esperanza

rain.

2012-02-13T09:02:00.000-08:00

It's been raining since 5 am this morning which makes today kind of like a snow day in the States. I went to school this morning and only 1 student showed up, meaning I got to come home early. When it rains a lot, it brings the same sort of feeling as when it's snowing... the town shuts down, kids don't go to school, people make soup and stay cozy in their houses, and it's one of the few times when you can wear sweatpants and a sweatshirt and not be sweating. I love it. So I'm curled up on the couch with a good cup of coffee (of course) and thought I'd post a few pictures...

This is our "teapot." Here you don't find people making tea with teabags because you can just go out in your backyard, pick some leaves off of several trees, and make some pretty amazing tea. I've been sick and this is the tea that a friend made last night for my cough.

I absolutely LOVE the ocean... so thankful to live so close.

Truth. Our chalkboard :)

Two precious little boys that I love dearly :)

happy valentine's day.

love!

blessed.

2012-02-03T17:20:00.000-08:00

Blessed seems to be the only word I can find to express life right now. There is this indescribable knowing deep down in my soul that this is exactly where I am supposed to be. And even on the extremely hard days, I wake up each morning thankful to be able to live and love people here. There is so much joy in the little moments, the precious smiles, the heart-to-heart conversations over big cups of coffee, the hugs from my students, the crazy things that five-year-olds say, the gift of watching the twins grow up, the opportunity to live within an hour bus ride of both orphanages... the list is endless.

Last weekend, we took a trip to the opposite side of the country to see five precious souls that I love with my whole heart. Jose Luis, Indiana, Nena, Joanni, and Luz Maria used to live in Monte Cristi at the orphanage, but now live with their mom. It was incredible to be able to see them again and the weekend was full of laughing, getting our hair done, reading books, singing, coloring, hugs, and all the other fun things that we used to do when we lived together. Blessed.

These are just a few pictures from the trip...

Joanni, Nena, Luz Maria, me, and Emilee when we first got to their house.

Indiana, Luz Maria, and Nena with their mom.

Me and Indiana

Precious Luz Maria

The whole group

blessed.

fotos.

2012-01-10T16:03:00.000-08:00

Happy 2012! It hasn't even been two weeks into the new year, but already God is moving in incredible ways. Thank you for all of your prayers and constant encouragement! These are some pictures from the past month...

Andres... one of my favorites.

Yasmine, Paola, Yessica, and I on Christmas Eve. Noche Buena is full of huge dinners and new clothes and lots of photos.One of my students at our Christmas party on the last day of school.Galan taking a break from one of the most intense games of Monopoly I've ever played.Waiki. More monopoly.
Christmas Eve dinner at the orphanage in Monte Cristi.Arianni... sooo grown up.And her twin sister, Ari!Yessica.Gregory hanging lights on the tree in the entry way of the orphanage in Jaibon.Our infamous greca (coffee maker) that exploded (literally!) in our kitchen...

Emilee in the aftermath of the greca-explosion. We may or may not have brought the hose inside to clean up the mess :)

Hope you had a wonderful Christmas and New Year's :)

glimpses.

2011-12-14T19:23:00.000-08:00

Cuidad de Luz :: City of Light. The name of the school where I teach definitely describes the kids in my class. They are all so full of so much light and joy and life and I love each of them so much. All 23 of them. Here are most of them a few weeks ago...

In a lot of ways, we do things you may have done in Kindergarten. We learn letters and play with blocks. We learn to count and cut and paste. We sing songs and learn Bible verses.

We like to take pictures and play at recess. We have special helpers and win prizes for good behavior and attendance. We don't always enjoy doing work, but most days we leave with smiles on our faces.

We write in notebooks and love to color and are always practicing our handwriting.

But in other ways, we do things very differently. We speak Spanish instead of English. We bring plantains and yuca for snack instead of oreos or pringles. We bring pesos to buy our snacks and there is always enough for everyone.

We talk about where I'm from and how most of them haven't seen snow before. We still like to play with pogs here and get excited about the ones that come as prizes in our potato chips. We sing a different national anthem than I'm used to singing every morning and my students call me Profe (Pro-fay).

But mostly, we just LOVE. And so while there may be a few tiny differences, we are mostly all the same. Kids are kids and no matter where they are from, they find joy in the simple things. And so the more time I spend with them, the more I get to see glimpses of life through their eyes... and through His. I'm so blessed.

life.

2011-12-08T11:27:00.000-08:00

The past few months have been so full of all things old and new and beautiful and difficult and life-giving. My heart feels fully alive here and I can't imagine being anywhere else. It seems that the longer I am here, the more I can't imagine leaving. Though it seems hard to explain, I can only say that my heart was made for this place.

I love my students to no end. Teaching was harder than I ever expected at first, and the only way I made it during those days was through the Lord's strength and wisdom. But time has passed, all my teaching background has come back to me, and now I find myself missing my students on the weekends and loving being able to spend part of my days with them. As I fill out their report cards, I find it hard to believe that it's already December and the school year is almost half over.

Em and I spend Saturdays in Jaibon at the orphanage and with friends and family there. The boys at the Jaibon orphanage are and will always be a huge reason why I am here. I can't imagine not being involved in their lives as they grow up.

Em and I with Luis Alberto and Jonel in Jaibon.

Our Sundays usually consist of planning and spending time at the orphanage in Monte Cristi. We are blessed to have roots in this town already. As we dream of real change, freedom, redemption, and hope, we have realized again the importance of roots, time, and trust. Discipleship doesn't come quickly and true trust is established through lots of ups and downs. And that's what we want to be here for.

We started art/sewing classes for girls a couple afternoons a week. The classes are definitely at the beginning stages, but we are excited to see where the Lord will take everything. One of my heart's deepest desires is to see women here understand their worth and value and find true freedom in their identity in Christ and who He has created them to be. Poco a poco.

Be looking for more pictures and updates soon, but that is a short overview of life here :)

la casa.

2011-10-08T11:21:00.000-07:00

This week has been exciting, exhausting, new, rewarding, and hard all at the same time. Blessed. That's really all I can say. I started teaching Kindergarten this week and it was... crazyyyyy. Me and 24 spanish speaking 5-year-olds in a tiny classroom with lots of character. I already love them with my whole hearts.

We also spent lots of time this week taking care of all the necessary details for renting our house! We are beyond thankful for this gift that God has blessed us with. It's a great house, in an awesome location, with amazing neighbors. We couldn't have found a better house if we tried. Here are some pictures...

We hope you can come visit sometime and see it in person :) There's even a bubblegum pink guest room that can be all yours!

immeasurably more.

2011-10-02T12:08:00.000-07:00

We have arrived! Words could not possibly express my heart right now. I am beyond blessed and the past few days have been amazing. God has confirmed that this is exactly where we are supposed to be more times than I can count. It's insane really. I'm overwhelmed thinking about all that He has done just since we got here last Wednesday.

We have spent the past few days meeting with the director of the school we are teaching at, observing classes, hugging and catching up with all the kids at both orphanages, and visiting with our friends and family that we have missed so much.

My heart is full.

I start teaching kindergarten tomorrow and I'm excited! I met my students on Friday and they are adorable. We are also beginning the moving process and will hopefully have moved into the house we are renting next weekend. God has provided us with so much!

These are my two sisters that I get to spend the next year with. This is the only time all three of us have ever been together in the States :)

God is good. I find myself going back to the Scripture that I put on one of my first updates about moving back... "Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine... to Him be glory" Ephesians 3:20.

He is truly doing more than we could have ever asked or imagined.

cuidad de luz.

2011-09-07T14:13:00.000-07:00

When deciding to spend the next year in the Dominican, all I knew for sure was that the only constant would be change. And that has proved itself to be true before Emilee and I have even left the States. With less than three weeks to go before we leave, we have some really exciting news to announce!

The past couple of months we have talked and dreamed and asked the Lord about where we should invest ourselves in Monte Cristi. It seemed like we had more ideas than we would ever have time, but the one thing that we knew was that we wanted to love people, share hope, explore long-term ministry options, and serve wherever we were needed. This all brings me to the incredible opportunity we were presented with last week...

Cuidad de Luz (City of Light) is a small Christian elementary school that was started by missionaries years ago. Below is a picture of the school when we took our parents to teach there during our time with Orphanage Outreach.

Christine spent last year teaching English at Cuidad de Luz and is currently the first grade teacher. The director has asked me to teach Kindergarten and Emilee to continue teaching the English classes that Christine started last year. We are so excited (ok and maybe a little nervous!) for this opportunity! While I was on the race, I knew the Lord was telling me that I would teach again, although I had no clue what that would look like. I couldn't have imagined a more perfect opportunity for this year if I had tried... I'm humbled by God's grace and blessings for sure.

So with a little less than three weeks until I leave, my mind is now whirling with teaching ideas and ways to make my students feel special and ideas for my classroom and ways to be involved in their lives and love them and their families well.

My heart beats to see restoration in the Dominican and I'm believing that God is going to transform Monte Cristi...

...I'm believing that He will raise up youth that are passionate about the Kingdom...

... I'm believing that girls will know that they are valued and created with a unique destiny...

...I'm believing that discipleship will happen through our relationships in the community...

...I'm believing that God is going to redeem all the broken places...

I'm believing.

t-shirts!

2011-08-31T20:32:00.000-07:00

The past couple of days I have eagerly checked my front porch for anything out of the ordinary each time I pulled into the driveway. I honestly didn't expect there to be something there, so when I saw this big box today, I may have freaked out!

This box just so happens to contain all of the t-shirts that Emilee and I designed and ordered two weeks ago! To say that we were excited for its arrival is an understatement :) Here they are...
We LOVE them! I don't want to repeat myself or for you to read the same thing twice, so please take a moment to click on the t-shirts tab at the top and read about the incredible company that made these shirts and/or buy one! Purchasing one for $20 would greatly support Emilee and I, as well as the Dominicans who made them :)

enough.

2011-08-25T12:22:00.000-07:00

"And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him."

1 John 4:16

I've been ruminating on God's love a lot today. Sometimes it's the most simple truths of God's character that dig their roots deeper into my soul, revive my heart, and renew my mind once again. God is love. He loves us. And we love because He first loved us. And that's enough. Really, it is. His love is enough to cast out all fear. It's enough to bring freedom to the captives. It's enough to restore broken hearts. It's enough to shed light into the darkest places. It's enough to send people to the nations. And it's enough to satisfy our soul's deepest longing.

God's love is enough.

I just pray that this simple (but not small) truth will penetrate my heart once again and not just my head. Because a lot of times it seems a lot easier said than done to live life with God's love being enough when I'm worried about everyday things.

"There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear..."

1 John 4:18

thanks, dove.

no words...

2011-08-17T13:38:00.000-07:00

I feel like I need to start this blog out with something fancy, but I can't seem to think of any words that could possibly express my emotions right now. So I'll just go with this...

I BOUGHT MY PLANE TICKET BACK TO THE DOMINICAN TODAY!

I'm so excited that I can't focus because in a little over a month, I get to go back to my other home! Blessed. My heart is so full of gratitude right now. It's honestly sometimes hard to believe that I have been given these opportunities. I'm so thankful for the Dominican and my family there and the chance to once a again spend time pouring into their lives. Thank You, Jesus!

Rewind. How did I go from questions and prayers to a plane ticket for September? Well, let me share with you :)

Most of July was spent visiting with friends and family and doing a lot of praying and searching for what the Lord had next for me. Through some conversations with my dear sister, Emilee, at the end of the month, we came to the conclusion that we needed to start pursuing what we knew God had laid on our hearts. Our hearts came alive in the Dominican and we have known all along that God has called us to this place. We believe that He has entrusted the nations to His children... and is specifically entrusting us with a small northwestern province in the Dominican Republic. So we couldn't be more thrilled to be going!

We spent the end of July and August planning and praying and dreaming and preparing the many logistical details. After unending lists and a lot of confirmation, our hearts can't wait to finally be back in the place we call home. We are heading out in late September to join Christine and spend the school year there. While all of the details aren't clear, we are thrilled to be back in the place where our lives were forever changed. We can't wait to continue to pour into the kids at the orphanage and teach English in town and be more involved with the local church and follow wherever God leads. I simply have no words to express my excitement!

Can't wait to see them...

and Luz...

...and everyone else of course!

The next month will be full of preparations, visiting friends and family, and raising support. I would love to see everyone before I leave so send me a message :)

I'm also selling these...

These bracelets are $10 with free shipping and come in just about any color you could imagine. The beads are hand-made out of paper, so you name the color :) Let me know if you would like to buy one for you, your mom, your friend, (anyone!) and I will get it to you asap! If you would like to support me in this way, you can email me at heatherleighcolbert@gmail.com.

Emilee and I are also selling these...

T-shirts will be available soon, so keep your eye out :) AND, they are made by this amazing company based in the Dominican: Alta Gracia Apparel. Check them out! And, you can support me anytime by clicking the paypal link on the right.

Thank YOU for letting me share my news and my joy with you! God is good and I feel incredibly blessed!

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” Ephesians 3:20-21

the question...

2011-06-17T10:50:00.001-07:00

Within the World Race community we often say that home is where our backpack is. After spending only 3 full months of the past two years in the States, that still remains true in my life. I realized yesterday morning that this is my first summer in the U.S. (and not in the Dominican!) in 5 years. With that came a lot of emotions... longing to be back in the Dominican, contentment with a season of rest, and realizing that life looks a lot different now than I thought it would when I entered college 6 years ago. But I love it. Living out of a suitcase or backpack seems no different than living out of a house.

So if home is where my backpack is, then right now home is at my parents' house. I got back from the Race several weeks ago and have spent my time with family and new friends and treasured old friends who I hadn't seen in too long. I'm blessed to be here right now and have time to catch up with people I love. And then there's the common question... "What's next?"

Oh that question... We hear it a lot in life, generally in the times when we really have no clue what is next. So what is next for me? What does life look like in the next couple of months? I have lots of dreams and questions and hopes and desires floating around in my head. But for now, I'm grateful for a season of rest and seeking the Lord and asking for His dreams for my life to overtake mine. My heart is still in the Dominican and I can't wait to be back there. Sometimes I feel like a small child, constantly asking my Father if it's time to go yet... and where we are going, and what we are going to do when we get there. He's got it all under control. He's got all the plans in His hands... the same hands that made the Heavens and the Earth and placed all of the stars in galaxies. He knows when I'm going back to the Dominican and what we are going to do when we get there. He knows me and He knows my heart and for now He's telling me to rest. To sit and fill up. To dig my roots down deep in Him. And He'll take care of the rest.

So in the meantime, I constantly find myself day-dreaming about what it's going to look like when I finally set my feet back on that island. Dreams of restoration. Dreams of new jobs for women. Dreams of hope. Dreams of providing a way out for those who are trapped. Dreams of new life. Dreams of a whole lot of love for 61 kids who are my family. Dreams of esperanza.

"Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed."

Proverbs 16:3

I also feel as though I need to talk about this little treasure...

This book, One Thousand Gifts, is completely changing my perspective on, well, almost everything. Written by Ann Voskamp, the book talks about viewing life through God's perspective and seeing grace in everything. We are blessed with so many gifts from the Lord, but we often don't take time to stop and thank Him for them... or even recognize them as gifts for that matter. Anyway, I highly recommend reading this gift.

race blog :)

2011-02-09T21:39:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to give a little shout out to say to keep on reading my World Race blog to receive updates...

heathercolbert.theworldrace.org

LOVE and miss you all!

my heart...

2010-10-27T17:18:00.000-07:00

I just miss this place so much...

"Awake, my soul! I will praise You, O Lord, among the nations; I will sing of You among the peoples. For great is your love, reaching to the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies. Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth."

Psalm 57:8-11

When I read these verses I just see the Dominican. In an unexplainable way, I feel as though God made my heart for that country. It's crazy really. To be born in one place, but feel so at home in a country where they don't speak the same native language and their culture looks drastically different than the one I grew up in. I never even thought I would leave the U.S. and here I am preparing to move back down to the Dominican Republic. God's plans are so crazy and beautiful :)

This time has been so good for my heart and soul. I miss the Dominican more than my words can express, but I understand more each day why I am supposed to be here. I have been falling in love with the Lord all over again. I can't get enough of His Word and I am so blessed to have this time where I can simply seek Him. I can't stay away from Paul's letters and the truth that is flowing out of them. I'm learning to ask for open ears to hear the Spirit's direction. I'm overwhelmed by the Father's relentless and gracious love for me and all of His children. He's breaking down walls in my heart that I didn't know existed and restoring me to my identity as His daughter. I'm learning the importance of praying boldly and praying things that require me to make changes in the way I live. I'm learning to find joy in the precious little moments of life. I'm seeing the reality of the spiritual battle we are fighting. I'm seeing the Kingdom of God coming to earth through a group of fire-breathers who are a part of the Human Trafficking trip I'm going on this spring. Mostly, I'm being transformed by a God who knows me better than I know myself and planned long ago that I would fall in love with the Dominican Republic and spend my years there being a part of His vision for Esperanza. Thankful doesn't even do justice to describe my heart.

This article gives one of the most detailed descriptions of human trafficking in the Dominican Republic and Haiti. You should read it. Really, you should! And watch the video too. It hits so close to home when you walked over that same bridge every week. But the thing is... human trafficking (sex-trafficking included) is happening in Dajabon, in Thailand, in Boca Chica, in Cambodia, in Atlanta, and all across America in our own backyards and in places we don't even expect. We must educate ourselves and we must do something about it. We can no longer be silent. Human trafficking doesn't have to steal anymore lives. There are so many ways to become involved! So many! I urge you to pray about ways to fight trafficking... and if you are looking for something specific, just let me know.

FREEDOM is coming!

