a little calm before.....

Wow! I can't believe that it has come to this already! I am shocked to find myself in the month of May, looking forward to all that is coming this summer.

Last weekend I said goodbye to my job and life in Santa Rosa, CA. In one crazy weekend I gave my car away, sold my bike and loaded the remainder of my possessions into my parent's car and headed for Mariposa.

Where I find myself now is staring straight at a calendar full of traveling and preparation for the next three months. Beginning next week, I will travel to Colorado for a 3-week training conference with Mission Training International. I will be participating in a pre-departure program designed to help develop practical skills and attitudes that will take me through the challenging and rewarding process of being interwoven with another culture on the mission field.

Then I will be back in California for a week and will then head to Indiana for 5 days to visit with a friend and be a bridesmaid in her wedding. After the wedding I will head straight down to Costa Rica to spend the entire month of July studying Spanish.

That will bring me to the end of my summer of training. At that point, I hope to be able to relocate to the DR at the beginning of August. However, if all of my support has not been raised at that time, I will have to wait until it all comes in.

I have currently raised all the support needed in one-time gifts to cover the costs of MTI and language school training. However, I am only about 50% funded in monthly support. Monthly support includes rent, gas, bills, food and other daily living expenses while I am living in the DR. I need to raise 100% of my monthly support, about $1500/month, before I am able to relocate to the DR, as it would be unwise to move somewhere and have no way to pay the bills.

I ask that you would join with me in prayer as I wait on the Lord for my support to come in. I am confident of this call that God has put on my life so I know that He will provide all the means necessary to see it come to pass. Please pray that I would be patient and wait for the Lord's timing, knowing that this is His plan and His timing will be perfect. I ask that you would also prayerfully consider what part you might play in supporting me over the next few years as I am serving in the Dominican Republic.

Support can be sent to the following address:

Students International
P.O. Box 2733
Visalia, CA 93279-2733

Please be sure to indicate that it is for Katie Lombard, and also indicate what type of support is being committed (ie: prayer support, one-time gift, or monthly commitment). Also, if you have not received a picture prayer card, please let me know and I will get one out in the mail for you.

Thank you so much for all your prayers and support. I am so excited for all that is in store for me in the next few months of preparation.

Difficulty, Suffering, and Hope

I've recently read the book "Velvet Elvis" by Rob Bell. It's a great book. I recommend it. Especially the last chapter. I think I've read it at least 5 times now. I just keep going over and over it, dwelling on the things he says. Here are a few snippets from that last chapter. Hopefully they'll do something for you too.

"...the most powerful things happen when the church surrenders its desire to convert people and convince them to join. It is when the church gives itself away in radical acts of service and compassion, expecting nothing in return, that the way of Jesus is most vividly put on display.... To be this kind of person - the kind who selflessly serves - takes everything a person has. It is difficult. It is demanding. And we often find ourselves going against the flow of those around us.... It is going out of our way to be more generous and disciplined and loving and free. It is refusing to escape and become numb to and check out of this broken, fractured world.... Ultimately our gift to the world around us is hope. Not blind hope that pretends everything is fine and refuses to acknowledge how things are. But the kind of hope that comes from staring pain and suffering right in the eyes and refusing to believe that this is all there is."

Update (Finally.....)

Now that I've been back in the States for about 5 months now, I figured that I should update this. I apologize to those of you who have been checking my blog regularly, waiting on the edge of your seat for an update. :-)

As many of you know, I've been living with my best friend Marissa Oswald in Santa Rosa for the last few months. It has been a wonderfuly blessing living with her. I work full-time as a preschool teacher at a school in Rohnert Park. It is alot of fun, but very tiring.

I will start soon to begin raising support to return to the Dominican Republic for full-time ministry. This summer I will attend a missions training conference as well as a month of intensive language school before moving to the DR in August.

I appreciate your prayers during this time as I am working to save money and begin fundraising. Pray that I would trust God with my finances as I begin to raise support. Also, please pray for me during this time of preparation and waiting before I return back to the mission field. I know that God has some special things in store for me right now, even though I feel so impatient to get back to the DR. Please pray that God would be using me even now to further his work both here and abroad. Pray that He would be speaking to me and preparing me for what is next in my life as I am preparing to go into full time ministry.

I would love to keep you all updated during this process and will be doing so both my email, my blog and by snail mail. If
you were not on my mailing list before or have changed your contact information, please shoot me a quick email (lombard.katie@gmail.com) with your mailing address.

Thanks so much for all your continued support!

Con mucho amor,
Katie

p.s. here is a little family photo taken this Christmas:

Last Day

After almost 8 months of working at the school in Mata Gorda, the last day came. It was a sad, sad day, but I truly felt the impact that I had on the kids as during the morning orientation each of the kids stood up and said some sort of a fairwell message to me.



I don't think that I can write anysort of closing message to sum up my trip, I'm not quite ready for that yet. But I can say that God did an amazing work in me while I was there, and I am excited to see what He will continue to do as I return.

Ya Se Leer

Centro Preescolar Hogar Cristiano in Mata Gorda was please to present their first set of graduates. We graduated 4 girls who had achieved the goal of reading proficiency. They will now move on to 2nd grade.

The graduation started with a procession behind the flag.




Each of the graduates performed a demonstration of their reading ability and were presented with a certificate.



Here are the four graduates from our school with their padrinos.

Capital Siteseeing

The summer interns and I took a trip of our own to the capital to see the sights.

Our first stop was Tres Ojos, which is a set of three underground lakes. It was absolutely amazing, I'd never see anything like it before. Unfortunately, the pictures don't quite do it justice...






We spent some time in the old Colonial District, where there are old buildings from when Colombus first came to settle on the island.

Beach Trip to Puerto Plata

The summer interns and I were treated to a weekend at the beach in the middle of a busy summer. It was a great weekend of relaxation and bonding. Thanks SI!