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Most of you who read this are already financial supporters of us and our ministry.  How would you like to also be able to invest in our ministry with NO cost to you!!!!

Would you do me a favor????  PLEASE :)  We have a toolbar for your website browser that if you download it, you can earn 1 penny for every time you do a website search through google or any search engine.  It's of absolutely NO COST to you and would be a HUGE HELP for our ministry. 

Thanks to those of you who will participate.  It will take less than 2 minutes to do!!!  DOWNLOAD HERE at http://www.goodsearch.com/toolbar/freedom-international-ministries

It's soooo easy and will probably even save you money with coupons that each website offers

Kurt

The Store

Starting in November, the kids could earn points for coming to Bible class and memorizing verses. We told them from the beginning that they could then use the points they earned to purchase items at store that we would set up right before Christmas. It was amazing to see the store come together & watch the kids get excited about all the work they put into earning points. They loved having new things. Items at the store included t-shirts, dolls, toy cars, blankets, books, and much more. Everything we used was donated to our organization, and we want to send out a BIG THANKS to those supporters. Like I said, the kids absolutely loved it!!

We even enjoyed a fun game of Limbo! The kids loved it :) Some of them weren't sure

how to play at first, but they eventually got the hang of it. We definitely

enjoyed watching them have a good time!

Graduation

Last Sunday, Yuleisy (one of our Dominican helpers), had her High School graduation ceremony. Katie was privileged to be invited to this special occasion. They treat graduation similar to how we treat prom. The girls wear fancy dresses and the boys suits. Each student is allowed to invite 7 people, and it costs them over 3,000 pesos to graduate ($79). Many students can't afford to graduate even though they've finished school. Some will continue to save until they have enough money to graduate years later. As you now know, graduation is a big deal for these people!

Christmas is Coming :)

It's hard to believe that Christmas is right around the corner! Especially here with the weather in the low 80s. My brain is constantly adjusting to the idea of a Christmas without snow. Of course, people here are accustomed to the warmth :) They've been decorating since mid-October! Thanks to my wonderful in-laws, we've been able to join in the festivities. I've put up garland on the porch with red bulbs, lights, & gold ribbon. Also, I have a center-piece on my table :) Christmas is so much fun no matter where you are, and I hope everyone has a Very, Merry one!!

Family

This past week was a blast! We had our first visitors, Ken & Connie. It was so much fun showing them around San Pedro & sharing the ministry with them. I think it's great to know first-hand what's going on with Freedom. They can now look at photos & read updates and have a mental picture of what it looks like & where it's at. We enjoyed a professional Dominican baseball game, an afternoon at the beach, a few local restaurants, & of course, several days in the bateyes. I have pictures up on Shutterfly for everyone to enjoy :) FYI... We welcome guests ANYtime!

Baseball

The biggest sport in the Dominican Republic is BASEBALL! Everyone just loves the game, especially the people in the bateyes. Luckily, Freedom International Ministries has their very own pitcher :) Kurt graced the baseball field 3 Sundays ago & made it 3 innings. I was so proud!! 

Halloween 2011

As most of you probably know, Dominican's don't celebrate Halloween. However, that didn't stop us from having Trick o' Treaters!!

October

So far, the month of October has consisted of a variety of things. Kurt & I started a spanish class with a local Dominican named Julio. We have class from 6pm-9pm. Also, as many of you know, I went back to the states at the beginning of the month because my grandfather passed away. It was nice to be with my family & fun to see a lot of good friends as well. I was even able to visit the church Kurt & I attended in Celina on Sunday. It reminded me how much I miss everyone there! Kurt was definitely jealous :)

Also for this month, we have reduced the number of times we visit the villages. We are going out every Tuesday & Friday to continue our relationships and hang out with the kids. Kurt teaches English to the 3 young adults both days & goes to the school on Friday to teach English to the students. We've also started ministering to another batey, Batey Cabeza de Toro. We're learning new names, meeting new people, & building new relationships there. It is fun to see the process from the beginning after having been through it once before. I'm still struggling with names, but eventually I'll get them. :)

So... for the month of October, our routine has changed. However, starting in November, we will be teaching Creation to Christ in Cabeza de Torro three days a week, & the other two days teaching Ephesians in Lima & Pinones. Things will pick back up & our routine will change again. Sometimes, it feels like we really don't have a routine, but we're learning to adjust. Please continue to pray for the ministry and the constant changes Kurt & I are experiencing as a couple here in the DR. We need a full dose of patience :)

Thanks so much to every one! It means a lot to us (and helps us cope) when we receive emails, letters, and notes telling us that people are staying updated on our ministry & what we're doing here in the DR!

