The Life of Jon

Latest (and probably last) DR Update

2008-03-24T14:24:00.000-07:00

Greetings from the DR,

I’m writing to give an update on my final months in the Dominican Republic and my transition into work in Sudan. I arrived back in the DR in January after spending the month of December in the US. Since returning, I’ve been busy finishing projects, training my replacement, and making plans for my departure. I had been uncertain exactly how my transition would take place, but now the picture is clearer. My support levels are a bit low, so I am planning on returning to the US on April 2 to spend the month in continued support raising. The hope is that with this month of focused time, the remaining funds I need will appear. Assuming that my support levels are adequate, I plan on leaving for Lebanon for 3 months of Arabic language study at the beginning of May, following a weeklong conference in Wisconsin for all Kids Alive missionaries. At the end of the 3 months in Lebanon, the plan is to move on to Sudan to begin my work there.

As is often the case in these types of transitions, the completion of these plans is dependent on several factors, most of which are out of my control. The first factor, as mentioned before, is my support level. At this point, I have about 80% of monthly and 25% of one-time costs accounted for. In order to leave for Lebanon, those numbers need to be at or near 100%. Another factor that is particularly worrying at the moment is gaining entry into Sudan. Due to the negative international focus on the Darfur region and the country as a whole, the Sudanese government has become much more stingy on who they are allowing in, even if the purpose of entry is to help the people. This stinginess is magnified for me because I am American and work for a Christian organization. We are currently working on the best options for visas to enter, but there are certainly no guarantees.

As I am preparing to leave the DR in just over a week, reality of leaving is beginning to set in. The relationships that I have been able to develop over the last 2-plus years are not easy to leave behind. So many people have welcomed me into their lives with open arms and shown me the kind of love that I came here thinking that I was going to show them, so stepping away from this life is hard. Over the last 6 months I’ve been ready to leave, being focused on what’s next, but as I’m beginning to reflect on what I’m leaving behind, the desire to begin my new life in a new country is tempered a bit. I know that the work and ministry will continue after I leave, but it’s the relationships I have developed that make this transition harder than I imagined.

I ask for your prayers that my last days in the DR will be fruitful and also that the potential hindrances to my arrival in Sudan will be worked out in due time.

With love,

Jonathan

The latest update

2007-11-27T10:45:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone!

In my last update, I spoke of my upcoming trip to Africa in order to check out the possibility of working with Kids Alive in Sudan. While the trip went a bit differently as planned, it was positive nonetheless. In Kenya, I was able to participate in a regional conference for the program directors within Kids Alive for the Africa, Middle East, and Eastern Europe regions. These directors are champions of our faith. All but one of the countries within this region are led by nationals, ie. The Zambian programs are run by a Zambian director, not a missionary. Spending time with such amazing people from different cultures and backgrounds, all giving their lives for the good of the children in their country, was very special. At the end of this conference, I was planning to visit Sudan with the Francis Tombe, the Sudanese director of the Kids Alive programs in the country. Unfortunately, however, the Sudanese government did not approve my visa application, so I was unable to enter. Despite the disappointment of not being able to visit in order to understand more of what life there is like and how Kids Alive is working, I decided to commit to move to Sudan and work there. The time commitment that is being discussed is for three years. Kids Alive is only a few years old in the country, so there is lots of work to do in developing the current programs and adding some new ones as well. It’s an exciting time in an integral, important work, so I count myself blessed to be able to be a part of it all. During the regional conference, I developed a great relationship with Francis, the director, and am looking forward to working with him for the next several years. My job will essentially be as assistant to Francis, so knowing that I will be able to get along well with him obviously played an important part in my decision.

So, I’m headed to Sudan, which will bring many changes and challenges into my life. There will be a new language (Arabic) and culture to learn, new people to meet, and a new job. Many of the details are still being worked out, such as where I will live, what my daily schedule will look like, and how much extra support I will need (living and traveling will be more expensive than in the Dominican Republic). The tentative plan for the next few months is for me to spend the month of December in the US, visiting family and friends and raising more support. I’ll then go back to the DR for a few months to train my replacement and finish up some projects. Around March, I will probably head to Lebanon for about 3 months of language training, to get a basic knowledge of Arabic before moving to Sudan at some point in the summer.

Thank you all for your continued prayers and support. I look forward to seeing many of you while I’m in the US in December.

Future plans

2007-10-03T06:47:00.000-07:00

Hello friends,

The end of my original 2-year commitment with Kids Alive in the DR comes to a close in December, so I am writing to give an update on some of my future plans. As I have lived and learned and grown through the last year and 10 months, I have become continually more convinced that the type of life that I’m currently living is one that I want to, and should continue. I consistently feel unworthy of the work that I am doing, while at the same time feeling consistently drawn to do more of it. Through my time in the DR, I have also gained an extreme appreciation for Kids Alive, not only here in this country, but throughout the world. The goals of the organization and methods of achieving these goals fall right in line with how I think and feel, so I am hoping to continue in working with them in the future.

Thus, being convinced of this path, the question is a matter of where in the world I will be going next. While there is a possibility of staying on in the DR, albeit in a different role than my current position, the more likely possibility is to move on to a different country. At this point, the opportunity that seems the best fit for me is in Sudan. Kids Alive is very new in this country, but they have strong national leadership in place and exciting plans for growth. Moreover, they have a need that I think I would be able fill. In order to fully understand what life and ministry would look like there, however, I need to see it first hand, so I have planned a visit for the end of October. During this trip, I will participate in a week of meetings involving the directors for all of the Kids Alive programs in Africa, the Middle East, and Europe, which takes place in Kenya. At the end of that week, I will hopefully (assuming I am able to obtain a visa) travel to Sudan for several days with the national director for the country.

Upon returning from this trip, a decision will be made by me and the leaders of Kids Alive on the possibility of moving to Sudan. I plan on leaving for Africa on the 23^rd of October and returning to the DR on November 5^th. I ask for your prayers for this trip. For safety, but more importantly, that my time there will make clear the decision on my future.

With love,

Jonathan

Ps. I’ll be in the US (Cedarville, Cape/Jackson, Colorado, South Carolina, and maybe a few other locations) for the month of December, I hope to see many of you then.

A worthwhile thought

2007-08-22T12:45:00.000-07:00

This is a quote that I saw somewhere that made me really think.

"There are decisions every single one of us will have to make in life, about what kind of values we choose to live by and what is worth living for. we make these decisions and then they turn around and make us."

I don't have anything insightful to add, just that this is a thought worth thinking through.

My latest email update

2007-08-16T12:51:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends and Family,

I apologize again, as I often am obliged to do when I write an update, for the infrequency of any news coming from me about things that are happening here in the DR. It’s been several months since I last sent out an update, so there is plenty to cover. I’ll try to be concise.

As a whole, the ministries on the island here are advancing marvelously. There are new houses being opened at the children’s homes and new classrooms built at the schools. Our ministries are growing, but it’s not just for growths sake that we keep expanding. Every new classroom or house built means new lives being given hope. In the midst of advancement, however, it’s essential to focus on maintaining or increasing the level of effectiveness of the programs as they grow. On top of the emphasis needed on improving programs as we grow them is a need to increase funding as well (that’s where I, being the sponsorship guy, come in). Our child sponsorship program is suppose to cover all of the daily operational costs of our programs, but never really has. When I arrived here, sponsors covered about 80% of the costs, since then, we’ve added lots sponsors, but have added even more kids. So, the money coming in through sponsorship now covers only 60% of the costs. This is obviously less than ideal. Eventually, probably sooner rather than later, we’ll have to stop the advancement because we don’t have enough funds. So, I’m on a hunt for sponsors more than ever before.

