Happy First Birthday, Daniel!

One of my good "mom" friends here, Carmen Dilia, asked me to take pictures of her son's first birthday. I also had the privilege a year ago today to photograph Daniel in the hospital. It's been so much fun to watch him grow up as he is about two months older than Landon and I get to see ahead of time what to look forward to next with Lando. It was also fun to be pregnant along with Carmen Dilia as she really helped me through those last few months of being really uncomfortable. She always was hopeful and gave me lots of advice for the last stretch of pregnancy. We had a great time at McDonalds and I was honored to be able to photograph the event. Here are just some quick pictures so you could see a little of what went on!

Daniel, just hours old

Daniel, one year old

Landon with his face painted, with Yajaira (pretty much my best friend here)

Landon and Daniel, so not interested in each other

He loved this balloon...

Tim and Zoey....Zoey with her Pirate hat :)

Daniel and his cake!

The moms with their babies (the baby on the right is only 3 months old!)

Catherine and Polon are engaged!

I had the unique opportunity to participate in another one of my passions with photography...portraiture. The first of our "international weddings" is coming up in May with Catherine and Polon getting married. It was so much fun to take their engagement photos this week and wish them all of God's blessings in their future together. Enjoy!

St. John United Methodist Church

St. John United Methodist Church was here this week doing construction and children's ministry. They were scheduled to do construction three days in Hato del Yaque but had to adjust their schedule a little bit and ended up working on one of our missionaries' new house being built. They did a couple months worth of work in just one day. It was amazing!

The work continues out at the church in Hato del Yaque. It has been such an incredible blessing to see the rapid progress the last couple months. There is tile on the floors and in the bathrooms, the entire outside of the building is almost painted and almost all the concrete work is done. It's so crazy. It is looking like a real church/feeding center. Plus the dorms are coming to completion as well. There are ceiling fans and running water as well as bunk beds going up. So fun!

The team also did work in Santa Lucia (La Mosca), Hoyo de Bartola (the Hole) and Los Perez. The kids were so excited to see them and to do some fun crafts and sing songs.

This group is especially fun because the parents of Will Partin (one of our staffers) were on this trip, as well as Will's sister, Lucy. It is so great to see family as it helps with missing your own family members by kind of living vicariously through others!!! This team is special too because they are really coming behind one of our National workers, Bienvo. They built a relationship with Bienvo on their trip last year and have really cultivated it again. Will, Audrey and several team members will be presenting information about Bienvo and the work he does here, to their church in Kentucky. Be praying that hearts will be opened and support starts flowing!

They had a wonderful trip and are an incredibly flexible group. Enjoy the show!

Eastview Medical Trip

The second team that was here this week was a team from Eastview Christian Church. Their main focus was doing a medical clinic in Pontezuela. The pastor there, Indriss, is supported by Eastview's youth group and it was an awesome opportunity to bring some much needed medical attention to the people in his congregation and the surrounding community.

Indriss is a Haitian pastor who's congregation is also made up of all Haitian men, women and children. This church is growing at incredible rates and you can really see how God is using this church to touch the Haitian culture. In the Dominican, there is a significant amount of racism against Haitians. There isn't a lot of opportunities for the people and this church has become a light and a hope to this community.

Another leader in this church, Romano (who Mike works alongside of), started a soccer ministry as a way for men in their congregation to reach out to other Haitian men in Pontezuela. Most of the soccer players have joined the church and have become Christians!!!

It was awesome to see Eastview working alongside of Indriss and being God's hands and feet to this community.

Discovery Church

We had two teams here this week and one of them was a group from Discovery Church. They were made up of mostly youth from the church and several returning adults from past trips. It's always fun to have Discovery here as they have great energy and are always hard workers.

Discovery is yet another GREAT example of a church that believes in G.O.'s philosophy. This is the church that has mainly funded the project out in Hato del Yaque. They also support the pastor there, Aristides. They ALSO support one of our staff members, as he was a part of their church body and felt called to work with G.O. Ministries. It was so hard to choose with this group what photos and video to put in. They did SO many different activities that it was difficult to decide what represented their trip the best! Hope you enjoy!

