Belkis Gomez Jean

Belkis Gomez Jean
Born: January 10, 1989

I'm proud to introduce Belkis Gomez Jean.  Belkis is very special to me and to this ministry.  I honestly don't think this ministry would even exist today if it weren't for Belkis.  She has been a driving force since the beginning.

An older picture, from the very beginning.
Taken in Km 16.

In her church, Belkis is the children's pastor.  She works with the children in a separate classroom during the regular church services three times a week.  Belkis accepted Christ as a young girl.  She really has a heart for children, and she's good at what she does.

Belkis is now working with the team in Magua.

 Belkis is responsible and reliable.  She is considerate of others and really cares about people.  Belkis is a learner -- I think she's has read all of the books in our little library.  Belkis is an influential leader, and she takes advantage of any opportunity to grow in her leadership.  Above all, Belkis is a servant of the Lord.  Belkis gives of herself over and over again, and truly desires to see others come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. 


Belkis serves in all sorts of ways - teaching, preaching, cleaning the church, leading worship.  You name it, and Belkis has probably done it.  She hates to miss an opportunity to honor the Lord with her time and talents.  Belkis loves God with all her heart and has a calling to serve Him.  In the difficult times, when she feels alone and it would be easy to quit or run away, this calling keeps Belkis going.  She knows that God is good, that He loves her and has good things planned for her.  Belkis knows that her strength is in the Lord. 

Belkis preaching for a special occasion with the youth of the English/Discipleship class.

Belkis & Venisa with their "thinking caps" creating the weekly lesson plans for all of the teams. 

Belkis working with the finance team, making sure every cent is accounted for.

Belkis leading a discussion as the team creates their mission, vision and values.

I could go on about the impact Belkis has had in ministry.  I really am so proud of Belkis.  She has overcome a lot and has a strength and confidence about her that many admire.  I'm excited for Belkis to take on additional responsibilities in the ministry.  She will grow, and the rest of us will learn from her as she leads.  With her help, the ministry will improve and expand.  We will be able to reach a lot more children and families with the Gospel.  Praise God!
 

Belkis' Family

Belkis' parents met and married in a Haitian Refugee Camp.  Belkis is the oldest child of four.  She and her sister lived in the camp for a few years, but after hurrican York in 1998 the family took refuge in the city of Hato Mayor.  The government built homes which they call "Los Multis."  Belkis and her family still live in one of these homes. 
 

Belkis' family. 
Little brothers Ricky and Raul.  Sister Rosa.  Mom and Dad.



After moving to the city, Belkis' two younger brothers were born.  Belkis' father works in the fields, and Belkis' mother works once a week cleaning houses. 

Belkis' mother just started this year studying in the local high school. 
She is learning to read and write.

Belkis also has a sister, Rosa, who is 19 years old.  She would like to be an elementary school teacher some day.

Belkis' brothers playing "ball" with the neighborhood boys. 
They're using a stick from a tree as a bat and for a ball an empty pop bottle filled with sand.
No wonder Dominicans are so good at baseball.  They grow up playing with a stick and random objects for the ball.  After that playing with a bat and baseball is a piece of cake!

A Little More About Belkis

Belkis is currently studying to be a school psychologist.  I asked Belkis if there was anything else she would like to study in the future.  She had a full list!  If she had the opportunity, she would also like to study hermenuetics, preaching, personal growth, family therapy, tourism and speech/communication.  (I told you she was a learner!)

Thank you!!

Belkis and I both want to say "thanks" to all who have or are currently investing financially in this ministry.  Because of your partnership and faithful giving, we are able to give Belkis an offering - a "paid internship" for all the time and energy she is putting into the ministry.  This offering will help her and her family immensely with expenses of daily living: food and clothing.  It also helps with the educational expenses: books, tuition and transportation to and from the University.   Your generostiy makes a difference in many lives - not only in the lives of Belkis and her family but also all the youth and children that we reach through the ministry.  Thank you and may God bless you!

Recent Photos.

Our Team

This is our team!!  There may be one or two missing.

 

Celebrating a great week with Resurrection Lutheran Church.
Pizza, Pop and Good Friends.

 
Children's Ministry

Kenia and Meralis demonstrating to the rest of the group
how to teach the new handwriting lessons.



The kids from KM 16.



The kids from Magua with their teachers.



What beautiful angels you've made!

  TV Program

This is the team working to further develop the TV Program. 
left to right:  Jessica, Venisa, Luis, Joselo, Yahson and Neftali

 

The team met this week and have some good ideas for growth and improvement.
They are asking the Lord for wisdom and guidance and that God would
use the program to point others to Jesus. 

 T-shirts - almost ready!!

Oscar & Roberto are working on making some t-shirts for the team. 

This has been a challenging task.  Finding the shirts, designing the logo,
printing a test shirt, redesigning the logo....
We are now waiting for the final piece of the puzzle. 
We hope to have them ready when we start our summer outreach!!

Mother's Day Celebration

The youth spent many, many hours over the past month putting together a beautiful Mother's Day dinner for all of the mother's in the church.  They did fundraisers, rented the dishes and silverware and put together a beautiful program.  I supported them and helped a little here and there, but really didn't have much to do with it at all.  They did a beautiful job.  The mother's were so blessed.  I came away thinking, wow, there really is so much we can do to bless others when we all work together. 

What a good-looking group!

The red carpet was a very nice touch! 

Some very happy and thankful mothers.

Reflections: What is this really about?

I've been intentional this past month about taking more time to read, pray and reflect on what we're doing, why we're doing it and how we're going about it.  It's easy to get so wrapped up in the details -- daily living, administrating, planning, preparing and organizing that we forget what it's really all about. 

