THANKFUL FOR the beautiful way that God has chosen to shape our family. an incredible husband who is more that I deserve. a gracious God who loves me unconditionally. the opportunity to do ministry for a living. brook brotzman who has invited us to be a part of the vision he casted through G.O. Ministries. a sister who I can call my best friend. christian heritage. fall leaves. birthmoms. donna. generous supporters who give sacrificially. a comfortable place to stay when we are state-side. a healthy body so I can run. our dear dominican and haitian brothers and sisters who welcome us into their country to do ministry beside them. loving parents. cuddle time with miss ruby ann. basketball, the sport that has opened so many doors for me. friends who love. a home in the dominican where we can retreat to and have quality family time. lunch dates. having the resources to get my hair done which is so relaxing and is always a boost of self confidence. music and the talented artists who create it. a laptop which makes it easy for me to do my job. relationships. the overwhelming amount of love that has been shown for us and ruby ann during this journey. warm clothes during the winter. memories. a beautiful and healthy marriage. a loving church family in louisville, georgia and the dominican. a sleeping baby in my arms right now. this sweet holiday season. generous souls who continue to give and pour out in so many ways. mexican food. my guiding light who has brought us through despair and allowed us to come out on the other side and experience unspeakable joy. for erasing all of the heartache. life that has been given to me by my precious Creator.

The work of a loving, gracious and merciful Father

all of us are in the midst of an incredible life-story that takes all sorts of twists and turns that are filled with pain and joy that hopefully result in God receiving all of the praise. we want to share where we are in our story and how the latest twist has shaped and changed our lives forever.

most of the world desires to have a family that they can love, care for and "do life" with. for many years, we've had an idea of what our family would look like and how we would ultimately go about obtaining that "ideal" family. "many are the plans in a person's heart, but it's the LORD'S purpose that prevails". today we are living out that scripture and praising God that His purpose indeed prevails and far exceeds any plans or expectations we could possibly have for ourselves.

8 weeks ago, we recieved a phone call that would change our lives forever. after a battle with infertility, surgeries and heartache, the voice of our adoption agency saying, "you've been matched", so we bought plane tickets to fly from the dominican back to the states the following week to meet the birthmother and her mother over what would appear to be (so we thought at the time) a potentially awkard, difficult and nervous lunch date! once again, God's merciful and gracious plans prevailed. we were so excited about being parents and having this sweet little baby girl that we were blind-sided by the way we fell in love with Jacquelyn (birthmother) and Donna (maternal grandmother). when we finished with lunch and getting to know Jac and Donna, we got back on the road and our smiles almost didn't fit in the little FIAT 500 we rented to drive home. the best way we know to describe this feeling would be to borrow lyrics from a song by David Crowder Band. . . "heaven meets earth like an unforseen kiss". WHOA! not only were we going to have the privilege of loving this baby, but God opened our hearts to love this entire family! a joy only given by the Author of joy itself.

at that time we were only 6 weeks from the birth of this precious little girl. in the weeks leading up to the birth, our hearts leaped when we would communicate with Jac and Donna. our love grew with every written word and every photo. what was God doing to us?? did we really have the capacity to love the way He was allowing us to? could this be real?

when we got the news that little baby Ruby Ann entered this world through an emergency c-section, we hopped in our car and drove to the hospital . . . 8 hours away! we were so thrilled to meet our little girl and equally as excited to celebrate and spend time with Jac and Donna. God, again, was so gracious in providing us the opportunity to be in the hospital to watch this miracle unfold before our eyes. we will never ever forget that special time with our new family.

new family . . . this is the part where God gets all the praise! many people advised us to guard our hearts as much as we could because the adoption process can be so emotional and some of our expectations might not come to fruition. well we're here to say "many are the plans in a person's heart, but it's the LORD'S purpose that prevails". God calls us to live in community and love the way He loves. we are praising Him today that our family has grown exponentially in the last several weeks. not only do we have a beautiful little baby girl, but we have a Jacquelyn . . . an incredible, courageous, beautiful, warrior of a girl that has blessed us with the most incredible gift. we also have a Donna . . . a true woman of God, a rock that brings about a peace that provides comfort in any situation. we also have Juan. . . a birthfather that loves Ruby dearly and wants her to never forget that love. and then there is everyone who has been praying for all of us throughout this entire journey. . . we have the body of Christ . . . a family that extends across the ocean and loves us more than we deserve.

so, God, thank you that your plans prevail and bring about a life that we could never have created ourselves. You are the Author of life and nobody writes like you do. thank you that ruby ann is one loved little girl and her life is a testimony of your craftsmanship. thank you, for being a loving, gracious and merciful Father.

scroll down to meet our new family members! Enjoy!

