Mi Casa!

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

feels like home...

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



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

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

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

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

I love you all!

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

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

Estoy aqui!

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

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

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

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

Sorry that was so long! I love you all!

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

Addicted? Maybe...

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.

"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!

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...

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 :)