Wednesday, December 13, 2006

"Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God."
Matthew 4:4
Merry Christmas! We pray that you are enjoying this holiday season and that the words of God are ringing in the streets.

We have been back in the States now for over six weeks and we've added a few miles to the car. The ongoing fundraising tour has been in full effect and though it isn't our favorite part of ministry, God has shown us the gift of provision. Thank you to all who have been so supportive both financially and prayerfully and we ask that you continue to be a part of this Ministry.

The entire G.O. Ministries staff is State-side at the moment as we have just finished our year-end meetings. As exciting as 2006 has been, we are all very anxious to see how God is going to work in our lives and in the lives of the Nationals of the Dominican and Haiti. There are many exciting events coming up and we're looking forward to sharing them with you. We just ask that you pray for the G.O. Staff and the Ministry as a whole as we continue this wild journey.

We are here until January 17, so please keep in touch and we hope to see you during our stay.

Feliz Navidad

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Will and Audrey


Merry Christmas from the G.O. Staff

Monday, November 13, 2006

Happy Hoildays! We made it home safely and are adjusting to the weather:) We arrived in the States October 30th and have already spent some time in Dalton, GA, visiting the Leatherman family. We had a great time as we were able to hang out with Audrey's parents, visit her church that has been so faithful through support and prayers, and even catch a wedding of an old friend. We are now in Louisville working in the G.O. office and preparing for the end of the year activities. God has been so gracious as we look upon this last year in the D.R. with a huge smile on our faces.

Before we left the Dominican a couple of weeks ago, we had a crazy-fun time. In just 10 days, we hosted 4 different churches from the U.S. and 2 individuals that came to explore the Ministry. Within these 10 days we had two medical clinics, soccer camp, dental clinic, women's conference, childrens' ministry, evangelism, and trips to Haiti. Our entire staff was stretched all over the island, but the Holy Spirit kept everything together and the experiences we all had were Outstanding.



As far as the sports portion, the soccer camp was great! We had a total of 80 kids for our first adventure with soccer in the D.R. The kids here are naturally talented at basketball and super-skilled at baseball, so we weren't quite sure how the "futbol" would go. After a couple of days of fundamentals and short games, the kids were having a blast and improving fast. The soccer ministry is officially launched and we are excited about the future.

Once again, we want to thank all of you for your prayers for the teams that come down to serve and the work that continues within the Ministry. When we were saying good-bye and preparing to come home, it was a little different this time. We always love coming to the States because we love our family and friends, but leaving was a little tough. We feel such a peace about where God has placed us at this time in our lives. We never would've thought a few years ago that He would take us to another country and settle us in and allow us to call it home; but that's who God is and it's just a testimony to how He can change and mold anyone. Thank you all for your encouragement as we have continued to adjust to our new life together.

We will be in the States until January 17. There will be lots of traveling and visiting, so we would love to see you if the opportunity presents itself. During this time we will be speaking with churches, spending time with family, and continuing the ongoing journey of fundraising. Please pray as we move forward with trying to expand our support circle. We started off pretty strong this year with our funds, but as months have passed, things have died down a little. We know that God will send the right people at the right time as He has always been so faithful. He is definitely teaching us how to trust in Him for everything and through everything.

We pray that all is great with you as the holidays approach. Please send emails and cards as you find the time so we can see faces and hear stories. We love you all and hope to hear from you soon!

In Jesus

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Will and Audrey


this is Debra, a little girl from our street who visits us A LOT!!:)

Friday, October 06, 2006

Greetings from the Caribbean! Although we didn't have any teams come down in the month of September, we have managed to find ways to keep us busy enough to wonder where the days have gone. We've been continuing our spanish classes and they have provided much help in many different ways. Both of our teachers are Christians so they bring great encouragement to the work that is going on down here and they teach us a thing or two about the language as well:) The only down side is homework.....just when we thought we had abandoned that nightmare by graduating, we throw ourselves right back in the mix. All in all, we love class and spanish.

In our last update, we mentioned that a group of men from our church went to Columbia for a month to help serve and learn more about the structure of other churches. They arrived home safely to a community that was anxiously awaiting them. These men are a great encouragement to our neighborhood so they were greatly missed while away. While in Columbia, these men learned a great deal about what kind of changes they want to make in the churches here in the Dominican Republic. They now realize the importance of accountability through small groups. We had a meeting last week where leaders from the church discussed their plans for implementing these small groups into the church structure. Audrey and I have been appointed as leaders for the sports crew, as well as helpers in the marriage group and the young adults. We are thrilled with the ideas that are forming and the passion that the people here have for God, their church and their community. Please pray for the efforts that are taking place to expand the church body and for the discipleship that lies ahead.

On the sports side of things, the basketball league here in Hoya del Caimito has ended. The championship games were very exciting and the awards ceremony was something the kids really enjoyed. After the games were over, we invited the kids and coaches of the league to an awards ceremony on the third floor of our dormitory. I had the opportunity to deliver a message which tied in all of the devotions the kids had with their coaches through out the league. After that we gave out awards and our media director put together a video filled with pictures and live action from the games. The kids went CRAZY! We set up a projector and put the show on a wall so they could see themselves in action on the big screen. They cheered and laughed the entire time. It was great to see them enjoying each other as they looked back upon the 7 weeks we spent together. Please pray that these boys will continue to pursue what they learned in their devotion time and that we will have the opportunities to visit with them and help encourage them.



