mi amiga

i'm asking why world missions
and hearing jesus answer
that he came to share news (good)
and release captives
that he came to bind up the brokenhearted
and comfort the mournful
that salvation and compassion point to him
and
that his spirit will empower us to participate
in
these
amazing
works
and my friend elizabeth (whose husband's name is welcome)
she gets this
but
she needs help
and
she's praying that the spirit will move you
to join god's work in the christian school
to which she and her husband are devoted
would you sponsor a student?
would you pay for a teacher's staff development?
would you go and help with construction and repairs and witness?
would you?
click here for detailed information

chris and i have supported this ministry for four and a half years. we trust it implicitly. bienvenido and elizabeth's work opens the door for churches and individuals to participate in world missions at varying levels and expense. 

continuing to count his blessings to 1000 -

947. blackberries on my pancakes
948. lunch with friends
949. charlie's (nephew) third birthday
950. hilarious texts from sister-who-has-a-new-dog
951. uncovering periwinkle
952. time away from school
953. students who get excited about learning and hang in there with me


linking with -

michelle for hear it monday, use it on sunday, ann for 1000 gifts, joan for sharing his beauty, laura for playdates with god, jennifer for tell his story, jen for soli deo gloria, my freshly brewed life and kat for titus 2 tuesdays

her husband's name is welcome

walking with elizabeth in azua, dominican republic

and this is elizabeth
christian
wife
mother
teacher
she's a dream darer...
space to house mission teams
her neighbors knowing christ
education for her children
and this is elizabeth
daughter
cousin
cook
translator
she is action despite...
financial difficulties
red-tape
infirmities
and this is elizabeth
inspiration personified
and
god-chosen friend

how about you? who inspires you lately?

continuing to count his gifts to 1000 -

832. sharing the table
833. bleu cheese chips
834. substitute teachers
835. logs on the fire
836. operation christmas child boxes
837. husband doing dishes
838. husband holding my hand
839. pollo y arroz y frijoles
840. jugo de chinola and the hands that make it
841. text messages from my girl

linking with -

michelle for hear it monday, use it on sunday, ann for 1000 gifts, l.l. for on, in, and around mondays

joan for sharing his beauty, laura for playdates with god, elaine for miss elaine-ous monday, jen for soli deo gloria shanda for on your heart tuesdays and kat for titus 2 tuesdays

the family missions thank you

writing for five minutes on thank you -

like the men in white asked the disciples

why do you stand looking

i heard a

 months-ago whisper

go, take the boys

and the whisper became a shout 

so we ordered passports

but this trip to our dominican friends

didn't make financial sense

at.all.

and so the thanks -

to

our family

my faculty

my readers

who donated money, sports equipment, books, paper, crayons

who bought cd's and books and cookies and cake

so our boys could

paint
lead music
love

and learn sacrifice

god raised you up to bring forth the harvest

thank you



linking with -

the gypsy mama for five-minute-friday

michelle for caffeinated randomness

studio jru for sneak peek friday
grace for FYBF
beholding glory for faith-filled friday

rooster spanish

in azua, dominican republic

the
roosters are calling kikirikí
from south
and very soon
the
holas
pina
plaintains
liminada
ninos y ninas
and
love and work and play
will be
reality
and
we covet your prayers

how can i pray for you?

linking with -

jen for god bumps, joy for life:unmasked, emily for imperfect prose, grace for FYBF, michelle for caffeinated randomness and studio jru for sneak peek friday

on dirty socks and family missions

these boys?
they're mine
sure, they leave dirty socks on the floor
and
kind of never put away clean clothes
and, yeah, they leave the cap off the toothpaste
but
they make music like this
it's what matters
and
we're taking them to the
dominican republic soon
to build a library
to teach english
to share jesus
this week marks the last of middle school soccer
this week marks the last of high school football
my boys are moving on
but their music
but their hearts
these matter most
and
i
am
proud

would you consider participating in our trip? keep reading....

my older son wrote, composed, rehearsed and recorded ten songs with a friend for his senior project this year. you can listen to a sample here. my younger provided percussion while the older is on guitar and vocals. if you find it enjoyable, and if you want to contribute to our trip, please consider emailing me. we're selling the cd's to raise money for this venture. i'm asking $10, which will cover shipping and a donation of $6. my email is kendalprivette@yahoo.com. thank you, friends.

linking with -

jen for god bumps, joy for life:unmasked, emily for imperfect prose, grace for FYBF, michelle for caffeinated randomness and studio jru for sneak peek friday

on freedom and my sons' cd

this hint
this family missions experience
has legs....
our dominican experience
will find us
teaching
visiting
working in a library
and with church youth
i will admit that my
worldly self
feels afraid and weary
reading the itinerary
but
isaiah reminds us
that the almighty
will not grow weary
and my son hank sings
these words....
i wanna run in your
freedom
so even though
this stepping out is scary
and
even though
this stepping out is exhausting
the mighty one
is never
afraid
and
never
weary
and i'll run in that freedom!

my older son wrote, composed, rehearsed and recorded ten songs with a friend for his senior project this year. you can listen to a sample here. my younger provided percussion while the older is on guitar and vocals. if you find it enjoyable, and if you want to contribute to our trip, please consider emailing me. we're selling the cd's to raise money for this venture. i'm asking $10, which will cover shipping and a donation of $6. my email is kendalprivette@yahoo.com. thank you, friends.

