Fox Valley Christian Church 2010

Fox Valley Christian Church 2010 from Amanda Braisted on Vimeo.

Sherwood Oaks Christian Church

Sherwood Oaks Christian Church from Amanda Braisted on Vimeo.

Cross Point Community Church 2010

Cross Point Community Church from Amanda Braisted on Vimeo.

Hamilton Life Church 2010

Hamilton Life Church 2010 from Amanda Braisted on Vimeo.

Great Lakes Christian College

Great Lakes Christian College from Amanda Braisted on Vimeo.

Church Video

Little video I put together for a church visit to Bethany Wesleyan Church in Pennsylvania...

Promo Video from Amanda Braisted on Vimeo.

Relief for Haiti

God is using our ministry in so many ways to aid the relief efforts in Haiti after the Earthquake. I am going to start to compile TV interviews and stories as I find them....

To directly aid Haiti with your finances, please donate to our Haiti Relief Fund here. Go to "Make a One-Time Donation" and select Haiti Relief Fund from the drop down box.

This is a Roanoke TV Station that interviewed Mike.



This is a Louisville TV Station interviewing one of our staff members, Jeff Rogers, and one of our Haitian Pastors, Wilbert Romain.



Another Louisville TV Station.



Haitian Pastor and our friend, Romano (works with Mike in Sports Ministry as well) tells about his plans to go to Haiti.

Romano is going to Port-a-Prince to get word about his brothers and how the Dominican/Haitian Church can respond to the current from Jeff Rogers on Vimeo.

Life of Joe

Life of Joe from Amanda Braisted on Vimeo.

I put together a video of Joe for the funeral yesterday. It was so therapeutic to look through photographs, old and new, and remember what a special man he was.

No Words

Just ask that you lift Mike's family up as we just found out that his dad, Joe, passed away today. Mike will be flying to the US tomorrow and Landon and I on Sunday.

Youth Cookout

Last night we had the youth group over and another couple that helped us move ALL of our stuff to the new house on Sunday. We were so thankful and they did it in an hour and a half! Here are a few pics. (By the way, they ate 22 hamburgers, 20 hot dogs, 2 super huge bags of chips and 4-2 liters of soda...had no idea teenagers ate that much!)

The back patio...Mike keeping an eye on the burgers and dogs.

A little "before dinner improv" (these guys are super talented)

The grub...putting our little grill to good use!

Let the feast begin...that table was a disaster by the end of the night

Mike and guys hanging out talking about none other than...baseball.

Couple of the youth group guys

The girls

After dinner improv using rap instrumentals at their background beats

This is classic Landon and Daddy...they have a limit to "visitor time" so they find a way to hang out and unwind...play-doh airplanes and helicopters.

Shepherd of the Hills

Shepherd of the Hills from Amanda Braisted on Vimeo.

The Ridge Community Church

The Ridge Community Church from Amanda Braisted on Vimeo.

Southeast Christian Church-Youth

Southeast Christian Church from Amanda Braisted on Vimeo.

Emmanuel Baptist Church

Emmanuel Baptist Church from Amanda Braisted on Vimeo.

Morgantown Community Church

Morgantown Community Church from Amanda Braisted on Vimeo.

Cross Point Community Church

Cross Point Community Church from Amanda Braisted on Vimeo.

Okolona Christian Church

Untitled from Amanda Braisted on Vimeo.

Eastview Christian Youth

Eastview Christian Church-Youth from Amanda Braisted on Vimeo.

Northeast Christian Church-KY

Northeast Christian Church-KY from Amanda Braisted on Vimeo.

G.O. Annual Basketball Camp

Annual Basketball Camp from Amanda Braisted on Vimeo.

Hope Springs Community Church

Hope Springs Community Church from Amanda Braisted on Vimeo.

Dalton First Church of the Nazarene

Dalton First Church of the Nazarene from Amanda Braisted on Vimeo.

