Lots To See ... Much To Do!

We visited a home of a young girl named Ruth that Peggy taught years ago in the Capital. It was amazing how this girl and her husband (both deaf) came back to their home town of Dajabon to help other children!!! Ruth told us that her heart was broken for these kids and she knew she had to do something to help them. She has classes in the morning for younger children and in the afternoon for the older ones. You know I cried and cried .... haha, but it was tears of joy! Someone has given them a plot of land to build a school on. I hope and pray we can help them someday build their school with mission teams.
I simply do not have enough internet time to tell you all that we are doing ...
hopefully more to come later. Heading to Haiti today to visit tent city, we hear there is a deaf church that we hope to get to.
Love to all, Shawn

For A Ride In The Clouds ...

(Wednesday Events)
Well let me start by saying that I have not flown in two years (and I HATE being stuck in small spaces) so I knew that this would be kinda hard on me! And having to say goodbye to Kelly and the kids was OH SO HARD!!! I had to keep my mind on this journey and that the Lord had brought me to this place and I had to continue on!
After the goodbyes were said I boarded my plane and the claustrophobia set in!!!! Yikes! That plane was small! So here I am sitting and my heart is about to race out of my chest!! GRRRRR Well you know what happened? haha I looked down and my XM Radio was playing King Of Glory! Just what I needed (just like the Lord, ya know!). So I just had to laugh at that one! So I stuck in my headphones and started worshiping the Lord. Well you know what comes next dont ya ... TAKEOFF! Oh yeah, anxiety city for me! Well guess what song came on next???
Give It All Away by Aaron Shust
All of my plans, all of my dreams, I lay them down before Your feet
All of my time, all that was mine, I now submit to Your design
'Cause You are the one who can make my life complete
You are the one who can give light to my feet
You are the one and only one who dared to give it all away for me
And if that just wasnt enough -
Mike's Chair came on next singing Keep Changing The World
Something here is wrong
There are children without homes
But we just move along
To take care of our own
There's so much suffering
Just outside our door
A cry so deafening
We just can't ignore
To all the people who are fighting for the broken
All the people who keep holding on to love
All the people who are reaching for the lonely
Keep changing the world
WOW, the Lord knows I need confirmation sometimes ... and He gave me just what I needed and the timing couldnt be any more PERFECT!!
My scripture verse today was this:
2 Thessalonians 3:3
... But the Lord is true, who will give you strength and keep you safe from evil.


I am in Miami airport waiting for our flight to Santiago, DR. We should arrive at 8pm tonight if all goes well.
Love to all!
Shawn

It's That Time Again!!!

Wow! Wow! Wow! That is about all I can say right now! haha
I am leaving on Thursday to head to Santiago, Dominican Republic! So I just felt like I needed to dust off the old blog and get it going again (of course after many attempts and password failures) haha!
Anyways, this trip is going to be very short and cram packed, but we pray that it is eventful. I hope and pray to have internet so that I can keep you guys posted every step of the way just like I did last time. It was so encouraging to see your comments on those posts and to know that you all are praying for our trips. So please, keep those comments coming! :)
Kelly will not be going with me on this trip, so please keep him in prayer (he will have the kids for an entire week) ... haha, I can guarantee he will have a deeper sense of appreciation for me when I get back!! lol
We will be going to the DR to visit a deaf school there and I will be taking them some much needed school supplies. From there we will cross the border and head off into Haiti for a couple of days. We will be visiting an orphanage there called Danita's Children. It is an amazing place - the Lord has done (and is doing) some amazing things there. Her website is: danitaschildren.org
Then we will fly from Cap Haitian (in a prop plane - YIKES) to the capital city, Port-au-Prince. I am sure it is going to be a disaster since the earthquake. We will be visiting a pastor there who's orphanage was destroyed.
I fly back to the states on Tuesday the 7th -
surely to be a changed person ....
Prayer Request: Fiona who is out there just waiting to become a hurricane .... Praise the Lord Hurricane Earl is gone!!!
Love you guys, thanks for going on this journey with me!
Shawn

Orphanage News!

~~~BEFORE~~~

~~~After~~~

Hey Everyone! I have some awesome pictures of the Orphanage that we visited. When we were there in June, the building was not painted or even close to being finished. I just went to the website and have found it to be a beautiful color of sea green(?), and it looks WONDERFUL! The same children are still there, and I am also adding a picture of them. Please keep Israel and Marguerita in your prayers. They are the ones that came from the US with a dream to build this place. God has been blessing them so much, and I am so thankful for them and all they do for these kids!
Thanks again for visiting!
Love to all,
Shawn

Just an update . . .