...and this is my heart :)

You should also read the update I just posted on my world race blog here!

tie-dye, jaibon, and esperanza...

2010-10-23T19:06:00.000-07:00

If you know me well, you know that I love tie-dye and I LOVE Jaibon. So what better way to end the summer than a day full of both?!?! Right before I left Jaibon, we made shirts with the boys and they absolutely loved it. Somehow I even managed to make it through the day without getting dye on my hands OR clothes!

LOTS of tie-dye!

Jose pointing out his shirt!

My brothers :) I cannot wait to see them in December! solo faltan seis semanas :)

I believe that my life in Christ is a continual process of surrender, rebirth, and new life. Today was another painful and beautiful one of those times. In August, God asked me to give up life in the Dominican until next summer. Getting on that airplane to come back to the States was probably one of the most difficult things I have ever had to do. I went kicking and screaming (ok, maybe it was more like crying like a baby) to the U.S. and God has brought so much beauty from that process of surrendering my heart to Him.

Recently I've been feeling like I have too tight of a hold on the Dominican once again. While I am sure that Esperanza Vision is God's dream and not mine, I also know that the Dominican sometimes becomes too much of my focus. Today I was sitting outside and the Lord asked me if I was willing to give up all of my hopes and dreams for the D.R. After more tears, I finally placed Esperanza Vision and my heart for that island at the feet of Jesus. It was something that needed to happen in my heart. I still firmly believe that God has called me to this vision in the Dominican, but I also know that it must remain at His feet. And the more I chase after God's heart, the more peace I know about the Dominican and Esperanza.

*side note* blueberry green tea = wonderful! pumpkin spice coffee = even MORE wonderful!

Fall is the best time of year to live in America :) Hands down.

"Look at the nations and watch--and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told."

Habakkuk 1:5

And that, my friends, sums up my thoughts on Esperanza... I am utterly amazed at what God is doing!

Oh and click here to read my update on my world race blog.

bring YOUR Kingdom...

2010-10-10T15:34:00.000-07:00

This was my prayer for the Dominican at the beginning of this summer..

And it still is today. After I took this picture I walked down the beach for a while. When I came back only the faint remains of "bring" and "Kingdom" were there. But "Your" remained deeply etched in the sand. I kept thinking that it was fitting. It's not my Kingdom that I want to see. It's not the Kingdom of social justice that I want to see. It's His Kingdom that I want to see on this earth.

I've been thinking about this concept a lot recently during this whole Esperanza journey. Sometimes I think it can be easy for missions organizations or ministries to get wrapped up in whatever "change" they are trying to make or whatever wrong they are trying to right. But in the end, it's not really about that. While loving our neighbor, showing them Jesus, and working towards social justice are all good things, our focus has to be on God and His Kingdom first. I want to worship the Lord, not the work that I am doing for Him. And so while we are still in the beginning processes, it has been good reminder to place my focus and our ministry's focus on bringing the Lord glory.

"As much as we want to change the world, our goal cannot be a particular change. Our ambition is the will of God. We need to meditate upon God as revealed in the person of Jesus Christ and in His Word. As we meditate day and night, He then gives us the wisdom and understanding to do what He has called us to do."

-John Perkins

My prayer is that my life points towards Jesus and out of the overflow of His love in my heart comes new life and the Kingdom of God in the Dominican Republic. I pray that people are changed and restored by the powerful love of our Father. I pray that people find hope... not in our home, but in Christ alone. I pray that Esperanza is a place where people feel the presence of God and find freedom. I pray that He makes beautiful things out of us... "bestow[ing] on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes" Isaiah 61:3. I'm so thankful for the lessons that God has been teaching me during my time here. A month ago I would have given anything not to get on that plane back to America, but God is so gracious in showing me purpose here.

Panera is my new best friend. Unlimited coffee, my bag full of books, and sweet, little booths make for some great days :)

"And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him."

1 John 4:16

time is a flyin' by...

2010-10-07T10:57:00.000-07:00

I've been able to share with many of you about the world race and I know that others have read the updated tabs on my blog, but if you have missed those, I wanted to give a quick world race update. Things have flown by incredibly fast since I have been back in the States. It's hard to believe that I have been here almost 4 weeks. This past month has been full of fun visits with friends and family, lots of coffee and tea, researching, reading, planning, praying, learning, support raising, and anything pumpkin flavored that I find :) I have loved being able to experience fall again and see the leaves changing colors. I miss the D.R. with all of my heart, but the Lord is encouraging me and providing new blessings each day here. I leave for training camp for the world race in a week. It is a five day training session of sorts where we meet everyone we will be going with and prepare more for what we will be doing. I am so excited to find out more and get to know the people I will be spending 4 months doing ministry with! AND, I get to drive to Georgia for it... I love road trips- and spending 7 hours in a car with loud music and windows down (hopefully!) and some good coffee is sounding wonderful right now :) And hopefully I'll be able to see some good friends in Atlanta and Knoxville along the way :)

This is my support letter that I recently mailed out... it contains the more concise version of the update on my life :)

Dear Family and Friends,

I hope that this letter finds you well and enjoying the first taste of fall! As you may know, I have recently returned to the United States after serving at an orphanage in the Dominican Republic for the past year and a half. During my time there, the Lord gave me an immense love for Dominicans, and I’d like to take a moment to share with you the dream He has placed on my heart.

In December of 2009, God began opening my eyes to the issues of sex-trafficking, prostitution, and abusive home situations in the Dominican Republic. I feel called to spend my life bringing hope and restoration in Christ by opening a safe-home in the D.R. for the women and children affected by these issues (To read more visit heathercolbert.blogspot.com).

After discovering many ministries in Thailand and Cambodia that are already working to fight against sex-trafficking, it became a desire of mine to go and gain wisdom from their experiences. In late August, I found out about The World Race Human Trafficking Edition, a mission trip in which participants not only spend a month in both Thailand and Cambodia but also India and the States. This trip is specifically designed for those interested in long-term ministry involving human trafficking. Upon praying, applying, and being accepted within a couple of weeks, I knew that the Lord was opening a door for me to learn from and serve alongside individuals and organizations with whom I share a passion. I know this will be an amazing training experience in ministry that will prepare me to eventually open a home for women in the Dominican Republic.

I wish to request your involvement in several ways. Spiritually, I ask that you pray for me. I covet your prayers. As internet connections are available, I plan to blog updates of specific prayer requests (heathercolbert.theworldrace.org). Should there be a time when I cannot provide exact direction on how to pray, I encourage you to ask the Holy Spirit for the intercession He promises in Romans 8:26.

Financially, I invite you to consider becoming a one time or monthly sponsor as the overall cost of my expenses for January through May is $7,300.00. The Lord has given me peace in His provision as I seek first His kingdom and righteousness (Matthew 6:33), so I am trusting and waiting expectantly to see how and from where the resources will come.

I am excited beyond belief for this upcoming journey and I ask that you prayerfully consider becoming a part of it. Thank you so much for all of your love, support, and prayers along the way! They mean more than you know!

In Him,

Heather

This is my prayer card that we sent out with the letters :)

Throughout the next couple of months and when I'm on the world race in the spring, I'll also be updating my world race blog... so check that one out as well! On that blog, you can click "update alerts" on the left-hand column to receive an email when I have posted on the blog. This is the link: www.heathercolbert.theworldrace.org

On a side note... this is my third post in October and it's only the 7th... Elizabeth, I know you must be proud :)

beautiful things

2010-10-06T11:28:00.000-07:00

All around, hope is springing up from this old ground.

Out of chaos life is being found in You.

You make beautiful things. You make beautiful things out of the dust.

You make beautiful things. You make beautiful things out of us.

I can't get these lyrics out of my head... or stop playing the song on repeat for that matter :) It reminds me so much of the Dominican and everything we want Esperanza to be about. Our prayer is that Esperanza brings hope to people and that they find new life in Christ. And we know and trust that God is going to make beautiful things through this ministry.

The Dominican (as always!) has been on my heart a lot recently. I am so thankful for everything about my time spent there. One thing I never expected to gain there were new American AND Canadian family members. The people in these pictures have blessed my life more than I ever thought possible... and the greatest part about it is that they continue to do so! I worked with, ate with, and shared a room with these people. I was with them almost 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We hung out together, laughed together, and cried together. And after spending a year and a half with them, I most certainly consider them a part of my family. You would think that we would have gotten sick of each other, but really, it just feels weird not having them around every day. Right now we are all in different places, but they continue to encourage me and support me and remain such a special part of my life. You all are HUGE blessings :)

Elizabeth, Julie, me, Christine, and Bryson

Bryson, Elizabeth, Christine, Coco, and me

I love and miss you guys!

I'm also missing those MC kids, limoncillos, cafe con leche y canela, the Jaibon boys, warm days, the twins' laughs, Chipa's smile, las cocineras, adventura, rice and beans, starry nights, mi hermanito, culto, Jonel's confused language, baking whatever we could find in the kitchen, mod-podging anything in site, watching basketball with 10 kids piled on a bench, playa popa, getting rolos, and hanging out with some amazing kids...

welcome fall :)

2010-10-03T18:15:00.000-07:00

It's fall! I am now back in Louisville and loving this fall weather! Today was a perfect combination of resting, going to the St. James Art Fair in a sweater and scarf, lots of coffee, my Bible, my journal, pumpkin chocolate chip bread, talking to some dear friends, and getting to cross lots of things off my checklist :)

Last week was incredible and better than I could have imagined. Being at Johnson and spending time with my sisters there was so encouraging. I spoke in some Missions classes about OO and Esperanza and people that I didn't even know were very supportive. At the end of one of the classes, everyone stood up and prayed over me and the ministry... it was humbling for sure. Knoxville now has a worship night in the Square Room one Wednesday a month. It just so happened (thank You, God!) that this month's worship night was last week when I was in Knoxville. Emilee was singing at it with Bill Wolf and United Pursuit Band was playing! United Pursuit Band is my favorite... insane lyrics! And I think anytime I get to hear Emilee sing I cry :) So needless to say, Wednesday night was amazing and such a blessing being able to worship with them.

I was supposed to leave Knoxville Thursday afternoon, but through some cool God-things, I ended up staying until Friday afternoon. Thursday night there was a human trafficking forum in Knoxville so Emilee and I knew we had to go since I was able to stay until Friday. One of the speakers was from International Justice Mission, an organization that works to fight sex-trafficking. The forum was soooo good! It gave us a lot to think about and we were jotting things down all night so we would remember what the Lord was showing us. One of my favorite things that he said was that genuine love has a way of casting out fear. I kept thinking how true that is and how genuine love is the whole reason we are pursuing this dream. We fell in love with the Dominican people and it changed everything about our lives. Any fear or hesitation we ever had fell away in the presence of the genuine love of Christ and our genuine love for Him and His people. I just pray that we always remain rooted in the never-ending love of Christ.

Thursday night, Emilee and I made pumpkin cookies which we had been talking about doing since the beginning of the summer. Check! They were awesome. Friday, I rode back to Louisville (or Luhvul as I'm trying to teach Emilee how to say:) ) with Sara and James and it was wonderful to be able to catch up with them... I miss you guys! Yesterday we had an open house at my home in Louisville and it was such a blessing to see people that I hadn't seen for over a year and catch up on life. I was able to share a lot about Esperanza and what the Lord is doing. Thank you so much to everyone who came by... you ALL were so encouraging and I appreciate your support more than you know! God is good and I am blessed with very uplifting family and friends!

This is my sister, Emilee :) We are really bad at remembering to take pictures, but this is the one that we managed to take!

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead."

1 Peter 1:3

I read this verse last week and LOVE everything about it. It's so fitting for Esperanza and I think we are going to put it on our prayer cards. It's our whole goal and dream... to praise our Father and bring Him glory... and to share His promises of new birth and new life into a living hope (esperanza!)... and all of that because of the resurrection of Christ! Amen.

the story...

2010-09-29T10:53:00.000-07:00

I have been adding lots of updates to my blog recently in hopes to update everyone on what God has been doing in my life. He has done so much in my heart the past few months and I am so humbled by the doors for opportunities that He is opening in my life. He is so good! So here are a few links to both my current blog and my new world race blog that will hopefully fill you in on where I'm at!

Click here to read... The story in a nutshell

Click on the "my dream" tab to read about the dream God has placed on my heart.

Click on the "esperanza" tab to read about the story of Esperanza.

Click on the "world race" tab to read about why I am going on The World Race.

Check these links out as well as the other tabs at the top of my blog for more info!

johnson :)

2010-09-28T09:03:00.000-07:00

The past few days have been so good for my heart. On Friday afternoon, my parents headed for the Smoky Mountains and dropped me off at Johnson on the way. While the people have changed and there are a few differences here and there, it feels good to be back at my college home. It's been a weekend full of eating at my favorite Mexican restaurant (and speaking only in Spanish with the waitress :) ), going back to Crossings, eating some free chick-fil-a, lots of coffee and chai tea, and some quality time with some great friends.

I've been staying with Emilee, my sister who spent 2 months with me in the Dominican this past summer. She is awesome and shares the same dreams as I do for the DR. We have been doing a whole lot of talking and planning and thinking and dreaming about Esperanza. It seems like each day this dream of having a safe-home for women in the Dominican becomes more of a reality. I am more in awe of God each day and everything that He is doing. Sometimes I'm overwhelmed by everyone and everything He places in my path. He is so good! I couldn't have dreamed up His plans for my life or Esperanza if I tried.

"O Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done marvelous things, things planned long ago."

Isaiah 21:1

Amen. His faithfulness is perfect. Sometimes I smile just thinking about how many times over the past few months I have begged God to give me answers about the future. He is opening my eyes more every day to His vision, but it had to come in His timing and not mine. And for that, I'm thankful :)

AND, you should check out the tabs at the top of my blog... hopefully they will explain a little more about this whole dream for Esperanza :)

the beginning of an update :)

2010-09-21T11:14:00.000-07:00

I am currently sitting in the United States, drinking some amazing chai tea, rocking out my tie dye t-shirt that Andres (one of the boys in Jaibon) made me, and listening to Dominican worship music. So much has happened in the past few months and this is going to be the first of a series of blogs that I hope will serve as an update on where I am in life and with the Lord :)

Most of my summer was spent at the orphanage in Jaibon. I am absolutely in love with the boys that live there. I have had the amazing opportunity to invest in them and become a part of their family. Many of them talk about how they are all a part of the "Colbert" family and they refer to me as "hermanita" or sister. My time spent at that orphanage is one of the things that I am most thankful for in my life up until this point. They taught me so much about life and love and selflessness and the Lord.

This is Jonel... the little five-year-old love of my life!

The last week I spent in Jaibon, we didn't actually have a volunteer program going on. It was a blessing to be able to spend so much time with the boys and my sister, Jacqueline. This is Jacqueline, Chipa, and I with our completed 500 piece puzzle!

After saying goodbye to everyone in Jaibon, I spent my last two weeks in the Dominican in Monte Cristi. Saying goodbye to the people in Jaibon was definitely difficult. It was so odd to find myself in that place. Volunteers say goodbye to those boys every week, but I had never been in that position. The longest I went without seeing them was a month or so. Entonces, the Saturday I had to say goodbye was not fun. I spent my last couple of weeks in Monte Cristi with the kids there and it was so good to hang out with them again. My last two weeks in the Dominican were full of processing, prayer, packing (whoa, that's a lot of p's!), and spending time with the kids and leaders who have become a part of my family. I was so encouraged the last few weeks I was there and the Lord used that time to do so much in my heart. I went from having no idea where I was going next to being overwhelmed by the Lord's goodness and big plans. I couldn't have dreamed them up if I tried (more on that later :) ). And my Dominican mama, Coco :), was the biggest support ever! I loved soaking up time with her and my sista, Christine. God not only gave me some new Dominican family members, but some American and Canadian ones too :)

So I am back in the States now and have been here for a week. It has been an extremely difficult transition, but I know it's all for the sake of the Kingdom. And for that, I will continue to lay down my desires and my heart at the foot of the cross. I have so much peace about being here right now and the Lord's plans, but I definitely left my heart thousands of miles away. God is bringing me joy in sadness and showing me His promises of new life. He's picking up the pieces of my heart and blowing me out of the water with His crazy plans for my life. I surely don't deserve them! He is so faithful!

I can't wait to see each of you soon! Over the next couple of months I would love to get together and hear about your lives and share about mine. I'll probably be having some sort of open house in Louisville soon for anyone to come over and hear about everything. I hope you all are doing well! I'm excited to see some faces of people that I love soon!

agosto

2010-08-12T11:54:00.000-07:00

It's almost mid-August and school is starting here next week! Crazy. I'm not sure how time flies by as fast as it does. All of sudden the months are just gone. It still feels like June to me, when in reality, all of our summer interns are leaving next week. It doesn't seem possible. Things in Jaibon have been busy. The past month has been full of Bible camps, work projects at the orphanage, and activities with the boys who live here. It's been amazing and I have loved getting to know different communities, but I think we are all ready for a little rest.

One of my favorite parts of the past month has been going to La Caya. This is a community about 15 minutes away from the orphanage. We have done two different camps there and I absolutely love that community. The people are so kind and welcoming. The youth are so legit and have really stepped up as leaders in the community. Normally, the teenagers are often misbehaving, but in this community, they help in whatever way possible. They are awesome.

Another thing I have loved is spending some extra time with the boys at the orphanage. We have been able to do lots of activities here with them and it has been such a blessing. They are amazing and God has taught me so much through them.

**One of them just came up to see what I was doing. His name is Luis and he is 15. He calls me his sister and I have loved being able to invest in him. He is family to me. He wants to learn how to use the computer sooo badly. He just typed this :)

mi nombre es luis y soy un hermano de heather y megusta jugar baquecbol

translation... my name is Luis and I am Heather's brother and I like to play basketball.