Here’s a few highlights from the last several months:

-In late April I was able to take a trip into Haiti to help set up a sponsorship program at the small orphanage that Kids Alive has in the country. This was an amazing opportunity to experience the poorest country in our hemisphere while using an expertise that I’ve gained to help our program there continue to grow. I had an encouraging time with the American and Haitian friends there. It’s a special thing to be able to spend time with people that are working within a different country, but with the same purpose and goals.

-In mid-June, we began bringing work teams into our school in Caraballo, the program that deals primarily with Haitian immigrants into the DR. The inaugural team was a group from my home church in Missouri that included my parents and younger sister. This was an amazing time with an incredible group of people. These 20 friends were so intense and intentional in serving everyone they came into contact with. By the end of the week, lots of work had been done and many of their lives had been changed. One of my favorite aspects of living here is having an opportunity to see how facing true poverty can rock people’s perceptions and ideas and thoughts. The feeling of responsibility to face this problem and respond was heavy on this group and the results were incredible.

-On a personal note, I’ve been blessed to have visits from several of my friends and family. On top of having my parents and younger sister here on a work team, my other sister and her husband brought their youth group here for two weeks. Also, my good friend Greg visited for a week in May. Another great friend, Aaron Roth, has come to work with us for the summer, helping lead short term work teams in their construction projects. Finally, more friends, Layne and Caitlin Beller, arrived a few months ago to begin their 2 year term here on the island.

Thanks to all of you for your support, thoughts, and prayers. Communications will come more frequently now, I promise.

Jonathan

Here are a few pictures of kids working on an Easter card to send to their sponsors

2007-02-24T07:14:00.000-08:00

email update

2007-02-24T07:09:00.000-08:00

This is the latest email update I sent out:

Hi everyone,
I've heard from a few folks (mainly my mom) that I'm overdue for an update on what's been going on in my life and with my work here in the DR, so this is my attempt to fulfill this request. I have been enjoying the cooler winter months here in the mountains of the DR. When it’s not raining, the temperature peaks at 75-80 degrees. Couple those temperatures with crystal clear, blue skies, a cool breeze, and constant views of the mountains surrounding our little valley and it makes for a very pleasant place to spend the winter.

Several significant events have passed since I’ve last written. Personally, I made a big change in moving out of the Ark, which is the orphanage we operate just outside of the town, and into a house with a Dominican friend of mine. The main reason for the move is because I was looking to gain a more realistic view of Dominican life, to experience first hand how the average folks live every day, to take part in a community. While the Ark provided an amazing family atmosphere, it’s structured, controlled environment is far from a “normal” Dominican lifestyle. The house I moved into is far from spectacular, which is exactly what I was looking for. It’s located in a barrio (poor neighborhood) called Cristo Rey, or Christ King. Living with a Dominican, I’ve improved in my cooking of local favorites as well as furthered my appreciation of the Merengue, Bachata, and Reggaeton (latin rap) music that is being played 24/7. The thousands of mosquitoes, which easily find there way inside due to the lack of screens and constantly open doors have been a little harder to get used to, as has the lack of running water—we do everything, washing dishes, flushing toilets, and taking showers by carrying water in from the cistern on the back porch area of the house, but all in all, it has thus far been a positive experience. I also seem to have become a free entertainment source for the neighbor kids. They like to follow me around in the house, just to see what I'm up to and how I do things. Apparantly I'm very interesting.

As for ministry work, things have been on the upswing. In January, for the first time since I began working in the DR, we had someone in place in every ministry site to handle the day-to-day sponsorship activities. This development allowed me more time to do what I was originally brought in to do, which is overseeing the program as a whole in the country and making improvements as necessary. Instead, I was spending most of my time filling holes where there was no one to do the work. Unfortunately, our run in the glory of having a fully staffed sponsorship program lasted only about a month and a half, so I’m back in the business of filling holes, but it was a profitable time while it lasted.

We’ve have several exciting moments within different ministry sites. At the Ark, the orphanage where I used to live, 4 new kids have arrived. That’s 4 little lives that will have a chance to grow and thrive in the loving environment that we’re able to provide for them. It’s a BIG deal. Also, the new cafeteria opened at the school in Caraballo, which allowed us to open up a new classroom, because the cafeteria had been temporarily housed in one of the existing classrooms. With the new space, 25 new preschoolers were brought in to begin in the program. This is also a very big deal. Many of these kids wouldn’t be able to go to school if we didn’t provide it to them. This school is their only chance of education, of breaking the life of living in poverty, which is the only life they know.

This is just a brief scratch in the surface of all that has happened over the past few months. God's kingdom is growing in amazing ways in this country and I consider myself incredible priviledged to be living here, watching it take place.

Thank you all for your thoughts, prayers, and support. I miss and love you all.

Jonathan Coleman

ps. My weblog has some pictures and stories, but I havn't added anything new in a while. Here is a link to the site, I hope to get some new info up soon.

http://dominicanjon.blogspot.com/

In the US

2006-12-20T11:56:00.000-08:00

I will be in the US for the next two weeks, come see me.

The following sets of pictures are from the Christmas party in Caraballo

2006-12-20T11:46:00.000-08:00

presentation for a full house of kids and their parents

2006-12-20T11:37:00.000-08:00

Happy kids

2006-12-20T11:33:00.000-08:00

Motivation to keep growing

2006-12-20T11:32:00.000-08:00

These kids are standing outside the fence of the school, watching the festivities taking place inside. If we had enough space, they would be in school too, but for now, they are stuck on the outside looking in.

yellow

2006-12-20T11:31:00.000-08:00

Valentin with his parents

2006-12-08T09:54:00.000-08:00

Valentin seeing the outside of his house for maybe the first time (Yep, that's his house, he's at the front door)

2006-12-08T09:48:00.000-08:00

Amazing story

2006-12-08T09:12:00.000-08:00

This is a story from a cozy mountain town called Constanza, where a Kids Alive care center is located. Pastor Angel, who serves as director of our program in this town got word from a member of his church that there was an extreme situation involving a child in town that he should go check out. That situation he found was beyond extreme. He went to the location of the house, which is located in a very poor area in the middle of town, and found a man and his wife along with their 10-year-old son. The problem was, the boy had never left his house. He had spent his entire life inside a home made of other people's trash. Neighbors claimed that they didn't even know a boy lived in the house, they'd never seen him. Upon encountering this situation, Angel told the dad that he had to let the child out and the father, who is a practicing witch doctor, knowing that he was obviously outside the law, agreed to let him come to our center.

Amazingly, the boy, Valentin, has normal mental and muscle development, he doesn't seem to have been hindered by his life-long imprisonment. He has no concept of basic ideas, but is intellegent and as would be expected, very curious. His first day out in the real world, he had to be taught how to climb up and down stairs as there were none in his house, shake hands, and open car doors. He asked the name of a odd-looking object he saw in a field, it was a cow. He tried to dial a calculator like it was a telephone. I met him on his second day of freedom and he was a joy to behold. By this time he had been cleaned up, given new clothes and a fresh hair cut. He looked like a normal boy, but his actions proved different. He had mostly mastered the staircase, which he proved by enthusiastically sprinting up and down the stairs for a good part of the afternoon. He would run from one end of the room to another, because it was the most space to move he'd ever had in his life. His handshaking abilities still needed some work, he couldn't quite figure out which hand to stick out to be shaken.

