Teaching at VBS

      

They used flanelboards. . .

  Fior, Robert and Luz taught the main lessons to the children during the week.


 Fior taught the first day.

and pictures. 

Robert was very animated and the kids loved it!                   

                                                                                                       

Luz definitely had their attention.

They all did a GREAT job! 

Vacation Bible School Amanecer

    Wednesday through Friday we held VBS in Amanecer.We were blessed to be able to use the school facilities for the three days. Santa, one of the ladies from the church who lives in Amanecer, has developed a relationship with the principle and students at the school and they were wonderful to allow us to use the facility. The government runs and maintains the school and it was great! During the school year, they have 1000 students in this facility. It is not a huge school when you consider how many students are there on a regular basis, but for us it was huge! At the recommendation of the principle, the VBS was limited to students 8-10 years old and there was a minimal fee required. This was the first VBS held there so we were not exactly sure how many to expect. The area of Amanacer is a squatters village and the people there are very poor. The fee was VERY small, but the leaders felt it important to require it so that the kids had some investment in what they were doing, that it wasn't viewed as a handout.
     We had a great few days there, the kids who came had fun and learned a lot. They heard Bible stories, sang songs, did crafts, ate snacks, played games, memorized Bible verses and were told how much God loved them. As a result, twelve accepted Christ as their Savior. Praise God !

 This was made by a few of the ladies at the church, based on the camp shirts Gregg designed. They did a great job!

These kids were here early the first day to make sure they got in.

Some of the leaders trying to get name tags for all the kids. First day details. . .

Beautiful children waiting patiently as they are getting books, name tags etc. They were all incredibly well behaved!

Yani, the VBS Director, singing with the kids.

Amanecer VBS 2011

Your Word is Truth

     On Saturday afternoon, we met with the ladies of the church for a training session on how to do an inductive Bible study. We were expecting twelve ladies, but were prepared for fifteen. Well, we had about eighteen show up.( I think that was the final count.) We had a great time. There are a few differences in how things translate into Spanish that slowed us down a little bit at first, but we soon figured out how to handle it and then we were good to go.
     I am so blessed to have Anna interpreting  for me. She is very easy to work with and things flow well between us. The time seemed to fly by. There was an event at another local church that was going on that night and several of the ladies were taking teenagers to that event. So we knew we were working in a limited time frame. I brought study books for them and knew that they would be finishing them on their own using the tools we had discussed.

     The book How Do You  Know God is Your Father is a study of 1 John. Well, we started the book and they were really getting the concepts when some had to leave. I told them I would be here til next week if they wanted to continue at another time. They are so excited about learning God's Word! We are actually trying to schedule another night to get together and continue working through the study together.
      Our God is so faithful! When we seek to know Him, He is always ready to reveal Himself to us. It is exciting to see the children of God really studying His Word, and understanding new things through that study! What a blessing that the Holy Spirit lives in us and is our teacher and guide.
     In John 17:15-17 Jesus is praying for us: "I do not ask  You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world,  even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth."
Father, help me to always seek Your truth.

Thank You for Praying!

     I want to thank you all for your prayers for this trip. Things are going incredibly well. Of course there are always the things you have to be flexible about, but it has been wonderful! I am trying to keep up on blogging about the events, although I still have some to catch up on.
     Please pray for the things still to come, and there are many. Wednesday thru Friday (10AM - noon) this week we will be in Amanacer for a VBS. This will be targeted for 8-10 year olds. We are meeting at the school and are having to limit attendance to the first 50 to register. 
     We had such a great response at the training session on How to Study your Bible Inductively, that we are looking to possibly continue with another session this Friday night (6ish).
     On Saturday (4-6PM), we will be traveling to Santiago for a ladies event there. Pray for safe travel as well as the ladies there.
    Then on Sunday we will have services at Iglesia Bautista Gracia y Verdad (10AM and 7PM).
Thank you so much for your prayers!
    

