Te Alabaré

From my office here at the school, I can hear many of the classrooms and what they are working on. This is a blessing (and some days a curse :) ).

Today I was listening to our preschool classroom and I kept hearing the same phrase "te alabare". Its a short part of a popular worship song here. Translated it means "I will worship you". Our classes sing frequently, but I kept hearing this phrase in the same sweet little voice, so I decided to investigate. Turns out it was coming from one of our newer students. She is autistic and when she started here in the fall she said very few words, and she said even fewer words without being asked to do so.

Hearing her sing today made me say "te alabare". God is at work here. It is small moments like this one that help me to know what I am doing here is making a difference.

"I will worship You"

Recording Artist?

In 2008 I helped Melvin put pen to paper and we (mostly he) wrote lyrics to 11 songs. they are worship songs that are an expression of Melvin's relationship with God. Some are straight worship, one is basically his testimony to music, and others express his desire that others come to know Christ.

I have very minimal talents when it comes to composing music or playing the guitar, so for a long time we were stuck. enter Richard. Richard, a friend of mine from college, befriended Melvin on a mission trip long ago. He agreed to help us put music to Melvin's lyrics.

The CD "Úsame Señor" went on sale this week! We are selling copies here at the SI base and it is now available online at Amazon and on itunes. I am super excited to see this project fulfilled!

All the money from the CD's we sell at the base goes straight to Melvin. We are using some of the online sales to offset the cost of producing and recording the CD.

To God be the Glory!!!!

Announcement (from my Feb update)

Dear friends and family,

As I read the daily weather and facebook posts about all the snow and ice back home, it makes me even happier to feel the warm breezes and see all the green trees and blooming plants! I pray that those of you at home are warm and safe.

School is back in full swing and we have already hosted our first group of the year. We had a wonderful time with the students from Hume Lake's Joshua Program. They were a huge help and had amazing attitudes toward service and missions. We are anticipating many more teams this year and it seems we may only have up to 3 weeks between any given team, and most of the time less than 3 weeks.

If you haven't heard I am now the director of Centro Especial Genesis. Fausto resigned from the ministry for personal reasons and the leadership at SI asked if i would step in. The first 3 weeks on the job have gone well. I am very busy and I am learning a lot, but God has been more than faithful in his provision of strength and grace.

This brings my to my bigger announcement. I am coming home in August! I know in my last newsletter I said I was not leaving anytime soon, but it seems that inevitably when I think I know what is going on in my life, God has other plans. Before SI approached me about becoming director of the special ed school, I had already decided to come home. God was very clear in his leading...He even passed me a note! A friend of mine who had no idea what I was praying through, handed me a note after a night of prayer. It said, "Well done! You have been faithful. Now it is time, it is okay to rest!" I am not sure that God could have been clearer if He had hit me on the head.

I have a lot of questions about the timing and have been tempted to stay on in spite of God's leading because of the need that I see at the school. I cannot stay, however, when I know God has called me home. I am praying and trusting that we at SI are going to see God work in amazing, miraculous ways in this year. I am excited about coming home and heart broken to leave all my "family" here. I am sure there will be many more blogs and updates lamenting the fact that I am moving on from the last 4 years.

I am not without direction however. I hope to go back to work as an OT while I finish my degree. As I told you I am back in school, studying for a Master of Arts in Teaching Special Education. I am enjoying my studies and my brief experience as director has shown me the need I have for this degree. I am still planning to go back out at some point in the future to start another special needs school.

Thank you for all your prayers. I ask that you continue to pray for God's provision of people to lead the special ed school and the developmental therapy site!

Blessings,

Amy

new year new job

Nothing like transitioning back into a familiar yet still mildly unfamiliar environment and being asked to do something completely new. Ever had that pit in you stomach, anxiety of the unknown, and yet still some excitement for the possibilities? Well that pretty much sums up the last couple of weeks for me.