Pastor Angel and the rest of the staff at the care center couldn't imagine sending this kid home to go back to the same dysfunctional family that had kept him inside for 10 years, fortunately, Kids Alive has recently opened an children's home in this town. So, with possibility of legal action being taken against them, the parents agreed to let their child move into the home.

What a great reminder for me of why we're here doing this work. Valentin now has hope, he will grow up with loving parents, get a good education, be able to run and play, learn about his Creator.

See above for photos.

Pictures of the first day in the new cafeteria/kitchen and the new pre-school class

2006-11-27T06:26:00.000-08:00

Progress in Caraballo

2006-11-23T06:30:00.000-08:00

I recently spent a few days doing some work at the school that we have in Caraballo (this is the school focused mainly on dealing with Haitian immigrants that aren't allowed to go to public school, thus won't be educated if we don't do it). Thanks to some generous donations, construction was recently completed on a new cafeteria/kitchen. This new building allows for the opening of a new classroom for new kids because the kitchen had been temporarily placed in a classroom. This might seem like a happy, yet small accomplishment, to finish this building project, but the ramifications are HUGE. Like I mentioned, if we don't put these kids in school, they don't go to school, they continue living a life mostly dependent on others to provide for them and have little if any chance to escape from the cycle of poverty they've grown up in. So, we were able open a new classroom, bringing in about 25 new pre-schoolers, providing hope to 25 little lives that had none before.
While the day was happy and festive, it was also sad. As the new kids came, there were numerous mothers with their children that wanted to enter the school as well, there was space for 25, but there are many more in that age group that live in the area. Turning these kids away is no small task. We know, and their parents know, that if they don't get into the school within a few years, it will be too late, they simply won't go to school. They won't learn to read or do math, they will be almost unemployable for the rest of their lives, except for basic manual labor jobs that don't pay enough to feed one person, much less an entire family.
The situation in this area is dire, it's depressing, but there's joy to be found. 25 kids are now able to say that they are in school, 25 more mouths will receive a free lunch, 25 more lives have been given a chance.

I will add some pictures of the first day in the new cafeteria--see above.

Edward update

2006-11-07T11:25:00.000-08:00

From Jan, the director of the school that Edward attends,

"Thank you so much for your prayers! Edward the little 9 year old boy that I sent a prayer alert out for accepted the Lord on Wednesday. He was in church Wednesday night and Sunday! He came to the Center for prayer even when there were no classes. He has a light step and look on his face!

To make a long story short on Wednesday we talked to him and he shared that the "parajo malo" (bad bird - a name for the devil) told him to kill people around him and not to come to the Center because "it is a bad place." Now he tells people that "God took the devil/Bad bird out of me and Jesus died for us and He is in my heart." It is wonderful to see the change in him - please keep him in your prayers as I know the enemy is not pleased by it. The Lord is bringing good out of it - we had the opportunity to pray with his parents and they are open to a pastor and group of people coming in and praying for them and their home."

Pictures of Edward-the one on the left

2006-11-05T15:40:00.000-08:00

Edward

2006-11-05T15:33:00.001-08:00

This message is from the director of the school where I teach sports class.

"Especially pray for 9 year old Edward who is dealing with deep anger and hurt. He can be the sweetest little boy and turn to violence and hate without a moments warning. He comes from an abusive family and the only way he knows how to respond when upset is with violence. Many times his fights begin from defending his mother and sister from people's comments. This week he turned against his little sister - over a necklace supposedly of his mother's that she brought from home and another child took saying it was his aunts. Edward told his sister he was going to kill her two times and proceeded to choke her until her face turned red - and as Marian (sub - Director) said, "He had her so tight it looked like her eyes were going to pop out of her head." When she intervened she said Edward's whole countenance changed to the point it was scary. He said, "The devil is going to take me away and you and Jan too and bring a bulldozer in and knock this building over and kill everyone in here". To make a long story short - when Marian brought him to the office we confronted him about his comments and asked him who he wanted to live for God or the devil. He said he wanted to live for God and so we prayed with him. Please pray for Edward that the chains of darkness in his life will be broken as he experiences Christ's love! Also pray for wisdom on the steps we should take in reaching out to him and discipline measures."

I have Edward in class and he has been the most angry child I've ever spent time with, the anger is written all over his face. He's a man living in a child's body. He curses and fights one second, then sucks his thumb the next. Please keep this boy in your prayers. I will attach a picture.

my last email update

2006-11-05T15:28:00.000-08:00

If you don't get these email updates, but you'd like to, let me know. My email is JColeman@alumni.cedarville.edu.

Hello everyone,
It’s time for a quick update on what’s going on in my life here in the DR. I feel like the last few months have really flown by. I was in the US in August, doing some speaking at my home church, visiting the Kids Alive home office, and spending time with family and friends. Since my return, I’ve been working hard to catch up on all the work that got pushed aside during my time in the US, as well as throughout the busy summer schedule in the months before. I’m still not entirely where I need to be on some different projects, it’s November now, so you can see how far behind I actually was, but I’m making progress every day. Maybe by Christmas I’ll finally have my head above water (that was meant to be an exaggeration, but the more I think about it, it actually seems quite accurate).

I have resumed my sports classes for grades kindergarten-4th grade at our school in Palo Blanco, with renewed vigor to train the kids to respect my authority, listen to what I say, and keep from cursing and/or fighting every few minutes. While these ideas seem pretty basic, this particular area is known for its violence, poverty, and immorality, so most of the children don’t have a great concept of this, or at least they didn’t before entering our school. They’re learning though, and for that I am thankful.

We had an exciting time a few weeks ago as three new children moved into the Ark. This is the first time since I have arrived that new kids have been brought in. The children all have the same mom, but from two different dads, and all three are involved in selling and using drugs. All three parents also have AIDS. The situation was such that judge decided to remove the children from the home (for this to happen in the DR, it had to be really bad.) The kids are still in the process of adjusting to life with us. Some changes are easy, having their own bed, never going hungry, etc., but some are much more difficult, such as living a life where rules actually exist and are enforced. In their former life, these kids roamed the streets as they pleased, watched their parents use and sell drugs, saw and experienced more in their few years than I have in my 23, so the adjustment process will take time, but it will be a happy one. They are safe now, they are loved now. If you’d like, you can pray for them, their names are Marlenis, Yeraudy, and Destiny.

I have attached a picture of the 3 kids onto my blog, which is at this website:

http://dominicanjon.blogspot.com/

The blog has been dead for a while, for that I apologize, but I plan on trying to stay on top of keeping it updated for a while. Check it out for more regular updates.

Some of you might have heard that I was sick last week, I was, but I’m much better now, thanks for your prayers.

I will be in the US for Christmas, so hopefully I will be able to see many of you then. Thank you so much for your thoughts, prayers, and support. I will be praying that God bless your life and that you will learn to serve him with all that you are, as I am striving to learn myself.

With love,
Jonathan

Yeraudy, Marlenis, Destiny

2006-11-05T15:13:00.000-08:00

rocking me

2006-08-15T15:44:00.000-07:00

This is another quote that has been rocking me these last few weeks. Say what you want about the political elements implied, but this man, some dude name Kaj Munk (I think he's dead,) makes an amazing point that cannot be ignored.