Now that basketball is over, we have begun our adventure with volleyball. We now have a volleyball clinic for girls on Saturday mornings! God is so good as He brought us over 30 girls on the very first day. Now that things are under way, we had to change the schedule and split the clinic into two different groups at two different times due to the number of kids. Please pray that these girls will understand 1 Corinthians 12:12-27 as we try to teach them what it means to be "one" as a team and as the body of Christ. After the clinic ends at 10:30, we have invited adults of the church and the community to play volleyball with us. So far, many have come to play and the games are pretty competitive....which we LOVE :)



It hasn't been all "work" and no play over the past few weeks as we had a staff trip to Santo Domingo (capital). There we visited the place where Columbus and his ships made their home here in the Dominican back in the late 1400s. In the early 1500s, the first church of the new world was built and still has services today. It is a catholic church known as the cathedral and it is beautitful. We then toured the city some more before heading to Outback Steakhouse.....obviously the only one in the country. Also for entertainment, Will has been playing in a basketball tournament in a town outside of Santiago. Club Amistad is the name of the team and they are in the championship beginning next weekend. We have really enjoyed meeting the people in this community and seeing a different part of the country.



We also had a couple of visitors this past week......Rob and Jennifer Partin (Will's parents). They arrived on September 28 and stayed until October 4. We all had a great time seeing ministry sites, touring the city, hanging out, and spending a night at the beaches of Sosua. It is always a blast having visitors because they bring energy and a fresh view of the ministry and the Country. A girl from Santiago (Virginia is her name) spent one year at the Partin household about 7 years ago, so this was the first time that the Partins could come here and meet her family. They really enjoyed getting to see them and learn about their life here in the D.R.



The month of October is here and we have a busy month ahead. There is a group here right now from Michigan working on construction and childrens ministry, so pray that their hearts are open to what God has to show them through this experience. We have a few more groups coming which will entail construction, two medical clinics, soccer clinic, childrens' ministry, womens' ministry and evangelism. As we prepare for these weeks to come, pray that the people will continue to see that Jesus lives in the hearts of these people and that we all solely rely on Him for everything. He is the air we breath...He is our daily bread.

The holidays are approaching and we are planning on coming home at the end of October. We look forward to seeing all of you as usual and we pray that you are allowing God to move in your life. We'll be updating you soon on our plans for our time at home so we can schedule some times to get together. We love you all and praise God for what He's doing through you.

In love with Jesus,

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Audrey and Will

Friday, August 18, 2006

Hello everyone!! Well the summer full of short term mission groups has officially ended for G.O. Ministries and the staff is taking a moment to re-energize before the Fall. With 16 teams in 3 months, we were able to accomplish a lot through medical, construction, sports, childrens' ministry, VBS, ongoing training for pastors, and simply loving on the people of the Dominican and Haiti. The Holy Spirit is moving in this place and God's people are fired up for ministry.

Since our last update in July, Audrey and I have had the opportunity to serve in a medical clinic in Los Salados, construction in Brisa del Campo (a new church for one of our Hatian pastors), an all girls basketball clinic with Indiana Wesleyan's women's basketball team, childrens' ministry in 10 or so churches, and we have continued running our basketball league here in Hoya del Caimito. The picture to your right is a little boy from the medical clinic who had a cist on his forehead that needed to be drained. He was a great sport about it! We have learned that you grow the most in Christ when you are broken and tired. We have had to learn how to rely solely on Him especially when there's not much left in our tank. God has been so good through this summer as each group brought a certain energy that allowed us to continue to serve Him.

Audrey just finished a 6 week basketball tournament where she was playing with a women's team here in Santiago. There were 4 teams in the tournament and bragging rights were at stake. Her team won the championship and she made the local newspaper and her picture will forever be on the walls of Club Pueblo Nuevo. She made awesome relationships with the girls on her team and is really looking forward to nurturing them.

I had a great opportunity to return to Haiti for the second time. We had a videographer come down to help us with our new G.O. Ministries video. This visit to Haiti was a little different because I was the only one that had ever been there. We had 3 groups down here at the time, so I volunteered to lead a group of 4 to Quanaminthe. God was so amazing as he made the entrance and exit to and from Haiti a smooth one. Usually it takes quite some time to get across the border, but that day we only spent about 5 minutes trying to get through. It was a great day in Haiti as I got to sit down and interview Arsenio (pastor) and hear why he has such a deep passion for the Lord and his people in Haiti. We spent time in the feeding center, market, school, and joined in on a prayer and worship time in the church. Listening to people worship in their native language is a beautiful thing! Please continue to pray for God to change lives and perform miracles there!


