Travel Advisory and Immunizations Galore!!

As I prepare for my impending adventure, I wanted to give my support team an update!
Less than a month and I will be on a plane bound for Uganda, Africa.  Soooo cool!!  :)
I am very excited, and yet I am fighting some apprehensions... rrying to find the balance between walking in faith and fearlessness and walking in wisdom and reality.

Last week the US government issued a global travel advisory.  Basically they advise Americans to not travel due to unusually high terrorist chatter.  At least that is how I understood it.  The advisory ends August 31, but as my mom pointed out, terrorists probably don't check the calendar.

I am sure if it is too dangerous to go, Watoto Ministries will advise me to reschedule.  They wouldn't put the team in danger, and they wouldn't want to be responsible for a bunch of Americans/other foreigners if there really was trouble.  My plan is to keep in contact with the ministry, and take whatever they advise into prayer and consideration.

Please be praying for the whole situation.  I believe God has ordained that I should go and be a part of the work Watoto is doing.  He provided the funding through you, my amazing support team, so rapidly that I am still in awe.  I believe He will protect me, and as my sister recently reminded me, the safest place to be is in the center of God's will for my life.  Join me as I seek His wisdom in this situation.

In other updates
Just this morning I completed my CPR training!  I wanted to take this course so would be ready to handle any emergency situations while working in the Baby Homes!  Not only did I receive training on how to administer CPR to infants, but I got the full course.  So now I can save lives of all ages!! :)

I have gotten the following immunizations:  Yellow Fever, Typhoid, Hep B and a prescription for Malaria that I will take while in Uganda and then a month after I return.  These are expensive, however the generosity in giving was so great, that I have funds to cover most of the cost of the immunizations.  Those individuals whose funds were used were contacted, and they gave their approval for their donation to be used for this part of the trip.


THANK YOU, AGAIN, TO EVERYONE!!!!!!!!!!

I will continue to update you, and I appreciate and value your prayers!!!
For the Kingdom!!
Jaimie

Watoto Baby Home!! Sept 6 -20, 2013

*Fundraising Goals have been met, ahead of schedule, by an 
Amazing God and an incredible support team!!!!* 
I am honored and humbled by how Good the Lord is
and by His constant Provision!!!  
THANK YOU SO MUCH!!

Dear Friends and Family,

12 years ago I was in the Philippine Islands ministering at a giant garbage mountain and having an amazing time.  Seriously, the time of my life!!  It was there I first felt a calling to minister to orphaned children.  I have participated in various mission trips over the years, but never specifically focused on orphans.  Over the years I have pursued various opportunities, but nothing ever came to fruition.  I am THRILLED to say I have finally found, and been accepted to, the trip I have been waiting for all these years.

Kampala, Uganda,  Watoto Ministries, BABY HOME 
(Infants - 2 years old)
Sept 6-20, 2013!!!!

http://www.watoto.com/babywatoto

Watoto is an amazing ministry, and I am honored to have been accepted to participate with them.  I will be traveling to Kampala, Uganda for 2 weeks as an individual, and I will be joining a Global Team of other individuals from around the world.  Together we will work with babies who have been abandoned at the house, found on the side of the road, in garbage dumps, etc...  We will hold them until they no longer need to be held, feed them, play with them, show them and teach them about God's love and faithfulness.

It is also my desire to use my skill in dance and in pastry as a way to contribute.   Dance is a huge part of who I am, and how I relate to people and life. The African people have a rich heritage in dance, and I would love to help see that continue with these precious lives.

I went into Pastry so I would have a skill I could use anywhere in the world God might call me.  I have shared this with the staff at Watoto, and I am hoping I can contribute in some way with my culinary skills.

I need your support, prayer and financial, in order to make the dream a reality.
I believe what God has ordained, He will bring to pass.  I am asking you to seek His guidance on how He desires you to be a part of what He is doing in my life and in Watoto Ministries.

I will provide everyone who contacts me through prayers, encouragement and donations with updates on the fundraising, how your contributions were applied to the need, and I will also be providing a trip summary so you can see how your contribution made a difference in many, many lives.

