Week 10

I'm HOME!!! It is crazy to think that this time last week, I was still in the DR. Even though adjusting has been a bit difficult at times, God is faithful and I am continually amazed at the things that God is teaching me. The last week in the DR I had the distinct opportunity to organize the "Almacen", which is the storage building for all of the materials that are used by Orphanage Outreach at the Monte Cristi Site. Things include everything from sports equipment to art supplies that are used at camps. I spent literally 3 and 1/2 days organizing this building. At the end of it, I had set aside a bunch of baseball equipment that can be used to be distributed at a nearby baseball organization and the cabinets where is such a way that future camp planners won't have to rummage through materials that they are looking for. For most people this project would have seemed overwhelming and I'll have to admit that there were times during the project that I would think, "What would happen if I just shut the door on this and ran away, fast?" For me though, for the most part, it was strangely comforting. Aside from the fact that I LOVE to organize things, it was a good start to debriefing for me. I spent the whole summer around lots of people, which, for me, is very draining. I was able to spend time thinking about this past summer all the while organizing the almacen. God is great how He has things to work out.

So I have been back for almost a week now and I will return to school on Sunday (hopefully to start training for the soccer team...given that we have enough girls to play). I am excited about returning to a schedule and routine, but kinda hesitant because I don't want my old way of doing things to swallow me whole. I will share one of the main lessons I learned in the DR.

In the DR there are porches on most of the houses. Nothing extravangant, but more times than not they have a couple of rocking chairs on the porch. Because in the DR they do not have large front yards, the porches are part of the town activity. The rocking chair to me represents relaxed time with someone else. Often times you don't have an agenda or a specific purpose, but just willing to spend time sharing hearts. That is view that I want to take in taking "Rocking Chair Time" (RCT) with God, friends and family.

And so I want to thank you once again for all of your thoughts, prayers, encouragment and support. I will be sending out a summer recap with some pictures very soon. I hope that one day we are able to sit down so I can share the stories, relationships and conversations that captured my heart this summer.

Blessings to you,
Monica

Week 9

Wow... I can't believe the title for this entry. This past week has flown by!!! On Saturday a group of 30 volunteers came down from Tom's Church in Arizona and then another group came down from Central Michigan University, His House. This week it was different having volunteers here, but it brought much needed energy to this place. My role this week was being Heather's right hand gal... so I did a bit of everything... I also was able to teach a few English classes, which was great as well.
This week groups worked on the foundation of another Ramada and helped to put on some finishing touches on the Ramada that KUC helped to start. We also did a VBS in the morning at the school on the orphanage campus. We did a camp on God's Love. Monday: Days of the Week, Months of the Year (Creation)/ Tuesday: Emotions (Jesus Calms the Storm)/ Wednesday: Prepositions (Jesus Feeds the 5,000)/ Thursday: Family Members (Martha and Mary). Megan and I worked on the English class together. It never gets old to see the lightbulb go off after they learn and remember a word. In the afternoon we did a VBS in two different locations: both in rural places. We went to a town called Damajagua and Batey Libertad. Both provided their own set of challenges and blessings. For the English part we taught numbers and colors to the VBS in the afternoon. Along with teaching English I also got to lead the opening and closing for the camps. One very special part of the opening and closing was the puppet show that CCV (Tom's church) prepared and presented. The kids were absolutely astounded at the show. They did a great job!! We also got to spend the remaining time in our day with the boys. They continue to amaze me and bless me!!

There are so many stories that I have to share from this week, but right now I am in the empty volunteer center with the boys and the volunteers with so many emotions running through me... I might have some more time to write later because I have the chance to do airport duty... I will be home in a week and I will be able to share many pictures and stories!!! Thank you so much for your support and prayers. I look forward to sharing my summer with you soon.

