I'm here!!!

Hey everyone, so first off I just want to say thank you for the prayers. I got here safely without much trouble. Customs was easier than it should have been, I honestly feel like I could've brought anything I wanted into this country. The family that I'm working with is super fantastic, I'll try to post some pictures when I get the chance, I've been taking some pictures and I'll try to take more but those will probably be posted on facebook and maybe not until after I get back. We'll see. Today we went to Santo Domingo which was a super long trip but it was really special to see how the majority of the island and to be involved in the culture. I traveled with several Dominicans and talking with them was really cool because you could see how much they desired to serve the Lord. The things going on here are simply amazing because the government is so screwed up and people are trapped in these ways of life and the missionaries and local churches have done a fantastic job at being creative and reaching the people where they are and finding ways to try to make their lives better. Even so, the WHOLE island is SUPER poor! The average living conditions are towards the bottom end of anything that we would ever have in America and I honestly haven't even been to the bad parts of the country yet. We'll be doing some of that in the next few days and I'll try to share with you some cool stories from that when they happen.

One thing that we did today was we stopped by the place where they make the water filters. These filters are probably some of the coolest things that I've ever heard of and I kinda want one. Basically it's a pottery dome that has different sizes of stones, sand, and wood, that get finer and finer as you get closer to the center to filter out as much dirt and particles as possible. Then it has a carbon and silver center that purify the water that makes it there followed by another layer of the grain and such to protect the carbon core. The filter can clean up to 5 gallons a day and if you maintain it well (monthly cleaning and not breaking) it will last for a lifetime. Lifetime of clean water! What can be better? The fact that it's only 35 dollars! Pretty incredible. Now that's not something that a lot of these people can afford but it's a growing ministry and really promising for helping out the general health of the people here. I'll post some pictures when I get the chance and if I find out that there's a website I'll pass that on as well. But yeah, that's just one of the many cool things that God is doing here. The other thing that we did today was check out a business idea that may be able to get some of the locals some jobs and extra income. We'll see how the Lord provides in that area as time goes on.

Well anyways, I'll hopefully have more exciting stories to share next time but I just wanted to give you kids a quick update and say thank you for your prayers, I've been totally healthy and I don't expect to get sick at all. So thanks and keep praying. We're heading into the villages in the next few days so pray that the Lord uses us there, and then also pray that the Lord continues to help me communicate effectively in Spanish. So far so good, so praise the Lord for that. Ok I love you bye bye!!

Heading Out

Well the day is just about here. I'm gonna be getting on the plane out of Charlotte in less than 14 hours. It's been absolutely awesome what the Lord has done before I've even left. In total, I raised just a smidge over 1000 dollars!! With some of the money donated I was able to fill an entire 50 lb suitcase with soaps, tooth brushes, toothpaste, stuffed animals, candy, pencils, and other items that can be used in the community. In addition to this awesome blessing, the Lord send a HUGE blessing out of nowhere. While we were at Dollar General we met a guy in line who is going to be donating 400 pairs of shoes and flip flops!!! I cannot express how amazing it has been to just be a small part of the incredible things that God is doing in the Dominican Republic. I'm super excited about leaving tomorrow and I can only imagine the things that God is going to do while I'm in the DR. I know that this has NOTHING to do with me but just being involved is about as cool as it gets.

As leave tomorrow, I obviously need prayer for safe and smooth travels. I'm gonna be leaving the house at 3AM (bleh!) and I'll get to the DR at about 3PM. I've never been through customs so that should be fun and of course there's always flight schedules, delays, take-off, landing, not crashing and dying....You know the drill :) The other big prayer requests are going to be speaking Spanish, (the missionaries speak English but everyone else is all Spanish), Creole (for the Hatian refuges. P.S I know ZERO creole), safety, and health. I'm just gonna be 100% honest, I didn't get any immunizations (there weren't any required, only suggested), and I can't really afford to get sick...but yeah, thank you SOOOOO much for the prayers, I'll do my best to keep this updated while I'm down there. I'll have access to internet but I don't know how frequently I'll get a chance to get on. For you facebook people that send me stuff, don't be offended if I don't respond cuz I probably won't get a chance to respond to much of anyone. I still love you and I'll talk to you when I get back. Ok I love you bye bye!!