Cross Point Community Church

The second church that was here this week was Cross Point Community Church. This church is an excellent example of supporting missions full-on. They not only support two of our staff members but they also partner with one of our national pastors, moise, and are building a church and feeding center in Brisas de Ocampo. They are what we would call "Global Church Planters." They planted their church in the States and are now planting a church in the Dominican Republic.

This team is extra special to me because I was here two years ago when they broke ground out in Brisas. I got to see them dig the trenches and pour the foundation and now, this trip, they were building the walls of the church. It's so awesome to be a part of something from start to finish. To be able to witness a church that, with the only hope of being faithful to God's calling, continues to bless Moise and his congregation. I can't wait to be there when they have their first kids being fed in the feeding center and the first people sitting in the pews at church. What a glorious day that will be for God's kingdom!

Lincoln Christian College

This week one of the teams that was here was Lincoln Christian College. This was a young group of college-age kids along with their Leader, Drew, who has led several teams before with Eastview Christian Church. They continued the work out at Hato del Yaque and helped tremendously with the progress of this church/feeding center/dormitory. It's amazing how this church is coming along. Hard work from MANY teams over the past couple years have molded those walls into a place where people will find food for their stomachs and food for their souls.



Also, here is a short video on the progress of the church/feeding center at Hato del Yaque.

Online Donation

Just wanted to write a quick note about some exciting news.  Now, thanks to the help of one of our talented staff members, you are able to donate to our ministry online via Credit Card or Paypal account.  Just look for the Paypal box on the right-hand sidebar of our blog and donate!

TWLOHA

I was INCREDIBLY inspired today when I read a story about a girl and her struggles and the man who decided to show her God's love instead of praying that someone else would. Here's a little blip from the story that I found incredibly refreshing.

...Love is something better. I have been challenged and changed, reminded that love is that simple answer to so many of our hardest questions. Don Miller says we're called to hold our hands against the wounds of a broken world, to stop the bleeding. I agree so greatly.

We often ask God to show up. We pray prayers of rescue. Perhaps God would ask us to be that rescue, to be His body, to move for things that matter. He is not invisible when we come alive. I might be simple but more and more, I believe God works in love, speaks in love, is revealed in our love...

We are only asked to love, to offer hope to the many hopeless. We don't get to choose all the endings, but we are asked to play the rescuers. We won't solve all mysteries and our hearts will certainly break in such a vulnerable life, but it is the best way. We were made to be lovers bold in broken places, pouring ourselves out again and again until we're called home...

-Jamie Tworkowski

www.twloha.com

Our New Support Video

Finances

Dear friends and family,

We wanted to give everyone an update on the finances that have been coming in. Our first two years with the ministry we have been opporating on a base budget of about $36,400. With a new baby and increased ministry costs it is time for us to step up and raise the bar to a new level. This year we need to increase to a "B" budget of $45,601. To keep everyone up to date on what comes in we will post monthly updates on the right hand side of the blog (underneath the list of links). If anyone has questions about what is included in the budget feel free to contact us at anytime so we can go over it. We appreciate all of your giving over the past two years and we now ask for you to pray with us as we raise the bar!

A little time...

From time to time I will have a little free time to work on some of the images I have taken. Of course, most of the ones I choose are of children just because that is where my heart and passion are. Enjoy, I will try and post more often with images.

Little girl from El Cambranal

Mom and her 4 month old baby, El Cambranal

Little Girl, Batey Nueve

Hanover College

It was great to have Hanover College here this week. They are a D3 school from Indiana and were down here to do Construction and run a Medical Clinic.

We continued construction out at Hato del Yaque and are making amazing progress. The hole has been dug for the septic system, a first coat of paint has gone up on the walls, all the panete is done, all the floors are poured, the ground is level and walls have begun to go up on the top level of the church/feeding center. This group of young people worked extremely hard and accomplished an incredible task out at HDY.

