were able to go out and work in the community! We finished two skits and a choreography (which I hope to get online), filled up lots of normal and water balloons, and then took the truck and the van to Callejon, a community about halfway between the base and Jarabacoa. We walked around the community, talking to people and inviting them to the activities that we were organizing in the open dirt yard in the middle of the community. We played with kids, got soaking wet from the balloons, and performed the skits and dance. The kids were so excited! I know it wasn’t the first group that had come to them, YWAM and groups that work with them often do projects at Callejon. Some of the smaller girls just clung to Kristen and I; one little girl actually started crying when we had to leave. We had only been there for about 2 hours, and the kids were attached. They are barefoot, some are almost naked, and starved for outside attention. They grow up in this small community with people collecting trash to sell, toilet water running in streams from some of the houses, and dirt floors full of bacteria. I feel frustrated when I leave places like that because even though we bring the message of God’s love, we don’t really fulfill the other needs of the people there.

In addition to the dramas and dances we performed at Callejon, we are in the process of creating a new still picture drama as well as two normal ones (normal meaning fluid motions). Also, 5 of us will have a crash course tomorrow on a dance we are going to teach the rest of the group. The choreographer could only be here for one day, so we will take 5.5 hours out of tomorrow just so the 5 of us can learn that dance. I am going to be exhausted, but I imagine it will be a lot of fun. It reminds me of the E*motion sleepovers when we would stay up late learning a whole dance in one night. Yes, we would purposefully do this – we called it “fun.” Until of course, we were cranky the next morning; that part was always forgotten by the next year, when we did it again. :) It´s nice to have things that remind me of home...

Communication

This week I learned some new things this week!! For the last 3 weeks, I´ve known a lot of material, but it´s been presented in a different way or just reiterated. This week the husband-wife duo talked about communication with a sub-category in confrontation. I learned different communication models, just basic ways to understand each other and draw out information from other people. They gave us healthy, loving, respectful ways for confrontation. I still find it amazing that what God is working on in me, He has the speakers talk about. And somehow, He corresponds the two so that I get it just when I need it. Pray for the team as we have just broken our 1 month milestone! Now is about the time that we start getting on each other´s nerves...and pushing buttons...and not being able to ignore that weird habit that we´ve been able to ignore until now. You know, things like that. :)

My Music

The soundtrack to my present life is the music that blares from the hill across from the base. I’m not sure what is up there, but all day, and into the evening, they blare all types of music – everything from Merengue to Justin Bieber. J

Shakin' It Up A Little

Ok, as if being here wasn’t enough, E*motion came with me! For part of our ministry/discipleship, there are choreographed dances to Spanish songs for the kids to watch. It’s kinda like E*motion, but funkier, and more latino. J

I LOVE IT!!

A lot of the people kinda complain because they don’t think they’re any good – BUT I CAN’T WAIT FOR EVERY PRACTICE. I was so excited when I found out we were doing this. We practiced for 3 hours today, but we don’t have a lot done because, you know, some people aren’t used to dancing like that. Lol I still enjoy it so much. We laugh and have a great time. J I will try to have someone record the dances so you can see them!!

Church

I absolutely LOVE the bilingual church we go to. There is just something about worshipping in another language…you realize that the Body of Christ is so much bigger than you thought. It’s more than just our American songs and phrases; more than fancy words; more than fancy presentation. It’s about God’s people gathering together in one place, no hindrances, worshipping and praising God for all He is and has done. A simple message that hits the hearts of the people (and is easy enough for the translator J); we have it so wrong sometimes in America. We want to do everything, to fix everything, instead of just loving God and telling everyone we know about Him – sweet and simple.

