Possessed Technology

Another week is just beginning. The past couple days have kinda been crazy in the Braisted household. We got an e-mail from the office on Thursday night saying that I needed to put together a video. Friday morning, Will, Tim and I went to shoot the video in a town named La Mosca, which means "The Fly." We got all the footage we needed and it was going super smooth. I got home to start working on the video and I go to plug in the video camera to start downloading footage and...nothing. It wouldn't recognize that the devise was plugged in. I had done this at least 100 times last year when I was working on all the presentations for the teams. Never any problems. So we tried the video camera in Will's laptop...nothing. We tried the camera in my laptop...it worked...sort of. Ironically, my laptop has a program called iDVD (I have a Mac laptop). Well in iDVD, you can only burn to a DVD, no problem, except...my laptop doesn't have a DVD burner. I had called the MAC people and they said, if I had bought my laptop 6 months later, it would have had a DVD burner. Why the HECK would you put a DVD program on a laptop that isn't capable of burning DVDs? Back to square one.

So at least we new the tape and video camera worked. So we tried it again. Nothing. So Will brought over his video camera to do it in the program that he has done videos on. He forgot his charger in the states. His video camera didn't work. So we frantically called other missionaries to see if they had video cameras...one did, she left it in the states. AHHH. So we found another video camera, the same one Will had, used the charger, plugged in Will's camera, we're SAVED! Nope...wouldn't work. At this time, I had already cried at least 3 times by this point and was now laughing at the situation. Nothing else I really could do. Was this Satan? It had to be. Does he crawl into computers? What on Earth would cause three laptops and 3 video cameras to not work the way they had worked just a couple months previously?

So we grabbed another laptop. Nothing. NOTHING WORKED! We had nearly given up. Then all of a sudden like the crazy devine spark of fire, Will just plugged the camera in and it recognized it. No way. We had done the same thing 15 times before and it didn't work, now it did. I wasn't going to question it. All this time I had been praying to God. Not to save me (like I would have prayed in the past) but that He would show me his purpose and that it would only grow my Faith in Him.

Long story short (ha!), we got the presentation done. God swooped in. We still have no idea what happened to our "technological items" on that dreary Dominican night, but God found one more way for me to totally put my trust in Him, no matter what the outcome.

I want to do more videos like it. It kinda brought something out in me. I never really liked cinematography before, but I really like doing the whole script and camera thing. So if you're interested in seeing the video...check it out on youtube. On the side of our blog, there's a link that says, "La Mosca Video." Just click.

More updates to come.

1st "Belly Pic"

Well, I promised many of you updated belly pics to see the progress going on on a physical level. I think I'm quite brave for doing this for all of you, but here is the first. This is me at 17 weeks. From now on, it will be on the "month markers." So look for another belly pick in 3 weeks for the 5 month marker.

We're in the DR!!!

Ultrasound at 15 weeks...baby Braisted with his back turned to us



baby Braisted's possible "boy parts" :)



baby Braisted's profile



baby Braisted's little foot

Hello everyone!!! We just wanted to give you all a little update. We have been in the DR for a week and a day and we are in our new apartment with internet and all! Praise the Lord. We had a rocky first couple days here with several problems dealing with plumbing and such, but all is well in the Braisted household.

It is great to get back to line-drying clothes, water outages and hearing Spanish in the streets. Mike has already gotten into the swing of things with planning the upcoming Sports weeks ahead. We have a baseball team in February and the IWU Men's Soccer team in March. Both Mike and Will are working on weekly schedules for our current Dominican Sports' Staff...something that is very new to all of them. It will help to keep some accountability and establish some leadership skills.

I have completed our first Winter publication newsletter that should be mailed out in February to those who currently support us financially. I will also be busy trying to capture some of the new ministries that are going on here, via my camera! It's been a little bit of an adjustment for me, getting used to being pregnant and working. Our apartment is on the third floor, so anytime I need to go do anything...I get a MAJOR workout! It's been a little tiring but I'm determined to not let pregnancy get in the way of work. This little baby is going to have to adjust to the crazy life a missionary, so it might as well start in the womb!

Thanks to all of you who prayed us here for a second time. Although we will only be here for 3 months (I have to go home at 7 months of pregnancy) every minute we get to spend here is a blessing.

