Does this look familiar?

It’s official. Both team leaders have now visited “Hotel Hospiten.” Jimmy has been diagnosed with pneumonia—thankfully it’s not as bad as what I had so he should be out either this afternoon or tonight. As the Fall Visit people (Cayla, Lis, and Keith) have been here the last few days, this is just another bump in the road that they have been able to support us through. In honor of all of these things and what God has already been doing in the last 10 weeks of our stay here, we threw a fiesta in the hospital (which we keep calling the hotel) room with a cake:

 

God is good! Praise God that in the midst of chaos and change, He has been providing our team with the guidance, affirmation, and encouragement that was much needed to continue our work here. Praise God that Jimmy is getting the medical attention he needs to get back on his feet and back to work! We need him!

Above: In the hospital with Stint Team and Cayla, Keith, and Lis.

“My job is to trust God”

When I was told that a man named Keith Onishi, the CCC Campus Ministry Director for Latin America (pretty much the head honcho for university ministry in this part of the world) was coming to visit us in the Dominican Republic this week, I had a few expectations. I was told he had spent the past eight years living in Venezuela leading Stint teams and national directors in the mission. Expectation number one was judging by the last name, he's probably Japanese (are we sure this is the Latin America leader guy?) Expectation number two is that his Spanish is probably superb by now, given his experience in Venezuela. Now, I've already personally said this to him and he laughed, so I know it's ok so say out loud (or in blog or wherever this ends up), but when we picked him up from the airport, two things were confirmed: he is indeed half Japanese, but his Spanish sounds less like a Venezuelan national and more like I did in high school when I had to do an oral exam. In his defense, he totally understands Spanish that is spoken to him and can speak it clearly. It just wasn't what I had expected.

But the coolest part of this surprise was that I was able to actually believe him when he said every day it is by faith that he trusts the Lord to give him the tools he needs to do his job. He even shared about a time from his first year or two in Venezuela where he was listening to this student just pouring out his heart to him, telling him personal pains that he hadn't revealed to anyone else. He admitted that he actually only understood about 25% of what the guy was actually saying and felt like it would kill the mood to stop him and ask for clarification. Years went by and Keith was able to build a deeper relationship with this student and be a crucial part of his spiritual growth. Although it was embarrassing for him to ask the student questions about his personal life years later that he had actually already told him those things in that first conversation, he realized that what the student needed more than anything was to know that someone cared. That someone would represent Jesus in that moment and sit in the grief and pain he was going through and intercede with prayer. How precious is that?

Friends, praise God with me that He has--in his perfect timing--sent Keith and the rest of the Fall Visit team here to us now as an encouragement to our mission at UASD. This exact frustration of not being able to connect with students on heart issues for the language barrier had been wearing me out, causing me to doubt my ability to be an effective instrument of God. But to hear that the Campus Ministry Director for Latin America--a Japanese, English speaking guy with no previous life experience in the area--has been trusting God with His purpose in placing him in that specific position, and in the midst of that witnessing an abundance of fruitfulness result from that trust, fills me with hope that our team can do the same in the midst of our weaknesses.

Keith's visit also helped revive my heart for the ministry here specifically in the Dominican Republic/Latin America as he shared some ways that God has been moving here in the last few years. Just a snapshot of how God is working through campus ministry in Latin America:

• Campus Crusade for Christ movements currently exist in half of the 42 countries in the Latin America/Caribbean area!
• Many countries now have movements in multiple universities in different cities, rather than just one. For example,
• A Venezuela national was just sent to pass on what they received through CCC by ministering to students in North Africa!
• CCC has presence in Haiti, a nation that is not only hurting from the aftermath of disaster, but also in spiritual darkness as voodoo and witchcraft remain a common practice.

Read more about Keith Onishi, his decision to follow the calling to Venezuela, and his ministry here. Pray for him, his wife, and three kids as they have just made the move back to the States this summer after 8 years of life in a completely different culture.

Mourning into Dancing

This song popped into my head today and can I just say, it’s funny how sometimes the songs you least want to sing are the ones you need most:

This is How We Overcome-Mourning into Dancing by Hillsong

Up until the last week I really hadn’t experienced much homesickness. But this week, it hit me pretty hard. It’s probably a combination of being in the hospital without the family, being tired, feeling like I don’t know what I’m doing, and missing the easiness of some parts of life in the States that is contributing to this sadness. I know that “a cheerful heart is good medicine and a crushed spirit dries up the bones (Proverbs 17:22),” but some days it’s really hard to move past the flurry of emotions that comes with working overseas.