God has been teaching me a lot recently. I'm learning how much weight words carry... how much people are hurting... how people's pain overflows into how to act towards others... how the way I live my life is a reflection of Jesus... how God's plans are ALWAYS better than mine... how waiting and patience are much better than figuring everything out on my own... how everything is insignificant without love... how God's love is more vast than I could ever imagine. I'm begging God for just an ounce of His love and wisdom. There is so much I don't know and so much I have yet to learn. At the end of the day, I just want people to see Jesus in me and have gotten a glimpse of the Kingdom. I still don't know what comes next. And next is in three weeks :) haha. When God told me to be patient, I never thought I still wouldn't know what I'm doing when I only have three weeks left of my current position. I have no plane ticket out of the country and there are still a lot of things up in the air. I am in love with this country and these people and I hope to be here for many years to come. I feel called to this place and there is no denying that. Needless to say, I would greatly appreciate your continued prayers. Hopefully I'll have some answers soon to that never-ending questions of "what happens next?"

But until then, I hope each of you are doing well! I love and miss you a lot, even if I don't always get a chance to say so!

whoa julio...

2010-07-01T07:00:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it is July! The summer is flying by... I just wish time would slow down. The past few weeks have been so full of many great people and great things. Graystone was in MC last week and it was the best week ever! We had a camp at the orphanage with over 450 kids each day. It was nuts, but tons of fun. About 15 of my Dominican friends helped out with camp too and we had a blast. We literally could not have done camp without them. Friday we all went to the beach about 2 hours away... I rode the Dominican bus and couldn't stop laughing and smiling all day long. They have become so much a part of my family during the past year. Having Graystone here for a week was also a huge blessing. It was so good to catch up with everyone and see familiar faces.

Last Saturday, I moved over to Jaibon with all of the interns. I will be here until the end of August. Saturday was rough... saying goodbye to all my MC family, saying goodbye to Graystone, saying goodbye to Julie, and saying goodbye to Bebo who headed to the States with Graystone. It stunk, but I was so excited to see my loves in Jaibon. This week has been busy as well, but I have gotten a chance to catch up with them which has been wonderful. Yay for coffee every morning with my sisters. They have always welcomed and accepted me with open arms as if I'm part of their own family. I feel the love of the Lord in this place.

My commitment with OO ends in September. If you could be praying for wisdom and discernment for me about what comes next, that would be wonderful. I have so much peace that the Lord's plans are good and that He will open and close doors at just the right time. He is so faithful. Until then, I'm surrendering my ideas and laying my life at His feet.

I love and miss ya'll a lot! A LOT :)

Arianni and I eating dinner... Her and her twin sister, Ari, rock my world :)

dame tu corazon...

2010-06-18T21:08:00.000-07:00

Summer is here and it's hard to believe. The past month has been so full and has flown by so quickly. One of my favorite nights was a few weeks ago at the English Institute graduation. We have an English school in Monte Cristi that provides free English classes to middle school aged students. This past spring, our first group of students graduated after taking four years of classes. Yessica and Christopher, who live at the orphanage, both graduated with this first class. A lot of the older kids from the orphanage came to watch and we had so much fun. This night was so special for them and I was so glad to be a part of it. It felt like my little brother and sister were growing up!

Yenny, Nicol, Carolina, and I before the graduation.

Yessica!

Christopher and my roommate, Christine (you always will be!)

I loved spending this night with my Dominican family. The next Saturday, my roommate, Christine, left to head to her home in the U.S. It has been so weird without her here and I miss her a lot, but I somehow think we might end up living near each other again :) It isn't the same without you, sister! That same Saturday, a dear friend from college arrived here and it has been awesome to share life with her in the Dominican. That Saturday also started the summer Christian internship program and I can't tell you how amazing that has been! I love each and every one of the interns and am in awe of how God has worked so far.

The past couple of weeks we have done Bible camps at the orphanage, English Institute, and in the community. It has been wonderful to continue to build relationships with the Dominican people. My highlight from this past week was definitely "noche especial." Noche Especial happens twice a year and is a giant sleepover with all the girls from the orphanage. I don't have any pictures to put up right now, but it definitely goes down as one of my favorite nights here. It was full of games, good snacks, movies, tie dye, and lots of quality time with the loves of my life. I am so blessed.

Things have been busy, but oh so wonderful. I love the kids here more every day and am so grateful that the Lord has blessed me with the opportunity to invest in them. I treasure each moment spent with the kids at the orphanage. It's honestly hard to ever think about leaving them when they have become such a huge part of my family. I just have this crazy Jesus-love for them that I can't explain.

AND, graystone comes tomorrow!!!! Tomorrow starts the week that the kids and I have been talking about for a really long time... when Georgia comes to the Dominican Republic! We can't wait to see ya'll TOMORROW :)

i'm back...

2010-05-26T20:34:00.000-07:00

The past few weeks of have been full of so many good things. I spent a little over a week in the good 'ole US of A... journeying around through Arizona, New Mexico, and a little bit of Colorado. The Lord knew I needed that week more than I did, that's for sure. I spent my days with my two sisters, helping one get ready to get hitched. It was so good to be them... who know my heart and sometimes know me better than I know myself. I also met some other pretty sweet girls who were in the wedding... Katie has good friends, what can I say :)

The wedding was beyond amazing! It was incredible to watch my best friend get married. I'm so excited for her and Mike and the gift of marriage God has blessed them with. I see Jesus all over their relationship and the wedding was such a preview of the team for Christ they are going to be. I loved every second of it. Here are some fotos... :)

Going back to the States was good for me in more ways than I realized. It gave me such a needed time to think, pray, spend time in the Word, and seek wisdom from my sisters. I missed home (as in the Dominican) so bad while I was State-side, and yet, it was exactly what my soul needed. The Lord filled me up to overflowing with His love and opened my eyes to His faithfulness and grace that are at work all over my life. He confirmed over and over again that He made my heart with a special place for the Dominican... and I will forever love these people with a Jesus-love that I can't explain. I was able to share my dreams of opening a home for women stuck in prostitution and sex-trafficking with my friends and God continued to fan the flame of this vision. Through their words and encouragement, He gave me so much peace about being patient, yet continuing to move forward and chase the dream.

By the time Monday morning rolled around, I was sooo ready to hop on that plane and head back to the place I call home. I got in late Monday night, caught up with the Hopkins, and crashed, excitedly awaiting the next day. Tuesday was the birthday of a good friend of mine who cooks for us in Jaibon. I was supposed to go straight to Monte Cristi on Monday night, but instead went to Jaibon for a day to pull of a little birthday surprise. So I got up Tuesday and had an amazing morning full of birthday surprises, muffins, pictures, good food, good conversation, and catching up with the boys who have worked their way in to a very special place in my heart. They are pumped about summer and all the Americans that are coming and I am excited about returning to Jaibon in a month to spend the last half of that summer with them.

After lunch, we headed to Monte Cristi, where the rest of my day was full of catching up with my OO family, spending a lot of quality time with the kids, passing out American chocolate, showing off Katie's wedding pics to all the kids at the orphanage, and a roof/coffee date with my sister. I went to bed that night so full of love for these people and this place and so thankful that the Lord has blessed me with this life. I deserve none of it, yet He has given me the desires of my heart. I love it here so much. Being in the States confirmed that I'm not sure I will ever leave.

And God continues to reassure me to dream big and bring the Kingdom to earth. When I begin to think that maybe I can't start this home for women, He crosses my path with someone who assures me that I can. My prayer this spring has been that He will raise up leaders who are passionate about this very thing and I am seeing those answered. God is so faithful and my heart's beating desire is to bring His hope and unconditional love to the Dominican. And sooo, this home will open. I'm not sure when, but it will. In His timing and not mine. And I can't tell you how excited I am about that :) If you want to hear more about it, just ask and I'll be more than happy to share :)

So I'm back in the Dominican, filled with the Spirit, refreshed after a week with my sisters, excited about the future and bringing the Kingdom, content to be with my kids, and excited about the start of the internship program on Saturday. I am so humbled by the Lord's grace and kindness. He really is too good. I hope each of you are doing well and would love to hear updates on your lives whenever you get a chance!

dream big.

we wait for You...

2010-04-29T08:25:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I spent the day in Jaibon. I love those boys so much. They are so genuine and have such big hearts. They all had new clothes, shoes, and socks and were very excited to tell me all about them. Their smiles light up their faces and I would be content just sitting, talking, and hanging out with them for hours. They are great! I also got to spend time with my sweet sister, Jacqueline. Jesus continues to teach me so much about life through her.

By the time we got back to Monte Cristi last night, I was so ready to spend time with the kids here. I had only been gone a day, but it seemed like I hadn't seen them in forever. I hung out with them the last couple hours of the day, thanking Jesus for these kids and in awe of His love for me and His children. I am blessed.

I told Christine this morning that I feel like my heart is a mess right now. I've prayed over and over that people would see Jesus in me and that His love would be what is flowing out of me... that my heart would be broken for what breaks His and that I would have an unconditional love for His people. As thoses prayers are answered, I sometimes feel like I become an emotional mess. I love the people here with a love I can't explain... one that only comes from Christ. I care about them more than I ever thought possible. I'm living life right next to them... sharing in their joys, their hopes, their dreams, their pain, their struggles. I love it. And when I leave one orphanage to go live at the other, I feel like a leave a piece of my heart in the other town. And if I can barely leave these places to go live an hour away when I know I will see them again soon, I don't know how I am ever going to be able to leave this country. So I pray for just an ounce of God's wisdom and that He would continue to open my eyes to His vision for the Kingdom in the Dominican. He is so good.

Hosana is the granddaughter of Tia, the orphanage administrator in Jaibon. She might just be the smartest 1-year-old I know. And she's pretty stinking cute :)

Learning how to cook sweet plantains with Jacqueline.

"See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland."
Isaiah 43:19

...You are making all things new.

si Dios quiere...

2010-04-25T07:58:00.000-07:00

The last week of our spring program officially ended yesterday. It has been a whirlwind of craziness, fun, and lots of energy! We had some amazing groups and it was incredible to see the different ways the communities surrounding Jaibon and Monte Cristi were impacted. My lack of blogging is hopefully ending now that I have a bit more time on my hands :)

I moved back to Monte Cristi three weeks ago. It was pretty rough. I am in love with both orphanages and I can truly say that I don't like one more than the other... however, Jaibon has this special place in my heart... and I just wasn't ready to leave. God taught me a lot in Jaibon, opening my heart to His dreams and plans for my life. And although it sometimes scares me, I know my life is nothing without Him and I will continue to lay my life at His feet, forever humbled by His grace in my life.

The 21 boys in Jaibon became like my kids. I have an unexplainable motherly and unconditional love for them. I want to see them grow into men of God... they already have such a pure love for their Father. I'm amazed by their childlike faith. Their smiles melt my heart. My family just keeps on growing here... :)

One of the hardest parts of leaving Jaibon had to do with saying goodbye to my sisters that cook and clean there. They became part of my family just like those boys did. I learned more from them about life and love and selflessness than I ever thought possible. They loved me like they knew me my whole life and their thoughtfulness amazed me. Their genuine hearts and sure faith gave me glimpses of Jesus. I spent my free time listening to their stories, laughing about the differences between Spanish and English names for food, hearing the joys and struggles of life in the dominican, learning how to light dominican stoves and make coffee, and simply sharing life together. They're family now. Leaving was no other word but hard.

I will see them again though, and I think God used my time this spring in Jaibon to quietly whisper to stay. To stay? To stay. I can't imagine leaving the Dominican. I am in love with these people and I feel like God created my heart to be here. I want to invest myself in them... in bringing change and restoration in Christ... in sharing the truth of the Gospel with them... in breaking the chains of promiscuity and prostitution that are everywhere. And while I'm not sure exactly what the future looks like, I do know that I have a crazy passion to invest myself in this country... si Dios quiere :) So for now, I'm in constant prayer for wisdom on what that looks like, and I would appreciate yours as well :)

This is my sister, Jacqueline. She knows how to cook better than anyone I know and her pure faith and wisdom taught me a lot about the heart of God.

Jacqueline and Betsaida. Betsaida's selflessness and genuine heart showed me what it meant to truly put others above yourself.

And Jacqueline and Dominga! Dominga's spunk, openness, and solid faith taught me a lot about true love. She constantly offered me a place in her house and truly meant it.

I love the Dominican so much!

Si Dios quiere...

soy dominicana...

2010-03-24T08:27:00.000-07:00

It has been over a month since I have updated this little blog and for that I apologize! Things here have been wonderful and crazy and joyful and draining. I have been living in Jaibon for the past month and I cannot express how much I have loved it. I fell in love with Monte Cristi three years ago and have fallen in love with Jaibon this past year. God created a special place in my heart for this area and these people and I just can't describe it. The people in this community are so genuine. I haven't met people that are so happy and content with what they have. They love from the bottom of their heart. The boys that live at the orphanage are so full of life and joy. They are extremely respectful and love God and their brothers. I'm beyond blessed to be sharing life with them.

The past weeks have been busy. For two weeks we had over 250 people in Jaibon alone, and 200 more people in Monte Cristi. It was lots of fun and I really enjoyed seeing that many people experience the DR, but it was definitely exhausting. This week, we have 60 volunteers here... which used to seem like a ton, but now it feels like there are barely any people here.

Last week we ran a dental clinic on the property and a medical clinic in some local villages. It was amazing to see the doctors and dentists use their skills here. I am clearly not gifted in any of these areas, so it was neat to see them sharing their talents with the Dominicans. I even had minor surgery! One of the doctors cut a wart off of my finger ;) I did have 250 people asking me if I was ok though... haha.

I also got to celebrate my birthday here! It was the best one yet! Having my Dominican family remember and celebrate with me was priceless. Here they don't really give gifts on birthdays, but instead they throw water on you... ALL day long. Christine, one of the other leaders, announced this tradition at dinner on my birthday, so in addition to all of the Dominicans throwing water on me, I had 250 volunteers dumping any water they could find on me. It was crazy but fun! It happened to be a cool night and it took me about 2 hours to thaw out after having ice cold drinking water dumped on me. I ended the day hanging out with the boys and them singing and counting off the years of my life and a surprise oreo cake that Sharon made. It was wonderful :)

Soy Dominicana ahora. I am now Dominican. :) And I take pride in this fact. Haha! The other night I was at the boys' worship service with them and they were like, "Why aren't any Americans here?" I replied, "I'm American." And they quickly assured me that I am Dominican now and no longer an American. Then last night Jose asked me why I don't have big, red mosquito bites like all the other Americans. So I said, "Remember, I'm not American." :) So to the kids here, I am now either a Dominican or a Heather... but either way I count it as a success :)

I will be here in Jaibon for another week and a half. I've already started to get emotional thinking about leaving so I'm trying to push those thoughts out of my mind. Don't get me wrong, I love Monte Cristi so much, I just have this special attachment to this place. But I am excited to love on all my little girls in MC! I have missed them.

Life is beautiful. God is faithful. Hope you all are doing well!

i love jaibon.

2010-02-21T15:52:00.000-08:00

I figure it's time for a random update blog :) so here goes...

As my last blog mentioned, my parents were here a couple weeks ago. It was great! My parents, along with the parents of most of the other leaders came down for what we affectionately deemed "family week." We loooved showing our parents around where we call home!

Last week, I spent time finishing some last minute things before craziness starts with all of the spring break weeks here. I finished all of my literacy modules... lots and lots of lesson plans... who would have thought I would still be lesson planning after graduation?!

Last week I tutored the five oldest kids at the orphanage in Monte Cristi. We did M&M math, percents, graphs, ratios, probability, and all those other things you can tie in to eating candy :) My brain hurt after trying to teach all of those things in Spanish, but it was fun!

I am in love with two little twin girls at the Monte Cristi orphanage, named Ari and Arianni. They are three years old and full of spunk that makes them seem years older than they supposedly are. The other day we were tossing a ball to Arianni for a good hour with each person having to say, "ready?" The person receiving the ball had to say yes before you were allowed to throw the ball. It was great :)

Last week we had several "rain days." Equivalent to those snow days that everyone is having in the States, just not quite as cold :) When it rains, it basically shuts down the whole town because the roads are made of dirt and when dirt gets wet... it turns to mud! And lots of it. We had a couple of adventurous days filled with trecking through puddles and sinking in mud while hoping not to fall... it was hilarious.

I moved to Jaibon (the other orphanage) yesterday! I will be here for 5 weeks and I am sooo excited. I just love it here so much! The past two days have been great and I enjoy every minute that I'm here. The boys that live here are great and so full of life and joy. The women who cook here make my day every day. I love spending time with them too. So now my days consist of leading groups from high schools, churches, and colleges. I wake up early to fresh coffee, reading, and conversations with Jaqueline, Betsaida, and Fefa. We work and teach all day and eat the best food I have ever had for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. At night, we have activities with the boys who live here and have become a part of my family. The days are filled with many "Oh Jaibon"s because things always happen unexpectedly, but it's the beauty of living here. I see God in smiles and creation and conversations and sunsets. Cows and goats are herded past our common area daily and we eat food made from completely natural ingredients. The older Dominican women melt my heart and crack me up all the same time. God is good. He is beautiful and faithful and I am so thankful to be here.

I love and miss you all so much! And that's the truth :) Come visit :)

becoming dominican...

2010-02-14T09:13:00.000-08:00

In Dominican culture, it's customary to get very dressed up for any sort of special occasion. The special occasion last Saturday was the arrival of our parents. When the Dominicans that we live with found out we were going to the airport to pick up our parents, they told us that they would fix our hair for us... which if you do not know, is an all day process :) Here are a few pictures that document our day full of hair straightening... who knew I would spend more time here on my hair than I do in the States!