There are a few ways for you to contribute monetarily:
1.   Go to the homepage of this blog (or to the top of the page if you are already on the blog) and contribute through Paypal. This is a secure way to donate to my mission trip.  I will make sure to send you a receipt.   **Please use your checking account so I do not have to pay a fee.  A fee is still charged if you use your debit card!!**

2.  Send your TAX DEDUCTIBLE donation to
Jaimie Sofia c/o Abundant Grace Assembly of God
Watoto Baby Home Mission Trip
3516 N Mcculloch Blvd, Lake Havasu City, AZ  86406
You will receive a receipt from Abundant Grace with necessary tax deductible information.

3.  If you would like to send your donation directly to me, please contact me at jaimiesofia@gmail.com, and I will provide you with my personal address.

I am still in the process of compiling the final cost of the trip, but here is what I know so far.
1. Accomplished!  Flight from Phoenix, AZ to Kampala, Uganda  -  $1,600

 **Update**  
Goal #1 of $1,600 has been met!!  
Praise God and thank you, team, 
for joining this vision!! 

2. Accomplished!!  Due by July 31 - Accomplished by July 14
 Funds required to participate as a Global Team Member  - $2,220

 **Update 6/27/13**  Funds Raised $2,220

Funds Still Needed by 7/31 = $0

3. Accomplished!!!  Optional Safari -  $490  -  I will be fundraising for this portion of the trip once I have raised the non-optional funds.   The safari is organized by the ministry and will include other individuals from the mission trip. 

Total Required with Safari - $4,310
Total Raised as of 7/14/13  - $4,310!!

Praise God for His provision and for the incredible support team He continues to build!!  

THANK YOU EVERYONE!!!! 

Thank you so much for your prayers and financial support.  Please contact me if you have any questions or desire further information!!!  :)
For the Kingdom!
Jaimie

Isaiah 6:8 -"...Here am I Lord.  Send me."
James 1:27 - "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress.."

DR Mission Trip Summary!!!

Hello Friends and Family!

My life has been what I like to call "An Adventurous Jumble" since returning from the Dominican Republic and starting life in Boston! I actually completed the rough draft of this email 3 weeks after the trip; however once school and work started I lost all free time and never finished!! I apologize to you for not having completed this sooner, and I thank you for your patience!! God is SO AMAZING, and has been proving Himself over and over again to me. He is faithful!!! Here is the long awaited and lengthy update on my mission trip!!

The DR Mission Trip was WONDERFUL!!! A little background: My Boston church, REUNION Christian Church, supports GO Ministries which is based in Santiago, Dominican Republic (DR). Through GO Ministries we support Pastor Luis Vargas, who ministers to the people of the DR through his church and also a nutrition center (any child can come get a free meal once a day). Pastor Luis has been called by the Lord to have his ministry based in La Mosca (the Fly) which is also a huge garbage dump. It is literally a vast community, where people live, work and play in the garbage. Through the support of REUNION, Pastor Luis is able to focus entirely on the ministry, and he is not required to get an additional job to support his family (Reina his wife, and his two sons Dilson and Jason). We also worked with Jen Goodenough, who is a full time missionary to with GO Ministries to Santiago, DR and in the Hato del Yaque area. In her own words, Jen "helps to facilitate teams from the US that come to the Dominican for Short-term mission adventures". John Martinez, also a full time missionary in the DR, is AMAZING and basically makes "it all" happen! He is in communication with GO Ministries, Pastor Luis, REUNION Church and other ministry supporters, and he just gets things done!!! :) I'm sure there is a more technical job description for all of his hard work, but I just saw him "make it all happen"!! ahha Hato del Yaque is an area that was developed when the river flooded and overflowed a very long time ago. People relocated to the area now called Hato del Yaque, and they never left. It is very poor, as most all of the areas we saw are. GO Ministries has a Nutrition Center and Church in this community, and that is where my team stayed and where our construction crew did most of our work.

I have to start out by saying that the mission team I went on this trip with was ABSOLUTELY PHENOMENAL!! There were 29 of us; all ages and backgrounds. As a whole, I have never been with a more open, inviting, loving, friendly, hard working, fun, real, non-cliquish, God loving group. What a HUGE blessing it was to be welcomed into a new church community with such open arms! I tell you, if you ever move to a new location all by yourself, make sure the first thing you do is to immediately go on a mission trip with your new church. I am so blessed to have come away with 26 new friends (I already new myself, Jess and Torre!!)... 20 of which live in Boston and go to REUNION! What a blessing!

