Blessings

It feels like yesterday that I was riding in the backseat on the way from the airport in Santo Domingo, scared out of my mind and trying not to cry. Isn't it crazy that the closer you get to going home, the less you want to go? I have been blessed this entire summer to meet some of the most amazing people God has created. In every location, there have been multiple people to look up to, learn from, and simply admire God's love shining through them. It has hands down been the most amazing part of this summer, and I just cannot stress how grateful I am to have met them. They have made me a better person.

I am down to two weeks left this summer, which I will serve in Joplin, Missouri. I was there for a few days before I flew out, and I remember being a little irritated about our living situation and such. Never again will I be irritated with my small shower and army cot... they are luxuries compared to Santo Domingo. Right on time for the 4th of July, I realized how very grateful I am to be an American with those luxuries handed to me from day one. After using the bathroom in a bowl, showering from a bucket, walking through streets of trash, and carrying cinderblock after cinderblock down an inclined slope made of loose gravel and rocks... I have never been so thankful to be 'Americana' in my life! I hope that I never forget this experience so that I can properly be thankful for all that God has blessed me with in the States. I will NEVER look at my bed, my shower, or my bathroom the same.

I just wanted to say thank you again for all of the wonderful people supporting me this summer. It has definitely been the experience of a lifetime, and I am so blessed to have been a part of it.

Humility

It has been quite a while since I have been able to get on here to post. Unfortunately, the application on my iPad has stopped working, and it has become difficult for me to write. Let me just say that in case there are weird symbols... I am typing on a Spanish keyboard.

The past two weeks have been extremely interesting, and God has worked in mysteriously wonderful ways (as usual). My team was supposed to spend the past week in South Texas with our boss, Steve. Unfortunately, our vehicle which we so kindly named "Explodition", decided to break down about six hours into our sixteen hour drive. The first three hours of our drive were literately in the middle of nowhere New Mexico, and none of us had any cell service almost the entire time. Praise God that He allowed us to break down in the middle of civilization! Ironically we did break down in front of a dairy farm, but regardless... we were safe from harm and could call a tow truck. We ended up spending the night in a hotel in Las Cruces, NM while waiting for our car to be fixed. Although it was an extremely stressful situation, we had not had a break in almost two weeks and it ended up being a blessing in disguise. We were able to shower, swim, work out, shop at Target , and then sleep in a BED with PILLOWS. The car was fixed the next day, but our boss decided to send us up to Joplin, MO early rather than us make the drive down to South Texas since we were already so late. We made the sixteen hour drive, until about 20 minutes from our destination, in which our lovely vehicle decided to break down once more. Thankfully, our team was able to come save us and we towed the vehicle once again to our destination. We had the first day off for our troubles (thank you staff!), followed by a rainy day, and then one half day of work. I was blessed to go home for an overnight layover, and I have mixed emotions about it... but am thankful none the less. It is almost harder having that opportunity and then leaving once more. I miss everyone so much.