What is, therefore, our task today? Shall I answer: "Faith, hope and love"? That sounds beautiful. But I would say - courage. No, even that is not challenging enough to be the whole truth. Our task today is recklessness. For what we Christians lack is not psychology or literature... we lack a holy rage - the recklessness which comes from the knowledge of God and humanity. The ability to rage when justice lies prostrate on the streets and when the lie rages across the face of the earth... a holy anger about the things that are wrong in the world. To rage against the ravaging of God's earth, and the destruction of God's world. To rage when little children must die of hunger, when the tables of the rich are sagging with food. To rage at the senseless killing of so many, and against the madness of the militaries. To rage at the lie that calls the threat of death and the strategy of destruction peace. To rage against complacency. To restlessly seek that recklessness that will challenge and seek to change human history until it conforms to the norms of the Kingdon of God. And remember, the signs of the Christian Church have been the Lion, the Lamb, the Dove and the Fish... but never the chameleon.

stepping on toes

2006-08-15T15:24:00.000-07:00

Man, I feel like my world has been rocked lately. I'm having trouble putting my head around the ideas that are running through my thoughts. Poverty, both spiritual and physical, is such a dominant force in society today. People are suffering, children are stuck in cycles of poverty that they have little to no chance of escaping from, yet ignorance among western christians is prevalent, ignorance is prevalent in my life. I see poverty every day, I see dirty, hungry, parasite-infected children running around barefoot in the streets, but yet I am only now, after over 8 months of living with these constant reminders, beginning to fully grab ahold of the problem of poverty and what I can and should do about it. I am struggling to function in life like I used to, and I'm so happy for that, because how I was functioning wasn't living up to the call that our Christ has given us. I am striving, searching within me to find, a holy, righteous anger, to fight the chains of poverty and offer myself in every way to show the love of my Christ, my savior to people with no hope, as he commanded.

Here's one of those commandments, from Matthew 25

34"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

37"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

40"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

41"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'

44"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'

45"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'

46"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."

This passage has been rocking my world, would any Christian let Jesus go hungry? How then, do we justify not giving of ourselves to those who are hungry in the world around us, and not just in Africa or the Dominican Republic, but also in our own inner cities, our own neighborshoods.

To the US

2006-07-25T11:26:00.000-07:00

To anyone who still checks this blog, I'm going to be back in the US for a few weeks in August. I'll be in a friend's wedding on the 12th, then on to Missouri for some speaking engagements at my church. I'll make sure to squeeze in as much time with family and friends as possible, so if you're going to be around either Ohio for Emanuel's wedding, or Missouri, let me know.

Jon

Learning a lesson

2006-06-17T18:05:00.001-07:00

Last week, I was a little lazy. I had some things to do, but nothing was especially pressing, so I didn't over-exert myself. This week, however, I'm paying the price for that mistake. Those things that weren't so pressing then, are now, but I don't have any time to actually work on them because there's a million other things to do. I kept hearing from people I work with that the summers are crazy here and I'm beginning to understand. I feel like I was so busy this week, but I didn't manage to make a dent in my stuff to do list.

There were some highlights to this crazy week, however. The pastor of my church from home, Dan, and his daughter Lindsey were in the country for vacation, so I was able to show them around for a few days. Also, I started yesterday visiting the houses of kids who applied to enter the school here for next year. There are 80 applicants that need to be interviewed, so it's quite a process. The main reason I get to play a part in this is because I can drive a car, but it's definitely a positive experience getting to visit so many different houses and to see where the kids in our programs are coming from.

On an entirely different note, although I've been insanely busy this week, I have managed to make time to watch the US in the World Cup. After the first game, when they lost 3-0 to the Czech Republic, I was embarrased to be American, but today they managed to tie Italy, one of the best teams in the world, despite having 2 players sent off. It was an encouraging performance and if they win their next game and get a little help from the other game from their group, they will move on into the next round. Of course, if this does happen, they have the priviledge of playing Brazil. So, either way you look at it the US run will probably be short-lived, but it won't stop me from watching and cheering.

Lots of pictures from the school in Palo Blanco

2006-06-07T10:10:00.000-07:00

We traded hats

2006-06-07T10:08:00.000-07:00

Kids stretching in my PE class at Palo Blanco

2006-06-07T09:58:00.000-07:00

unpleasantness

2006-06-07T08:00:00.001-07:00

My last few days were filled with some rather unpleasant occurances. Occurance number one was actually a combination of 8 occurances, contituting the 8 times that I puked throughout Saturday night. I'm not sure what got me sick, but it wasn't most assuredly an unpleasant evening. Within a day or 2 I was fully recovered, but unpleasant occurance number 2 was just around the corner. I went to the airport for our bi-weekly mail pick up on Wednesday. This is the same activity that brought about the double-thumb-cutting incident took place several months ago. I managed to keep from filleting my fingers, but I did spend about 6 hours at the airport in a failed attempt to get a colleague's laptop out of customs. I gave it all I had, but in the end, I failed and had to leave without the computer.

Despite the recent unpleasantness, things are going well here. The new El Arca mens fastpitch softball team (consisting of house dads, bus drivers, construction crew, and a few American missionaries) is off to a blazing 3-1 start. School is finishing this week and the summer program is just around the corner. Also, plans are in the works to open two new orphanage houses within the next few months, one in Constanza, which will be the first house in the new orphanage there, and also one in the Ark, where I live. These are always really exciting times because children are coming out of situations so desparate, and into a life that is filled with hope. I am looking forward to the new arrivals.

Until next time...

My week

2006-05-31T08:07:00.000-07:00

My good friend Aaron was here this past week. We managed to see alot of the island and do a bit of work all at the same time. We also spent a few days at the beach. The beach we went to is way less turisty than many along the coasts here. It was the closest to tropical paradise that I've ever been to in my life. There are a few pictures below. I also had sushi for the first time in my life. My ratings of the meal: Raw fish-sounds gross, tastes good---Eating with chopsticks-looks easy, but in fact is incredibly difficult. They made me want to curse. I was opting for the stab-method by the end of the meal.

Paradise

2006-05-31T07:54:00.000-07:00

I love tree.

Medical care in the DR

2006-05-21T18:48:00.000-07:00

I cut my pinky last week, I was washing dishes and the glass that I was scrubbing broke. I know, that's a real manly way to get an injury. Stop laughing at me. Maybe the glass broke because of the overpowering brute strength contained within my fingers. Anyway, I needed stitches, so I had a friend take me to a clinic where I received 3 stitches for 12 dollars. That's about $488 less than it would have been to go to the ER in the US. I love this country.

My last email update

2006-05-21T18:45:00.000-07:00

We’re gearing up for summer here in the DR. With summer comes weekly work teams, lots of other random visitors, 20 or so summer interns that are here for 6 weeks to help with the summer program, this includes my sister Sarah, the summer program itself, warmer weather, more mosquitoes, overall, just a lot more stuff on our plates. Not that I’m complaining, I like staying busy and the summer is always a happy time.

But, enough about that stuff, it’s time for a story. In the last month or so I’ve had several reminders for why it is that I am working here. I know it seems like seeing all the kids running around should be a daily reminder for me, but sometimes my tank is running a bit dry and I need some added encouragement. A great reminder came during the 6^th annual Ark Marathon. The “Marathon” is not the true 26 miles, it simply signifies a long distance race. We put this race on mainly for the kids at the orphanage, but we invite anyone who likes to run to come out and compete as well. The race distances varied from a short sprint for the little kids, up to 7 kilometers for adults. But this isn’t a story about the race so much as it is one of the competitors. Yosairy is an 11-year-old that came into the Ark with her 4 brothers and sisters last summer. When the family came into the Ark, they had been purposely starved by their emotionally unstable mother. All children were ghastly thin and several were close to death. So in that state, Yosairy came into the Ark 8 months ago. Fast forward to race day and I am waiting at the finish line, to record the names of those crossing the line. Several of the boys cross the line, the usual suspects. I had been running with them for the past month, to help get them in shape, so I knew who had the best chance of placing high. Eventually, however, I see the first girl come up on the horizon, it was Yosairy. This little girl, that had not so many months ago come into the Ark as the defunct mother to her 4 younger brothers and sisters, half-starved, and unschooled was now strong enough to run a 2.5 mile race, and not just run it, but blow away the competition within her division. It’s incredible to know that this girl would probably be dead right now, but instead she’s strong and healthy, happy, learning to read in school (she began the year as an 11-year-old first grader, having never been to school, but she has since moved up to second), and more importantly being shown love by everyone that surrounds her as well as being taught about the love of our savior.