Shortly after breakfast, they rolled our hair and put them in these ginormous rollers with strict instructions to be outside in the sun so that our hair would dry faster. This is Elizabeth, Carolina, and I sporting our rollos.

After some partial air-drying, you get stuck under this ancient beauty chair where air gets blown on the rollers and you kind of resemble someone from the Simpsons. Your head is pretty much stuck to the dryer and it's kind of nerve wracking since the kids are slinging soaking wet laundry over the electrical cords. But hey, it's all part of being a Dominican :)

Next, they wrap your hair around your head, bobby pin it down, and put a net over top of it to keep it in place. You wear the "tubie" the rest of the day until you leave for whatever occasion you are going to. For us, we were given orders not to take off our tubies until we were on the bus and headed to the airport.

And the end product is EXTREMELY straight hair! It was great to be able to run our fingers through soft, straight hair once again. Saturday was great and full of stick straight hair and patiently awaiting the arrival of our parents at the aiport.

It's all just a part of becoming Dominican :)

love them.

2010-02-01T07:55:00.000-08:00

This morning we went in to Dona Nena, a local elementary school, to teach English. Most of the younger kids at the orphanage go to school there so it was tons of fun to see them looking all grown up in their school uniforms! I'm amazed at how fast they are growing up... it feels like they should still be babies, but yet here they are learning simple English. It's crazy!

Joanni... lookin' so big in her uniform!

Luz Maria peeking out of her classroom.

Mineli, covering up her toothless smile!

Carmelito.

muchas cosas...

2010-01-26T11:57:00.000-08:00

God has been doing a lot of change in my heart recently. Stripping me more and more of my selfishness... teaching me to dream His dreams... breaking my heart for the human trafficking that still exists in our world... showing me His restorative power... and so I figured it was time for a little change to my blog as well :)

I continue to love life here. After a busy couple months, I have been enjoying this week (it's the first week we haven't had a group in a long time). I've been able to spend a lot of time working on my literacy program, hanging out with the kids, and resting. Yesterday we did a mini-camp at a batey and I loved it. I love being out in the "campo" (rural Domincan) and visiting with the people who live there. They are beautiful and have such pure joy. It makes me fall in love with this country even more.

I'm reading Chronicles of Narnia right now and it is soooo good! There are so many biblical parallels and God is using it to teach me more about His character. Read it :)

So my roommates and I still had our Christmas tree set up in our room and thought we needed to change it up a bit. Entonces, we made it into a family tree! We each drew pictures of ourselves and every member of our family and hung them on the tree. Each day, we are going to pick someone on the tree and one of us has to tell a story involving them from the past (funny, interesting, silly, serious, whatever!). Just a little creativeness we decided to throw into our days :) I love it! Here is a picture...

AND, we are extremely excited about family week! In a week and a half, my parents, along with the parents of most of the leaders who live here are coming to visit! We can't wait and have a daily countdown going :) I'm pumped!

anddddd... my best friend is engaged :) heck yessss!!!!

God is good!

update...

2010-01-14T09:13:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to post a quick update about the earthquake since I have been getting questions about it. Tuesday afternoon I was laying on the floor of my room lesson planning when the building started to shake. We had experienced an earthquake here this past August so I knew immediately what it was. I could hear the Dominicans talking to each other outside about the earthquake and I yelled to see if the girl who lives next to had felt it. She hadn't and neither had most of the Americans that are here with us right now. Most of them were outside and didn't know it was happening. It only lasted a couple of seconds and wasn't bad at all. At that point I just assumed that it was a little mini earthquake that had happened here in Monte Cristi. Around dinner time we found out that our friends in Santiago and Jaibon had felt it as well and they were hours away from us. I still assumed it was just a little earthquake in the Dominican... after all, we had barely felt anything. Later that night, I was teaching math to the five oldest kids at the orphanage when my mom called to see if I was ok. It wasn't until then that I realized it had been a much bigger earthquake than any of us imagined. Shortly after that we had everyone call home to say they were ok and it wasn't until around 11 at night that we were actually able to look up what happened online and see the extent of the major earthquake that hit our neighbors in Haiti. Everything is fine here and I haven't seen any structural damage anywhere because it wasn't strong enough here to do that.

PLEASE continue to pray for Haiti. They lack resources to meet their daily needs, much less to respond to a natural disaster. I urge you to find an organization where you can donate funds to help with relief. They need all they can get right now. I also urge you to remember that these are families, children, brothers, sisters, son, daughters, fathers, and mothers that have lost loved ones, homes, jobs, food, and lives. Let's not forget that these people are faces, hearts, and souls... not just numbers on a news story. And most importantly, let's remember the fact that our God holds the whole world in His hands, that His heart is breaking too, and that He will fulfill His promises of bringing hope and restoration.

He is Hope.

2010-01-12T08:55:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was National Human Trafficking Awareness Day. God has recently been placing on my heart a life devoted to bringing restoration to the women and children affected by prostitution, sex tourism, and human trafficking. Each day, He seems to place something or someone else in my path that breaks my heart and opens my eyes to the world around me. While I still feel ignorant, God is really showing me the pain, ache, and hurt that people are experiencing because of these chains that are binding them. Prostitution and a promiscuous life affects the heart and soul. Not to meantion the fact that human slavery still exists all over the world... and sometimes I think we really just have no idea how much pain people are experiencing... because if we did, wouldn't everyone choose to do something about it? And once we see these faces, and hear the facts, we have no choice but to fight these injustices and love our neighbor as ourself. My heart just yearns to provide a way out for people stuck in prostitution (because they are surely not defined by their current occupation), to provide a safe home, to bring them restoration through Christ, and to shower them with the unconditional love of God. I don't know what this means for my future, but I do know that I am in constant prayer about it and that I will go where He sends me.

An organization working to fight human trafficking with a house located in the Philippines.
www.love146.org

An organization and jewelry business in Thailand providing a way out of prostitution.
www.nightlightinternational.com

Another organization and jewelry business in Thailand providing a way out of prostitution.
www.rahabministriesthailand.com

A factual article about prostitution in the tourist cities of the Dominican Republic.
http://dr1.com/articles/prostitution.shtml

There is Hope. He is Hope.

hope :)

2010-01-11T05:45:00.000-08:00

Surely the islands look to me...
Isaiah 60:9

Hope is everywhere. Thank you sweet Jesus.

You're undeniable in this place...

2010-01-07T12:47:00.000-08:00

So the month of December turned out to be a busy one, but one in which the Father taught me so much. He's been stripping me of myself. Showing me His face. Showing me how to follow Him. How to love people from the depths of my soul. How to overflow with a love that's not my own. How sometimes it may hurt. How these people are His beautiful children and how His hurt is broken for them in their pain. I almost don't even know where to begin explaining the past few weeks. I think that's why I have been putting off posting a blog. Because it's too much to write about, too much to explain, but in short, here's a glimpse of the past few weeks. We spent the week of Christmas in Jaibon at the orphanage there. God knew I needed to be there for Christmas. The first picture is of the boys doing a Christmas play. It was awesome... the best nativity skit I've ever seen. These boys have such a special place in my heart and I felt like their mom making sure Christmas Eve was perfect for them. I have been blessed enough to have spent the most consistent time in Jaibon and I truly have begun to feel a motherly role in their lives. They come show me things they have made, or tell me about what happened during their days, or run up to tell me what they are doing with another volunteer before scurrying back off to play. I love it and I'm not quite sure how I'll ever leave this country. Good thing I don't have to worry about that anytime soon :) So the week of Christmas was amazing and the Lord truly filled my soul to the brim with blessings. More so than ever before I felt Him revealing the importance and significance of Christmas. We spent Christmas day building and doing work projects before heading to the beach for the afternoon. All day I kept saying that it didn't feel like Christmas. But then I heard God's whispers across my soul asking what Christmas should feel like. And in my head I thought, well I'm not with my family. But the thing is, I was. I was with my brothers and sisters from the Dominican Republic. And maybe I wasn't with my blood family, but isn't Christmas about Christ? And while we may realize that it's not all about the presents, do we realize that it's not really all about family and friends either? That we could spend Christmas by ourselves, alone with God, and it is still Christmas... the day of Christ's birth. The day Salvation came to earth. So more and more God whispers to me that this story isn't about me at all. And for that, I am thankful.

So my week in Jaibon was far too short. I desperately want to go back and I shed some tears before leaving to come back to my home in Monte Cristi. God renewed my soul in Jaibon. Reminding me of my purposes here and filling my heart with an unending love for His Dominican children. Specifically these three very special women. Jaqueline, Betsaida, and Fefa cook and clean at the orphanage in Jaibon. And let me tell you, I have never met anyone who cooks like Jaqueline. She takes pride in everything she makes and asks the Lord to help her before she starts cooking a meal. She is such a precious child of God. These women were placed on my heart in an undeniable way. It's like I just knew that they were a huge reason why I was in Jaibon that week. So most days I looked for pockets of time where I could stop by the kitchen for a few minutes and spend time sharing in the lives of these awesome ladies. God could not have filled my heart more with love for them. I listened to them talk about their families, talk about their stories, about things in the past and things now. God's plans were so specific with placing me back in Jaibon again. And when Saturday morning rolled around, I could barely say goodbye. And so now, I can't wait to make it back to Jaibon again. God opened my eyes so much through my relationship with Jaqueline, Betsaida, and Fefa. Through their stories, I saw the realities that exist in this country. And though it may be easy to glance over the hard things, I want to bring life to people who are hurting.

By Saturday afternoon we were back in Monte Cristi. I can't explain how attached I am to both orphanages. One I have to leave Monte Cristi, I hate it. But when I have to leave Jaibon, I hate it as well. So much of my heart is attached to both places. And my purposes and roles are so different at each place. It was so good to see my brothers and sisters in Monte Cristi again. I had definitely missed them. The week of New Years, we spent some time out in rural bateyes (or little villages surrounding banana plantations). Life in the bateyes is completely different than in the towns. There isn't running water and people wait for a truck to arrive with their water for the week. Though the people live in poverty, I see promiscuity as the true oppression of these villages. We had a camp and most of the kids from the village came. I felt God pulling me towards the group of teenage girls, so I spent most of my time with them. Many of them had babies on their hips and were feeding their children while making bracelets and playing name games. The Dominican teenage boys had no respect for the Dominican girls and it made me want to take them all home with me.... to build a house and let them live there and help them develop skills and find a job and learn about the unending love and compassion of our relentless God. So God began to break my heart once again for the Dominican people. My eyes were opened to the realities of life here. I saw the chains that people are in. I saw where freedom needs to be proclaimed. I saw where darkness needs to be shattered by light. And I am burdened for the hearts of these girls. I want to see them freed from their bondage... to be able to truly live and be told of their worth in the sight of the King.

And then there are these girls :) My sisters, Yenny and Yessica. Even at the orphanage, I find myself wanting to spend all my time with them and Carolina and Nicol and Yulisa and Coral and Nicole... these teenage girls who are going through the same stages of life that I went through. I want to be a constant in their lives... to love them unconditionally... to show them that they can't do anything to make me not care... to show them that their Father loves them much more than I do. I feel the Father placing hurting girls and women on my heart. I want to release girls from the chains that they are in. And so I have no idea what God is going to bring in my future, but I know that I am in love with this place and these people and I just want to invest in their lives.

Hopefully that offers a small glimpse at what's been going on :) Sorry for the lack of updates. There is so much on my heart and I will try and be better about posting more often... although I won't make promises I can't keep :)

God is good! God is faithful! And God is undeniable in this place!

yo tengo un Amigo que me ama...

2009-12-12T06:31:00.000-08:00

This week has been very busy, but full of adventures, smiles, and lots of reminders of why I love this place so much. I've decided that I like showing what's been going on through pictures so here are a few from this week...

This is Elizabeth, Bryson, and I in Caberete eating lunch. Caberete is a town on the beach that is near some tourist-y areas, but isn't as "Americanized." We spent the day there last Sunday. It was a lot of fun to enjoy good food (other than rice!), relax at the beach, hang out with each other, and of course, eat ice cream :) oh and ps, for all my dominican, tie-dye loving girls... I was representing ya'll Sunday and telling stories all day of what the "C" meant on my shirt :)

Elizabeth (who is also from Kentucky) and I found a sign at a restaurant (in the Dominican Republic!) for a mint julep so we had to take a picture... representin' the good ole' KY!

Yesterday was Coco's birthday so we went all out to celebrate. She has lived here for 5 years and we really wanted to make it extra special. This is the pinata that we made for her. We spent many hours making "Lumpy" and we are going to be sad to see him die... haha.

Yesterday we went on a road trip to see some of the cities in the interior of the DR. It's crazy because you kind of feel like you are in a different country. A lot of the cities in central DR are mountainous and green... while Monte Cristi is flat and pretty brown. We kind of realized that we really do live in a desert town. We toured some historical cites in the morning where Christopher Colombus fought battles and then continued on the Jarabacoa. I loved that place! It is a pretty good sized city situated up in the mountains. It's much bigger than Monte Cristi and looks completely different. We had a picnic lunch at a place where two rivers meet and I felt like I was back in the mountains in the States. There were actually leaves on the ground! The group picture above is all of us at the meeting place of the two rivers.

After we left the rivers, we drove through Jarabocoa a little more and back through some mountain "roads" or maybe just rock paths :) We ended up parking the bus in a little clearing in hopes of finding a waterfall that we knew was somewhere near by. It had started misting outside earlier that day and we actually were able to wear sweatshirts! In the DR! That in itself was a treat :) We started walking down a path into what I would call a rainforest. I had just been saying the day before that I really wanted to go to one, and there we were! It was beautiful! Everything was so green and wet and full of life. The trees engulfed us in this canopy that made me feel like I was in a different world. Even the sounds around us sounded just like what you would picture a rainforest to sound like... birds chirping, water flowing. It was beautiful and the pictures we got don't do it justice.

And then, we made it to the waterfall! It was gorgeous and right in the middle of this rainforest! I loved every minute of our time there and was simply in awe of our God who is all about the details. Who created this rainforest and waterfall simply because it's beautiful. I saw His beauty and His love for us all over that place. These are my roommates, Christine and Elizabeth, and I at the waterfall.

Yesterday was full of so many adventures and I felt so surrounded by the Dominican culture... seeing new places, eating random fruit and bread from stands on the side of the street, talking to kids in Spanish on there way out of school, walking the streets of Santiago and buying plastic-y Dominican hair clips, sitting down at a restaurant and shocking the waiters because we know Spanish, wearing sweatshirts in December when it's still probably in the low 80s just because we can, and on and on and on. I love this place so much.

It's been pretty busy, but I'll try and post a blog of more depth soon... just wanted to fill you in on what's been going on! I'm moving to Jaibon (the other orphanage) this Friday and spending a little over a week there. We are all moving over there to spend Christmas with them and get the place ready for people to start living there again. While I am so happy to see those boys again and get to be able to do something special with them for Christmas, I'm sad to not be spending Christmas here with my family in Monte Cristi. But hey, changes are abundant in this life and God seems to be stripping me of myself more and more each day. I pray that you are all doing well! I love each and every one of you!

y la ultima!

2009-12-05T19:40:00.000-08:00

The Christmas tree at the orphanage!

Group picture with all of the interns and leaders from the fall! Minus Sharon and Christine :(

continued...

2009-12-05T19:34:00.000-08:00

Elizabeth and I pretending to throw Vivian in the pool.

After dropping Caela three times, we finally got it right!

Elizabeth getting her hair done DR style by the girls at the orphanage. This was probably a two hour process, but at the end her hair was amazingly straight! Although you should have seen this chair... there wasn't a plug so they had rigged it to stick wires in an outlet to make it work... it was crazy!

The GINORMOUS birthday/Christmas cake celebrating Christmas and all the birthdays from October, November, and December.

continued...

2009-12-05T19:24:00.000-08:00

Sisters... Indiana and Luz Maria.

Ari with her new toothless smile. She had an infection and a bad tooth that needed to be pulled. We had some dentists here last week so after lunch one day they pulled the tooth. It was quite the experience. Now she goes around telling everyone she got her mouth cleaned and that the dirty tooth is all clean now!

Last night we ate dinner at a local hotel. Elizabeth and I sporting non-OO shirts :)

The group standing on a TINY bridge between two pools :)

a series of photo blogs :)

2009-12-05T19:19:00.000-08:00

Things have been pretty busy here the past few weeks, hence the lack of blogs. So I thought I would just upload pictures that tell a piece of the stories from the past few weeks. But for some reason the internet only likes to upload four pictures per post here, so there shall be a couple of posts :) here goes...

We had a HUGE Thanksgiving dinner with all of the kids from the orphanage. It was the craziest, biggest Thanksgiving dinner I've ever seen... loved it! Joanni digging into some good 'ole mashed potatoes and chicken!

Elizabeth (my roommate) and I with all of the older girls.

This is a nativity scene that is set up at a house right outside the orphanage. They decorate for Christmas really early here and they go ALL OUT. It's pretty intense. This nativity scene blasts really loud music from dinner time until the next morning every night.

Nena being picture shy and Mineli con flores, pero sin dientes :)

gracias a Ti, hoy soy feliz...

2009-11-21T10:00:00.000-08:00

So a couple days this week I was blessed with a free hour at school during the day. One day I helped another teacher out, one day I worked on things for my literacy program, one day I cleaned my classroom from top to bottom, and the other day, I read :) I’ve been reading John Perkins and Shane Claiborne’s new book, Follow Me to Freedom and God has been showing me a lot through it. When I was reading one day this week, I came across this quote when Shane Claiborne was talking about his live in inner city Philadelphia…

“Stability is a traditional monastic vow; it is to commit to a group of people and to be submitted to them. Stability is something poor neighborhoods [and really everyone] are starved for. There are so many things that don’t last—like landlords. And missionaries. Things come and go, and people are moving all the time—not far, but often. It’s part of the culture of poverty that is so unhealthy. And it takes commitment—literally, a commitment to become a stable part of the neighborhood to change that.”

