"And now, these 3 remain: Faith, Hope and Love. But the greatest of these is love."
1 Corinthians 13:3


It's been 5 years since we exchanged vows and committed to love each other like Christ loves The Church.
It has been a beautiful 5 years! 5 years that we wouldn't trade for anything, 5 years that have brought laughter, joy and tears, 5 years that have changed us and molded us into the people that Christ desires us to be, 5 years of learning how to serve on the mission field, 5 years of growing meaningful relationships, 5 years of trying to express to all of you how grateful we are for your continued love and support. We hope that you feel our gratitude. It has been a beautiful 5 years!


We write letters to each other every year for our anniversary. They are so meaningful to us both and such keepsakes. 5 years, 5 letters!


On July 22, 2005 we were married, and on September 23, 2005 we moved to the mission field. For us, there is no better way to have started our lives together. We feel fortunate to have loved so passionately and to have been loved so passionately over these past 5 years.


This is where our journey began.....a journey that has entailed true joy, passion, service, love, laughter, tears, ministry, heart break, happiness, and growth.

It's been a beautiful 5 years!

It's been a God ordained summer, and the best part is....it's only mid-July. We know that there are many amazing things to come and we look forward to being a part of it all!
I (Audrey) just wanted to post a few pics of some of the summer happenings so far. When Will gets a spare moment, he is planning on doing a Blog post specifically about our annual G.O. basketball camp that took place 2 weeks ago. It was one of the coolest God filled weeks that we have experienced since we moved to the Dominican Republic almost 5 years ago.

The Youth Leader of our church, Isaias Gabriel, did a conference in Salcedo for 250 kids. It is called Urban Christ. Will and I went for the day to support Isaias and to listen to some great worship. This camp truly is rocking the island and our prayer is that these youth will experience God in a radical way!




This is Carmen, she cooks in the kitchen for G.O Ministries and has an incredible servant's heart. She cooked for 250 kids at this youth camp.


Kerlyn played the drums in the band at Cristo Urbano. He is so talented and a precious friend to Will and me. No, Will didn't play the guitar, it's just a prop!


Jose Luis and Will work directly together in sports outreach. He is head of our baseball ministry. Jose Luis was at youth camp doing devotions with the kids.


Many people were there supporting Isaias and his ministry. This is Lisa, a fellow missionary, with her sweet baby boy Ruben.


I had the privilege to host a babyshower for a fellow missionary and dear friend, Sunshine Leach. She is 7 months pregnant and will be leaving in a few short weeks to return to the states to prepare for the birth of her sweet baby boy. Some are missing from this group pic. We missed you guys!


We have helped host 15 teams so far this summer. We count it a true joy to get the opportunity to be a part of this life changing experience for people. This particular group is Crosspoint Community Church and they are from Nashville, TN.


This is Kentwood Christian Church and they are from Michigan.


Okay, so I had to post this picture and let the whole world know that there is a CHILI'S in the Dominican Republic. It's brand new! This is my favorite restaraunt in the states, it's usually the first stop we make when we return for the holidays. Needless to say, Will and I were pretty excited when we heard that it was here. : )

Again, this is just a small post in efforts to keep you guys updated on some of the happenings of the summer. We love all of you and are grateful for you! We continue to feel beyond blessed that God has called us to be here. We strive to love Him more everyday. As we love Him more, the passion in our hearts grows deeper to serve His people and through doing that, we hope that the lost become found.

We've added a few pages on the side-bar, check them out if you have the chance! Stay tuned for our next post about our annual G.O. basketball camp.

"Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God."

Ephesians 5:1-2

We are back in the Dominican Republic after a wonderful visit to the States. This time was different because we didn't travel, but instead took some time to re-charge and fill up before participating in a summer that will require a lot of "pouring out". It's on our hearts to share a particular moment with you all that really reminded us of the lifestye we're called to live.

On May 8th, 2010, Will's sister, Lucy, got married to a man named Rory. The wedding day in itself was a time of celebration, but beyond that, the focus of their wedding gave us something to celebrate that lasts longer than a lifetime. The scripture they chose to read that day was from Ephesians 5:1-2: "Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God." After hearing this scripture, we looked into the footnotes of our NIV Bible and it says that the "love" Paul is referring to in this letter is "a love that goes beyond affection to self-sacrificing service." It's so easy to sit at a wedding and focus on the affection part of love and forget about the self-sacrificing love displayed by Christ as he came and made the ultimate sacrifice for His bride, the church. We are so grateful that Lucy and Rory remained focused on the love Paul talks about in Ephesians. Their first act as a married couple was to serve communion to each other and all those around them. They went beyond looking into each others' eyes with affection and rolled up their sleeves and served "the church". Thank you Lucy and Rory for your faithfulness to the gift of marriage and the example of true love that God has given to us.