It was totally a God thing that I ended up watching the video for this song rather than just listening to it. There’s a part where they sing “This is how we overcome” and they make this “raise the roof” motion with their hands. At first this just looked silly to me and I wanted to laugh. But then I thought about what this posture means. It’s lifting your arms to God and with each pumping of the arms you’re pressing the praise back into His court. None of it belongs to me. And He is deserving of my praise regardless of the kind of day I’ve had. This is one of the weirder things I’ve done alone and I’m glad my roommates weren’t around when I gave it a try to see what it felt like. I felt awkward at first, raising my hands to God…by myself…in my room…watching a youtube video. But it was actually medicating as I began to think of more reasons that I could lift my hands in the air and praise my God in the midst of my homesickness. I’ve been able to bless people through prayer. I’ve received so much care from our church family and Leyla and Prospero. I am receiving peace that passes all understanding as I come before God and ask him to comfort me. I’m glad that God doesn’t ask us to forget about our problems and just move on. He invites us to lay our burdens on Him and find rest (Matt 11:28-30). Sometimes it’s hard to praise God when your sadness and anxieties are at the forefront of your thoughts. But try it—and watch Him turn your mourning into dancing!

You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing.
You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy, that I might sing praises to you and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever! –Psalm 30:11-12

Giving Praise!

The first Stint team, of first year Stinters, led the first outreach ever at Vida Estudantil today! It went really well and I want to praise God by sharing with you how it went!

In place of our regular 1pm Tuesday Vida Estudantil meeting, we empowered the students in our ministry to serve the campus in two ways. We had one team picking up trash nearby the Facultad de Arte and another serving up red punch and candy while students came to fill out Spiritual Interest Questionnaires. These surveys help us get an understanding for who is interested in knowing more about God and who would like to participate in our ministry. At first the students were a little shy as we asked them to go up to people and invite them over for free refreshments, but they ended up bringing over 100 students to our table in just an hour! We were able to connect with some of these students studying anything from publicity to medicine and personally invite them to join us at one of our weekly gatherings.

I got to talk with a group of three girls in their first year studying design, and while we didn't engage in a spiritual conversation, they seemed to enjoy the conversation and were already making plans to come together to a Thursday night meeting! Think of all the people that heard that there is a place where people can investigate God and learn how to share Him with the rest of the 160,000 students on this campus. I get excited when I think about who we may have met today that will be one of the forerunners of the ministry later this year. There could be someone who will help lead our ministry in serving the campus at large. There could be someone who will be a great teacher. How many of them will come to know Christ as their savior through conversations that result from this event?

Pray that God would help us maintain contact with the students who came today with interest in knowing more about God and how they can be a part of a community of believers who want to impact the campus for Christ! Pray that our arms would open wider to welcome these new students into our ministry and that Vida Estudantil would be a place where they receive care and spiritual growth. Pray for the Facultad de Arte (School of Art) and the people that spend time near the building. Ask God to place a curiosity about our group on their hearts, that they would see our compassion and love for one another and want to know more about the God that spurs us on to do it.

Hotel Hospiten

If you haven’t heard already from facebook, my teammates’ blogs, or elsewhere, I was admitted to the hospital on Sunday afternoon to be treated for pneumonia. It took a good six weeks to recover from it when I got it two years ago, so this time when I had bronchitis coupled with trouble breathing, I figured I should probably get checked up on. It was our first experience in a hospital in the DR. To be honest, I was a little shocked when they said they were keeping me overnight after taking a look at my “rayos x”:

After taking some blood, giving me breathing treatments, and administering a shot, I was sent up to a room—which actually ended up being one of the most comfortable places I’ve been since living in the DR! It was air-conditioned. It had cable television. There was “room service.” It had hot water. There were no ants crawling around. My teammates were always taking great care of me and someone was always by my side—something I could definitely appreciate as it’s times like these when you wish your family could be around. N. even made sure to document the occasion:

                

Jimmy helping with the breathing mask               Jess got locked in the bathroom!