After I read that I had to put the book down. I'm a dreamer. I often find myself thinking about where God might take me, what countries I might end up in, ways to bring justice and love, places that need their chains of bondage to be broken. There is so much I want to do, so many places I want to see. I want to go to the ends of the earth proclaiming Jesus' love. I want to do Mission Year. I want to do the World Race. I want to go to Uganda and live in an orphanage. I want to spend more time in the Dominican. I want to go to Eastern Europe... and the Holy Land. I want to go to Papua New Guinea and do Bible translation. I want to do Timo and work with an unreached people group in Africa. I want to live in a trailer park in the States (preferably with Spanish speakers :) ), I want to live in row housing with a stoop, I want to go to Haiti and work to eliminate poverty, I want to raise up leaders in the Dominican to end the racism towards Haitians. I want to breathe the Gospel wherever I go, bringing life to people. Sometimes I talk to people about all these things that I want to do. I want to throw my life at Jesus' feet... and go where He leads. I have often thought about living my life on a year-to-year basis.

But when I read that quote, I just stopped reading. It was like a realization to me that all of those above sentences are about me. I want to here, I want to go there, I want to do this, I want to do that. And though they are all rooted in my desire to show people the love of Christ, I was hit over the head that maybe that's not the way that He wants His love to be shown. Maybe He wants me to build roots with people. To stay in their lives for more than a couple months or a year. Maybe I have a lot to learn about what pouring into people really means. Maybe to invest in them I need to actually move in for the long haul. To live life with them, not just a stint for a year or so and then on to something different. And not that that is wrong. Afterall, Jesus lived His life travelling and ministering from city to city. And I believe God is probably calling some people to devote themselves to that nomadic lifestyle. But somewhere along the line, I think I turned my dreams into my own, instead of God's. I started to take control... and that's the last thing I want to do... because I surely know that His plans are far better than mine! So my reading day turned into God gently reminding me to once again lay my life at His feet. To place my direction in the palm of His hand. And to remember that His plans will far exceed anything that I can even imagine. And I feel Him turning my heart towards putting down roots somewhere. I have no idea where that's going to be. Maybe it's here in the Dominican (can't say I would mind that :) ), maybe it's in the States, or maybe it's in a country I've never even heard of. But I want to devote my life to serving and sharing the love of Christ with whoever God wants me to.

On a side note, when I picked up the book again, I turned the page and about half of the places that I have dreamt about going to were talked about. And the author reminds us that while learning in these types of settings and ministering to these people in short amounts of time are wonderful and bring forth many great changes, it's the long term commitments where we can fully invest in people and see the fruit of God's purposes for us there. So who knows where I'll live the future or for how long... but I'm sure excited :)

Giving Nicol a manicure during a spa we did for the kids at the orphanage.

My roommates! Christine is on the left and Elizabeth is in the middle.

Yulisa, Yenny, Yessica, and I on the patio.

Coral and I at the festival.

...cuando llegaste aprendi a vivir.

me gusta ese paiz...

2009-11-14T18:42:00.000-08:00

On Monday, some things came up and I found out that I would not be teaching my classes in the Institute this week, but I will be leading a team of 20 high schoolers that were coming down. I love when teams are here so I was excited about that. The team got here Tuesday night and it has been busy ever since. I have enjoyed the change of pace and being able to spend a little more time with the kids here at the orphanage. The group has been great and this week has been full of special things. On Friday afternoon we took them for a quick swim in the ocean. When we were driving back, we got to catch the sunset...

As we were driving back to the orphanage after the beach, I couldn't help but be overwhelmed with my love for this place. Sometimes these feelings come out of nowhere... but when they come, I freak out thinking about ever possibly having to leave. We were driving down the narrow, curvy road, with the ocean to our right and hints of the sunset peaking out from behind the trees... my ipod was playing Jimmy Needham over the speakers of the bus... words of needing Jesus like a hurricane, like a burning flame, to consume me.. some of the neighborhood boys were driving past on their motorcycle... and there was a bus full of chattering high schoolers behind me... and as I looked out at the ocean, I smiled knowing this is exactly where I am supposed to be. This island is my home. And I'm not sure what will happen to my heart come next August.

This is Yessica.... my prima-hermana as she calls me. Or cousin sister in English. Yessica lives at the orphanage and I spend a significant amount of time with her every day. She doesn't like to show her teeth in pictures, even though her smile is beautiful. I pray that God uses our time spent together to show her His intense love for her.

This is Nena! She is seven years old and is full of spunk and attitude! However, she is also a cuddle bug with a wild imagination and adventurous spirit. Today we had a morning full of activities for the kids with an Olympics theme. Nena colored this picture and hung it on the cabinets with the stickers on the edges. She was so proud of it and wanted me to take a couple of pictures with her standing beside it.

And this is Ari... one of the 3-year-old twins. At the end of the activities this morning, each of the kids received a bag full of goodies. Here's Ari sporting her new sunglasses. All of the little girls had crazy colored sunglasses in their bags that they wore the rest of the day. They were so cute!

Introducing...

2009-11-08T08:37:00.000-08:00

Luis Alberto!

So I haven't always been the best at updates or in what all exactly happens here... so I thought, why not introduce you to some of the kids here?! This is the handsome Luis Alberto! He is a precious 5-year-old little boy who just started living at the orphanage the beginning of August. His smile will melt your heart. He loooves learning little phrases in English and can tell you his name, age, and that he is doing "fine" if you ask him those questions in English.

I see Jesus in Luis Alberto. Thursday night I was sitting with him and he started tugging on my shirt with a lot of excitement. "Heather, Heather," he said. "Dios esta ariba en el cielo! Mira! Mira! Dios esta ariba!" ...God's up in the sky! Look up! Look up! God's up there! He was so excited to tell me about how God was up in Heaven. So then we started talking about God through his five-year-old eyes and how Jesus lives in our hearts. His child-like faith melted my heart. After we talked for a few minutes, we sat there and then I said, "Luis Alberto, who is your father?" The question puzzled him for a second, but then he turned and looked at me and replied, "God." As he smiled, I smiled, so thankful for seeing glimpses of Jesus through the gentle heart of Luis Alberto.

love them...

2009-11-07T09:08:00.001-08:00

Yesterday was one of my favorite days of being here. We took ten of the older kids at the orphanage on a little field trip to some of the cities in the interior of the Dominican. We got to see a lot of places that are rich in Dominican history. It was sooo much fun! We left at 7 in the morning and all piled onto the OO bus. All the Americans were sitting by themselves before we picked up the kids at their door joking that we couldn't wait to see who we would get to sit next to. The first 2 1/2 hours were spent on the bus, but even that was a lot of fun.

Carolina, Nicol, and I on the bus.

The first stop we made was at a park to eat snacks and then visit a local Catholic church. It was beautiful with stained glass windows made from glass brought back from Italy. The Dominican is 95% Catholic so most churches you see are old but not necessarily extremely active.

Afterwards, we headed to another city where there is a museum dedicated to the Maribel sisters who played a vital role in what brought Dominicans the freedom they have today. The country used to be run by a dictator of sorts and these women helped bring restoration to the D.R. We also had the huge privelege of meeting (and taking a picture with!) the only sister who survived the overthrow of the old goverment.

Yessica, Yenny, and I at the house of the Maribel sisters.

The gardens at the house were beautiful!

After this we headed to a nearby town that has a store similar to Walmart. It was crazy big and something I have never seen in the Dominican Republic. We took the kids inside and actually ate at a "food court" that was located in the store. They had a Domino's! So we ordered a whole lot of pizza and pushed together some tables for all 27 of us to sit down and eat. Everyone loved the pizza and getting to roam around the aisles. It almost didn't even feel like we were in the same country. Here's just a glimpse of some of the pizza we ate...

We then headed to a different park with some gardens to hang out a take a group picture. We then headed to the next stop on our list (which I can't remember the city name) which was the sister city to Atlanta, GA! Crazy! We stopped at a big playground. I have never seen anything like it here. It was a wooden playground painted all kinds of bright colors. We had tons of fun running around on everything and taking some more pictures.

We left this city and drove about a half hour to a monument in Santiago in memory of the heroes of Dominican history. The monument sits on top of a big hill and overlooks Santiago (the second largest city in the D.R.). By this time it was dark so it was neat to see all of the city lights. We left here to begin the 2 1/2 hour drive home... which true to Dominican culture turned into a lot longer than that. That's another story in and of itself, but it took us over four hours to get back home. However, even that was so much fun, just hanging out with the kids, playing a little mafia, and arguing over who has the best music. By the last hour or so of the drive, everyone was asleep. I was sitting with Carolina and Nicol... Nicol was leaning against the window, I was sleeping against her, and Carolina was sleeping against me the rest of the drive. I couldn't help but think about how these kids have become so much a part of my family. I have shared life with them the last 2 1/2 years and watched a lot of them grow up. I love sharing special moments like yesterday with them. It reminds me of the beauty of community and the way God intended life to be. All barriers are broken and we are simply living life together. I love them so much!

Yessica posing with a butterfly at the park. Thank you Jesus for new life :)

since i've been back...

2009-11-05T17:50:00.000-08:00

So I safely arrived back in the Dominican late Saturday night. Driving back into town, it almost felt like I had never left. It was so good to see everyone back here and I have loved spending time with the kids since I've been back. Sunday we a little informal church service for the OO volunteers and then we headed to a newly discovered beach after lunch. Nobody swam, but it was fun to just hang out, take some pictures, and enjoy being back outside again. After being at the beach for a while, we headed to the English Institute to play some games and have some real Coke floats made by the Hopkins'. It was so much fun being able to spend time again with the people I live with here. Sunday night ended with going to church with the kids from the orphanage. It was a great first day back!

This week I have been taking over Christine's (my roommate) classes at the English Institute. She will be going back to the States for a month on Saturday so I will now be teaching 5th grade Level 1 students. I have to say, that I miss my Level 2 students a whole lot. It's hard seeing them come into school every day and not get to teach them, but I just keep reminding myself that it's not about me. So this week has been fun getting to know some new students.

I have also being tutoring the five oldest kids at the orphanage in math this week. I enjoy teaching math and it's cool to see how much progress they make in just a week. A lot of times we have to start from scratch on basic concepts because the school systems here are so far behind. But they want to learn so it's neat to see it all clicking for them.

Tomorrow we are taking ten of the oldest kids from the orphanage on a field trip day where we are touring some historic places in the interior of the country. I am so excited to not only see these places, but to get to with them. I love just hanging out with the kids here, so I can't wait to spend the day with them tomorrow. It's gonna be great!

So that's what's been going on this past week! Love and miss ya'll!!

And because she's just the cutest little girl ever... some new pictures of Luz Maria. She's getting so big! Here she is with a notebook and sporting her little backpack...

Before she left to go inside she said... "one more picture?!" She's adorable!

los estados unidos...

2009-10-27T09:35:00.000-07:00

As I signed in to my blog this morning for the first time since I have been back in the States, I couldn't put my finger on what was weird about it... and then I noticed. My blog page was no longer in Spanish. In the Dominican all web pages are in Spanish and I had grown quite used to that. These little things remind me of how much I miss that little island that will always hold a piece of my heart no matter where I am.

I came across a quote this morning that really hit me...
"When you feel disenfranchised (like you don't belong in the place that was once your home) it is no longer the world that matters, it is the kingdom that matters and when the kingdom is all that matters to you- you won't fit in."

I have loved being able to see people who are such a huge part of my life these past couple of weeks. I have been able to spend time with family and friends who know my heart and that has been amazing. I have missed being able to share in every day life with my sisters and it has been a huge blessing to spend time with them again. But I also couldn't help but feel overwhelmed that the United States is no longer my home. So much of me feels disconnected from this place. My life is so different now than when I lived here. I sometimes feel myself lost in a distant world where I am back with the kids in the Dominican when people are talking about T.V. shows, the latest movies, or going shopping to find new winter clothes (it's still in the 90s in the Dominican!). It's not that I'm mad or bitter or hate being in the States (I've really loved my time here), I just find myself so disconnected from life here. I haven't listened to American radio in almost 6 months... and while I could tell you the latest Spanish songs and know all the words to Enrique Iglesius' song "Dimelo," I have no idea any of the words to the songs of Miley Cyrus or pop radio or even new English worship songs. So like I said, it doesn't make me mad or even sad, it just reminds me that my home is longer here. My home right now is a little island just south of Cuba... where the people speak Spanish and sit outside all day long and live off little dirt roads and eat rice and beans for every meal every day and will talk to you any time of any day and invite you into their homes and share what they have with you and let you hold their babies even if they haven't ever spoken a word to you and smile at you from their hearts.

And then I came across that quote. And I was reminded that no matter when or how often my physical home changes, I don't want to ever feel like I fit in where I'm at. I don't fit in because I was created for a kingdom that is not of this world. And so while I am here, I pray I am always living kingdom-minded. That the Spirit overflows through me and that I am bringing the kingdom of God to this earth no matter where I am living. Because I have a feeling that my earthly home is going to be changing a lot more than I can even imagine. So I continue to learn lessons of grounding my home in the kingdom instead of my physical location. Oh the beauty of letting the Lord direct our paths. His plans are far better than any I could conceive.

So I pray for all of us that our physical homes don't define us. But that the kingdom is all that matters.

Changes make you reevaluate and think. One more reason why I love 'em :)

2 days :)

2009-10-11T07:50:00.000-07:00

I'm gonna miss teaching English to these girls that I love sooo much :)

I'm gonna miss screaming the songs for the Excellent Eskimos, Fabulous Frogs, Wacky Wallabees, and Fantastic Flamingos.

I'm gonna miss this little girl who stole my heart two and half years ago.

I'm gonna miss Ariani screaming, "Hedder, ayuda me! ...suba me!"

I'm gonna miss Coral's attitude, Ariani's hugs, Ari's adventurous spirit, and Paola's smirky smile.

I'm gonna miss driving into this entrance of the orphanage that has become my home.

...But the AMAZING thing is, I get to come back! AND, I can't freaking wait to see everyone back in the States... seriously, I wake up every morning and can't believe that I get the blessing of flying back to Kentucky in 2 days! God is good and I couldn't be more ecstatic! I love you all and am excited about seeing some of you in a few days :)

change

2009-10-06T09:40:00.000-07:00

I have grown to love change. While I see some changes as good and some as bad, I have come to see all changes as beautiful part of God's purposes. It seems to me that God created everything to be in some sort of process of changing. People grow. Leaves fall. Seasons change. The sky is different everytime you look at it. Flowers grow. People move. School ends. Souls are renewed. Hearts are changed.

Last night I was laying on the roof and watching the stars. Half of the sky was star-filled and the other half was a mixture of the moon's bright light and clouds. But the sky changed. The clouds moved. There was incredible lightening. I saw a few shooting stars. I kept thinking about how God really does create everything to be in a process of changes. Our hearts weren't created to be stagnant. They were created with life and purpose and longings and desires for our Lover. We aren't meant to simply go through each day just trying to get through it... we are meant to live intentionally and to change... to become more like Jesus and less like ourselves. To fall more in love with our Father every day. And to bring the Kingdom of God to earth.

The past six months have held more changes for me than I could have imagined. I graduated, left home, moved to a foreign country, led a Christian internship program, loved on some awesome boys at an orphanage in Jaibon, moved to Monte Cristi, started teaching at the English Institute, and started a literacy program. I have experienced life in an intense spiritual community and I have experienced it without one. I have struggled, wrestled, and thirsted for the Lord. I have been taught lessons about love and grace and selflessness and mercy. And I have fallen in love with Jesus all over again.

And all of these life and spiritual changes, have resulted in part from the changes in my physical surroundings. If I had played it safe and chosen the easier road, I would not have learned the lessons I have. I would not have learned to trust God with my whole heart. And my faith would not be as deep and real as it is now.

All that to say, change is good. Change is beautiful. And I think, God's plans for us all include more changes than we can even imagine.

We just have to keep our focus at the cross.

new life...

2009-10-01T18:19:00.000-07:00

Sometime last year, I got an awesome package from one of my sisters (shout out to you, Katie girl!). Inside, was this flower...

Ever since then, this flower always reminds me of God's promises of new life.... of His promises of rebirth and forgiveness... of His promises to restore His people, bringing the beauty of what He intended life to be. So even now, this precious reminder is twisted around the pole of my good ole' wooden bunkbed. And it reminds me of my soul... once dead, but now made so alive in Christ. God is so faithful and reminds me daily of His love and mercy and compassion and grace, both for me and for the world. I am still so humbled to be here... my eyes are constantly receiving glimpses of God's heart for His children, His heart for the nations, His heart for every person to know Him. And as I held Joanni tonight while she fell asleep, I just kept thinking that I hope this sweet little 5-year old will be overwhelmed by God's love, and one day fall in love with her Maker... and I hope that one day she too will be reminded of new life and the Father's restoration.

So I really can't imagine being anywhere else right now. I love the Dominican so much! The people here are so precious to me! And God reminds me all the time of how divine and perfect His plans and purposes are for our lives.

"As he says in Hosea: 'I will call them my people who are not my people; and I will call her my loved one who is not my loved one.'" Romans 9:25

AND... it's October! And I will be home in less than 2 weeks for Sara's wedding! Can't wait :)

summer is over and the dirt is swept away...

