God bless all of our brothers and sisters in Christ. I pray that His love is felt in every breath you take and in every step you make; for it is by his grace that we are alive.
Patria and I are back from Los Montasitos. We had been working with the church there helping them with some ministries while we hosted a World Race team. It was a great time for us and for the WR team that was working there. We wish we could have stayed there.
It’s a rejoice as well to be back at our place and feel the warmness that our home gives us; nevertheless we’re also broken, and it is about our brokenness that I want to share with you about.
Our time in Los montasitos was marked by a family and especially one of their children, his name is Yonaji (Johnajee). He’s only 5 years old and he has already faced many of the struggles that we might never face. Patria and I were witness of every single fight his parents had. Nobody in Los montasitos rents them a house because of how troublesome his family is. As I’m writing, they are living in an abandoned building, using blankets and sheets as doors. Yonajee, his mom, dad, older brother and older sister share one bed. Food is scarce for them.
I felt so powerless, because his family is not the type of family that would be opened to foreigners. I prayed and asked God what I could do about this situation while I was there. I felt God telling me to share His love with these kids in a practical way. Yonaji spent most of the day in the streets playing with his friends and sledding on the mountains. So I took some time to sled with him and talk with him every now and then. However he preferred being with the “americanos” (WorldRacers). His sister Julissa is victim of abuse from her older brother and father. The girls in the team helped her encouraging her to rely on Jesus for hope. I taught English while I was there, and she attended sometimes. Their older brother yonky was careless of our presence. It wasn’t until I had a talk with him for beating his sister that he sort of opened to spend time with me. We both shot our slingshots at birds and sled down some mountains as well.
I really don’t know if my time there and the things I did with them will in fact create a change in these kid’s lives. I’m not expecting that being in Los montasitos for a month will eliminate the abuse, the hopelessness, the famine, the anger and the bad habits of this family. But I do strongly believe that God called me to do the little I did in order to show HIS great love for these kids. I believe that there was nothing better to give these kids than the very love of God. I believe that the Holy Spirit will do the rest.
Please pray, not only for yonaji, or his family, but for all the abuse going on in our country. Pray for the bullied, and the bullies. Pray that a new generation will rise up; A generation that understands God’s desire for this nation. Pray for every missionary, Pastor, believer that has grasped God’s heart for this country. Pray for Patria and I, that we never grow numb to the things that we see every day. That we never lose the hope that Jesus gives us. Pray. Pray. Pray without ceasing.
For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness;
Sitting in the back of a truck, enjoying the cold breeze between the colossal mountains as we made our way to the river, the view was divine. Miguel and I had been planning a surprise trip for the Amanece Dominicano students, and we were happy to see it happening.
As we arrived, the first goal we had was to prepare some coffee, for which we had to find dry wood, and we did! (well kind of). Later on we moved to a second spot where we could sit under the shades of some of the most wonderful trees. Horlyn and I explored the area. Jumping from rock to rock we almost became quadrupeds. By the time we met the team they were already having lunch; A Delicious pumpkin pie like dish made by my beloved.
The river we swam in was pretty strong; so Horlyn, Miguel and I enjoyed getting into it and float in the cold water. Finally, I was really tired and overwhelmed by the magnitude of God’s creation. I decided to lay down and see if it was possible to fall asleep with half body under water. I couldn’t my feet were too sore and I was too tired for that.
Some of us would rather not go to the mountains as not to get sore legs, we wouldn’t walk barefoot in the river because the rocks in it would hurt our feet. Sometimes we need to get up and yes! Get hurt, get sore, get tired, get disappointed but making sure we are enjoying our duties of expanding and fortifying the Kingdom of God. Ministry is not always those things we’re addicted to, but also those things we need when we’re hungry and those things that will most likely be uncomfortable.
I knew there was something wrong, our church service finished and it hadn't been an hour since it started. Our Pastor was giving the final announcements when he finaly explained why we were being dismissed. Our youth Pastor's mom had passed away.
She had been sick for a while and Tony (youth pastor) was ready for her departure; however, when I showed up to the funeral home the picture I saw was not pleasing. Tony, a retired basketbal player known for being emotionally strong and the one comforting others in their losses, was there sitting there crying and weeping in a way I have never seen him. That broke my heart.
