personalities, perception and God´s reality

well these are the insightful thoughts of a growing mind ...comin at you live with fresh revelation!
Ever notice how the more you learn the more you find yourself in a situation which causes you to realize the application of the knowledge is slightly less effective tahn your ability to share or counsel others with it!!!
Yeah, this is me this week. So I ran into some home bills and then school banking error made for some more drama and as I ranted around and debated possible verbal responses to all of these situations, I realize BREATH then I read Proverbs 29 which says ¨a foolsih man vents his anger but a wise man is self controled¨
Isnt it just like God to remind us who we are and WHO HE IS! and just like that I hd peace again...amazing.
Meanwhile in my panic I walked into some barrio about 2 miles from my house and I really was able to pray...in part outta fear of the unknown, and in part outta the desperate situation of the overt poverty in this particular barrio ...it is called Cristo Rey (christ king) ironically, and it has a weird vibe and on every block there is a lottery place. As I walked I prayed for stronghold to be broken and GOd to be walkin the area with me....
Isn´t it funny how we get back to everything, everything in this life is not about us but about HIM. WOW the more I know the less I know! WOW it is a humbling experience. May you be humbled enough to see HIs goodness and the favor he has shown you. truly CRISTO ES REY DEL MUNDO!

No hay luz no hay agua...but we got pigs!

hello again...I had no idea that you could live for days on end without lights, water and fans in 1,000 degree weather! Makes me think of those emails about the good ole days in the US when kids grgew up doing things that are now considered lethal and yet they somehow survived!!! like when I see 2 month onld babies on the front of a moped....YIKES
well the power plant had a small explosion or something and the generator at school is busted ( too bad the one at the supermarket isn´t, it is keeping me awake at night still)
Had some great conversations this week with native Dominicans and there is a realization that Haitians are coming here are working in droves, but they are doing jobs better and cheaper! Both times the conversations led to the fact that Dominicans don´t want to work, and that there is a huge lack of motivation. something to pray about. changing not just skills and opportunities, but creating new mindsets in tough...only GOd can do it.
I got to speak to some local kids and possibly get a pck up game going next week...how better to engage a community of kids than through play!
Finally, I went camping and it was great!!! I slept in a big tent alone with about 50 other people mostly families. The beach ws small and blue and we cooled off under the coconut trees. I even saw a guy climb one to hit a few down. I saw 3 horses rolling, yes, rolling in the sand, and about 4 baby pigs sniffed around us.....as I am writing this I can´t help but laugh thinking of the CHevy CHase adventures but instead the Del Russo camping trip! Could you imagine...and I saw a guy with just a spear and flippers go swimming and catch a bundle of squid and about 6 fish! Definitely not the Jersey shore! Also, I went hiking and it was beautiful. majesty and awe.....anyway I will post pictures when I can
Finally,
prayer points for this week are simply to help me find a church family (I ajm going to a small group with some missionaries this weekend) prayer for the school as many things are going wrong and the director overwhelmed and people are a bit srtessed. Prayer for a spiritual awakening among families here and on a national level against any strongholds. Also begin to pray for vision, purpose and direction for the mission team who will be arriving in NOv. Thanks be to GOd for each day, let us not take it for granted even when we sometimes can´t see it, He is still working. Peace