For the past month, one of my talks to the teens has been about the concept of humility. When giving the talk in the U.S., I already felt like a hypocrite as I preached the concept to them knowing it was my biggest struggle. I had hit a point this summer where I was done, ready to be home, and had very much hit a wall with my faith. God has once again given me a very gentle slap in the face, and shown me what humility is all about. We arrived midday in the Dominican Republic on Sunday, and I already knew I was in trouble. It has been the most humbling experience being in an area where very few people speak English. The Spanish language is a passion of mine, and I used to be extremely good at reading, listening to, and speaking the language. Unfortunately it is NOT like riding a bicycle as I have not used it for two years now, and I have lost so much. Simple things like verbs and nouns that I used to know like the back of my hand are difficult for me to remember. When asked a question, it is as if I freeze on the spot trying to decipher the meaning, and it is always too late to respond when I figure it out. In our staff, the boy here with me, Caleb, is known for saying silly things to which the group gives him a hard time. As my team member, I have taken on the role of mother in many cases, reminding 19 year old Caleb when to act like an adult and such. I usually have most of the responsibility with the groups we are leading, and am typically telling him what to do and where to be. Here in the DR, our roles have swapped completely as he is near fluent in Spanish. He is a necessary part of my experience as I constantly need him to tell them whatever we need to say. I still comprehend very well... too well in fact as they tend to assume I am dumb because I cannot speak the language fluently. Unfortunately, I am able to understand what they are saying about me, and it is breaking my heart. I am never the "dumb" one of any group, yet here I am... yet another stupid American who cannot speak Spanish. I realized as I felt myself tear up for the tenth time in the past 24 hours that Christ was merely trying to humble me. He is showing me how much I need to remove my pride, my stupid U.S. arrogance, my need to feel worthy or smart, and trust solely on Him throughout this experience. No matter what... I am merely His hands as I do His work here. It is not about me, what I am feeling, what I want or need or miss... it is about helping Him. So here I am, completely humbled and broken... I know He will fill me with the love and strength that only He can give me.

Although I may not understand everything and I cannot speak Spanish fluently, I can work hard to help those around me and I can love on all of those I come into contact with. Thankfully those are two universal qualities that any place appreciates.

El Morro

We successfully finished our first mission trip on Thursday... YAY! We painted the teacher apartments, landscaped the entire school, landscaped three yards for the elderly, painted two other houses for the elderly, and put on a successful Vacation Bible School. We got a lot accomplished, the kids left full and happy, and our leader was happy with the week. Take two on Sunday night. :)

It was a little bittersweet watching them all leave on Thursday morning. There are quite a few of them who I connected with greatly, and I'm excited that I'll be able to see some of them when our team travels to South Texas next Sunday. Apparently part of the group is cooking us authentic Mexican food. :) :) Unfortunately, the rest of the staff also departed Thursday morning at the same time, and only three of us are left in New Mexico for the group arriving tomorrow night. I can't even tell you how lonely it is with everyone gone. I only met these people three weeks ago and I already miss them greatly! We have truly become a family... even with all of our differences. I can't wait to see all of them again for mission trips in Joplin at the end of the summer. :)

Because the group left on Thursday morning and the next one doesn't arrive until Sunday night, we have been able to relax and enjoy some of the features in New Mexico. Yesterday we were able to hike a 2.5 mile trail at El Morro. It was BREATHTAKING. Pretty strenuous getting up there for a second, but well worth it with the views. There are ruins at the top of the trail, and that was also extremely interesting to see. I took about 50 pictures and can't wait to share them!

This past week was very busy, to the point where I didn't realize that I hadn't updated this in awhile. I am doing much, much better. We have been hiking and found a local gym that lets us go for free, so that has taken a lot of stress off of my back. Although I miss home greatly, I am really enjoying my experience here and the opportunities I have been given. I have two weeks until I'll be flying into Atlanta for the night, so that is getting me through.

Thank you for all the prayers, thoughts, and words of encouragement. :)

Vanity

One of the skits we are putting on over the next few days involves a girl ignoring Jesus and wearing different "masks" with each group she encounters. For the purpose of the high schoolers we're teaching, we chose things like vanity, drinking, sex,   material goods, etc. I was given the role of vanity, and I get her to change her clothes and wear jewelry and such to my liking. It felt like I was just playing a role, but over the past few days... I'm struggling internally with this myself. I have worked REALLY hard over the past few months to get my body to where I was semi comfortable with myself. Here, I don't get to exercise much because of lack of time, I don't get to choose what I eat or when, and I'm watching all of my hard work go straight down the drain. I'm writing this because I need prayers, big time. I am really struggling with this, and it's distracting me from my purpose here. I am past the point of tears and want to be home taking care of myself. I'm only two weeks in and my attitude is shifting negatively. I'm over sleeping on the floor and waking up with 10 new bug bites, I'm over cold showers, I'm over not working out, and I'm very over eating foods that I would never eat at home. Please pray that I can get over myself, literately, to focus fully on my God that I'm serving. 

