Prayer Requests

ISSUE

February & Marc h

2011

That God continues to move in the relationships that are being formed. That I will be able to continue to adjust to the culture and still be effective Positive family influ ences of the students and even the shoe shiners not in the school.

AN INSIDE LOOK ON W HAT GOD IS DOING IN JARABACOA, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC.

Domincan focus
boys could use the color and body part vocabulary that they have been learning in a very practical and fun way. Even though the game was very ghetto, the boys enjoyed themselves and they learned a lot. It was neat how it gave each of them an opportunity to speak and communicate to their classmates in English, and then check their understanding based on their response. Also, it is amazing how such simple things here can be such loads of fun. Although putting this game together took a lot of work in trying to even find all of the materials, I would say it was a great success and a great highlight to English class this month.

Creative Teaching... Modified Twister

Teaching here has been a great experience. There have been several occasions where we have had to get pretty creative to effectively teach our students due to the limited resources that we have available to us. It is important to try and make learning fun, however, because we have very limited resources, it can be difficult at times. This month for English class, out of some cardboard I got out of the dumpster from town, a left over sucker stick I found on the ground, the little construction paper that I managed to find in a closet and my limited drawing skills, I managed to develop a modified Twister game so that the

A NATIONAL TRADITION
Every year for the whole month of February, there is a celebration that happens here called Carnaval. Carnaval means, the flesh of Baal. One of Satans most common names in the Bible is Baal-Zebub which in Hebrew means the Lord of the Flies, or also Beelzebub, which in Greek means Prince of the Demons. When it refers to the flesh it refers to sin. During this time every Sunday it is probably comparable to a Mardi Gras in New Orleans in the States but on a much bigger scale. There is a lot of drinking, partying, and promiscuity. There are people that literally dress up as devils in these very elegant and detailed costumes. The Devils go around with cow bladders and they go around and whack people that they see in the street. This is a time that basically allows people to participate in sinful acts without too much conflict. It is a time where the police turn a blind eye and there are little or no consequences. Often times too, people are badly injured or even killed during this huge celebration. Last year there were five deaths during Carnaval here in Jarabacoa and this year I know of two high school students in a local school here, one took a machete to the neck and the other was shot five times from a gun and were put in the hospital in critical condition. Please be praying that God can change this country during this time and eliminate this horrible tradition and literally allowing Satan to run the lives of people during this entire month. It is crazy even how during this time the attitudes of people really change and it has been very evident in a lot of the attitudes of the boys.

Could Never do that in the States...

The first of March, I was having a lot of problems with two of my students during school. Fighting is quite a common thing in our school since we are working with a lot of boys from the street. However, that day, two of my guys had been fighting a lot more than usual, and literally the entire day they would physically fight, bother each other, throw things at each other and in general be a huge disruption in class. It got so bad that some desperate measures needed to be done to take care of this problem and demonstrate to the boys that their behavior was unacceptable. I figured the best way was to put the two guys to work, but I wanted them to work together as a team. They needed to learn how to work together despite their differences. I could put them to work washing chairs, however, that is something that one can do separately. I talked with my director and explained my idea. It was mentioned, Why not tie the two together? The thought quickly popped into my mind Can I do

H IGHLIGHTS
H IKED
ON TOP OF

that? but I liked it so much I said, Perfect and I called the two guys over to me. I literally tied their legs together, and together, they were obligated to wash towers of plastic chairs. I didnt trust them with the hose so I gave them a bucket of water with two Dixie-sized cups, soap, and rags. All of this took place at the very end of the day, and I remember thinking, What am I going to tell the parents of these kids (whom I had assumed would be upset to see their kids tied together). I started praying, God, I put this in your hands, and I pray that you give me the words to speak to these parents. Well, as the boys were working, one of the boys said that he had to go to the bathroom. Thinking that he was trying to get out of the work (which is not uncommon for our guys to try to do), I told him that they couldnt untie the bands until ALL of the chairs were washed and drying in the sun. I left for a minute to attend to some of my other students inside the classroom. When I went back outside, I didnt see the two working. To my surprise, and not knowing that one could go to such extremes, I found them in the bathroom. The one boy had made the other go with him and he went to the bathroom and did his business with the other boy tied to him. They returned to work and finished. As the boys were finishing, the parents of

these two boys had arrived to watch the crazy punishment that their children had earned. When the boys finished, I sat them down (their parents behind them without them knowing) and I asked each boy what they had learned from this. They had amazing responses! They said things like, I learned that I need to learn how to work as a team, and how to respect my classmate. I explained some more things to them in the process, but as the parents heard their sons speak, I could see a smile of satisfaction come across their faces as if they accepted and approved of the punishment that was given to their sons and recognized that they had indeed learned something from all of this. God is so good. The only thing that I had to tell the parents was, Thank you so much for waiting. The parents smile got bigger and they told me, Not a problem, it was something that had to be done. Through all of this, I really liked that the parents had an opportunity to see that there is a healthier way to punish their children. Unfortunately, the punishment of the majority, if not all of the parents of our students, is through physical punishment, and to be honest often times it goes well beyond that. But it was cool that they could see that one could teach their child good principles without beating it into them.

C AMPED M AGOTE FEBRUAURY 5-6, 2011

UP AND

Mens Retreat to la Presa

FEBRUARY 20,2011

Up to Manabao to meet
YanKaurys Grandma MARCH 13,2011

Making Habichela con

Dulce in Los Corrales MARCH 21,2011

Quick trip to Salto

Biguate MARCH 26, 2011

You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others. 2 TIMOTHY 2:1-2

TEAMWORK
Along with leadership skills, we have been recently teaching our students the importance of teamwork and how one succeeds well utilizing the strengths of others. Along with this skill, we have been integrated the Biblical principles of being a part of Christs body, and how each member of the body has an important role.

Contact Information
Cell: 809.430.7892

TEXT

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College Park Missionary Church 2014 Liberty Drive Mishawaka, IN 46545 Attn: Danny Hunter

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