September 2010 Family & Wedding Pics

Our quick trip home in September for my brothers wedding and to see some family and friends.

DR - September 2010

September 2010 Photos...if you want to see wedding photos come back later, I will be posting them soon!

All about HIS Provisions

Hola, mi amigo! Dios te bendiga! Translation ~ Hello, my friend! God bless you! This is the standard greeting among Christians here and a phrase that I enjoy and can repeat with ease (unlike many others). If you haven’t yet guessed, this is Brooke this month. My oldest son, Jaden just recently said, “Mom, it’s okay that you’re not very good at Spanish. I can be your translator.” As sad as this statement is, it is true at the moment! All kidding aside, I know you don’t hear from me often, but I thought you should from time to time! This way you know that the kids and I are enjoying ministry as much as Brad!  I want to give you an update since our last newsletter and tell you of more great things God is doing here in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic!

Last month, Brad introduced you to Pastor Jacob and told you about his upcoming graduation from Bible training. When the day came, we went to pick up Jacob and ended up with 11 people in our truck! It was great!! I loved being able to help Jacob with his robe and hat, which he had to remove by the actual graduation ceremony because he was so hot, and stand by him as he received his diploma! The service was a long one, BUT it blessed me so much to see all of those men receiving their challenge from their teacher. Also, just knowing that they had committed 5 years of training to gain knowledge, wisdom and a deeper relationship with God their Father! After the ceremony had concluded, a group of 15 pastors asked Brad to begin a Bible study with them. After some prayer, Brad has agreed to lead them in a weekly Bible study. This was a God honoring day and one which I was honored to be a part of!

Our sweet child friend Jeffrey is still doing well aside from some of the boyish 11 yr old “fun”. We are thankful that Pastor Jacob is involved with him and his family. His step-mother is still not a believer and she doesn’t want to care for Jeffrey nor want him at home when his father is away at work. Unfortunately, his father is not home very often and this means that Jeffrey is on the streets most days. Please pray for their relationship and God’s protection over Jeffrey.

 Pastor Blanco & Brad sort through
      items donated from the states

I wanted to share this month about more exciting ministry God has laid before us. God repeatedly throughout scriptures mentions the care of orphans, widows and aliens. Believing this is the call for each believer, we have a wonderful opportunity to do just that. While we are waiting for God’s timing for the orphanage building, we are still able to minister to all 3 groups. First, since this summer alone we have been able to provide a basic need to each group in the form of purified drinking water. Donors and teams have made this possible by purchasing the systems. But instead of giving these out for free, they earn them by bring recyclable trash to the local pastor of the village. He looks after them and makes sure they are caring for their system properly. Secondly, we have been able to work with a local Pastor, Blanco, who has his own “undocumented” school/orphanage/foster care. Since the children are not documented they are not taken care of under CONANI’s umbrella. We have been able to supply him with school supplies, clothes and friendship throughout the trials of running a ministry. He loves the Lord and is doing wonderful things here too!! The third ministry opportunity that God has brought before us are ESL classes. Brad has shared with you about our ESL class in a remote Haitian village called LoCoco that our summer interns helped launch. Well, after our August newsletter we hired a Haitian man named William to be the official ESL teacher. As of this week he will be the lead teacher of 5 ESL classes around Puerto Plata in partnership with us!!

Blanco gave out bags that an AL church decorated, filled with supplies and sent down to his undocumented children

William, Monique & baby Djoubelkiss (Joobellkees)

William is a 28 year old Haitian man that we first met when he was doing some concrete work on our apartment, at the original orphanage, in Javillar the summer of 2008. We quickly learned that he was a very intelligent man and that he could speak FIVE different languages, that’s right people CINCO!!! We have formed a wonderful friendship with him over the years and think of him as family!! William became a believer in 2005 and his heart has been to serve the Lord and do ministry full-time. He desires spiritual growth and plans to attend the Bible study Brad will be leading. Many of you who have come to serve with us in the DR have met William because he is one of our translators. Some of you men have labored with him in building projects and can testify to how hard he works. One thing not many know is that he has been separated from his wife and two daughters for 5 years. He has been able to visit them, but last month he was able to get their documents and bring his wife and youngest daughter (pictured on the left) here to live with him. He is currently working towards getting the funds to bring his sweet 4 year old daughter, Grina to live with them here in Puerto Plata. William is a perfect fit for this teaching role because of his work in the communities already. He has VOLUNTEERED as a teacher at Blanco’s school, helped with ESL classes, translated for Brad (Creole) and anything else we may have needed. We are happy to have offered him a paid position so that he can not only teach others English and God’s Word, but give him an opportunity to care and provide for his family! None of this would be possible without GOD’s provision! We give God all the praise and honor for what He is putting together!

We also want to thank God for His provision for our family!! We enjoyed some much needed down time after the summer ended! We took a 2 day trip to the capital, Santo Domingo, & stayed in a house built in the historical district in 1550. We toured the Christopher Columbus house & the oldest church in the Americas! We also had GREAT fun at Ocean World thanks to Jake winning a free pass & the gifts of God’s children! It was truly a wonderful experience and we are grateful to those individuals!!

 

 

Kids in front of the Presidential Palace                 Our family with Skipper at Ocean World   



                                  
In September we returned to the states in for my brother’s wedding!! It was such a special time and we were so blessed that God provided a way for us to be back to celebrate with them!! Brad officiated the wedding and I was blessed to stand as a bridesmaid to my new baby sister!! What a blessing and honor!!

          ~Our family with Justin & Katie~           ~Katie, the Pastor (oh, I mean Brad) & Justin~

~Katie, my new sister~

I will end my letter to you all by thanking you as always for your support of our family and by asking you to join us in prayer over the following requests…


 Praise God, my Achilles tendon is much better, we had a wonderful family time and the start of our school year has been great!

 Praise God for His graciousness in dealing with us and opening and closing doors in ministry opportunities. Please continue to pray for discernment in what we are to do and where we are to trust God to provide someone else to meet those needs.

 Please Pray for God’s continued direction for the ministry and partnerships.

 Praise God as He continues to grow our family’s financial ministry partners. We are so thankful for how you all have supported us and trust God will provide our need. Please pray that He would continue to provide as we trust.

 Please pray as we gear up for more ministry teams coming down to serve with us. We had the first of our fall groups arrive this afternoon and we have teams booked almost every month from now until next March. If you are interested in a possible trip please email us bbj531@yahoo.com.

Thank you again!! You are His tools that make what we do possible!

From His fields…Brooke for all ~

If you would like to contribute to our family and ministry in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic you can mail a check directly to Alliance 29:11, 400 Office Park Drive Suite 301, Birmingham, AL 35223.  All contributions must be designated “Jenkins Family”. 

OR you may also go online to make a contribution or set up a reoccurring contribution by visiting www.alliance2911.com.  Click on the donate button and follow instructions.  Make sure to select the drop down menu to choose “Jenkins Family”.  All donations are tax deductible.

DR - August 2010