Dominican Dispatch: Summer & The Year Ahead

As I'm sitting in this plane 30,000 feet off the ground flying back to the DR I'm reminded of what a privilege it is to be living the life I'm living, and how grateful I am for the people who have followed along and supported me on this journey. Over break I got to spend time with my family, have fun with close friends and even make some new ones, speak at several churches, and to rest. Thank you for being part of this ministry! I'm excited to share a little about what God has in store for the year ahead.

DISCLAIMER: I did an awful job remembering to take photos over the summer, so I have hardly any to share!

A few highlights from summer were...

What's in store for year four...

When I arrived at Doulos three years ago, I was 18. While I've loved pouring into elementary and middle school students, I've always hoped to invest more deeply in high schoolers. At 18, that wasn't easy since many of them were nearly my age.

Now, after three years of serving middle school students through school and WyldLife, many of those same students have grown into high school and Young Life. In a sense, we've grown up together.

This year I plan to step away from WyldLife and join the Young Life team. Each week, my coworkers and I will meet with high school students outside of school to have fun, ask real questions, and learn what it means to follow Jesus.

I plan to serve alongside my Dominican friend and coworker, Lisandro, who leads our Young Life ministry. Soon he'll be moving into my new apartment, and we hope to regularly open our home to students.

My goals for this year are to:

• Teach students how to read their Bibles daily and help keep them accountable
• Encourage them to memorize Scripture
• When they’re ready, give them opportunities to share their faith with others in the community of Jarabacoa

On top of my other duties in the motor lab and handling communications, also plan to be a small group leader at Doulos, which will give me extra opportunities to disciple students during the school day!

Working with older students means bigger questions. I would love your prayer for wisdom as I step into this more mentor-like role this year.

Thank you again for following along and being part of God's work here in the DR!