2 MAJOR prayer requests:

1-Northbrook Church- Please be in prayer for my parent's home church who are considering supporting our ministries here. They could support up to half of our budget which would be amazing.
2-There is also another organization who could potentially donate as much as $50,000 to our ministry. It would be a one-time gift and would not support us again next year, but it could help in DRAMATIC ways.

Thanks so much for all of your support.

Rough Weekend

Happy New Year! Hello All. It's been a while since I had pictures to post up here so I just posted a pic of some of the neighborhood kids in the DR with Mike and I.

Just wanted to give a quick update on my (amanda) health. Sunday morning I had to spend about 6 hours in the ER hooked up to an I.V. of fluids and anti-vomiting medicine. For 48 hours prior, i was unable to keep any food or fluids down and became dehydrated and very weak. I am doing better today and haven't vomited since the hospital stay, so praise Jesus for his provision.

Hard to Believe

Update:
Yesterday marked 13 weeks for the pregnancy. The timeline we had before was off by a little, but we are right on track now...well as much as we can be. I have one more doctor's appointment right before we leave for the DR just to check on everything, then it's off to nothing but Spanish-spoken appointments!!! Woo hoo! The morning sickness, or rather ALL DAY sickness, has not subsided. It's going on 7 weeks now. Ugh! Most women, at least according to my book, should be feeling better by now. Unfortunately, if I'm anything like my older sister, I've got another two months of this. Right now, the baby is approximately 3 inches long and weighs only 1 oz. But all of Baby Braisted's organs are functioning and looks like a miniature-size baby. It's amazing that something so small functions almost the same as you or I. God is pretty spectacular. It will be several more weeks before we know the sex but we look forward to that day with much anticipation! Please continue to pray for us as we adjust to all of the changes that are coming shortly in our future.

That BETTER be a tumor

In the words of Brook, "That BETTER be a tumor." Haha. Nope...it's not a tumor...but it is a baby! That's right. Mike and I are 12 weeks pregnant. Crazy, I know. That is part of the reason that it has taken me so long to update our blog. But anyway, here it is.

The last few weeks have kinda been crazy, for sure. We have traveled 5,000 miles in four weeks. But we also found out we were pregnant the day that we got back from the Dominican. We had one doctor's appointment already and we have our next one tomorrow on our 12-week mark. It's obviously changed our plans a little bit, but everything will work out fine.

We are hoping to still return to the Dominican January 16th and come back around May 1st. There is already an OB in the DR that I will go to, that our other missionaries say is the best! Unfortunately, Mike and I won't be able to be in the DR in the summer during the busy time and when most of the teams are there. That makes us sad, as it was such a blast last summer being a part of that atmosphere. Oh well, many years to come. Mike's dad's church is going to have to change their date because they were supposed to come down July 10th and the baby is due July 11th. Although quite a surprise, we are still VERY excited and look forward to this crazy adventure.

I will probably write more tomorrow if we find out any new news. Thanks for your prayers and support.

Home

For those of you who are faithful followers of our blog, we have arrived safely in the U.S. It was a crazy weekend with lots of family around and many things to do, but it was great to be greeted with so many familiar faces. We had a little trouble getting to KY but we made it and everything is great. We start our months of traveling starting on Thursday so keep us in your prayers as we continue down this road God has sent us.

We love you all.

Good friends...

A good friend reminded me today about a verse that is so applicable to my life right now (and possibly yours):

"Lean not on your own understanding, but in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths." -Proverbs 3:5-6

I (amanda) have been struggling with a few things lately, mostly just being emotionally overloaded, and have been looking for a little peace. And that verse just put all of my emotions in perspective knowing that I am here in the DR, for God's purpose and not for anyone else. He has me in this place in my life for a reason, and it is my job to trust that he knows the way.

I think that sometimes I just make this whole relationship with God so much more difficult than it needs to be. He has the plans. He knows the way. He is in the driver's seat. All I have to do is sit back, put my seatbelt on and enjoy the scenery. If what I do is with good intentions to further God's kingdom, there is nothing more that I can do to please Him. And it doesn't matter who else is pleased in the process. You know, God sure knew a lot when he wrote the Bible.