I have another story, although, not quite so happy and positive, that was a reminder of why I’m here. I was a witness to some domestic violence in the street one night, it was pretty unbelievable. I wrote about it on April 30^th in my blog, you can take a look at it if you’d like. The blog also contains a few pictures of Yosairy.

Here’s the aforementioned link: http://dominicanjon.blogspot.com/ If you are interested in more frequent updates and pictures, it’s a good place to look.

Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers. I love you all.

Jonathan Coleman

Yosairy...From above story (First by herself, then with each of her sisters)

2006-05-21T18:24:00.000-07:00

Government

2006-05-21T17:28:00.000-07:00

Elections recently finished here in the Dominican Republic. Praise the Lord!!! No more pick-up trucks stacked 10 feet high with speakers blaring political advertisements, no more political rallys in the middle of major thoroughfares, no more parades of cars, motorcycles, busses, and countless examples of the aforementioned speaker-filled trucks, no more new enormous billboards that contain only a 40 foot faceshot of the candidate with no other information, except the party he's running under (I say no more new billboards, because I'm pretty certain that the ones that are here now won't be taken down until the next elections come around). On that note, the government here funds the campaigns of those running for office. People are starving, sleeping on dirt floors in houses made of scrap tin and wood and whatever else can be found at the dump, yet millions of dollars are given to different candidates so that they can plaster their face on every possible billboard, lamppost, tree, wall, sidewalk, etc.

Wow, this has been an altogether negative post. I apologize for the negative nature of what I've written, to make it up, I've added a fun little list, describing different governmental models. If they'd made it this simple and clear in school, I would have done much better in government class

Governments explained

FEUDALISM: You have two cows. Your lord takes some of the milk.
PURE SOCIALISM: You have two cows. The government takes them and puts them in a barn with everyone else's cows. You have to take care of all of the cows. The government gives you as much milk as you need.
BUREAUCRATIC SOCIALISM: You have two cows. The government takes them and put them in a barn with everyone else's cows. They are cared for by ex-chicken farmers. You have to take care of the chickens the government took from the chicken farmers. The government gives you as much milk and eggs as the regulations say you need.
FASCISM: You have two cows. The government takes both, hires you to take care of them and sells you the milk.
PURE COMMUNISM: You have two cows. Your neighbors help you take care of them, and you all share the milk.
RUSSIAN COMMUNISM: You have two cows. You have to take care of them, but the government takes all the milk.
CAMBODIAN COMMUNISM: You have two cows. The government takes both of them and shoots you.
DICTATORSHIP: You have two cows. The government takes both and drafts you.
PURE DEMOCRACY: You have two cows. Your neighbors decide who gets the milk.
REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY: You have two cows. Your neighbors pick someone to tell you who gets the milk.
BUREAUCRACY: You have two cows. At first the government regulates what you can feed them and when you can milk them. Then it pays you not to milk them. Then it takes both, shoots one, milks the other and pours the milk down the drain. Then it requires you to fill out forms accounting for the missing cows.
PURE ANARCHY: You have two cows. Either you sell the milk at a fair price or your neighbors try to take the cows and kill you.
LIBERTARIAN/ANARCHO-CAPITALISM: You have two cows. You sell one and buy a bull.
SURREALISM: You have two giraffes. The government requires you to take harmonica lessons.

Some pictures from the 6th annual Ark Marathon

2006-05-04T14:18:00.000-07:00

It's not really a marathon, but it is a distance race that all of the kids from the Ark participate in as well as other people from the community.

Saving a baby

2006-04-30T10:25:00.000-07:00

This is a picture of me with a baby that my friend Faith found abandoned in the hospital. His mom had twins (two months premature) and left the hospital with only one of them, abandoning this little guy. In hospitals here will only treat patients if someone pays for them first, no one was around to pay for the right medicines, so he was slowly dying, inside a hospital. Faith saw him, weighing a little over 2 pounds at 2 months of age, and knew that he would die if she didn't do anything. So, she took him and now she has a baby. They are looking for someone to adopt him, but until that happens, he belongs to her. He's 4 months old in the picture and weighs about 7 pounds, still super small, but definitely an improvement.

domestic violence

2006-04-30T09:40:00.000-07:00

Domestic violence is not an abnormal occurance, in the US or in the DR. It happens, it's bad, it's sad, but I honestly havn't ever thought a whole lot about it, that is, until this weekend. I was on my way to have dinner at a friends house in a really poor barrio, Kids Alive has a care center there in which I teach PE a few days a week. As I neared the house on my motorcycle, I saw some comotion in the street outside a Colmado (little grocery stores that also serve as hang out spots), this was right across from the house I was visiting. As I got closer, I realized some people were fighting, the closer I got, the more appalled I became. I realized that it was a man and a woman, both probably about my age. The fighting started to get intense and the guy began to punch this girl in the face. He got several good shots in on her, this was all happening as I was still on the motorcycle, getting nearer to the action. My adrenaline began to kick in, I was going to have to do something about this. I knew that me, the American, stepping in wasn't a great idea. I also knew that I was so angry at the moment that I was pretty sure that I couldn't just pull the guy away and then move on, I would have gone after him like he was going after this woman. Thankfully, someone else finally decided to intervene just as I was getting my bike stopped and began to get off, they were separated. I stood and stared, shocked, incensed at what I had just witnessed. The girls eye was fat and bruised, the guy was standing a little distance away, calming down. They eventually started talking and arguing a bit again, this time more calmly. I stayed around for a few minutes, to make sure nothing got out of hand. Things seemed ok, so I went inside the house I was visiting and tried to get myself calmed down. Everyone in the street and in the house that witnessed the fight seemed to not be worried about it, they just went on with their business. I sat down and played Dominos (the official Dominican pastime) with my friends.
That night when I got home I thought more about what had happened. I realized that this is why we are here, working in these communities. The kids have to learn that there is a different way to live. I have on several occasions scolded boys in my PE class for getting mad and hitting or throwing balls at the girls. These boys have such a look of anger that they carry themselves with, especially when they are upset about something, fists fly with no remorse fairly often. I often wandered why, and that night I figured it out. It's what they see on the street, in their houses, it's just life.
Whether in the sofisticated, advanced, wealthy US, or in the depressed, poverty stricken barrios of the Dominican Republic, if children grow up only knowing one way of living, they will live in the same way as adults. It is my responsibility, our responsibility to show that there is a different way, whichever neighborhood or city or country that we live in. I am here hoping to have an impact on the children in this culture, hoping to teach them a new way to live. God has priviledged me with this opportunity, may it be that I never lose sight of that goal. People need love, they need Christ.
This experience reminded me of why I am here, of the hope that a life lived in Christ can bring and why it is so important to teach the children this. To break the cycle that has continued for generations.