In Him alone,
Monica

Week 8

So I am continuing to get good use out of the new can of bug spray. So much to update you on... it has been a fun-filled week this past week. This past week was rather special because we didn't put on a camp or go off-site for a program specifically this week. We had the unique opportunity to put on a camp for the boys at the orphanage... only we did Olympics for them. We divided them into four teams and had competitions and activities for them 1 hour in the morning and 2 hours in the afternoon. It all ended with a Festival on Thursday night. Another fun fact is that we got to take the boys to the beach in Monte Cristi on Wednesday... for some of the younger boys, this was their first time to the beach, but they LOVED it. The look on their faces when we told them that we were going to the beach alone was priceless, let alone seeing their faces as we pulled up and then when they got to play in the water. I am so glad that I got to be a part of that adventure. Also, on Tuesday John, Tom and Heather went to Monte Cristi for leadership meetings and so I was the one "left with keys". It didn't mean anything that important but that I had to make sure everything ran on time and that everyone was taken care of. It was a neat experience that makes me appreciate the leadership so much more than I already did. On Thursday, part of the activity was to watch a movie that Stephanie, one of the interns, compiled on the "Summer of the Monkeys" (as we termed it)... the boys really enjoyed seeing pictures and videos of themselves over the past summer.
Now that last week is over, we look forward to next week, which has already proven to be a busy week... A team of 30 is coming in today and we are going to be doing camp in the morning and afternoon all week. This is also my last week in Jaibon. I also found out today that I will be working closely along side Heather to be a co-program leader, because she will have a lot more responsibility than previously. With all this in mind, please bring the following things to our Father:
- Rest, peace and energy for the upcoming week. We have spent the past month with only interns, so pray that God would give me patience to extend grace to everyone around me.
- Half of our team left this morning. These are ladies and John that have been with me since May 30th... so seeing that piece of my family leave was very hard this morning at 4:30 am. Also later this morning more of the team left, most of them that have been here for a month. Pray that God would provide friendships to fill that void and that God would be honored in my attitude this week.
- Pray for Danis. He is a boy that came to the orphanage this past Thursday. I have been able to talk to him a bit, but it is hard to understand him (especially at the beginning) because he was crying so hard missing his family. Pray that this week that he would see that there are a lot of people here that love him and more so that he would understand God's unconditional love for him.

I am so overwhelmed with the blessings that you all have shown me over the course of this summer. From phone calls to letters to emails to prayers, I feel blessed to have you in my life. I am so excited to tell you about the way that God has changed me this summer and to share a snapshot of how God used this summer in the DR. May God richly bless your week.

Only His,
Monica

Week 7

So I am just about done with my second can of bug spray.. that means that I only have 3 weeks left. Absolutely crazy to think that I only have two weeks left in Jaibon and one week in Monte Cristi. But, as always, God is proving faithful again and again and I continue to stand amazed at the grace-filled blessings that he continues to pour out into my life this past summer.

This past week was a whole ton of fun! We got to go to Laguna Salada which is the next town over from Jaibon. We did a VBS at Iglesia Immanuel. It was so cool to see another part of this community and be able to build relationships with the kids and the ministry there. It was cool to say that I was part of the first VBS in Laguna Salada... God is going to continue to use future teams in this location because of the way that He blessed this past week. I taught English again (insert gasp here...) but it was a complete blessing because I got to team teach with another girl on our team. She brought so many good ideas to the table... some of which I will keep under my sleeve until Bible and Social Studies Methods :)... and for several "Teacher juice" conversations :). Anyways... it was nice to be able to have some help this past week. And the time that I wasn't teaching the unruly but precious boys... I was holding some of God's little angels... there was one in particular that was only 2 months old... she was so precious and it filled my heart with joy. The themes for this week were Creation (animals), Joseph (colors), Jonah (prepostitions), Daniel (emotions). It was so neat to see that the students understood the concepts and were even talking about them after VBS. That leads me to a "God moment" one of many that have been part of my life over the past 2 months. After VBS on Wednesday, the pastor invited us over to her house for sodas and cookies... we were a little worried because we didn't know exactly if they were safe or not, but she reassured us that they were... and thank goodness no one got sick. But the cool thing about it the next day she invited us back... and God continued to take care of us, because when we got there, the pop was still in the bottle (chilled) and the crackers were all in sealed wrappers... not only a sign of God's provision and details, but of the completely humbling act of hospitality shown by the pastor. It was so neat to experience that aspect of the culture... the relational aspect that I want to bring back to the States. God has called us to be in community... and I saw an example of that while at her house.

