Five weeks from today!!!!!

In five weeks those of you who are heading to the DR will be there.  We'll all be together talking about what's ahead and preparing you for your job.  I'm excited.  I have so enjoyed reading your posts and getting to know you a little bit better.  I am committed to praying for each of you, so please write requests.

Someone asked about a VISA into the DR.  When you land in Santiago, the first line you will enter is for foreign travelers.  There you will pay 10$ In American dollars and that's your Visa.  It's very easy and you don't need to do anything before hand in the way of paperwork.  So make sure you don't spend all your cash in the Miami airport or you'll be borrowing money in Santiago.  :)

As you pray for the Romans, we are leaving on the 13th of June.  We're leaving one kid behind and have one graduating from 8th grade this year.  We're watching God pull the details together, but there are a ton.  So you could pray that we would trust the Lord with the things that don't seem to be happening the way we planned and that we would walk by faith through the craziness of this next month.

Blessings,  Sue

Hello everyone!

Sorry for my late response! My name is Angela Bergsma and I am from Grand Rapids, Michigan (the southwest side of the mitten for those unfamiliar). I just finished up my college career at Central Michigan University and moved back into my parents' house yesterday; it still seems unreal! My degree is in Elementary Education with a focus on Language Arts and Geography and I am student teaching in a first grade classroom in the inner city in the fall. Education is something I care very deeply about, the way that kids are introduced to the world around them definitely shapes their perspectives throughout life. If you ever want to chat education, give me a call!

A little bit more general info about me: I love being outdoors and on the road, I love to paint, read, recycle, and swim for fun (a beautiful perk of living in the Great Lakes State). I love having deep talks and spending quality time with people, I value relationships very highly. This summer I am so ready to see how God will take my servanthood for Him to the next level when I am not surrounded by the comforts of home. It was hard to leave school for the final time but I know it was time to go by how comfortable I was becoming not only in my physical life but in my spiritual life. I know God is going to test and strengthen each and every one of us but I am praying that He will take this leap of faith we are putting in Him and multiply it more than we can imagine possible.

I have done some short term missions in the states and taught in the outskirts of London last summer but....do not know any Spanish! I'm working on picking up the basics before we go but will definitely need some help this summer. I'm truly excited to get to know you all. Talk to you all soon.

Angela

Question for everyone

Oh I am so excited to meet everyone! Thank you all for sharing about yourselves! For those of you who have been to the DR already, do you mind if I ask you questions about the country and people? 

So in our homework maybe last week, it talked about expectations.  What was something that you experienced or saw in the DR that was different from what you were expecting?  I ask so that maybe I can throw down some expectations that maybe I have that I don't really even realize.   

Also, logistics question here: do we need a Visa for the internship in the DR?

Thanks you guys!

Tiffany

prayer request

Man, all these posts are getting me SO PSYCHED for the dominican, which is obviously a good thing, but I would really love prayers that I will be able to live presently in the month of May, as I'm in a very different mission field (aka cleaning dorms) than we will be in June. Nevertheless, I still desire to be prepared emotionally and spiritually for the DR, so I guess my prayer is that I could find a good balance between living and thriving in the present, while at the same time being able to look ahead for what is to come!

Thanks guys...oh and just fyi, I already have friend crushes (definitions 1-3 if you've never heard of a friend crush) on all of you :)

Greetings From Snowy Colorado!

Hey Everyone!

My name is Erin, and I am from Greeley, Colorado. It is currently May, as you know, and we just had yet another day long snow storm (and just Sunday I was relaxing at one of our "beaches," well it was a lake so it really doesn't count, but that's what we call it). I do love it here though! I have lived in Greeley my whole life, and I am currently finishing up my second year of college here at the University of Northern Colorado. I am an Elementary Education major with a Concentration in English as a Second Language (ESL) and a Spanish minor. I would love to say I am fluent in Spanish, but that one is definitely still a work in progress.

Let's see interesting things about me...well I am a PK (pastor's kid) and was homeschooled until 8th grade. I absolutely love to play volleyball! I play tennis for fun with my family, and I LOVE hanging out with friends! I enjoy cooking, but I am not very good at it, and I am TERRIBLE with directions (one of my concerns about this trip is getting lost in DIA or Miami). I have lived in Greeley over 20 years, and I still get lost at times. It's pretty embarrassing. I really enjoy tv shows and am just finishing up Lost! Soooo good!

