THE HERNANDEZ HAPPENINGS


February 2010

"Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations. " (Psalm 100:4-5 NIV)

What a MIGHTY and AWESOME God we serve!! He has been SO gracious and loving to us and we have SO many things to be grateful for. Let me take a few moments to share what God has been doing these last several months.

The Hernandez Family

God continues to provide for our needs. He has taught us to COMPLETELY trust in Him for everything! Even when times have been tough God has given us the strength and wisdom we have needed to get through the storms. And for that I am truly grateful.

Sarah and Mark continue to grow up. It is hard to believe that my “babies” are 8 and 9 years old. They are both excellent students. Sarah LOVES school and is very responsible with her homework. She also LOVES to read!! Mark on the other hand would rather be playing his X-Box or watching cartoons. However, he is very smart and is getting good grades. They are both involved in a soccer program for 8 weeks. They are very excited about that.

We have been fighting different health issues these last couple of months. Guille hurt his shoulder playing volleyball. He was in therapy and under treatment. That seemed to help a little bit. Now he just has to be patient and allow it to heal completely. That includes not playing sports, which has been the difficult part.

Sarah suffered from a bad toothache for a couple of weeks. We finally took her in and she had an infected tooth. The dentist pulled it out and she is doing much better. Thankfully, it was a baby tooth.

My sinuses have been acting up unfortunately. The weather down here can get crazy sometimes. It can go back and forth from cold to hot several times within the same day. The changes can be pretty drastic and that is what makes my sinuses go a little crazy. It can be pretty painful at times but thanks to sinus medicine I can keep it under control.

Prayer requests:

1) Health

2) Pray that God would give us the wisdom we need to find a balance in our lives. Ministry can take up so much of our time that family tends to get pushed to the wayside. We want to make the necessary changes so that family becomes more of a priority in our lives.

Iglesia Biblica Cristiana (Christian Bible Church)

Our church continues to grow slowly but surely. We have recognized that there are a lot of things that need to be taught and dealt with in order for our church to grow. There is some healing that needs to take place. There are obstacles that need to go. Pride needs to be replaced with humility. There is forgiveness that needs to happen. Therefore, our church is “under reconstruction”. In the past we have tried to “remodel” our church. But God has revealed to us that a complete reconstruction needs to take place. We are VERY excited about this! We know God has BIG plans in store for our church; however, we need to be obedient to Him. We will be spending the next while focusing on this reconstruction. I will be leading a Women's Retreat on February 27. All the women in our church, young and old; single and married, are invited. It will be a special day filled with a lot of different things – worship, Bible study, prayer, food and fun. This is a kick-off for a complete Bible study we would like to do with these women for at least 8 weeks. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE pray for this retreat, as well as the work we will be doing these next several months.

Caminito de Jesus School (Pathway to Jesus School):

There are a lot of exciting things happening at the school. First of all, we are finally starting to see some of the fruits of the work that has been done. As most of you know, we have 2 major goals at the school. We exist to provide the BEST Christian education we can to less fortunate children. We also exist to provide an opportunity for all the families represented at the school to learn and experience who Christ is. Over the years we have offered Christian workshops, a weekly community Bible study and we have tried to maintain a good Christian testimony. Over the last couple of months we have had several parents participate in the weekly community Bible study. A few of them are really seeking God and are hungry and thirsty for the Word. A couple of them have even started attending our church, including the Sunday school classes that are offered beforehand. This is VERY exciting!!!

Something else that is exciting is the construction project of the new school building!! Construction is in progress. The walls of the first 3 classrooms are almost completely done. The next step will be to put the concrete roof on top. We hope within a month to have that completed. We have learned that God's timing is PERFECT!! I have placed this whole project in HIS hands and I know HE will complete it according to his perfect plan. We just have to trust in Him and continue to seek HIS will.

The beginning of January we were able to make an addition to our staff. Carrie Hoekstra, from Lansing, Illinois, has started teaching English to the Kindergarten-3rd grade classes. She has been a GREAT addition and the kids just absolutely LOVE her and her classes. The parents are very excited to know that their children are receiving English classes. Her goal is to also help us develop a Kindergarten-8th grade English program that we will be able to use for many years to come. She has made an initial year-and-a-half commitment to work with us and we are grateful that she is here.

