Deep Realities and Morning Choices

     "How am I?"... A question that stumbles me and differs depending on the time of day you ask me. Whether I am good or bad, homesick or not, pretty or a mess, clean or dirty I see with wide eyes why I am here.  I am here because I am choosing daily to be obedient to God.  I am here because teens need opportunities to act on faith.  I am here because I want God to use me for His plans.  I have seen 13 year olds preach and 11 year olds memorize countless bible verses to be able to talk with others about God!  They are hungry for where God is leading them, and I get to provide them opportunities to practice being bold, how cool is that.  I count it a blessing to do this and keeping my feelings and emotions in check is important so that I can allow God to work through me.

     As I was sitting in my bed this morning wanting to lay there forever because I just didn't want to feel strong today, God said "let nothing separate me from you today."  I laid my sadness, my fears, my weakness, and everything that was not enough on the table before Him.  I tugged on to them trying to keep them and have an excuse to feel weak, but God was asking me for an undivided heart.  I knew if I was going to give this day to Him, I needed to have a pure heart only desiring the things that God had for me.

     To be honest, this is what every morning has looked like over the past week.  I have to make the conscious decision each morning to put my life in His hands for His purposes.  I consciously give the selfish Emily away so that others will see Our Maker and not me.  By doing this I got to see 13 year old Elian preach for the first time, I got to have a conversation with 17 year old Valeri about choosing faith for herself, I get to see 14 year old James from Haiti sing his heart out to God, I got to lead two people in the salvation prayer in Spanish, I got to hear 6 year old Wood tell me that God knows everything, and countless other moments that I am storing up in my heart!

     So just know that when you ask me how I am doing, I am homesick, dirt-covered, and my hair is just awful, but I see why God is asking all or nothing.  God continues to remind me that there is beauty beyond measure in obedience to Him.  And tomorrow when I wake up, without a doubt, I will choose it all over again.

 

Xoxo,

A Word from Eddie

Howdy!

         As many of you know Emily invited me to assist in her youth bible study here in Santiago, Dominican Republic.  What I have seen here is truly amazing and I want to give you my perspective on what we have been doing.

     To start, the relationships that Emily has established here are strong.  I was blown away at the sheer excitement and welcoming attitude that La Otra Banda had when she arrived.   The people in the community treat Emily not as a missionary, but as they would with a family member.  The youth here just overflowed with joy, parents excited to see their “daughter” come back to see them, and myself blown away by the relationships she created the summer before.

     Moving on to the actual work we’ve been doing, it has been something that I would have never imagined.  We have had the chance to have individual time with each of the youth, conduct a bible study, interact with their families, and also join them in regular church service. The individual time spent with each of the youth was fascinating.  Hearing their stories and sharing our own with them was simply amazing.  Although we are not that much older, we have gone through this stage we call the “teenage years” and can offer our own insight, and how to avoid the mistakes that we made.   Although I am really new here, I feel that the kids are as real and true with me as they are with Emily.  The transparency the kids show is crazy! Through this transparency they are able to do extraordinary things like share their favorite bible verses, go door-to-door and share our lessons with the community, and also sing every song with all their heart.   The youth here are fearless and God-loving.

​It's a different culture, a different lifestyle, a different climate, but the same God, the same view on Jesus our Savior, and the same need for His love and mercy.   I have seen many examples of his love through the love and affection that people show one another.  Family is regarded very, very highly in this nation and I love it. I have also seen perseverance of God’s word in the communities that we are working in.  For example, Unlike the rural mountain community in La Otra Banda, when we are in La Joya its… well lets just say it’s not the safest place in the world.  Fortunately, among the prostitutes, alcoholics, and various crack cocaine drug deals, God is working.  After talking with Pastor Ortiz I’ve found out that this community has come A LONG way from where it used to be.  This I found extremely interesting because from the outside looking in you only see what I described above (prostitutes, alcoholics, and various crack cocaine drug deals) and not the growing church.  Amongst all of this evil, God is calling and He has found some of his lost children men, women, and plenty of joyful children. 

​Now how will I be different from this? I can honestly say that I will definitely invest more time in community.  It’s watching Pastor Ortiz who can have a 30 minute to 2 hour conversation with people about pretty much anything, or it’s being a kid again and playing with a bunch of kids, and maybe it's the experience Emily and I had just chatting with families that shows me how amazing community can be.   In addition, I know that I want to have a household that is rooted in the Word.  The families that I have come to know have an amazing knowledge of God’s Word.  Coming from a family that never really sat down and read the bible, I am always fascinated that people actually practice this.  God’s Word is so deep and having 10-14 year olds tell me about their favorite bible verses and quoting scripture blows me away.

​I think we can all learn to spend more time in community and never doubt God’s presence.  I really loved spending my time with such great followers of Christ. I've found new experiences, new food, but most of all Dominican brothers and sisters in Christ.

Adios,
Eddie