Un Camino

I went for a walk on Saturday with our 5 littlest kiddos from Casa Monte Plata. Here are some pictures of our walk through Monte Plata for you to enjoy!

Healed!

"Hija, su fe te ha sanado."
"Daughter, your faith has healed you."

Today's Clase Biblica was full yet again with 26 girls! Praise the Lord! Our study was based on the story in Mark 5 about the woman who had been bleeding for 12 years. Until I began preparing for this Bible study, I don't think I fully realized the lonely life that this woman was leading. Because she had been bleeding for so long, she was ostracized and excluded from her community, was unable to marry or have a family, and was prohibited from participating in community and religious events. And just like her sickness made it impossible for this woman to enjoy her life, our sin makes it impossible for us to experience the fulness of God's glory and the joys of life here on Earth that we can experience when we are walking with Him. Today's Bible class focused on Jesus as the Great Physician.

Psalm 103:1-5 says...
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and all that is within me,
Bless His holy name!
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and forget not all His benefits,
who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit,
who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
who satisfies you with good
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.

From this passage, we made a chart:
We have: iniquity (sin), disease, death
God can: forgive, heal, redeem

We talked about how the only thing that can save us from our greatest disease, the disease of sin, is faith in Jesus. The woman didn't say "I'll put my faith in Jesus IF he heals me." She put her faith in Christ before He even healed her! The Bible says in Mark 5:28 that she thought "If I touch even his garments, I will be made well." Don't wait to put your faith in Christ. Don't wait until He heals your friend, until He provides that job you want, until He brings you a spouse, until He ends world hunger and sends a cure for cancer. Don't wait - because you can be forgive, healed, and redeemed now.

To end class, the girls played a game, trying to make their team look the most "sick and hurt." Here are the results from most of the teams. It was great to see the girls having so much fun. Although they are mature in many earthly ways, they are still little girls at heart and I truly saw that today.

Wednesday Update

So thankful for a wonderful first half of the week! So far this week I have worked with our preschoolers, first graders, second graders, third graders, fifth graders, sixth graders, seventh graders, and eighth graders. I was so excited this week when I walked into our second grade classroom and saw that the teacher was using two different strategies that I had taught during last week’s professional development class! I’m so thankful for the opportunity to work and serve with these teachers. They are so open to learning new things, which is an answer to many prayers.

2nd Grade Classroom

1st grade with their new 100 chart

Playing Bananagrams en Español

Playing Bananagrams en Español to practice letter sounds, letter recognition, and syllables

We love bananagrams!

My fourth grade friend Darlenys

On Tuesday I also had a wonderful conversation with my neighbor Milo. Milo lives with his family (children and grandchildren) in the house nextdoor to mine. He was so excited to see that another North American missionary had moved in to the house. He invited me out to see his fields and his pigs one day soon and so generously told me “Todo que tenemos en casa es suyo,” or “Everything in our home is yours.” I love the friendliness of the Dominican people!

On Tuesday night I got to skype for over an hour with my sister and brother-in-law, Steph and Joel. I know I often say this, but I don’t think most of you take it seriously: I love hearing from home!! Skype calls, emails, letters, facebook comments, blog responses – all of it reminds me of home and helps me remember that I am here as a small representation of a much larger group of supporters, friends and family who believe in and are supporting the work of God here in Monte Plata.

Skyping with Steph and Joel

Water bottles ready for our "Agua de Vida" lesson

Wednesday’s girls Bible study class was awesome. Our lesson was about the Samaritan woman. She met Jesus, learned about Jesus, put her faith in Jesus, and then told others about Jesus. I asked the girls to think about where they fall within those four steps. Have they met Jesus and learned about Him? I know that they all have since their teachers talk to them about Jesus every single day. But the important question is – have they put their faith in Jesus? And if they have, are they sharing Him with others? I then used an illustration to emphasize the idea that Jesus gives us living water. I had two containers – one heart with Jesus and one heart without Jesus. I began to try to fill the heart without Jesus. Each cup I poured in represented something we try to fill our lives with: family, friends, success, good grades, popularity, talents, material things, good works, etc. Each glass that I poured made the water turn a little cloudier, until all we had was a container full of dirty water. The container also had several holes in it and the girls laughed as I unsuccessfully tried to keep it full as it was leaking all over the place. This illustration represented the idea that our hearts are naturally dirty, sinful places that can never be full or be clean due to our own efforts. Then I took the container that represented a heart with Jesus. I poured in cup after cup of clean water representing salvation, joy, peace, purpose, forgiveness, mercy, grace, etc. And amazingly, none of the water leaked out! This represented the idea that when we are Christians, we have hearts that are made new, made full, and made clean in Christ.

