pensive baby

jacob does this cute thing when he's trying to figure something out or investigate something new. he tilts his head as though he's looking around something even when it's right in front of him. jennie caught that look on film so I thought I'd share it with you.

new addition

many of you know Kiko from Chichigua (also known as francisco). he's in my english class (when he doesn't have to work) and is great at making friends with those in our groups. his second son, frankel, was born this past monday morning. we had offered to give them a ride to the hospital, but ironically this was one of the mornings our vehicle was out of order. nevertheless, marijo gave birth right in the middle of chichigua and both she and the baby are doing well.

learn a little English, get a little faith

the more i use these new ESL books we bought for makarios' use, the more i like them. we're still in level one, but each chapter has at least a proverb, if not a full Bible story. yet they are all presented in such a way that they can be used in closed countries with few problems. here is how they have been effective in the DR.

Evelyn is one of my students in Chichigua. she has four sons who are also involved in camille's classes. it is evident that one of the things she enjoys most in each chapter is the portion from the Bible. though she does not read the Bible on her own, she has portions of it to study as she also learns English.

Damarys is one of my students in Pancho Mateo. she has a 3 year old son, Jerry, who also attends Camille's classes. as we were studying the proverbs in our chapter this week i reminded the students that they can find them in the Bible if they want to read it in Spanish. under her breath Damarys said, "yo quierro una biblia.'' i want a Bible. i plan to take one to her next week.

a new family moved in next to the little school house in pancho mateo. the kids are all very well behaved and respectful and so it is evident that their mother keeps them in line very well. the youngest kids have been attending camille's classes, while the oldest daughter (probably around 20) has been coming to my English classes. i don't know how much exposure this family has had to the Bible previous to moving to pancho mateo, but now the youngest kids hear a Bible story twice a week, and the oldest daughter (who has a child of her own with missing father) is hearing proverbs and Bible stories through the ESL curriculum, as well as having the wonderful opportunity to build a relationship with Crisitina (camille's AMAZING teacher aid who is also coming to this class).

in addition to all of this, my students also had the opportunity to see a bunch of crazy UT students act out the story of The Good Samaritan during the spring break trip. we are preparing other such fun, Bible based activities for the summer groups. we're hoping (and praying) these activities will draw in more English students and provide more stories of how learning English can make you more than just bilingual.

call me martha

posted by sharla, trying to be a mary in a martha world

for those of you who know me, this will come as no shock - I am a doer. my first response to pretty much any problem is to try to do something about it immediately (if not sooner). God has been teaching me that I don't always have to "do" something in order to address a problem. seems He's been teaching me this for a few years, but I'm just now catching on. my first response should be prayer. my first response should be God, not me. God is soveriegn and I'm just running around on the earth like I have control of the things in front of me.

so yes, I'm a Martha. I want to clean the house and make dinner for Jesus, not realizing that I have Jesus in my house and He wants to talk to me. He wants my heart, not my futile attempts at changing the world. He can use me to bring about change, but ultimately, He wants me at His feet, not running around like a headless chicken.

I find myself now in the midst of a situation in which I could immediately begin trying to solve the problem on my own or turn it over to God in prayer and see how He leads. I almost sent that first email (the "doing") and then the Holy Spirit promted me to stop. I need to pray. So I am committed to praying over the weekend and won't take any action until Monday.

are you curious? what is it I'm praying about? Makarios staff needs. We need staff in Austin and in the DR. Some needs I've known about for a while, some are new. When Luke talks about the harvest being plentiful and the laborers being few in chapter 10 of his gospel, his next statement is "therefore, PRAY!" he doesn't say go and make an announcement in church, email everyone you know, start making phone calls because there's a labor shortage. nope. he says "pray."

now that's not to say that we don't ever do anything. but if we've been praying as we move into action, the Spirit guides us and shows us our role in "the doing."

please join us in prayer for these needs.

you've never seen babies this cute. unless you've seen these babies, of course.