What did we do with our time in the DR?
We had two teams: Construction Crew and Medical Team. Torre and Jess were on medical, and I was on construction. The construction crew was working on a few projects: Filling in the foundation of two houses being built in Hato del Yaque; one for the Pastor and his family (not Pastor Luis... another pastor who works specifically in Hato) and one for Jen (missionary), fixing the dirt road leading to and from the nutrition center/church, and working on the "car port" which will house vehicles (GO Ministries and others). What I did was basically shovel dirt (and I use the word 'dirt' losely... it was more like piles of large rocks with some dirt thrown in!!) from the 7 huge piles they delivered, into wheel barrels, and then that dirt was dumped into the foundation. We had three days of construction, but unfortunately about half our crew was sick for the third day. We still aren't sure if it was something in the food or if it was a short virus, but it wasn't pretty! Never the less, our team was INCREDIBLE, and we managed to get pretty much all of the foundation of one house filled in. Sadly, if we had had some sort of vehicle moving the dirt it could have been done in hours. I had to stop and take stock once again of everything we take for granted in the US.

Fixing the road: This was done by carrying buckets of rocks from the "dirt piles", over to the large ruts in the dirt road and filling them in. Apparently the corrupt government receives money allocated for the fixing of roads, but somehow that money always ends up elsewhere. :o{
Car Port: On the day that I wasn't feeling quite up to par due to the nausea and fatigue from...whatever it was...I helped work on the "car port". We nailed up large, rough, wooden slats to form shingle-looking walls. The roof had been put on the day before and that was some sort of tin/aluminum sheets. We did have a few men who lived and worked with the ministry who were in charge of the entire construction process, so we weren't just running around on our own. :) They were a joy to work with... very talented and organized!

Medical Team: The medical team was awesome and held a 2 day clinic in La Mosca inside Pastor Luis' church/nutrition center. We had received an enormous amount of medical donations from the Boston area which we brought with us, and the team served over 600 PATIENTS in that small amount of time! Talk about 2 long days!! :) The medical team's presence/clinic also served as a means for the Pastor Luis to reach out to the people of the community and make them more aware of his presence and the availability/location of the church.

On Saturday our entire team walked around La Mosca in small groups, visiting the homes and inviting the people who lived there to attend church with us the next day. We also invited all the kids to join us at the church that afternoon for lunch (again, the only meal some of the would receive that day), a fun time of songs, a skit and also a craft. We had around 200 kids show up which was awesome!! The skit was based off the Parable of the Sower (Matt 13:1-23). We acted out each scenario and had signs around our necks that said what part we were playing in Spanish (rocks "piedras", birds "aves", sun "sol", etc) The kids seemed to really enjoy it, and then they participated very nicely in the question and answer session at the end. For craft time we had Ziploc baggies all set with everything they needed to make paper plate tambourines (plates, crayons, string, beans and a sticker with the Sower Bible verse)! Since there were so many kids they had to work in pairs, but they didn't seem to mind and the end result was great!

We also had the honor of attending Sunday morning service at Pastor Luis' church!! He is so full of joy and passion for the Lord and for this community!! Their church is small, about 18 adults, but that is actually currently considered a good size for the area. He and his family are SO PRECIOUS. Please join me in lifting them up in prayer for continued safety, encouragement and the words to say in order to minister effectively to the people of La Mosca.

I am excited to report that during our time in La Mosca we saw quite a few Dominican people accept the Lord as their Savior!!! Woohooo!!! Praise God!! THAT IS WHAT THIS TRIP WAS ALL ABOUT! Not only being there to serve where needed, show Christ's love through our action and leave a positive impact, but also to see lives transformed through the Saving Grace of Jesus Christ!!! I was certainly blessed by the beautiful Dominican people and the amazing people on my team, but once again my perspective on life was realigned. I cannot believe how easy it is to lose sight of all the blessings we have been given here in America. Regardless of the fact that they have nothing, the Dominicans welcomed us into their homes, they make every effort to keep themselves clean and presentable and at times I did see that joy in their eyes that signals hope and love.

