Here is my latest email update:
Let hope rise and darkness tremble in your
holy light- that every eye would see Jesus our God, great and mighty to be
praised. God of all days, glorious in all of your ways- the majesty, the wonder
and grace-in the light of your name.
Our hearts they cry, be glorified, be lifted
high above all names. For you our King with everything we will shout forth Your
praise!
This is from Hillsong United’s
song “With Everything”. Whenever I listen to these lyrics, my heart instantly goes
to Caraballo. This is what I am praying- that hope would rise here and that
darkness would tremble- that Jesus would be glorified and many would come to
know Him.
I am thankful every day for your
partnership with the ministry here in Caraballo. I know that many of you
sacrifice so I can be here and many of you are praying for me every day- I am
deeply humbled and grateful. Please know that God is answering your prayers and
strengthening me every day for the work that He has for me.
A lot has happened since my last
email update! Sometimes it is hard to know which details I should share and
which things to leave out, so I think the best thing will be to tell you a few
stories that have deeply impacted me these last few weeks. I hope you will be
able to catch a glimpse of God’s kingdom here through these stories.
Neroliza is a sweet fourth grader
in our sponsorship program. We were deeply saddened to learn that she fell out
of a very high tree while trying to pick fruit. She fell and dislocated her
shoulder and broke four vertebrae. I was so worried about her and anxious to go
visit her. After some time in the hospital she returned to her home near our
care center and I got to visit. She is in a cast covering her entire torso-
from right under her arms all the way to her hips. She is not able to sit up,
so spends all her time lying in bed in her tiny, hot, humble home. She will
have the cast on for three months and then her doctors will evaluate to see if
she will need a surgery. Her mom said it is amazing that she even survived the
fall because she fell on the dirt when she could have fallen on a big slab of
concrete right under the tree. The first time I visited her, I was incredibly
overwhelmed by her situation. It is so hard to see a child in that much pain
and discomfort, but especially when the living conditions are a far cry from
our “normal”. I had been praying for her so much and praying for God to show
her somehow that He was near.
Last week we had a work team here
serving. They sacrificed their time and gifts to make a difference here. We had
some men working on construction, some joyful painters, a baseball coach
excited to work with our older boys, and a dental hygienist and her assistant
making our kids smiles even brighter. I loved the experience of having this
group here. I know they made an impact here and I pray that their time here
makes a lifelong impact on them too. My major role here is the Sponsorship
Coordinator. So, with this team here, I chose 8 second grade kids who were in
need of sponsors to highlight throughout the week. As I was talking about
sponsorship, one team member told me that his daughter at home sponsors a
little girl in our program. I was excited to help them connect- so he checked
with his daughter and then the next day let me know that she sponsors a girl
named…..Neroliza!
Can you believe how God
orchestrated this? He sent the sponsors of the very girl who most needed a
visit! It was a total joy for me to be able to take them to Neroliza’s house.
They got to sit with her, get a photo, meet her mom, and pray with her. This
made such an impact on me- I saw God answer my prayer for her to know that He
was near to her. I think this was a really special moment for both Neroliza and
her sponsor family. I love how the Kids Alive sponsorship program really touches
lives and provides for an amazing connection with children at risk.
Speaking of sponsorship, let me
go back to those 8 kids I was highlighting. Praise God that 3 of them got
sponsored this week! It was amazing to me to see God moving in hearts as some
first saw a picture of a child, then got to meet that child, and quickly fell
in love and were moved to become part of that child’s life! I was taking
pictures of these kids a few weeks ago to highlight and explained that I would
be looking and praying for sponsors for them. Amarly is one of those second
grade sweeties and every day for weeks she was asking me, “Do I have a sponsor
yet?” I was thrilled about the day I heard a couple on this team tell me they
wanted to be Amarly’s sponsors. It is encouraging how God has gone before me
and prepared the way for me and is equipping me to be the Sponsorship
Coordinator here- and I am loving it!
Would you please keep praying for
me in my school nurse role? Every day, many little ones come to me wanting
everything from a hug, to a band aid, to a cure for a rare skin condition. I’m
asking for God to steady my heart during the times that I feel overwhelmed or
inadequate. I know that HE is my strength- my hope- my joy. Please pray for the
little ones who live in pain, physical and otherwise. Pray that God will continue
to give me wisdom on how to love and serve. I have begun praying with kids
before they leave my desk. This has been a really sweet time and I do ask for
God to intervene in big ways in these situations. Coming up I will be working
on a big project of updating all the kids charts with their height and weight and
doing the biannual deworming, so if you could be remembering us and praying
during that time, I would appreciate it!
I can never say it enough- thank
you for your partnership. It would not be possible for me to be here without
you. Thank you for investing in God’s
kingdom in the Dominican Republic. I love hearing from you! Please feel free to
drop me an email or a letter in the mail J