We have so many great friends and family. Love you all, Katie

A Quick Praise

At the end of last week, we saw 3 people chose to accept Christ as their Lord & Savior. Below are pictures of 2 of them. They are all such wonderful people & we are privileged to know them.

and Prayer

Our prayer for them now is that they continue to grow in their knowledge of Christ & have a better understanding of His role in their life.

Francis

Francis is also a new believer. (Praise the Lord!) He has been a friend

from day one & is one of the young adult helpers from Lima. 

We are thrilled to have him as a brother in Christ!

Maria

Maria chose to accept Christ as her Savior last week on Wednesday.

We are blessed by her faith & ask you to pray for her
as she seeks a new relationship with the Lord.

The Bridge

We decided to watch some people walk across to see how deep it actually was.

This is one of the side rails. I think the other one was just as covered.

We made it across safely. No worries :)

Just another week...

Lately, it feels like the weeks have been running together. We are now in the 3rd week of homeschooling & 8th week of teaching, & things are moving along smoothly. I think we now have a rhythm. Everyone appears to have adjusted to doing school in the morning (8-9:30), going to the bateys in the afternoon (9:30-1:30), & finishing school in the evening (2:00-5:00).

We missed several days of teaching last week thanks to hurricane Irene, but we're back on track. As you might have guessed, we came out of the storm in good shape. We only experienced rain (and lots of it) along with some high winds one evening. The roads also flooded, but once the sun came out, the water dried up quickly. We had trouble getting to the bateys because the bridge we have to cross was under water. There were a couple of days following that it was still covered, but we crossed anyway :) I'll put up some pictures so you can get a better idea.

Anyway, not much else has happened. We appreciate all of your prayers (and I can't say that enough). Hope everyone is doing well & feel free to call or email. We love getting updates from all of you!

Hugs to all,
Katie

Estamos aprendiendo

From our apartment roof

       This week was the last week for having American groups here for the summer. We enjoyed getting to know a lot of new people & spending time sharing life with them here in the Dominican. It was wonderful to have extra hands helping out in the bateys! We are going to miss everyone & count it a blessing that we were able to have them here :)

Moving forward... we have 5 more weeks of VBS ministry in Lima & Pinones. These next 5 weeks are an area where we're going to need your prayers. The kids in the bateys have spent the last 4 weeks being able to play with lots of people, enjoy new toys, & make a craft everyday. Now that the groups are gone, it will be Pam, the Hilgeman boys, the Simos' kids, & us (the Clines). We will not be doing a craft, & we have made it a point not to make our relationship built around giving them things. So... it will be a drastic change in what they've become used to. Please pray that the kids will respond positively to the change,  and that we continue to make progress in our relationships.

We love you all and we encourage everyone to consider when you might think it would be a good time to come and visit ;)

PS.  If you haven't been following "Around Freedom in 60 Seconds" you should check it out on http://itisforfreedom.com  (top right hand corner of homepage) We just posted week 5's video about 10 minutes ago.  It is a great way to quickly stay involved.

Kurt and Katie

Each day, all the kids in Piñones gather in this small building for the lesson.

One thing you will see the kids eat all the time are limoncillos. They have several 

limoncillos trees in the bateys, so it's a very accessible fruit. One day, play time 

was spent trying to get the limoncillos out of the nearest tree. All the kids wanted 

to give Katie one... let's just say that she's had her fair share!

Second Day of VBS

As most of you have heard, Kurt & I got a cold/flu last week on Wednesday. It was a tough several days, & we tried to take it easy (which isn't easy). Thankfully, we are on the tail end of it all. We both still cough a lot, but I was told that coughs can take a while to get rid of.

Today was the second day of our 10 week VBS.

Let me give you an idea of what it looks like...

• 9:00 am - We leave San Pedro & drive approximately 1 hour to our first village - Lima (It's the larger of the 2 villages we are working in). 
• 10:00 am - We gather all the children that want to play & take them out to this large open area to start some "organized" games. (So far, we've played lots of soccer, kickball, jump rope, duck-duck-goose, etc... I think the kids are having fun!)
• 10:00 am - [same time] Jason gathers the adults & starts his lesson in a small building near the edge of the batey, a.k.a sugarcane village. (This process takes about 1 hour. The lessons only last maybe 30 minutes. It just takes a while to gather everyone.)
• 11:00/11:15 am - We take all the children to the lesson, & Jason gives them a shortened version. (The children aren't always the best at listening in this batey (Lima), but they answered the questions well today.) 
• 11:45 am - We leave the first batey.
• 12:00 pm - We stop along the side of the road for lunch before we reach batey #2 - Pinones. (We take this time to talk about how things are going & to see if there is anything we want to do differently in the next batey.)
• 12:45 pm - We gather all the children in Pinones that want to play games & hang out. (This village is much smaller, & they aren't as rowdy as the kids in Lima.)
• 12:45 pm - [same time] Jason gathers the adults in this village to give the same lesson. (This process doesn't take as long because there aren't as many people. I think today they had 2 people show up.)
• 1:45 pm - We take all the children to the lesson & Jason gives them a shortened version. (This village listens better. They are actually are kind of shy.)
• 2:30 pm - We head back for San Pedro.