At that moment I remembered a phrase I had heard "we were made for eternity". Tony kept on saying he was prepared, but when we lose somebody in our lives not only that makes us feel sad but it also makes us think how short life is.
That phrase was in my head for a couple of hours, until God revealed the purpose of that phrase being in my head for so long. "we were made for eternity" but a lot of people don't know it. We were made for eternity but a lot of people forgot that purpose in life. We were made for eternity and I'm called to lead people to live for that purpose.
This is just a very quick and short post to let you know what's been happening in my life so far.
As you may know, weddings are not a piece of cake, plus getting an apartment ready and preparing all the logistics for our projects next year is enough to keep me really busy; I thank God however for giving me the opportunity to get back on track with everybody and with everything.
The apartment is already painted and the wedding preparations are our main goal right now. It's been great to spend time with the Shauls and my beautiful nieces. They are a great blessing for me and Nabel.
We have been working in the different communities here in SJ and blessing people with the word of God and our visits. Please keep praying for them and for the team.
I want to thank you guys for your support and I want to apologize to those whom I haven't sent a request yet. I promise that as soon as I get a little done with everything I'll do my best to keep you informed and give you all details on how you can support us. Thanks for trusting us.
For several months I have been eager to see that day in which I'd go back to the Dominican Republic. Tomorrow is that day. I have abusy day today meeting some frinds to say good buy and meeting with some potential suppoterrs of my ministry. But in all these errands i'm running I see God blessing me amazingly with smiles of friends and people whom I served, taught, helped, spent time with, and picked on (well only sometimes).
I know some of you might be thinking about how cool it is to return to you mother country and be with your fiancee and you friends. I need to be honest with you, that really keeps me happy, especially the fact that I will be getting married, but that is not the main reason. What really makes me happy about this is that I will be serving in the accomplishment of God's call both for me and Patria. That we will be able to dedicate pur lives to the training of Dominican missionaries and serving in the poorest and most times forgotten areas of SJ and DR. Yes, there is anxiety too, a sensation of fear. Questions come to my head and doubts as well; however I'm sure about where I am going and what I am doing.
I will need your prayers please. Pray that everything regarding the wedding goes smoothly. Please pray that the areas we are about to start ministering become sensible to the word of God and that the Holy Spirit softens ntheir hearts. Please pray for the younger generation of Dominicans since whether they are missionaries, Pastors, Preachers, non- believers, skaters, baseball players, etc, they are the ones that will change this generation and will make of Domonican Republic a free country from the opression of the authorities of darkness.
be blessed.
PS. if you have any question regarding my ministry in DR or you are willing to donate and become a supporter, don't hesitate to send me an Email to hashemrd@hotmail..com
I still remember my first imssion trip outside of the DominicanRepublic. In November 2008, I left the country to live for a month in Haiti. While I felt very anxious and nervous about it, you should know that today, three years later, I'm still willing to go back,
Shortly after I got back from my second mission trip to Peru, I started with a small group of kids that had in their lives the call to be missionaries too. I started discipling them along with Miguel. Next Sunday they will be boarding a plane landing on a foreign land for four weeks, where they will be ministering and working with the local church there [read more].
I'll be joining them in their last week of ministry and i will be leading their debrief as soon as wwe get back to the Dominican Republic. They are excited, anxious, nervous but willing to give it all for Jesus. I wish I could express in words (and in my second language) how happy I feel to see these guys boarding a plane to do what God has called them to do. Take the gospel around the world. This is just the first step. I'm very, very proud of them.
My fianceé and my mom are in that team. That will give you a better idea of what's going on in my life right now. I'm working, packing and getting ready to leave to the Dominican Republic, arranging logistics for my wedding and planning the possible ministries we will be leading once we're back in SJ.
Please take some time and pray, for the team, lifte them up in prayer and encourage them in spirit. Pray for the local church in that country and those that are about to receive the gospel there. Pray for Miguel and Kristina for all the effort they've been putting into the training of these students. Pray for those that couldn't make it for different reasons. Your prayers are very imprtant and meaningful.
May God bless you a lot.
P.S. Email me if you have any questions or need any information, I'll return to you ASAP.
sorry guys, I haven't been able to update you about the hurricane that recently hit the east coast, Irene. It's quite interesteng ) I should say) to be chased by hurricanes even when I'm in the USA. That's why I wasn't scared at all. My Heavenly Father has protected me so many times that there was no point in not trusting HIM this time. However we took the needed precautions.