We have come to the conclusion that we won't have to promote next year's registration. It is only the beginning of February and we almost have enough names on the waiting list to fill the vacant slots. It is UNBELIEVABLE!!! We have to be very careful this year in terms of how many kids we accept. If we accept too many, there won't be enough space to put them. Unfortunately, that means I will have to say no to some kids. This is definitely not my strength. I would LOVE to accept every child that walks through our doors; however, we have to make sure we don't sacrifice the quality of the education we provide by putting too many kids in each classroom.

Prayer requests:

1) Pray that the parents will come to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

2) Pray that the construction project will continue to progress.

3) Pray that the staff will continue to grow both professionally and spiritually. Pray that there would be UNITY at all times amongst us.

4) Pray for Carrie's transition. Pray that she will be able to feel at home soon and that she will be able to pick up the spanish language quickly.

Thank you for all your prayers and support! We appreciate everything you have done for us. Please continue to pray that God would be glorified through the work we are involved in.

To Him be the Glory!!!!

If you would like to know more, please feel free to contact us at guille73shelley71@yahoo.com

shernandez_71@hotmail.com

I have been having some problems with my hotmail account. I don't always receive the e-mails. If you send me an e-mail to my hotmail account and you don't hear anything back right away, please try sending it to the other one. Thanks!!!

Blessings,

The Hernandez Family

Back in the swing of things.

We have finally been able to start working on the project again. It had rained so much here and was raining every day that it was pretty difficult to get construction done. But the rain has stopped and it is HOT again, so construction has started again. I have attached several pictures so you can see for yourselves (see below). The big piles of dirt is what is going to be put inside those 3 classrooms to fill in the floor to the level it should be. That should be done this weekend, Lord willing, and then the walls will go up next week. Praise God!!


Please continue to pray for this project. Pray for safety as people work. Pray that we will continue to receive the funds needed to keep working. We are not worried because we know GOD is in control. We are patiently working at the pace HE wants us to work and we know we will get to where HE wants us to get in this project. We serve an AWESOME and GREAT God!!! Hope you enjoy the pictures.
 
Carmen (my assistant and accountant at the school) told me this past week that we already have about 20 new kids on the waiting list for the new school year and the calls keep coming in. That is just amazing since it is only January. Please pray for God´s wisdom as we try to decide how many kids we will be able to receive this year and still be able to offer a good, quality education. Please start praying as well for the new staff we will need next year. There are some pretty key positions I hope to fill, such as an academic director, a secretary, and several more teachers. We are also going to need a bus for the school - another HUGE prayer request. I know we haven´t even finished this school year; however, we do need to start looking ahead. The first step though is to pray so that GOD can lead us and guide us in our decisions. So please join with us in prayer for these things. THANKS!!!
 

Shelley Hernandez

A day in the life of a student

Shelley is going to be in the States

Shelley and the kids are visiting the states from November 11th to December 31st. As some of this time will be spent to visit with family and friends, she has dedicated alot of the time to give presentations and updates on how everything is progressing in the Dominican Republic with the church and school. Please see the list of dates and places where she will be speaking and feel free to join her at any of the Church services listed.

Also, please keep Shelley and the kids in your prayers as they will be traveling here SOON.

DATES & PLACES:

NOVEMBER 15TH, 2009 (come join us) 
Bethel Christian Reformed Church
3500 Glenwood Lansing Rd
Lansing , IL 60438
Evening Service @ 5:00 pm

NOVEMBER 16TH, 2009
Illiana Christian High School
Chapel Service
For school students and faculty

NOVEMBER 18TH, 2009
Calvin Christian Elementary School
Chapel Service
For school students and faculty

NOVEMBER 29TH, 2009 (come join us)
Orland Park Christian Reformed Church
7500 Sycamore Dr
Orland Park , IL 60462
Morning Service @ 8:30am & 10:45am

