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.

Merry Christmas!!

Thank you for all of your support this holiday season. I am so often reminded by those in need and I am so thankful for all the sacrificial ways in which you give. I wanted to share a video with you from my time in the DR in 2008.

As 2008 closes and we begin to look ahead to 2009 I am so excited for the new challenges, the times of growth, the lessons we will learn from God, the souls that will be won, the kingdom advancing, storming down the gates of Hell and proclaiming the LORD's truth and power and glory to the nations!! The best part is... YOU ARE A PART OF THAT TOO!!

I love sharing ministry with you. Thank you for partnering with me. Please watch this video.

In Christ,
Jackie

Just another day in November...

Hi friends!
I wanted to let you know that I am back in the Dominican Republic. I arrived on November 20th and it feels like I never left! I was able to visit my Godson, Jansel this afternoon and we snapped just a few photos of him. He is now 6 months old- wow!
Thank you so much for all of you who support me through prayers and finances. I am so grateful for each and every one of you. Please keep praying for divine wisdom and direction, clarity, and for His Holy power to shake the souls of each individual here on the island of Hispaniola.
I will continue to write more later this week after I move into my new apartment and get myself setup again.
Much love,
Jackie

I wanted to send just a quick update to you all!

I am in Louisville, KY training at the stateside office!!!

As the number of teams continue to grow each year, so does the need to expand our administrative staff. I am training alongside Vicki, the current team coordinator, for the next month and a half transitioning into the team coordinator. I am looking forward this new role and all the challenges that will come along with it.

Would you please pray for this transition time. Pray that I can glean all I can from those around me, that I would remain humble and patient and look to Christ for my strength.

There are a few things I have participated in while here in the U.S.:

• G.O. Ministries golf outing- raises money and awareness for the ministry
• Spoke at Hamilton Life Church in Chattanooga, TN- supporting church

Upcoming Events in October:

• Speaking at the First Baptist WMU- October 6th
• Traveling to Eastern KY Oct. 9-11th to visit my good missionary friend, Emely Clevinger
• Traveling to Harvest of Talents in Ill- Oct. 24-26th

Thank you all so much for your financial and prayer support. I am grateful for each one of you and the role you play in God's glorious plan!

Please join me in prayer for our 2009 teams (and a few 2008 teams that are still scheduled to the D.R. this year) and if you are interested in leading a trip leave me a comment!

Peace,

Jackie

Hurricane Season Torments Haiti

"In the Always Funeral Home, 21 mud-crusted bodies were piled in a small room, unclaimed. Two of them were pregnant, one still clutching a small girl to her chest."

Tormented by one storm after another, Haiti has suffered the highest loss of life. By time any of the Tropical Storms or Hurricanes have made landfall on the U.S., they have already done their most destructive damage... to those areas least able to respond and cope with the loss of life, and the overwhelming disease and sickness that accompany the flood waters.

Bridges and roads were destroyed providing no access for relief workers into Gonaives, Haiti's second largest city located on the western side of the country, leaving them stranded... hopeless.


Pray for our brothers and sisters in Haiti, for survivors, for relief workers to gain access.

Here are some numbers from this season:

Fay: 9 dead

Gustav: 79 dead

Hanna: 183 dead

Ike: 70 dead

Click on this link to watch a video of Haitian towns submerged under water

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/americas/09/09/haiti.gonaives.flood/index.html?eref=rss_world#cnnSTCVideo

Here is also a link that will take you to over 50 articles & videos concerning the devastation in Haiti

http://topics.cnn.com/topics/haiti

Alecita

While I was in the Bateys I recieved a very unusual gift... a kitten!

Many of you might now that I am moving into my own apartment in a few weeks and the idea of having a kitten was something that had rolled around in my mind... nothing more than a thought...

The pastor's wife, Ale, had two little kittens in her house and I commented on how cute they were and told her I was thinking of getting a kitten as well... once I move.

I never thought she would give me the cat! She insisted, despite my hesitation, everyday I was there that I take the kitten with me. She even began to call it my cat throughout the week, which I refused to acknowledge!

But, she melted my heart (the kitten that is). Sunshine and I bathed her and she rode in a box in Sunshine's lap for the 6 hour drive back to Santiago.

She is super cute. A purr box, and she sleeps above my head. She is less than 6 weeks old. She begins her shots next week. She has gotten a flea bath and parasite pills from the vet and she is good to go!

I am looking forward to living in my new apartment with my new little friend. What's her name? Well you could call her "Alecita" or "Alelu" or "alelulu" or any other variation you could come up with!

Batey Pics

Here are just a few quick pics of the beautiful children that Elaine and I were able to photograph during our week in the bateys...