This was a great reminder of how we're supposed to serve in a self-sacrificing manner all those that we come in contact with this summer. We have the privilege of hosting multiple short-term mission groups for 10 straight weeks this summer. Please pray that we too will stay true to the love that Paul is speaking of. Let us all strive to be imitators of God!

Lucy, Jack and Rory Lekites

G.O. Team G.O........We did it!!!

Please click on the "Run With Purpose" page on the side-bar to see how the wonderful day un-folded.
Thank you to all of you for your support!!

His Blessings Overflow

It's been a blessed winter/spring here in the Dominican!

These past three months have been a whirlwind, my how time passes by so quickly.
When we arrived in January, it was full force Haiti relief work at a hangar in the Santiago airport. Will spent many hours coordinating flights, pilots and locations to drop supplies in Haiti. Thanks to all of you who so generously gave! G.O. was able to send hundreds of thousands of pounds of food, tents and medical supplies to Haiti.

His blessings overflow.

Will on the tarmac at the Santiago airport

Audrey has been training for the past three months for the Derby half marathon that takes place on Saturday, April 24th. She has been doing an ongoing fundraiser asking people to pledge per mile to help support her and Will's mission work in the Dominican. She has a purpose to which she runs! (see page on side bar for more info). Thank you to all of you who have so generously given towards this cause. Your giving continues to amaze us. Thank you for allowing our God to work through you!

His blessings overflow.

Audrey running through the country side in the Dominican, one of her favorite places to run.

Will continues his discipleship with the Sports Outreach crew. They are working through the Theology of Redemption. The focus of this study is how God is using His son and His followers to redeem and restore His Creation. The guys continue to grow as a group in unity!

His blessings overflow.

The Sports Outreach crew (missing one, Gamaliel, who assists Jose Luis with baseball ministry)

Audrey's sister, brother-in-law and niece came to visit for 10 days. It was such a wonderful time of fellowship! It had been close to 4 years since Audrey's sister had been here. It was so fun getting to show her our life in ministry here in the Domincan.

His blessings overflow.

Audrey's sister, brother-in-law and niece in the feeding center in The Hole

One of the most special highights of these past 3 months was our home church from Louisville, KY, St. John United Methodist, coming on a mission trip. They helped build the Central Church which is going to be such a light in the community. Thank you to all of you for your love, encouragement and prayers. We couldn't be more blessed to have such a precious church family!

His blessings overflow.

St. John United Methodist Church in the Dominican Republic

His blessings overflow.

We leave for the states tomorrow (Tuesday) and plan on spending about 3-4 weeks there visiting family and friends, fundraising, having staff meetings,working the Derby as a G.O. staff and enjoying Will's sister's wedding! When we return at the end of May, we'll be gearing up for a busy summer with lots of teams traveling down for mission trips. Ready, set, G.O.!

Please continue to pray for continued growth in our individual walks with God. Thank you to all of you for your continued support. We are humbled by your love!

In Him,

Will and Audrey

A Beautiful Partnership

The mission statement of G.O. Ministries is "to partner with Nationals through short-term missions". It is so amazing to see first hand the beauty of a Partnership.

Brian and Melissa Hyma (Audrey's sister and brother-in-law) partner with Felix Florentino. Felix is a hard working Dominican man who works on the construction team for G.O. Ministries. He helps build churches, feeding centers and homes. He is a tender-hearted Christian man who strives daily to become more like Christ.
Because of this partnership, Felix is able to do full time ministry and does not have to scrape by trying to find a second job to do on the side to support himself. Felix has recently made some tough decisions that go "against the culture" to set himself apart. He has couragiously stepped out on faith to show his love and committment to walking side by side with our God!