Central Peninsula Church Youth Group

Central Peninsula Church from Amanda Braisted on Vimeo.

Great Expectations

Great Expectations from Amanda Braisted on Vimeo.

Eastview Christian Church-Family Trip

Eastview Christian Church-Family Trip from Amanda Braisted on Vimeo.

Lakeland Community College

Lakeland Community College from Amanda Braisted on Vimeo.

River Valley Christian Fellowship

River Valley Christian Fellowship from Amanda Braisted on Vimeo.

Celebration of Partnerships

This was my first experience at a Celebration of Partnerships and what an experience it was. We had about 175 people (American, Dominican, Haitian, Colombian) all come to Puerta Plata, DR and just share God's goodness and provision through partnerships. We had a great praise and worship band that taught us songs in three languages and had many, many incredible speakers (also translated in three languages) that totally encouraged and lifted up everyone. It was truly incredible. I'm not sure I have ever cried so many times in one weekend. God was moving so greatly and it was such an honor to be a part of it.

Celebration of Partnerships from Amanda Braisted on Vimeo.

St. John United Methodist Church

St. John United Methodist Church from Amanda Braisted on Vimeo.

Fox Valley Christian Church

Fox Valley Christian Church from Amanda Braisted on Vimeo.

Sherwood Oaks Christian Church

Sherwood Oaks Christian Church from Amanda Braisted on Vimeo.

Lessons Learned

It's pretty obvious when I post something on the blog because I don't have a picture to go along with it. It has been a while since I last wrote anything but I just wanted to share a little bit about something that happened last month and the message I took away from it.

I have been wanting to write for a while now about Landon's fall last month. Those of you who have seen our personal blog have read about the fall Landon took off of the futon. For those that don't know this is what happened and something God showed me through the whole ordeal. Landon has been climbing up the back of the futon for a while now. We are constantly telling him to get down which he doesn't so we have tried timeouts and a slap on the hand which none of them work. We try to explain why he can't climb up the back, because he could fall and get hurt really bad. I don't know how much a 20 month old understands an explanation like that though.

One day it finally happened and he fell. I watched it happen almost in slow motion. I watched him fall and land hard and awkwardly on his head. Somehow I remained completely calm as I ran over to grab him and comfort him. At the same time I was checking for any outward signs of trauma. I didn't see anything on his head so I called my dad to see what I should look for in case he had a concussion. About the same time I was hanging up with Dad Goody came home to a crying baby. After a brief explanation about what happened she takes over the care and comfort so I can leave the room and cry myself. I hated so badly to see him get hurt and for that to happen to him. I wanted to somehow switch places with him right before the fall happened so I could take the hit to the head. Even though he had disobeyed me which resulted in him getting hurt I wanted to take it away. I would take a hit like that over and over for him.

Once the storm calmed the teaching began. I started thinking about how many times God has had to tell me "quit climbing on the futon" but for some reason I ignore him or forget what he says. After the timeouts and slaps on the hands I still have to do it again. The difference though is that Jesus took the fall on the head for me. It wasn't just falling on his head it was giving up his life. So that I don't have to constantly fall on my head he gave himself completely for me. The way I love Landon and would give anything for him not to hurt even when he disobeys, Jesus loves me that much and even more. I say I would put myself through anything to save and protect Landon, and I have no doubts about that, but Jesus has already done it for me and that's why I am saved!

I hate that it took Landon getting hurt for this lesson but am thankful for it at the same time. Landon is doing just fine with only a black eye resulting from the fall. The futon has been moved up against a wall as a result.

Cross Point Community Church

Cross Point Community Church from Amanda Braisted on Vimeo.

Hanover College

Hanover College from Amanda Braisted on Vimeo.

Jackie and Alan Engaged!

