Cloud of Witnesses

Hebrews 12:1 
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 
When we started WyldLife here in Jarabacoa, we discussed the necessity for our students to have strong Christian influences from the adults that they see every day, but in a more relaxed setting.  We talked about how our students crave attention and time with adults that they see care about them.  How this influence and relationship that we build with them will ultimately lead them to Christ. 

          It got me thinking back to the pivotal time in my life that I started getting serious about my future and my relationship with Christ.  I had the awesome opportunity to be a manager for our girls’ basketball team in high school.  My friend from math class, Jayme, (so high school, right?) asked if I would be interested in helping out.  My 6^th grade teacher was a basketball coach so I knew her and Jayme and decided that it could be fun and really liked the girls on the team and wanted to be cool like them (story of my life!).  Never did I believe that this opportunity would change my life.  

          I spent so much time working with the coaches, laughing, reliving our many, many, many inside jokes (that got put up on the wall of the coaches’ office), and talking with them.  I would just like to write down some of the inside jokes so that we have them written here…”Coach left her gum at the cottage.”  The Hub Bootery, “The balls are warm.” Lil Pimp Dog, “T is a leaper.”  Pat the Monkey, Wolf, The Abby Noll Play (all plays run by the players)…man those memories still bring a smile to my face.

          Some of my most memorable moments are when the coaches would spend time with us after games or practice and talk with us while we drank sparkling grape juice.  I remember craving this time with them and cherishing it deeply.  Now, I don’t know (7/8 years later!) if they would ever remember doing that, but they did and that meant the most to me.  It was them who created the “cloud of witnesses” around my heart that made me want to grow up to be just like them.  These women are 4 of the most amazing Christian women that I’ve ever known. 

           I knew that when I went to college I would miss that valuable time with the coaches.  Never did I imagine that the relationship that they began with us when I was 16/17 years old would continue until I was 24!  We have gotten together every single summer and Christmas since I left for college.  We all sit and talk about life and what things are new and reminisce about the “good ol’ days” of basketball.  All those ladies have left CHS to go on to bigger and better things, got married, had kids, kids growing up, going to school and college, growing…I love it.  I love being a part of their lives and am thankful that they are a part of mine.

          This time still blesses my heart.  I feel so encouraged in the decisions I have made and know that I can count on all of them to lift me up in prayer and encouragement throughout the year even if we don’t talk all that often between our gatherings.  So Dawn, Trinda, Beth, and Lisa, thank you.  You bless my heart and I am so thankful for who you are and the impact that you have had on my life. 

          So I think about my WyldLife kids and the potential influence that I could have on their lives and it encourages me.  I know that 1 person can make a difference in the life of a kid, and I am encouraged that God could use me to be that person to change a kid’s life and lead them to a relationship with Christ.  

Christmas Program

My 2 Roommates and Me

Karen, Myself, and Melisa

Nihcolle and Dannerys

Last night was our annual Christmas program.  It was exciting this year because our staff really got involved in many of the acts!  It was amazing to hear their beautiful voices.  Also, our staff has brought many talents to JCS afterschool activities, so it was fun to see the activities showcased at our program, celebrating Christ's birth. 

Mi Hondurena!

The highlight of the show (in my opinion) was the last act, in which my roommate Melissa had come up with a 12 Days of JCS skit that we then sang.  It was so funny, and although most of the people had left by that point, it was still fun to hear the parents dying laughing at what we were singing about.  It was all projected in Spanish up on the wall so that the parents who didn't speak English could still understand.
My students did a drama to the song Mary, Did You Know by Kathy Mattea.  It was so sweet and cute!  They all looked so good all dressed up.  I had a blast!  It was a great final celebration before our last week next week!

Jess, Myself, and Melisa

Jess, Myself, Melisa, and Laura

Karen and Me at the Program

Thanksgiving Weekend!

Melisa, me, and Jess with Santa

Best Friends Forever!!!

Wednesday was fall festival!  The students had a half day that started with chapel, then the kids basically went crazy, doing crafts, playing games, dancing, etc.  It was a blast.  Our theme this year was Cowboys, so all the kids looked SO cute in their cowboy/girl outfits! 

sweet Anthony

Last weekend for Thanksgiving weekend we decided to hit up the beach! :)  On Thursday we had a staff dinner for the Americans and Dominicans at our school.  It was a blast to share food (Dominican and American) together with our staff.  We had a blast and had wonderful food!  I was stuffed!

God Bless America snowman!

Friday morning, I headed to the beach with Melisa, Jessica, Allison, the Speciales, Ryan, and Caroline.  The ride up there was fun, through the mountains.  I had taken my motion sickness medicine, so I enjoyed the ride thoroughly!  :)  We spent the next two days lounging on the beach, at the pool, and watching TV.  It was fun to spend time with people that I love!  Our house had it's own little pool with a little table in the middle and bench (the judge's table) where the boys enjoyed jumping off and seeing who could jump the furthest.  It was fun to spend time with the two little boys that I love so dearly, Danny and Anthony.  They are good substitutes as I miss my little cousins so much and have been more or less absent over the last 3 years.  

Dan throwing Anthony into the pool

It was hard to come back to reality, but I enjoyed knowing that I would get to celebrate my half birthday!  And that I was going to get to go home in 3 weeks!!

Merry Christmas!

