2016 up and running!

Things are going great here in Jarabacoa.  I’ll give you a brief update on how the teams are going, the college girls, Zika (the new mosquito virus) and how Breddy & baby Jaylene are doing!

Volleyball Teams: All 7 volleyball teams are up and running.  The JV team will be going through a dvd series called “God’s Story” which helps the girls better picture of what the bible is all about.  The varsity team is learning about being real in their faith.  We are now busy planning our third annual purity retreat for April.

All of our VC Revolution Teams

College Girls: Along with their studies, the girls are busy serving at their different ministry sites and doing a great job. In our college bible study, we just started reading Desiring God by John Piper.  I have been really impressed of how smart these girls are and are able to have great discussions. 

Zika: You may have heard about Zika, a virus that is transmitted through mosquitoes.  The danger of the virus is that if pregnant women contract the disease, it can cause a serious birth defect called microcephaly in their baby.  It can cause the baby to have an abnormally small head.  They say the virus is most dangerous if mom contracts the virus in her first trimester.  The virus is not very widespread here and is not a huge concern.  However, I will still be taking extra precautions to keep any mosquitoes away.  Please pray for baby Jaylene and all the other pregnant mothers in the world who could potentially contract this virus. 

Páez Family: It was nice to spend some quality time with family and friends in December.  We were also blessed to have two baby showers!  At shower put on by some ladies at our home church, it was neat to see so many women who have been such positive influences in my life.  I pray that Jaylene will have the same opportunity to have so many Godly women in their lives guiding them as they guided me.  We also had a shower with the “Gates” side of the family!  Since I have missed so many great Thanksgiving dinners, it has been at least 5 years since I’ve seen most of those relatives.  One of the hardest parts of living overseas is missing those family members and feeling disconnected.  However, they made us feel right at home!

Shower with Detroit Gators

Shower with BHBC Ladies

Breddy has been busy working at the men’s sports site.  He also had the opportunity to compete in a local motocross race and won fourth in his division! But even more than motocross, Breddy is getting excited about becoming a dad.  I am now at 28 weeks and its hard to believe I am going to get bigger.  Tying my shoes is now a challenge and even during practices, I find I have to sit more.  And you know me, I don’t like sitting down very much. Mabelis and Esther are gradually taking over more responsibilities so that come baby time, they will be in charge while I take maternity leave!

Motocross race

Baby bump pic! 

Prayer Requests

·    Continued passion with teams.  Some days I just get excited about becoming a mom. However, I don’t want that to stop me from fully invested in the spring groups that come down.

·      Health for our baby and all others that could potentially get infected with the Zika virus

·      New supporters for our college sponsorship program.