Sweet Reminders

The night before I boarded the plane to come to the Dominican, my friends threw me a huge going away party.  There were lots of tears, tons of smiles and lots of reminiscing.  Last semester I asked my friends to write me letters to take with me.  Anything God was teaching them, I wanted to know about it!  On the night of the party, my friend Ashleigh put out a hand painted box for my friends to fill with the letters.  Some wrote the letters throughout the semester, and others wrote them at the party.  Needless to say, they are all reminders that keep me running the race that is laid out before me.

I haven’t read all of them yet.  In fact, I haven’t read many. I want to have them when I need a little taste of home and some encouragement.  Some of them have specific dates for me to read them, and others are for specific days when I’m discouraged.

This is the first one I read:

I was pleasantly surprised when Michelle came to my party, as she probably had so many things she could have been doing with her husband that night, but she took the time to write me such an encouraging note.  It doesn’t say ‘maybe’ or ‘someday,’ but it says 'YOU WILL be a light.'  This is a reminder that when things get tough, the light is always near.

Next was a note from my friend Seth:

He’s one of the most creative people I know.  Such a fun way to remind me how much God loves me. Every.single.day!

Next was a note I found hidden in my suitcase from my roommate, Amy.

This was our memory verse one week last fall.  The Lord is ALWAYS on my side!

This one is from my worship pastor, Michael:

It is so important to remember to be COURAGEOUS everyday. God always keeps his promises! What I loved most about this note, though, was that he added lyrics to one of my favorite songs.  “He’s been, so good, so so good to me!” God has been good to me and has blessed me in so many different ways and I shall not forget it!  Click here to hear the song.

And lastly, the most recent letter I read was from one of my best friends, Jordin:

Sometimes it’s just easier to throw your hair in a pony-tail, put on a hoodie, a bit of deodorant, and head out the door!  I actually opened this on Monday, which happened to be the first day in 15 days that I was able to take a real shower.  We rarely have water in the tank on the roof, so we have to shower using buckets of water throughout the week.  It’s too comical that after I had taken my first real shower, I read this note.  (And yes, this note is above my bed to remind me daily!)

I can’t wait to read and put up more letters in the coming months!

Until later, my friends, much love to you from the Dominican Republic!

Remember the Mission

I went to church this evening expecting to hear some music, hear a sermon, not understand much, and then leave.  I know I shouldn't have had that mentality, but in all honesty, I did. I have been struggling for a few days with feeling spiritually drained, not being able to talk with anyone in English here about what God has been teaching them, or myself. It's made me feel a bit lonely and drained.

When I got to church this evening, something just felt different.  The Pastor left his drum set to welcome me immediately.  After a few minutes of singing, he sent his son to the corner store to get something, and upon his return, he handed me water!

After a few more songs, the Pastor asked if anyone had any verses they'd like to share.  He knows I don't speak Spanish fluently, but asked me to share something.  At first I was hesitant, and wanted to say "no entiendo" ("I don't understand"), but I quickly flipped through my Bible and shared Matthew 6:33: But seek first the Kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well.


There were a few hallelujahs and a lot of Amens.  With my heart racing, I sat back in my seat and thanked God for not letting me freeze.

Afterwards, a woman got up and shared her testimony.  I couldn't understand much, but I think when she saw me intently looking at her, she realized I couldn't understand her rapid speed of speech. She slowed down and pronounced her words more clearly.  From what I could understand, she was selling her body for money, doing cocaine and smoking marijuana. She almost died one night on the street, but somehow she didn't.  Afterwards, she gave her life to God, knowing it was He who saved her physically.

My heart was pounding as I started praying that the young girl from the school that I brought with was listening to this sweet story of redemption.  I felt God was reminding me of why I was there. Reminding me of my mission with the girls I work with everyday. Of why I came to the Dominican Republic in the first place.

After the sermon was finished, the woman got back up and asked to pray over all of the children.  My heart was racing again as I knew God was saying, "Katie, the girls. Remember the mission."  She prayed over the entire group, and immediately after she turned to the girl I brought with and prayed over her individually.

This evening I'm praying for childlike faith. I am praying that I won't allow Satan to attack as he did last week. I am praying that I will believe in the mission laid out in Matthew 28:18-20 daily.  I am praying the I will seek first the Kingdom (Matthew 6:33), and allow God to take care of my daily needs and struggles. Yes, tonight I am praying for the girls in the barrio that God loves so much.