One of my good friends, and fellow missionary, Jackie Douglas and her fiancee, Alan, got engaged! Alan is one of our Dominican Sports Crew and a super guy. The two of them are a great couple and shooting their engagement photos was SO much fun. It was a beautiful day, and besides having to dodge the occasional security guard who DID NOT want us taking pictures on this Catholic University campus, everything went BEAUTIFULLY. Enjoy!

We did some artistic ones too!

Super Sweet!!!

I fell in LOVE with these purple flowers

Aren't her eyes killer?

Seriously, their profiles are amazing.

Definitely, one of my favs.

Romantic and Dreamy.  Kinda like Never, Neverland.

My favorite of the entire shoot.

Central Peninsula Church

Central Peninsula Church from Amanda Braisted on Vimeo.

Hamilton Life Church

Hamilton Life Church from Amanda Braisted on Vimeo.

Real Life Church

Real Life was such a fun, energetic group. They partner with pastor Felix Abreu who pastors the church in Hoyo de Bartola (The Hole). It was so great to see the members of Real Life and Felix and his family interact. Steve, from Real Life, had met Felix before and they truly were like old pals. Although they needed to use a translator, they chatted about life and ministry and the needs of Felix's community.

They continued the work in the Hole and made some major progress on the second level of the church/feeding center. The second floor is going to be the sanctuary and the bottom floor (which is almost complete) is for the feeding center. Real Life surprised Felix and his wife Yenny with new tables for the feeding center and a piano for the church. It was such a great time.

On the night of their despedida (fairwell) Felix, Yenny, Natanael (their 6 year old) and all the members of Real Life were in tears. Hearts broken for the church and some of them just not ready to leave. Natanael sat in one team members arms for more than a half hour just crying because he was so sad they were leaving. It moved many more of us staffers to tears just to see the bond formed within this group of people. I know God has even bigger things in store for this partnership. I'm just joyful I get to witness it.


Real Life Church from Amanda Braisted on Vimeo.

Soccer Camp

What an incredible week.

Four people from North Carolina came down to do a Soccer Camp in Pontezuela with the kids from churches of two of our National Pastors, Romano and Wilby. Romano has an already established soccer ministry and Wilby has just begun the process of soccer as an outreach for the Haitian community in Hoya del Caimito.

Caleb, Danielle, Alexis and Casto...what more to say than pretty much the nicest four people I've ever met. They immediately greet anyone they meet with hugs, they have a huge heart for helping others and they truly love Jesus. It was so fun to do this week with them. Caleb, a professional soccer player, and Casto who also plays soccer very well, were great examples to the members of Romano and Wilby's churches who watched and played with them on the field. In fact, I think they were a little surprised to see such skill.

The four of them conducted a soccer camp for two days, then helped in Hoyo de Bartola for a day of construction and feeding kids. They also made an unplanned stop to the new sports storage because they really wanted to help get Mike started with the organizing process.

It was such a pleasure to work with these four. And because they were the only group here for a couple days, we were able to really get to know them on a personal level and hear some amazing stories of God's grace and provision in their lives. We VERY much look forward to this group returning again. Enjoy their show.


Pontezuela Soccer Camp 2009 from Amanda Braisted on Vimeo.

Support a G.O. Kid

This is a show I put together for Emmanuel Wesleyan in Virginia. They were having a special offering taken for children in need. I had the unique opportunity to represent the children that G.O. comes in contact with daily.

For more information on how to support a child through G.O. Ministries please visit:

http://www.go-ministries.org/kids.shtml

Kentwood Christian Church

Kentwood Christian Church from Amanda Braisted on Vimeo.

Crestwood Baptist Church

Crestwood Baptist Church from Amanda Braisted on Vimeo.

Oops, only a month late

I forgot to post these pictures from my little girl's bible study.  We had a little birthday party for my birthday and for Themis' birthday who happens to share the day with me!  I've met so many September 22nd birthdays, it's crazy.  Anyway, the Schwulst girls made signs for us, I made brownies and we hung out.  It was fun.

Christian Church at Cogen Station

Christian Church at Cogen Station from Amanda Braisted on Vimeo.

