God is good!

So I haven’t actually written in almost 2 weeks so I figured it was about time for some updates. The past two weeks have been a bit crazy to say the least. I ended my third week here trying my best to get ready for the craziness that was about to start last Saturday. So Saturday came and I packed up almost everything in Jaibon and left for Monte Cristi. It was the best week ever! It was a beautiful thing because it felt so much like home. I was so excited to be able to spend time with the kids there that I have grown to love so much. It makes me so excited for August when I get to move there for the year! Graystone was also there that week which made it that much better. It was so good to have friends there and people that know me from outside of the Dominican (kind of!). Although, I must say, last week was very odd because two very important people weren’t there. Steph, we talked about you all the time and my heart sank thinking about you not getting out of that bus with everyone else. And, Katie, my friend, sometimes I feel like I’m living without my right arm without you here in the Dominican. Praying for you both like crazy!

So last week we did a VBS in the morning for 300 kids and a baseball camp in the afternoon at a local field! It was so much fun seeing so many familiar faces and getting to hang out with people I love. It was a blessing from the Lord at just the right time.

If I’m honest though, I must say that yesterday was probably the hardest day since I have been here. Graystone left yesterday… it was weird saying “see you next year in the Dominican” instead of “see you in a few months.” It just keeps hitting me that I won’t be seeing people for a very long time that have been in my life consistently for the past couple of years. I also had to say goodbye to the kids in Monte Cristi. I know that I will be living with them for a year in five weeks, but it just hurt to have to leave those kids that have become family. I also said goodbye to Sharon and Mateo yesterday. God put these two people with me from the beginning in Jaibon and they have been gifts. I lived with Sharon for almost a month and shared life with both of them for the past four weeks. Sharon will be back in September, but living without her here until then is going to be rough. Mateo was like my brother here. However, I am filled with hope and excitement for him because God did something crazy in his life yesterday while he was traveling home! It is insane to see the ways God speaks to us! God’s plans are better than ours, that’s for sure!

It’s slowly hitting me that as exciting as it is for me to be able to meet so many new people and build lots of new relationships, it is also extremely hard to say goodbye. Yesterday was emotionally exhausting and I have only been here for four weeks. I can’t imagine what the end of the summer will look like. But God is so faithful and I am finding my identity in Him… not in relationships, not in having a place to call home, but solely in Him. He is so good! And as much as yesterday was emotionally hard, this weekend God has revealed Himself in so many ways. He is daily opening my eyes more and more to the ways He speaks to us, even if in gentle whispers. I cannot even begin to describe the way God has divinely orchestrated conversations and interactions with people this weekend. He is our one and only Lover and is pursuing us relentlessly! I am forever overwhelmed and grateful!

I am absolutely loving the Dominican! I have such peace about being here and God never ceases to amaze me with the ways He is so intimately working in my heart and in the people here. I appreciate all of your prayers and miss every single one of you! Love ya’ll! Rock it out for the LORD!

“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not n what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
Romans 4:16-18

Sorry this was an incredibly long blog :)


I just had to share a picture from turantula hunting! Haha! Love it :)

A few pictures...

A group picture of all the interns and most of the kids that live at the orphanage in Jaibon.

Manuel... This little boy holds a special place in my heart. I see Jesus in the progressions in Manuel's life the past month.


AND I see Jesus everywhere I go down here... BEAUTIFUL!

Sharon and I eating McDonald's! Sharon has been my roommate for the past month. She is a gift from God... so glad she is staying for two years!

Amanda and I standing on a piece of shaking metal with a 50 ft drop underneath! This girl has been a God-send in my life this summer. Don't know what I would have done without her. God is good!

Graystone! This is the classic picture at the top of El Morro. Steph, you should be next to me! We have talked about you all week my sister... wish you were here!

Mi Casa!

So this is just a short little video of where I am staying in the DR! Hope you can hear it!

feels like home...

So for the first time since I have been here, I am sitting in my room... on my computer.. listening to music... and it feels like home. Complete with the spider I just killed, the rain on my tin roof, and the sound of 22 boys' laughter in the background. I love life here. I love the simplicity. I love the kids at the orphanage. I love the constant pouring into the lives of the girls here. I love seeing God's beauty in creation. I love that my porch is a roof. I love that I live with people who have the same passions as me. I love that the Lord is stretching me. I love it all!



