it's been a long while

i am not sure what has happened. i was so very diligent about blogging in the beginning and now its a chore that i put off until i feel like i have something to share. hmmmm

well this fall was a busy one. we hosted 3 teams plus our semester program. all went very well. our last team of the fall was a men's group which included some of our staff from our home office and a couple of our board members. it was truly a blessing to have them in the DR. at the end of our outreach i had a chance to spend some time with one of our board members who is a man i admire in a lot of different ways. he also happens to have the gift of prophecy.

now for some of you the word "prophecy" may bring to mind negative experiences from your past of well meaning people telling you the had a "word for the Lord" for you, while what they really had was some well disguised judgement, or possibly less harmful, they had hopes for you that had not come directly from God. for others the word may conjure pictures of crystal balls and extravagantly dressed older ladies who talk in mystic voices and pretend to be able to see your future. i admit i have felt both when thinking about prophecy, but i could never completely deny it because of its presence and prevalence in the Bible.

this man who i trust began to speak to me words of knowledge and words of prophecy. the end of the story is that he encouraged me to continue to flow in the giftings that i have been given and assured me that i would be used to enable others to do the same. he also confirmed the growing nag in the back of my head that i would not be returning to the states at any predetermined time. that's right, my time in the DR is officially open ended. I don't know what that means, but it means for certain that the duration of my time in the DR is completely in the hands of the Lord. i am both relieved and intimidated by that thought. Relieved because i don't have to figure it all out and because i can now say with confidence "i don't know". Intimidated because i don't know how long i will remain and while 1-3 years is easy enough to wrap my head around, 5-10 begins to be a bit more difficult!!! Thankfully i serve an amazingly loving God who absolutely has my best in mind. it may not always be what i think i want but it is ALWAYS better than what i can dream up.

I am currently in St. Louis, MO for my annual family Christmas with my mom's family and for Urbana 09. If you get a moment, pray for what God will do in these next couple of days in the lives of 12,000+ students!! I am tending the Students International booth and am thrilled that i have the chance to not only see a few familiar faces from outreaches past, but to speak into students who are looking for those "next steps" in their lives. Pray that God will do incredibly things in an through these students!!!!

okay enough for now, but i hope this is the beginning of more blogging on my part!!!

Amy Green's Newsletter October 2009 The last couple of months have been a whirlwind full of change, adjustment, and travel. In mid September my roommate Katie and I chose to pursue other housing options. I moved shortly there after into the house of Lowell and Cheryl Troyer. They are our country directors for Students International (yes, I live with my boss). They are "empty nesters" since their youngest, Alicia, moved back home this summer. I felt God leading me in this direction but didn't think it would actually happen until Cheryl approached me, asking if I would possibly want to move in. What a blessing it has been!! I now live on our ministry base which puts me close to all of the activities that go on here. I am also much closer to the school. I truly enjoy living as a "family". Thank you Jesus for this blessing!!! I have also changed my schedule to include a day at the physical therapy clinic, traveled to the states for a wedding, and begun work with my semester student for the fall. Busy but wonderful is how I am describing my life these days!!! Quick Trip Home my time in the states I returned to the DR a week ago following a 9 day visit to the states. I was able to attend the wedding of my good friends Layne and Ruth, spend time at my home church, and spend time with my family in the first 5 days of the trip. It was very full but also very fulfilling. I am very blessed to have the family and friends that I do and I cherish the brief amounts of time I am able to spend with them. I then flew to Jupiter, FL for a few days. Students International receives teams from Jupiter Christian School each year and their mission team leaders invited me to come and speak. I spent 2 days at the school speaking to junior high and high school students in their Bible classes. I was also able to reconnect with former team members and spend some time with good friends. Ministry News As I mentioned, I have a student with me for the remainder of the semester. Her name is Kirsten and we seem to be getting along very well. She is a sophomore at Bethel College with an interest in studying exercise science. I have been impressed with how quickly she has adapted to the site and started working independently with the kids. My prayer is that God will impress on her heart what He would have her do in the future. The crochet club is off to a slow start. I am working on establishing relationships with the women who I hope will eventually come to the Bible study. I am beginning by selling them yarn (really cheap) so they can get to know and trust me. There is a woman who works for our ministry as a cook who lives in the community and I am hoping that she will be the contact person and Bible study leader! While I was home I was so blessed by ladies from my church who donated yarn and money to the project. I received so much it has to be shipped to the DR in 2 boxes. I would estimate about 25-30 pounds worth of yarn! Thank you Summit Church!!! Prayer Requests Please Pray for the Following: 1. The crochet club. Pray that ladies would begin to show an interest in Christ and the hope he offers to them. 2. Wisdom in handling some of the "tough" situations I face here. I have had families asking for money recently and it is always difficult for me to know how best to help. 3. All of our semester students as they continue living in a foreign culture with new trials and frustrations around every corner. 4. Our remaining fall outreach. We have a team of men coming to do various construction projects. Pray for safety and growth in Christ during their time here. Contact Us Unit 3022-SIDR Fort Pierce, Florida 34946 809-396-1109 Once again thank you so much for your continued prayers and financial support!!! We will not fully understand what God is doing through your prayers and money until we reach heaven!!!