Mark, Gail, Jacquelyn, Donna and Chris

birthmother, Jacquelyn and birthfather, Juan

Ruby Ann and Donna

First trip to the doctor, Doctor Mayo

Ruby in the hospital at 2 days old



Happy mom!

......life in slow motion

The summers are always our busiest time in ministry. We helped host and organize the details for 29 teams who came to serve on the island of Hispaniola this June, July and August. God moved in ways that were indescribable. We were so privileged to witness pure beauty, lives being changed, college men striving to pursue an intimate relationship with Him, small victories won, partnerships strengthened, churches being built, congregations grow, children being fed, purified water supply an entire community, people working together to redeem, renew and restore! I think our favorite thing to witness this summer was seeing some of the most influential kids from our basketball league start coming to church, regularly. Will and the Sports Staff have been inviting them for 6 years now, the fruit of their labor is so very sweet......they are beginning to know Jesus, to really know Him as their Savior. What a victory!



At the end of the summer, one generous soul blessed us with a gift....and he said, "do something for yourselves." Oh, how grateful we are to him, truly, from the bottom of our hearts. We decided to get away to one our most favorite places in the Dominican Republic....how we needed it after an intense summer of ministry. It was such a wonderful time of refreshment and renewal. It was a time to talk about friendships, mexican food, how life changes, movies, the transformation of our character, silly things, photography, our future, it was a time to press pause, experience life in slow motion for a bit, and to see things through a fresh perspective. Life can be so busy, packed full of so many things, it can be like looking through a kaleidoscope at an array of beautiful colors, colors that can be a bit jumbled because we don't take moments to slow down, reflect, and make sense of all that is going on around us. These last few days, that's what we have done, we slowed down to bask in the glory of His beauty and His creations.

Our challenge to you is to find that time, soak in every second, enjoy it from the depths of your soul. You will find a sweet peace that is oh so fulfilling.

Enjoy the photos, it was hard to resist not snagging some snapshots to show the beauty that we were engulfed in. It's fun to brag on our God to show off his brillant and beautiful creations!

"A heart at peace gives life to the body..." proverbs 14:30

The Heart of Worship....

Worship this morning at the Central Church was so beautiful and spirit filled! Imagine if you will.....blue skies, palm trees, people of all color, multiple languages and nations, hands lifted high, and people singing out loud praising their Jesus.

The Indiana Wesleyan Men's Basketball team is here with us in the Dominican right now. We can't even express how wonderful these young men and their coaching staff are. All have hearts for Jesus and are willing to serve in any way possible. They have worked so hard.....pouring a floor at Simon's gym, moving rocks in The Hole, passing concrete blocks, etc. On top of that, they have played basketball games every single night against the local Dominican talent. These sweet boys have had smiles on their faces the entire week, Christ shines through them so vibrantly!


Going back to the picture I was painting a little earlier......we experienced such a beautiful sound this morning. The song, "Heart of Worship" was being played, and some were singing in English and some were singing in Spanish. To hear both of our heart languages intertwined was such a sweet sweet sound in our ears. Praising Him this morning!

"I'm coming back to the heart of worship, and it's all about you, it's all about you Jesus, I'm sorry Lord for the thing I've made it, when it's all about you, it's all about you Jesus."

"Estoy volviendo al corazon de la adoracion, y es todo sobre voz, es todo sobre voz Jesus, Perdon Senor por lo que he hecho, cuando es todo sobre voz, es todo sobre voz Jesus."

The JOyS of Summer......

As you all know, our summers here in the Dominican are packed with groups who are serving on mission trips. It's a part of our jobs that blesses us over and over and over again. God has allowed us to serve them and to play a small part in this life changing experience for people. We have the privilege of seeing people redeemed, communities renewed, and creation restored on a daily basis. It just doesn't get much better than that! We want to share some pics from these last few months. Most of these photos were captured by our staff photographer, Amanda Braisted. Enjoy them! Our hope and prayer is that they will inspire you to
"go and make disciples of all nations".

