Life lessons from water and about balance Everyday we must keep an eye on our water supply. We only get water from INAPA, the water company, every 7 to 10 days. So we really have to watch how much we use and that we don't run the cistern dry and mess up the pump. We get very little rain as we are close enough to the beach that the sea breeze blows the rains away. We watch the sky cloud up and the rains come over the inland mountains and even hear the thunder many days... and then the breeze blows it away. We live in a desert area where watering of essential plants is needed. Water is essential to our bodies as well.
Water is also only a good thing when it goes where it is meant to go. The balance of having water but having it IN the pipes and in the toilets etc...not the imbalance of having water run down the hallway or all over the bathroom or kitchen floors or out of the tanico onto the ground outside. Balance is needed.
The Bible describes Jesus as the Living Water and we need to check every day how our "water" supply is. Are we spending time with Him? Unlike with our water supplies and rain here, we are in control of how much He comes into our lives. We also need to have a balance in our lives. If I spend every waking moment in the church, who will tend to my children? We need to balance having a constant flow of Jesus in our lives as we go about our daily tasks. Keeping Him always in our minds and on our tongues. Always sharing Him with others whether this comes from giving a hug or giving a cold glass of water or by showing someone where in the Bible it says that God loves them and sent His Son for them.
Learning these life lessons and sharing them with the people of the Dominican Republic are part of what we do here. Balance is a big deal here with Christians. They don't always see that you can play baseball and be a Christian. Many churches here require their members to be in church 7 days a week. Learning to keep Jesus forefront in your life inside and outside of the church building is a lesson we are working on to model and to teach to others.
.
| | | |  | | Thank you so much for your support in order to live and purchase needed items. This "moto" and the car in the background are very needed for us here in Azua where we drive 40 mins to the nearest grocery that has safe meat. Thank you!
The "moto" is much cheaper to drive for local errands and ministry so we use it more often plus it is a great way to cool off..
| | |  | | Ned doing what he does well. Ned is working a lot in the office here. Their accountant left after his 2 year commitment about 2 weeks after our arrival so Ned is filling a much needed spot here on staff. | | |  | | New Mailing Address!
Walker Family
Agape Flights
DMG 27519
100 Airport Ave
Venice, FL 34285
We love mail and are also not able to get things as readily and cost effectively here. If you would like to purchase a needed/wanted item and send it to us, please send me a message. We have some items that could be purchased at Walmart for as little as $5 but are unavailable or too expensive here. | | | | |  | | Life here at YWAM Azua is much different from the city of Santiago. It is more of a frontier town, much like an outpost town between two cities or areas. We are about halfway between Santo Domingo and the Haiti border on the south coast of the Dom Rep. The local stores are about the size of a local convenience store and sell about the same items with similar pricing.
It is small town in which almost everyone knows everyone or is related to them. The town pretty much knows that the white people live down the road to the beach, though some think we are German because we own a German Shepherd dog. So it is a nice town with nice people who need discipleship and need the love of Jesus. What a privilege to show them God's love. | | |  | | Meet Jürgens and D'Joudy!
They are a sweet young Haitian couple who just got married in March. We have started mentoring them in their marriage. We in no way have all the answers about marriage but walking through the adventure of life and marriage knowing that you have a couple who may have walked through it before and who will pray with you is a blessing. We are excited about this new chapter in our lives. Marriage is something that takes a lot of work and commitment but mainly takes a lot of prayer. Please pray for us as we help them walk together in marriage. And if you have any great marriage resources, please share.
| | | | | |
| | | | Get Ready Azua! Here come the Walkers! Due to Ministry Opportunities with YWAM Azua, we are moving! I am surrounded by boxes and "mess" as I type this up this morning :) In 4 days, we will move to the small town of Azua on the south coast of the island. We are excited to move and work with YWAM Azua. Check them out here.... http://www.ywamazua.com . There is a large Haitian population in this area along with a lot of rural Dominican farmers. It is very much where the desert part of the island meets the beach. It is a beautiful area of the island but not nearly as "green" and fertile as we have been used to.
We are also sad to be leaving the city of Santiago that we have grown to love. We will also miss our friends here and knowing how to get to the stores, the doctors, the dentist, etc... But we also know that God will provide what we need in Azua.