REUNION continues to support GO Ministries and Pastor Luis throughout the year, and we have even started scheduling SKYPE sessions with Pastor Luis and John Martinez!!! Technology is amazing, and how fantastic is it that we can speak "face to face" with our beloved brothers-in-Christ even though we are so many miles apart!?! This truly helps us all feel connected and aids in fostering a more consistent relationship until we can be with them again next summer. Next year's trip has been scheduled for Aug 2 - 9, 2011!! The first meeting is Nov 21 (this month), and we will be discussing details, fundraising, etc... Although I would love to be a part of this next trip, there is another mission opportunity that is also pulling at my heart. That one focuses on Orphan Missions, which has been a calling I have felt for quite some time, and I am looking into those details as well. I would love to be able to do both trips, and I am in prayer about what the Lord desires for me to do. Doing two trips would require a much more extensive fundraising campaign, however if it is the Lord's will then I KNOW He will provide!!

Thank you again for supporting me financially and in prayer and allowing me to be able to be a part of such a life changing event; not just my life, but the lives of so many who live in the DR and in the US. Please keep me in prayer as I determine what the Lord has for me for this coming summer, and also please be praying about the opportunity for you to once again support me financially as I do my part in Spreading the Knowledge and Love of Christ to the Nations.

For those of you who supported me financially, I submitted your addresses to REUNION Church upon receiving the donation so you would receive your tax deductible receipt. If you have not yet received that receipt please let me know right away!! I want to make sure you get that in time to include it when you file your taxes!!!

If you are interested in supporting a DR Child through GO Ministries so they are able to attend school, please let me know and I will provide you with that information.

If you click on the link at the bottom of this page (or maybe highlight, copy and paste into a new screen), you should be directed to the website that holds all of the photos that Jessica took during the trip. You will see bits and pieces from everything I described above. If you have any questions about a specific photo, send me an email referencing the photo # and I will do my best to elaborate the details. I hope it allows you to really sense what your donation helped make happen.

I love you and God bless!!
Jaimie
Isaiah 6:8, Exodus 14:14

you can view/copy/down load/order our DR pics at this link!
http://picasaweb.google.com/104224334735368471680/DR2010?authkey=Gv1sRgCI-886CcxL3z9QE&feat=directlink

Goal Accomplished!!

GREAT NEWS!!

I have reached my fundraising goal of $1,500 for my
Medical Mission Trip to the DR!!
Praise the Lord!!

I want to thank those who contributed financially in order to make this possible... I am truly blessed by your generosity! And thank you to EVERYONE for your prayers, and continued prayers, regarding the safety and success of my team!!

I fly to Boston on June 23rd, the team flies out of Boston to the DR on June 29th and we will return on July 6th with amazing tales of what the Lord has done!

I am so excited to meet and serve the precious people of the DR, create relationships that will be sustained over the years, and serve the Lord with a joyful heart. These trips are life changing, and if you have never been on one you MUST go!!! One week out of your year is a small price for the experience you end up having. We go expecting to minister and serve others, and without fail, I always come away feeling refreshed, loved, satisfied and more unified with the world and the Body of Christ.

For the Glory of God and the Kingdom!
Stay tuned for more updates!!

Closing the gap... $300 left to raise!!

My Banana Bread "Bake Sale" went very well!

Thank you to everyone who donated and picked up some
fresh, yummy bread!

I raised $70 towards my $1,500 goal, which is awesome!!! That, combined with a few donations pledges that I am looking forward to receiving, I have just another $300 to raise before June 4.

If you are interested in donating, please scroll down a bit and you will see the three options. At this point, the best option is to use online donation, however regular mail will also work!

My original letter with all the trip details is the first post at the bottom of this page. Please re-read that and be praying for the success and safety of my team. May God be glorified and lives be changed for the Kingdom. :)

3 weeks left to raise $700!!

Ok only $700 more to raise for my Mission Trip the DR!!!
Final fundraising deadline is June 4!!!!
Only 3 more weeks!!! :oO

Thank you for your prayers and support!! Keep it comin!! :) Let me know if you have any questions!!

Getting Closer!!

Even closer to my fundraising goal of $1,500!!!

I have recieved $750 in donations so far!!

Thank you so much for your support!!

Please keep believing with me that the Lord will provide the rest of the financial need!!!

God bless everyone and thank you for your continued

PRAYERS!!! PRAYERS!!! PRAYERS!!! PRAYERS!!!