Eastview Christian Church

I had the unique experience to be part of our annual women's conference this year. It was seriously the best. Not only because I got to be with several of my closest friends (who have also become family) without husbands or kids but because it was all about freeing yourself from things of the past.

We all have a past. But its never comfortable to talk about it which is why this conference was so impacting this year. A lot of the speakers spoke on abuse or mistreatment as well as forgiving the people who mistreated you and allowing God to heal you of your hurts. It was very refreshing to hear women be so open and honest about their situations, whether it be past or present.

The highlight of the weekend away for me was the last 45 minutes of the conference. They had everyone write on a piece of paper things from their past that they don't want to be burdened by anymore. Whether that be something they've done or something done to them. Then when they threw those pieces of paper in the trash the American women who were hosting the conference went around and laid hands and prayed for EVERY SINGLE WOMAN! Not one was missed. And although neither women knew what the other was saying, God knew and I know he was pleased. So enjoy the show. The women's conference part is the second half of the show.


Eastview Christian Church from Amanda Braisted on Vimeo.

Mom and Dad visit the DR!!!

Mike's parents, Joe and Debbie, visited us last week. They are part of a church in Virginia that has been a consistent supporter of Mike and I since shortly after we began with G.O. Ministries. It was such an awesome 10 days with Mike's parents as we showed them many aspects of our ministries and our lives. Below are a couple pictures from their visit to our home. Enjoy...and we hope to see them both in the Dominican again VERY soon!!!

Debbie playing with Yajaira in The Hole

Joe chatting with a little boy

Feeding in The Hole

Joe, Pastor Felix (from The Hole), Mike and Debbie

Pastor Rafelito (from Los Guandules), Joe and Debbie

Landon and Mike with their new G.O. Sports Outreach shirts 

(an awesome donation from a member of the church congregation who does printing)

Joe, Helen and Debbie (one of the kids Emmanuel Wesleyan Church Supports)

Debbie, Bryan and Joe (the other child Emmanuel Wesleyan supports)

Joe showing Bryan how to open the transformer

Landon and I (me making a dirty face as we were broken down 

on the side of the road in Puerta Plata)

Wilbert and Lisa...Married!

Well, the wedding is over and it was a beautiful one.  I've been to lots of weddings but I don't always know the bride and groom the same.  Either I'm friends with the Bride and don't know the Groom, or the other way around.  But with Lisa and Wilby...it was special.  I have a great friendship with both of them and was so excited when Lisa asked me to do her photos.  I didn't have such a great experience with my wedding photographer and I was not going to let Lisa miss out on anything.  I remember being so disappointed when I got my photos back and felt like my wedding day wasn't captured.  So I put a lot of pressure on myself to make Lisa's special day last forever...through photos.

I had SO much fun and they were such great "subjects."  The posed pictures even went super fast because Lisa wrote up a list of photos she wanted and we just went down the order, took the photo and moved on.  It was incredibly organized and she knew just what she wanted...which made it easy on me.  Here are a few of the photos from the wedding, I took over 500 so I couldn't post them all.  Enjoy!

Had to post this one just because Landon was crabby all afternoon but when he saw Lisa he just kept giving her kisses...he loves her dearly!

Indiana Wesleyan Men's Basketball

You know when you look forward to something so much and it doesn't turn out to be what you thought it would? Well, that does NOT describe this week. The sports crew (I include myself because I'm a sports crew wannabe) have been looking forward to Indiana Wesleyan Men's Basketball trip all summer. And this week was everything we imagined and much more. There were several things that took place that no one could have controlled but the IWU guys just went with the flow. They did construction, they held a basketball camp for boys from The Hole, they played in a "young talents" basketball tournament and won the WHOLE THING...it was just an incredible week. To top it off Will, Audrey, Mike and I were able to see a side of this team that the rest of their campus doesn't. They were real.