Jon's blog returns

2006-04-26T11:09:00.000-07:00

Yes, it's true, I'm still alive. I apologize for the extended time period without any postings. It's been over a month since I've posted any information, so as you can imagine, there's lots to discuss. At the moment, I'm preparing for the 6th annual Ark Marathon. It's not really a marathon, but it is a road race involving all of the kids from the ark as well as lots of people from the community. I am sort of in charge of it, so I've been trying to put together the final plans. Also, part of my job has been to help the kids at the Ark train for the event. This means that every day that I could, I have been running with the kids, trying to teach some basics of running. The biggest struggle is trying to convince them that running as fast as they can for 5 minutes, then walking, then sprinting again, then walking, etc., is not the best way to run a distance race. They are learning and are actually getting quite good. We're expecting something like 200 runners to show up, so it should be a pretty large event.
Beyond the race preparations, daily sponsorship work, teaching PE, etc., I am continually learning new things about the Dominican culture as well as steadily improving in Spanish. Summer is fast approaching and things will begin to get crazy here. We'll have work teams in every week, a group of 20 interns helping for 6 weeks with the summer program (one of which is my sister, Sarah), the summer program itself, which I have a role in planning, travels to other Kids Alive sites within the country, and numerous other activities that will keep me on my toes.

On top of Magote, the highest peak in the area,after a long hike with some boys.

2006-03-16T05:54:00.000-08:00

The life of Jon

2006-03-15T07:45:00.000-08:00

I can't think of anything significant to say, but I feel like I should post something...so...I'll give a shameless plug.
Uncle Jon wants YOU to sponsor a child. The infastructure Kids Alive has set up here in the DR for helping children is top notch. We are ready and willing to expand our programs more and more. There are so many children that need help, and we're ready to help them. But...we need to have the funding. The infastructure is there but the funding is not. That's where sponsorship comes in. Most of our funding comes from faithful Americans paying $30 a month to help support a child. If we can find more sponsors, we can expand our programs and help more kids. These are children that are starving, have little chance for a decent education (which means they have very little chance of altering their current poverty stricken existance), and most importantly, need to learn of the love of Christ. We can offer them these things.

I apologize for the shameless plea, it's not something I'm especially fond of doing, but I'm getting better at it. If you have questions, email me at JColeman@alumni.cedarville.edu.

Until next time...

my last email update-for those who didn't get it

2006-03-08T07:46:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone,

What's been going on in my life? Here's the list. I'm still learning Spanish. I'm working on developing a more efficient system for handling the sponsorship of the kids here. I'm learning how to teach PE in Spanish. I'm hoping to find a roommate. I'm going to start teaching English to a friend who doesn't know Christ. Hopefully I can be a good influence on him. I'm the new co-coach for the high school basketball team. I'm attempting to live my life focused on loving God and loving others. (Living life and truly not worrying about pleasing myself is proving to be a difficult task; I'm pretty awful at it.) Finally, I'm working my way through the lowest point of the cultural shock model. It's the part where your supposed to hate the new culture. For me, I didn't hate it, I just suddenly realized that I was so tired, tired of life in general. Anyway, I'm through the low point and on my way to feeling better.

I need your prayers. I am more convinced about that now than ever before. Thank you so much for talking to our Father on my behalf, and please continue to do so.

Prayer requests:
-That I will continue to find roles within the team here that best mesh my skills and abilities with the needs within the ministry.
-For continued perseverance in learning Spanish.
-That God will lead another single guy (that is at least halfway normal) to work here so I can have a roommate.
-We need more sponsors so our programs can expand, please pray that they will come.
-That I will learn how to live my life focusing on things other than myself.
-For my friend Alberto, that our English classes will lead to him gaining true faith in Christ.

For more regular updates, check out my blog-- http://dominicanjon.blogspot.com/

I love you all,
Jonathan Coleman

Some pictures

2006-03-07T13:34:00.000-08:00

funny story

2006-02-21T12:50:00.000-08:00

I promised my friend Anna that I would tell everyone I know this story, so I am fulfilling that promise now. So one night, while the electricity was out (it's a pretty common occurance), Anna goes to use the restroom. She can't see anything, so she finds her way to the toilet, drops trow (that's some odd Northerner slang for pulling down your pants), and sits down. As soon as she sits, something attaches to her backside. As you might expect, she screams bloody murder and everyone runs to see what is happening. She managed to get the creature off after a small struggle, and upon having a flashlight handed to her, discovers that a the mystery butt-attacker was a frog. These are not normal US of A frogs, they are crazy, climb all over the walls and ceilings like spiderman, frogs. They have supersuccion feet that allow them to cling onto almost any surface, including, unfortunately for Anna, human skin. The frog was apparantly taking a dip in the toilet and got scared when the hole was closed up, so it latched on.

Anyway, it's a good story so I wanted to share it. I'm sure it will happen to me someday soon.

My address

2006-02-21T12:48:00.000-08:00

A few people have asked for my mailing address, so here it is:

Mail and boxes sent via the US Postal Service:

Jonathan Coleman
P.O. Box 24770 - #PMB KAIDR
West Palm Beach, FL 33416

Cargo via UPS or other Truck lines:

Jonathan Coleman
2211 2nd Ave N.
Suite 11 - KAIDR
Lake Worth, Fl 33461

a small morsel of literary perfection

2006-02-20T08:28:00.000-08:00

It's been a few weeks since an update, I apologize. I spent the last weekend at the beach with a short term work team. These teams come in every week or two to help with our building projects and usually spend their last weekend at the beach. Since it was my birthday, I graciously volunteered myself to go along and help escort them. I know, I truly am a selfless person.

I have learned a few things over the last couple of weeks.
1. It's hard to control a class full 5-year-old dominican kids. I started teaching a few PE classes at one of our schools and the little one's are pretty difficult to keep in line with my limited spanish abilities. They run around the playground, jump on me and each other, chase butterflies, and generally ignore everything that I say, but we have fun anyway.

2. The christian life is more than singing hymms and praise songs in church, reading the Bible every day, and appearing friendly and very christianlike. I havn't discovered exactly what this life is about, but I know it's more than that, it's more than appearing as christians are suppose to appear. Christ gives us two commandments, love God and love others, what exactly does that look like? To truly love God and to truly love others, is that really even possible? How do we reach that point where God and others are really (and I mean really) more important than ourselves? That's my reflective thought for the day, like I said, I don't have answers, it's just what's been on my mind.

3. Spanish--not the whole language, but I have learned some spanish.

4. Don't spend too much time hatless in the sun with a short haircut, sunburned scalp isn't especially pleasant.

I feel like I've offered a well-rounded update, some stories, some rambling that probably makes no sense, some things I've learned, and a short boast about being at the beach while most people reading this are freezing their way through the brunt of winter. I have truly offered a work of literary genius.

until next time...

bad things

2006-02-04T11:30:00.000-08:00

Two bad things happened to me this week.

First, I was at the airport getting the mail shipment for our group here. In order to take the mail, we have to open every box so that a customs official can check inside to make sure there's nothing illegal. So I was opening the boxes with a little pocket knife and I cut my thumb. It hurt and I was mad at myself, but I found a tissue to hold on the wound so blood wouldn't drip everywhere, and fought through the pain, opening the boxes with my other hand. I was making good progress (there are alot of boxes to open), but I got a little careless with my other hand and managed to cut my other thumb, worse than I cut the first. So there I was, by myself, needing to open a bunch of boxes, then carry them to the car, and I had to thumbs that were throbbing and bleeding profusely. I was not a happy man, my missionary spirit was hidden deep down inside me and grumpy Jon had come to the surface. I did, however, manage to get all the boxes opened and into the car while keeping tissue pressed against both thumbs to stop the blood. Finally I was able to drive to a gas station a few miles away and buy some bandaides so that I could drive home with full use of my hands.