2009-09-19T12:45:00.000-07:00

I am continually shocked by how quickly time seems to fly while I am here. When we woke up this morning, my roommate remarked, "Well, your summer is over." What she meant is that the last intern that spent part of the summer with me in Jaibon left this morning. (And I miss her sooo much already!) It's weird for me to think that there isn't anyone else here who experienced the orphanage in Jaibon like I did... who was a part of that amazing spiritual community... who knew those boys so well and watched them change and grow... who experienced a true since of the Lord's divine planning in each person that set foot in that place. Summer is over. That chapter is finished. And while those in the States have the approaching fall season- the cool weather... the changing of the leaves- to remind them of that, I see it in the ending of an internship program insanely blessed by the Lord. His hands were all over it and I saw Him moving so intricately and personally in His children. However, though that summer in Jaibon holds a very special place in my heart, I smile knowing that God's purposes for me here are only just beginning.

And as the seasons of OO change, I am excited for this next one. This morning Christine, my roommate, and I cleaned out our room. And by cleaned out, I mean literally cleaned junk OUT of our room. Living here, things get dirty real fast. Though we are blessed to have a room with concrete walls, a concrete roof, and screens over our windows, dust and dirt still manages to make its way in. So every couple weeks we pick up everything off the floor, sweep, and then "throw water." In the Dominican, you "throw water" to mop. They literally fill up huge buckets of soapy water and then throw it all over the floor. Then you grab a broom, starts scrubbing, and then sweep all the water out at the end. You usually end up throwing water several times before all the dirt is gone. It's sooo much fun! You end up slipping and sliding all around the room with water and bubbles floating everywhere! We also took of our window screens and cleaned out the windows today which we are pretty sure hasn't been done since the building was built a year and a half ago. We were scrubbing those windows forever. Half the time I was standing on a chair, just scratching off caked-on dirt with my rag and finger nail. It looked pretty gross, but it felt so good to be finally removing all that dirt off of our windows. And as I stood there picking the dirt out of the window frames, I couldn't help being reminded of my heart. So many times I forget the need of that clean up. Instead of continually begging God to purify my heart and make me new, I let my dirt and selfishness build up. My business became my dirt. Everything that I had to get done became something that built up dirt on my heart where God was given my pockets of time instead of my all. I was drained and longing for rest in my Love. The past few days I have felt God stripping me of myself and reminding me once again of my purpose in Him. His grace and love for me astound me. I cannot fathom the grace of my Father on a child so weak as me. That when I mess up, He still pursues me. That when He is not my first focus, He still loves me the same. That when I am blinded by my selfishness, He still continually blesses me. So this morning as I chipped the dirt off the windows, I begged God to do the same in my heart. That I would have a clean heart before Him that looks more like Jesus' every day. So I pray that even if it hurts, God continues to chip all the dirt out of my life.

As far as what's been going on here, we have been teaching for two weeks at the English Institute. I have loved getting to know the kids there! They are wonderful. I continue to love the kids here at the orphanage more each day. They have become family to me and hold a very special place in my heart. This week we have a group of 30 high schoolers coming in and we will be launching the first week of the literacy program at a local school. Heck yes! It should be a lot of fun! I love life here. When we drive through town to the Institute, I can't help but think that this feels like home. I don't feel like I'm on a trip or doing an internship somewhere for a few months... this is life. And I love it.

And for fun... You know you live in the D.R. if...
-there is chinola (passionfruit) growing on your laundry lines outside.
-you find turantulas, cockroaches, lizards and many other creatures in your room (or in your backpack!) on a daily basis.
-you find your English getting worse every day as you speak in Spanish or really simplified English.
-sometimes your students at the Institute let out some cuss words... but it's only because they are mispronouncing words in English.
-you get really excited about going to the Italian pizza place in town... and make bets as to who can eat the most pizza.
-you are considered on "team woops" if the OO tshirt you chose isn't the same color as someone else's that day.
-if you relate every weird thing you see back to the earthquake that happened a couple weeks ago.

Love and miss ya'll!

ahora...

2009-09-02T15:33:00.001-07:00

And once again, I have failed to update my blog in while. So sorry!

So one question that I have been getting a lot lately is "What exactly are you doing now that summer is over?!" So I figured, why not answer that on my blog :)

This week is kind of the transition week between the summer and fall program with OO. Almost all of the kids have started school (some kids in the Dominican decide they just don't want to go to school the first week or so... and that is deemed acceptable) so we are no longer doing summer camps. At the beginning of the week we took suitcases full of school supplies out to all of the local schools. I loved those days. It was extremely humbling to give these schools the only school supplies they will receive. Orphanage Outreach also started an English Institute in town several years ago where we offer free English classes to 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th graders. Tomorrow is the beginning of registration for the Institute so we will be there all day Thursday, Friday, and Saturday registering both new and old students. Starting Monday, I will be teaching all day Monday-Friday... God has a sense of humor I guess :) Haha, but I am so excited! I will be teaching Level 2 kids so they have already had one year of English at the Institute. Today we spent the whole day cleaning out the Institute and setting up our classrooms. I had a ton of fun! It's neat seeing that I am now using my four years of college education in my very own classroom. But I must say, I will never again take laminators, copiers, printers, paper cutters, cork boards, or any other school supply for granted! So from now on I will be teaching 6th graders English!

I am still living at the orphanage, so some evenings we have activities for the kids and other evenings we have some free time to just hang out with them or plan our lessons for the Institute. However, this week we also are starting a program for the five oldest kids at the orphanage to help prepare them for college. Leonel and Carolina will be graduating at the end of this school year and Kelvin, Cristofer, and Nicol have two years left. By the time they are ready to go to college, they have to pass a GED-type test. We are working with them 4 nights a week so we are also pouring a lot of time into that. Each of the leaders have a night where we specifically are in charge of teaching a lesson on a specific subject area. My subject is math, so on Tuesday nights, I teach math in Spanish :) Ha, that's definitely a bit of a challenge! But I love it!

In addition, I am also starting a literacy program this year for OO! The rate of illiteracy in the Dominican Republic is extremely high, so my long term focus for this year is starting a literacy program where we promote reading, teach reading, and provide a place where people can have access to books. We will also be involving groups and teams in this program in the spring where we will put on reading weeks (at an unknown location at this point :) ). Yeah literacy!

So... English teacher to kids that speak only Spanish, Math teacher in Spanish, and Literacy Program Director... it's gonna be a busy and fun year :)

Adios from the island full of beautiful sunsets, priceless smiles, dirts roads, loud roosters, palm trees, tons of ants, and an orphanage full of kids who have stolen my heart :)

noche especial :)

2009-08-20T08:41:00.000-07:00

Like I said in my last blog, Noche Especial was Tuesday night! It was sooo much fun! Just picture... a floor covered with 30+ mattresses, pillows and beach balls everywhere, streamers hanging from the ceiling, a PINATA!, pin the tail on the whale :), the present game, lots of movies, snacks, and pillow fights... basically we had a HUGE slumber party with the 26 girls who live at the orphanage! It was sooo much fun! The kids here love and talk about it all year. When they got their invitations on Monday night, they freaked out! I left Noche Especial with a smile on my face from all the fun and with another piece of my heart stolen by these kids. I was completely humbled by them that night. I watched Carolina (she is 16 and the oldest of the girls at the orphanage) take care of all the younger girls... nobody told her to do that... she just does. She loves them and chooses to put their needs above hers. I have watched her grow up throughout the past three summers. She has a beautiful heart and I couldn't help but feeling so proud of her that night. I also saw Jesus in the heart of Indiana, a 9 year old girl who I have also watched grow up through the past three summers. After we did the piñata (they LOVED it, especially since candy is a big treat for them), we had to all walk back over to where we were having the sleepover. The boys (who are having theirs tonight!) wanted to come up sooo bad and they were all waiting at the bottom of the steps when we came back over. Indiana and I were the last to walk back over. We started walking up the stairs, but then she paused. I watched as she turned around, ran back down the stairs, and shared her candy with her brother. Then she proceeded to pass out her candy to all of the boys who were there. In that moment, I saw Jesus in her eyes. Eyes that were filled with joy from sharing her gift. I continue to be humbled by the sacrificial attitudes I see in the Dominican people. They have few material possessions, yet they still offer their best to others. I am reminded to live unselfishly, to love others more than myself, and to truly be the hands and feet of Jesus.

Yasmin rockin out lots of leis!

opportunity

2009-08-17T16:04:00.000-07:00

Today I realized a lot of things.

For the past week I have really begun asking myself a lot of questions about opportunity. I am broken by the fact that I have been given so many opportunities, while others have been given none. Why have I always had clean water, while people here savor the one truck full of clean water that comes once a week (hopefully)? Why have I been given an outstanding education, while people here have never had anyone teach them how to read? Why do I own several Bibles, while a community here only has one to share... and most can't read it. Why did I grow up with people that loved me all around, when there are kids here who crave a simple hug? I could list a thousand more questions that are reeling through my mind. But the point is, my eyes have been continually opened to the fact that I have been blessed more than I have ever chosen to see. And yet, my heart hurts realizing how much I have horded those blessings. While my opportunities have been great, there are millions who have had few. And so, the biggest lesson I am being taught right now? That my responsibility is to spread that opportunity. People deserve a chance at a good education. People deserve clean water and clothes. People deserve food every day. And most importantly, people deserve to hear the Gospel. So as my journey continues, I will remember to constantly spread the opportunity.

Entonces, that is what has been going on in my head and I have been blessed with seeing it play it. The Lord is so faithful. One of my main focuses for the next year here is starting a literacy program in Monte Cristi. The education system in the Dominican Republic is the worst education system in the entire western hemisphere. Thus, literacy is a huge area for improvement because many people never really learned how to read in the first place. So this week is the start of the program with a "Reading Week" at the English Institute. I loved teaching my kids in the morning... who would have thought I would love teaching?! That's a whole different story :) But anyway, in the afternoon I got all the pre-teen/teenage girls full of attitude (I might be teaching their class this year which would be amazing! praying for it!). They are straight up disrespectful and do pretty much whatever they want whenever they want. It's easy for a lot of volunteers to get run over by them. So I was pumped when they all got put in my group because I just have this huge passion to invest in them and inspire change within them! I just want to see them grow, to see them enjoy learning, to know they can do it, to see the walls be broken that they have built up, to develop relationships with them... and for them to see Jesus! So today I was in shock because I saw that happening! God is just so good! I feel like I gained their respect. They were silent when others were reading aloud. They helped people pronounce words. They answered my questions. And they did their work. This may not seem like a big deal... but it was HUGE!!! One of the interns and I were talking about it and I kept saying, "It's just like 'Freedom Writers.'" Haha. It just makes me see such hope for them this year. So be praying that God divinely orchestrates the students that are in my English class this fall! It's gonna be good :)

AND tomorrow is "noche especial" for the girls at the orphanage... basically a huge sleepover with lots of movies, snacks, and games! LOVE IT!!!

a very special night :)

2009-08-12T19:12:00.000-07:00

So I have been waiting for tonight to come for a very long time. Previously, the orphanage here has been one floor and has had the capacity to house 40-50 kids. Without adding on to the orphanage, there would have come a time when we would have had to turn kids away. However, about two years ago, work began to build a second floor on top of the orphanage. About two months ago, the building process was complete. When Graystone came down in June, they painted the inside, Dominican workers painted the outside, and Terry built custom cabinets for each of the boys. This past month, last minute work has been down to prepare the second floor to house all of the boys that are currently living at the orphanage. Tonight there was a ceremony, complete with the cutting of a ribbon to mark the completion of the orphanage. I cannot begin to tell you how exciting that was! The boys were all walking around with the keys to their new closets hanging around their necks :) The orphanage has essentially just doubled its capacity! It brought tears to my eyes to see the kids so excited and to see the progress over the past couple of years that I have been coming down here. And tonight, there are going to be some Dominican boys chattering happily as they fall asleep in their new rooms.

Leonel - sporting his new closet key!

Everyone eating dinner on the new roof after the dedication of the building.

the next beginning is here :)

2009-08-08T17:53:00.000-07:00

So I realize that it has been foreverrrr since I have updated! So sorry! All summer I have thought that I have been busy, but it was really nothing in comparison to the past three weeks. So for now, I'm just going to give ya'll a little update on what I have been doing and later I'll blog what I've been thinking :)

So three weeks ago was the last week of all the 8-week interns. It was a busy fun-filled week which I talked a little bit about in my last blog. However, the last two nights of that week I could probably write pages about... but briefly, the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart in incredible ways Thursday night and I was able to share my story of my journey with Jesus with an intern on Friday. Ask me about it and I will give you more details but it's a long story for this blog post :) it was awesome!!! Also, Friday night I had the privelege of giving another intern her first Bible. To see the pure joy on her face in that moment was priceless. I continue to be humbled daily at the gift it is to be a part of something so huge that is going on in the DR.

Saturday two groups joined us in Jaibon for our last week at that orphanage. One was a college campus ministry group and the other was a church group. I led the team as well as directed the programs along with the much-appreciated help of Monica :) It was a very special week that I had the privelege of leading. We did a camp in the morning at the orphanage and camps in the afternoon at two separate bateys (communities built around banana plantations). Both camps at the bateys were incredible and I wish I could share more about those right now as well. God continues to open my eyes to the way that the majority of the world lives and I am moved to inspire change in the way we live.

Last Saturday marked the closing of the chapter that was my summer. We spent the whole day packing everything up in Jaibon and making sure everything was clean and put away for us to leave. It was an extremely emotional day, especially for the boys who have never had a group of Americans stay the whole summer and then leave. They sat in a row of chairs the whole day and just watched us pack everything away. The whole time they just kept saying how sad they were and how they didn't want us to ever leave. Though volunteers will be moving back to Jaibon in the winter, my heart broke for these boys who were once again feeling the pain of someone in their lives leaving. Those feelings and those words are what motivate me to return. I can never see myself not coming back to these places and maintaining relationships with these kids. On a funny note, we were also reminded of what country we were in that afternoon and the fact that we must always be flexible :) We were supposed to be picked up around 3 in the afternoon by a bus coming from the airport to go to Monte Cristi. Well 4 o'clock rolled around and we were still waiting. Through some communication issues, we had been forgotten :) So a few phonecalls later, most of the interns decided to be picked up by another bus to go pick up new volunteers at the airport and Monica and I decided to be picked up by a taxi bus at 8 that was driving through Jaibon... oh DR creativity :) ha! Not to mention, that the lovely ladies that cook for us made us dinner in thirty minutes out of relatively nothing since all the food had already been packed and taken to Monte Cristi! Love it! So about 9 Saturday night I finally made it to my new home at the Monte Cristi orphanage :)

This past week we had a health group and some health-focused individuals so we did a health camp at the orphanage and in a batey. It was the first health camp that we have ever done and I loved being a part of that program. We taught basic health lessons such as dental hygiene, personal hygience, nutrition, and exercise. Concepts that are well-known in the States have never been taught here so it was a much needed camp. We also had some audiologists here that made hearing aids for people at the bateys who had never been able to hear well! The smiles on their faces were filled with more joy than I have seen in a long time. This week was long and equally as busy as the previous two so I was definitely glad for this Saturday to come. I have not had a couple hours to myself in atleast three weeks so today was definitely much appreciated. Though I needed the rest and rejuvenation, today held a sad note to it as well. Monica, who flew down with me my first day here this summer left this morning. It was sad to see the last person who was with me in the beginning leave. Also, I feel as if the Lord has specifically placed people in my life throughout this summer that have understood my heart and had the same passions and dreams that I do. Three specific girls have been here throughout my summer that I know the Lord divinely crossed my paths with. There has always been someone that the Lord has provided for me to share my soul with. Today when the last of them left and I knew there were no interns coming in, it was pretty rough (don't get me wrong, there are still great people here that I love very much... it's just that I miss those kindred spirits). However, I know that God is faithful and is going to bring others when I least expect it. I actually have already seen the loving way that God is doing that. I was writing in my prayer journal this morning and asked that God would bring someone yet again to fill that role of a friend that understands my heart for the Lord and how I desire to live my life for Him. This afternoon I was sitting talking with some of the kids that live at the orphanage and someone came in to visit the kids that had been here last year. I knew who she was but had never been at the same location as her... however, we started talking and ended up chatting for a couple hours about life... finding that we have similar hopes and dreams for living and spreading the Gospel of our Savior. It was such a blessing and I walked away from that conversation praising God for placing her in my path even if it was just for that one conversation that took place today. God is sooooo good!

So that wraps up the past three weeks on a very surface level :) More new volunteers came today and we are doing two health camps again next week. I am loving life here and excited for what is to come in the next year! Oh, and did I meantion that I am starting a literacy program in Monte Cristi for the community?!? I am SO pumped! More about that soon as well :) I love and miss you all more than you even know! Te quiero :)

An end and another new beginning :)

2009-07-23T09:48:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since I have posted an update... things have been just a tad bit busy :) Last week we did camp in the afternoon at a local church. It was probably my most favorite camp of the summer! I felt like I was looking into the face of Jesus through those precious children. The last day I spent most of the afternoon holding a two month old baby girl. That alone would have made my week :) But God had other little blessings in store for us. Wednesday afternoon the pastor invited us over to her house for cokes and crackers. In the DR we have to be careful with EVERYTHING we eat outside of the orphanage because of parasites. When we got to her house she had the cokes in glasses with ice already in them. Ice is something that we are constantly aware of because it could be made with bad water. After talking with her about the cokes and ice, she assured us that they were fine for us to drink. I sat back down with the interns, spoke a disclaimer about drinking at your own risk and proceeded to drink my glass of coke :) Some drank theirs, others didn't and we went home joking that the next day there would only be five interns who weren't sick to run the camp. Though suspicious of getting sick, most of us agreed we would rather be sick then to turn down the hospitality this woman was showing us. We thought that that was an amazing gift, but the next day she invited us over to her house once again for cokes and crackers. This time, however, the cokes were still in sealed bottles (they had been sitting in ice so they were already cold) and the crackers were still wrapped. This may seem meaningless to some, but the fact that she took the time to show us that we wouldn't be getting sick was one of the most humbling acts I have ever seen. I saw the beauty of hospitality and Jesus shining through this woman who was using her precious resources to buy cokes and crackers for 15 Americans... twice. We were overwhelmed by her gift to us and left that day overwhelmed by the sacrificial heart of the Dominicans who are living in poverty, yet still giving all they have to us.