Just the Simple Things

     I am so glad to be here in Santo Domingo with Mike and Anna. It is a blessing to be able to spend time with such dedicated servants. On this trip, I am staying at their home and that is a new experience. All the other mission trips I have been on, I have stayed in a hotel. And even though you spend time with the missionary, it is not ALL the time. This trip has been different and I have had my eyes opened to a little more of what they deal with daily.

     In the United Stated we take so much for granted that you can't  count on here. Like your electricity working. When I arrived on Tuesday, Anna picked me up at the airport because Mike was home trying to get the electricity fixed. You see, using a blow-dryer and and iron at the same time blew it out.

     When I get ready to leave my house and go out, I press the electric garage door opener and am on my way. Mike and Anna have to unlock the gate with a key and move the iron gate across the front of their garage. Back the car out and then get out and replace and re-lock the gate. Every access to their home has to be secured. I believe Anna said there are 17 padlocks at their house to secure things ! Gee, I have one key to the door.

     When I want a glass of water at home,I turn on the tap. They have to buy jugs of water for drinking and to make ice. Washing the dishes means washing them, then rinsing them in a clorox water solution, then setting them out to dry, then wiping them down before putting them away. No automatic dishwasher here! And with three children, there are lots of dishes!

     There are police doing traffic stops daily, and we seem to get pulled often. Usually once they realize Mike is a pastor, they send us on our way. :) But that still means you are delayed getting to where you were headed.

     Then there are the challenges of simply living in a country where they don't think or reason like we do. For example, Anna took things to the copy shop to have printed for VBS. She took the brand new, unopened packs of colored paper and gave it to them to use for the covers. Later, Mike picked up the copies, and when we were putting the booklets together, found that we were 7 red covers short. They put a note saying they had messed the copies up, but instead of just replacing it from their matching stock, they left it. Now we need to make another trip to shop to get it fixed.

The t-shirts for the children at VBS were dropped off to the people to be printed. Because they were all grey shirts, but being printed with different colors, Anna and Mike had them sorted by size and how many they needed of each color. They bagged them and labeled each bag. Well, someone at the shop decided to dump them out of the bags into one big pile. Then, Friday afternoon, Mike and Anna had to go over to the shop and separate them again so they could be printed. They were supposed to be ready for pick-up Tuesday.

Yes, in the US we have things to deal with and frustrations, but it seems to be a regular occurrence here. The joke among the missionaries here is that if you accomplish only 3 things on your to-do list, it has been a GREAT day!

Oh, for things to be simple.

Need I say more?

The Ladies of Amanacer

     One of the ladies from Mike and Anna's church lives in a little area called Amanacer. Her name is Santa. Santa is a very enthusiastic, energetic christian lady who is VERY bold in her faith. She has an incredible passion to reach people for Christ. She has started doing an after school program at her home to teach children about God. There is a Bible study group that meets at her home on Tuesdays each week. There are many other things that she does, but throughout them all, you see her love for Christ. 

    
      Well, Santa has a burden for the ladies of Amanacer. So she hosted a ladies night last night at her home. Anna and I were able to go there and spend a little time pampering these ladies and telling them about God. We used the "satin hands" idea from Mary Kay and adapted it slightly. First we washed our hands thoroughly, then used the polishing scrub, moisturized them and talked about using anti-bacterial lotion to protect us from those things we cannot see, but that can harm us.

       After we finished that part of the evening, we talked about the need to follow those same steps in our spiritual lives. How we need God to cleanse our hearts from sin, to wash us clean so we can become His children. Once we accept Jesus, and become a child of God, the Father begins to shape us into a new creation. That means we are going to be changed. We will no longer live like the world. He begins to polish the rough edges, just like the scrub did to our hands. We talked about maintaining that relationship through having a friend to be accountable with, and to encourage each other. Finally, we talked about the Holy Spirit that is living within us, and how He helps us to stay healthy spiritually. 

 

   We shared refreshments and gave out gifts. We had a wonderful night. The Spirit of God was definitely moving in that place. The beginning of the evening Satan was fighting hard to distract from the things of God. We had a horrific downpour that flooded into the house we were meeting at. There was conflict with a neighbor. But God has blessed Santa's dedication. She was saying that she has dedicated her home to the Lord in whatever way he would choose to use. As a result, a little boy accepted Christ there that morning, and the ladies heard the gospel again that evening. 