One event that really stood out in my mind was on the first day the guys could have had some down time, about 2 hours, to relax before their first tournament game. But five of the guys said to Mike that they "didn't come down here to have a vacation, they came here to work." So Mike took them and they dug for 2 hours until it was time to shower and leave. When Mike told me what was going on I was just totally floored by the awesome servant hearts they had. Instead of rest, they worked.

To end their trip on a high note one of key people on their team accepted Christ. I wasn't there to witness it but it hit me just the same. This is why we do this. I've cried every time I watched their video, not because it's awesome or anything, but because God showed me some huge hearts, in some extraordinary men.


Indiana Wesleyan Men's Basketball from Amanda Braisted on Vimeo.

Northeast Christian Church

I always enjoy when Northeast comes down. In fact, Northeast was the first group Mike and I ever worked with as semi-staff. In March of 2006, we came down to the DR to check out the ministry and Northeast came down on our plane. We worked on the church in Guandules with them and Mike even translated the pastor's sermon after about 10 years without speaking much spanish! It was especially cool because several of those first team members were on this trip. It was a little reunion!

Northeast supports Rafelito and the church/feeding center in Los Guandules. When we are explaining to other teams about partnerships and what they are all about, Northeast is one of those groups that we use as our "ideal example." They partnered with Rafelito, then built him a church and feeding center, then funded and supported ALL of the children in that feeding center. And because all that is left is to support Rafelito and the monthly funding of the feeding center they have begun a new partnership with one of our pastor's in Haiti named Lucnel! How awesome is that! It was such an honor to work with this group and I am always encouraged and re-energized when they are here! (on a side note, the second song in their show is sung by a special musician. His name is Tim Braisted!!!! Mike's brother has his first CD out and the song fit PERFECTLY with this show.) ENJOY!!!!


Northeast Christian Church from Amanda Braisted on Vimeo.

Garden Park Christian Church

Another group that was here this past week was a group from Garden Park Christian Church. They did construction in our neighborhood working on the houses of Luis Jimenez and Rene Rodriguez. This church is very unique in that they support one of our missionaries, Tim. One of the girls on the trip, Tim held when she was born! Tim's old youth pastor (who was not on the trip) had a great impact on Tim growing up and 17 years later, his church came on a missions trip with G.O.! Isn't God's timing amazing? These youth were very hard workers and unloaded and shoveled TWO huge piles of dirt as well as started digging the cistern of the new Hoya del Caimito church!


Garden Park Christian Church from Amanda Braisted on Vimeo.

Greenview Christian Church

This week we had a great group from Greenview Christian Church. The group was led by former G.O. Staffers, Nate and Angie. They were an incredibly fun group and worked extra hard on the church out at Brisas de Ocampo. More bucket lines of sand, stone and concrete! Pretty much most of my photos from the past four weeks are of bucket lines...but that's fine by me because I know that bucket lines means finishing houses, churches and feeding centers. Plus, it gives me the challenge of figuring out new and creative ways to photograph bucket lines!

This group was unique as it had a paraplegic, a girl with a broken arm and a pregnant woman. All with different circumstances, all wanting to serve the Lord right where they were. It was a great lesson for me in the way of coming to our King with a servants heart and wanting to do whatever it was that He needed. How many times had I told God, "I will serve your kingdom when I get a little more rest" or "I will serve your kingdom after my headache goes away." Wow, God truly spoke to me about attitude and circumstance this week, especially through spending time talking with Chuck (the paraplegic). What an amazing story he had.


Greenview Christian Church from Amanda Braisted on Vimeo.

Pathways Church

Hard-working. That is what I use to describe Pathways Church. These guys were work horses. And they LOVED construction. They worked out at Brisas de Ocampo and they got so much done out there. And they were just over all fun to be around. Mike especially formed a great bond with several of the people in this group. He was almost sad when they left. Thank goodness for facebook!