In a third-world country where poverty and the effects of poverty are everywhere additional challenges present themselves.  There are needs everywhere - physical, social, emotional and spiritual.  As a follower of Christ, I have to ask for guidance from the Holy Spirit.  What is this really about?  Why am I here?  Is it about meeting people's physical needs?  Or do try to overlook the physical needs and attend to the spiritual -- attempting to lead people to a personal relationship with Christ?  Is it both?  When is it helpful to give and when is it not?  These are questions I ask myself on a daily basis.

As we look at the example of Christ.  He usually did both.  He attended to people's physical needs, feeding and healing them when they were hungry, thirsty, sick, etc.  He also took every opportunity to attend to their spiritual needs, offering them "the bread of life" and "living water".  He rebuked sin and called people to repent and be transformed by the love and grace of their Heavenly Father.

In their encounters with Jesus, people experienced something out of this world.  They exprienced love in such a powerful way that some could not imagine going on without it, living life as they did before.  They simply had to leave everything they knew - their old way of thinking and living, their posessions, their closest personal relationships...everything to follow Jesus and join Him in His mission. 

"If we are out of our mind, it is for the sake of God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you.  For Christ's love compels us." 

~2 Corinthians 5:13-14a

When Jesus came to earth, the Jews had been living according to the Old Testament Law for centuries. "Do this...  Don't do that... Wear this... Eat that... Refrain from this...  Offer sacrifices for your sins."  God gave them the laws for a good reason -- they were to be His holy people who lived very differently from the surrounding nations who worshipped false, lesser gods.  Almighty God, Yahwey, is holy and powerful yet gracious and kind.  As His followers, the people were to reflect that in every way they lived.  Instead of leaving them to figure it out on their own, God in His kindness gave His people the law so they could learn how to live in the presence of a Holy God in a way that is pleasing and honoring to Him.   

The Jews studied and knew this law well.  Some were doing their best to live according to the law, knowing and fearing the judgement and consequences that would come if they didn't - from God and others.  Others fell away discouraged.  They had made so many mistakes and had given up all hope of trying to be "holy".  They simply stopped trying.  The law also made it crystal clear just how amazingly good God is and how hopeless we are without Him.

When Jesus came, He changed everything.  Jesus said, "I did not come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it."  Through His death, Jesus suffered the consequence for all sin.  He paid the price for all failures -- all shortcomings - past, present and future.  When we accept Jesus' forgiveness, we don't have to live in fear of God's judgement.

Instead of living in fear and trying to earn our salvation through good deeds, we can live with hope, peace and joy because of the promise of eternal life.  This is a gift for everyone, regardless of where we come from, regardless of our mistakes. It is Jesus' kindness that moves people to repentance, not fear.

Where am I going with this?  How does it relate to my reflections about working and ministering with people living in poverty?

Let me start with this: people are transformed by Jesus' love.  Jesus was able to really see into peoples' life situations and the condition of their soul.  He could see their physical and spiritual needs, and He responded.  If I want to have a real influence in the lives of the people here, I need to follow Jesus' example.  I'm certainly not Jesus.  There's no way I can meet everyone's needs or know exactly what's in their souls, but I can take the time to look and try to understand people's lives - how they think and feel, what they fear and what they hope for.  

One thing I'm finding is that we all have some deep wounds.  Many have been really hurt by people they are supposed to be able to trust.  We have been rejected, humiliated, abused and oppressed.  As I look at the challenges some of my friends face on a daily basis, I often wonder how they find the courage and strength to keep going day after day.

What is the appropriate response to all of this?  How can I make a difference?

Right now we are working to create a safe community for our team -- a place where they can come and be themselves, where we can learn together and grow together.  I want our team to feel like they can be honest and will still be respected.  They need to know that they are loved and appreciated.  I'm praying that we will continue to grow and that someday we will have a community where we can really trust one another in everyway. 

This is not easy.  We take turns putting up walls of protection.  Especially here, there is a deep understanding that if I want to survive, avoid pain, eat, and try to make a way for myself, I have to fight for myself and my family.  This leads to some behaviors that seem really selfish to me sometimes.  Jesus teaches us to put others first, to give and love without expecting anything in return.

And, Jesus modeled this for us.  He gave and gave and gave of himself all the way to the cross, shedding His blood for us.  There are times when you can give and give and give of yourself - time, energy and resources, and you don't know if it makes a bit of difference.  I'm sure there were times when Jesus felt this way, too.  I'm thinking of the 10 lepers He healed.  Only one went back to give thanks.  Praise God for the one! 

I've been thinking about Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs.  Realizing that I'm regularly talking to a group of teenagers and young adults about the plans God has for their lives and their role in the Kingdom of God (Self-Actualization).  This is nice and inspiring, but on a daily basis the majority of them are fighting for much more basic needs - for themselves and for their families. 

In our ministry, we're trying to meet some physical needs by providing a small offering to those who put in many hours of work.  I'd like to be able to increase this and appoint more leaders like Belkis for different areas of the ministry.  If any of you want to invest financially to help with this, please let me know!  We will also continue to work on the needs for safety (emotional & physical), belonging, esteem and self-actualization. 

There is clearly a deep need for healing and restoration.  I was reading recently in a book called "Working with the Poor."  There was a question in this book that has stuck with me.  "In our community, do we have a way of healing each other so we become agents of healing rather than multiplying hurt?"

I guess I'll finish my reflections (or ramblings) here and ask you to pray for us.  Specifically, please pray for healing, restoration and that God would form us into a community where we truly love, care for and trust one another.  

This was Jesus' prayer for all believers: "that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.."  John 17:21.