     Please pray for the work that God is doing in Amanacer. That He would be honored and glorified by all that happens there.

Great Times with Incredible Women

     What a GREAT day Wednesday was! There were a few things to do at the house in the morning and then Anna had made plans for us to have lunch with some friends of hers. We went to a delightful little place called Para Te. It is a small oriental restaurant that serves DELICIOUS teas. For those of you who know me, oriental is NOT on my list of favorite foods, but the tea was great. And the company, even better!

   

  I had the honor to dine with seven missionary ladies, who Anna meets with for Bible study. They are from a variety of denominations, but with the most important thing in common. They love God, and it shows! Their laughter was contagious and we shared a wonderful lunch. Well, we couldn't didn't eat much of the food, but it gave us great moments of laughter as we tried!  Some, (Melinda and Anna) are heading home on furlough and one (Michelle) will be leaving the DR to follow God's leading to Alabama.  (Some may say that is still a foreign mission field, .) I think all of them had been in the DR over 5+ years and one dear lady, Betty,had been in Haiti for almost 15 years before coming here to start a Haitian church. 

      It was such a blessing to listen to them encourage one another, to lift each other up, to help out with various challenges that they are facing.I was challenged in my spirit to lift these families up, they face challenges DAILY that we can't imagine. I am again reminded that I take SO much for granted. May God continue to bless these incredible ladies and the work that they and their husbands are doing.

Later that evening, Anna led the ladies Bible study at their church. They had a great group there and they were so excited about studying God's Word. They had obviously done much studying at home and had a great discussion time. Again, what a blessing to hear God's people digging into the Word to hear what the Lord has for them in their personal walk.

What a picture lesson I got today! Spending time with those who have dedicated their lives to serving and teaching, and the fruit of the labor.

Finally on the way!

 

     Tuesday was a wonderful day for traveling! My flights were smooth and other than being about an hour leaving Miami, uneventful. I left Raleigh at 7AM and arrived in Miami at 9:15AM. Once in Miami, I had a layover until 12:25. So I found a quiet table in the back of a food court, got a Diet Coke and settled in to work on Handout sheets for Saturday's Bible Study. It was actually a very productive time.

     Once we boarded the plane there was a delay, but nothing drastic.They had us up and on the road. in the air in about an hour. The flight was very full and I sat beside a young man who appeared to be in his mid-twenties.

Franc (sp?) was from Haiti and lives about 20 minutes from Port-Au-Prince. We talked briefly about the earthquake and his family. I was quietly reminded how truly blessed I am.

     

The view from the window was beautiful. As you can see the blue water abound the islands is gorgeous! These pictures are as we passed over the Bahamas and the Turks and Cacaos Islands. As we approached the Dominican Republic, thick.dark clouds covered the center of the island. However, they broke a little as we approached Santo Domingo.  We landed, gathered our bags and went our separate ways. I had to laugh because I had been slightly concerned about traveling by myself, but everything was familiar and I had no problems. I was even able to help a few other people, who were confused about tourist cards. God does have a sense of humor!

  

   It took no time to get through customs and then outside to find Anna and Emily, waiting and waving. It is so exciting to be back! We had a quiet evening at the house and sorted through supplies and stuff,spent time "catching up" and sharing. I am so blessed to be here. 

What is your focus?

     Wow! The last week has been crazy! It seems life always takes over when you are trying to focus on God things! During a week that I thought would be a little hectic anyway with just last minute trip details, it seems things were constantly being thrown into the schedule that created small challenges.

      However, as Nathan reminded me, although things may seem scattered, God is still answering prayers. We need to focus on what God views as important. You see, during the multiple trips this week to transport Nathan between the doctor’s office and Camp Eagle, we had plenty of time to talk. And as I was quietly lamenting the lost time to prepare for the trip to the Dominican Republic, Nathan was reminding me of what God was doing. What a blessing it was to hear how God is answering the prayers of Nathan’s heart. As Nathan began work at the camp this summer, he was challenged to set some goals. And he set, in my opinion, great goals; to memorize Scripture, to be humbled and broken before God, and to lead someone to Christ. 