The medical clinic was in Hoyo de Bartola (the Hole). We had a doctor, a neo-natal nurse and several med students that helped in the clinic. The doctor being Landon's pediatrician! Funny, I slept a little better and felt a little less concerned just knowing she was in the building next to our apartment. Dr. Debbie Wallace is a long time supporter and partner with G.O. Ministries. She has been a part of our "family" for nearly 8 years and has been down on several trips. It was really cool for me to see her in her element and taking care of kids in the Hole, just as she takes care of mine. In the medical clinic we saw close to 600 people including adults, children and babies. Yes! Lots of babies.

Another small outreach that they did was they had a "field day" with the kids from the feeding center in the Hole. They played games and chatted and did relays...it was a blast to see them all intermingled on the land in Los Perez. Spanish or English, Dominican, Haitian or American...it was just a day of fun and I know the Lord looked down and "saw that it was good."

Northeast Christian Church

This week, several of Northeast Christian Church's leadership were here. They were checking out several of our ministry sites and visiting their partner church.

Northeast is an amazing example of what G.O. Ministries is all about. They have partnered with one of our Dominican Pastors, Rafelito, from the beginning. They started supporting him personally and then wanted to do more. So they built a church and feeding center in Rafelito's area of ministry, Los Guandules. (You'll see at the end of the presentation some before and after pictures of the completed church) They basically planted a church internationally. Now, as their partnership continues with Rafelito and funding the feeding center, they are wanting to find another pastor to begin supporting as well. It has been awesome to see how much God has blessed their church as a result of their faithfulness in supporting missions.

Great Lakes Christian College

It was so fun to have GLCC down here especially since several of our staff members got their degrees from there. It was a special trip especially for Isaias and Lisa as they had several friends in the group.

We worked on the church in Hato del Yaque again. It is really coming along! The church floor is completely finished and the pañete is going up all around the the outside of the church. The inside pañete is completely done. Teams will be able to stay in the dormitories out there by summer. Woo hoo!

Southeast Christian Church

This week we had Southeast Christian Church and their Senior Pastor Dave Stone with us. Southeast has been a HUGE supporter of G.O. for the last 8 years and have had several trips come down as well. They also support several of our American Staff and support several of our Dominican Staff as well. It was good to have them back down in the DR.

This group worked extra hard and were able to almost finish the whole church floor at Hato del Yaque. Pouring a floor here is not as "easy" as it is in the states. We don't have a mixing truck so all the concrete is either mixed by hand or mixed in a small machine. That is a lot of sand, stone and concrete AND a lot of manual labor.

They also worked on the church in the Hoyo de Bartola (the Hole). This was especially exciting for me because I have never been around for construction in the Hole. Because of where the church is located, trucks can't reach it to drop of the sand, stone and concrete. Therefore, all of the materials have to be carried down a long flight of stairs and then down a sidewalk to get to the church. Not an easy job. Needless to say, they did an amazing job. The church in the Hole and Hato del Yaque are really coming together and I see first hand what God is doing and how the short-term teams over the past several years have made these projects happen.

...we came together...

The past couple days our American staff came together with the Dominican Construction crew and worked out at Hato del Yaque. It was such a great experience to be working out there, just as a staff for the sole purpose of helping and encouraging our Dominican workers. Without a team here to facilitate, it was a unique experience just being out there together. It was a lot of hard work but just as much fun. Below are SEVERAL pics of our staffers hard at work.

Vehicle Possibility

Here is a vehicle that would meet our needs. It is a 2000 Suzuki Grand Vitara. It has a V6 engine with 4 wheel drive. There is plenty of space for hauling sports equipment and guys to practice and the right size for Amanda to drive as well. I have been looking into several possibilities lately and when I got in to drive this one it was solid and well maintained. We ask that you prayerfully consider donating to this need. All amounts donated are appreciated, whether it be $50 or $5,000. We will keep an update on the blog as the money comes in. Even if you are not able to contribute to this need please be praying for others' hearts to be opened. Here are some pictures of the vehicle. If you are able to donate please write in the memo line of the check Braisted's vehicle. Thank you all again for allowing us to serve in the DR.