And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, 

you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 

Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 

And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me..."

Matthew 18:3-5

When Helping Hurts

"Predominately Caucasian North American churches describe poverty differently than low-income countries do. The poor tend to describe their condition in far more psychological and social terms than our North American audiences. Poor people typically talk more in terms of shame, inferiority, powerlessness, humiliation, fear, hopelessness, depression, social isolation, and voicelessness.  North American audiences tend to emphasize a lack of material things such as food, money, clean water, medicine, housing, etc."
-When Helping Hurts. Steve Corbett & Brian Fikkert

"If poverty is rooted in the brokeness of the foundational relationships (with God, self, others and creation), then who are the poor?"
-When Helping Hurts. Steve Corbett & Brian Fikkert

"Poverty alleviation is the ministry of reconciliation: moving people closer to glorifying God by living in right relationship with God, with self, with others, and with the rest of creation."
-When Helping Hurts. Steve Corbett & Brian Fikkert

2 Corinthians 5:16-20
 16 So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
-http://www.biblegateway.com/

Week one!

Hey everyone! I might not be able to post on here as often as I anticipated, but I may start typing when I feel lead, and post them all at once!

I’ve only been here for 4 or 5 days, but it seems much longer in a sense that I feel as if everyone here is already my best friend.  Joy (my boss) and her husband (Vidal) are the only people who speak English, and I’m usually with them for only a few hours a day.  That means all Spanish, all the time.  I was worried about it at first, but I’m definitely used to it.  I’ve realized that it’s okay to sit in silence sometimes.  Most of the women I’m with all day are helpful with ‘translating’ for the little girls (aka saying it slower and louder).  Sometimes I understand, and other times I smile, say no, or give them a little ‘mmmmm’ noise.  Either way, it’s nothing to be afraid of.

I currently live with three young girls.  They are amazing. One is 12, one is 9, and one is 6. I won’t use names until I know it’s okay to put them on the internet.  I am really starting to feel like their mom.  I get them up in the morning, make sure they brush their teeth, read them stories, take naps with them and just hangout with them. They are precious.  Every night I tell them that they are important, kind and intelligent.  (yes, just like in the movie, ‘The Help.’ And just like the lady in the movie, I totally believe it all to be true of theses girls.)

I also spend a lot of time with Carolina. Carolina is 26 and is the daughter of Delia who works here at the school/house.  She is absolutely wonderful, caring and has a great sense of humor.  The second night I was here, Delia grabbed her motorcycle (sort of like a moped) and said ‘Cati’ and gave me a ‘follow me’ gesture.  When she pushed it out into the street she again gave me another hand gesture saying, ‘get on.’  I was so excited.  This was my first time on a moped/motorcycle thing.  I knew I was safe when I saw that many other people had their newborn babies on the back of theirs…. Since then, Carolina has taken me on her moped many times.

Tonight we had no power in the house, but thankfully my family had given me 5 flashlights for Christmas!  It was a sweet time for us in the house.  We sat in the room downstairs while Delia cooked fried Salami and yuka (and homemade hot chocolate for dessert!).  Candles were lit and we laughed and enjoyed a simple meal together.  Afterwards, Delia asked the girls to go and get their Bibles.  Just then, she received a phone call, so I grabbed my bilingual Bible and read the girls Psalm 66 in the best Spanish accent I could muster up.  When I finished, Delia joined us and read Psalm 67.  From what I could understand, she was telling the girls that we are all on one team with God.  She told them to always praise God for small things, like the fresh breeze that came through the house in that moment, and for the big things, like a meal on the table each night.

This week I have many tasks to complete, including memorizing my favorite verse in Spanish… Matthew 6:33/Mateo 6:33, learning how to cook beans, learning the names of all of the neighbors, taking the girls to the park for ice cream, getting up at 5am and walk with the neighborhood ladies, and finding the best: empenada, aqua de cocoa, batida, and pica pollo in our barrio (neighborhood) and a few other random tasks. Yes, all in one week.

I have a handful of stories I would love to share, but they will have to wait until next time.  For now, it’s time for bed in this noisy barrio.

Buenas Noches!