Ministry Updates - September

Leadership Team -

I'm really excited about one of the growth steps we've taken this month.  Belkis has been working as the leader of the children's ministry since June, but this month we named four more individuals as the leaders for other branches of the ministry. 

Since the beginning this mission has been about empowering others in ministry.  God made it clear early on that my job here in the Dominican Republic is to work myself out of a job.  To raise up not just managers or good volunteers, but true leaders with vision, passion, courage, determination and the ability to lead others to carry out their vision. 

As much as possible, I try to stay out of the way, teaching and guiding by asking questions and allowing God to speak and the youth to discover the answers among themselves.  I try to listen carefully, and let the team seek the Lord and make decisions together about where to go and what to do next.  This isn't always easy.  Sometimes I get excited and say too much, but I'm always trying to give away responsibilities, never taking away opportunities from them to serve, learn and grow.  This is their ministry, and in order for this to last and for them to really enjoy this, they need to feel that sense of ownership. 

I've been working with the five leaders on our "leadership team" for many months, almost a year, gradually revealing more and more responsibilities of the leadership, teaching them effective ways to carry out these taks and allowing them to lead in these areas.  This month we officially gave away those responsibilities to these leaders.    I'm excited to see them step into these roles and continue to lead this ministry.

Our finance/leadership team is pictured below.

Front row, L to R:  Kenia (Finance Team), Belkis (Children's Ministry), Oscar (English/Discipleship)
 Back row, L to R:  Venisa (Team Aprentice/Assistant), Yahson (TV Program)

Children's Ministry -  

Here are some pictures I took recently of the children's ministry in Prudencio.  We were able to greatly increase our number of student contact days in this community -- from twice a month to twice a week - starting in September.

Meralys leading the worship/music time.

Venisa teaching the Bible Story

Luis presenting the reading/writing lesson.

Preparing the snack they receive on Saturdays. 
Juice and popcorn!

Batey Construccion - Prudencio

English & Discipleship Ministry

The English & Discipleship classes in Prudencio are going well, though we lost several students at the start of the school year.  Some have other studies in the high school or university and others have found new jobs that keep them from attending class in the afternoons.

Teachers:  Mario, Jessica, Oscar and Venisa

One afternoon we went with the jeep and took the extra time to visit the homes of some of the students who haven't been able to attend to see how they're doing, and see if there's a better time to hold the classes.

It was fun to see how excited the students got when they
saw their teachers coming to visit them at home.

TV Program -

The last main branch of the ministry is the tv program.    The team that regularly teaches/preaches on the tv program consists of six people.  They take turns preparing messages and sharing the Word of God with the people of Hato Mayor through the television.  We have one hour of live broadcasting two days a week.

One thing that has been really exciting for us is the book study we've started together.  We want to learn more about communicating the Word of God, so we started reading a book together called "Communication" by Andy Stanley.  Thankfully, the book was available in spanish.

I can't tell you how much fun it has been to be a part of these discussions.  This team is so passionate, and they are learning so much from this book.  There is never a dull moment.   Even though there are just six (or seven, including me), we find ourselves raising our hands, and working really hard not to interrupt our brother or sister.  We are so excited about what the other is saying, that we are on the edge of our seats, just waiting for an opportunity to respond and build off of one anothers' ideas.  What a great experience!  May God bless this group of young preachers with all they need to communicate in such a way that inspires others to follow Christ.

Visitors:  Kurt Nelson

One last exciting thing that happened in September was a visit from our friend Kurt Nelson.  It was great to have Kurt here for a week.  I was thankful for the time we had together to talk about things we are learning, visiting some of Kurts' friends in Guayabal, and we even made a trip to La Victoria prison.  A small group of us went to visit, worship with and encourage men inside the prison walls.  It had been a while since I had been there, and it was a blessing to go back.  We should really go more often!

New Experiences

A (New) Husband, New Church, New Home

This is my husband, Joselo Manuel Santana Jimenez.  He's 29 years old and has lived in Hato Mayor most of his life.  His mother lives in La Romana and his father lives in Santo Domingo.  He spent a year or so living with each of them as a young adult.  Joselo grew up in his grandmother's house (which is not too uncommon here in the Dominican Republic) with lots of cousins (his grandmother had 15 children!), his brother and sister.

One thing Joselo loved to do as a kid was make and fly kites in the street.  He said he often got in trouble with his grandmother because he spent so much time flying kites -- in the hot sun and even in the rain on occasion.

Before we got married, Joselo said he would show me how to make a kite.  He started saving the perfect materials, and one morning he got started.

Here is the finished project.  His masterpiece!