On a side note:

Please keep Mike and I's friend, Katie, in your prayers. She is going into her 9th month of pregnancy with her and her husband's first child. Today the doctor found a little glitch in the tube that lead's from Grace's (the baby) bladder to her kidneys. The doctor says its something to keep an eye on, but it may fix itself. Please pray for a healthy delivery and some sanity for the new parents as they prepare for Grace's arrival.

Prayers Answered

Thank you to everyone who prayed for our apartment. As of today, it is ours. They came down 1000 pesos which is good, but not what we wanted. We wanted them to come down 2000 pesos (about $60) but because they are making all of the new improvements they are wanting 5000 pesos a month ($150) not including utilities. If we were in the states, this kind of money wouldn't even be an issue, but because of the neighborhood we live in that is A LOT of money. Which is ok...we just need to do some more fund-raising, which is exactly why we are coming home. It's more than twice what we pay now, but we are still working on our 'summer budget' which is about $2000 less than what we should be working at. But, this all worked out to God's will and we have no doubt that everything else will fall into place when He wants it to. This also means that we will have an extra bedroom for GUESTS and we EXPECT many of you to come down and see us. No excuses! :)

Thank you again for all of your prayers and support.

6 days left here in the DR!

We need some prayer

For those of you who read this blog, we are in need of some major prayer. After speaking with the lawyer, they are wanting $50 more than we are able to pay, not including utilities. Samira, who is kind of negotiating for us, says that this price is so unbelievable that she can't even believe they are asking this. We just need prayer that all can be negotiated lower or that we know God's will and we can say no even though we really want the apartment. We know that it is all in God's hands, its just we have had our heart set on this apartment and now we may not be able to afford to live in it. Thanks in advance for your prayers, we will update you when we know more.

Final words....

Well, 10 days to go...it's hard to believe, although the last two weeks have gone EXTREMELY slow. We are busy, busy, busy making last minute dominican purchases, figuring out what is staying here and what we're bringing back and filling up our schedule for our time in the states. (Make sure you keep checking our schedule so you can see the changes that are being made, two weekends just filled up today!) We are eagerly anticipating our arrival in the states...although it will be sad to go. We pray that all goes well on our "fund-raising adventures around the U.S." so that we are able and ready to return to the DR in January. Please be praying with us that God's will be done and that we can return "home" in January.

Everything is going well in our planning for the U.S., it's absolutely crazy to think about all the time that will be spent traveling, plus trying to make time for me (Amanda) to be in the office and get some design work done. But amidst all the craziness, we continue to feel God's blessings upon us as we could NEVER imagine doing anything else, but this. We look back in hindsight over the past four and a half months and just can't believe all the things that have happened and all the changes that have been made. It's so amazing to be resting in God's will and feel His hand on your daily work. It's such an awesome place to be, crazy, but awesome!

Our major prayer requests for these next couple weeks are:

1-We still haven't heard anything about the larger apartment we are waiting to hear about. Prayer that some things can be finalized before we leave, or that doors are closed or opened to help decisions be made.

2-After hours of debate, we have decided that we need to sell our truck back in the states and replace it with something more gas efficient. As you can tell by our schedule, we will be doing more traveling in the next two and a half months than we have in the past 4 years of being together. Our truck isn't practical anymore. (This is very hard for me because it was given to me as a graduation present from my parents...if you know me, you know I love that truck!) We have found a vehicle that is available for the same amount that we could sell our truck for, and it has 60,000 less miles on it, and gets twice the gas mileage. We need prayer to sell our truck quickly and that the owner of the car is willing to sell it for a little lower than it's worth.

3-Pray for Mike and I as we begin to prepare to start a family. Help us to have wisdom and discernment as to when is a good time, and also that there are no complications or problems that would keep us from having a family.

4-Pray for us as we begin to wrap things up in the DR for our trek home. Just that we can get everything done efficiently and effectively and all goes well with all of our travel plans. As well as safety on the 26th as we have a long day of flying back to Louisville.

