Update

Hello blogging world and Happy February!
I have been such a delinquent blogger but I will be trying to have some more activity on here so I can better share my DR life with you! Below is my most recent update letter that went out via snail mail and email, so I figure it's time for it to hit the blogspot too! Enjoy :)

 

Saludos! (Greetings)                                                                    1/16/13

 I’m in the middle of my fourth month here in the Dominican Republic and sometimes can’t believe that this is really my life! Just to recap, I am ministering at the Park Care Center that serves close to 300 kids in an area called Caraballo on the North Coast of the DR. The Lord has been so gracious to me as I have prayed and dreamed for an opportunity like this and he has put me in just the right place. Every day I thank Him for the joy, peace, and confidence that He gives me. It is an honor and joy to be serving Him in a variety of ways.  I am the Sponsorship Coordinator and I facilitate communication between children and their sponsors, provide up to date information for our home office and sponsors, and I am an advocate for the children still waiting to be sponsored.  I love my job; especially when I read cards to kids and see their faces light up when they hear that someone loves them and is praying for them! Some American families have asked me to find a child for them to sponsor.  Seeing these children every day and now knowing who sponsors them is so exciting. Being a missionary is never exactly what you thought it was going to be. When I arrived I found out from my supervisors that the care center also needed a school nurse- so that is now me! Even though I have no formal medical training, the Lord is using what I do know and magnifying Himself even when I feel inadequate in this area. It’s amazing how far a hug and a bandaid go! J Just recently, I was given the role of team host. I am in charge of receiving short term work teams and helping them connect to our ministry here. Please pray for me as I learn all the new details of these jobs!

 On January 2^nd, I went to the airport to pick up a short term team who came to help at our care center. It was amazing to be at the same airport waiting for the same flight exactly three months after I arrived here on October 2^nd. As I celebrated Christmas here this year, away from my friends and family, I was struck with the beauty that Jesus is Emmanuel- God with us. This theme was especially meaningful to me this Christmas, but also as I reflect on my first months the meaning of Emmanuel has become so clear to me.

When I arrived here I was filled with excitement and anticipation but also overwhelmed by all things new and feelings of inadequacy. God has been with me through all the transitions- making friends, learning my role at the care center, loving on kids, buying groceries, riding on motorcycle taxis…the list goes on. I realize every day that even though I am doing things I’ve never done before and some things that bring a lot of fear, God is with me every step.

Before moving to the DR, I went to a missionary training program in North Carolina where I met a Dominican woman who helped with culture and language. She shared with me about growing up as a young girl in the DR never knowing that God was with her. She told me she wished that someone would have told her that He was with her- it would have made all the difference. That story has stuck with me and it is heavy on my heart to share with these kids that they are never alone- God is always with them. I get a lot of opportunities to share these words of life when I am working with kids one on one with sponsorship projects and when I am serving as the school nurse.

The lives that these children lead are almost unimaginable- most live with pain and darkness- of many forms. My heart breaks every day as I hear new stories, see new scars, visit homes, and share life with these precious ones. The evidence of abuse, neglect, violence and extreme poverty is a daily reality. The Care Center director, Alberto, reminds me often that our work here is a spiritual battle but to never give up- to keep serving the Lord with everything we have and to keep loving the kids with all the love that He gives. When the questions are unending and I can’t reconcile what I see with what I know- I stop and remind myself that Jesus is Emmanuel- God with us. He is here with me every moment and He is here with each child-He walks with them on these muddy roads, He comforts them in their homes, He is their Father when there is no other, He sustains them when resources are so few- and He loves them more than I could ever dream of.  God with us- I can think of nothing more beautiful.

Emily Bill Unit 3049 KAIDR 3170 Airmans Drive Ft. Pierce, FL 34946

  I feel so blessed to have YOU as a partner in this ministry. Thank you for giving and praying so that I can be here. I know that I am not alone because God is always with me and because I have all of you prayer warriors holding me up every day.  It is an honor to serve here and I look forward to seeing God’s kingdom continue to advance here in the DR!

Love,

Emily Bill

I would love to stay in touch!
emilyrbill@gmail.com

emilyrbill.blogspot.com

Kids Alive International- 2507 Cumberland Dr. Valparaiso, IN 46383- www.kidsalive.org- 1-800-KIDS-330