New G.O. Staff

There's a new G.O. Staffer in town but we're not sure what his role will be yet. We welcome Daniel Inoa Rodriguez to the G.O. family. Yesterday, my friend Carmen Dilia delievered little Daniel by C-section. He was 8 pounds and completely healthy. Mike and I were able to go visit the family today and get some pictures. He is absolutely beautiful! Or in the Dominican, "!Ay, Que Lindo!" Below are just a couple pics.

Baby Daniel

I'm in heaven!!!

Quick Announcement!

Hey Everyone! We just wanted to let you know that we have created a new, personal page for family news. Basically, it's all about Landon!!! So from now on the Braisted Adventures Blog will be solely about the ministry and if you want to see updated belly pics and ultrasounds you can go to: http://www.braistedfamilyupdates.blogspot.com! You can also click on the Braisted Family link on the right hand side to go straight to Landon's site! Hope to see you guys at both Blogs!

Mike and Goody

Who would have thought!

This is just a quick update on some of the things that I (Mike) have been doing lately around the D.R.

This past Saturday we finished up a basketball tournament here in the neighborhood. It was a tournament in the name of a friend of Will who passed away from his home church, St. Johns United Methodist. The tournament consisted of three local churches and a team made up of guys that are always playing at the basketball court. The past three weekends have been full of March Madness Dominican style! The church we attend, (Cuerpo de Cristo) came out on top over Iglesia Asemblea de Dios. It was a great three weekends and great time of sharing with the community.

Last week I was able to make a more regular appearance at soccer practice with the Haitians. It was so much fun being out there again after about a month off. We have had a lot of rain the past two weeks so the field was pretty sloppy but it was still great to be out there again. Even though I don't understand them because they speak Kreyol, a high-five means the same thing in both languages after a goal.

Now, the reason for the title of this entry. The last two weeks I have been sharing in the Bible study with our construction crew. Every morning before work they get together to get into the Word. I have been able to not only participate with them but have been asked to lead three of them already. For those of you that know me it might be a shock to hear that I would be LEADING a Bible study. When the IWU soccer team was a here a couple of weeks ago they couldn't stop talking about the fact that they NEVER really heard me share much around them. They came down and I was all of a sudden leading their team. Well, God has been working greatly in me here in the D.R. He has allowed me to step out of my comfort zone and always guides me in His work. Continue to pray for God's guidance in our lives especially the more He uses me and the new ways He will use me.

Clase de Arte

For the last several weeks, my buddy Jen (fellow missionary) and I have been volunteering at the community center teaching an art class to some little ones. It has been a great opportunity not only for me to work on using my spanish, but to do something outside of my "job title" and work with something I love. Art has always been a huge passion of mine (jen as well) and it has been so awesome to be able to work with these 6-9 year olds and make some things available to them that may not ordinarily be.

We also have the opportunity to share Christ's love with them as we start each class with prayer and a couple songs about God. Then we begin class by letting them know what we are going to work on for the day. Jen, who has more experience teaching kids, comes up with the lesson and I am her 'helper.' We have been focusing on shapes for most of the classes so far. Just showing them how many things are in day to day life that have shapes in them such as circles, triangles or squares.

Below are some pictures from last week's class. Enjoy!!!!

Carmen Dilia's Baby Shower

I had the unique opportunity to join in celebrating a baby shower with the other American Staff. Our friend Carmen Dilia is due next month to have a baby boy and we were all invited to attend her baby shower. It was so much fun going to the store where she was registered and picking out little boy outfits and pacifiers.

The party lasted about 2 1/2 hours and about 30 women were there. We ate Dominican snacks, ate a beautiful Dominican cake and played baby shower games. It was so fun to laugh and share with all of the women, many of them from our church, and just relax and have a good time. Below are a few pictures from the party. I don't look so pregnant standing next to someone two months ahead of me! Enjoy!!!!



Opening presents, these boots are especially cute because Daddy works in construction!



All of the gifts opened!