River Valley had a field day in Hato Del Yaque. All of the kids had a blast playing baseball, volleyball, soccer and basketball. They especially loved the jump ropes, ballons and little games the team brought for them.

Dorothy Sayers did a basketball clinic in Los Salados. At the end of the day, the girls said this was the most fun they have ever had playing basketball.

Eastview Youth worked in The Hole moving rocks to help secure the foundation of the church. They are always a blessing to all they come in contact with!

Stretching before the big June basketball camp begins. The kids in the community so look forward to this clinic every year. They learn about basketball, but most importantly about Jesus.

River Valley before starting on their construction project. They worked on Eduard's house (the Caribbean president) and Luis and Rene's house. Oh how we love each and everyone of them!

Sidewinders baseball group working on a construction project. These 15 year old boys were incredible and the leadership even better. It was such a blessing to be a part of their week!


St. Luke's held a field day in Los Perez. The joy on these faces is priceless.

Be Blessed,
Will and Audrey

....through my eyes

This week we hosted a group that is very dear to us. This team has been making trips to the DR for the last 14 years. We love you "G.O. Basketball!"
Many years ago, Will and I went on our first mission trip with the "G.O. Basketball team". This is when God planted the seeds in our hearts for missions, and to Him we are grateful. He had the path all marked out for us, He knew exactly what He wanted things to look like for us, He guided us, directed us, and showed us "our purpose".

As I was sweeping up some broken glass today at the basketball court, God gave me a moment to myself (which is very rare during basketball camp...29 Americans/140 campers). During this moment, I paused to think about what God was showing me this week. You might think after 6 years of living here, 6 years of teams, 6 years of working basketball camps, that things may seem repetitive, dull, or boring......this couldn't be further from the truth! Every day is different, and God continues to reveal Himself in beautiful ways.

This year, I took so much pleasure in watching Will do what he was "made for". God has gifted him in incredible ways and he uses those gifts daily to full capacity. Will has spent the last 6 years developing relationships with these children as well as the adults in the community. They respect him like I've never seen respect given before. They give this respect because he enforces discipline, he teaches, he loves, he shows compassion, and he presents The Gospel in a way that grabs their attention. He knows them all by name, makes them all feel special, and takes every opportunity for "teaching moments". I heard someone describe Will as a "magnet" this week. I think this is the perfect word to describe him. People are naturally drawn to him, and he doesn't use that for selfish ambition. I watched him use it this week to further The Kingdom!

God has created Him for this. I am forever grateful to each and every one of you who support us through prayer and financial giving. By your sacrifices, you are allowing us to do what God has made us for. Our prayer is that you will know how big of a role you are playing in advancing The Gospel....because you are.

Through my eyes.......I saw many beautiful things this week. I saw my life partner excelling at "his calling", I saw children being loved on, and I saw our lives here in the Dominican Republic making a difference which gave me a sweet peace that I will forever hold on to.

Be blessed today on this beautiful Sunday morning God has given us!

In Him,
Audrey

(p.s. Will has no idea I'm writing this post..ssshhh!)

A Story Unfolding.....

Many of you have already heard, but just in case you haven't, we wanted to share some wonderful news. We are in the process of adopting a child and we couldn't be more excited about this journey! We have completed all of the necessary steps and we are officially "waiting" (which can sometimes be the hardest part). We've seen so many sweet ways that God has chosen to shape and form families; we're humbled that He is using this story to form ours!

Adoption has given us a real understanding of who we are as children of God. He loves us unconditionally and seeks to have an initimate relationship with every one of us. All who have a relationship with God know the beauty of adoption as we've all been adopted as sons and daughters into His family!

We have been surrounded by joyous adoption stories our entire lives. Between coaches, friends, role models, babysitters and family members we have seen and known incredible stories of people being blessed by adoption. God has used each and every one of the people below to help shape and mold us in some form or fashion in our lives.

Enjoy the photos below, we pray they bring joy to your day. For us, these photos are portraits of HOPE that we continue to cling on to each day!

