Hello Friends and Family!
This past month has been all about new experiences and adventures. God has already done amazing things in my life and the lives of those around me and I know there is so much more to come. I can’t even begin to imagine what God has in store for me next.
I ended 2015 and began 2016 on the beautiful island of Jamaica surrounded by an amazing group of believers. I spent New Year’s Eve celebrating how God has blessed me, my team and the people of Jamaica. I was overwhelmed with thankfulness as I stood among a crowd of nationals at a small church up in the mountains. I was overwhelmed with thankfulness and joy as we all sang “Hallelujah” and greeted one another with a hug just a little after midnight on New Year’s Day. I can’t imagine a better way I could have spent my first moments of life in 2016. I learned so much during my time there. If you want to read more about it, here is the link to my blog: http://emilybrowning.theworldrace.org/
I am now writing this update to you from another beautiful country, the Dominican Republic. My first week here has been an amazing adventure full of surprises and new experiences. My new class of 2nd graders at Santiago Christian School (SCS) are so sweet and I am so excited to get to know them more during these next few months. I am staying in an apartment with a Dominican man and his wife. He works as the Services Manager at the school and she works as a travel agent. I am also sharing this experience with 3 other PBA students, one of whom is sharing a room with me. I have loved my experience of the culture and interacting with other teachers and students at the school. The most interesting thing about my experience so far is learning about the population of students who attend SCS. The majority of them come from wealthy, influential Dominican families. It was interesting to find that most of these students do not come from a Christian background which makes SCS a great mission field as teachers are able to talk about Christ freely to students who do not have much exposure to the gospel outside of school. I can’t to see what more God has in store for me as I work alongside the other teachers here.
I am also excited to share with you that I have raised $3,400 for the World Race so far! I am beyond grateful to those of you who have been so generous in giving. Once I raise $5,000, and meet my next deadline, that amount will be matched dollar for dollar. Thank you all so much for partnering with me in prayer, I would not be able to do what God has called me to do without your support and encouragement. If you feel led to support me financially, you can do so either through my blog or by going directly to www.adventures.org/give. Remember, if you would like to sponsor a day, week or month and receive anything I gather during the time you sponsored, please send me a message and let me know. If you have any questions about how that works or about anything else, please do not hesitate to send me a message on Facebook or e-mail.
Thanks for being awesome supporters! More updates about my time in the Dominican will be coming soon.
God Bless!
~Emily B.