5-Pray for Mike's brother, Tim, who is at the beginning stages of entering the music business. He has try-outs/rehearsals with a producer from Nashville next week. Pray for him to learn the songs quickly that he has to learn for the try-outs, for ease of nerves as he performs and practices and just that God's hand is on the whole process of Tim and his talent for music.

6-My sister, Ashley, is finishing up her first semester of her second year in med school and is in the process of thinking, studying and setting things up to take the boards next summer. Pray for her end of the year exams as well as her sanity as she continues to adjust to becoming a doctor.

7-Mike's grandfather and my Uncle Owen were both diagnosed with Prostate Cancer within months of each other. My uncle has had his prostate removed but there may be some other complications and he may need to do chemo as well. Mike's grandfather is in the process of taking hormone pills and may also being doing chemo sometime in the near future depending on what the doctor's say.

Ok, this was a long one. Sorry about that but there's so much going on and I don't know if I will have time next week to update the blog. Please, please, please continue to comment and e-mail as much as possible for encouragement as well as just communication with everyone. It's hard because sometimes we feel like we miss out on stuff back home by being here, but you can help us stay up to date by letting us know how your families are doing as well.

Thank you all for taking us this far on the journey...we look foward to what God has in store for all of us together, in the future.

Love, Mike and Mandi

Sometimes God leads us elsewhere...

Haha...I bet you FREAKED when you read that title line! Well, if you didn't freak, good, cause there's nothing to freak about. I mean, the title still has something to do with what I'm writing about, but no worries if you thought our stay as missionaries was over.

God has put a little twist in our plans here as missionaries, as far as where we live, that is. We have posted several pictures about our new apartment that we have worked very hard to make a home...but now, God has brought a new apartment to our attention. You see, in the Dominican republic (especially the city we live in) it is incredibly difficult to find a good apartment. Not only a good apartment, just an apartment itself is hard to find. We LOVE our current apartment, but something has come our way. There is a third floor apartment, just down the street for our current one, that is being remodeled. Did you hear that? Remodeled...that is like NEVER heard of here. Anyway, it has a full kitchen, living room, THREE (count them) Three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a balcony out front and a porch out back. All that for only $50 more a month than we pay now. It's not all worked out, and we haven't made any decisions or anything, but we need prayer from all of you for wisdom and discernment to make the best decision.

Since we are planning on trying to start a family next year, we will definitey need more room than we currently have. We just didn't expect something like this to come up so quickly. So PLEASE be praying for us, as we are nearing the date to come back to the states and now we are forced to make some major decisions we weren't ready to make yet. Thanks to all of you prayer-warriors, you have done an amazing job of going to God on our behalf so far! We love you all...more to come.

Our state-side schedule

Hello All~

I know you have all been dying to know what we are doing while we are in the states, so I am putting together a little schedule (although not filled yet) of where we are going to be over the course of our stay in the states. As weekends fill up, I will fill them in on this schedule. Get your dates into me ASAP.

October 26, 2006: Arrive in the United States of America (or Los Estados Unidos)-DONE

October 27-28: FAMILY~Louisville, KY-Grandma and Grandpa Basham's 50th wedding anniversary-DONE