continuing to count his gifts to 1000 -

791. breakfast three times in one day
792. shenandoah valley road trip
793. lemon brownies (a happy accident)
794. heat pump running
795. birds' song on their flight south
796. my girl, the one i mentor, home for fall break!
797. husband taking care of me on headache days

linking with -

michelle for hear it monday, use it on sunday, ann for 1000 gifts, l.l. for on, in, and around mondays

joan for sharing his beauty, laura for playdates with god, elaine for miss elaine-ous monday, jen for soli deo gloria shanda for on your heart tuesdays and kat for titus 2 tuesdays

grace for FYBF, carina for i am thankful, beki at the rusted chain, michelle for caffeinated randomness and studio jru for sneak peek friday

a hint

an idea
a hope
is taking shape
and it looks like
my little family
will be on mission
in the dominican republic
for a few fall days
and it doesn't make sense
the timing
the finances
and panic sneaks around
and i read and read again
isaiah's words
have you not known?
have you not heard?
the lord is the everlasting God,
the creator of the ends of the earth
the end.

how about you? what lies ahead? what is your antidote to panic?

continuing to count his gifts to 1000 -

771. reading time
772. preserving food for the winter (more tomatoes!)
773. teaching. all of it. even the frustrations.
774. my girl, the one i mentor, positively proud of her
775. my husband who is organizing thousands of photographs
776. my son jack who is helping
777. safe travel for hank
778. new people, new smiles

linking with -

michelle for hear it monday, use it on sunday, ann for 1000 gifts, l.l. for on, in, and around mondays

joan for sharing his beauty, laura for playdates with god, elaine for miss elaine-ous monday, jen for soli deo gloria shanda for on your heart tuesdays and kat for titus 2 tuesdays

and now there's forward

solitude
my elusive friend
has found me tonight
and this will be a short post
as the keyboard sounds
catastrophically
loud
against the back drop of nothing
i'm just missing tonight
friends from ago
knees that don't creak
time with dominicans
little guys to hold in my lap
words i thought i would remember so never wrote
....
and now these keys clack too much
and now the laundry beckons
and now there's forward

when you start missing, what do you miss?

linking with:

jen for god bumps
joy for life:unmasked
kimberly for painting prose

beki at the rusted chain for fingerprint friday

michelle for caffeinated randomness

studio jru for sneak peek friday

all the time

home

i feel like i've been gone

a month

i feel like i've been gone

two minutes
i am certain of my blessings
abroad

children smiling

Christ moving

church singing

students leading

Dominicans loving

and

i am certain of my blessings
at home

nana spoiling

grammie caring

hank and jack teaming

God is good
siempre

a list of seven smiles

1. my mission team lifted hundreds of burdens to God while carrying a cross sixty-six miles last weekend. it was an awesome time.
2. i watched more than seventy people wish my dad a happy 80th birthday on saturday. he LOVED it.
3. my twin, who lives away, shared descriptions of the people she saw at the grocery store who thought she was me. i had to apologize to my community via facebook for "ignoring" them!
4. i shared souls with a dear friend yesterday over lunch. i wonder if anyone noticed....
5. i laughed so hard at college bible study last night that i'm a little sore today.
6. my sociopath cat, dale, finally lets me really pet him. and he purrs.
7. our contact in the DR has been advertising a fundraiser, "get your car washed by the americans!" that would be us.

Linking up with Emily at chatting at the sky today for more tuesdays unwrapped.

where two or three come together

A couple of weeks ago I went camping with my Dominican Republic mission team. Chris blindfolded us and took us hiking. Tomorrow and Saturday we're going to walk again, only this time we'll be able to SEE! We’re going to take shifts and walk for twenty-four hours beginning Friday night at 8:00. For each mile we walk, we’ll each pray for a specific prayer concern. Please let me know your requests so the team can lift them up in prayer. You may comment on the blog, at Facebook, message me at Facebook or send me an email (kendalprivette@yahoo.com). If you’re in Wilkes, come and walk with us for a little while! We’ll be at the track behind the YMCA.

can't wait....

the destination...

the reason....

chris and i will travel to azua, dominican republic with a group of college students and three other adults in july while nana (chris's mother) comes here to stay with the boys.

 

we covet your prayers

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Linking up with Patty for her last of  her The Way I See It series.

preparations and expectations

I went camping. The proof is in the photo.

The last time I camped was 1998. Hank was three. And he accompanied the group. My husband and his father took their canoes and paddled six rivers in three days - or something like that. Meanwhile, back at the campground without a swimming pool, I entertained a three-year-old. All day. And into the night. For three days. Needless to say, I have not been a camping fan since. But Chris and I are taking a group of college students on mission to the Dominican Republic in July, and someone thought it would be a good team-building experience to go camping together. My canteen was definitely half empty going in. But I was pleasantly surprised. We are traveling with an awesome group of people. It was an excellent time of team-building. My favorite part was singing together. One of the young guys, Dustin, plays guitar and sings so well. We sat around the fire and sang for about an hour that night. A couple from a neighboring campsite came down and sang with us, and another came the next day to tell us that they sat in chairs beside their camper to listen to us. Spending time with young people who love Jesus is invigorating and hopeful. And I'm thankful that God filled my canteen last weekend.

I'm linking up with Emily at Chatting at the Sky for Tuesdays Unwrapped