Brian and Melissa were here visiting last week and were able to spend some sweet time visiting Felix and encouraging him in his faith, his work, and his decision to live a life pleasing to Christ. Thank you Melissa and Brian for your gracious hearts and humble spirits!
Felix was also able to meet his "sobrina" niece for the first time. Nora Kate Hyma! Nora is truly a special gift from God. Brian and Melissa adopted her into their family a little over a year ago. Felix prayed without ceasing while the adoption process was taking place. He was nothing but smiles when he held her! He saw God's faithfulness directly in front of him.

In saying all of this...you can see why I say this is a "Beautiful Partnership".
Thank you God for your beauty and for your unconditional love for us!

Nora Kate with her "tio" uncle Felix

The Hymas with Felix on a Sunday afternoon playing softball

Wave 3 News in Louisville, Kentucky, came down to the Dominican Republic and did a story on G.O. Sports Outreach. Take a look at the video below. The news crew was down here with us for a few days and got some great coverage. The old basketball videos are a little funny, but they did a wonderful job highlighting sports outreach.

Why do I Run?

Please take a moment to click on the link on the side bar called, "Run With Purpose". There you will see the purpose as to which I (Audrey) run.

Thank you to all of you who pray for us, encourage us and love us.

We are humbled by the sacrifices that you make by GIVING. May God bless you as you have so richly blessed us!

Blessings,

Will and Audrey

Will and Audrey before running the 10K in Santiago, Dominican Republic

During our hours spent out at the Santiago airport for Haiti relief, God has given us opportunities to meet some incredible people. Some came to help because they heard there was a need. Some came because they were looking for an adventure. Some because their boss said so. Some aren't sure why they came....but they did. Even though they all may have had different reasons to give of their time, plane, and finances, one thing remains the same; they came and helped meet the needs of a starving, devastated nation. It is truly an honor to work alongside so many people that have a heavy heart for men and women they had never met. We thank God for giving us a first hand experience of how the Body of Christ works. It has come together and performed in a way that brought about unity amongst strangers. Thank you Jesus for placing these pilots in our lives, they've impacted us greatly! These wonderful people have given so much of their time, some have donated their own planes and have paid for their own fuel to get relief supplies over to the Haitians who so desperatly need it.

For that, we are grateful!

Todd Scholten, Mark Linsley, Roger Powers, James Powers

The gentlemen above are from Grand Rapids, MI. They work for L-3 Avionics Company. Their company drove a semi truck to Florida with supplies from our Louisville warehouse then used their King Air aircraft to fly supplies from Ft. Lauderdale, FL, to Santiago, Dominican Republic. They made many many trips back and forth. They are all such sweet spirited, humble, Christian men .

To them, we are grateful.

Scott Dorfman

Scott Dorfman is a pilot and plane owner from Atlanta, GA. He was so so gracious with his time and finances. He was a marathoner in his trips back and forth from Haiti. He didn't stop! Every time he returned from Haiti, he had a story to tell about his encounters with the beautiful Haitian people. We so enjoyed his stories and pictures. Thank you Scott for your heart.

To him, we are grateful.

2 pilots (black shirts) John and Chris

There aren't words to describe John and Chris. They are pilots from Boston who came to fly their company plane for relief efforts. They impacted us so greatly because of their enormous passion to get the job done. They were true servants and we will forever have a special place for them in our hearts. Thank you John and Chris!

To them, we are grateful.

Richard Wod and his wife

Richard Wood is a pilot and plane owner from Vancouver, Canada. He was such a blessing to be around and brought such joy to all situations. He as well was very gracious with his time and finances and worked unbelievably hard to get as many supplies over to Haiti as possible.

To him, we are grateful.

There are so many more pilots that have come and gone that gave so freely of themselves. Thank you Spencer, Scott, Eric, Andy, Patrick, Ryan, Bernie, John, Kim, Tom, Phil, Frank, Steve, Steve, Steve, and Steve :)....and many more!!

The days continue to pass by, the Haitians are still greatly effected by the earthquake, and pilots are continuing to show up with their planes ready to serve.

To all of them, we are eternally grateful.

Two New York Times Reporters came to visit our warehouse here in Santiago. They produced a story on all that is going on with the volunteer pilots using their planes to take food and doctors to Haiti through G.O. Ministries.

Please click on the link below to see the video! After clicking on the link, you will need to click on "In Haiti, Help from Above" in the column on the right.

Front: World Americas Playlist - Video Library - The New York Times

In Him,

Will and Audrey