I am so grateful for the amazing people that I'm working with, and the students I've gotten to meet this week. There is just nothing like being surrounded by Catholics and the Lord. It has been a long time since I have been able to worship the Lord with the voice He blessed me with and simply get lost in the music. There are a lot of wonderful singers here and I've thoroughly enjoyed praising Him with them. I have earned the nickname of Jasmine for breaking out into A Whole New World with one of the guys here. The Lord has also blessed our group with laughter, and if anything... I've got to be getting abs from laughing so hard that I can't breathe. Even at my weakest moments here, I will be forever blessed and forever changed by this experience. Not to mention I know that if I can survive this... I can survive camping when I get home. ;) 

Today we had the opportunity to climb the Mesa. It was absolutely beautiful!! A lot of the group just took the trail, but a few of us decided to make our own trail... straight up. :) Getting up there was difficult at times, but the view of God's beautiful creation was more than worth it. It was nice to take a break from pulling weeds and painting houses. 

Thank you Jesus for another beautiful day!

Gallup

We have been in Gallup, NM for almost three days now, and I'm still trying to get used to the weather. It is FREEZING in the morning and at night, but then burning up during the day. Thankfully, it is not humid like Georgia. We were advised not to run or work out here because of the difference in elevation. Apparently it takes over 3 weeks to acclimate to it. I am DYING I want to run so badly. I keep having dreams about running on the Big Creek Trail in Cumming. Two months and I'll be running it again daily!!!! We were told that the surrounding area is known for each family to make around $10-$15,000 a year. Isn't that crazy? We are helping landscape here at the school, as well as lead VBS, and work with the elderly. It should be an interesting week!

Our first group of students arrived today from a little city right on the border of Mexico and Texas. I am extremely grateful for my background in Spanish! I'm having a little trouble keeping up with them when they get excited and talk really quickly, but I'm managing. We dive into the talks and saints tonight, and I'm really excited to watch their weekly journeys with God. We have such a great program, and a lot of fun skits. Somehow I managed to take on the role of a ditsy cheerleader in one of them... but I play the part pretty well. :)

A couple of the high school girls started asking if I was married, if I had a boyfriend, would we get married, did I miss him... it was cracking me up. It was quickly followed up by a guy asking me if I had graduated college yet, I said yes, and he told me it must stink to be old. Thanks for the reminder, but I'm actually still really young thanks! It cracks me up that these two conversations and identical to those I have with my fourth graders. Guess nosy doesn't change as you get older...

Thank you Grammy for the wonderful package I received today! I will put it all to good use.

Georgia on my mind

I am extremely excited to announce that I will be HOME for two days throughout this summer!! God is funny sometimes, and it is not just a coincidence that I have an overnight layover IN Atlanta on the way to and from the Dominican Republic. :) :) Both times it is only around 12 hours, but I'll take whatever I can get. Just enough time to see all of the wonderful people I miss so much, sleep in my own bed, and repack a little bit. To make it even better, one of the nights I'm in town is Kayla's birthday. God is so, so good, and I'm a happy girl. Yesterday was the first day that I was beginning to get homesick and I really began processing the fact that I wouldn't be home for two months. This great news couldn't have come at a more perfect time. I am forever thankful for a savior who loves me and is always looking out for me.

This weekend was extremely nice. I was able to catch up on a little sleep, research my saints for the talks, and just enjoy Texas. We made a Wal Mart run for forgotten supplies... to which I forgot a lot. Repacking my suitcase last night was rather interesting. We grilled out Saturday night, and then traveled over an hour to the biggest line dancing honkytonk in Texas... Billy Bob's. :) Some of the staff with me are not country fans whatsoever, but everyone was a good sport and came along. We found out that Joe Nichols was playing that night, so that made it even better! One of the girls in our group was even lucky enough to get a backstage pass to meet him... brat! ;) Inside of the honkytonk is a bull riding arena, so we watched that for a little while before the concert. I was really wishing that I had my boots and a cute dress! It was so much fun watching everyone line dance. I felt a little out of place, and then the Cha Cha Slide came on and all was well. :) Joe Nichols was pretty good. Most of his music is just rather slow. All in all we had a great time... perfect experience for Texas!