     Well, while I was frustrated, God was answering Nathan’s prayers and actually multiplying those answers as he was allowed to lead two people to Christ! How exciting! Our God is faithful and does exceedingly above what we ask if we are following His leading!

     I am looking forward to the next two weeks in the Dominican Republic. Yes, it will be great to see old friends, and meet new people, but more than that, I am looking forward to watching what God has in store for His people! I pray that as Nathan did, I will be humbled and broken before God. That He may be able to use this broken vessel, however He wishes, to bring honor and glory to the only one who deserves it, God Almighty.

God's Blessings

     This morning while I was praying, I was struck by all the things I am thankful for. The things, I too often, take for granted. I remember a friend telling me about a book she was reading called A Thousand Gifts.  I also recall seeing a link on a friend’s blog about A Thousand Gifts. So, I thought I would simply list some of the things I am thankful for today. They are in random order after the first few because they would be too hard to organize otherwise. 

I am thankful for. . . . .

1.       God’s love for me.

2.       Christ’s sacrifice for me.

3.       His mercy and grace each day.

4.       Being part of a church whose focus is on God and not itself. Wanting to serve, rather than to be served.

5.       Friends who are such an encouragement and inspiration to me daily.

6.       Steve, my husband of 25 years, and the 3 sons we have been blessed with.

7.       My children who love God with all their hearts.

8.       That God has placed a love in Drew, Bryan and Nathan’s hearts to teach and serve others.

9.       Kari, my dear daughter-in-law who loves both God and Drew,(in that order) with every ounce of her being.

10.   Sarah, who has brought such joy and fulfillment to Bryan. For her obvious love for God and Bryan and all those around her.

I am thankful for:

11.   The beautiful sunshine I am sitting in as I write this list.

12.   The vivid colors of the flowers in Spring.

13.   The long, luscious green grass that surrounds my home.

14.   A lawnmower that runs to cut that grass.

15.   The home that I live in.

16.   Electricity to have lights, refrigeration, and heating/air conditioning.

17.   The ability to pay the bill for that electricity.

18.   For food which fills the refrigerator and the ability to cook that food.

19.   For family and friends to share meals with.

20.   For coupons :)

I am thankful for:

21.   Rain which allows flowers to grow.

22.   Rain that resupplies reservoirs so I have water when I turn on the faucet.

23.   Rain which cleans the pollen out of the air.

24.   My early morning job of delivering papers.

25.   The van which I use to deliver those papers.

26.   Gas in that van and air in the tires.

27.   The friends that I have made who also deliver papers in the morning.

28.   The opportunity to share God with those friends.

29.   The customers whom I have met, many of who have been blessings in disguise!

30.   The income from delivering papers, though small, that helps to pay the bills.

I am thankful for:

31.   Nathan, who just asked me to come do something with him FOR FUN. :)

32.   Getting home this afternoon in time to find the utility man marking my yard when he was supposed to be marking a neighbor’s yard.

33.   Above reminded me to be thankful for the gas and cable lines which he had so colorfully marked!

34.   My car that just died, did it in a parking lot and NOT while Nathan was driving it!

35.   Insurance that has towing assistance included.

36.   A cell phone to be able to call for assistance.

37.   The many people who stopped to see if I need a jump. (Not the problem.)  

38. That we are in a safe place to be stranded! 

39. Being able to laugh with my oldest son about the car breaking down.

40. A safe place to sleep tonight.

There are so many more things . . . . 

                                                    . . . . . . much more to come.

"God's work done in God's way will never lack God's supply" — Hudson Taylor

     I love this quote! What an incredible reminder that if we follow God's leading and plan, He will provide our every need! 

    
      I have had the privilege and blessing to be able to travel on several mission trips in the last few years. Three of those trips have been to serve in a medical mission. Since I am not a trained medical person, I finally asked God why He continues to send me on medical mission trips. It doesn't make sense to me. I cannot do anything for these people medically, but God always has a plan if we are only obedient to follow.  God has allowed me to help people with vision problems find eyeglasses, He has placed me in the pharmacy filling prescriptions as well as other areas. And I am humbled each trip by the things God teaches me through these precious people.