Kansas City Baptist Temple

It's hard to believe that it has been a year since KCBT's last trip down, but it has. It was another successful baseball clinic and it was so great to see familiar faces and some new ones too! Enjoy the video of their trip.

Wave of emotions

Well it has been a while since I have posted an entry on here. I will continue to leave the pictures to Amanda but I wanted to share some cool things that have happened to me in the past couple of weeks. I hope I don't get too lengthy here!

This past week we had a team from Kansas City Baptist Temple here to do many activities which included a baseball clinic and softball tournament. The week before they arrived we were finishing up the preparations which included meeting with the boys who would participate in the cinic. Most of them attend the public school around the corner from us so we decided to remind them of a few things about the clinic one morning at school. I showed up and they weren't meeting, so I went to find Pedro, one of the sports ministry staff members who also teaches at the school. He said no we aren't meeting until the day before the clinic starts. I said ok well I will see you later to which he replied come with me and see the class I'm in. So we went over to his classroom where he proceeded to introduce me to the class and tell them I had something to share with them! This caught me completely off guard and I asked what I should share. He said talk to them about faith. I quickly began to share about faith and what it means and about my faith in God. I ended up sharing with a 5th, 7th, and 8th grade class about my faith in a public school! As I walked home I just thanked God for that opportunity to be open with these kids. My emotions at that point were pure joy and excitement.

At the end of the week for KCBT I was exhausted and completely sore. I played on a Dominican softball team for the tournament and didn't remember how many muscles are actually in the body that can be sore. On Saturday we split up and went to the homes of the kids from clinic. I was able to visit three of the homes and shared with the whole family about the week. We then invited them to church the next day before we left the house. The next morning we had a great sermon from Marcos Castro, a member of the team. His message was perfect for me and had me thinking all day about it. One of the comments he made during his sermon was something along the line of "if you haven't grown in your faith and walk with God even in the past two months you aren't doing your part." This hit me hard. I had been going through a bit of a dry spell spiritually and I coudln't stop thinking about that the rest of the day. That evening as we prepared for church here at our local church I started to feel tired and had a bit of a headache. I decided I was just going to stay home from church and relax. All of a sudden I had this intense pressure on my chest, it was very uncomfortable and I didn't know what it could be. It didn't hurt at all but was just uncomfortable. I started to pray and sat down to read a book. Amanda then brought Landon to me to feed him his bottle, well I guess we both ended up falling asleep :). When I woke up my headache was gone and I no longer was tired. We ate dinner and went to church. While in church I was still thinking about the morning sermon. As we were finishing up praise and worship some young guys came in and had me move over so they could sit down. After we got readjusted I looked up to see two of the three boys who's house I was in the day before, I turned around to see three more boys sit down as well. Five boys from camp came to church! Right then God spoke to me and said if you aren't even growing yourself how can you help these boys to grow! That is when the giant wave of emotions hit me. I was so excited to see them in church and so disappointed that I had not been preparing myself better.

You are all a part of these emotions for me. You are all praying and supporting us to be here and serve these awesome people. I know reading this long entry can't really capture the emotion of it all but God is doing great things here, for me personally and for this island. Keep praying and keep listening to how God wants you to serve!

New G.O. Sports Outreach Logo!

I'm totally excited to have the opportunity to use my education and the gifts God has given me on the mission field. The sports division of G.O. Ministries has been needing a new logo for a while and since I've been here, we have been toying with a few designs. None of them really said what we wanted to say about the Sports Outreach in the DR. So about a week ago, God really put it on my heart to draw up another design and literally within five minutes, I came up with the design below. I showed it to Will Partin, the Director of Sports Ministry, and he loved it! We got it approved and now have a new Sports Logo! It's simple and not complicated and just says it how it is. Praise God for all his provisions.



This is our Main Sports Logo that will go on brochures, sports vehicles, etc.