 I don’t think my team minded sitting in the room with me as long as there was cable tv to watch!

Yes, she even got a picture of me getting a CAT scan!

                

Mmm room service!                      I think the nurse thought we were a little goofy…

So while it was a little embarrassing to have my team nearby while I had to pee in a cup, hawk up stuff from my lungs, and breathe albuterol from a Darth Vader mask, it was certainly an answer to prayer from a previous week of getting some much needed rest. Ironically enough, the day before I was admitted, I was studying the different Greek meanings of the word “rest” used in the Bible. The word epanapauo means to cause one to rest (Luke 10:6), as opposed to the word anapauo meaning to offer rest (Matt 11:28). This trip to the hospital, although not ideal, was certainly a way for God to bless me by causing me to rest. Take a break from planning small group, take a couple of days to quiet your anxieties about team dynamics, escape the pressures of wanting to fit into another culture and rest. Jesus knew I needed some extra loving from my team, and even extended that by having our pastor, friends from church, and the students from Vida Estudantil visit me in the hospital with gifts and cheerful company. Family, friends from home, and even people I don’t know were praying for me as I took my 4 day sabbatical in Hospiten (name of the hospital). It wasn’t what I could have ever predicted, but I definitely felt God’s care upon me as I recovered this week. And I’ve learned next time to take the offered rest so I don’t have to go through the uncomfortable consequences of the caused rest!

Shout Out

I want to bring your attention today to a few people who are also working alongside me in ministry here in the Dominican Republic.

The first person I want to mention is Laura from my home church in Nevada who is using her personal purse making business to provide some of my financial support to be here. She really does make the cutest purses, wallets, and coin bags and it’s all from recyclable materials! Check out her site for Flat Tire Purses at http://www.shop.flattire.us/

Second is three of my teammates who also have blogs that you should follow for even more stories about what God is doing in the lives of students at UASD and in our crazy day to day happenings. Check them out:

Natasha--http://drnatasha.blogspot.com/

Brianna--http://diosesfieltodoeltiempo.blogspot.com/

Jimmy--http://jimmydavis5.blogspot.com/

Night Vida a hit!

Thanks to all for praying for the kickoff of our first Vida Estudantil meeting at night! We were hoping to see some of the contacts we made show up, but when they didn’t, we just went around the library (our meeting spot) and invited anyone and everyone to join us for our Bible study. It was exciting to see 15 people show up just from our invitation! R. got everyone to interact with each other through introductions and a fun game. L. shared with them who we are, what the mission for Campus Crusade is, and what we hope to see happen on their campus. J. led a discussion on John 3:16-21. The students weren’t shy about sharing with the group what stood out to them in the passage. We could have kept talking forever it seemed, but many students have classes right after our meeting.

After the meeting, I got to talk to a girl—we’ll call her Cathy*—who is very outgoing and sweet. We first talked about her major of marketing, then American movies, then she shared with me that she doesn’t really go to church or have a spiritual background. This surprised me because most people we’ve talked to on campus have some kind of experience with the church. I asked her to share more about her beliefs and I was later able to share part of my testimony about how I used to seek satisfaction in various places—relationships, image, attention from guys—but they all failed to fill that void in my life. When I started seeking God and asking him to meet my needs of companionship, affirmation, and attention, he didn’t disappoint me and for the first time I felt satisfied with my life. She said she wanted to live an abundant life and before I could even explain to her how one receives Christ, she told me that she just had in that moment! We prayed together and have made plans to get together next week. Pray for this girl and that she would begin to see God changing areas in her life, that she wouldn’t worry when she is met with doubts, but that she would know God deeply. Praise God!

Riots at UASD

While a couple of girls on our team were on campus today, a riot broke out. Guns were shot, rocks were thrown, and gas bombs were going off. Fortunately, they made it off campus safely and we stayed near our apartments the rest of the day. However it was unnerving to receive calls and texts from students in our ministry who were in buildings on campus in lock-down status, unable to leave until the threats were gone. While we still don’t know the main cause of the riot, we do know that these are not uncommon to UASD. In fact, the police are actually banned from being on campus due to an abuse of their presence in past situations. I happened to be running errands near campus and besides the noise from heavier-than-normal traffic on the streets I wouldn't have been able to sense the danger that existed just a street away. It’s sad that students are so accustomed to these types of things. They already know the drill: classes will be cancelled, some people might get arrested, life will go on tomorrow. I’m still unsure how to react to this situation, but praise God that everyone on the team is safe and that the students in our ministry are ok.

