December Newsletter

Dear Prayer Partners,

December was a month full of celebrations and blessings. The Christmas season in the Dominican means Christmas lights and decorations, raisins in rice and bread, little Christmas stands selling fruits and candy in the streets, and Christmas music being played wherever you go. I kept busy for the first few weeks of the month between teaching and participating in Christmas celebrations. I made a habit of going up on the roof of our apartment building most days after school to sing worship songs, do my devotionals, and watch the sunset. This has become a good time for me to slow down, meet with God, and learn more about Him each day. As I was preparing to come back home to the States for Christmas, I was thinking about what I would share with churches and friends about my time in the DR so far. God really laid on my heart that it wasn't about me and what I've been accomplishing in ministry. It's all about how I have seen him move and what he has done, both in my own heart and the ministries I've been blessed to be a part of this year. How gracious is our God to allow us to be his hands and feet and to shine His light wherever we go.

Highlights

• As mentioned in my previous newsletter, I recently joined the praise team at my church (IBEM). This month, we had a few practices with the praise team to get ready for our Christmas service. We had this service on December 11th. I sang many songs with the praise team and was able to sing a trio with two of my missionary friends as well. It was such a blessing to get to help lead the congregation in worshipping together in this special service to celebrate what Christ has done for us.

• I was able to participate in many Christmas celebrations this month. Our school had a Christmas lunch for all the staff, and I was asked to sing in a small group for this lunch. It was fun for the school staff to be able to get together for this celebration. We also had a Christmas banquet for the youth group. We had a good turnout of many teenagers at this event, and I was able to sing in this banquet and help with some of the set up and clean up. In addition to this, I was able to participate in Christmas parties with my church small group and my own class at school.

• On December 17th I flew back to the States. It was good to be home, but it was so strange to experience culture shock in the States after only being gone a few months. Since I've been back in the States, I have been able to meet up with a lot of friends to catch up. I was also able to travel back to Iowa to spend Christmas with my extended family. It's been good to have time to rest and see family and friends, but I am excited to get back to the DR and continue in ministry there.

Prayer Requests

• Pray for safe travels as I fly back to the DR on January 7th.

• We have a new teacher named Stacy joining Las Palmas in January to teach first grade English. Please join me in praying that she has a smooth transition into the country and school.

• Continue praying for the residency process. I was told to wait until January to finish the application for my residency since the school was still waiting on paperwork for it and I will need to be in the country when they arrange an appointment for me to come in person to get my residency.