Calle kids and news

well this week has been very productive! MNy classes are going well and if I haven´t said so before...I love the seventh graders!!! they are so into our book and lovin when I read too! The primero y segundo grados are getting better! I got a new student today and she fit right in. I am beggining to warm up to the babies a bit and they are getting more outta the class.....there is a long way to go! The soccer field is almost finished but there has been a setback with the power in the school cause the transformer blew or something like that and now we are on hold again...i think! I will begin coaching basketball on wednesday for middleschool and high school (yeah what up rosendary!)
News on the community center is GREAT! My boss said she is down wit hthe program and I spoke to another teacher who has a heart for the same. We will begin the long process of planning and meeting representatives from the Barrio to gain imput from them too. I hope by maybe November we can start some small programs out of the school. For now we will plan and go intricude ourselves to the community.....
which leads me to my next thought...as i walk home from school( not to school anymore cause it is too dark in the a.m.) I see many kids in the street playin. It reminds me of San Cristobal for those of you who were there! I think I may just start playin ball with them some day! why not...also today I saw a kid about 5 years old at 12noon just standing alone in the calle. I guess he is beggin but it hit me hard that ¨shouldn´t he be in school, who is watchin him¨ CRAZY
not much else to say...I´m going to SAMANA this weekend cause it is some kind of holiday and we have an extra day off. I will be going to a beach and campin with total strangers but hey the beaches are blue so gerry- you remember the first time we went to the retreat? the comment you said about the popo finding me? lol I hope all will be fine and I won´t come back lookin like a watermelon from all the mosquitoes. I hope to post pics when I get my new computer next month.
Finally here are some prayer points for the week. much love to me peeps! miss you and pray that todo estan bien!
1. Thanking GOd for truly being in every step of my process here it is weird but my faith has grown in the sense that I BELIEVE HE CAN DO ANYTHING!
2. To learn how to negate pride and old mindsets and press towards His vision of myself and others
3. Praise and thanks that there are many willing to help begin a community program here...having gotten a OK from our boss, we need GOd´s direction, plan and clarity and also favor in the community....above all HIs desire to be fulfilled.
4. Last for my spiritual growth...i am on my own in a BIG way here....I am begining my own study Ëxperiencing God¨ and still there is no church family for me so pray for that too.

Pensively viewing my reality today....

so maybe the spanich word ¨pensar¨to think, comes from th esame root as the word pensive? food for thought...sorry my ADD mind at work!
ok so things in school are hopping along, parents came for back to school night and I had them playing games and winning prizes which was fun. I was able to tell most of them my expertice and ideas so them seem onboard. I am really beggining to see the more we think kids are different, the more they really are the same.
In grade 7 we are reading ¨the outsiders¨and this week it would be quite appropo to relate a line to how I feel...Ponyboy the main character is peaking his thoughts as he talks to a ¨soc¨girl and he says ¨i don´t see how we are all really that different, we all see the same sunset!¨
WOW today this grips me.
Plans are in the woprks for the community center to begin to be discussed with my director. As I have heard, many people are having the same or similar ideas about reaching out to the barrio communitie, but they are all over the map wit hthe HOW and thanks to Alex and the small group from NJ I am quite familiar with the brainstorming process. I guess now as my friend says it, ¨prayer¨wit hhave to be the best plan. There must be a way that people who are natives here or that have been here for a long time will see that GOd has the power to do anything. The mentality as I am coming to see, is that people are in a certain class or status because they like it, or because they donm´t want to do more....well call me the eternal optomist, but I believe while not changing pepole´s culture, we can afford educational opportunities for them to have more basic needs more profficiently. so, this seems to be the challange to cross the societal divide and mentality. Sounds like Newark too! Truly less God intervenes in the hearts of man there will be no lasting change, just a bunch of people pushinmg there NA way of life on the world...oh this is not my goal....but rather to enjoy the spirit here and move towards prosperity IN it.
prayer points- clrity of vision for me and the right words to speak at the right time to the right person. For my boss who is bogged down with every aspect of the school and for her willingness to support this project...for the students to have willing hearts to break the societal divide and for the Father´s favor in all I do. I am thnkful for my friends at home who have been sending me spiritual news. Tere is one thing in particular today whic hI am holding onto. may you be blessed as you read the quote and continue on your path for HIS purposes. love Jaime ps no news on the apartment front except our daily fireballs from the stove and my perfect pineapple carvings!! it is truly an artform!

For the Lord would say, “I'm raising up a new generation of revivalists such as the world has not seen. And the Lord says that there is a shifting and a turning even in this season. “Even,” says the Lord, “a time of new beginnings; but new beginnings for harvest,” says the Lord... The wells of evangelism are being opened all across the face of the Earth; those wells of revival... This well carries with it not only revival, but reformation, societal transformation.” God says, “and this move of the Holy Spirit is not just going to touch souls; it's going to touch nations

Gracias Padre por todo...