It did hit our area, and although it seemed like nothing happened, two days later we started experiencing floods. Our house didn't experience it, but a lot of my students have been calling to excuse themselves since their houses have been covered in water and mud. Authorities are doing a lot in order to help, but still these families are overwhelmed my the character of this disaster.
The little tremor we felt earlier in the week...is another story...I'm protected by God definitely...thanks for your prayers
Thanks to those of you who have been asking, and again I apologize for not having informed you earlier.
Corn fields, miles of it. small and sometimes enormous houses. Statues full of history. Rivers, lakes, tress everywhere, and many, many other things that seem somehw new to me...definitely New Jersey and Illinois are VERY different.
This is my 4th day in my visit to mny friends here in Illinois where I'm attending the Global Leadership Summit at Northwoods Community Church. My pastors and a couple of friends from DR are also here. I must say that God is doing amazing things already. This training is a great asset to me, helping me to think and act in the right way as a leader and pioneer in the projects I have in mind. A t the same time I see God encouraging me to trust HIM in times where knowledge is not enough. Showing me where to go from here.
Tony and Laris are here to, they are the Youth Pastors from my church back in Dominican Republic, and we have already started making plans regarding my return to DR as a missionary and volunteer for Heroes de la Fe, Which is growing rapidly in spirit and number.
My wedding is also coming closer every time and Patria and I are working hard to get everything done before she departs on her mission trip. Our wedding is set for December the 17th, for that we will have 40 days to get everything done. I know is too little time, we will just trust God for help and rebuke stress.
Please pray for my family and my Mom as she gets ready for her mission trip. Pray for Faith that we will have the support for our ministry as we start it in January 2012. Pray for wisdom. We are going back to DR with a blurry idea of what we are going to do with what we have. there's a lot to do.
May God bless yoy a lot.
P.S. if you have any questions or need any informationl don't hesitate to email me at hashemrd@hotmail.com
This short and brief blog is to extend my immense gratitude to those people that so far have sent their support to our mission. I want you to know that, although it might seem a little, it will help me and the ministry to continue to expand. I haven’t left the United States and so far projects are coming, I do believe that God is putting all the pieces together in order for me and Patria to be ready in order to serve Him. So far I’ve been extremely busy, because I’m working on some teaching material for Dominican Rising that I will be teaching in the length of a month via Skype, Plus I’m preparing the logistics for their mission trip. Besides that, I’m always keeping in touch with Patria to see how all the arrangements for the wedding are going.
My trip to Haiti is still a plan. So I’m praying that God provides Participants and support for it. Please, pray for provision. Pray that God opens the doors that we need to be open so that we can serve Him in a way that His name is magnified above everything. Pray for strength so that no matter how stressed both Patria and I are, we can still give Him glory through all the logistics to our marriage ceremony, and our marriage itself. Thanks for being there for us and for joining us in our call.
For those who have sent their donations I would love to have your Phone number and inform you in a more personal level how things are going and how these resources are going to be used. Please send it to me via email to hashemrd@hotmail.com I will appreciate it.
To be honest with you guys, I love this question. It makes me dream. It actually makes me think of the every single step I take everyday and where it leads me. It makes me ponder whether what I'm doing today will have an impact on this planet or not. It makes me work towards what I want to be said in my funeral. The only problem is that I really don't know where I see myself in 5 years, or in three, or in one. I just don't know.
This I know, that I will be shadowing a team in Haiti from Sept 23rd to Sept 30th, from there I'm coming to the US to start packing and then back to DR on Oct 15th. One week later I will go to Cuba to pick up the Amanece Dominicano team and take them on a debrief. When done, wedding prep starts.
I'm still fund raising, and although all this looks like a set plan, it's still blurry; but like I said in an earlier blog, God is in control. Patria and I have already started thinking and praying on some ministry projects that Our Father might want us to be working in. It seems like HE is eager to see us together working for the good of the kingom.
**to clarify: I totally believe that God can use a person while single to do amazing things. Neither Patria, nor I have to be married in order to serve HIm in DR or anywhere else. Marriage is another call in which I'm obeying God. Our marriage is a commitment to God that we will be together in everything we do. And I love her.