This next week we will have the distinct honor of putting on a sort of camp for just our boys here at Jaibon. We are going to do a week long session of Olympics. Today they started and made their team names, and banners. Each day will consist of active games and thinking games, which all add points to their end total. It will be such a blessing to be able to spend quality time with them this week. Also, we are excited to be able to take the boys to the beach!!! This is something that has been in the making all summer and praise God that we get to be a part of it. They are going to be so excited when we tell them on Tuesday morning. Another thing that I am looking forward to this week is going to Monte Cristi tomorrow. I will be meeting with Julie, the director at the English Institute to brainstorm the framework and direction for the future English Institute in Jaibon. What a privelage it is to be part of that process. Also this week Tom Eklund comes to the DR. He is the Founder and Director of OO. It will be an honor to get to know him. Please lift this week up to our Father.

Thank you so much for your continued support and encouragement. May God richly bless you in wherever He is taking you this summer. Talk to you next weekend.
In His hands,
Monica

Week 6

So this past week I realized the next time the 8th of a month will come around, I will be on my way home. I am not ready to go home yet, but I am excited for when that day does come. So this past week was a blast. We did a camp at the same church that we were at the week before. Camp this week was only from Monday to Thursday. I taught the English class again and it was such a joy to continue with the relationships built the previous week. The topics that I taught are were Monday (Colors) Tuesday (Prepositions), Wednesday (Fruit), and Thursday (Animals). It was a great lesson in flexibility because there were a couple of days (Wednesday especially) when I came in with one lesson plan and had to completely change it by the end of the day. Such is life, and I welcome experiences like that as a time to grow.

Also this past week we got to hang out with the boys from the orphanage during activities in the morning. We did a paper football tournament, a intern scavenger hunt, science experiments, music lessons and English lessons. It has been such a blessing, especially this past week to be able to continue to develop solid friendships with the boys at the orphanage. I only have 3 more weeks here and one at Monte Cristi. I feel like the time is going to fly by.


Some of my highlights from this week were: Sitting down with Carlos to write the words for Spanish songs, learning how to spin a top from Robinson, "signing autographs" the last day of camp, giving stickers out to students in the English class and seeing their sense of accomplishment light up on their faces, being able to translate between Tia and John.

God is so good... I continue to experience His grace-filled blessings in my life. One of the ways has been how I have been encouraged by many of you. Thank you so much for your prayers and continued support and encouragement. Please continue to be in prayer for health and strength for our team. Yesterday, we added 5 new girls to our family... and in two weeks the majority of our team leaves. Please pray for continued team unity and for health and strength for us as we put on the camp this week. We have a lot of fun activities scheduled for this week... I can't wait to tell you all about them next weekend.

I continued to be amazed at God's blessings...
Monica

Week 5

So I am officially half way through my summer down here. Who would have ever thought that it would come? Now I am wrestling with the emotions that I don't want it to be over, but too soon 3:30 am on August 8th ready to come back home. God has used this time in so many powerful ways so far and I am so excited about what the next 5 weeks hold. Let me tell you about this week... :)

SOOO this week we did a VBS and English camp for 132 kids at a church about 15 minutes from the orphanage. It was so great to see the town and get to meet the kids outside of the school and orphanage here. They have been such a blessing. My part was to teach the English station.. which I LOVED. The theme for this week's camp was: Holidays (Birthday, Valentine's Day, Christmas and Easter) I taught parts of the body (monday), shapes (tuesday), family members (Wednesday), Colors/ Numbers (thursday) and review (friday). It was so cool to be able to try some new games and new lesson ideas. I am so excited about all of the "teacher juice" conversations that I am going to have with Rachel and Susan :). God has really blessed me with a great team and they have really given me a lot of ideas throughout the summer so far!! A lot of really exciting things happened this week at camp, but one of my highlights would have to be with the older boys group at camp. All week they were rowdy and not paying attention. According to them, they had better things to do than be at camp. So I tried to establish myself as the teacher and they finally responded. Friday was an extra day of camp added on because we did our fun day on Saturday (July 4th)... so I was tired and prayed faithfully for strength and patience. I used a vocabulary baseball game that the boys loved!!! I am so excited to work again with them next week.
Other than camp, we did an activity with the boys at the orphanage each morning. All of that leads to VERY full weeks.