DECEMBER 6TH, 2009 (come join us)
First Christian Reformed Church
1155 7th Ave NE
Sioux Center , IA 51250
Morning Service

DECEMBER 13TH, 2009 (come join us)
Peace Christian Reformed Church
833 E 168th St
South Holland , IL 60473
Morning Service @ 10:30am

Our experiance and the plan for the future

History

She was just an average college student and all she was planning to do was to spend spring break on a mission trip…just like a myriad of college students have done…spend a week helping the less fortunate and learn about a different culture. She had no way of knowing that that trip would permanently alter the course of her life. She didn’t know that week would be a window to her future…an opportunity to see the shadows of her life’s work…her passion, her family and her home in culture dramatically different than her own. She didn’t know it then, but she now knows that God’s plan for that week was to plant a seed that would grow into much more than she could have possibly dreamed! Her name is Shelley DeYoung – Hernandez and we recently had the opportunity to participate in the results of those seeds that were planted back in 1994.

Shelley and her husband Guille

Our experiance

For 10 days in August we had the opportunity to visit Shelley and her family…her husband, Guille, and children, Mark & Sarah…in Santiago, Dominican Republic. We had an opportunity to see and participate in what God is doing through the Hernandez’s work in both the Pathway to Jesus School and their church.

Shelley and her family

Our work group went to assist in building the school, which started in 2004 as a preschool in the second story of the church. The public school system in Santiago might best be compared to some inner-city schools in the US…where students are simply “pushed through the system”, graduating without really having learned. Shelley’s initial vision has grown from one of a pre-school that would help children get a head start in a flawed system, to adding a grade to the school each year so that the children never have to enter the flawed system. The school and the church work together to not only provide a better education, but more importantly, to bring Christ’s love to those that have not experienced it.

The existing Church / School

New plot of land where the new school building is being built

The school has outgrown the church building and our group went to assist in building the first phase of a multi-phased construction of a new school building. While we had a very productive trip we were only able to get the foundation and walls constructed to just above ground level. As the new building was needed to start this school year, Shelley has leased a home that is temporarily serving as the school building.

Where the construction sits as of today

The partially constructed house where some of the classes are being held

Classroom inside of the house

Future (Goals)

The hope is to still get the first phase of the school done soon so that the students can move into the new building yet this year. For that goal to be accomplished they will need to hire some local labor and quickly raise additional funds. The first goal of our team is to do everything we can to assist in getting the funds raised and the school built.

Our group went primarily to assist in constructing a building and while that goal was realized; everyone came back from the trip with much more than the satisfaction of building a building. We all came back with a renewed sense of how unbelievably blessed we are in North America! We came back with a renewed vision of how God uses and multiplies the smallest of gifts given to His Kingdom. We came back having established new friendships that will literally last for eternity. The second goal of our team is organize future trips to the DR.

Similar to Shelley’s experience of going to the DR for a short term mission/work trip and coming back with a call from God to move to the DR; Carrie Hoekstra came back from our trip with a similar call. Carrie is a teacher that would like to go and assist Shelley in the school. However, for that to happen Carrie needs to raise her own support to go there. The third goal of our team is to assist Carrie in finding that support.

Carrie with one of the children

The group from Peace Church

I wish that you could see first-hand how God is using a small ministry in a very BIG way in the DR. Unfortunately not everyone can so I hope that you will accept my assurance that if you give to this ministry, your gifts will be put to use…not in administration of an organization, but in the touching and changing of lives through their ministry.

The following image will give you a little more information on how you can participate in meeting the three goals outlined above. Just click on the image and either print it or save it to a file on your computer and print it from there. Thank you in advance for your partnership in this ministry.

Mail the form below along with your donation to:

Peace CRC

833 E. 168th Street

South Holland, IL 60473

Also, on Sunday, December 13 Shelley will be at Peace Church to give a ministry update and receive encouragement. She will give a ministry update during the 10:30am Service and receive encouragement in the Fellowship Hall following the service at 11:45. Please mark your calendar now and join us for either or both the Worship and Fellowship.