October 29-Nov 2: STAFF~Louisville, KY-Working in Office-DONE

November 3-November 6: SUPPORTERS~Marion, IN-DONE

November 6-9: STAFF~Louisville, KY-Working in Office-DONE

November 9-12: FAMILY~Wisconsin-DONE

November 12-13: SUPPORTERS/TEAM~Marion, IN visiting Women's B-ball team-DONE

November 13-15: STAFF~Louisville, KY-Working in Office-DONE

November 16-20: STAFF~Staff outing-DONE

November 21-24: FAMILY~Roanoke, VA for Thanksgiving-DONE

November 25-26: WEDDING~Michigan for friend's wedding-Couldn't go-VERY sick! :(

November 26-December 3: SUPPORTERS~Wisconsin for numerous presentations-DONE

December 4-8: STAFF~Louisville, KY for end-of-the-year Staff meetings-DONE

December 8-11: CHURCH VISIT~Roanoke, VA-DONE

December 12-14: STAFF~Louisville, KY-Working in Office-DONE

December 15-18: CHURCH VISIT~North Lakeport, MI-DONE

December 18-25: FAMILY~Wisconsin visiting family for Christmas-DONE

December 25-26: FAMILY~Louisville, KY for Christmas-DONE

December 27-29: STAFF~Louisville, KY-Working in Office-DONE

December 30: STAFF~New Year's Party-DONE

December 31-January 1~OPEN-DONE

January 2-5: STAFF~Louisville, KY-Working in Office

January 5-7: FAMILY~Possibly in Nashville, TN helping Tim move in

January 7-12: STAFF~Louisville, KY-Working in Office

January 12-14: FRIENDS~Marion, IN-Visiting some friends

January 16, 2007: LEAVE FOR DR

Hope this is helpful to everyone. As you can see, the dates are filling up. Miss you all and looking forward to seeing you in a month or so.

Love, Mike and Mandi

Our trip to the Capitol

Last Wednesday, the G.O. Staff went on a trip to the Capitol of the Dominican Republic, Santo Domingo. It's about a two hour van ride there (maybe a little less with Timmy driving) pretty much staying on one main highway. Santo Domingo, in many ways, looks like downtown Los Angeles. Lots of highway lanes, beat up houses on one side, huge, expensive houses on the other. We went to the capitol, mainly for one thing...OUTBACK STEAKHOUSE! This is a rare thing for us down here. Whereas in the states, almost every decent sized town has an Outback, you can pretty much only get it at the capitol here. Although, we had a few stops before we were to reach our much anticipated destination. We visited a few historical sites, which I have pictures below! It's good to know the history of the country we are living in. It was especially good to see the museum which had MANY artifacts that dates to several hundred years ago from when Christopher Columbus discovered the DR. No pics from the museum though. Enjoy!



THIS IS THE FIRST ARCH TO EVER BE BUILT ON THE ISLAND!



THIS IS THE FLAG OF LA REPUBLICA DOMINICANA!



THIS IS ONE OF THE FIRST CATHOLIC CATHEDRALS BUILT ON THE ISLAND!



INSIDE THE CATHEDRAL



STAINED-GLASS IN THE CATHEDRAL

Thanks to the Staff at Wisconsin Curves

Mike and I wanted to extend a special thanks to the Staff at my mom's Curves in Wisconsin. They had a yard sale and donated items and all of the money was raised for Mike and I. They raised $250.00 for us! Thank you so much. As a result of your donation, Mike and I were able to purchase a new gas stove and washing machine! These two new items have made our life so much easier! Here are some pics for you to enjoy. Thanks again! We hope you are blessed greatly because of your generosity.



OUR NEW GAS STOVE!!! Isn't it cute?



OUR NEW WASHING MACHINE!!!!

Thanks again! You all are the best.

Home Improvement

We have had a busy week. Sorry to many of you who have tried to e-mail us, our e-mail server was down for two weeks so we couldn't send or receive any e-mails. If you tried to e-mail us during this time, please resend those documents as we never received them.

Last week was "home improvement" week. Mike and I painted our ENTIRE apartment. It is such a huge change and it makes everything feel more like home now. Here are some pictures of the difference just a little paint makes in a tiny apartment.



BEFORE: Our kitchen and "living room" area with BROWN walls.



AFTER: Our kitchen and "living room" area with MARFIL SUAVE walls (off white).



BEFORE: Our bathroom with BROWN walls.



AFTER: Our bathroom with BLANCO HUESO walls (Bone White).



BEFORE: Our bedroom with ORANGE walls.



AFTER: Our bedroom with MARINO VERDE walls (Sea Green) with our wood board/concrete block shelves that we hand painted!

Hope you guys enjoy the pics, more to come!

Blast from the Past

Today's post is a little unconventional compared to previous ones. I just wanted to post some pictures I had from two of my friend's weddings that I went to this summer. I miss my friends a lot since I've been down here, and since communication is limited to either e-mail or skype (which only one of my friends has skype) I just wanted to post some pictures of my buddies so that they knew I was thinking about them. So if any of you guys check our blog, please know that even though we are far away, you are incredibly close to our hearts. I love being here, but I can't wait to see all of you in November and December.