Though it may sound strange, one thing that I'm adjusting with married life is having fun -- even in the middle of the day?!  Sometimes I'm a pretty serious person, determined and focused on getting things done.  Sometimes I forget that it's okay to take time to rest, laugh, play and just have fun.  

Sometimes it frustrates me, and sometimes it's hard to tear myself away from the work that seems "so important", but it's so good for me.  I don't need to feel guilty about it!  One of the things I love about being married to Joselo is laughing and having fun together -- like flying a kite in the middle of the day!!  

New Church   

Joselo attends a church that is a daughter church to the one I was attending with Pastor Carlos.  Since we've been married, I've started attending church with Joselo in Punta de Garza. 



Punta de Garza church

Shalom church in Punta de Garza has a small congregation and meets in the house.  They have the same services: Sunday School Sun am, Worship Sun night, prayer service Tues night and Teaching/Testimonies on Thursday night.  The format of the services is basically the same.  The main difference is the people.  Pastor Erickson Rodriguez does a great job.  He's a young, passionate pastor full of energy, hope and positivity that is contagious to the members of the congregation.

 

One of the responsibilities Joselo has had in the church for a few years has been teaching the children's Sunday School class.  He's taken this a step further and personally goes to recruit kids from the community each Sunday for Sunday School. 

He walks up and down the streets and invites many kids to come to Sunday School.  Some are family members - nieces and nephews, others are neighbors and friends from the neighborhood. 

This way even if their parents don't want to take them to Sunday School, they can still go with Joselo. 

I'm enjoying the opportunity to meet new people, learn from a new pastor and learn how another church operates in the Dominican Republic.  I'm not going to deny, though, even though I've been worshipping here for several years, there are still many times that I miss church in the United States -- the fellowship, the style of worship and of preaching, and the English language.  Each church has it's strengths and weaknesses.  I'm learning things from churches here in the Dominican Republic that I most likely would not be learning in the US, so I can appreciate that.

A New Home

This is the home that Joselo and I now live in.  It's in a great neighborhood - 1.5 km away from the city.  My favorite part:  it's quiet.  Where I lived before was on a much busier street - there were constantly dogs barking, loud trucks and motorcycles buzzing by and loud music from the neighbors and the park. 

This neighborhood is much more peaceful.  There are a few neighbors, but everyone here seems to appreciate the tranquility.  I'm grateful!

My cooking is improving, but still have a ways to go before to perfect some of the Dominican dishes.



And, we have a little flower garden.


Life is good.  God is good.  I'm adjusting to lots of changes in my life right now, but they are all good ones!  Praise the Lord.

And, We're Swimming - Our Youth Leaders in Action

Batey Magua

This is the team from Magua.  They travel twice a week by motorcycle to this small community to teach and minister to children and their families -- over the river, through the woods and sometimes in the rain!

Yahson, Meralis, Neftali and Belkis.  Not pictured, Joselo.

Kids eagerly waiting for class to begin.

Yahson reviewing of the previous weeks' Bible lesson.

We serve a great big God - enormous!

The older kids playing tag.

Building postive relationships with Christian role models.

Belkis working with the younger kids.

Lots of special kids in this group!

So thankful for the opportunity to work with them. 

May God give these leaders wisdom, courage, patience and love as they continue to
 share the love of Jesus with the children and families of Magua.

Kilometer 16 - Batey la Mina

On the other side of town, another team travels by public bus 16 kilometers from town to this impoverished community to work with another group of kids. 

 Reviewing the Bible lesson from last week.

Oscar working with the younger kids, recognizing and writing the first letters of the alphabet.

Kenia testing the older kids to see how many really know the alphabet. 
English & Discipleship Classes

English & Discipleship Classes

Another group of three also travel by public transportation twice a week to Batey Prudencio to teach English and give a Bible class.  We are amazed at how this class is expanding.  Word has spread and we've enrolled several new students from neighboring communities!  Praise God!

Venisa, Mario and Belkis

We always start with prayer and a discussion on different tconcepts from the Bible.

This is the class for beginners.

These are the more advanced students. 
They are listening to a recording of people speaking English.

Commissioning Three New Teams

The teams listed above have been going on for the past several months.  Last week we commissioned three new teams who will start working twice a month with children in three new communities.  We're going to give this a try for the summer and are praying that God would use our time and energy to bless more children and their families.  Whether or not we can keep this going during the school year is yet to be determined. 

Pictured here are just about all of our leaders at the commissoining service.

A close-up of our new polo shirts! 

We are sending you out into the harvest field. 
The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.

We are yours, Lord.  Use us for your glory.