Hey everyone! As I sit here on this Thanksgiving day, my thoughts have been on the Dominican Republic. As we all sit around with family members watching football eating more than our bodies could possibly digest in a day, I begin to wonder how much we really are thankful for. Don't get me wrong, I offer the Lord thanks continually, not just on this day, but this is one of those days that I am reminded that I take WAY too much for granted. As we all venture out to a loved one's house, we know that it is going to be warm, with electricity, internet, HD big screen TV, and enough food to feed an orphanage. Sounds like paradise, huh? Well, for some reason I cannot enjoy myself at these things, and I feel so out of place. I wish there was something more I could do for the dominicans. I feel as though my hands are tied and there is nothing I can do. I mean sure, I can send some clothes, toys, etc., but that is not enough for me. I feel so helpless as I sit here so far away from the people I love and want to help. Since we were there, it has only been five months, but it feels like an eternity . . .
Thanks for listening, I really just needed a moment to reminisce.
Waiting patiently,
Shawn

The town of the Jews?

A very long time ago when Kelly and I first starting looking into the Dominican Republic, a certain town called Sosua caught our attention. We liked this cute little town because it was a refuge to the Jewish people during Hitler's reign. (www.mjhnyc.org) There are many Jewish people living there still. We had always wanted to witness to them and had hoped that the Lord would open up a door for us to one day visit this place. While on this trip we didnt think that we would be able to go there since we were so short on time. Well, the Lord had other plans for us! He most certainly wanted us to visit Sosua, but not for reasons that we first dreamed of. We found ourselves in this town looking for a place to stay the night. It was getting dark and we had not been able to find a reasonable (in price) place to stay so we kept on traveling. By the time we reached Sosua we were relieved to be in a town to rest for the night. OR SO WE THOUGHT!!! We drove around and around and around . . . we did not like what we were starting to see here. We finally stopped at an ice cream stand (still a little scared to get out of the car), so we ventured out. Well, I can honestly say that I was not prepared for what I was about to see! I started noticing women that were alone and VERY scantily dressed walking around. It was getting dark out and dominican culture calls for EVERYONE to get dressed up (EVERY night of the week), grab some beer and head out to a central location. So I kinda overlooked these half naked girls and got my ice cream and we all headed to a small store across the street. There we bought a few things and headed back out to find a hotel. (so much happened at this store also, but I will leave our haitian worker story for another blog) As we were driving I started noticing more and more (half naked) women standing on street corners - You are probably starting to see where this story is going . . . And yes, you are right! At this time I was TOTALLY freaking out!!! BUT, I didnt want to judge anyone, so we kept driving. There were people partying all over the place at this time where we could hardly even drive the streets for so many people. I was begging Kelly to get us out of this town, I didnt care how late it was and that we didnt have anywhere to sleep yet! As we were leaving the city, there right beside my window stood a drunk elderly white man with a VERY young dominican girl in her early teens. Yes, she was a prostitute. At that point I was very sick. That image stuck in my mind and has not left me yet. The little town that once was of interest to Kelly and I is a modern day Sodom and Gomorrah. I was so saddened by what we witnessed. I cannot imagine being a Jew and living in those conditions. I would be scared of God's punishment on that city while I was living there too. We were all affected by this town, and I know that I left a changed person. It was as if I was looking through the Lord's eyes and I felt His holy anger inside me. I will continue to pray for the town of Sosua, and I would ask that you do too.
Prayerfully,
Shawn

Deaf School Slideshow

Here is a slideshow that I put together when we got home. These children touched our hearts, and I hope they touch yours too!