They also held a medical clinic in Cinco which included an audiology clinic. There were several people fitted for hearing aids and I actually got to witness a little boy hear for the first time. It immediately brought tears to my eyes as I watched the audiologist have the boy repeat sounds with her hand covering her mouth. He didn't have to see her lips and was repeating everything she said. It was so very cool.


Pathways Church from Amanda Braisted on Vimeo.

Morgantown Community Church

The second group that was here last week was Morgantown Community Church. The support two of our missionaries, Jeff and Vicki, along with Cross Point.

The leader of Morgantown and the pastor of Cross Point are good friends and did ministry together several years back. So it was a fun opportunity for both groups to be together again. It was a great mix of people and it was a blast to have both groups here.


Morgantown Community Church from Amanda Braisted on Vimeo.

Cross Point Community Church - Trip #2

Cross Point Community Church came back to the Dominican for their second trip. This time led by their head pastor, Pete.

It's really cool to see the great relationship between Moise (Cross Point's partner) and Pete. They have really grown to know each other and enjoy each other's company. Many times on the work site I would see Pete and Moise off on the stairs or sitting on a rock pile in deep discussion. It's just such a perfect fit for a partnership. Cross Point continually reminds me about why partnerships are so important and why they are the number one reason that G.O. Ministries exists. To enable people, like Moise, to work in his community and bring people to Christ. It doesn't get any better than that.


Cross Point Community Church from Amanda Braisted on Vimeo.

Get Real Ministries

Get Real Ministries is an innovative youth ministry based out of Indiana. They meet on Monday nights and discuss real topics like sex, drugs, alcohol etc.

It was also a special group because one of Mike and I's old friends, Brandon, led the trip. Mike and I recruited the Indiana Wesleyan Men's Soccer team to come (which Brandon was on), then he came to G.O. to be an intern last summer and this year he led a team! How awesome is that?

Get Real worked in Hoya del Caimito doing A LOT of dirt hauling for Rene and Luis' houses that are being built. They also did VBS in La Mosca and Guandules and fed the kids in the Hole. They were VERY busy! But they were such an incredible group and had great energy and attitudes. Enjoy their show!


Get Real Ministries from Amanda Braisted on Vimeo.

New DVD

Here's the new promotional DVD I put together for G.O. Golf Outings.


Promotional DVD from Amanda Braisted on Vimeo.

Eastview Youth

One of our most fun and energetic (and incredible singing) groups is the youth group from Eastview Christian Church. There are always A TON of them and they just bring such a great energy to this island. Not only are they fun but they are also AWESOME examples of young people stepping out on faith and moving away from the norm.

This youth group supports one of our National pastors, Indriss. He is the pastor of a Haitian Church in a neighborhood called Pontezuela. So the youth did a VBS there and handed out an awesome love offering at the end...sandals! It was such a great gift and the look on the kids faces were so great. I got goosebumps just watching Drew, the youth pastor and long time advocate for G.O., and Indriss handing out the sandals together. It was such a picture-perfect moment of an international partnership and friendship.


Eastview Youth from Amanda Braisted on Vimeo.

Campamento de Deportes

That's right, we're back in business. Because of all the trouble I've been having with YouTube I found another Video Site through a friend and here is the first of many published on www.vimeo.com.

For over 10 years now, a group of young men and women have been coming down to do a huge basketball camp in our neighborhood, Hoya del Caimito. What started out with 10 Americans and 50 campers has now turned into 45 Americans and 200 campers. And that's just basketball!!! This year we added 50 campers doing volleyball, 50 doing baseball and 20 women doing fitness/yoga. It was so cool this year to see how this yearly camp has grown. It was also cool to see the new G.O. Sports Outreach logo, that I designed, on all the of the T-shirts! So without further ado...THE SHOW!!!!

(Remember if you want to see the show without it stopping every few seconds, hit Pause for a couple minutes and let more of the show buffer, and then hit play.)


Campamento de Deportes from Amanda Braisted on Vimeo.