Half-Birthday

This past Thursday was my half birthday!  As exciting as it sounds, it was a good excuse to have a party and enjoy friends!  On Thursday night we had an awesome cake and some of my favorite people were here and we played Bananagrams.  The cake.  wow.  I cannot even begin to describe how yummy it was!  Marshmallow stuffing, a hard chocolate outer coating and chocolate cake with dulce de leche filling (translation unknown!)  It was a blast!  DJ Holla threw it down with some old school hits, which was so fun to sing and listen to!

Then on Friday we went to Santiago to go bowling and have dinner.  It was so fun!  I had never been bowling here nor was I ready for the frigid air conditioning that the bowling alley brought.  But alas, it was such a good time with people that mean a lot to me!  The men at the bowling alley were all up in arms because Caroline, who is about 33 weeks pregnant, wanted to bowl with us.  They were like, "Okay, you are all witnesses that we warned her not to bowl...in case something happens."  Good news:  James (Tigo) didn't make his appearance last night!  :)

I realize more and more how much I value the women that I have gotten to know here.  I am so thankful for the way that each has poured out into my life individually and together as a community.  It's something that I often think about and thank God for...

Tye-Dye!

Last Wednesday, I spent my afternoon tye-dying and eating pizza with my 5th grade girls.  It was such a blast.  Although I didn't take any pictures of us in the actual process, all of them wore their t-shirts/bandanas on Friday, so I decided to have a little photo shoot.  It was such a blast to hang out with all of them, although it was crazy! :)   On Friday, one of my students, Laura, told me that her mom bought her cookies (I think a cookie mix) to do at my house because her mom likes it when she comes to my house and bakes things.  I laughed a little inside when she told me this, but of course told her I would love to have her come over to my house to bake! :)

It made me feel good that the parents trust me with their children and that they desire to spend time with me!
I think they are such a fun group of girls to be around, and I am so thankful that they are in my life.  I think after Christmas, I am going to start a Bible Study with them.  Hopefully it can be a more serious time in which we learn more about Jesus and what it means to follow Him as we grow up.  If anyone has any suggestions of book studies that we can do for 11 year-old girls, feel free to give me your input.

Entrusted.

I love the word entrusted.  It carries a deep imagery of care and compassion that I find difficult to put into words.  I picture God holding me in His hands, entrusted to continually take care of me.  I picture Him, in turn, challenging me to hold onto others, Him trusting that I can give an outpouring of His love into the lives of others.


This morning, my personal devotional was about the passage in Luke that talks about the master and his servants.  The servant beats the menservants and maidservants because he doesn't think his master is coming back.  Jesus tells the parable to prove this crucial point, "From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked."  (Luke 12:48)
 As I think over what God has entrusted me with over the last 3 years here, my heart is definitely filled with joy and gladness over what He has given me.  These precious girls have been such a blessing in my life.  They have taught me how to love.  They have taught me what it looks like to be supportive and encouraging friends.  They have taught me that I desire to someday have children that have many of the personality traits that each one possesses.  I could go on and on as to why I love them so deeply.
God has definitely entrusted them into my care.  Although I deeply miss them as students, I know that God is still working on our relationships.  I am lucky enough to see them everyday during break time, lunch time, after school, and any other random times I happen to bop into their classroom.  They still make me feel special every time that I get hugs or notes or encouragement from them.
They still invite me to their birthday parties and their parents still love on and accept me, just like they did last year.  It feels good to still be loved by them and their parents too.  I love having them over to my house.  I love that God has entrusted me with guarding their hearts for the future, teaching them about Him and his beautiful saving power, and the deep glorious riches that they can possess when they trust in Him.  For them, I would ask you to pray that they would continue to grow in their knowledge and faith in Jesus, despite what the world may tell them.  I love their innocence and pray that it would continue throughout the rest of their lives.  These precious little girls have a special place in my heart, and I am so thankful that I have gotten to know each and every one of them.

Entrusted.

Another area in which God has entrusted me over these three years is with the friendships that I have built.  I know that God has definitely blessed me with the gift of encouragement and I love to pour out the love that God has shown me onto my friends.  When I first came to this country, I was so unaware of the deep love that I would feel for my coworkers.  In our small, close-knit community, my coworkers have become deep friends that I can't imagine my life without.
 I feel entrusted with the ups and downs of their lives.  I feel entrusted with the need to pray for them.  And now that many are starting a new chapter in their lives, I feel entrusted to care for them in a new way, supporting them and encouraging them.  As I honestly realize my time
here in the DR is short, I feel burdened to deepen the relationships and really pour myself into them as I know that so many have done to me in the past.  I'm thankful God has given me the opportunity to shine and pour myself into the people that I care about.  I also love that I am able to entrust my life into the lives of my friends here.  I feel such warmth and encouragement when I am able to talk about life and my heart with the people that I know care deeply about me.



In this season of Thanksgiving, I realize more and more how thankful I am for the blessings that God has so graciously given me.  Blessings of new and old friends, blessings of students and how they teach me how to love, blessings of the joy of the journey...

Maryed's Outreach



Laura, Maryed, and I



One of my favorite students from my class last year is a part of of a camp through YWAM where she goes and learns about how to become a missionary.  Once a month she goes to camp and they do some pretty awesome things, but at the end of the weekend they go out into the community and perform:  dances, skits, monologues, etc. to the people.  It's so awesome. 



Maryed, Laura, and I waiting for her outreach to start!