A little entertainment...



The expecting family!



The Gringas with Carmen Dilia!

24 weeks!

I know I probably say this every time, but I can't believe it's been 4 weeks already! I am officially 6 months pregnant which seems just totally insane since I found out I was pregnant when I was only 2 weeks along. At times, I feel like it has been forever and times I can't believe that we have less than four months left.

We had another Dominican doctor's appointment today. It went great! Another good bill of health for baby Landon. It was so crazy, that just 5 weeks ago, Dr. Gonell only had to go a short distance on my stomach to see Landon in full. Today, he had to go from the bottom of my stomach all the way to my ribs to get a full shot. He has grown SO much in such a short time. I've only gained about 3-5 pounds (3 on the scale in the doctor's office, 5 on the baggage scale at the airport!). But I think that I had lost some "extra baggage" since the food I eat here is all natural. I'll have to watch myself back in the states.

Landon is approximately 8 inches long and weighs a pound. The heart was beating perfectly and he said that I am in perfect health as well. He took a femur measurement and said that we are right on track for 24 weeks. Landon has been a bundle of movement, especially in the last two weeks. Not only has Mike been able to feel him move, but you can see him kicking around just by staring at my stomach. Pretty amazing. The other night, from 4-6:30am, I couldn't sleep a wink because he was kicking and somersaulting all over the place. I just couldn't help but laugh thinking about what a little baby can do in there for 2 1/2 hours. Praise Jesus for all His provisions and protection. The only thing I am needing some prayer for is MAJOR heart burn. I'm doing what I can to limit it, but I guess it's just a natural part of pregnancy. Below is the latest belly picture, definitely getting a bit more round.

A trip to remember...

It's a little bit hard to convey the excitement and anticipation leading up to this week but all the hype was for good reason and we were not disappointed.

Mike has been making preparations for the IWU Men's Soccer team to come to the Dominican for almost 6 months now. It seemed like the week would never get here and now all of a sudden it is over and they are on the plane back to the "real world." We forgot how exhausting the college age is, even though we were just there not too long ago. But we also forgot what an awesome energy they bring whenever we are blessed to work with them.

The soccer team started their week off right away with clinics in Los Perez. Just like other Dominican-style activities dealing with soccer, almost nobody on our list showed up. But we quickly found replacements as a group of 20 American men seem to draw a crowd. Soccer isn't a very popular sport in the Dominican Republic, which I think is one of the reasons we were drawn to this type of ministry here. A great opportunity to give kids who don't play the other popular sports of baseball, baseketball and volleyball could have another chance at becoming skilled at a sport. We found quickly that the kids (and young adults) who showed up had a natural ability to run, kick and play soccer. Obviously, they weren't the next Landon Donovan or David Beckham, at least not yet! It was such a different experience for the IWU guys as the Dominican children could not get enough of their personal attention and technical lessons. It was mentioned that in the states, the kids at their camps only want to play games rather than learn the disciplines of soccer.

Along with the clinics that the guys hosted, they also played three competitive "friendly's" against Dominican teams. Their first was against a Haitian team that one of our pastors, Romano, coaches. The IWU guys quickly showed their skills as they beat the team 4-1. The second game was against a club-select team from La Vega. This team was matched much closer to the IWU guys and ended up beating the Americans 2-1. The third game they played against was the Dominican U-25 National team at one of their stadiums in San Cristobal. It was obvious after the first few minutes of the game that the National team was definitely here to give the boys a run for their money. This team was very quick and had significantly more skill than the other two teams they played. After a goal in the first half against the Americans, it was back and forth throughout the rest of the game ending in a 1-0 loss to the Dominican National team. The guys played incredibly well and we even had some fellow missionaries from the Santo Domingo area come and support our team. There was a good 600 fans that showed up to support their team and a group of about 30 to cheer on the Americans. It was so fun just to be in that environment and to watch the Christ-like attitudes of the IWU guys shine through on the field, even when things weren't going their way.