I am now the director of Centro Especial Genesis. For personal reasons, Fausto decided to step down as director. This left a huge hole, and the leadership of SI asked me to step in as interem director. So here I am at the end of week two. I haven't drown and no kids or teachers have been injured. The student team seems happy and overall I think its been a great 2 weeks.

In many ways I felt completely unprepared. Isn't that like God? I think He often throws me into the unknown so I will be completely dependent on Him. Why you might ask? Well, my theory is that He wants all the glory. Not because he is selfish but because He is God and is worthy of all the glory...oh so much more worthy than I am of any glory.

So it began. I have been learning the ropes, and like a lot of jobs that involve supervising others, I have spent a large majority of my time putting out little fires here and there. I have learned the water system for the school, discovered that 30+ people generate a lot of trash, learned that the most basic budget for a school is pretty big, and I have been more than grateful for all the help and support I have received in the last 2 weeks!

Its definitely a new journey, one i am sure will not be without its ups and downs, but i am excited for the challenge and grateful for the opportunity to lean more completely on my heavenly father!

from my Christmas update

Dear Friends and Family,

I am reminded as I sit here at my aunt's house (covered in blankets), how truly blessed I have been this year. This year has not been without its struggles, but it has also been full of blessings. God continues to be more than faithful in my life. He has given me more than I ever deserved in the gift of His Son, and for that (and for so much else), I am thankful. This year he blessed me with visits from friends, abundant provision for my knee surgery, amazing student, interns, and semester program students, special time with family, and deep friendships. I am blessed!

As I look to next year I am confident in His provision and excited to see some change. I will begin study for a Master of Arts in Teaching Special Education, through Liberty University online. I feel that God has given me a vision to start special education schools in other countries with Students International. In praying and dreaming of what these schools would look like, I realized that I do not know the first thing about working in a classroom. I feel like that knowledge will be vital to creating schools that not only give kids with disabilities a loving, safe environment, but also will make an impact on their learning and independence in life. Please pray with me as I begin my studies that I will be diligent and learn the material that I will need.

Many people have asked me recently "how long will you be staying in the DR?" My answer to that question has always been, "until God moves me elsewhere", but I feel that with this new vision for starting other schools, and school of my own on the horizon, that my time in the DR will be coming to a close. I do NOT have any specifics in mind at this point, but I am praying that God will supply someone who will continue the work of the Developmental Therapy site, so that I will be released to go and start a new school. Please pray with me that God will send the person He has designed to continue this work. Please also understand that I have no immediate plans to leave the DR. I am waiting on God's timing. It is because I covet your prayers that I am sharing this information. This is by no means an announcement of my departure from the DR. I have committed to God and to Students International to stay until God makes His provision clear.

Next year looks to be full of teams and continued opportunity to further the spread of the Gospel through our ministry sites and our work with students. Please pray for myself, and all of our staff, that we would continue to return to the source of our strength, Jesus, for the wisdom, knowledge, discernment, grace, peace, and joy that we will need to be His hands and feet!

I pray that you are enjoying this Christmas season with your family and friends. I will be in the USA until mid January if you would like to get together for coffee or just to chat!

MERRY CHRISTMAS,

Amy

New address

We have switched mail carriers. Please change my address to the following:

AMY GREEN

% AGAPE FLIGHTS STI - #25920

100 Airport Avenue

Venice, FL 34285

thanks!!!

Tomas

It wouldn't be fall in the DR without the threat of a hurricane! Nothing is really happening here yet, but it is being projected that we will receive quite a bit of rain this afternoon and on into the evening. I think up in the mountains we will be just fine, but please pray for those on the coast and those closer to and in Haiti. From what I have seen, Haiti will bear the brunt of this storm for the island of Hispaniola.

True to form, whenever severe weather is predicted, no one leaves their houses. This morning I arrived to school to find Fausto, one teacher, and two students. By 915 my semester student, one other teacher, and one more student had arrived. We decided to close school for the day. HAPPY DOMINICAN "SNOW" DAY!!!!