As for this week, Mike and I will finally have internet of our own in our apartment! No more using the school's internet and having to walk down the street to check e-mail. Plus we will have a landline phone that goes along with our service which we can call the United States for 6 pesos a minute, which is roughly 20 cents. Not bad. Also, my mom secretly held a yard sale with all of her employees at Curves and they raised money for Mike and I to buy a washing machine and a stove! WOO HOO!!!! The blessings are just over-flowing. We are so incredibly greatful. Sometimes it's hard to say how much. As long as God will's it, we will live in the Dominican.

This week, as soon as our internet is hooked up, I will be updating some stuff on the G.O. website (www.go-ministries.org). If you have looked lately, I have made some adjustments such as: if you look at our name under the Staff page you will see a section called "more on Mike and Amanda." There will be a picture and some more info on us. But there will be several changes made in the next couples months so stay posted.

I guess that's it for now. Hope you guys enjoy the pics and I will talk to you next Tuesday! Love ya'll!!!

Fun Night with the Kids

These past few weeks have been absolutely amazing! Mike and I have caught up on some much needed sleep, we have watched a few movies, we finished up our 7-week basketball league, Audrey and I started our excersize routine AND I started Spanish school! I LOVE SPANISH SCHOOL, besides the fact that it is at 8:00 am and we walk there and have to leave at 7:30. It has really helped me just clarify things and it has challenged me to be bolder in my attempt to speak spanish to the Dominicans.

We are officially leaving Santiago October 26th which gives us about two more months here to get some things done, but that also means we have two months to set up meetings with supporters and future supporters. If you need to meet with Mike and I, please don't hesitate to e-mail us or post a comment so we can put you on our calendar. We are going to be home until the first or second week in January and will be doing a major fund-raising tour, so we are able to go to any church where there is an opportunity for us to speak at. Please let us know if you have any contacts as well.

The pictures above are pictures from Tuesday night. G.O. has a group of 15 men (dominicans from the ministry) in Columbia for a month. So Tuesday, we took all the kids from the families who's dads are gone so that the mom's had a night to themselves. We bought pizza for them and watched Madagascar on the big projector and played games for 3 hours! It was so much fun and the kids really seemed to enjoy themselves. It's amazing how much energy children have! It made me feel old. Three hours with them and I was ready to go to bed at 9:00! But it was a great night of bonding with the other missionaries and bonding with the kids. Several of the families that work for G.O. don't live in our neighborhood so it was great to be able to see the kids from other parts of Santiago.

Well, I suppose that is it for now. I have marked on my calendar to update our blog every Tuesday. Please hold me accountable to that! If something else big goes on in between tuesdays, I will put in an extra update. Thanks to all of you regular blog visitors...it means a lot to Mike and I. We love you, and miss you all and look forward to seeing many of you in November! Dios les Bendiga! Mike and Mandi

thank you.

Thanks to the awesome prayers and support of all of you...Mike and I are staying until the end of October! YAY!!! We havent' raised the rest of our support but there is a team in October that wants to do a soccer clinic so Brook asked if we would stay. YAY!!!! I can't write more right now because we are just finishing up with our last team of the summer. But I should be able to have more frequent updates since we will have a little more time on our hands.

Thank you so much for your prayers!!!! We love you all.

My Trip to Haiti

My trip to Haiti...where do I start. We didn't realize the craziness of the trip until we looked at it in hindsight. What was supposed to begin as about 10 people, including a Haitian interpreter, ended up being Will, me and two guys from the team that was down for the week. Will had never driven there before, and had only been to Haiti once, I had never been there and to top it all off, Spanish or English is not spoken there...only Creole. So communication was minimum. We did make it ok and we ended up having a Haitian be our guide. His name was Arsenio and he was the person that began the orphanage we went to.

It's hard to describe Haiti...just think of one of the most devistating places you could ever imagine, and then multiply it by 10 and that is Haiti. There are barely trees, no grass, only dust, shacks for houses, trash everywhere...and the people have nothing but stoic expressions. It just felt like there was no happiness, and nothing to be happy about. It completely broke my heart.

The kids in the pictures above are kids that live in the area or are part of the orphanage. The picture at the very top is the market where people travel for 20 miles on foot or donkey to go to. And the picture of the big building is the church, school and dormatory that Arsenio started.

This country completely needs our prayers. The people there have no hope.