Chris Renner and his family, Avery, Mason and wife, Jill. Chris was Will's high school basketball coach that led them to a State Championship in 1999. The summer prior to the season he also led Will and some other basketball players to the Dominican Republic on a mission trip. This was Will's first trip to the D.R. which began a passion that grew over time. Chris and his family were also our very first supporters and continue to this day. We are grateful to Chris's birthparents for loving him so deeply to allow his adoptive parents to raise him to be an incredible Godly man.

Louis Fowler and his family, Harrison, Lloyd, Elliott and Diane. Will has known the Fowler family for about 15 years and has watched the boys grow up into men that are passionate about Jesus. Louis has surpassed on the opportunity for a spring break vacation two years in a row to bring his entire family to the Dominican Republic on a mission trip. It has been a true joy to serve along side of them and watch them develop a transforming partnership with Kerlyn Pena and a little girl from our G.O. School. We are grateful to Louis' birthparents and adoptive parents for their love for him that has allowed him to lead a family that is committed to Jesus Christ!

Bernie Minnis with his wife, Sarah and son, Tripp. Bernie and Will have been friends for 17 years and shared many fun adventures together. The best adventure has been the process of sanctication. They've both challenged each other in their walk as Christians and the Holy Spirit has used both of them to push one another through difficult times. When Sarah said yes to marry Bernie she and Audrey became friends instantly. They have an incredible friendship that allows them to laugh together, cry together, celebrate together and grieve together. We owe a huge thanks to Bernie's birthparents and adoptive parents for raising a wonderful man that married a wonderul woman that will raise incredible children!

Dana Corson with her husband, Scot and daughter, Norah. Dana married Will's best friend from his childhood and we couldn't be more blessed. As much as we love Scot, we jumped with joy when Dana said yes to spend her life with him. Without even knowing, Dana has challenged us in our lives to grow deeper in our knowlege of Scripture. She always encourages us with kind words regarding our ministry in the Dominican Republic and Haiti. We love our time with her and are thrilled that they live around the corner from Will's parents so we can see her, Scot and baby Norah on a regular basis while in the States. We're just a couple of the multitude of people that are blessed by the love that Dana's birthparents and adoptive parents have shown for her. Thank you for placing her in our life.

Lynne Benefiel with her family, David, Craig and William. Lynne has known Will since he was in diapers. She babysat for Will and his siblings when they lived in California. They took amazing trips together to Disneyland and she even loved us Partin kids when we were rotten. Will is so fond of Lynne that he asked her to marry him when he was around 6 years old. She has been such an encouragement to us throughout our marriage and life in ministry. The Benefiel family has supported us from the beginning and we know how excited she'll be when we receive the call to go and meet our child. We had the honor of knowing Lynne's mom before she passed and we still attend church with her father. They raised her to be a woman that loves unconditionally as Christ loves us and we are proud recipents of that love. We also thank her birthparents for allowing us to know and love Lynne and her family.


Sweet little Nora Kate Hyma with her mom's side of the family. Brian and Melissa Hyma (Audrey's sister) gave a precious gift to our entire family over two years ago. God placed it upon their hearts to adopt and six weeks after turning in all of their information they brought home a little girl. After pushing through some heartache in trying to start a family God revealed why His plan is far greater than anything we could ever imagine. Nora has graced our family with so much joy, laughter and love that we give thanks every day for the miracle of adoption. She has a way about her that lights up a room and she certainly takes advantage of it every opportunity she gets. Thank you Brian and Melissa for persevering through difficult times and remaining faithful to God's plan for you two to start a family. You have blazed the trail for us and we can't wait for Nora to have a cousin that shares a similar story. May God bless Brian, Melissa and Nora's birthparents for the love and concern they've shown for her well-being.

Please continue to join us in prayer as this process is new to us. Pray for strength, courage and peace for the birth mom. Pray for patience as we wait. Pray for that sweet baby who God already knows by name who will be joining our family.

We are back in the Dominican safe and sound ready to begin a busy summer of hosting groups that are coming down to serve on the island of Hispaniola. We'll be sure to keep you updated along the way! Thank you so much for your continued love and support as we move forward in this journey.

"I popped right up at 5:15 last Saturday morning, quickly got dressed, ate some breakfast and headed out of the house with the family...."

Click on the "Run With Purpose" tab above to read more about the wonderful day we had last Saturday. Great job team!