We were really excited to have IWU's women's basketball team here this past week because they were like trailblazers for the girls side of sports ministry here in the D.R. This is the first time we've had an all-girls team come down to hold an all-girls clinic. As you can imagine, the females of the community were beyond excited. The girls had a 3 day clinic and participated in a tournament in the evenings. Womens' selection teams came in from 3 different cities to play against the IWU girls. The tournament included Santiago, La Vega, Mao and U.S.A. The Americans won the tournament and had a great time sharing their testimonies and forming relationships with their sisters in Christ. Please pray that the girls from these different cities and the 25 girls from camp who came forward after an altar call, will continue to pursue a relationship with Christ.

In the midst of all of the groups, we had two visitors come down to experience life in the Dominican. Tom Goodwin, a good friend joined us for 4 days. He was able to see a lot of the ministry and he mentioned that he felt that tug to come back again to serve in the D.R. Audrey's sister, Melissa (Sis), also came for about 5 days. As you can imagine, they had a blast hanging out and traveling all over the place seeing what kinds of things we do here. I enjoyed being the driver and tour guide! We have been so blessed to have visitors as they bring such encouragement and strength at the right times.

Prayer Requests:Please pray for the sports ministry as we're on the brink of something big. We really need to raise funds for this minibus as we have developed relationships with kids all over the city that would like to participate in clinics and leagues, but don't have transportation to get everywhere.A group of 15 men from our churches and work team here in the D.R. just left for a mission trip to Columbia. For many of them, this is their first time out of the country. The goal of our ministry is to empower the people of the Dominican and Haiti to spread the gospel......God has answered prayers as these men have left their comfort zones for a month to go and make disciples of all nations!! Pray for them and their safety as they work and serve.Just please continue to pray that the Holy Spirit will boldly move throught this island!

We love you and miss you all and we hope to receive updates about you all soon!!

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Will and Audrey


Sis and Audrey

Sunday, July 16, 2006

Hey everyone! We just wanted to say a huge THANK YOU to all of you for your prayers and your support. We can feel the showers of prayer that are being poured upon us every day. We know that each day prayers are answered as we wake up and experience God in new and exciting ways. We are also so grateful for the financial support and the special gifts that people are sending. After about 3 rough months in a row for raising funds, God provided in a major way for the month of June. Thanks to all of you, June was our largest financial month yet which has allowed us to take care of many ministry expenses we've had for the summer sports camps and leagues we're having for the kids. When we received our monthly donor report, we were blown away by how many people have responded to supporting this ministry! We know that every month won't be like June, but we thank you and ask you for your continued support as we know it is needed in the future.

Some of you have been so supportive in other ways as well. We have received brand new sports equipment from Louisville Slugger, basketball shoes from North Oldham Middle School, and all of our vitamins and sunscreen have been provided as well. There is a baseball team that we spend time with every Thursday and they are ecstactic about their new equipment. The basketball league has begun and kids are able to play in real basketball shoes. We are staying healthy and feel energized because of our vitamins. Again, thank you all for being so creative and generous with your support.

In love with Jesus,

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Audrey and Will



Vitamins, Sunscreen, Louisville Slugger gear & shirts

Thursday, June 29, 2006

Greetings from Santiago! This is our first update since we arrived back here in the D.R. on June 13 after a nice visit in the States for 6 weeks. When the plane landed here a couple of weeks ago, we hit the ground running in preparation for the 9th annual basketball camp in Hoya Del Caimito. In 1998, this camp consisted of 10 American helpers and 30 Dominican campers. This year we had 160 campers and 35 Americans come down to serve. The presence of God has been working in this camp as it continues to grow.

Every morning we began camp with chapel. Three women from the church and a few men formed the praise and worhip team as we lifted our hands through singing. All of the kids in the camp loved clapping, worshipping, and laughing at the Americans who had no rhythm. Each day one of the Americans shared their testimony and a Dominican friend of ours, Samir, preached. By the end of the week, the response was great as 40 kids came forward to find out what a relationship with Christ is like. Please pray for these kids who are hungry for the gospel. Audrey, Pedro, and I are spending this week visiting the houses of those who want to learn more. Pray that we will all be consistent in our walk with God.

We are now preparing for the first ever G.O. Ministries basketball league that will begin July 4th. This will be an 8 week league where kids will practice, play games, and have a Bible study with their teams. We are praying that this will provide consistency, commitment, and discipline in the lives of the children here; 3 big things in which they are lacking.

The summer is a very busy time for the ministry as a whole. We have two teams down here every week working on a variety of things. Right now, a church from Illinois is here for a medical clinic and construction. Also, a church just south of Indianapolis is here to serve in construction and children's ministry. Because this is such a jam-packed summer with short term mission trips, sports leagues, and the usual daily ministry, please pray that we are able to continue to grow spiritually as a staff. Many of us know what it is like to get so busy that we forget our daily time with God. Please keep us accountable by checking in with us and asking if we are continuing our much needed quiet time.

We are so excited about being back here and we can't wait to see what God has in store for the summer. Each day He reveals something new to us and He becomes bigger and bigger. There is great comfort in knowing His plans are far great than our dreams. Thanks again to all of you who are praying and supporting us. We are blessed to be here. Please enjoy the pictures from the basketball week!
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Audrey and Will