   
    Despite my lack of skills in most of the clinic areas, I have become comfortable interacting with people in that setting because they have come to us seeking help. Since they initiated the contact, it feels like they have given you permission to relate with them. However, while in Antigua, Guatemala, God took me WAY out of my comfort zone!

    
     We had gone to Antigua to go to the market and do some
sightseeing. However, the group I was with didn't really 

want to do much.They were tired from the previous days 

at the clinic and they really just wanted to hang out and

relax. So that was how we spent most our
time that day. It was nice, but I really wanted to get to 

the market as this was our only day to shop. After 

literally 2-3 hours of sitting in an atrium area, we 

finally were headed to the market! While we were walking,
God through very direct prompting, lead us to the
only active Catholic church in the city. I didn't really 

want to go there, but God had a very different plan.

     Looking back, I think Satan must have known
what was about to happen because it was in the two blocks we took to get to the church, that our group came across the rudest person I have met in Guatemala. 

      There was a young girl who was very insistent to
sell her goods to one of the ladies in our group. She kept pursuing her even after having been told firmly, but politely, many times, "no, gracias." After realizing we were not going to buy anything, she continued to follow us down the two blocks saying things like "You Americans are rude. You are crazy. Go back to America, we don't want you here!" As we crossed the street to the church, she quickly left. 

 
      When we went into the church, it was beautiful and ornate. However, as we were admiring the church, I noticed a woman who came in went to the front of the center section and knelt to pray. As I sat in a side section and looked at the architecture, I was repeatedly drawn to this woman. I sat there not knowing why, but tears overwhelmed me. She was absolutely heartbroken and was sobbing in her prayer. I didn't know what was grieving her so, but all I could think about was that here she was crying out to Mary to intercede for her, when what she needed was Jesus! I sat there frozen in my pew. I prayed for her, but God kept saying that wasn't enough. Not this time. He wanted me to take the initiative and step out on faith. To be His hands. Not where others were coming to me, where it is safe. But to go to her, and maybe be rejected, but to follow Him. Finally, not knowing what I was supposed to do, I surrendered and went to the woman. She was still praying and I just sat beside her and put my arm around her.

      After a long time, when she finished praying, we were able to talk some. Even though she spoke NO English and I speak almost no Spanish, God allowed us to understand each other. Her son had a very critical medical need and she had no money to see a doctor.

     Long story short, I got her name, address and phone number and Dr. Jorge (one of the Dr.'s we were working with) called her and made an appointment to see them on the Monday after we left. At no charge. I have no idea what the illness was or what the results of treatment will be, but I pray that God will use this small thing to reach into her life and that she will see her need for Christ. But whatever outcome there may be, God used this to teach me more about trusting Him, and His perfect timing, and His perfect plan. Even though I may not always see His purpose, or understand His plan, if I will follow His leading and listen to His voice, He will take care of the rest. He is asking me to obey. May my response always be, wherever He leads, I'll go.

Enjoy the Journey

     How many times have I felt God leading me to do something and once I get the picture of the end goal, I run off and take my own path to get there? (Maybe that is why God often chooses not to show me the entire picture at once?) I am not trying to ignore God, I just get excited and run ahead. Trying to get to the goal as quickly as possible. It has taken me a long time to realize that the journey getting there is almost as important as getting to the finish line. Our "instant" society has taught us to hurry and get things done so that we can move on to something else. But in doing that, we miss so much. Often God is waiting to speak to us and teach us through the small things along the way. To bless us with things we wouldn't have dared to dream. He is just as interested in the smallest details of our life as He is the big ones. 

     My daddy was a master at enjoying the journey! And I DIDN"T appreciate it as a child. I remember one summer he decided we were going to take a family vacation to New England. We had talked as a family, and there were several places we all wanted to see. We went to Salem, Mass. and Stowe, Vermont. The Old Sturbridge Village in Massachusets and Fort Ticonderoga. We drove across New Hampshire (just to see the New England coastline), and we stayed one night in the Catskill Mountains of New York. We had a lot we do in one week!