". . .We will be your hands, we will be your feet, we will
run this race for the least of these."

Saturday is a big day for our ministry. There are 24 runners running for our Run With Purpose team to help raise funds and awareness for all that God is doing in the Dominican Republic and Haiti. We could not be more blessed by such an incredible group of people surrounding us! If you think about it this week, please pick a name or two on the list below and say a prayer for them. Pray for strengh to finish the race, for a healthy body, for an abundance of energy, and for an incredible experience as they run for such a great purpose!

Will Partin, Jay Phipps, Josh Cox, David Leatherman, Andrew Norton, Melinda Devenouges, Brian Hyma, Alex Norton, Amy Crumbaugh, Michael Belt, Taylor Norton, Casey Wheeler, Nina Norris, Traci Katzfey, Amy Wheeler, Meredith LaMaster, Jennie Walz, Jill Renner, Blair Norton, Matt Bolton, Ashley Boykin, Emily Howell, Amanda Clark and Danielle Osborne

It's not too late to support our run! If you would like to send in a pledge, please do so by using the mailing address in the side bar and please write, "Partin/run" in the memo line. Thank you in advance! Your donations are helping us continue in ministry (all gifts are tax deductible).

Above is a picture after Audrey ran the Derby mini marathon last year...it's Will's turn this year!

"As a garden causes what is sown in it to spring forth, so the Lord God will cause RIGHTNESS and JUSTICE and PRAISE to spring forth before all nations."

As many of you know, we have spent the better part of the year state-side due to circumstances out of our control. It's hard to be away from our home in the Dominican for this amount of time....but God continues to send us sweet suprises to keep us encouraged along the way! We have not had the opportunity to spend a Spring in the states for six years now. We don't usually get to see a "change of seasons" since the majority of our year is spent on the island of Hispaniola where it's summer all year around!

I had the chance to make an unexpected trip to Dalton, Georgia, my home town. Spring there is gorgeous. Flowers in full bloom and dogwood trees sure have a way of making a gal's heart smile! During this time in our lives, when things can feel a bit uncertain, God is splashing down rays of grace, goodness, love and peace in a beautiful way that is so undescribable! Below are pictures of "Spring in Georgia" at the house I grew up in.

We plan to return to the Dominican for the summer. But until then, we will soak up this love that He is showing us through these continued sweet blessings.....what glorious days these are basking in the beauty of His creations! I hope these photos brought a little joy to your day. I encourage you to be on the look out for ways that our King of Kings blesses you daily, even through unexpected ways like sweet smelling wildflowers by the creek in the backyard. Instead of seeing "weeds", see perfection.

Take care ya'll! -Audrey

REFLECTIONS

During this season of our lives, we are spending some significant time state-side. We feel blessed to have the opportuniy to spend extra time with our sweet friends and family. It has been so nice to have lunches and dinners with supporters to thank them for their continued generosity, love and encouragement! We've had wonderful opportunities to meet with churches and Pastors about G.O. Ministries and share the big things that God continues to do in the Dominican Republic and Haiti! We love being a part of the body of Christ and seeing Him work in the lives of the people we love. God is good.

We fully understand that He allows us to endure trials to draw closer to Him. He is our continued source of strength and peace. We grip firmly on to this strength during this season that we are in.

He continues to reveal His wonder. He is so gracious and kind by allowing us a few weeks to return to where our heart beat is....the island of Hispaniola. He gave us three beautiful weeks there in February. That time was packed full!

We have included a few pictures to reflect our time spent in the DR.

It was so nice spending time with missionary friends, the people who we do life with, Goody and Jackie.

Visiting with Bienvo's family in their house. This family is so precious to us and have been a big part of our lives for over 5 years now!

Oh how we love sweet little Wilson. We had the privilege to help find finances so he could have corrective eye surgery. Thank you to all of you who donated!

Alan Perez, a member of the sports outreach team, has began an English class ministry. Will really enjoyed sitting in on that while we were in the Dominican!

Do you see how big that smile is on my face?? I am getting ready to go run through my favorite place in the world.....the countryside of Los Perez!

Will working a baseball camp for the children in El Guano

This is a pic of one of the first church services in The Central Church. We were so honored to be able to attend. Thank you to everyone who played a part in constructing this beautiful building!