I have never been to the DR, but I have been to Peru, Mexico, and most recently a poor neighborhood in Arizona. I love children and would really like to become bilingual. I'm so excited for this opportunity! I can't wait to meet you all and can't believe how soon it is! I know God has got so much in store for us this summer, and I don't know about you, but I'm super pumped to find out what it all is!

Hasta luego!

Erin

Hi from Dallas!

First off I would like to say how much I've loved reading all of your posts and kind of getting to know a little about each of you before we meet in the DR this summer! :)

My name is Sara Belmer and I live in Dallas, Texas. Just some stuff about me...  Technically I'm still a high school senior until I get my diploma in June, but I graduated early in January in order to work full time and it was definitely one of the best decisions I've ever made! Speaking of work, I'm a full time bridal consultant (which I've been doing for almost 3 years) and a nanny and I absolutely LOVE both of my jobs and the people I work with. I love being outside and hiking, camping, anything in the midst of God's awesome creations and I also LOVE working with kids... I'm a first grade Sunday school teacher at my church. I was the sports editor for my high schools newspaper, but I'm terrible at almost every sport there is.. Oh the irony! :)

College-wise, I'll be attending the University of Arkansas in the fall and double-majoring in Spanish and Elementary Education, which is going to be crazy taking 18-ish hours my freshman year, but I'm still incredibly excited to experience the college life... I hear it's a lot better than high school ;) Hopefully, all this schooling will lead up to my dream job—teaching first grade in the DR (if that's in accordance with what the Big Man upstairs has planned.)

Speaking of the DR, God has given me a crazy passion for this country, the people, and especially the kids there! I really can't express how much I love being there in words. You'll often hear me randomly yell, "Man, I just love this country" and I promise you will eventually get used to it :) I'm SO EXCITED to be back for the third time this summer. I went to Monte Plata once, Caraballo last summer, and will be back in Caraballo this summer. I just feel so at home with the people and children there.. I seriously can not contain how excited I am for this trip. I also LOVE missions, serving, kids, and teaching so this internship was practically perfect for me. God is so sovereign, isn't he? :)

But anyways... I can't wait to meet all of you beautiful people! I have been praying for this trip like crazy and my only prayer request would be for the Lord to open my eyes to/reveal His purpose for me and you guys for our time in the Dominican Republic. Ultimately His will is way better than anything I could ever plan for myself, so I want it to be accomplished through us. I'm so excited to see how he grows, teaches, matures, prepares (physically and spiritually), provides for, and tests all of us during our preparation and the trip in general :) These 6 weeks are going to be INCREDIBLE!


Fully Surrendered,
Sara Belmer

como estas?

Hey everyone, I'm John Rhoda. I am originally from California, the Easy bay of San Fransisco specifically.  I am currently in Boise, ID attending Boise State University, just about done with my 4th year (but coming back for a victory lap next year).  Horay for super seniors!

I'll be getting out of here next year with a BS in Construction Management.  Frankly, I'm not too sure what I want to do with that yet.  I've had a job with a big engineering and civil construction company since last June, and I'll be returning to them in August.  I do not know if that is were I am supposed to be, or if the mission field is where God is calling me.  Hopefully, this summer can help give me some affirmation of which choice to make. 

Speaking of missions, I've done a number of short term ones (mostly for spring breaks) and honestly cannot be more excited for this summer.  One thing I look forward to is seeing the mission field for a longer period of time.  I have had the pleasure of going to the DR 4 times, twice to Jarabacoa, and twice to Monte Plata.

I am excited to be back there for so many reasons.  One of the best things is that you'll feel related to everyone, its like having 50 direct relatives  at one site.  I'm really looking forward to sports with Dominican kids (even though they will be far better than me, I might be able to keep up with the 7-8 year olds).  I'm looking forward to Dominican rice and beans, because I have been trying for years to make it here in the states, but its never quite the same.  Lastly, I'm looking forward to being in a 'thin place', somewhere where the physical world and the spiritual world are not that far apart.  The most apparent way that I have seen this is daily faith, having faith that God will provide you what you need, even when you cannot see where you're going to get money for food next week.  That daily faith is something very rare to find in the States.

I look forward to getting to know you all, message me if you have any questions, or just want to know about the DR from my perspective.  I hope that school is treating everyone alright, and I pray that summer comes sooner than later.

IH,
John