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May-June Newsletter

SHANNON’S CORNER

May/June 2017

I want to personally invite you to come to Cherry Run Camp July 29th-Aug. 6th.  I will be the resident missionary this summer at camp and Aug. 3rd is Cherry Run Mission Day.  I would love to see as many of you as possible throughout the week to catch up with what is going on with you.  Thanks so much for your support!

Monte Plata Team
Transition.  A word that is not always a welcome process, yet, is a journey worth taking.  How do you navigate life’s transitions?  Many times our default strategies aren’t always sufficient to get us through the challenges.  Instead of racing as fast as you can to get to the other side, maybe, just maybe, God has custom designed this transition for your own personal and spiritual growth.  Transitions can be a time of confusion.  Walking aimlessly.   It can be a time to recalibrate our lives – resilient and balanced lives.  “Feelings of emptiness may overwhelm us during difficult transitions, but we cannot let it consume nor define us.  God and his redemptive purpose weaves its way in and out of transition – unchanged,
Summer Intern Orientation
unhindered,”[1] from Tim Austin’s book, ‘Transition Companion.’   We can see this demonstrated in the life of Naomi, when she, her husband and two sons left Bethlehem for Moab.  She left full of life but God brought her back to Bethlehem empty-handed (Ruth 1:21).  Yet we serve a sovereign God and he had a purpose for Naomi’s life.  Continuing her story, Naomi ended up holding a grandson in the lineage of the promised Savior (Ruth 4:16-17).  Tim states, “The dust of transition will settle.  And when it’s all said and done I want to thrive and shine in this new season.”[2]  These last two months we have been walking through a variety of transition.  My prayer is that we grow spiritually, savoring this time of transition to be able to shine in the new season God has designed for us here in the DR.

Sometimes greeting new people can be easy, difficult, or so-so.  Why is this?  When living
Teen sharing his testimony
overseas there are many people who come and go in your life and this can take a toll on you physically, emotionally, mentally, relationally, socially and spiritually.  Sometimes the difficulty is putting yourself out there again knowing that this person you are about to invest in will not be around for too long.  Investing in someone takes time and energy that some just do not want to give or do not have the energy to give because they are drained and have exhausted all their resources.  Some believe it’s important to invest in someone’s life no matter how long or short it may be because you can impact their life or your life will be impacted by the person’s life.  How will you know if you don’t take the initiative?  We welcomed new arrivals to the island and KAI DR family, Briana and RJ.  They will be serving with KAI for the next two years.  Briana arrived at the beginning of May and she jumped in with helping to finish our child sponsorship project with the kids at Palo Blanco School.  She has been settling into the daily living here in the DR by finding an apartment to live in (I will be her roommate) and buying a car for her to get around.  RJ just arrived last week and has jumped right in with being oriented in how to host teams.  He will be transitioning to Constanza this weekend, which is where he will be living and hosting summer teams.  Very thankful for both of these new missionaries, team members and the calling the Lord has placed on both of them in serving here in the DR.

Rebekah
Summer interns have arrived!  There are 17 interns who will be serving in our ministries located in Monte Plata, Caraballo, Constanza, Palo Blanco & ANIJA schools and the Ark-Jarabacoa.  We just finished a three-day orientation and training for our summer school program with  everyone who will be serving this summer.  We had a great time in getting to know one another, worshipping God together, studying God’s Word together, and hearing testimonies from various teens and staff in our ministries.  This year, we were taught about the five love languages of children from Dr. Gary Chapman and some steps in helping to work with at risk children.  We are all set for Monday to arrive.


Anna, Shannon, Karen
On the flipside of welcoming people is saying good-bye.  Saying good-byes are extremely important to bring closure to one aspect of your life.  We do it in many ways like having a party, sharing words of affirmation and thankfulness, and giving small tokens or gifts to remember us by.  This month, we have had to say farewell to two of our missionaries who have served here in the DR, Karen and Rebekah.  I am very thankful for these two ladies and their love for the kids and the Dominican people.  They will both be missed.  Another good-bye for me was Christina, who came to help a young boy with a medical problem.  She also, volunteered at our ANIJA School in the first grade class.  Each one of these ladies made an impact on my life for which I am grateful to have known them and served with them.   God’s faithfulness.  His goodness.

“O LORD God Almighty, who is like you?  You are mighty, O LORD, and your faithfulness surrounds you.”
Psalm 89:8

PRAYER REQUESTS
Praise the Lord for a good Directors & Leaders Retreat!!
Praise the Lord for Briana’s arrival!
 Praise the Lord for the arrival of the summer interns!
Praise the Lord for RJ’s arrival!
Pray for Cherry Run Camp, as I will be the resident missionary.
Pray for our summer program with the kids and interns.
Pray for strength and endurance.
Pray for Karen & Rebekah as they transition to living back in the US.
Pray for the Van Der Molen Family as they prepare to come back to the DR.  Saying good-byes.
Pray for God’s wisdom and discernment in all things.




[1] Transition Companion, chapter 13, Loc 562 of 646 (Kindle Version)
[2] Transition Companion, epilogue, Loc 613 of 646 (Kindle Version)

Constanza Team

ANIJA team

Palo Blanco Team (missing some)

Caraballo Team

Ark-Jarabacoa Team


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