Today we are on a 12 hour journey to Gallup, New Mexico. Our first group of high schoolers join us late Wednesday night, so we're going early to prepare everything. I will miss the beautiful sunset and stars in Texas, but I have a feeling New Mexico will be no different. We are staying on a Zuni Indian reservation. We were told it's very unique because not many people are given permission to be on this property and most of the land is untouched. I'm sure it will be a neat experience compared to my constant suburban life. It's very exciting and very nerve racking that I'll be giving talks in just a few days. I pray that the Holy Spirit will flow through me to help lead these high schoolers.

Heat Stroke

For those of you who know me well, you know of my struggle over the past year dealing with pre-hypertension. Unfortunately it runs in my family, and yes, at 24 years old (really beginning around 18)... I already have higher blood pressure. I've had every test run on me to see if something is wrong, only to discover that it's merely heredity. Right before I left for this trip, my cardiologist prescribed me a diuretic pill to help level out my sodium in hopes that my blood pressure would level out as well. He is adamant against not putting me on blood pressure medicine at this age. Well... God was definitely trying to get my attention to take care of myself prior to the heat and labor I will experience for the next six weeks. This morning at mass, I was praising Jesus by singing like always while we were kneeling before communion. All of a sudden, I started getting really hot and my head was extremely fuzzy. I started sweating, badly, but we were in the middle of mass and I didn't want to make a scene. I just didn't understand what was happening to me. I felt like I was having an outer body experience for a good minute or so, and stripped off my jacket. The next thing I remember is being woken up and being sat back into the pew, absolutely drenched in sweat. Apparently I passed out so peacefully (slouched over the pew like I was praying) that my teammates thought I had either fallen asleep or the Holy Spirit had come over me and I was in deep prayer. Yikes! I have learned my lesson. Taking a diuretic pill and drinking nothing but orange juice and unsweetened tea (yes, I said unsweetened... Welcome to Texas!) isn't a great idea. Thank you God for the reality check BEFORE we begin our mission work. :) We have the next two days off from work, so we actually get the chance to look around Texas a bit. A neighbor is letting us ride horses in the morning after mass, so I'm pretty excited about that! We are only 10 miles from the Oklahoma border, so we will also be driving there sometime tomorrow. :) Looking forward to a relaxing weekend before the madness begins next week.

Summer Schedule

I found out my team and schedule today, and I am very excited to be spending the summer with many wonderful people! There is one girl here in particular who I have connected with the most named Christie. We both prayed hard to be on the same team, and God is good. :) I am grateful for what I know will be a lifelong friend after this summer.

Here is my schedule and location for the next two months.

June 1st -- June 9th: Gallup, New Mexico

June 10th -- June 23rd: Joplin, Missouri

June 24th -- July 7th: Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

July 8th -- July 21st: Joplin, Missouri

There is a possibility that I might stay for the final mission trip the week of July 22nd through the 28th, but if not... I'll be flying home on July 22nd! :) Already missing all of you back home, but it's hard to feel incomplete when I'm whole in Christ. I'm so blessed to have this opportunity and I can already feel myself changing in such a positive way... praise Jesus!

Just found out yesterday that I will be co-teaching first grade next year with a wonderful sister in Christ! I am so excited, so thankful, and so ready to be with the young ones again. :) It has taken some stress off of me for next year which helps me focus even more on my summer.

I read Psalm 131 today and really connected with it. It's humbling. "My heart is not proud, O Lord, my eyes are not haughty; I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me. But I have stilled and quieted my soul like a weaned child with its mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me." I may not be perfect and I may not love the Lord like some people around me. I love Him, worship Him, adore Him in my own simple way, and for Him... that's enough.