Almost ready to go

So I'm gonna be headed to the DR REALLY soon, 8 days to be exact, and it's really crazy thinking about the things that need to be done before I leave. I'm super glad that I don't have to get any shots before I go. I've got enough money to get by but it would be nice to get a last minute check before I leave. I've been looking over the materials and this organization usually does long-term trips and with large groups. The fact that I'm coming by myself for a short period of time is kinda un-heard of for a missions trip. With all the things that the missionaries are doing down there I'm still kinda curious as to what the Lord is going to use me for while I'm there. I've never been one who has been a huge fan of missions trips where the missionary is changed more than the people he comes in contact with but I have a feeling that God is going to be doing some cool things in my heart. I honestly feel like several months are finally coming to climax in a few weeks. I mean this is the only thing that I've been planning/looking forward to since I got back from California this summer. I really have to feel like something big is going to happen down there. I'm really excited about working with the Jenkins(s) Not sure how to pluralize that one. Brad seems like a fun guy and from reading the blogs and what not of the family I really feel like God is using them to do some amazing things in the community. I guess I just need to keep being open to what God wants and let Him do what He's going to do.

I've can bring an extra bag down there for free so I'm planning on filling a suitcase with some different necessities to bring down there and leave withe community. They need stuff like school supplies (pencils, erasers, etc), hygenics (toothbrush, soaps, etc), and flip flops. I'm gonna go on a goodwill and dollar store raid this week but I'm not sure what all I'll be able to get a hold of. I'm just excited to be a part of what God's doing in whatever way possible.

There's still a lot to be done before I leave, I've gotta a lot of things to do for work, there's stuff with good works, and then I'm packing up and leaving right after thanksgiving. God's been awesome to provide me with the means to pay the bills and I'm happy that I'm gonna be able to stay busy. I still have no clue what life is gonna look like when I come back but with how faithful God has been over the past few weeks, and forever obviously, I'm really excited :)

Thanks for all the prayers and support, you kids are AWESOME! Much love and God bless.

I'm going to the DR!!!

So by now you all know that I'm going to be leaving for the Dominican Republic in less than 3 weeks. To give ya'll biscuit heads an idea of what I'm going to be doing. I'm going to be working with missionaries associated with an organization called Alliance 29:11 ministries. They do have their own website if you want to check it out: http://web.me.com/roaringcreek/Dominikids/home.html I'm basically going to be just doing what they do on a daily basis with them for 2 weeks. I'll be helping train pastors, teaching ESL classes, doing a lot of community outreach which includes trying to get kids out of sex trafficking, perhaps working with micro-financing, and whatever else needs to be done down there to help the community understand God's love and grow closer to Him. I am going completely by myself as I didn't find these people through an organization or anyone else. The timing is totally a God thing cuz this is during their down time so this is when I would have the chance to be involved in more ministries than programs. So far I've raised $850 from my church. CDF you're awesome! I'm still trying to raise another 150 to get to an even 1000 so if 15 people wanna send me 10 bucks that would be great! More than anything else though I need some prayer. Prayer for getting the flight schedule finalized, my Spanish touched up, my bills getting paid in the meantime, and most importantly for my heart to continue to be aligned with the Lord's concerning the Dominican people.

I'm going to keep everything related to the trip on this blog so if you ever want to know how to pray for me or if you're just interested in what's going on you can come here and check it out. If you have any questions about the trip, the organization, etc, just give me call 803-873-3815. (yes i just posted my cell phone # online, the telemarketing couldn't possibly get worse...don't sell my number!) Thank you SOOOOO much for everything. Much love and God bless.


Micah<><