The Weekend

This morning, I went to the salon and got my hair done! After lunch, we all took a taxi and went to town to get on the internet, visit the pharmacy, shop at the supermercado, and go to Helados BON (Bon ice cream shop, the best in the city J ). When we got back, a group of us walked to the waterfall that’s about 20 minutes away. It’s a beautiful walk, and the waterfall is gorgeous!! Of course, on the walk home, it starts pouring. Everything got soaked, even my newly straightened hair. It didn’t last long, but, because it was only 3 dollars, I wasn’t too worried about it. Besides, I like my curls better. J The cool thing about climbing to the waterfall (yes, we climbed up the river) was that it was a whole-group bonding experience. We had to help people the whole way, and it wasn’t just a few people who needed all the help. I really enjoy the group of people here; everyone adds their own spice to the YWAM cake (so to say J). My favorite part is that we can just sit around, talk, laugh, and are completely comfortable with one another after only a week with each other. Stephen and I were joking last night that there is not many material things that you don’t share with at least one other person at this point – and they don’t even have to ask. We have just “clicked” so quickly; I think it comes from all having one main goal: to know God and ourselves better, and to minister to others about His love. That, and the fact that we’re stuck here with just each other. That might have something to do with it as well. There’s a pretty good mix of languages. Everyone speaks at least a little English and a little Spanish; about 1/3 of the people are basically bilingual, so that is helpful when some of the rest of us really can’t understand each other – but that almost never happens. I am really looking forward to the next 19 weeks, spent with some amazing Christian people that will become some of my best friends.

The Sound of Morning

The sound of 6:30 filled the air much too soon this morning. Motorcycles were already roaring down the road past the base, bird calls laced the cool air with a harsh melody, the rooster on top of the neighboring hill gave just one of his many terrifying cries (think of a dying animal giving birth, you´ve got it), and all 3 showers began the steady drum that doesn´t cease until all 9 girls are ready for the 7:00 breakfast. All of that mixed with the beeping of my watch alarm welcomed me to the official first day of the Jarabacoa DTS.

We have hot water, but no pressure (thank you gas heater!). We have great coffee, but no real milk. There´s real toilets, but don´t you dare flush the toilet paper! The bugs will eat you alive, but the food´s amazing. We are 15 minutes from town, but the view is gorgeous...I wake up next to a fog covered mountain every morning.

(The photo is one of my first glimpses of my home country from the sky. I

I Am Well

Usually when I sleep somewhere new, I wake up all disoriented. This morning I woke up and my first thought was surprisingly not “Shoot, where am I?” I feel at home here, like this is where I belong. I don’t know everyone well, I don’t speak the language well, but I know that God has placed me where I am well.

I'm Here!

I have arrived in Jarabacoa safely and simply amazed at my birth country. My first glimpse from the sky took my breath away.

The trip was easy, only one delay (in Miami: border control took a family off the plane, then had to find their luggage in the nearly full plane), so I arrived in Santiago at 5:00. By 6 I was on the road to Jarabacoa with the director’s husband, Joel. I met the 3 girls already here and unpacked just what I needed for the night. Early on, I became frustrated with my lack of Spanish skills; all of the staff speaks fluent Spanish, as well as the 2 girls who are here. I can understand about 70% of what they say, but responding in Spanish takes a lot of brain power, and I got frazzled quickly. I’m planning on just listening for the first week or so, speaking mostly in English, before I really break into my poor attempts at a solid conversation.

Financial Update #2

I leave in 3 days, and (as of this morning) I have raised the rest of my money! Thank you so much to everyone who has supported me in the preparation for this adventure! Please continue to pray for me as the year finishes out. The official dates of the DTS are July 25-December 11; I will get to the DR on the 23rd and fly home on the 12th!

Mailing Address

This is the most reliable address to send me snail mail. It is delivered bi-weekly, so it may take a while to get a response. I will write you back!! :)

YWAM DR/DTS Unit #3027
Attn: Rachel Miner
3170 Airmans Drive
Fort Pierce, FL 34946

Different Countries

I received an email from the director in Jarabacoa, which gave me details about the other people who are going to be in the DR with me. There are 14 other people who have been accepted to be at the School. One person from Germany, one from Switzerland, 2 from Puerto Rico, 5 others from the US, and 3 from the Dominican. I am excited about the variety! Please pray that we mesh well and don't let cultural boundaries or assumptions hinder our relationships.

Thank you to all my prayer partners. God has already done wonderful things!

Wait, Really?!

