Hurricane Emily

It is a rainy, humid morning this morning in Jarabacoa, but we are still looking forward to what God has in store for us today. Many of you have probably seen the reports of Hurricane Emily headed this direction so I wanted to let you know that we are safe. Students International is welled prepared for situations like this and will take good care of us. The base is in a location that has little chance of flooding. It's possible we won't be able to work at our ministry site this afternoon due to the rains, but we will find that out later today. Please continue to pray for our safety and our health! The girls are doing amazing - I feel blessed to be their coach and have this opportunity to see them grow throughout this trip.

We will continue to keep you posted on the weather!

Have a great day!
Coach Fisk

Day Two

Buenos Dias!

We are beginning day two of our adventure in Jarabacoa. The girls are doing amazing! I am so proud of the women they are and their ability to open up their hearts to the children of Jarabacoa. They are truly already making an amazing impact on these girls. I will have one of them write on the blog later today so that you can here directly from them, but I wanted to get you a little update to start the day.

One highlight from yesterday is one of the directors took us out for Dominican Republic ice cream last night - it was a fun experience! Ice cream is always good for the soul :)

Today we will be holding two practices, one for a JV team and one for the Varsity team that we worked with yesterday. It should be a great fun day today!

We miss you all! Please keep praying for continued health (no one has gotten sick yet!) Also, please continue to pray for continued energy throughout these long days of serving. We are having sooooo much fun!

Have an amazing day!
Coach Fisk

First Experiences

It is Monday morning and the girls are having their quiet time before our morning devotions as a group. Students International does an amazing job of taking great care of us. We have been fed very well and are prepared to start our ministry today. We actually get an opportunity to play in a match today against a team from a local town. We are excited to see what is before us today. Please pray for our safety as we play and pray that we will be able to overcome the language barrier to share the love of Christ with the Dominican people. Please also pray that they will see the our love of Christ just through our actions.

Thanks again for all of your support!
Coach Fisk

FIrst Impressions

20 hours, three airports, plenty of naps, and TONS of food later, we have finally been able to come face to face with everything we have been working towards. And not surprisingly, it has been completely worth it.
Unfortunately, when we arrived it was dark and we were not able to see much. However, that just made waking up this morning even more incredible. Everything is lush, green, and so obviously alive. Although we haven't had too much interaction with the local people, just observing their way of life has left many of us awestruck. The zest for life is written on their faces and is completely apparent in the way they interact with others.
We attended a church service this morning and the passion for worship was enough to leave goosebumps. There wereno reservations. No boundaries. Simply the most incredible worship for the same God we worship. In a completely different way. Every word, every movement, every drumbeat and guitar-strum was from the heart.
The passion and love and deep appreciation without reservations is inspiring.
-Shelby

We have arrived!

Our team departed the college campus this morning and have finally arrived after a day full of travel. We have traveled over 3,000 miles and are tired, but very excited to be here. We are looking forward to a great nights rest and anticipating our start tomorrow.

Please continue to pray for our health and safety, our growth as a team, growth as individuals, and most importantly the impact we will be able to have on this community over the next few days.

Coach Fisk

Today is the Day!

We are getting ready to leave the college to head to LAX. We are all lacking sleep, but know that we will survive on adrenaline until we arrive back home on the 7th. A big thank you to Teresa Demchak and Ryan Dillon for being the drivers!!!!!

Please pray for safe travels!

Until next time......
Coach Fisk

t-minus...

19 hours until take off from LA to Miami.. 3 hour lay-over while in Miami.. 2 hour flight to Santiago, Dominican Republic.. and finally a 40 mile bus ride into the town of Jarabacoa. Excitement and anticipation arise as our destination approaches. I have yet to pack, my Spanish is rough, and so much seems like it needs to be taken care of before we leave. It is only by the grace of God that I have an extreme since of calmness for all of the unknown. All I can think about is what God is going to do and the radical experiences we are going to have. Ecclesiastes 3 talks about a time to gather stones. The first thing that comes to mind, was when something really profound happened in the Old Testament, the Israelites memorialized events by gathering stones. They called them the “stones of remembrance”, a reminder of the greatness of an extraordinary event. The point of these stones was to commemorate what God has done- rescued them from impending destruction, mounting stupidity, wrong turns, and other general lapses in judgment. I assume this practice was necessary because they, like me, were quick to forget what was really important. In one mind blowing example, God altered the flow of the Jordan River so His people could cross safely. Joshua ordered twelve men to each gather one stone from the riverbed and place all of them together to serve as a sign, a memorial, that God had intervened yet again in their lives. These stones were reminders to wake up and see what is possible, to notice the miracles, to even participate in a miraculous event now and then – to stop worrying and making excuses and “should of” –ing and instead simply believing. Through this trip I hope we are more able to step out into the current and see what happens. That when we come back we can get our feet wet more often instead of paralytically wondering how cold the water might feel or how strong the current might be or even how on earth we are going to explain the miraculous occasions God allowed us to be apart of. I pray that as we find ourselves in the midst of the unknown in Jarabacoa and when we return home that we can gather stones and remember how God moved us, because I know that He will.

-Courtney

1 Timothy 1:5 "The aim of our charge is love"