God is good all the time!

All the time God is good!

You are the sculptor and I am the clay.

Just a few wonderful things to share from the past two days.

We watched a video by these two guys who perform Christian skits on various topics. This particular one is called God's Chisel. It focuses on the necessary truth of being the work of God and accepting His will. One line that I connected with the most was, "How can you work on your character when you are so concerned with your appearance to others?" Isn't that such a beautiful truth? What a simple reminder in a very self centered society that our focus should be centered on God and NOT ourselves. Through Him, our character will be strengthened. This in turn makes our appearance to others even more beautiful and more powerful. What better way to lead others to Christ than by modeling our lives after Him? Allow God to chisel out your imperfections and your sins to make you into His masterpiece. You are made in His perfect image, and He will constantly remind you that you are more than worth it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhfUzodLRvk&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Then, to bring it all home... here is the reading from last night's prayer during the Liturgy of the Hours;

"Stay sober and alert. Your opponent the devil is prowling like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, solid in your faith." -1 Peter 5:8-9

We all struggle with being devoured by the devil. However, be reminded that we are an image of God. When a young girl breaks up with a boyfriend, it is typical for her to tear up a picture as she cannot physically hurt the boy itself. Similarly, the devil tears US up as we are an image of God. Satan cannot tear up God, so it resorts to tearing us up and beating us down. Stay strong and use God as your refuge. He will always lead you down the correct path and keep you away from evil.

Why are you here?

One of the first questions we were asked at team training today was, "Why are you here? What made you choose to do this?" I had been asked this question multiple times by my parents, friends... even by strangers at church. "Jaime, this is a great thing you're doing... but why?" Every time someone asked, I seemed to find a different answer and never had a definite answer to the question. I realized today that it's okay to have multiple answers to this question. I don't think that I know the answer to the full extent yet, and I may not really know until the end of the summer.  All I know is that I am here because I was called by God to serve. So here I am, in all His glory, serving him and those in need. I can already say after my first day that it is the best decision I have ever made.

I was the last to arrive at the airport last night, and the introvert in me was screaming when I walked up to the 11 other people I would be working with this summer. Now, only a little over 24 hours later, I have 11 wonderful new friends, mentors, and companions. We are all from different parts of the country but are connected by one, strong passion... Christ. A new friend, Shannon, mentioned a quote today that sums it up perfectly. It says, "It is beautiful to see God in nature, but it is even more beautiful to see God in other people." For once, I am at peace that I am not the strongest Catholic here. I have so many wonderful things to learn, and so many wonderful people to guide and strengthen me along the way. I have prayed the Liturgy of the Hours three times now and have to admit that I am a little confused. One day at a time. I went to weekday mass for the first time, and it's amazing how whole I felt the rest of the day. Beginning your day with Jesus is always a great start.

Today we focused on team building. It felt like R.A. training with a spiritual aspect added to it... could that get any better? I felt very much in my element discussing how games connected to the work we'll be doing with the teens, and how it connected spiritually. It's funny how much it connects with being an elementary school teacher. After training we went to a local family's house for dinner. They made German sausage, sauerkraut, roasted potatoes, and peach tea... unsweetened of course. The town we are training in is called Muenster and has a very strong German background. She also made German chocolate cake... yummmmm. The family lived next to a wheat field and the biggest tractor I have ever seen was out there farming. We all had to take pictures of it like crazy tourists. :)

One of the things I am most thankful for is that there are multiple runners here. A few of us ran after we got back from dinner, and then proceeded to do an ab workout followed by squats and lunges. I am psyched to have workout partners for the duration of the summer!

Goodbye Georgia...