Many people in the last week have asked me what I am doing now that I have graduated. I respond with: "Well, I'm going to the DR in July...this month." Then, my head screams at me, 21 days!?! You're crazy! It's funny how I have been telling people for so long that I'm leaving the 23 of July, but now that it's so soon, I don't see how I can actually be leaving. So here's the point of all this: Please pray that I find a peace in leaving, beyond missing people and my bunk bed. I usually handle change well, but I have never been in this situation before.

Again, thank you all for your support in this adventure of mine!

Rachel

Financial Update

Here's the breakdown for the trip funds:

Learning phase: $1,800 [raised]

Outreach phase: $1,000 [still needed: $900]

Plane ticket: $104 [raised]


Thank you to all who have helped so far! You have blessed me so much.

Rachel

God Did It!

Remember all that freaking out I was doing about the rest of the money I was going to have to raise? Well, part of that figure was a round-trip plane ticket. The last time I looked, it was going to cost me about $700, a normal fee, but still a lot of money. God decided to step in and take over that part of the cost: Two people have stepped forward and offered frequent flier miles to me to go towards my ticket. A $700 round-trip ticket from Chicago to Santiago has been reduced to $104. I am humbled as I am once again reminded that God does not always work in the obvious ways (like a large check or a successful fundraiser), but He does always come through and provide. I am so thankful for the God that loves me outside the bounds of my imagination.

Here I Am, All of Me

Lately, I have found myself worrying about where the rest of my money for the trip is going to come from; a couple of nights ago I was even in tears. I believe this is what God has in store for me, yet I am becoming a professional worry-er. That is, until Sunday. In both church and youth group we sang about the peace God brings when we give ourselves and our plans to Him. It really struck me how much I had been worrying and making myself miserable. Even though all my life I have seen how God provides for my family, I hadn't really accepted it as something He would do for me. The song "Take My Life" (originally by Francis Havergal, but sung by Chris Tomlin) has now become my prayer, especially these few lines:

Take my life and let it be
consecrated, Lord, to Thee.

Take my silver and my gold
not a mite would I withhold.

Take my intellect and use
every power as You choose.

Take my will and make it Thine
it shall be no longer mine.

Counting Down

Well, I have 44 days until I will be in the DR! I am still trying to reach my $4,000 goal and will be making prayer cards to send to everyone (just a little reminder) and I will be sending out a few support letters. If you haven't gotten one by the end of June, and would like one, please let me know! Now that my open house is over, I can start focusing completely on getting my stuff ready for the trip!

Accepted!

I received an email last night telling me that I am officially accepted into the Jarabacoa, DR DTS program! It's been a long time coming, but to finally know is such a relief!

Spaghetti Dinner

Good news! The spaghetti dinner fundraiser today was a success; we raised almost $900!! God has provided so much lately: We had enough food to feed 200 people, and even though only about 100 came, I did not have to pay for any of the food or supplies out of my own pocket. So many people stepped forward and donated money, noodles, sauce, and time -- a HUGE thank you to you all!

My July Trip!

For those of you who have heard that I am leaving in July, I still am; however, I am not going to Mexico, I am going to the Dominican Republic! The Pachuca, Mexico DTS was canceled for lack of applicants. :(

For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, let me fill you in! In July, I am going to the Dominican Republic to take part in a Discipleship Training School (DTS) through Youth With A Mission (YWAM). I will be there for 5 months, learning how to be a missionary. The first three months are full of classes and maybe some outreach in the base city (Jarabacoa -- yes, I'm going back to my roots!). The last two months are the outreach months. I will either be working more in the DR (other cities) or in Haiti; it depends on where the Lord leads me. I'm not exactly sure what kind of outreach we will be doing, but I will keep you posted!

I am so excited about this opportunity! I will miss the first semester of my freshman year of college, but since I am graduating high school with a semester's worth of college credit, I'm not missing much. Grace College (where I will be going in January) has offered me a 3-credit "Intro to Missions" class that I will be getting credit for while I'm in the DR.

Please pray that the base in the DR solidifies details with me soon -- it's hard not knowing exactly what's going on. Also, as I continue to raise the $4,000 I need, your prayers (and donations!) are very much appreciated.

---Rachel