So last week was both crazy and a breath of fresh air. We had a group of 50 high schoolers here that added so much energy. Though I felt like I was constantly busy, it was neat to see them experience life here for the first time. They began building volunteer housing and almost completed an entire building in 6 days! It was insane! I also organized the first ever VBS camp in Jaibon. We did one session in the morning and one in the afternoon Monday-Thursday. I honestly am completely humbled to be a part of the beginning of everything here at Jaibon. It is awesome to see the ways God has worked here already and the huge things He has done just in the past two weeks. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that this is where God wants me. My eyes are now opened to the way the journey of this past year has all led me to this place. God has used situations in the past couple of years to prepare me for everything that is Jaibon. I feel like God created a special place in my heart for the Dominican and I am overwhelmed to be spending the next year here.

Everytime I am on this island, I feel that the Lord breaks me and molds me more to look like Him. Right now I see Him prying my fingers off all sense of control that I have on my life. I have no idea what I will be doing in two weeks much less throughout the next year. I could be living here, I could be living in Monte Cristi... who knows, it could be somewhere completely different. I have always been in control of relationships with people in the sense that I could always at least pick up the phone and call my friends and family... it has been a huge struggle to no longer have that, but God is faithful and teaching me to find my identity in Him... reminding me that this was never a story about me. I am finding surrender to the King in this place... all for the sake of THE Kingdom. I want the Gospel to radiate from me. Ahh, God is good!

Things you could be praying for...
-Next week we are going to Monte Cristi for the week! Pray for the interns adjustment to a different place with different people.
-Pray for the hearts of the interns here... huge gains are made daily and I am seeing people fall more in love with the Lord.
-Pray for Christopher. He is 11 and got to the orphanage two weeks ago. His dad died in an accident and he is suffering from the pain of loss.

So some other exciting news...
-I went turantula hunting today!!! It was sooo much fun! We caught about 20 turantulas and it we had a great time with the boys that live here!
-I am going to Monte Cristi on Saturday!!! So excited to see my Dominican family there and to be with Graystone for a week!
-We are going to Santo Domingo on Friday for some history in the capital!

I love you all!

Oh, and I love mail :) So if you want to send some... here is my address!

Heather Colbert
Hogar la Esperanza de un Nino
Calle Altagracia #80
Monte Cristi, Dominican Republic

Estoy aqui!

I am here! Soooo much to say, yet so little time! I'm sitting looking across my "porch" (which essentially is the roof of the second floor of a building!) at the mountains, waiting for a storm to start, and listening to high school volunteers sing the "moose" song. This past week and a half has been incredible. I got to Jaibon late on a Saturday night with nothing but the books in my backpack (American Airlines tends to always lose my luggage... ha!). Saturday night 12 interns also arrived. They will be here for either 1 month or 2. It has been such a blessing to get to know them. I have seen God work in incredible ways through them and it has not even been two weeks. Homesickness seemed to be the emotion that most of the girls were feeling at first, but God has worked to create unity, community, and a passion for the Dominicans in each of these girls' hearts. It is insane to watch the transformation. They are loving it and I am loving it. The first couple of days were definitely a transition... not into the way of life... but into my leadership position. I can't say it was easy to lead 12 interns at an orphanage I had never been to before. But God has been so faithful... teaching me lessons about finding my strength and confidence in Him alone. He has proved over and over that when I am weak, He is strong. It is amazing.

So what exactly am I doing here? Well last week we did work projects all week to prepare for the group of 50 high schoolers that joined us this past Saturday night. However, most of the summer will entail Bible camps within the local villages and at the orphanage. I am the program leader here at Jaibon, so I oversee all camp programming and activities with the kids here at the orphanage. In addition to that, I am working with about a dozen college-aged interns... investing in their lives and praying for life changes over the course of the summer. I long to see God shatter their dreams and replace them with His. I want them to fall in love with their Savior like they never have before. Some of the weeks this summer we will have big groups come in where I also want to pour into the volunteers.

God's plan for me at Jaibon has far exceeded my expectations. It has been absolutely incredible to see changes in the 22 boys that live here already. I see the timidness fade away... replaced with smiles. I see excitement for activities with each other. But most of all, I see them feeling loved by others. It is beautiful to watch. I am so humbled by the opportunity to be here at the beginning and watch the Lord unfold a beautiful plan for Jaibon.

Please pray for...
-Unity between interns and 1 week volunteers
-For 22 changed lives in the hearts of the boys
-For continual community to be built between the interns
-For my heart to be open to the continual plan God has for me in the DR this next year

Sorry that was so long! I love you all!

Hasta luego from the island full of moto-bees, ants that crawl through mosquito nets, beautiful sunsets, turantulas, insane creation, and tons of people with beautiful hearts!