Bad thing #2---I was getting ready to leave one morning and saw the biggest spider in history, I'm pretty sure it was a tarantula, and I'm not exaggerating. It was HUGE. It ran across my floor and hid where I couldn't get it. I was too scared to try to find it so I just left. A thorough search that night before bed didn't turn anything up, so I have to live knowing that in my room, somewhere, is this gargantuan spider. It could be on me at any moment and there's nothing I can do about it. My sleep has been restless to say the least.

That's my feel bad for Jonathan update for the week, I hope you gained some pleasure at my expense.

My last email update-many of you got the email, but I wanted it on here for those that didn't

2006-02-01T05:24:00.000-08:00

Hello to all,
It's been a month or so since my last email update, and things have been pretty busy. I could give you all the details of my life in the past month, but instead I'd like to talk about my experiences from this past weekend.

I spent several days working at one of our ministry sites located in a different area of the country. This area, along the north coast of the country is a hotbed for tourism. Beautiful beaches, expensive resorts, and pristine golf courses are commonplace. However, within a few miles of these areas exists communities of people struggling to survive. These are the sugarcane workers--immigrants smuggled over the border from Haiti, brought in to do the dirty work that even poverty stricken Dominicans won't take part in.

They live in shantytowns and suffer through what is essentially indentured servitude under the billion dollar sugar industry. For Haitian immigrants in the Dominican Republic, there is little hope for a better life. Their kids, even those born in the DR, are refused birth certificates, consequently disabling them from attending public schools because papers are required for all students. They are charged rent to live in the most deplorable conditions imaginable by the companies that bring them over to work, promising good wages, then not paid enough even to eat. Add to this the fact that voodoo is still a prominent religion and expensive witch doctors are sought after to cure any medical problems. This is truly a scenario of the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer. It's a cycle of poverty and darkness that has little light at the end of the tunnel.

Kids Alive has partnered with another ministry in this area to offer hope where there is none. The other ministry, Dominican Crossroads, has built a village where families can have at least a roof, concrete floor, electricity, and access to water. They also provide free medical care and often provide food for the people in the village. Kids Alive has come along and agreed to run a school/care center built for those in the village as well as those living in the surrounding area. The idea of the care center is as a supplement to the public school system. It provides extra schooling, a meal every day, and Christian education. Also, the public school has agreed that Haitian students that previously were not allowed to go to school will be permitted to attend as long as they are receiving extra tutoring in our school.

This is where I come in. I am in charge of getting sponsors for the 110 students in the school. As of now maybe 10-15% of the students are sponsored, so there is a huge need that I am hoping to fill soon. The motivation in finding sponsors quickly comes from the fact that while we have 110 students now, there are 450 children in the village built by Crossroads and many more in the surrounding community, most of which will have no chance for schooling, or at least one full meal every day, unless we can accept them. We cannot expand our program until we can adequately support the existing operation. Thus...we need sponsors for these children.

I was given a window into a different world this weekend, and I am passionate about meeting the physical and spiritual needs of these children, as well as the responsibility that is on us, as citizens of the first world, to take action and do something about it. You will hear more from me in the future as this project starts to take flight, but I hope that I was able to shed some light on this world of suffering and get some heads spinning as to the magnitude of this situation.

Please email me if you have any questions or would like more information. If you click on the link to my blog, you will see some pictures taken from the village.

Blog: http://dominicanjon.blogspot.com/

Prayer requests:
-For continued persistence and advancement in my language studies
-For the children I work with every day, that they will see Christ in me
-For the project of getting sponsors for this program so that more children can be added
-For the continuing adjustment process of living in a new country very different from my own

Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers

a weekend well spent

2006-01-31T06:33:00.000-08:00

I spent the last weekend at one of our ministry sites in a different city in the country. This school, placed right in the middle of acres of sugarcane fields, caters mostly to Hatian immigrants that are smuggled across the border to work in the fields chopping down the sugarcane. This area is an example poverty to the extreme. I'm still chewing on what I witnessed there, more will come from me later, but I have attached some pictures below to show some of the kids.

two boys walking

2006-01-31T06:29:00.000-08:00

tired baby

2006-01-31T06:25:00.000-08:00

beautiful girls

2006-01-31T06:23:00.000-08:00

Feeding the hungry

2006-01-31T06:16:00.000-08:00

my last few weeks

2006-01-18T09:45:00.000-08:00

In the past few weeks, the Kids Alive DR team has mostly reconveined. I now have some other english speakers living with me at the Ark, which is really nice. I spent the past weekend in Santo Domingo attending a Dominican culture workshop. I learned a lot about how a Dominican thinks and the reason those thoughts are there. We had a session discussing the driving rules, both written and unwritten. Also, I gained a better understanding of how the Dominican family structure works, this is really beneficial as I work with kids who are in these families. We capped off the weekend with a merengue dancing session. My entrancing dance moves were making the girls come after me in record numbers (that's a joke).

Let's see, what else has happened recently?
-I had my first mini-accident on the motorcycle, but thankfully no harm was done. Shortly thereafter, however, my brake pad broke, not just broke, it actually split in half. Thankfully I was on a flat road when this happened, so again, no harm done, just 11 bucks for some new brakes.
-I visited the coolest waterfall on the planet, if anyone comes to visit, I'll be sure to take them there.
-I found the biggest spider in history in my room. It actually looked more like a crab.

As school has started again, I am enjoying building closer relationships with the children. About 200 christmas cards came in that have needed to be recorded and translated, so that's been keeping me busy. It's super fun when I get to give the cards to the kids and then have them write thankyou cards to their sponsors. It's my favorite part of the job.

I'm headed tomorrow to Caraballo, our newest ministry site, to work on getting the sponsorship program up and running. Things with sponsorship there are sort of a mess right now, so I've got my work cut out for me.

Life here is good, the work going on here is good, God's grace is good.

Jon

mi casa y motor

2006-01-09T12:03:00.000-08:00

This is my living quarters with my motorcycle in front. My room is on the right side. The motorcycle is really nothing more than an oversized vespa, but it gets me where I need to go and is alot better than what most people drive around here. It's super fun when the weather is nice, but a trip in a rain shower is one of those things in life that I would rather do without. I don't really have that option, so I when it's raining I just buck up and get wet.

This is my good friend Darwin in front of his house at the Ark

2006-01-09T11:58:00.000-08:00

Bored in paradise

2006-01-03T16:11:00.000-08:00

Yes, it is possible to be bored in paradise. With nearly everyone from the ministry out of town and not many Dominican friends because I can't communicate very well with them, I am sufficiently bored, despite the fact that I'm spending the winter months the land of eternal springtime. Fortunately for me, my good friends Layne and Caitlin are on their way to see me as I am typing this. This is their honeymoon and they're taking time out to make a long trip on public transportation to come visit, it will be a short visit (understandable under the circumstances), but I'm looking forward to it. It's been a long process getting them here today. They have managed to miss not 1, not 2, but 3 busses in trying to get here. Ah, the glories of traveling in a country where you don't know the language. They are finally on their way here, although they won't arrive in my town as planned, they missed that bus, so I have to drive about 30 minutes to pick them up. It's no problem for me, I don't have anything better to do anyway and I'm just happy they're coming. Throughout the day Layne has been calling telling me another report of something that went wrong. It's funny for me, but I'm not so sure how they feel about it. I only hope they look at the trip as an enjoyable adventure in truly experiencing the Dominican culture, instead of a stress-filled, worthless day of travel that would have been better spent at the beach. I guess I'll just see what kind of mood they're in when I see them in an hour or so.