On another note, you can all be praying for a BIG thing that will be happening tomorrow: we will be starting the first Vida Estudantil night-time meeting! There is a huge amount of students that are free between classes at night and we found it highly necessary to reach these students by providing a place for them to come and investigate God through community while they wait for their next class :) We’ve already met a lot of students who are seeking God and are interested in joining our group through our night-time evangelism hours and are even bringing along a couple of students already involved in Vida Estudantil to help us kick it off. Pray that the students we invite will show up and that God will speak through us as we share the Gospel and encourage them engage in spiritual conversations as a group.

103

=My temperature the last two days. Thus I don’t have much to post besides some prayer requests that I have had lots of time to think about while laying in bed:

• That God would give our team wisdom as we determine what a discipleship program would look like for students in Vida Estudantil. We are hoping to start groups of 3 students and one leader in the beginning of November, but before we can do that, we need to identify students who are ready for it and develop “curriculum” that we will be going through.
• Vida Estudantil is going to have it’s first retreat this November. This camp will be a great way for students to connect with each other, learn more about their faith, and learn about their areas of giftedness so that they can lead out of their strengths. It will cost about 2,000 RD, or about $55 US dollars to attend, which is a lot of money for these students. In order to use camp facilities throughout the country, we need a minimum of 30-50 students to come. There are about 30 regular attendees of Vida, with as many as 50 some weeks.  Pray that the money will be provided, that we would trust God for enough students to come, and that He would help us as we plan for the retreat.
• In general for my teammates. For some, this has been their first time sharing their faith with others. To have spent a few days a week for the last month doing this is a huge challenge! It’s been cool to see them grow and trust God to help them initiate spiritual conversations, but I know it is also draining. Pray that we all will continue to be energized to share our faith by experiencing a renewed compassion for the lost each day. Between getting sick, being physically exhausted from the heat, mentally exhausted from planning/meetings, missing home, we are all having our ups and downs. Pray that we are able to love each other through our moments of weakness and share each other’s burdens. AND that we would continue to cultivate our personal walks with the Lord our main priority, that we wouldn’t be distracted or run out of time in the day, but that we would be thirsty for Him and respond by spending time with Him.

::I love my job ::

I know this must sound strange juxtaposed with my previous post—and this has been one of the most challenging weeks so far—but I really do enjoy my specific role on this team.

The five of us are each in charge of some aspect of the ministry, and I am responsible for making sure that our team is growing in our relationships with each other and with God. My weekly duties are to prepare for (or delegate the preparation to someone else) our team’s weekly events tailored to meet these needs: our team’s Wednesday night small group, Tuesday prayer and worship (where I get to lead by singing and playing my guitar!), devotional before our Friday staff meetings, monthly half day with the Lord, and team outings! B. makes sure that students in Vida Estudantil and those we reach out to during evangelism are being cared for and connected to others in the ministry. Besides co-leading the team with me, J. is also responsible for any team training that we may need to share our faith more effectively. R. is our team admin person who keeps us accountable for how we spend our time each week and gives us guidance as we create personal ministry goals for the week. N. uses her detail-oriented gifts to coordinate outreach events and as she is the most fluent in Spanish, does a lot of correspondence with the national staff.

I realized how it truly is a blessing to be able to serve in a position of your personal area of giftedness when I was talking with a couple of my teammates about spiritual gifts a couple of weeks ago. There are times when God asks us to do things that require us to serve in areas where we are not naturally gifted (for me, this would be public speaking or anything artsy). But when He asks us to serve in our areas of passion (for me, this is singing, connecting people, and encouragement) we feel inspired. There may be challenging aspects of serving even in your areas of giftedness, but for the most part, it comes naturally and we fulfill our desire to live with a purpose.

Don’t get me wrong, I still shake and tremble when I have to sing in front of my teammates, and feel vulnerable when I have to share a devotional that comes from something God had been showing me that week. I don’t know the first thing about what my teammates need to hear in small group. But I do know this:

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. –2 Corinthians 12:9

Praise God even as we are being stretched beyond what we ever thought we could be stretched and may it bring Him glory!

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