So this upcoming week will look a lot like last week. Please pray for new ideas because I will be in the English station again this week :). Also pray for health and strength. Some of us are going into our 6th week and becoming weary and sick. Please pray specifically for Rachel a girl on my team. She has had some family stuff going on back home and she has not been feeling well today.

Thank you to everyone who continues to pray and offer encouragement. You truly are a sweet blessing.
Talk to you next weekend.
In Him,
Monica

Week 4

Wow!! I can hardly believe that I am telling you all about my fourth week here!! God is sooo good!! Last Saturday we left around lunch time to head to Monte Cristi where the other orphanage is located that Orphanage Outreach supports. The secular program had been stationed there, and so for last week the Christian internship program moved to MC and the secular program moved to Jaibon. This past week we partnered with Graystone Church (Atlanta, GA) and Old Orchard Church (St. Louis, MO).

In the mornings we hosted a VBS at the orphanage. This is a camp that the community looks forward to each summer. The first day we had 330 kids come. It was CRAZY!!! The theme was Narnia... so the teaching was directed towards biblical themes that are brought up in that book. My role was to help out with the teaching part. It was a cool opportunity because I was able to utilize my Spanish to translate for the teacher (the pastor from Old Orchard) as well as explain the Bible memory games that the kids did. There is no price that can be put on the smiles on the kids faces when they memorized the bible verse!! Also on Wednesday I got an opportunity to communicate very simply my testimony... God is good. I was very blessed by that opportunity. Also, praise God I have another sister in Christ... one girl that I know of accepted Christ.

In the afternoons a group of us went to La Capilla which is a small church in the mountains of MC. I was a team leader for the Blue Team (the older girls). It was such a blessing to be able to connect with them. They each have a story to tell and dreams!! God also used several of the younger babies to share part of His love to me.. I loved getting to hold those precious children. It made my heart sing!!

So this week three new people joined our team. Luke, Chris and Holly. In the mornings we will do work projects and activities with the boys at the orphanage (in Jaibon.. we are back now until August 1st) and then in the afternoon I get to teach the English station for the VBS that we are doing at a local church. I am so excited about this opportunity. God has been faithful. Please continue to pray for encouragement for the team as many of us this is around the half way point of our time in the DR. Thank you so much for your continued prayers and support. We serve a mighty God, one in whom we can place our hope in. And as John shared with us this morning: Hope is the "confident expectation of the righteous".

Praying for you.
Monica

Week 3

hey all... it has been a great week this past week. God has been so faithful especially this past week. On Tuesday our team had the opportunity to spend the morning in prayer. We prayed with partners, alone and as a group. It was probably the most powerful experience since the beginning of this summer. God really overwhelmed me with the peace that I am down here for a reason and that even though it seems like a long time now, that He is going to use every bit of time to teach, mold and expand me through different children, peers, leaders, situations and conversations. Praise God for His faithfulness!!

So this past week the group of interns had the chance to do an English Camp at the school on the site of the orphanage in Jaibon. We worked with 40 of the same kids that came to the VBS the week prior. My role was to be the co-program leader with Heather to lead my peers in putting on this camp. One of my highlights was seeing some of the same boys that I had on my team last week come back and have that same smile of recognition... it is priceless :)

The theme for the camp was Under the Sea and we did an English focus and a Bible focus each day. Some of the things we worked on was Weather (Jesus Calming the Sea), Food (Fishers of Men), Directions (Jonah), Colors, numbers (Gospel). It worked out very well and the team did a great job of putting together the camp with four stations: Crafts, Rec., English and Lesson. We also had the chance to do an English Bee on Thursday. They really seemed to like it and we hope to use that tool in the future, just as they have at Monte Cristi in the English Institute. (I thought of my dear family who loved the Spelling Bee while planning it :) ).