Water to represent a heart with and without Christ

Containers to represent a heart with and without Christ

Please pray for the following girls who stayed after class to talk with a leader.

Madelin – very close to a salvation decision, told me she wants to think about it tonight and talk to me again tomorrow

Rosaris – accepted Jesus today!! Praise the Lord!!

Genesis – accepted Jesus on Thursday when she came to school!! Praise the Lord!!

Silenkircy – spoke with a leader today about what it means to be a Christian, keep praying

Elianny - spoke with a leader today about what it means to be a Christian, keep praying

On Wednesday afternoon I also got to spend time at Casa Monte Plata. James and Rebekah were out of town for the afternoon and asked if I could come over and have their house open from 3:00-5:00 for homework help. I got to hang out with seven or eight of the kids as they cycled through to use the two laptops that belong to Casa Monte Plata. Lali and I worked on her long division for a while together. Solange and Selena came by to clean the house (they help around the directors’ house to earn some extra allowance money). It was just a nice, relaxing afternoon with some of my favorite kiddos. 

Hanging out, doing homework, and cleaning

A Prayer Need

Today I am asking you to pray for a brother and sister who attend our school. For privacy purposes, I have changed their names to Vincent and Brenda. Vincent is in third grade and Brenda is in fifth grade. Our school serves the most impoverished, neglected, abused, and forgotten children in the Monte Plata community – and Vincent and Brenda are heartbreaking examples of this truth. Vincent and Brenda’s father passed away two or three years ago. He was a known drug-dealer in the community here and was killed in an altercation with police. Their mother has also spent time in prison for selling drugs. Vincent was recently asked to stay home from school for a few days for fighting. Fighting is the only behavior for which we send students home from school. We know that they are often staying “home” in an environment that will not help them change their behavior. Oftentimes our students can be found wandering the streets in the afternoons and at night with nothing to do and no one to take care of them. Sadly, when Vincent returned to school, he fought within an hour of being back in his classroom, and was asked to stay home for another day. Today he returned to school and started a fight once again. Our school director called his mother and had her come to school to take him home again. She asked when he could come back and was told that he could come back again tomorrow. Just as God’s mercies are new for us every morning, our school administration believes in forgiveness and mercy and was ready to welcome him back tomorrow with open arms, despite his consistent history of misbehavior. As Vincent and his mother walked out of our school office, our school directors watched and listened in horror as she pushed her son out of the office and proceeded to punch him twice, once in the head and once in the back, while screaming at him.  We know that Vincent is not solely responsible for his behavior issues. He likely lives with this abuse daily, constantly observing a cycle of violence so hateful that most of us cannot even fathom it.

And somehow we expect him to come to school each day, sit calmly in a desk, and learn how to add, multiply, read, and write.

According to all earthly methods – we might as well give up now. There is no way that we can make a difference in his life from 8:00-12:30 Monday through Friday. It seems hopeless. It seems impossible.

And then I remember that several thousand years ago, a group of over 2 million Israelites stood on the banks of the red sea with the entire Egyptian army pursuing them and thought, “This is impossible.”

And then I remember that Nehemiah and the Jews once faced so much opposition while trying to rebuild an entire wall that they had to work with tools in one hand and weapons in the other, and they probably thought, “This is impossible.”

And then I remember that three young men were once bound and thrown into a furnace that was heated to seven times more than its usual heat, and on the way down they might have thought, “This is impossible.”

And then I remember that Jesus’ body once laid in an earthly tomb for three dark days and as the reality of His death slowly began to sink in, His friends and family must have thought, “This is impossible.”

I remember these stories because the sea parted, and the wall was finished, and those young men walked out of that furnace, and Jesus rose again. And if I serve the God who is able to do all of that, I definitely serve the God who is able to change Vincent and Brenda’s lives, as well as the life of their mother.

Please join me, and our entire school staff, in praying for this family, because through the Lord, drastic change is not impossible. 

