Week 3 - The Body and a Look into the First Trimester

In week three we discussed our bodies. What nutrients we need, how we can find them, what substances we should avoid and how we can use our bodies as temples...in a Godly way.

We welcomed a new member to our girls group named Iveth. A super shy, quiet girl. Our youngest at the age of ten. There's just something about her though. This really calm confidence. I know she's going to be an awesome addition to this group.

As a fun activity, I brought a bunch of fashion magazines. For those of you that know me, Elle and Glamour are my guilty pleasures! I printed two photos of each of their faces and had them choose two of their favorite outfits from the magazines. One outfit that is God-honoring and still fashionable and another outfit that is a bit risk-ay and too sexy for their age. To be honest, I think they really liked looking for the ridiculously sexy outfit more. But some of these girls, man, they have some good taste in fashion!

Our class was nicely interrupted by an all-out, torrential downpour. Like, I haven't seen anything like this in a long time and I certainly haven't ever experienced it while in The Hole.

I don't have any photos of my pregnancy group but we talked through the first trimester of pregnancy. I show them pictures of the baby and how it looks inside their tummy and we read about all the changes that are happening. This has been my favorite class so far. They had no idea that their babies had fingernails and a beating heart and already had limbs. It was really cool to see them really make the connection between what was happening to their body and their babies. It was like the bonds really started. Which, for me, is what I've been hoping for. That these bonds would form early, that these girls would realize how amazing our God is and how incredible his creation is. It was a good day.

If you would like to partner with this ministry, please contact me at amanda.braisted@go-ministries or go to the GIVE tab at the top of this page to find out how.

Week 2 - Self-esteem and Nutrition

Las Mariposas (young girls group)

In week two we discussed self-esteem and why its so important in our lives. The fact of the matter is, probably most girls struggle with low self-esteem regardless of where they live or what their economic group is. I had amazing, supportive parents, great friends and was active in sports and school clubs and still struggled with self-esteem issues. It seems to be engrained in us girls.

So we talked about what the effects of bad self-esteem are, poor decisions that can be made as a result of low self-esteem and what we can do as women to support each other and encourage one another. I made each of them say something encouraging to one of the other girls in the group. It was hard for them. Most of them gave a quick, surface answer and giggled and got shy. It made me think hard about the competitive nature of women. Why do we find it so hard to lift one another up? Why do we have trouble celebrating in other women's triumphs even if it means no recognition for ourselves?

We talked very seriously about false self-esteem as well. About girls they know that talk themselves up, make it appear that they have it all together and could care less about what others think. But deep inside, there is a battle there just like the rest of us. It was really refreshing. It seemed to be a topic that they all wanted to participate in. They seemed interested in really finding the root of good self-esteem.

A prayer request for this group: we have two girls that are a little more "difficult" than the other girls. And we all know that this group is especially for them. Pray that the Holy Spirit can open them up and break their "hard outer shell." Pray that I have patience and wisdom in how to deal with some of the things that come up with them. Pray that it doesn't discouraged or distract the other girls who are so ready to listen and learn.

Las Flores (pregnant teens)

This week, I was super excited to have my friend and fellow missionary, Deloris Norman, come as a guest speaker and also help me measure and weigh the girls. It is my goal to give them the information necessary so they could have healthy pregnancies and hopefully healthy newborns. So, knowing that a majority of these girls will never go to get prenatal care, we are going to do the best we can with what we've got in helping them achieve a healthy pregnancy and birth.

Deloris measured their bellies and got a fundal height measurement for each of the girls. I also weighed them on the scale to see where they are for next month and help them adjust diet or mild exercise if needed. Deloris also took their blood pressures as gestational diabetes is a very high probability here.

The other great thing about this week was we had two new mamas join us. Both girls are great additions to the group and I'm so excited to be able to share this time with them. We now have each of the trimesters represented. It will be so much fun to talk about how all of their beautiful babies are developing!

Marleny, age 16, 4 months pregnant -- Marilyn, age 17, 2 months pregnant

Deloris then went through a list of 10 important things for taking good care of your body during pregnancy. Things such as diet, exercise, things to avoid, body aches, etc. She got a lot of her information from a book called, "Where Women Have No Doctor." It's a super good read in areas like where we work because it is a practical approach for women that have limited-to-no access to doctors or medicine.

All in all this week was so amazing. I had been praying for a couple more moms to join our group (i knew they were out there, just had to get them to the church!). And the girls seem to be getting a little more comfortable with the idea of having a little one soon! Of course nothing really prepares you for that. But hopefully over the next couple weeks as we discuss the different trimesters, they can begin to bond with their baby and realize what an incredible responsibility they have been handed.

A prayer request for this group: one of the moms and her spouse are having some difficulty. Just pray that God would reign in the situation and that His glory would be seen.

If you would like to partner with this ministry, please contact me at amanda.braisted@go-ministries or go to the GIVE tab at the top of this page to find out how.

