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.