what happens now?

hey everyone. i've been home for almost two weeks now. what a journey i have been on. incredible, life changing, and focusing. i've been substitute teaching in local schools up here in michigan and if that hasn't done anything else, it has made me realize how much my heart felt at home working in the dominican.

i'm not sure who all is still reading this but i will try to keep updating how i am doing. i know that i'm not on the mission field anymore, but i'm planning on going back and maybe you want to know how that is going. right now i'm planning on having a meeting with brook brotzman sometime in october. if you don't remember he's the president of G.O. Ministries.

until i write again.

two sundays left

yes indeed, sunday morning. i'm about ready to head out the door. it's almost 9 in the morning and i'm playing guitar for church again. church starts at 10 i believe or 1030. or actually since we're in the dominican republic it's whenever we get around to it. lol. here i am in my new church shirt. i bought it for 90 pesos which is a little less than $3. thank you thank you. it has been a great last week here. and i say last here because like you all know, i'm heading to the batey's for 5 days next week. which is going to be even more fun. there will be lots of kids and people that have never had any type of sports activity organized for them. this is the ultimate kind of play. not playing to look good, not playing to win anything, no ulterior mortives, but these kids are going to be playing just to play. and this will also be a new place that i've never been to. how exciting.
also today, the coaches of the 5 week league that just finished are playing a game against another team from a place called pueblo nuevo. so that's right, i get to play. i am literally bouncing in my seat waiting to play. please Lord, don't let church go long. lol
last night was a blessing. it was a busy day before that. we helped paint one of the missionary's houses on the inside. and then we had the celebration for the basketball league. the kids got medals and each coach picked the player with the best attitude on the team to be the mvp and that player got a really nice jersey. people donate a lot of sports stuff to Will and these were new, extremely nice jerseys. and then everyone watched a slide show that Will put together. to music, lol, not just some slide show.
anyway, so after a long day me and some friends went out to eat pretty late. it was romano, carolina, leandro, and me. we walked to this small restaurant place, which was outdoor. we ordered and talked about all sorts of stuff. it was just a great night.
okay, i'll soon be with you all telling you about my time and how much i want to come back to live here and work here. pray for me for that, and just pray for me in general.

i love you all, thanks for reading.

the end, of the almost end

yes, that's right, this is the end of my second to the last week. i have one more week that we are going to be spending in the bateys doing sports with all ages of people. it will be quite a ministry opportunity. the pastor there, william, has told us that the entire community is very anxious for us to get there. our group is up to thirty people. the only americans are Will, his wife Audrey, another missionary Jackie, and me. there are three other women going, the kitchen women, marisol, karmin, and jessica. and the rest are dominican men. some work for G.O. others have been coaches in our 5 week league we just finished. and some are just guys that we want to use this opportunity of being together for a week to get to know them.

this past week i have spent a lot of time washing laundry. i've probably told this before, but when teams from america come down here they usually leave clothes to give to the pastors so the pastors can give them to people in the community that need them. well, someone has to wash those clothes before we give them to the pastors, usually an intern,.....me. when there were other interns here it wasn't so bad. someone to help, someone to talk to. but this week i kicked it into a higher gear and it's almost done. besides that, i've been able to spend time with some of the guys on the street. also, Will has been playing in a local tournament at the park. someone decided to have a basketball tournament between the different areas and streets. and last night Will's team lost the finals series so it's all done. it was fun to watch. to learn more about basketball terminology. to watch more dominican basketball, because it is different. and to spend time with a few of our new workers like my friend Alan. he speaks english, he's a great guy, he's about 6'3" or 6'4", and he's very very intelligent. but he's never even been to the airport.

my spanish keeps improving every day. i learn something new and i try and use it a lot.

today we are helping Jackie paint the inside of her apartment. then in the evening we have the party for the basketball league. all the kids are supposed to come and we'll hand out awards and trophies to the coaches and then there is a slide show that Will put together. the kids love. even the 18 year olds. it's gonna be a lot of fun. and i have to get ready for music tonight for youth group and tomorrow for church. so there is practice at 2 and at 4. i really love playing in church. i've learned more guitar since being down here. then i hope to go out to eat with Will and Audrey for supper. if you can just take a moment and thank God for those two, they really have been a blessing to me. then youth group at 8 if we get back in time.

i love you guys. thanks for reading. one more week left. and then i'm home. for a bit at least.

hey everyone. this is the last weekend of the basketball tournament. i'm posting some pictures of it on my flickr.com account. i'll try and get a link on my blogger here. i have been reffereeing all more and i'm going back to do two more games this afternoon.