Week 1 - Girls Groups Introduction

There has been much anticipation, on my part, for these girls' groups to begin. This summer I've developed some great friendships that have made these groups possible. I've been nervous, excited, scared, overwhelmed and a whole slew of emotions leading up to this past Tuesday. I e-mailed people and called people and talked to people asking them to cover all of this in prayer. I've done my best to leave my expectations at the door, because in reality, expectations sometimes ruin the beauty of things. And these eleven girls are the beauty of things.

When eight girls showed up for our first "class" I giggled a little to myself in that I had brought exactly an eight count of materials, not knowing how many would come. Maybe I limited God in that. Maybe if I had prepared for twenty, twenty would have come. But I was elated with eight. And more elated that I had enough materials for each of them.

The other Maestras (Yudy, Tatiana, Elba) and I began with a short introduction about what we hoped for these girls and why we were there spending time with them. Each story was so inspiring and exactly what I'd hope God would place in their hearts to tell these girls.

Rosa Angelica, age 15 and Lylyana, age 13

Cindhia, age 13 and Angela, age 12

Marilin, age 13 and Sondra, age 13

Maria, age 12 and Yolibeth, age 15

After introductions, I had prepared a little craft for them. The name of this group is "Las Mariposas" or The Butterflies. So I found a tutorial for butterfly barrettes and we spent the last half hour of our class working on the craft and just chatting.

As our time together began to close, God gave me some incredible wisdom that pertained to our craft and the class. So I asked the girls, "Tell me something you learned from making these butterflies that you can apply to life." One said, "What looks easy, what looks beautiful, is actually a lot of work." Another said, "We had to share and ask someone else for help." Then I asked them, "Who here knew how to make a butterfly barrette before today?" No one raised their hand. "Who knows how to make a butterfly barrette now?" They all raised their hands. "And why do you know how to make it now?" "Because you taught us," they responded. I went on to explain that this is exactly what this class is about and what our lives are about. There are many things we don't know and we need people with more experience than us, that we can rely on, to teach us. And once we are taught, we have to do the hard work to become something beautiful. And then it is our responsibility to teach it to others. To help them become something more beautiful too.

Wednesday, we started our pregnancy class. Three girls came, and apparently we were supposed to have two more, but over the weekend there was some drama and the other two couldn't make it. I was happy to have these girls show up. I do pray we get a few more girls so its not so intimidating having only three "students" and four teachers.

Carolina, age 22, 6 months pregnant--Yuleidy, age 13, 5 months pregnant--Yoeily, age 15, 3 months pregnant

We started with introductions, just like with the other girls, and spoke more specifically on motherhood. The difficulties, the joys, pain of childbirth...etc. I could tell these girls were a little more uncomfortable than the younger girls in the other group. So I didn't press too much conversation and we just went into doing our craft.

The name for this group is "Las Flores" or The Flowers. So I found another tutorial for flower barrettes that the girls could do. It was a little more intricate so it gave me a good amount of time to observe and just listen to their conversation. I also had extra materials, since I planned for eight, so the teachers got to do one too!

Yudy, Tatiana and Elba

It was such a great couple of days. A lot of the stress that I was putting on myself, just getting everything together, faded away. I felt a lot more confident going into the second group just knowing how easy the first group flowed. I'm excited for next week, especially for the pregnancy group. One of our medical staff, Deloris Norman, will be coming next week to weigh, measure and take blood pressures of the girls and we will be speaking on the importance of Nutrition in pregnancy.

Just a tidbit of information, we are handing out a week's worth of prenatal vitamins to the girls at the end of each class. Prenatal vitamins are EXTREMELY expensive here. Mike and I are paying for these vitamins with some of our ministry money but we could still use some help. If you are interested in getting some bottles of prenatal vitamins here to the Dominican, or sending support to Mike and I so we can continue supplying the needs of these two classes, please contact me at amanda.braisted@go-ministries.org. Or you can click on the Give tab at the top of our blog and get more information.

Keep praying. God is opening doors!

He's Here!

Little man arrived by emergency C-section on August 29th. Yorgenis was born five weeks early at 7 lbs 8 oz. Could you imagine if Brenda had gone full-term? Yikes! He spent a week in the NICU receiving oxygen and being kept under observation but is with his Mama now!

Brenda is staying with her Grandmother until Saturday when she can return to her home, her husband and her 2-yr-old daughter. Because of the amount of stairs she'd have to take to get down into The Hole, her doctor told her she needed to wait until she got her C-section stitches out. On Sunday, she will be taking him to church to be dedicated. Pretty exciting.

But even more exciting, she told me today that she has read through Genesis in her new bible. She is in awe of how God created the world. For someone who hasn't stepped foot in a church until three weeks ago, I'd say that's pretty exciting! She is such an incredible girl. I am so blessed that God has placed her in my life. Enjoy the rest of the photos!

I thought this photo was hilarious. He is sooo tiny. A regular pen is the same length as the length from his head to his waist! Do you remember this tiny little guy born last year?

I don't know how I caught him smiling, but isn't it cute?

proud mama.

proud aunt :)