For this coming week we are at Monte Cristi with two church groups and some one week volunteers. We will be doing a VBS for 200 kids in the morning and then splitting up between a VBS at a local church and a sports camp at the Baseball stadium in the afternoon. I think I'm gonna go to the sports camp.

Please pray for unity among the three groups and for the kids to be open to the Gospel when it is presented. The big VBS will be themed Narnia and has been a hit before, so we are excited to see what comes of it this week. Also, please be in prayer for the those of us that are going to be here past the end of this week. At the end of this week, we loose about half of the team because they are going home after a month. We will get a few more month long interns, but as you can expect a lot of emotions can be felt during that time.

Thank you so much for your constant love, support and encouragement. I am so incredibly blessed to know you and have you in my life. Please let me know how you are doing this summer. May God Bless you.

Thanking God for you,
Monica

Week Two

Thankfully I was able to get on the internet tonight... it has been a fun week... so much to tell you all about. Lauren joined us at the beginning of the week and Stephanie, Cara and Micah joined us today. Cara is John's wife and Micah is John's son. Lauren is the intern that will be leaving on the same day as me... so we have become dear friends within the last week. Anyways enough about who is here and on to what we did this past week.

There was a group of 50 highschoolers from Kenniworth United Church (Chicago) so it was such a blessing to enjoy tons of energy on site this week. KUC worked on building volunteer housing for Orphanage Outreach as well as partnered with the interns to run the first ever VBS at Jaibon. I have told a couple of you this already, but this trip and especially this week has been Monica in a nutshell. I got to put my passion for Spanish, kids, teaching ESL all to work this week. Monday-Thursday morning I taught ESL to four groups of kids for 25 minutes each. Then in the afternoons I got to be a team leader for "team verde", which was a group of boys ages 6-13. The stations for the VBS were Crafts, ESL, Lesson, and Rec. It was so fun to be able to translate some, and spend time getting to know the kids.

This past weekend has been a great time of relaxation and an hour of internet time :)... but I am soooo excited about this upcoming week. I had a meeting with Heather, the program leader and friend from JBC, this afternoon and she asked me to be the program leader for the English camp next week. This means that I have done a lot of planning on the front end of things and provide leadership and framework for the English camp. I am so excited to be able to have this opportunity for this kind of leadership. In this role, I wont have the chance to teach per say, but will be able to oversee all that goes on at the camp with the help and guidance of Heather. Please pray for guidance and confidence in the abilities that God has given me as I adventure out on this exciting week!

Thank you so much for all of your prayers and concern about the reaction.. I am pleased to say that my hands and feet are back to normal... God is good and He continues to pour blessings on me through friendships, conversations and those boys at the orphanage. God is good.

I am also VERY pleased to let you all know that I can get letters in the DR :)... It will probably take about a week and a half to get here, but I would welcome any cards or letters to know how you all are doing. Please don't send any packages, because chances are that they won't get here, save those for when I get back to JBC :)... ok so its

Monica Swartzentruber
Calle Alta Gracia #80
Monte Cristi, Dominican Republic

Thanks so much for all your love and prayers. You are such a blessing and I can't wait to hear about your summer and share more stories and pictures with you when I get back. Hopefully I will be able to get online next weekend, but I've learned to be flexible and thankful for the time that I do get. :)

Love ya,
Monica

internet times

so right now i have two minutes left online... hopefully i will get to be back online from 10-11 tonight (Saturday) or 9-10 tomorrow night (Sunday)... if not i will be back sometime on Monday... thanks for all your prayers and hopefully we will talk soon.

Monica

Week One.