This is our international Sports Logo that can be used on jerseys, uniforms, etc.



This is our revised Sports Logo that can be placed on hats, left pockets of polos, bags, etc.

Felicidades Samir y Myra!

Yesterday was the wedding of Samir and Myra. Samir is the son of Gabriel, the "head honcho" for G.O. Ministries down here. I had the privilege of taking some photos of them. The wedding and ceremony went off without a hitch and it was so much fun to be able to experience a wedding within another culture. Below are just a couple photos that I took during the night. Enjoy!

Tropical Storm Olga

As many of you know, Tropical Storm Olga ripped through the island of Hispaniola. Flash flooding, wind and rain has made conditions in the Dominican Republic incredibly dangerous. The video above was shot by one of our friends, Isaias, around different spots in the Santiago. Please continue to pray for these people as there is a long road ahead for recovery of their homes and their lives.

Happy Thanksgiving

Hope you all have a Happy Thanksgiving and are reminded of all the wonderful blessings God has given you!!!!!

Madre a Madre

I am BEYOND excited about the group of ladies in this photo. Several of them are women I cook with up in the kitchen and several of them are women I have met through other staff members and their relationship with them. God had given me a vision of starting a group just for moms. Since being a mother is such a huge part of the Dominican culture I thought that it might be a huge opportunity to involve more women than just with a women's bible study which is already up and running through our church in Hoya del Caimito.

My vision was to get a core group of women that would meet once a week to talk about mom things (husbands, time management, cooking, cleaning, personal spiritual life, health and beauty, etc.). Not necessarily a bible study, although we base our topics on things that can be supported biblically. I wanted it eventually to be a community outreach. Involve women that don't currently attend church but would like the opportunity to learn from "seasoned" mothers. I wanted to talk to Cherry (another staff member) who is the mother of four and also is fluent in Spanish. God knew what he was doing.

Little did I know, Cherry had a key role in a group called "Mom to Mom" when she lived in the States. She knew how to run a group like this and would be able to support the vision that God gave me. We began planning and had our first mom's meeting on November 2nd. We met again November 9th and Cherry and I's dream came true. Two of the ladies brought a family member who is not a Christian, but a mother, and was really interested in being in the group. We weren't prepared for a group this size, in fact we thought 5 was the magic number, but God had other plans. So here they are, the first Mom to Mom (or Madre a Madre) group. I can't wait to get back in January to get started up again!

Never too old for Sleepovers!

One thing that I did a lot of with the girls I used to coach was have sleepovers. I haven't felt too old to have them yet and until that day, I will always love having girls sleepover at my house.

So I decided to reward the girls in my bible study with a night of girl fun! All of them memorized SEVEN verses from the bible and I was so impressed that I knew just what I needed to do for them. We ordered pizzas, rented movies, played games and did crafts. It was so much fun to connect with these girls on more of a "friend" level.

Below are pics of our night together!



The nice, calm group of well-behaved girls at our sleepover...hehe


Our make-shift basketball hoop made out of a garbage can and duct tape...who needs a rim and a net???


My little athletes excited after a basket made...


The girls working on tissue paper they found laying around...how creative are young minds, I mean really?


The REAL group photo. A better example of the group of girls we really are.

Discovery Church

The last team of the year. Although Mike and I missed the rush of summer teams this year because of Landon being born, it was so great to be able to facilitate a couple teams this fall. Discovery Church is such a fun and energetic group and they were incredibly flexible due to some unforseen issues.

As most of you know, Tropical Storm Noel ripped through the Dominican Republic and Haiti. We had three straight days of rain and lots of flooding. Mike and I have several leaks in our roof which caused quite a bit of water to come into our house, but we couldn't stop thinking about all the people who literally had their homes washed away.

Discovery was supposed to do construction all week but that was obviously post-poned. They were able to help organize the sports room as well as help us get some painting done since they were both inside activities. And eventually we were all able to get out to Hato del Yaque and work on the church. They had great attitudes and were hard workers. It was awesome to see God working even in situations that didn't go as planned.