Back to the topic of boredom, once the happy honeymooners head out of town, my good friends Dustin and Anna will arive from the US to begin their 2-year term here. They're living at the Ark as well, so I'll finally have some english speakers to talk to. Also, the kids at the Ark are back from vacation today and school starts back on Monday. So yes, I think I have survived the slightly lonely Christmas holiday.

Wow, I have to go pick up my friends now, if I'm late they'll hate me for sure.

Until next time...

some thoughts

2005-12-28T16:49:00.000-08:00

I have been reflecting as of late on the grace of God that has allowed me to be in this place, doing the work that I am doing. I have often felt unworthy to bear the title of “missionary.” People talk about the sacrifice of serving God in another country and how hard it must be to give up certain conveniences in order to do Christian work abroad, but for me, this life I’ve chosen isn’t a sacrifice. This type of work is what I’m wired for, it’s what I love, I can think of nothing I’d rather be doing than helping to bring children out of desperate situations and allowing them to experience the love of our Father. I count myself blessed beyond comprehension to be able to do this work that is so rewarding, to have these new adventures and learn to understand a new culture, to have 49 mosquito bites on each ankle, etc. Am I worthy of this work? Certainly not. The struggles that I had before are still active here, despite my title as “missionary.” I am still a dirty sinner attempting to keep my head above water and make a difference for the Kingdom, I imagine many of you feel the same way.

I am involved missions work because it’s what I love to do, what I was made to do. Praise be to God for giving me opportunity.

I hope my ramblings make some sense.

ANIJA Picture

2005-12-12T09:16:00.000-08:00

This is a picture of the school (ANIJA) where I spend most my days. I have a room that serves as my office and that's where I do my spanish studying and my sponsorship work.

lice

2005-12-12T05:56:00.000-08:00

On Friday I had the great priviledge of helping to wash the hair of some of the kids in Kindergarten who had lice. Now, it was a little gross, and my head was itching for the rest of the day just thinking about the lice, but all in all, I had a good time. Lice epidemics are pretty
common, so whenever they find any kids with those lovely little bugs, they take care of it asap. Luckily only 5 or 6 of the kids in the class had it before they caught it, so it wasn't too bad.
For most of the next month I will be house/dog sitting for a family that is in the states for the holidays. It's nice to have a little company when I get home, the dog, Jesse, is always happy to see me. It's also nice to have a whole house to myself, complete with furniture, an oven, a full sized fridge and freezer, and a few other conveniences that I don't have in my cozy little room at The Ark (the orphanage). Although, I will be making frequent trips out to the Ark because the kids there are my main source of entertainment.

I threw in a few more pictures of some kids, these are the kids that attend the school, but live with their families at home. I am in charge of the sponsorship for these kids, as well as the Ark kids, and also a new school a few hours away. For those who are from Cape Bible Chapel, it's interesting to note that the new facility was funded by Kee and Susan Park. I didn't know about this until a week before I left, and I'm not sure if the Park's know that I'll be working with the facility even now, I havn't had a chance to talk with them, but it's a coincidence for sure...it's a small world indeed.

I'm happy to entertain visitors, so if anyone wants to see the work that's going on down here and would like some perfectly pleasant weather, c'mon down, it will be fun.

Marriage...

2005-12-05T14:13:00.000-08:00

So everyone has been harassing me about going to the Dominican Republic so that I can find a wife. Well, I just wanted to let everyone know that I am well on my way. These two hotties are my girlfriends, Micari and Gloriluz. Why do I need 2 girlfriends? Because they were both after me and I just couldn't turn one of them away.

Moving on...Life here has been good so far. I'm working hard on Spanish, but I still can't communicate so well. Most of the missionaries here are going home for the holidays, so I might be lonely this Christmas, but that will give me lots of time to study, so it's ok. I'll be travelling around the country a bit as well, so I'm excited about that.

That's all for today.

roosters

2005-11-29T09:23:00.000-08:00

Let me tell you something about roosters in the DR, they don't just start their cocadoodling at dawn, they start at 2 am and don't stop. And wouldn't you know it, I am lucky enough to have a pin full of them right outside my window. So, I am a bit sleep deprived over these first few days, but other than that, things have been great. I am mostly just getting acquainted with my new surroundings and learning all that my job will entail. It's really quite annoying to not know spanish, if only we were in the Matrix and I could just have it uploaded into my brain. As it is, though, I have lots of motivation to learn as quickly as possible because 90% of my job will require me to use spanish and the girl I am replacing leaves in a month. We'll see how far along I am at that point, hopefully far enough to be productive.

So, that's how things have been so far...by the way, it's about 80 to 85 degrees today and the mountains surrounding the city are muy bonita, I'm sure that I'll climb them soon.

Until next time...

Thanksgiving Bliss

2005-11-25T10:53:00.000-08:00

I'm now sitting in Barnes n Noble, somewhere in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex, killing time while my sisters and mom shop the day away. A great way to spend my second to last day in the US, don't you think? The last week or so has been pretty crazy. I finished the MTI Training in Colorado Springs and said goodbye to all the friends I made there. My good friend Greg flew to Colorado to give me company on the long drive home to Missouri and then I spent 3 days packing my life away and saying goodbye to everyone at home. Now I'm Dallas, visiting family, saying more goodbyes, and trying to finish up all the last minute details of my departure from Barnes n Noble (paying $3.95 for 2 hours of internet use).
So I head out for the DR on Sunday and I am ready to go, well, I'm mentally ready to go, I still have plenty to do to get ready, but I'm not too worried about that. Fortunately, it's pretty warm here in Dallas, so I'm officially done with cold weather for the next few years, this makes me happy. It's pretty amazing that in only 4 or 5 hours on a plane, I'll go from familiar, modern, home, to a culture that is entirely unfamiliar, poverty stricken, altogether far far from home, not in distance, but in every other aspect of life. It's a transition that I am so happy to be able to make. I'm excited about the kids I'll be living with and the work I'll be doing. I'm excited about knowing spanish, not excited about learning it, but once I know the language, it will be really nice.

I hope you have all had a great holiday. Please leave comments, they make me feel loved.

a picture from CO- At Garden of the Gods with my teammates for the next 2 years, Dustin and Anna

2005-11-16T16:03:00.000-08:00

Preparation for missions

2005-11-16T13:23:00.000-08:00

The last 3 weeks I have been learning the ins and outs of missionary work, focusing mainly on it's difficulties. I'll admit, the training itself hasn't done much to encourage me as I take this giant leap into the unknown world of living in an unknown culture, learning a new language, working a new job under unordinary conditions. The stories and warnings in the training sessions have mainly been of the possible downsides of missions, getting us prepared for the bad times. It has been very beneficial, but just not always really happy and fun. Fortunately, however, living with 25 soon to be missionaries has been a great encouragement. To finally have people to talk to that are in the same boat as me, people that, despite the wide ranges of age and life experiences, have all accepted the urging from the Holy Spirit and are stepping into a new, scary world in order to do our part to further God's kingdom. We're an odd group to most people, but it's nice to have common interests.
In a week and a half I will be beginning this new adventure. Will I be successful? Will I avoid the pitfalls that have caught so many missionaries that have gone before me? Will my God be satisfied in my life, my work? These are the questions that are running through my head right now, intermixed with the growing lists of things I need to take care of before I leave.
It's been a good time here in Colorado Springs, but I'm ready to go, ready to jump and splash into a new world. I'll keep you updated on how it goes.
I feel like this post has been boring, I apologize. I'll do better next time, I promise.

Jon

my first blog

2005-11-13T15:01:00.000-08:00

This is my first blog.

That's it.

Have a great day