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Amy Green | Unit 3022-SIDR | 3170 Airmans Drive | Fort Pierce | FL | 34946

Its been a while

I was shocked to see that it has been a month since i have posted a blog. Well that just goes to show the kind of month August has been.

We finished with summer teams on the 8th and while it was a wonderful summer i was ready for some rest.

The gals (Amy B, Arlene, Katie, Rachel, and Jess) and I took off on the 10th to spend a week at the beach. We settled into The Nanny (beach front condos) for a few days and enjoyed the sun, waves, pool, and kite surfers. It was incredible. And i didn't wind up a crispy critter!!! We left on friday and made our way down to the beach resort in Puerto Plata where we met up with the rest of our SI staff for a couple of days of family "beach retreat". I had a great time playing with all the kids and thoroughly enjoyed the air conditioning!!!

Once we arrived back in Jarabacoa, I had a week before I had to say goodbye to Amy Babb, my roommate of 2 years. She is back stateside now, and this has been a tough transition for me. I had no clue how accustomed i had become to having someone to share all my thoughts with and who made me laugh. I had also gotten quite used to being one of "las amys" and will miss the title! So now i am trying to work out my living situation and see what God has on the horizon.I started the discipleship class at church. What that means is that for the next 8-10 months i will spend Thursday evenings the the church receiving focused teaching from our pastor. It also involves a LOT of reading. Last week's assignment was Matthew, Mark, and Luke. So i will be reading through the Bible quickly. I like the challenge and look forward to what the Lord will be teaching me over the next few months.

I think that's about it for now. i hope you enjoy the photos.

I loved watching all the pretty kites in the afternoons. Cabarete is a fairly well known beach for kite surfing (or is it boarding...i don't know) so the surfers would put on quite the show!





They were every where. I was a bit nervous that my friends (the ones with boogie boards) were going to get run over.


The condos we stayed in are individually owned, so each one has its own flair. Ours happens to be owned by a Jewish Rabbi from Kansas City.



My view from the balcony outside my room!!!

And I'm finished (well sort of)

With one outreach to go in the summer, i am sort of done. I have no students assigned to my site during this outreach, so my stress level will be much lower!!! There will be students in the Special Ed site and my friends the Entrekins (Brian, Sissy, Mary Emily, and Isabelle) will be in town for a week, so i will be spending some time with them at the site.

This past outreach was a busy one. I had 4 students of my own and there were 3 in special ed! I once again had quiet students in my site. Its so weird for me to realize that when people are shy around me, i get shy. well, maybe shy isn't the best word, but when i have nothing to go on, i find it hard to make conversation.

We had 2 special ed teachers in this outreach which was a huge help to the school. We spent a ton of time working on resources that would be helpful in the classrooms and they taught me some techniques for teaching reading and math that i hope the teachers will learn as well. One of our constant struggles at the school is helping our teachers understand that these kids don't necesarily learn in the same way other kids learn. There are some students who have been working on the same thing for 2 years now. I struggle with how much to be in the classrooms when what I do is therapy, but there are days that i just want to say to the teachers "if they haven't figured it out yet, why not try a different method" ah well, just part of growing the program and developing the staff. I think i just get overwhelmed from time to time with how much could still be done: therapy, staff development, program development, sponsorship, etc...i need 3 of me some days!!!

I have 2 weeks left before the end of summer and I am hoping that since i don't have students i can get around to some of the details of helping the teachers understand what these 2 special ed teachers left behind. I love the ideas for math and reading and hope that our teachers will as well!

I spent last weekend in Constanza with a group from The Summit Church! It was wonderful to see friends from home (and get care packages). I love the direction our church in going in regards to missions. We did a video interview for the church (so you will be seeing my face soon!) and the whole team prayed for me...it was such a blessing!!!!

Thats the biggest news for now!!! Next up...end of summer and beach week!!!

Yup, one more down 2 more to go...that's the current team count!

I am enjoying this summer. I am exhausted at the end of every team, but I love that I get to see God change people right in front of my eyes. Sometimes He strengthens their faith, other times He teaches them what love really looks like. Its such a privilege.