Wow... so I am sitting here at my "designated internet time" and will try to cram all of last week into this update. I have so many things to tell you. First of all, thank you thank you thank you to everyone who has been praying for the reaction. It ended up getting to my hands and feet pretty bad by the middle of the week and now it has almost all cleared up...God is a great healer... thank you for going to Him in prayer. So here are some highlights from this past week:

- Meeting 16 other interns, from various colleges and walks of life. The only thing that we had in common at the beginning of the week was an Orphanage Outreach t-shirt and now I consider this group good friends. Some of them will be here for a month and others for two months. Just yesterday, Lauren came, who will be leaving the same day as I will :) She is a blessing!
- Being under the leadership at OO. John Hopkins, someone who has run summer camps in Colorado is leading the summer program. God is using Him in great ways to lead the interns in a Spirit-filled experience.
- Meeting the 20 boys at the orphanage. We are getting to know each boy fairly well. Each afternoon last week we had the chance to do an organized activity (relay races, capture the flag, get to know you interview, etc.) and then we also had free time to just get to know the boys one on one. One of the boys is named Robinson. He taught me how to play Mancala. Meliss would be so proud :).
- Working to get ready for the group of 50 high schoolers here this week. We had to make 50 beds with mosquito netting for the group that is here this week.
- We also toured and went to the beach on Friday and Saturday.

We have a busy week ahead in leading the high school team through VBS. I am in charge with two other interns of the English station :).. God is so good. There are so many other things to share, but my time is about out.
Thank you for the prayers.
Until next week.
Monica

The Lord is my Rock!

So it is finally here. I will leave this afternoon to go out with my family to spend the afternoon and evening in Louisville, where I will fly out tomorrow morning.
I wanted to let you all know about a passage that I read last night...Psalm 18. This is the passage where David is pleading with God to deliver him from the hand of Saul. Even within the chaos of what David must of been feeling, he begins the passage with "I love you, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge." (vs. 1-2).

I am clinging to the promise laid out in this verse. It has been a crazy ride the last couple of weeks home. I have been able to spend time with family and friends and get completely packed. Please join with me in praising God for the time off and the time of preparation before I head down to the Dominican Republic.

I also come with some requests to be brought before our Rock and Refuge. I have had a bit of a reaction to the malaria medicine over the past couple of weeks. Please pray that the medicines that I am on now will solve the problem and that I will be able to carry out whatever is asked of me when I get to the DR. Also pray for safety traveling tomorrow, for me and many of my other team members. Finally, I ask you to pray for calm nerves, for both me and my family.

I will be leaving from Louisville at 10:50am (4287) flying to Chicago, then leaving there at 12:45 (1896) and flying to Miami, then leaving there at 6:45p (749) and arriving in the DR by 8:45pm.
When I get there safely, I will be required to call home within 24 hours. I will call my mom, and she will notify Brad, Becky, Susan, Rena and Emily.

I know that God has called me on this trip for a reason, and I will cling to the promise that He is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer. Join me in celebrating God's goodness and blessings! I am so thankful for each one of you. Know that I am praying for you this summer.

Monica

He Never Lets Go

So the countdown is down to less than two weeks, and I have a lot of things to do... but this morning I had an unique opportunity to enjoy getting up and not really having anywhere particular that I needed to be. I was able to get up and go for a short run and then able to come out on my back deck and dig into a bit of God's Word, while listening to a little Shane and Shane. I have been so blessed with such a sense of God's peace right now... exactly what I needed. I just finished up finals and moving (two of the most stressful things for me.. and together are a bear to handle)... but God is good and over the last several days since school let out for the semester I have been able to spend time with some special people and I have had some time to relax. The passage that I read today was the passage in Psalm 51, when David is talking to God about the sin with Bathsheba. I feel like I have not made time with God a priority, especially within the past month, and so verse 10-12 spoke close to my heart. David pleads to God to "Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me... restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit to sustain me" This is a passage that inevitably I have heard countless times before, but God used it this morning to remind me of why I am going down to the DR and to confirm that He has never let go. I have been called to share the joy of his salvation (something that I never want to become mundane and taken advantage of). Through God's grace I have been able to get through the preparation process so far, and by His sustaining grace I will make it through these next two weeks... and on to the summer. Please be in prayer as I make my final preparations. Thank you so much for your prayers, support and encouragement. You are a blessing.
Because of Him,
Monica

Less than a month...

