We're here

We arrived in the Dominican Republic after an 8 hour red-eye flight (and maybe 1.5 hrs of sleep). It felt like a bit of a dream to come through customs, meet up with the rest of the team and our driver and drive to Barahona. What a beautiful place this is, not just the terrain but the COTN-DR staff have been so welcoming and it has been absolutely so exciting to see Children of the Nations in action. 

Team members: Caitlin, Angela, Holly, Vicky, Derek, Me and Travis with principal of Pueblo Nuevo and Gustav (not sure what he does, but he seemed nice :) ).
We had a great day visiting 4 of the schools including a kindergarten/preschool and skills center. It was so exciting to be greeted by so many children.

We also found out today that we are not able to go to Haiti due to safety concerns. The presidential elections just ended and the results will be announced in the next couple days. Right now there are two candidates that have prematurely said that they won. So when they announce the winner, they are anticipating riots. Please join us in praying for those in Haiti. So we are bummed not to go in but glad that the right decision was made. We are also excited to have more time in the Dominican Republic to get to know the staff and COTN programs better.

I am currently so exhausted and ready for bed.... so until next time :) I cant wait to tell you more when I'm more awake.

"When joy is the destination, the journey is full of delight"

.:: Welcome to Open Canvas ::.

My heart swooned as I walked by an art store today, seeing the thick stack of blank, crispy white canvases in the window. The potential. “What masterpieces might be created on those simple frames?” I wondered, each one with a different shape, size and endless amount of possibilities. There is something also very scary about a blank canvas. Not knowing where to start or how to put into color what is mulling inside… the fear of painting the wrong thing. But in order for the pigments to show, the “silent veto” must be overruled and brush must touch parchment.

I couldn’t help but imagine God feeling the same way, swooning over us, seeing all of the possibilities. Meanwhile, our human fear of the unknown creates a desire to be the only painter. But we must remember that, while we participate in the direction of the brush strokes, He is the artist.

And so, it is with this that I begin “Open Canvas” as a way to share with you as I experience new, exciting, interesting and maybe even humanly scary things on my journey with God and Children of the Nations. It is because of my ever growing, deep love for and love from our creator that I am now a part of the COTN family. And it is my hope that you may also fall in love with this movement of “raising children who transform nations”.  

I am excited to experience more of COTN as I travel with our team of seven to the Dominican Republic and Haiti (March 26-April 5). Check out this video (Hope for Haiti) to get a taste of what COTN (and Flood Church) is doing in Haiti, what we will be working on while we are there and how you can be a part of this exciting growth. I will be posting as we go.   Bon voyage!