We spent Friday at the mangroves in Monte Cristi. Mangroves are one of two kinds of trees that grow in salt water. We celebrated Morgan's birthday by watching the sunset on a pier and eating at a local pizza place.

Rachel, Page, Morgan and me at the mangroves!

We spent the weekend planning and preparing for the Olympics that we started with the boys that live at the orphanage on Sunday afternoon. We broke them into 4 teams and they have been competing in different games all week long. It has been so much fun! Tonight when we announce the winners, we have a medal stand and a festival afterwards to celebrate. The boys' favorite thing we have done all summer was a festival that we are recreating tonight. Yesterday we got to take the boys to the beach for the first time! It was so much fun seeing their faces and watching them sprint out of the bus and jump in the water. These boys have become so precious in my heart.

Alex at the beach!

Part of me has not wanted this week to come all summer. Saturday is the end of the official summer internship/Bible camps program. The interns that have been here the whole summer are leaving on Saturday. I will be so sad to see them go, yet at the same time, I can't wait to hear all of the stories about how they are changing the world back home. I have been so humbled and blessed to be able to see people's lives changed here. I have been given the gift of investing in girls and seeing their whole world change. They have fallen more in love with Jesus and that is everything I have prayed for. God is so faithful! Also, this week ending means that I move to Monte Cristi in 1 WEEK!! How crazy is that?!? I am so excited to be with those kids over there that have become my family!

One major prayer request I have is for a little boy named Danis. Danis is 11 and just got to the orphanage last night. His 4 younger brothers and sisters still live with his mom in another city. I think it's sometimes hard for us to grasp the concept of why some children stay in their homes and others get placed in orphanages because this never really happens in America. This morning I heard crying from up in my room so I walked down and found Danis sitting on a curb sobbing. I sat down next to him, rubbing his back, crying with him, and praying that God would bring him peace and show him love. Danis misses his family like crazy. Please pray that he would feel the Father's love in unexplainable ways and that he would develop strong relationships with the other boys at the orphanage. Through interactions with Danis, I saw glimpses of Jesus in Jose today. Jose is 12 and also lives at the orphanage. Some of us talked to Jose about how Danis needed a friend right now because he was sad. Not really knowing what to say, but wanting to help, Jose walked up to Danis and asked him to play a game with him. Jose sat patiently with Danis and simply taught him how to play a new game. The smiles on Danis' face were priceless. Seeing Jesus in 12 year old Jose brings me cold chills. These boys here have such a genuine childlike faith that makes me fall more in love with my Savior each day.

Sorry this was so long... guess I should update more often :) I love ya'll tons and miss you mucho!

This is Coral and Joanni... two of the girls that live in the orphanage in Monte Cristi! Living life there sooooooon :)

Sweet Ashley :)

2009-07-15T14:25:00.000-07:00

We found out today that this precious little baby is available for adoption. This is Ashley and she lives at the orphanage in Monte Cristi. She is three years old and absolutely adorable! We really want her to be placed in a good home with a great family so if you or anyone you know is interested in adoption, let me know! Ashley is amazing! The link below her picture gives a little more information :)

http://www.orphanage-outreach.org/datafiles/adopt_ashley.pdf

This past week...

2009-07-13T13:50:00.000-07:00

So this past week has gone by so incredibly fast... probably because we were so busy! Last week we did camp for 100 kids with only 9 people. That was an adventure to say the least... but it went very smoothly!

Friday we went to DaJabon (the Dominican/Hatian border), went to eat at a restaurant, went to see the kids in Monte Cristi (yesss!), and went to the beach. It was such a good break day and I needed to see those kids in Monte Cristi more than I knew. They are like my family here and I treasure moments I get to spend with them. Friday afternoon, our volunteer (Chris) that was sick got to come back from the clinic. Praise the Lord! He travelled home Saturday and made it there safe and sound :)

Saturday was a rest day at the orphanage in Jaibon so that was nice to get caught up some things. However, Saturday night we sent another intern to the clinic because he stepped on a nail that went through his tennis shoe and into his foot. Yikes! Some cleaning out of the wound and one tetnus shot later and he was back at the orphanage with us.

We had five new interns join us this weekend. It is so excited to get to know new people and have fresh energy in the group. It was exciting because our group had gotten pretty small. Yesterday we had an orientation and planning day and today was the start of camp. We are doing camp at a little church about 5 minutes away this week. Today we had about 80 kids. It was tons of fun!

I continue to feel completely humbled to be here. The Lord is good and I continually see His vision for my life unfold here. I love and miss ya'll mucho!

And for fun.... You know you live in the Dominican if...
-a chicken runs around your room clucking like crazy and refusing to leave.
-a chicken lays eggs on your suitcase... breakfast anyone?!
-You get cold when it's 80 degrees outside.
-Your English gets progressively worse.
-You get excited about finding big turantula holes.
-You refer to going to bed as "I'm going to get inside my mosquito net."
-You think that Dino cookies (cardboard-ish cookies with icing) are the best dessert to ever exist.

Life here is the best! Love it!

Glimpses of Heaven...

2009-07-08T19:45:00.000-07:00

So recently I have been thinking about Heaven and the fact that I can't even possibly comprehend how awesome it's going to be... to sit at the feet of my Savior and be able to talk to Him face to face. And as excited as I am for that, God has been reminding me that I can see Heaven right here on earth. Each day here, I see God's face... whether that's through creation or through a smile or through a conversation. I feel and see the Spirit working all around me. The other night I was walking with a bunch of boys to go play capture the flag and this sunset is what painted the sky. I felt God screaming out my name and His love for me. Just one little glimpse of what Heaven must be like.

Last night I was sitting on a concrete slab under the stars in a circle full of American college kids and Dominican boys. As we sat there playing the guitar and singing worship songs, I couldn't help but find myself thinking that Heaven must look a little like this. A group full of people... all ages... all cultures... sitting under a sky full of stars... worshipping the Father through songs. Though we spoke different languages, it didn't matter in the moment. All that mattered was praising God. And in that moment, I saw a glimpse of Heaven.

I am constantly reminded that we can continually see Heaven on earth... through learning to live more and more like Jesus each day. So for now, I'm praying we can all look more like our Savior, that the world may begin to see glimpses of Heaven. I love you all and am praying for you!

**Please pray for Chris. Chris is here for two weeks, but has had to stay at an emergency clinic the past two nights because he has a parasite. He is leaving this Saturday to travel back home. Pray he recovers quickly and can come back tomorrow and that he is feeling well enough to travel home on Saturday. Right now he is severly dehydrated and still has the parasite.

Because I miss you...

2009-07-06T06:07:00.001-07:00

Ahh! Amanda, come back! This picture makes my heart happy... our two loves! That just so happen to be hermanos :) I miss you more than you know sister! Te quiero :)

Hola!

2009-07-04T14:18:00.000-07:00

Hola from the island! It seems crazy that I have been here for five weeks… sometimes it feels as though it has only been five days. The weeks fly by here and sometimes I think it goes by just a little too fast. This week we did a Bible/English camp at a church about 20 minutes away from the orphanage. I love camp in the Dominican! Inevitably, you will start out camp the first day with around 20 kids; however, by the next day somehow well over 100 kids have heard the news and showed up. So this week we had 12 volunteers including myself and John, providing a camp for around 130 kids! It was amazing! There was so much energy, but the kids were so well behaved at the same time. I was impressed with how all of the interns jumped right in and made accommodations so that all 130 kids could stay at camp. AND, I think I sang the “Banana” song about 5 billion times this week! Who knew a silly American song could get Dominican kids (and adults!) so excited?! In the mornings here we did work projects and activities for the 22 boys that live here at the orphanage with us. I am enjoying quality time with them and being able to really invest in them. Today we had a picnic at a beach to celebrate the 4th of July. We went to one of my favorite beaches in the Dominican… it was beautiful!

This week was definitely an adjustment after half of the team went home last weekend. I have missed people like crazy this week! But God knows how much we can handle. My friend, Amanda, changed her plane ticket a while back to stay an extra week. I can’t help but think that God knew I would need her here this week. It was awesome to be able to spend her last week here just continuing to share our passion for the Lord. She left at 4 this morning and I miss her already. However, I am overwhelmed by the fact that God has big plans for her and this is all part of the journey. So I am resting in that and trusting that God will always provide people for me to share my heart with.

I also feel like God has used this week to remind of the need for change, to continue to awaken the desire in my heart to love greatly and live out the Gospel. My life is all about the Kingdom. I am falling more in love with God each day. I am overwhelmed by the way He so personally and intricately works. This week I read a prayer that I had wrote the day I got here… it simply said “change me, mold me, break me. please.” I read those words and see the Lord answering that prayer daily. I see Him breaking me, but restoring me… all for the sake of looking more like Christ. I see my heart being changed and molded and transformed to be the way God intended it to be. I see Shalom everywhere around me. I am reminded that I can’t settle for the world expects from me. I want to live freely and loudly for Jesus. This year here is changing me already more than I could have ever expected. Each moment of each day is an opportunity for the Spirit to work through me to touch people’s hearts. I love my “job.” If you can even call it that. It’s funny because I seem to never be able to get away from the question, “What are you going to do next?” In my mind, “next” is a long way away, but nevertheless, the question seems to come up all the time. And as always, who knows! But I am finding beauty in the unknown. The unknown of where I will be living in the Dominican this year, the unknown of where we will be doing camp next month, the unknown of who will be here when all the interns leave, the unknown of where I will be next August. I am learning what it truly means to live each moment for the Lord and not worry about where He takes me next. I am reminded by my friends here (shout out to 2P!) to dream big, to live freely, and to forsake all for the Gospel. So all I know is that I will always be chasing after the One who knows all… wherever He may lead. And I am excited!

I love and miss ya’ll tons!

“With our hearts burning for God, we would move forward with the freedom to pursue the passions burning within us.”
-The Barbarian Way

The beach we went to today! Beautiful!

God is good!

2009-06-28T15:24:00.000-07:00

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...

2009-06-25T15:15:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-06-17T10:29:00.000-07:00

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

feels like home...

2009-06-16T13:49:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-06-09T14:07:00.000-07:00

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!

Addicted? Maybe...

2009-05-27T13:53:00.000-07:00

So we have decided that Chick-fil-a openings might just be the best find ever. My parents call us addicts. We stick with followers.

So in honor of the first Wednesday in the past couple of weeks that we HAVEN'T been to an opening, here are a few pics.

Opening number 1: Stef and I drove 13 hours to Florida, had a day full of sunshine, tornados, and thunder storms, spent the night in a tent where the air mattresses floated because there was so much water, stuffed ourselves with free food, met our BFF John, and became the proud owners of 52 free combo meals. It rocked!

Opening number 2: Christie, Stef, and I drove only two hours... this time to Cincinnati. We spent the day reading, soaking up the sunshine (and shade!), meeting tons of awesome people, getting tats, and receiving 35 free combo meals and 9 free sandwiches! Success. Holla!

So here's to Chick-fil-a openings. We hope to be back soon. Until then, we are enjoying lots of combo meals as our henna tats fade away. I mean, who wouldn't want to hang out with your friends outside all day, meeting tons of new people, eating free food, playing games, and THEN receive over $300 worth of free food when you leave? Love it!

"Tennessee... wait, you made it too? You made it in the top 100?"

"Why can't I be my favorite number? In Cincinnati, they gave us t-shirts and they put my favorite number on it."

"You mean we get those poop nuggets again? They taste like diarrhea."

-Favorite quotes from Chick-fil-a's #1 fan.

Love of God, overflow... permeate all my soul.

2009-05-24T20:12:00.000-07:00

"In our differences, we are the same. We are a wide spectrum of people, with distinctive traits and talents, each reflecting a different characteristic of God. Each of us is playing a role in a saga so big that it can not be confined by time or space. In our pockets of isolation, we search for significance and yearn for community. So we come together, broken and injured, looking for a place to rest. Some come to support, some come to be healed, in coming together we are made whole. They all come to be known, to matter. We are here as more than just a number or statistic. We are here because we were created to bring value. We are here to make her laugh, to cause him to think, to convict them, and to grow. Here to be more than one person, one failure, one sinner, or one saint. We are here as a part of the ones. And we are here... because we were never meant to be alone."

While unpacking from school, I found this quote I received from a friend. I absolutely love the picture of community it paints. God has been teaching me and stretching me and molding me like crazy since I have been home. True, pure, real, and honest community is being pressed upon my heart. I have been forced to look at my relationships and examine whether they are all rooted and centered on Christ... examine what I am doing to let the love of Jesus overflow into every aspect of my being, including my relationships with people.

I think we throw around the word, "accountability." We seem to use it frequently enough, but I don't know that we truly comprehend its meaning and implications. If we are honestly trying to build each other up and sharpen each other in Christ, then we must keep each other accountable. This means asking the tough questions when it isn't always easy. This means confronting sin. This means keeping each other in check. Though confrontation is neither easy, nor fun, it is a beautiful picture of authentic community and growing together in Christ. Authenticity... I'm striving for a lot more of it. I fail. But God's grace is infinite.

"If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose."
Philippians 2:1-2

I'm excited to live in community this summer with 15 new faces! It's gonna be faaaab!

Yo tengo gozo en mi corazon!

2009-05-22T09:19:00.000-07:00

So I have been really bad at this whole blogging thing... seeing how my last blog was in February, but I am making a promise to myself that I WILL blog frequently while I am in the Dominican! Now frequently may mean only once a week, but hey, that's better than once every three or four months. As long as I can find internet, I will attempt weekly blog updates.

That being said... I leave for the Dominican for atleast 15 months in 8 days! Background on that: I have spent the past two summers living at an orphanage in the Dominican Republic and doing Bible camps in the surrounding villages. From that very first summer two years ago, I felt the Lord placing the DR in a very special place in my heart. For the past two years I have prayed much over where God wanted to use me. It has been quite the journey, but I have complete peace that God's vision for my life right now lies on Dominican soil (Phil. 4:7!). Thus, in 8 days I will pack my bags and head back down to that little island where I left my heart.

This summer holds something new and incredibly exciting! I will not be returning to the same orphanage I have always lived at. Instead, I will be living at an orphanage in Jaibon (pronounced Hi-Bone) about an hour away from the other. This new orphanage is the home to 22 boys. The organization that I go down with, Orphanage Outreach, has never partnered long term with this orphanage. Essentially, we will be starting completely new programs at this orphanage this summer. We will be constructing volunteer housing, providing camps for the 22 boys, and going into local villages and schools to provide Bible-focused camps.

I will be moving to Jaibon along with John and his family, of whom I'm sure you will hear a lot about! John will primarily be the Team Leader (working with volunteers) and I will primarily be the Program Leader (laying out camps/programs) although our roles will definitely mix. We will also have around fifteen interns that will be joining us for 8 weeks this summer. Our passion is to see their lives radically changed for Jesus. We want to see their relationships with God come to a new level where they go home changed. We long to ignite passion. The internship program is going to be amazing! I'm pumped! There will also be individuals and groups from high schools, colleges, churches, etc. that join us for a week or two at a time throughout the summer.

So that's a general overview of the upcoming summer! I can't wait! I appreciate all of your prayers. Some specific prayer needs...
-That I find rest in the Lord through this constant preparation craziness
-For the unity and community of our team
-For open hearts

As far as staying in touch is concerned, the best way to reach me is through the internet (facebook, email: heatherleighcolbert@gmail.com, skype!). I'm not sure if we can receive mail in Jaibon, but I will post an address ASAP when I find out!

Shalom!
John 14:27

Oh my Love, You wash Your children in Your peaceful streams...

2009-02-08T18:44:00.000-08:00

I'm not even really sure I have a point to make in this blog... just FYI before you start reading and wonder what in the world is going on in my head :) and if anyone even reads this, my apologies for not posting in ages... I don't like when people stop posting... ha!

So today was absolutely incredible...

1) It was cheesecake Sunday. While I couldn't eat the cheesecake at church (I'm 2 1/2 months into 6 months with NO sweets!) I was reminded once again why I love Crossings so much. Mark ended the Come to the Table talks that we were in this morning and I was blown away by Jesus and the Kingdom and this Luke 14 lifestyle we have forgotten. I was completely broken by the fact that everyone is not always welcome at my table (you should listen to the podcasts of the past 4 weeks!). Mark also laid out the vision of Crossings for the next year. It was beautiful and so aligned with the Gospel. He ended the morning reminding us of the necessity to taste and see the Lord. Check out his blog on February 6th to see the story of why Eli's Cheesecake sends down tons of free cheesecake every year on Crossings birthday... http://www.standingonthedesk.blogspot.com/

2) I had a mini retreat today with the wonderful girls in my Bible study. We all read The Shack over Christmas break and spent the day discussing the book and what God taught us through it. Though we didn't agree with everything the author wrote, it was clear that God broke each of our hearts through it. It was a real, raw, and honest time where each of us shared what God was doing in our lives... not the answers we want others to hear, but the messy stuff that is truth. It was beautiful.

3) I have been loving the lyrics of the zao water cd. It's a cd recorded to raise money to build wells in Africa. All of the songs are about water... THE Living Water! It's awesome... and has been on repeat this whole weekend!

4) My dad got facebook last night (and he is probably reading this now since he can find my blog :) ). While that may seem random, it was a beautiful moment when I read his profile. God has been totally turning his world upside down and I am completely overwhelmed by our God who has the power to transform hearts... and that's what my dad's status testifies to. And his profile shows that his life is completely committed to the Lord! I LOVE IT!! And I cannot get over it! Our God is insane!