We ask for your prayers as we transition to this new area. We are in a way "starting over" with finding out where we can get our necessities. We are also very much in need of some extra finances. Moving is expensive here! Houses here come with nothing provided and though we have our furniture and appliances, getting water and electricity transferred and running can get very frustrating and expensive. Our expenses will go up some also so please consider donating or supporting us monthly.
| | | Yes, this is a short update and will get another update up as soon as possible.
We finished up a Chapel Project build on April 25th and it was another very productive week with lots of salvations and rededications. We have not been allowed to visit Little John as he is in the "protective care" of the government. We still pray for him daily and check to see how he is doing. We were in the cafeteria of the grocery last Sunday and one of the workers was able to give us an update that he is doing well. We are still trusting God that He will do what is best for this little guy.
Debbie has been able to share or preach in quite a few of the churches here where we have become friends with the Pastors. Please pray as she preaches to a very large congregation in Cien Fuegos on Sunday!
Thank you all for your prayers and support! Many blessings from our family to yours. Please send us any prayer requests so we can pray for you during our family prayer times! We appreciate you partnering with us! | | | | | | | |
Little John Giberson To look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. James 1:27b
There in the back right corner of the dormitory type room lay a lone little guy in a crib and on the end of the crib it said "Abandonado (7 mes)".
A normal visit to the local children's hospital to pray and visit with the families and children suddenly changed the way we looked at our lives. The Bible says to look after orphans and widows and we often hear sad stories and we often say, "oh, I wish I could have taken that child." I feel like God has been asking our family if we really mean it. We have come across many orphaned or abandoned children in this country but none that have touched our hearts quite as much as this little guy who lay in this corner crib.
His crib said his name was Inderson. His arm band said his name was Yderson. His xrays and reports said Giberson or Giderson. We just nicknamed him Little John. The story of his arrival and abandonment has changed almost every time we visited. No one quite knew where he was from or what his name really was or how old he was. All we know is that for some reason God has placed this little guy in our paths.
The "official" story is that he was born September 29, 2014 to a Haitian couple. He went into a hospital in a small province about an hour and a half outside of Santiago on December 25 or 26 and on December 29 was transported to Santiago to receive better care. Little John was a very, very sick little boy. The pile of chest xrays on his bedside table show the evidence of this being true.
The part that no one quite knows is why his parents did not come with him. They are listed on his official papers and they are Haitian. They have the same last name and Little John is named after his father. But no one quite knows where they are or why he came alone and remained alone all of this time. No one has been able to explain why he lay in his crib without his case being looked into for 2 1/2 months. On March 12, we found a very lethargic but healthy baby boy laying in his crib who would barely make eye contact or respond and so began our quest to see what we could do to help him. On March 16, we visited the government organization that is in charge of cases like this and that started them looking into his case. Little John had already been in the hospital alone for 2 1/2 months at this point.
There are many unanswered questions regarding Little John but one thing remains true. Little John is a child of God and God has plans and purposes for his life. He has not been abandoned by God and has changed many lives already. Yesterday, Martha, a hospital worker, was washing Little John up and trying to help him learn to hold his bottle. She took his picture to show her husband because every Monday she comes and bathes Little John and loves on him for a bit. Other moms, grandmas, friends, nurses, and doctors all stop to say hi and love on this little man. Over the past 27 days that we have started checking on Little John, the hospital has now moved his crib to the front of a room. Many more people walk by and talk to him and check on him. We as a family have gone and loved on him and take him into the hallway and let him look out the window. Little John has already made progress and is rolling over and trying to sit up and smiles easily when you call his name.
What will become of Little John? We have no idea. Please pray!
Today we along with a pastor friend are going to see if we can find his parents. He is scheduled to be moved to an orphanage in Santo Domingo this week. Our family has the information needed to start the adoption process with almost no guarantee that it would be approved. This will take time and money. We have no idea how much of either. But we KNOW that God had Little John cross paths with us and we are counting the cost of what it would mean to take in a baby. We know that God has not told us to stop looking into this little life and so here we go.
Thank you for your prayers. We especially need wisdom on how to proceed. We know that God knows and we trust Him.
| | | | | |  | | Smiley Little John | | |  | | Fascinated with Ned and Jesse | | | | | |
What are the Walkers doing right now?
We are moving!!
The last week of August, our family will be moving long-term to Santiago, Dominican Republic. We will be working with YWAM Santiago and the Martin Family! We are super excited about this transition. But also praying for wisdom as we figure out visa's, residency, what to do with our things, etc...
As always, we are praying that the Lord will use us wherever we are!
Lord, help us not to miss the things you have prepared for us to do!