It's officially here!!! Even after saying goodbye to everyone, after buying 13 cards for all of the events I'm missing while I am gone, after repacking 14 times to get under the 40 lb. limit, after getting lucky that the lady checked my bag with 41 lbs (oops)... it still hasn't hit me that I am leaving for two months. I'm trying to determine if God has wrapped me in His peace or if a breakdown will happen later. I'm hoping the first is true. :)

I know I have said it a million times, but thank you again to all of those supporting me on this trip. Whether monetarily or through thoughts and prayers, I am blessed with many amazing people in my life. I can't wait to see where this journey will take me, and I'm taking everyone along in spirit. :) I have no doubt that God has big plans for me this summer. It may be the teacher coming out in me, but I know that I will learn just as much I will teach these high schoolers. Hopefully their hormones just stay away for the week. ;)

I received a lot of advice over these past few weeks especially, but I received one particular text message from a very special person in my heart that I wanted to share. After admitting to him that I was nervous about leaving, he said, "You aren't going there to come back. You're going there to BE there and to help those in need. You have the rest of your life to come back. Treat every day like it is the first day of a vacation and you are less likely to be homesick." I can't wait to be God's hands throughout this trip. He will rebuild me while I help rebuild homes for others. 

I miss you all already. Have a wonderful summer!!

Deuteronomy 31:6

You revive me, Lord.

Can't even believe it's almost here. All I have left to do is pack up my classroom and then I can officially get ready for this summer. :) So happy to say that I've finished my second year as a special education teacher and still have a job next year in an incredible school. I am very blessed!

A song I listened to on the way to school this morning has been weighing on my heart all day so I had to share. I can't wait for God to "revive" me all summer long.

"My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." -Psalm 73:26

You Revive Me- Christy Nockels

Let the packing begin...

Thanks to some amazing people in my life, I am proud to say that I have raised my goal of $3,500! All of that stress for nothing... the Lord always provides. :) I can't say it enough, truly. THANK YOU to all of those who helped me monetarily. I went through multiple avenues to raise this money, and I couldn't have done it without a single one of you. The Lord is good!

This trip has snuck up on me so quickly, and it's hard to believe that I'll be leaving for Texas in just a few days. It seems like yesterday I was just looking into this opportunity and praying for God to lead me in the right direction. My head is swarming getting everything together at school and for this trip. It's a little too much at one time, but I know that the Lord will be my stronghold through it all and I will get everything done. Somehow I'll have to say goodbye to everyone I care about in just five days, finish and send home data for my sweet special education students, pack up my classroom, and then get myself together for the trip. Ah!!! It's so exciting that it's finally here!

On a sad note, I just found out that BOTH of my best friends will be moving to other states a few days before I get back. :( One will be in Raleigh, NC and the other will be in Chicago, IL as their men move with their company every six months for the next two years. There must be some purpose in the timing of this, but I'm having a hard time saying goodbye to both of them way too soon. I haven't known life without them for five years, and it's such a bummer I am missing everything this summer with them. But I'm looking forward to free places to stay...vacation please? ;)

If you have any petitions in your heart that you would like for me to pray for throughout my summer, PLEASE let me know. Call me, e-mail me, tell me in person... I would love to pray for you!

"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." -2 Corinthians 4:16-18

Update

Countdown... less than four weeks until I'm on a flight to Dallas, Texas. I am overwhelmed with so many emotions. It's a little nerve racking to leave everything I know behind for two and a half months, but I have the greatest guide to bring me through it! I am so excited to be spending my summer doing something productive and helping others in need. It's been too long since I've felt the "high" after coming home from a retreat. I can only imagine that I'll feel like I'm on top of the world coming home from NINE retreats. :)

A BIG thank you to all of my wonderful supporters so far. Although I haven't quite reached $3,500, I am getting there slowly thanks to you! I have rallied up quite a wonderful group of "prayer warriors" as well, and that makes me even more grateful. The power of Christ is just breathtaking sometimes. I've found comfort and familiarity with other Christians when I least expected it. I am so very blessed, and so very excited to begin this journey in just a few weeks. God is so good.