Todas las Promesas

I have a feeling that “light” is going to be a spiritual theme of my time here in Monte Plata. Tonight’s lesson, however, was more poignant because of a lack of light. For any of you who are American church attenders, I want you to try to imagine the chaos that would ensue if the electricity went out during an evening worship service. It’s dark outside, everyone is singing a hymn, and then suddenly the electricity goes out and the church is immediately clothed in darkness. Here’s the mental picture I have: several women and all the children scream, the music pastor laughs and then gets mad because no one can hear him singing or the keyboardist playing and therefore the key of the hymn automatically goes up a step and a half, people immediately start fanning themselves because (gasp) no electricity means no A/C, eventually someone just decides that this is too ridiculous so let’s all just go home early.

When the lights go out during church in Monte Plata, we all just keep singing.

Tonight when the lights went out, we were in the middle of singing “Standing on the Promises of God” or “Todas las Promesas.” I know that for me, that wasn’t a coincidence. God was speaking to me. The Bible is full of God’s promises for us. God promises us that He will remain faithful, loving, merciful, steadfast, and gracious. God promises that He has made a way for us to become coheirs with Christ, adopted in to the family of God through the blood of His Son, able to call Him father through the Holy Spirit. God promises us that He will never leave us and never forsake us. God promises us that He can give us a new heart, work in our lives for our good, and provide us with strength, discipline, joy, peace, and rest. These promises are foundational yet lofty, concrete yet abstract, and easy to claim yet easier even to forget, especially when “the lights go out.”

How many times in my life have I stopped standing on the promises of God because things got dark?

Sometimes I live as though darkness somehow has the power to physically move my feet or shake the floor I’m standing on. Darkness does not have this power. The periods of my life that are full of sadness, anger, confusion, despair, and doubt have no power to change the promises of God on which my faith is built – so why do I stop singing when the lights go out?

I encourage you to read the lyrics of this hymn below. I posted them first in English, but I then want you to read the Spanish version that I posted and have loosely translated. The Spanish hymns we sing are not direct translations of their English counterparts. I have found that the new Spanish hymns I’m learning have enriched my worship as I have to pay more attention to each and every word I’m singing to fully understand what I’m saying in worship. I think I like the Spanish version of this song better than the English version. “While I struggle to find your light here, I will always trust in your promises.” “
All of the promises of the Lord are joy and strength for our life on Earth. They will sustain us during the hard fight and we can triumph over evil.”

Don’t step down off the promises just because things get dark.

Standing on the Promises of God (English)

Standing on the promises of Christ my King,
 Through eternal ages let His praises ring,


Glory in the highest, I will shout and sing,
 Standing on the promises of God.

Standing, standing,
 Standing on the promises of God my Savior;


Standing, standing, 
I’m standing on the promises of God.

Standing on the promises that cannot fail,
 When the howling storms of doubt and fear assail,


By the living Word of God I shall prevail,
 Standing on the promises of God.

Standing on the promises I now can see, Perfect, present cleansing in the blood for me;


Standing in the liberty where Christ makes free,
 Standing on the promises of God.

Standing on the promises of Christ the Lord,
 Bound to Him eternally by love’s strong cord,


Overcoming daily with the Spirit’s sword,
 Standing on the promises of God.

Standing on the promises I cannot fall,
 Listening every moment to the Spirit’s call


Resting in my Savior as my all in all,
 Standing on the promises of God.

Todas las Promesas (Spanish with English translation)

Todas las promesas del Señor Jesús
 (all of the promises of Jesus)

son apoyo poderoso de mi fe
 (powerfully support my faith)

Mientras luche aquí buscando yo su luz
 (while I struggle to find your light here)

siempre en sus promesas confiaré (I will always trust in your promises)

Grandes, fieles,  (great, faithful)

las promesas que el Señor Jesús me ha dado
 (are the promises that God has given me)

Grandes, fieles,  (great, faithful)

en ellas para siempre confiaré (in these promises I will always trust)

Todas las promesas para el hombre (all of the promises for man)

fiel
el Señor en sus bondades cumplirá
 (faithful God will complete according to his goodness)

Y confiado sé que para siempre en Él
 (I confidently know that I will always)

paz eterna mi alma gozará (enjoy eternal peace in my soul)

Todas las promesas del Señor serán
 (all of the promises of the Lord)

gozo y fuerza en nuestra vida terrenal
 (are joy and strength for our life on Earth)

Ellas en la dura lid nos sostendrán
 (they will sustain us during the hard fight)

y triunfar podremos sobre el mal (and we can triumph over evil)