The trip ended with a great final "debriefing" where, I believe, the guys became a closer team than they were when they arrived here in the DR. These guys and their transparency really impacted not only the Domincans they worked with, but also our American staff. When we were tired and weary, they gave us so much energy just watching their interactions with those around them. Many guys stepped out of their comfort zones this week and gave their testimonies in front of complete strangers, as well as trying their hats at whatever Spanish they could pick up. For Mike, it was a chance to get reconnected with friends that he has missed so much and for me, it was an opportunity to watch my husband take a leadership role that he was born to take. This definitely was a trip to remember...


Ben and one of his campers celebrating a job well done


Preparing for a good 'ol game of soccer, shoulder style


Campers getting ready to play "Ghostbusters"


One of our younger campers learning passing skills


Tyler encouraging a new skill


Spenser showing off his skills


Camp photo

To view the IWU Men's Soccer Mission trip video, go to: http://youtube.com/watch?v=NSMmjzrpPk0

Letting God Work

The past two weeks have been great. Spending the week with Kansas City Baptist was a blessing from God and this past week finishing up the preparations for the IWU Soccer trip has kept us busy. It has been great to be a part of the work God is doing here in Santiago. As we finish the preparaions and wait for IWU to arrive it is amazing to think about the work God will do while they are here. He won't just be working in the lives of the Dominican's and Haitians, He will be working in the lives of the 20 team members coming down and the staff here with G.O. Ministries.

Something that God has shown me the past couple of weeks is to allow Him to work. We do a lot of work to prepare for the teams to come down. We work out every detail that is involved in a week long missions trip. Sometimes the focus goes towards making sure those details are worked out, making sure the team is where they need to be and making sure the activities are going well. As we prepared for KCBT to arrive God sat me down and said, you have made the preparations now allow me to do my part. I look back at that week and think about how amazing God is when He is allowed to work.

I only helped a little with the preparations for baseball week, just filling in where I was needed. Soccer week lands on my shoulders, this is why God has called me here. As time gets closer and plans fall into place it's time for me once again to step back for God to do His work. As hectic as the week may seem as it goes by, I will be able to look back and say thank you Jesus for the work you did.

Thank you all for the consant prayers!

Kansas City Baptist Temple

Thank you to all of you who prayed for the KCBT baseball team that came down this past week. The trip was absolutely extrordinary. They had 15 guys (2 girls) come down to run a 2 1/2 day baseball clinic for kids 10-16. There were about 10-12 kids who accepted Christ and several more who were interested in hearing more about Him. Between drills and coaching games and then playing double headers themselves at night, KCBT went a mile a minute and never looked back once.

This team came with such a heart of love and enthusiasm and it showed so much when they worked with the kids. It was such a testament to the kind of church they come from back home and God's provision for G.O. Ministries. All the guys had a different personality and many of them showed a different side when they got here. Ones that were shy became outgoing, ones that were followers became leaders and ones that struggled with Spanish gave their absolute best with the language. It was amazing to see God transforming this group right in front of our eyes.

They had such compassion for our community and passion for baseball and for the Lord, that it reminded many of us missionaries just what we are here for. They jumped right in with strength that they could have only been given by our Heavenly Father and had awesome attitudes even on the most exhausting days. Their energy gave us energy. We didn't all realize how tired we were until they left and the adrenaline was gone.

This group was a perfect example of a marriage of preparation and the willingness to let God change plans. They shared the Gospel any chance they had whether they did it through words or actions. They truly changed the kids in Santiago, and we know the kids will be asking when they will return.



Fielding drills



Batting techniques



Willie Pujols with some campers



Kansas City Baptist Temple

20 weeks

You guessed it...I've finished my 20th week of pregnancy! I'm halfway there!!!! All is great. Baby boy Braisted is approximately 7 inches from head to rump and weighs almost a pound. Wow, you would think he was bigger than a pound judging by my belly. I don't think these pictures do it any justice. There are days that I feel like a WHALE! But I am feeling much better. I am still getting sick although it spans about every three days. Which is much better than 3-4 times a day. Overall I am still feeling completely exhausted but my health is good and I feel great. This month, Landon (yep that's his new name) will make leaps and bounds in growth, so the next 24 week pic should be a pretty good difference. We'll keep you posted...thanks for your prayers!

