Engaged!

February 16, Alan asked me to be his wife!! My mom was here in the DR and CPC too! It was so awesome to have family, friends, supporters and encouragers here alongside of us! We are going to have a private beach wedding on May 17 in the Dominican Republic. Once he is able to travel to the states with me, we'll have a reception in Las Vegas as well!!

Please pray for us as we enter into a marriage covenant with God and with each other. Pray that we serve each other wholeheartedly as if serving the Lord. We have just finished up our pre-marital counseling with Dave and Cherry Schwulst. THANK YOU Schwulst's!!!

We have lots of exciting dreams and plans for ministry and we are so thankful to God for placing us in each other's lives and to you all for your faithful prayers and encouraging support!

Here are some of our engagement photos taken by my good friend Goody, our Field Photographer-- thanks Goody!

Central Peninsula Church

Central Peninsula Church. I am not quite sure how to even start this blog.

How about the past.

I accepted Christ when I was 20. It's been almost 7 years.

Rob and Missy Hall led to me to Christ. They became my mentors. I served with them and later worked for them in student ministries and children's ministry.

We both eventually moved- them to California and me to the Dominican Republic. My first ever mission trip was with G.O. Ministries to the D.R. when I was 21 and Rob was the leader. He led several trips and they were all successful, but due to moves and life circumstances he hadn't been back in several years.

After a visit to see my friends in San Francisco it was decided that now was the time to return to the DR, but this time it was Missy's turn. She recruited a team of 24 from CPC to serve alongside the Nationals in constructing 2 houses and also doing children's ministry in surrounding communities.

We had hoped that they would come alongside Pastor Medina and would encourage him spiritually and also partner with him financially. Medina is a man of God and a pastor of a small community. He is also a police officer. He splits his time between his growing family (3 kids), the police force, and the church. Our desire (and Medina's) is that he could financially make enough to quit the police force and pastor full-time to truly meet the needs of those in his community.

Watching the team care for Medina and his family is sometimes something hard to put into words. When you see two worlds collide for a brief moment or as one team member put it, two broken parts of the body coming together to heal one another it is, well, beautiful.

The team is making strides towards a partnership with Medina and we are so incredibly humbled and thankful for their week they spent here and the lasting impact it has had on the communities they worked with.

For me, it was personally one of my most encouraging weeks I have actually spent here on the field. Thank you Missy and CPC for sharing Christ's love with the nationals, for stepping out in faith to come on the trip and for partnering with me. I am humbled!

We look forward to the next CPC trip in June 2009!

Missy and Jackie, February 2009
Construction of houses for Rene Rodriguez and Luis Jimenez

Hamilton Life Church

For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the land to strengthen those 

whose hearts are fully committed to him.

2 Chronicles 16:9a

Hamilton Life Church, February 3-10, 2009

Gumercindo with wife Dulce Maria, Robert and Damon

Gumercindo Toribio is a man in his late 60's and has been serving God and the church since a missionary came to the bakery where he baked bread daily. The owner was a Christian and he sensed that Gumercindo wanted to accept Christ. He began going to church with the owner and shortly after accepted Christ. That was 1979.

Gumercindo is a man seeking to serve the Lord wherever God sends him. He's worked in over 4 different communities over the past 30 years with a heart to plant churches, grow strong leaders, and send them out to lead, and disciple, and plant churches.

He and his wife Dulce Maria (Sweet Mary) live in the mountains in a fairly rural community two hours outside of Santiago. They pastor a growing church. He is discipling men. He is spreading the gospel.

One of the churches that support the work I am involved with came to see firsthand the work we were doing. I visited with them before their trip. I don't think anything would have quite prepared them or me for their week here. I believe the LORD sent Hamilton Life Church to strengthen the hearts of Gumercindo and Dulce Maria. 

The week was filled with sweet moments of the team working side-by-side to encourage them in their faith, their work... their hearts. When we arrived to the mountains on Saturday after a long week of construction of a church and nutrition center in Santiago, the kids were ready to go. They sang sweet songs worshipping the Lord and in the evening's church service, Pastor Damon who preached, washed the feet of Gumercindo urging the church members to serve one another just as Jesus did not come to be served, but to serve.

But, not only was this week an encouragement to Gumercindo, but I believe to the team and the pastor as well. Gumercindo is a church planter. Pastor Damon is two years into their church plant. During dinner one night, Damon's father asked for Gumercindo to share some wisdom with his son in church planting, in that way, the wise can encourage the young. Gumercindo spoke many words of wisdom to Damon.

The Lord sent two different parts of the body to encourage one another, serve one another, love one another. 

It has been an honor to be a part of this work and to see the Lord's hand at work in all of this. 

Thank you Jesus for dying for us and for bringing us together, for calling us to love and serve one another. Just as you loved us enough to serve and die for us.