So it is officially less than a month that I will be headed for the Dominican Republic. A lot has happened since I last talked to you all. On Wednesday afternoon I received my t-shirt from Orphanage Outreach that I will wear on May 30th.. the day that I travel to the DR. Also, God continues to bless me with financial support from friends and family. Praise God! I feel so incredibly blessed by everyone who has invested prayer, finances and encouragement up until this point. Also, my original plane ticket was canceled, but God had control of the situation from the beginning. We were able to get a flight with the other girl that is going to the DR at the same time as me, that is from JBC. It puts my heart at ease to know that she has gone down to the DR a few times before and I won't have to deal with as many new things at the same time. God is good. For the next two weeks I will be finishing up school work and then heading home for a couple of weeks before leaving on May 30th. I would appreciate your continued support and encouragement. You are such a blessing!
In Him alone,
Monica

God is SOO Big!!

Praise God! This last week has been a whirlwind of blessings... Let me tell you about them! As of Thursday of last week, I am officially fully funded. That was one of the biggest worries that I had going into this summer preparations... but God had/has it under control. I also had the distinct privilege of having dinner with a lady last Wednesday that I met at the Missionary Convention in November. She has developed a curriculum for churches to use a ESL curriculum. I purchased "English Anywhere" and now I have a resource that if I needed, could use and apply to the situation in the DR. I am perfectly fine if I never take it out of my suitcase, but it is there if I need. It has been interesting how God has fulfilled these little worries... but He has also given me peace to go into the situation fully expecting for my world to be turned upside down. I also found out this past week that the girl that told me about Orphanage Outreach will actually be down there the same time that I will be. Praise God for an answer to the little bit of anxiousness of traveling by my self. Most likely we will be flying in on the same plane. God cares about the little things, which in my mind makes Him that much bigger!

Serving a big God,
Monica

Check out this weekly devotional written by Dr. John Cash (the pastor of Antioch Christian in Mississippi- one of main contributors to the ministry at Orphanage Outreach):

www.countrypreacherdad.com

Within sight

So I had a realization this week... in less than 2 months, I will be down in the Dominican Republic working with Orphanage Outreach. For so long it has simply been one of those things that is "this summer"... when people would ask me what I'm doing "this summer", I would respond with "working in the Dominican Republic with Orphanage Outreach"... and now "this summer" is a little closer. With that realization, comes excitement, anxiousness and a little bit of an overwhelming feeling. I came home this week for Spring Break and I was able to get my shots that I needed for the 3 months and I am in the process of taking the Typhoid Meds... so I should be well taken care of. It has been good to be able to relax and spend time with friends and family and to catch up on some things that need to be taken care of before I leave for the summer. I would ask that as the 2 months become 2 weeks and 2 days and finally departure day that you would continue to pray for the final preparations. Also, I need to turn in the rest of the money to Orphanage Outreach by April 27th. I am still $570 short, but I am faithful that God will provide. Thank you to all of you who have supported this ministry... I could not have done it without you. Thank you for your support and encouragement. I am blessed to have you in my life.
-Monica

Not alone in a crowded room

So it's been a few weeks since I have updated this... a lot of things have been going on around campus.. keeping me busy. Next week is midterms and with midterms also comes some projects that I need to keep working on, so this weekend promises to hold a lot of homework time... although I would love to be spending that time with the community that I have developed over the years. I have been reminded a lot within the past couple of weeks about the value of community, especially here on campus. Everyone from work supervisors, professors, mailroom workers, cafeteria workers care about me... that's not even to mention close friends in Alive group, Student Council, church and other things I am involved in... I am so blessed by the friendships that I have formed over the years. As I prepare for this summer, I am even more thankful for them because they, along with my family, have shaped me into who I am today. Thank you very much for your love and dedication to challenge and encourage me to seek God's best for my life. Praise God for community.
Blessed,
Monica