(Kurt)  Overall, it's hard to say what has really happened as far as ministry.  I think it will take at least a week to see who consistently shows up and to see if we have some good possibilities for discipleship.  In Lima we do have one young man named Wander, who is 20, and has been helping us at both villages.  He is a Christian and he seems interested at being involved with our ministry.  We told him that we have nothing to offer as far as payment, and he continues to come back so this is a good sign.  Please pray for Wander and for our team, as we are looking for Dominican leadership (he also speaks Creole fluently which is a plus).  Well,  I hope everyone is doing well back at home.  We miss you all and appreciate your prayers.

Prayer Items:

Ministry team vehicles (they have numerous problems at times)

Dominican leadership

Energy and health for the group

Spanish learning

One Week Down

We survived our first week in the Dominican Republic. I knew we would be fine in the end, but I figured there would be several road bumps along the way. And, of course, there were (still are).

Kurt & I are not in our apartment yet. We do have most of our things inside, but there is no electricity or water. So... we wait :) As a side note, you will see that everything requires a lot of waiting here. We are done with appliances & most of our furniture, which is a blessing. The dryer made it Monday, but we are still waiting on the gas hose to set up our stove that was supposed to be done yesterday.

Along with setting up the house, Jason and Josh have been helping Katie and I to find a vehicle to further our independence.  We have narrowed it down to 3 vehicles but have been having a hard time finding something within our price range that will also be able to make it out to the bateys and not fall apart within the first mile off the lot.  We will probably end up spending more and go for a higher resale value.  If all things work out, we will loose about the same amount of money each way and have less maintenance with the nicer car.

Welp, Its 9:30 and Jason and I are off to the electric company to see what's going on with our power.  We miss you all and thank you all for your prayers.

Kurt and Katie

We're Here!

It is hard to believe, but we are officially living in the Dominican Republic. Our flight arrived last night in Santo Domingo at 9:00pm. We were a little worried, but all of our bags made it. I haven't had a chance to take everything out & make sure nothings is broken yet, but I hope to soon. Right now, we're staying with the Hilgemans, & I didn't want to unload all of our luggage in their living room :)

Today was a busy day... like most days will be this week. We spent the morning shopping for appliances, & we came away with a washer, dryer, fridge, & stove. The afternoon consisted of washing down our apartment floors... we had lots of amazing helpers: the Hilgeman kids, the Simos kids, Jason, & Josh. All the helpers were great because we had to pour water over the entire thing, squeegee, pour sanitizer down next, squeegee, and then pour one more layer of clean water over that. It took 2 hours to complete the entire apartment & in the process we found that one of the drains doesn't work. Also, I don't think I have sweat so much in my life! Later this evening, we enjoyed a home-cooked meal by Toni. Then, around 5:30pm the apartment owner's daughter showed up with our contract & keys to our apartment! (Yes, we did start cleaning before it was officially ours.) We ended up in the same apartment complex at the Higleman's & Simos' on the fourth floor. It was great to get the important things accomplished today. Nothing was too hard, but there is always tomorrow! Anyway... the evening ended with a fun game of bid euchre :)

Tomorrow looks like more shopping. It's fun, but if you know Kurt & I... we don't like spending a lot of money. So, this can be overwhelming. The plan is to head to the capital to the bigger stores so we can find our furniture. Please pray that we find the things we need at decent prices because even though we're in the DR, products can still be expensive since most things are imported.

To end, I want to say a quick "Thank you!" to everyone who prayed for our trip yesterday. It was as smooth as can be & like I said all of our bags are here & so are we. Love you all, & we'll be keeping you updated. Hopefully, we can get some pictures soon!

Katie

One More Week!

It has been such an exciting journey over the last 3 months. God has provided in ways we could hardly imagine. The most amazing being that we reached 100% this past Sunday! If we weren't confident in our decision to move to the Dominican & join Freedom International Ministries, we definitely are now :)

For those of you who didn't receive our member letter, we are now in sunny South Carolina with my parents. We loaded all of our belongings into Ken & Connie's attic & set up our bedroom :) Our plans for today are to visit downtown Spartanburg & enjoy the great weather. My parents will be here with us until Monday when they drive back to Ohio.

The following week will be filled with packing & determining what we can fit in our suitcases! We'll be taking 2 checked luggages a piece, 1 carry-on, & 1 addition bag (like a backpack or briefcase). I keep praying the process goes smoothly & my patience is in full supply... so far so good :)

Thanks again to everyone who helped us move & for all of our financial supporters! I can't say enough how much we appreciate our friends & family. We have been truly blessed.