i'll write again to tell you more about it.

two weeks left

hey everyone. i'm relaxing during siesta. there are no more teams for the summer. we have next week to prepare for a big sports week in a place called barahona or the bateys. this weekend we are finishing up the 5 week league for the dominicans. Will is at this moment preparing a slideshow of pictures taken during games. he told me that the kids love absolutely love the slide show. they go crazy when they see themselves. so good. that will be fun. it's on sunday night.

also, the coaches from this league are playing a game on sunday at one o'clock. we are playing against a team called pueblo nuevo. it's going to be so much fun, i can't wait to play. the last few weeks have been so amazing because of the relationships i have developed with some of those dominicans.

in a little bit Will and i are going to go pick up medals and other rewards for the basketball league. i have band practice at 5 and we are having dinner at the bosses house tonight. from time to time Tim will cook for us staff. it's always a fun night.

i have clothes to wash that the teams have left behind and spanish to study i guess. so another day that has a lot of stuff to do in it, but i wouldn't call it busy. not after some of the days we had when the teams were here.

don't forget to check my flickr account.

a long time ago, in a land far far away

hey everyone. how amazing has the last two weeks been. i thank you all for constant prayers and thoughts and wishes. the longer i am here in the dominican the more it changes for me. i can remember back to the first month i was here. I didn't know anyone, i didn't talk to the dominicans, i didn't know any of the places. being new to this place and to these people was quite a stretching experience.

now after being here for 3 months i have a different routine, i have a different purpose about me, i know more people and i have all of these relationships that really are beginning to drive my heart. two weeks ago a group was here that once again did construction in the hole. the entire group had never been on a missions trip. and they were amazing. everyone was so uplifting and wonderful and fun. they worked hard and enjoyed each other. it was possibly my best week here.

since then i have been helping Will with a lot of preparation for the big sports week we are going on in september. and we have been able to spend extra time with dominicans since the only team that has been here for the past week went to the bateys. the other day me and will went to the court to just hang out and play with the kids there. it was so much fun. there are times, like any kids, that these kids don't act like perfect little angels but when you get to spend some time with them and give them some attention, it's quite a nice experience.

also, the coaches of the 5 week basketball league have been having a bible study at Will's apartment. it's been a good time. we actually just hired two more dominicans, alan and simon, to be a part of G.O. They also got baptised two sundays ago. it was really really exciting. alan is like my self-appointed spanish teacher. he's helped me a lot.

i'll make sure to write a bunch these last few weeks. i have a site where i'm posting pictures now. http://flickr.com/photos/11521586@N06/ so go there and see those shots. and this is a great time to write me at brenton.bellinger@gmail.com. you can yell at me for not blogging in two weeks or let me know what's going on back home. i love you all. and gina.......you better stop that baby from growing so much before i can see him again.

a day of basketball, yes i mean a great day

exactly! a great day.

i woke up this morning and the team of americans were going to take presents to the kids at guanduleys for a birthday party of sorts but my day had a different path. after breakfast will and i headed out to the basketball court, which is called a "cancha" in spanish. i told you about the six week league that i was a coach in, well, i have practices on tuesday and all of the teams have games on saturday. having the league for six weeks is a step towards teaching these kids responsibility and dependability. hopefully. haha

so, starting at nine i reffed three games and then coached a game at 11:30. we won and i really like my team, we have some good players. and i took my camera but then i was too busy to take pictures, sorry everyone. next week i promise. then me and will came back and had lunch, i rested until two and we went back to finish reffing games.

there were only two left in the afternoon and we were done by around 4 o'clock i think.

this is a really good time for me to be bonding with those young guys.

OH OH OH OH!!!!! big news that i want you all to pray for. will has this big plan to get G.O. its own land to build courts and fields and a sports facility so that we can stop having to fix up all the courts that get destroyed because the people don't take care of them and so it becomes easier to do camps and provide space for our needs. there has been this perfect piece of land that is close by and it is amazing. large, flat, gorgeous and owned by a rich guy who doesn't need to sell it. so what was his price? thirteen million dollars U.S. outrageous! well, the praying comes in with the fact that someone just showed will a piece of land that he likes even more. i haven't seen it yet, but will likes it a lot and has even gotten the go ahead by the president of G.O., Brooke Brotzman, to go after it. the price?????? one million dollars. this is the next big step in the amazing growth that G.O. has been experiencing and right now i want you all to cover this in prayer. pray for the money, pray for the process, pray for all the kids and adults that will be reached because we will be able to expand with this land. pray hard. pleeeeeeeaaaaassssseeeee!!!!!

and keep praying for me. i love you all!!