This past outreach brought back a few of our favorite teams...call them "all-stars" if you will. I think i love these teams so much because of their leaders. I never really paid much attention to the time and effort it takes to put together a good mission team, but now that i am on the "receiving end", i truly appreciate all the hard work that happens to make great teams!!! Thanks so much for coming again...Lourdes, Kyle, Dawn, Vito, and Becky!!!!

During this past outreach we had a bit of a crisis. One of the team leaders, Pat, was seriously injured during an excursion to a local river. He was med flighted back to the states on Thursday and will be in surgery this Wed to repair damage to his neck. Please pray for Pat and for complete healing. Pray that his testimony would increase the faith of those around him and those who were with him here in the DR.

One last piece of news...probably the best (you know "saving the best for last"). In one of our therapy sessions during this outreach, Nelito started telling me the story of God. As we talked, i asked if he had ever asked Jesus into his heart. He said no, but when i asked if he wanted to pray with me he said yes!!!! It was such a neat moment to hear him in sincerity invite Jesus in!!!! My students and i agree that is was our favorite moment of the whole outreach!!!!

Every group is different!!! I never know what to expect from a new group except what groups before have shown me and often those ideas can get in the way of what God wants to do in the new group.

This last group surprised me. Day one we were having lunch and i was straining to hear them talk because they were all so soft spoken...for those that know me well, lets just say they are the opposite of me! I began to think..."hmm, wonder how this is going to work out" or "its gonna be a quiet 2 weeks". They did not change in demeanor, but this group connected well in the community.

We spent the first of our 3 visits to Melvin's house sharing testimonies. This has to be one of my favorite things to do with my groups because i feel like i get to know them so much better by hearing their stories. About 5 minutes into Melvin's testimony, i see the team leader who was with us that day start to tear up. I began to think God was really going to do something, and He did. The girls shared from the heart and I think it went a long way towards unifying us as a team for the 2 weeks they were here!

Unfortunately, i have no photos because i have been doing a horrible job at carrying my camera with me! As soon as the girls post photos on facebook, i will share!!!!

thanks for all of your prayers during the summer. I am keeping up energy wise and other than a cold, i have not been sick!!!

Talking a walk

okay, as promised here is a minute long clip of Vanesa walking on her own. For many of you this may not seem like such a great success, but imagine being 8 years old and for the first time being able to walk without someone holding you up or giving you a wedgie because they had a hold of the waist band of your pants so you wouldn't fall! Vanesa still has a long way to go, but this is a definite HUGE step in the right direction. To all my PT friends out there, feel free to comment if you would like to give me advice on keeping her feet straight!!!

bleary eyed blogging

i awoke this morning and tried to figure out a schedule for today! i got about as far as, well i should update the blogs (mine and the one for the school). Thats about as far as i got! ah, you gotta love a monday.

I would attempt to blame the fatigue on the last group except i had no students during this last outreach! That has not happened to me since i moved here. Every outreach we have had, i have had students in my site. We once had an outreach of 7 people and i had 2 in my site. Needless to say it was a bit different not having some of the same responsibilities. I still had to do my tuesday morning Bible study with the group, and I was at the base in the mornings to pick up my intern (summer staff who is with me for 4 weeks) but otherwise, it was odd! It helped me realize that i truly do enjoy working with our student teams. Often i am more tired at the end of the day from translating, coordinating, and teaching all day, but there is something really cool about not only ministering to Dominicans but to Americans as well. We have said it before, but our staff are truly missionaries to both countries...amazing!

So no new photos this week, but i may get around to posting a video later this afternoon...HAPPY MONDAY!

One down five to go

Its summer time!!!! That means summer outreaches. 6 two-week outreaches back to back! Its a lot of work and takes a lot of energy but its one of the things I love most about my job!!! I not only get a chance to work with my kids but I get to help students discover more of what God wants from their lives. Some times that means they go home to study therapy. Sometimes they leave appearing to have experienced very little change. Sometimes I get to enter into the hardest areas of their lives and bring hope and encouragement! Its a big job and I love it!

We finished the first team a couple of days ago and I am so happy with how well it went. I was able to connect well with the students and we were able to find and evaluate two kids in the community, start a kids Bible study, and fit lots of hand splints and AFO's in the process!!! no wonder all i wanted to do this weekend was sleep!!!

Here are some photos

Melvin got a new Bible for his birthday

Kids working on their coloring sheet after Bible study

Everyone after "class"

If determination can do it Vanesa will walk!!!

The therapy and special ed teams

This is what can happen when the "Americanas" eat dinner in the community and turn on some music!!!

I've made the move

Well, xanga is over! Most of my friends have made the switch over to blogger and since i can now link you all to all my other favorite blogs, i have made the switch.

more to come soon!