      Each evening we would talk about where we were heading the next day and about how long it would take us to get there. Then in the morning we would set out on the journey. But Daddy never took the direct route anywhere. Usually he tried to avoid the "road most traveled". In fact, he would often find the little back roads.The ones that were curvy and took forever! We would be driving along, and he would see a little shop that he thought might have interesting things inside, and we would stop. He never met a stranger. He would strike up a conversation with the shop owner and before long he knew all about that person and the area we were traveling through. We would finally be back on the road headed for the days "goal". But before long, it would get to be lunchtime and he would find a picturesque picnic area to stop at. Usually under the trees beside a quiet stream. Then we would have lunch and eventually be back on the road. I would get so frustrated because I just wanted to get to the end destination. But Daddy was enjoying the journey. We eventually got to where we had planned to go and enjoyed getting to see the sites. But along the way, Daddy had learned things the rest of us missed. Daddy had seen the beauty of people and of God's creation.  

Enjoy today's journey!

How are we seen?

On Sunday nights, some friends and I are in a Bible study from the Inductive Study Series on II Timothy. Part of the study included making lists of what we learned about Paul and Timothy from the Scripture. Then the book asked the questions, "What attributes did Paul ascribe to Timothy? Of these attributes, which ones describe you? Which ones don't describe you? What could you change in your life to make the missing attributes become an accurate description of you?"

Making the list seemed like an easy task. But it was interesting how we each focused of different things. 

There were very specific things listed. . . .

Timothy:

     was beloved son (1:2)

     had a sincere faith (1:5)

     followed my (Paul's) teaching (3:10)

     continued in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom  you have learned them (3:14)

There were other things that were implied. . . .

Timothy:

      was faithful to Paul when others had deserted him (1:15)

     was trustworthy (the treasure was entrusted to him (1:14)

     was a teacher (2:2)

     had discernment (Could discern faithful men who could teach others) (2:2)

     Timothy was obviously a good friend to Paul. Timothy was dependable, reliable, encouraging, compassionate. Paul was imprisoned and knew he would die soon, and he wanted Timothy at his side! What a friend he must have been!

Which attributes describe us?
      Do we have a sincere faith? Or is a convenience faith? Does it make a difference in how I live every moment of every day? Or just on Sunday morning?
     Do we follow what we have been taught by the Master? Does our relationship with God affect our actions? 
     Are we faithful, even when persecuted? I know we don't really experience much persecution in America for  our faith. So why is it that we pray quickly over a meal in a restaurant (if at all)? We hesitate to take a stand when a friend may be offended? We sometimes hide behind the idea of lifestyle evangelism, instead of telling someone about Christ?
    Are we faithful to God even when others turn away? When a brother or sister strays, do we ignore it? Do we say anything? Do we figure we'll just pray for them? What if God urges us to take an active stance? Are we willing to take the chance? 
    Are we a good friend? Reliable? Encouraging? Compassionate? Do others want to have us around ? 


What changes do we need to make to become the people God intended us to be?


Lots to think about! and PRAY over!

Have a Blessed Day!

Why?

     As I begin this endeavor, my youngest son asked "Why? What do you have to blog about?" And He is right . . . . to a point. My daughter-in-law has a beautiful blog about all the things going on in her life. Another friend (Renee) has a blog that CRACKS ME UP! She is so uplifting and encouraging and FUNNY! 

     My life isn't really EXCITING, but it is FULL! So the purpose of my blogging is to help me create order of the things that run through my mind each day. My day starts in the early morning delivering newspapers. It is during this time that I do lots of praying, thinking and reflecting on things. My goal is to put these things in writing. I also want to record some thoughts about things God has taught is teaching me. Some are from past experiences and mission trips, others are from a Bible study with some other ladies.   

     Please feel free to comment if you would like. I would love to know what God is doing in your life and what He is teaching you. Have a blessed day!