The Gumby Principle

So I knew that this would have to come out eventually. God has really been doing a number on me.. I have always thought that I understood the whole concept of "Blessed are the Flexible for they will not be bent out of shape". I have been on several mission trips and that has been a consistent theme... but I feel like that principle is going to be something that will be a huge learning experience for me throughout preparation for this summer. I have a pretty good idea of what I will be doing this summer, but a lot of the preparation (curriculum planning) will happen in the first week that I am there, with all of the other interns. My supervisor said that I should be learning as much as I can about different ways that I can teach an English class. Fortunately for me, I am in ESL Methods and Materials, and we are learning just that (which includes some homework that I should be doing today). This is scary for me, because I want to prepare as much as I can on the front end of things, but God is faithful and He will not give me more than I can handle. As a dear friend reminded me this morning, God is a God of order... He's got this :) Thank you for all your prayers and support.
In His Arms,
Monica

He's got the whole world in His hands

I used to sing that song growing up in Sunday school and VBS and I guess I never really thought about what that really meant for me. My Creator, has the whole world in His hands. He has my hopes, fears, desires, and future plans in His hands. He holds the birds, butterflies, bees and bears in His strong and mighty hands. He has got it under control...
I often say that "I've got it under control" when, someone comes up to me with concerned eyes in the middle of chaos. Most of the time it is me telling them that I've got it under control, to try to fool myself into thinking I've got it under control (if that makes sense), but how much more does God have things under control when we come to him with worried eyes, in the middle of chaos... Our Father is faithful and speaks the truth.
This weekend, I went home to visit my family and I also had the chance to visit a family that I babysat for this past summer. When I babysat for them, the boys where only 4 months (now they are working on taking their first steps... craziness). But I remember when I would watch them and they would start to get fussy. Sometimes all they needed was a bottle, sleep or a changed diaper, but most of the time, all they wanted was just for me to hold them. Somehow being in my hands was comfort enough.
And so, I come to my Father who has the whole world in His hands. Asking Him for continued peace for this summer's plans, motivation to do school work, and patience in relationships. He has got it under control.
In His hands,
Monica

God of the small things

So I have learned a lot about myself over the last several years. It's funny to think that someone can grow so much within such a relatively short amount of time. I have learned that I LOVE teacher juice (aka talking with other teachers or future teachers about teacher things... which wouldn't make any sense to non-teachers)... I have also learned that I like people and I have been so incredibly blessed by all of the friendships that I have formed over the past few years, but I also love spending time with ME, I am an introvert in that I am "filled back up" by being by myself....I have also being reconfirmed that I love details (hence the over-obsession with Post-it notes, so I don't forget about the details in my life). One of those details that has made me the most anxious about this coming summer has been the issue of money. But God is faithful and cares about details... my Alive group studied Psalm 139 last week... How much the psalmist talks about how God cares about every little detail about me... it astounds me. But back to the detail that God reaffirmed to me this week. Praise God, I received $400 in the mail through the blessings of close friends and family over the past week. I know that is just a fraction of what is required for this summer, but to me it was God saying, "Monica, I have called you the DR this summer... I will take care of you.. trust me". And so I am thankful for the blessings of family and friends and I am also thankful that even though God doesn't need Post-its, He is still the God of small things.
In His Love,
Monica

The Journey now has a map

So I am new to this whole blogging thing, so be patient while I learn. :) Ever since I came back from Pachuca, Mexico God has been doing a mighty work inside my heart. Even being able to go to Pachuca with my family was a God thing. I am so blessed to have experienced the things that I have in only the past six years. Even though the passion for teaching, children, the Hispanic community and most of all the Gospel has remained the same, this journey is coming to an exciting peak this coming summer. I have been in prayer for the past year and through a recommendation from a professor, I have been given the opportunity to go to the Dominican Republic for a summer working with Orphanage Outreach. There is still so much that needs to be done and still so many uncertainties (which usually doesn't settle well with my detailed personality), but God is faithful and He has given me peace (that only He can supply) about going to the DR. I am excited to see where the next step takes me. Because of His grace, I can enjoy the blessing of peace. God is good.