5) "Let’s use the example of friendship and how removing the element of life from a noun can drastically alter a relationship. If you and I are friends, there is an expectancy that exists within our relationship. When we see each other or are apart, there is expectancy of being together, or laughing and talking. That expectancy has no concrete definition; it is alive and dynamic and everything that emerges from our being together is a unique gift shared by no one else. But what happens if I change that “expectancy” to an “expectation”—spoken or unspoken? Suddenly, law has entered into our relationship. You are now expected to perform in a way that meets my expectations. Our living friendship rapidly deteriorates into a dead thing with rules and requirements. It is no longer about you and me, but about what friends are supposed to do, or the responsibilities of a good friend."

I was reminded today to live in expectancy and without expectations... in my relationship with the Lord, in my relationships with others, in regards to my future, and every other part of my life.

So here's to some random thoughts after a month of no blogging :)

#74...

2009-01-04T20:48:00.000-08:00

*Go on a completely spontaneous roadtrip*

So last Monday Stef and I were supposed to go to West Virginia to surprise Erin and see Steph. Well, Saturday night we found out that that wasn't going to work out so I was just gonna go to Indy anyways. So Sunday afternoon Stef and I decide to go to West Virginia anyways and that we would just show up and surprise Steph instead. So within ten minutes I packed my backpack and headed up to Indy Sunday night. I got there around 10 and we hadn't talked to Steph and realized we had no address to the cabin in West Virginia... so being the facebook stalkers we are, we called multiple people trying to find out where there were, but we were without luck. So we went to bed Sunday night and Stef went to work Monday morning and we still had no idea if we were gonna go or not or where we were going. At noon Stef got back from work and we tried calling Steph, but her phone was off... so we began wondering if they even had cell phone service at the cabin. Well, we randomly decided to just start driving on the 8 1/2 hour journey and see if she would call back. We left with a bunch of peanut butter sandwiches and directions to a city and state we had never been to before... with no clue where in the city they were staying and no idea if we would even be able to get ahold of them. We left hourly messages on Steph's voicemail, hoping they would go into town for dinner or something and she would get our messages. We had been driving for about five hours when we started thinking that she wasn't gonna call back and we were going to be in Snowshoe, West Virginia with no idea where they were and no place to stay. BUT, BUUUT, around 5:30, guess who calls from West Virginia???? Steph, had no cell phone service, but knows us all too well and knew that we were crazy enough to randomly decide to come anyway... so she got a calling card and called us... saving the day! And giving us sketch directions to a cabin in snowshoe :) So, after four more hours of driving through creepy West Virginia back roads, we ended up on top of a mountain with only FAKE snow. We got there at 10 at night and left the next afternoon at 2:30... but it was one good visit with one great friend and one great roadtrip that goes down as my favorite one so far... AND we met a new friend who wants to go on our cross-country road trip! So it was an awesome two days full of 17 hours in the car with my amazing roadtripping friend :)

... And, as if one spontaneous road trip for the week wasn't enough, on Friday I went on another one. Around midnight, Christie told me to get in my car and drive up to Indy... and I said I would if she was getting her tattoo the next day... and she said she would! So at midnight, I started the all to familiar drive to Plainfield... where I feel like I know the streets almost as well as my own city's :) So I spent the day with Christie and Stef... celebrating Christie's birthday and the addition of a tat to her left wrist :) and I was home for dinner :) love it!

thus... number 74 was DEFINITELY accomplished :)

#69...

2008-12-26T18:05:00.001-08:00

*Make all of my Christmas presents one year*

Well I have officially crossed this one off of my 101! I made all of my gifts this year. Hear are two... the others can't be posted yet because they haven't been given yet ;)

Nick's...

My parents'...

My 101 :)

2008-11-29T17:51:00.000-08:00

So after a two month process of creating and finishing this list, I am finally posting my 101... 101 things I want to do in 1001 days. Here is a little explanation of the whole idea of making a 101...

Creating your own 1001 Day Project

The Mission:
Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.

The Criteria:
Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on my part).

Why 1001 Days?
Many people have created lists in the past - frequently simple goals such as new year's resolutions. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks, which is better for organizing and timing some tasks such as overseas trips or outdoor activities.

So here it is...

Get a tattoo.
Blog once a week for at least 6 months.
Fix a Thanksgiving dinner.
Run a half-marathon.
Vote for Jesus.
Speak only Spanish at Pancho’s one night.
Go to Africa.
Learn to whistle.
Not eat sweets for 6 months.
Buy a Spanish worship CD.
Go to a Hillsong concert.
Hike the Chimneys.
Own a bike.
Make some type of mural with my friends pictures on it with ways to attach and take off prayer needs (I can see it in my head :) ).
Read the Bible from cover to cover.
Graduate from college.
Go back to Monte Cristi.
Buy some TOMS.
Buy a Just Feed One t-shirt.
Get dreads.
Learn to play “Kingdom” on my guitar.
Make a t-shirt quilt.
Send a package to my Dominican loves.
Go sky-diving.
Share the Gospel in a different language.
Go to Flagstaff… and the Grand Canyon.
Learn to drink black coffee.
Get a mac.
Sell something that I have created.
Go to Niagra Falls.
Finish Ragamuffin Gospel.
Become a vegetarian for 6 months.
Go white-water rafting… for real this time.
Spend a weekend in a cabin, just me and God.
Hike a good portion of the Appalachian Trail.
Take a Greyhound to New York City.
Write my parents a letter sharing my heart.
Get another ear piercing.
Play in a thunderstorm and not care about electrocution.
See the completion of the orphanage in the D.R.
Become “pen-pals?” with someone in prison.
Never go more than a month without blogging.
Make and eat a “tres leches” cake.
Visit the Simple Way.
Make a wall-sized map that dry-erase markers can be used on.
Put my story on my blog.
Tie-dye another t-shirt.
Try sushi.
Go snowboarding.
Read Jesus for President.
Make my own peanut butter chocolate chunk ice cream.
Pull off surprising the pants off of Stephanie.
Finish this list.
Get my own coffee maker and use it.
Go on a hot-air balloon ride.
Make a scrapbook of life with my God-given friends.
Plant a garden.
Carve a pumpkin.
Figure out how to make a good “newsboy cap.”
Live in a big, but old, house with all my girls.
Mod Podge a coffee/end table.
Eat a hot brown.
Memorize a chapter in the Bible.
Paint something that shows my dreams.
Get a copy of The Message.
Join the Mocha Club.
Get a hammock to hang from my ceiling.
Unpack my room at the new house.
Make all of my Christmas presents one year.
Pay for a stranger’s dinner.
Find a place to play Bingo at.
Get a milkshake at Culver’s.
Drive a moped.
Go on a completely spontaneous road trip.
Ride the trolley in Knoxville.
Watch Blood Diamond.
Hike Mt. Le Conte and spend the night at the top.
Make a picture frame out of coiled newspaper.
Knit or crochet a blanket.
Go to Trino’s and get a calzone.
Learn how to put a spare tire on my car.
Go to a show/random activity in Gatlinburg.
Order something besides the chipotle chicken sandwich at Panera.
Go to a college football game.
Learn how to make some quality queso.
Assign pictures to my friends in my phone that I talk to on a regular basis.
Ride in the back of a truck in the states.
Live somewhere semi-permanently that is not at college or back home.
Be there for the opening of Juja Java.
Start and keep a journal solely for favorite verses and quotes.
Go camping again (but this time, pitch my own tent)
Start a spare change jar that all change must go in.
Create something for my wall that has “The Vision” written on it.
Go bowling with the ATL homies.
Finish an entire sudoku book.
Eat at Lynn’s Paradise Café.
Find and watch Thunder from a cool spot away from the craziness.
Go tubing/wakeboarding/water skiing on a lake.
Get new wheels for my rollerblades… or just get new rollerblades period.
Travel the west coast… California, Oregon, etc.
Learn to drive a stick shift.

~oh, and the ones in blue are the ones that I have accomplished... they will change colors along the way :)

matchbox cars...

2008-11-27T18:56:00.000-08:00

Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that."
James 4:13-16

It's funny how just when you think you have given God your matchbox cars (things that you haven't quite fully surrendered yet) He reminds you that you are still holding onto them a little too tightly.

It seems that the story of my life is people asking me what I am going to do with my life come May. This isn't necessarily a bad question, but I definitely don't know the answer to it. And sometimes in an effort to "protect me" or "look out for me" people try to figure my life out for me. It all results in me being discouraged and feeling like I have to have some definite answer to give people...

Which brings me back to the matchbox cars. Somewhere along the way of people freaking out that I don't know where I am going to be, I have tried to make a plan. And while that plan may change every week, it is still my relentless efforts to somehow decide where I will be when college is no more... all the while God is whispering in my ear that He knows... that my plans will fail, but His will prevail... that in patient waiting, answers will come... and that His vision for me is far greater than anything I could possibly try to "plan."

So here I am... attempting once again to give this matchbox car of "where I will be in May" to God. I haven't a clue where I will end up, but my Creator knows and I am resting in the peace that comes with understanding that. And while God is weaving together a perfect vision for my life, I will continue to chase after His dreams and His purpose for me... holding out my matchbox cars to Him along the way.

God is goooood :)

2008-11-10T19:01:00.000-08:00

1 Peter 2:9-12

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.

God has just been rocking my world... How amazing that God called us! That He chose us as His people... I feel so unworthy to be called by name by the God of the universe. But HE counts us worthy! And He has called us out of the darkness that our lives would be without Him... we have HOPE (stef :) ) in Him! And we are living in the light of Christ... we are FREE and ALIVE in Him! We are no longer held by the chains and bondage of sin... Jesus has released us and we have gained life through the Spirit. Ahhh! I just can't get over the fact that we are given the chance to truly live and love by our Savior. And I love the last part of this verse... that we are strangers in this world... NO WONDER we are feeling so out of place... we weren't meant to call this world our home... people weren't meant to understand the lives we are living... afterall, do we really think people understood Jesus?!? when He was eating with the sinners, talking to the prostitutes, breaking Jewish laws by healing on the Sabbath... we are meant to look like our Savior... and that is not gonna be accepted by this world. But we are called to look, breathe, hear, talk, and smell like our Christ... that though people may think we are crazy... they will see the way we live our lives and the way we are transformed by Jesus... and eventually they will see God. ahhh! I love our God so much! He has transformed my life... and now I am on this incredible journey to seek His face more and more... and to live and love and show Jesus like my life depended on it...

Everything in the world is about to be wrapped up, so take nothing for granted. Stay WIDE-AWAKE in prayer. Most of all, love each other as if your life DEPENDED on it. Love makes up for practically anything. Be quick to give a meal to the hungry, a bed to the homeless—cheerfully. Be generous with the different things God gave you, passing them around so all get in on it: if words, let it be God's words; if help, let it be God's hearty help. That way, God's bright presence will be evident in everything through Jesus, and he'll get all the credit as the One mighty in everything—ENCORES to the end of time. Oh, yes!

1 Peter 4:7-11 (the message)

*On a side note... I have the greatest friends in the whole world :)

FREE THE FOOL!!!!

Beloved...

2008-11-08T10:39:00.000-08:00

My Beloved speaks and says to me: "Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come away...

Song of Solomon 2:10

So my new tat is pretty much the story of what God is doing in my life. He is constantly whispering my worth to Him in my ear. Saying that I am His beloved and He is mine. I am overwhelmed by the love that God has for His children. I have screwed up so much, but God continues to pursue me no matter what the circumstances are. He is constantly pouring out His perfect love when I don't deserve an ounce of it. I am amazed at the fact that God knows each of His children so well... and is constantly chasing after them with a love that can't be explained. We are His beloved children.

You love like a Father,

You love like a brother,

You love like a lion,

Fierce like no other,

You violently chase me,

Down to embrace me,

Englulfing me in who You are.

Give me Your eyes so I can see...

2008-11-06T19:46:00.000-08:00

God's been doing something crazy in my heart that I can't even begin to explain. For months I have been praying that God would give me a glimpse of what He sees, that He would make my heart break for what breaks His, that He would show me how to love His people, that He would bring me to tears for His people... And it's simply incredible because I am seeing Him opening my eyes to who He is in amazing ways. For the past few months, I have found myself being judgmental towards the rich, the proud, and the apathetic. I wanted so bad for them to see the Jesus that I know and love... but in the process I was growing angry that they didn't understand. But God has been transforming my heart and using love to motivate me. While I am still frustrated, my frustration rises from an intense desire to spread the fire and passion of my Savior. I am frustrated at what the world has become and how Satan has stolen passion for Jesus from people's hearts. But Jesus is alive, and has been constantly reminding me that He is in control. Frustration gets me no where. And I am just as screwed up. I fail Jesus all the time, but He continues to pursue me with a love that I can't understand.

I don't cry often... not much at all really. But I have been praying that God would bring me to tears for Him and His people. And He is bringing me this passion for His people that is uncontrollable. I was talking with some people today and my heart was broken from the fact that their hearts were so closed off. Their hearts have been hardened by Satan and this messed up world. They have closed themselves off from Jesus and everyone else. And my heart broke. I left from talking with them and cried. My heart was experiencing this love for people that I don't even know... people who I want to know Jesus so badly... and I haven't been able to shake the tears today. I was so frustrated that God's children are experiencing all this pain and heartache that has brought them to the places they are today. I wanted so badly to open their eyes to the love and hope of Jesus.

I can't ever imagine the way that God's heart is breaking for us. He loves us with a love that we will never grasp or understand. And if my heart is breaking, I know His must be breaking 5 billion times more. I just pray that He will continue to allow me little glimpses of His unchanging and ever present LOVE for His children.

Give me your eyes for just one second,
Give me your eyes so I can see,
Everything that I keep missing,
Give me your love for humanity.
Give me your arms for the broken-hearted
The ones that are far beyond my reach.
Give me Your heart for the ones forgotten.
Give me Your eyes so I can see.
...thanks Christie :)

Even now...

2008-10-18T21:42:00.000-07:00

So I picked up my Bible this morning and was overcome by how much I take it for granted. I take it for granted that I even have a Bible. But I also take it for granted that God gave humanity His Word in general. We see God everyday through creation, but He chose to give us this precious book full of His words... HIS words. And everytime I pick it up, God shows me something insane about His character. I am overwhelmed by His love... love has seemed to be the theme of the last several months of my life. Love God. Love people. Love like Jesus. But I still don't get it at all. I was reading Psalm 78 this morning and it is an incredible picture of the love of our God. Throughout history, God has constantly pursued His people... and they have constantly turned away, failed Him, and ran from surrendering their lives to Him. And we are still doing that today. But God has this crazy kind of love for us that we will never understand.
And it's beautiful.

"They remembered that God was their Rock,
that God Most High was their Redeemer.
But then they would flatter him with their mouths,
lying to him with their tongues;
their hearts were not loyal to him,
they were not faithful to his covenant.
Yet he was merciful;
he forgave their iniquities
and did not destroy them.
Time after time he restrained his anger
and did not stir up his full wrath.
He remembered that they were but flesh,
a passing breeze that does not return."

"And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him."
1 John 4:16

God loves us more than we could ever imagine even when we aren't pursuing Him, even when we don't know how to love others like Him, even when we try to control our own lives, even when we don't listen to His call, even when we succumb to greed, even when we are lost in our selfish desires, even when our decisions disappoint Him, even when we walk past His children without giving them a second thought. Even now, God loves us.

Even now.

Free the FOOL...

2008-10-11T13:40:00.000-07:00

wonder: the emotion aroused by something awe-inspiring, astounding, or marvelous.

Recently, I have been completely filled with wonder of God. It seems as my soul could just explode over who God is. God has repeatedly showed me this week the insane ways that He has worked in my life over the past four years. Things that I wrote off years ago, I am now seeing as divine intervention by a King. I cannot get over how perfect God's plan is. He led me to a Bible college and placed me in a degree which I have hated since the beginning... even before I got here. How crazy though, that God knew exactly what He was doing? Only now am I beginning to realize the way God was in it ALL! Through being at Johnson, God has turned my world upside down. He has broken down walls in my heart that I didn't know existed. He chased away my fear of "missions," replacing it with a passion for other cultures. He placed me on the same hall as a beautiful daughter of His... Miss Erin Titus :) He worked through our friendship in ways we can't even describe. He placed Miss Stefanie Bullerdick in our lives through a random encounter with a random person that none of us know. He placed a church in my lap that seeks to love people the way Jesus does. He put a desire in my heart to spend the summer in a different country... and divinely orchestrated a conversation with Tom and Paula.. the directors of the mission organization to the Dominican Republic. He placed me in the Dominican, where I knew no one and really didn't know what I would even be doing. He placed girls there that summer that changed my life forever. HE worked through our relationships... providing ways to grow in completely different states. He placed a love for the Dominican people in my heart that will never leave. He put two girls in my life that have changed the way I view my Savior... Miss Katie Stevens and Miss Stephanie Hastings :) He brought me back to the Dominican the next winter when I should have been in school and I fell even more in love with it. Then He brought me back to the Dominican for a third time... when I really wanted to go to Africa. This past summer changed my life. Through divinely orchestrated conversations and interactions with people, both here and in the DR, God has turned my world upside down. My vision is Jesus. I long to be like my Savior. I want to be humbled and broken before Him. I want my life to be His. I desire to be fully surrendered to Him. I want every moment to be spent seeking the Lord and loving His people. I am in awestruck wonder at a God who loves a sinner like me. I just can't get over who He is and the way He works... love it. I just want to free the fool... the fool for Christ.

2 Corinthians 5:13-15
If we are out of our mind, it is for the sake of God; if we are in our right mind it is for you. For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.