ok well, school has been settling down and I am actually finding myself to be quite uplifted and blessed. Although the language barrier exists, I am teaching kids who actually WANT to learn. This is very contrary to what I am used to and it is refreshing....to know the value of education. In my seventh grade class we are discussing the 5 sectors of society and how they can not exist apart from each other....we have a chance to reflect on how education is pivotal to a functioning community.
I am also feeling so blessed to be in a pace where teachers are seen as assets to a society. We had a huge food celebration at the finish of the week and I was able to pray with one of my coworkers who is leaving to be the director of a CHristian school nearby! A great connection to have for ministry purposes!
Yesterday I was very excited about the conversation I had with a friend in the states and it lead me to discuss community development opportunities with my school director. She is 100% on board with me starting something and I am planning to maybe partner with the highschool teacher to create a survey for the people who live in the Barrio. This way we can gain their perspective on what they need in various age groups for improving their community. After, we will brainstorm ideas to fix these problems, we are planning an outreach for the school, maybe with US friends but maybe not.
Reflection....
I am hearing about many ways in which the enemy is trying to hurt people that I know and love. I am reminded that we are more than conquerors and that we must learn to tap in to the power we have in Christ Jesus. I am also feeling super prviledged because as I watched the man connect the electrical wire to the cement pole, and HOPE that it is for our school )we still don´t have electricity) I am reminded that everything has a beginning and we often skip the process to see the finished work....but there is power in the process, and to be at the beginning of a project or the plan of God is such a blessing. That line meant so much more than lights. it means internet, communication, education and opportunity for the people who receive it. we must enjoy the process and be patient.
Finally, I was reminded this week of my initial dream and it was freaky and funny that the grass and pavenment I saw months past...is actually the location of my school!!! WOW. God is good.- blessings to all. pray for the process and the hearts of men to come to the father. pray for new understanding and strength. pray for understanding of the battle at hand. until I can walk to the internet place again! Jaime

It happens to the best of us! and reflections

Well you know those jokes "it´s so hot, yeah how hot is it?" well here it is so hot that I can smell my skin tanning! It is so hot that every child carries about a gallon jug to class and leaves a wet mark on the desk which makes the papers soft and creates a huge mess. It is so hot, that my little first grader after having gone pee pee 4 times today, peed his pants! I mean can a girl get a little breesa?
Anyway, school is going well and I am excited about my seventh grade class. They are pretty mature and i really think i am gonna get them to think outside the box and i a REAL way. I had a great miniconversation with a teacher today who shared that at the school I am at we are shaping the minds of kids will one day be leaders in this nations and through us showing the love of christ tot them maybe they will tranfer it to the impoverished in the country. This was great because unlike i had expected, this school has many rich kids....but the project we are trying to do is in the barrio with the poor kids so I guess we are reaching all aspects of the country.
REFLECTIONS:
In class I realized that I am NOT an ESL teacher and I try to translate into spanish as I am able but still many students are left misunderstanding....and now I am caught eating my words because is this not mismo (same) a the heavenly father does with us? Though he speaks to us in the language of love patience etc.... we are often unable to hear and the nurturing smile and kindness of another or the WORD´s revelation I guess is what connects eventually to HIs truth....I must be more patient with my non-english speakers bc thi for my vlass will be showing the Father´s love.....we must strive to learn HIS language. AMEN Until next time.

Plaza Llama, the pillows and friends

Well Once again it is about 700 degrees here and if you need a drink you may just need to stop and ring out your shirt! The heat is outrageous right now so I am sorry the hurricane left cause the rain was nice! Anyway, Plaza Llama is a big department type store and it is nowhere near my house but yesterday I got a rie there after work, having walked to work I was tired. So, I purchase two regular sixe pillows and began my travel home. I planned to take the publico and be home.....yeah right! So I had to ask about 5 hombres for directions to a publico and it was about half mile away. Then it took me to a corner in a barrion somewhere and i had to take a guagua bus to another corner where I was dropped off with pillows in hand. oh yeah and by the way in the publico i sat with 7 people and a guy sweating on me and my pillows. back to the story, now I am stuck on this corner holding all this stuff fruit in my bag too! so the walk began for about 2 miles! Meanwhile i got a call that night that my boss saw me and didn´t stop cause she heard i like to walk!!! are you kidding me? did she see the pillows? yikes! at least last night was the first time we had some down time fun and i went with a friend from school to see 2 bands perform some local music ...it was entertaining and relaxing. Silliness aside things here are good and exercise is plentiful! pray that I will have energy and strength in this heat and that God will allow my mind to be focused in creating plans for school as i am anxious to finish that and move on to other ministry opportunities.
Meanwhile, on the way here today i met a man on the guagua bus and he was handing out tracks. we spoke and it was nice to see God has natives on board with spreading the word......so much to be done still. Hast proximo vez. Jaime