Love, Katie

 

72% with one month left

Hey everyone

Things are still moving along here in Celina with the fundraising.  We do have a few things in the works yet and are still hoping and praying that God will provide by May 13th so that we would be able to arrive in the DR by June 14th.

Our things in the works are:

> 54 support letters going out to friends of my parents (thanks Mom and Dad)
> First Mennonite Church of Berne
> Oasis Christian Fellowship in Wauseon
> Several individuals that are still praying about their contribution amount

There is most definitely 28% inside of these opportunities and we are praying that God opens peoples minds and hearts to the ministry.  This 28% means that we are down to needing just 16 people at an average of $50 a month (quite a change from 62 supporters just two months ago).

Just as a recap of the things your money will be investing in:

> An accredited education for kids who do not currently have the opportunity
> Church planting where there currently is no opportunity for being discipled
> Lives being changed through a relationship with Jesus Christ

100% of your money will go straight into these investments, no administration costs apply

Thank you so much to all of you who have decided to partner with us in this ministry!

Matthew 6: 19-20
¹⁹ “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. ²⁰ Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹ Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.

Half Way There

We are now half way through our support raising! I checked our current percentage, & right now, we are at 54% of our monthly support. :) God has provided so much for us over the last 2 months. It is amazing to see all the different people who have chose to be a part of our ministry. We are very grateful for everyone's generosity!!

On another note, I also checked my calender yesterday & figured the time frames for our departure. We would like to fly out of Charlotte, NC on June 14th. Our things will be stored in Spartanburg, SC where Kurt's parents live, & Charlotte is one of the closest airports to that location. So... we need to have our things packed here in Ohio at least a week in advance. This means loading the U-Haul the weekend of June 3rd to give ourselves time to pack for the DR & find a storage unit for our belongings before we fly out. That means we need to have finished our jobs here in the states by the week of May 29th. Consequentially, in order to give both of our companies a 2 weeks notice, we will have to know if we've raised enough support by Monday, May 16th.

I don't know if you all noticed, but I noticed that May 16th is not that far away. Some days I think it is still possible to leave in June, & other days it seems impossible to raise another 36% in one month. But, I know God will provide, & we continue to trust He knows best. The truth is He loves us whether we leave in June, July, or August. We just know that He wants us to go to the DR to join Freedom International Ministries in building relationships with the Dominicans, reaching people for Him, & bringing glory to God.

The entire process of raising support & moving to another country has taught us many things, & we are still learning. No matter the ups & downs, we feel blessed by all the encouragement from our family & friends. I can't say enough how much it touches us to have everyone's support.

You all are the BEST!!
Katie

P.S. I attached a link to be able to donate straight from this blog. If you click on the green "Click Here" under 'Invest in Our Ministry' on the right side of the page, you'll be sent to Freedom International's donate page. I hope the link is helpful, & thanks again to everyone who has come along side of us financially!!

Moving Forward

My how time flies!

We are now in the 3rd month of raising support. (and as you know, our goal is to leave June 15th.) So, we have 2 months and 22 days to reach 100%. HOWEVER... we are already at 38%!!! Only 62% more to go thanks to all of you who have committed to giving to our ministry financially. For those of you who are still considering supporting us, our biggest need for moving forward is finding monthly supporters. 

*** If 30 more people offer to give an average of $50 per month, we would be able to leave in June!***

Just some other updates...

• We are planning on living in San Pedro de Marcoris & working in several bateys (a.k.a. suger cane villages) right outside Ramon Santana. The names we have so far are La Campina & Lima. Kurt & I were actually able to see these bateys when we visited the Dominican in February. You can view those photos by clicking HERE. 
• Also, we have not told our employers yet about making the move to ministry. Our reason for holding off is that we're waiting to see if we can raise the support by June 15th. (Freedom International Ministries requires that their missionaries be at 90% before they can leave.) If we are unable to raise everything in time, we will continue our support raising & go month-to-month after that.

If anyone has any questions about the ministry or our plans for raising support, please call us or email! We really appreciate all the positive feedback we have received. But, we want to make sure that we answer your questions. We realize that the letter we sent may still leave some of you aprehensive.

I think that's all for now. :)
Katie

Our First Post

Well, I'm not exactly sure how to start... but, here it goes :)

Kurt & I have joined Freedom International Ministries as associate missionaries committing to 2 years of service in the Dominican Republic. We plan to leave for the DR on June 15 of this year. There is still a lot to do between now & then, but we believe God has a plan for it all.

Our hope for this blog is to keep all of our friends & family updated on what we're doing & how things are going. We plan to use it often as we are in the DR, but wanted to start now so that everyone would have the opportunity to be involved in the process of getting there.

Thank you to everyone who has shown us support & encouraged us. We hope you find this blog useful & not boring!

Love you all :)
  Katie