All in God's Timing

Well usually Amanda posts updates on here but there are times when I am able to experience something that she cannot be at. So you might find an update from me from time to time these days.

I just wanted to share with everyone something that happened today that proves that everything in this world is about God's timing. We are supposed to be welcoming a team tonight from Kansas City. We found out this morning that their flight has been cancelled in Chicago so now they can't make it until tomorrow. The past week for us has been spent going over all of the final preparations for the activities of the week. The team coming down is going to be doing a baseball camp for kids and playing in a softball tournament at night. The fields are all ready, the kids are all ready, the softball teams are all ready, so the only thing that was left was the team from the States to arrive this evening. No matter how much we plan or prepare for something, we can't out-prepare God. His timing and His plan is already established and it's up to us to follow it. We don't know what He has in store for this delay. The flight was cancelled because of snow in Chicago so obviously safety is a concern. As to other reasons why God has allowed this delay, we might not ever know, but there is a reason. His timing is perfect! So as a prayer request for today and tomorrow, allow the team to get down here quickly and safely and allow the hearts of the kids and men on the softball teams to be open to hear the Word of God this week.

Dinner with the Abreu family

Last night, we had a great night of food and fellowship with one of our pastors. His name is Felix and he and his wife do ministry in Hoyo del Bartola or "The Hole." They also have a 4 year son named Natanael.

We had rice, chicken, potatoes, cabage, salad with tomatoes and vinegar, cooked carrots and hard-boiled eggs. For dessert there was also this frozen treat, that had pineapple and coconut. Everyone enjoyed it, well, except me and the coconut part. I had to pass on the dessert, not a big fan of coconut!

After dinner we spent quite a while looking at photos and chatting about kids. It was great for me to be able to have a common ground with the women here. As soon as Jenny found out I was having a boy, she laughed. Natanael, has quite a lot of energy and had a grand 'ol time riding his bike with training wheels on it ALL around the house. Crashing into walls and people and giggling the whole time. It was a real eye-opener as to what I have to look forward to in four years. Children are so charished in this country and it will be fun to raise little ones in this culture.

The electricity went out and it was awesome just to sit around with friends and talk by candle light. It kinda inspired me to get a few candles and the next time our electricity goes out, flip off our inverter. Just something as simple as candle light can make a gathering so much more intimate.

Below are a couple photos from the night. ENJOY!



Sunshine, Catherine, Jen, Lisa, Felix, Me and Jenny sitting at the dinner table.



Mike and Audrey enjoying the yummy dessert!



Will and his buddy Natanael who got a kick out of calling him "Willlliiiieeeee!"

Volleyball

The sport for the next few weeks is volleyball. We are currently going around to several of our churches and doing volleyball clinics, teaching the girls the techniques and disciplines of volleyball.

We had roughly 15-20 girls at this clinic in Hoyo del Bartola. They ranged from 9-18 in age and vary in their skill level. We separated them into groups of about 6 and Mike took a group, Will and Audrey took a group and Pedro (Dominican sprots worker) took a group. Each area teaching them something a little bit different about the game of volleyball. Although their attention spans weren't always right on cue, they definitely learned a few things!

After their stations, we played three games to give each team the opportunity to play twice. Several of the girls had improved well in things such as serving and setting, although bumping proved to be the hardest technique to control.

All in all, the clinic went very well, and the church and Pastor Felix in Hoyo del Bartola ("The Hole") proved to be a great example of how to get the community involved.

Below are a couple of the pics from the afternoon session in Hoyo del Bartola.



Girls warming up and streching



Learning new drills and techniques



New volleyball players!

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.