Tag: missions

OVERWHELMED by God

It has been a long time since I just sat and lingered in the presence of my Jesus. It feels like life has been so busy, and my Jesus time has been so rushed in the mornings.

But not today. Today, I set aside sacred time to just sit and be with my Savior. And oh boy, was it what my soul needed. 

As I sat on my floor with my palms open to the sky, a familiar song began to ring through our TV.

“Recibe toda la gloria, recibe toda la honra, precioso hijo de Dios.” Creo en Ti Jesús by Grupo de Alabanza

As soon as I heard the lyrics, I felt tears well up in my eyes. I heard this song for the first time in 2017 when I was on my internship here in the Dominican Republic. I felt the power behind the lyrics, but at the time, I didn’t fully understand the words as I was just learning Spanish. 

My transition back to the states after my internship was not easy by any means. In fact, I was struggling so much that my parents considered putting me in counseling. It was as if I were in my home country but homesick for the Dominican. I couldn’t have even put into words why. It was a God thing. He was doing something in my heart that was bigger than me.

One of the things that got me through this hard adjustment was looking through my pictures and videos of my time here and listening to all the worship songs we sang at the local church we attended during the summer. 

Creo en Ti Jesús just happened to be the song I would listen to on repeat. I remember so vividly how I would turn the song on, sit on the hardwood floor of my room, and I would just cry. I would ask the Lord to make a mighty way and allow me to be a part of His work here in the Dominican. I would close my eyes and pretend to be back in that little church where I heard everyone praising Jesus in the beautiful language I wanted so badly to understand, and where I felt the hot sun peaking through the windows. Oh how my heart longed to be here, and I would pray that God would fulfill this desire that He had placed inside of me.

While these lyrics sounded through my home here in the Dominican this morning, this memory felt so fresh to me. I could picture a 21 year old me planted on my bedroom floor, sitting with my legs crossed and my hands wide open to Jesus as I sang the lyrics to this song and prayed a bold prayer. As the image flashed in my mind, I began to feel overwhelmed by God.

He did it. He brought me here. 

Sometimes I get caught up in what is going on right now. The long list of all the things that  seem to be going wrong. I tend to see one thing after another stack up on each other until I feel completely overwhelmed. 

But when I sit and reflect on what God has already done, my current worldly problems tend to seem less overwhelming. Sitting in His presence, being reminded of the way that He has moved time and time again on my behalf, and now on the behalf of my Alan and I… He is so faithful. 

I have these random “awe” moments where I am going about my day and then it hits me, whoa, is this really my life? I like to call them awe moments because they are moments that refocus my attention on WHY I moved here and WHO brought me here.

It is all for Jesus and because of Jesus. 

I have had many more moments of crying out to Jesus here on my floor here in the Dominican. God has answered one of my boldest prayers, and yet my years here have been some of the hardest. Thankfully, I know how to walk through these hard seasons by clinging to Jesus and His faithfulness.  I can look back and see the way God has carried me through it all. I am where I am because of Jesus. 

And again, I am overwhelmed by Him. And just like the lyrics to Creo En Ti Jesús, my prayer is that through my life and journey–the good and the bad–that HE, the precious Son of God, may receive all the glory and all the honor.

Back Into Ministry, Say What?!

My husband and I have some really exciting news! 

WE ARE GOING BACK INTO FULL TIME MINISTRY Y’ALL! WOOT WOOT!

This past year and a half (ish) has been a season of pruning, trials, dependence on God, forgiving and healing, and a whole lot of longing and active waiting. And through it all, we are so thankful because the Lord has used this season to shape us and brew in us new passions and gifting to be used for His glory.

We will be joining Academia Tribu de Jesus (The Tribe of Jesus Academy) which is a newer ministry here in the Dominican that uses baseball as an avenue for discipleship. Baseball is the most popular sport here, and it is an amazing tool for us to use to equip young athletes for life and for the Kingdom as many see baseball as a door of opportunity. For some, they may see it as an opportunity to get to the states and have an established life or some see it as a way to make money and provide for their families breaking the cycle of poverty. 

La Tribu started because one man (Jose Luis) invited a young boy (Franklin) to come play ball again and Jose Luis preached the Gospel every day to Franklin and other players. Franklin then grew in the Word and had a desire to disciple more young athletes (Misa, Randy, Alan, and many others). Now all of these men are coming together to coach baseball and make more reproducing disciples. HOW COOL IS THIS?!

For those who haven’t heard my Alan’s testimony, he came to know the Lord through baseball. After losing everything as a young boy and watching his mom lose her baby, he was in the field one day listening to Franklin share a story of similar struggles. As Franklin shared a story of loss through tears, Alan realized that Franklin had something different. He had the joy and hope of the Lord. And Alan was drawn to it. He wanted to know how to get that kind of hope and joy. He approached Franklin who then invited him to a young adult group at the church and continued to walk alongside Alan as Alan grew in the Word of God. 

Through Alan’s testimony, he has a deep desire to come alongside other young boys who see baseball as an opportunity, and he wants to make the Word of God come alive for these boys as well. This is his heart. He loves these young boys so much and wants to see them thrive and grow in the Kingdom. 

Alan and I have been acting as leaders of our church’s youth group and have already been building relationships with the boys of this academy through the youth group. We are so excited to not just invest in their lives on the field, but have them in our home, equip them for life through teaching them basic skills such as English, celebrating their birthdays, and just really integrating our world into theirs. We made a video to share more about our roles and vision for the ministry which is linked below!

For us to fully dive in and come alongside the current coaches, we must first be funded. One thing that we have learned through previous fundraising experiences is that fundraising is all about relationships. We are very much relationship oriented people. We want to build a partnership and create long term friendships with those who are contributing financially to make this ministry function. We want to do life with our partners even from different countries. 

Join us in prayer!

-for God’s strategy and creativity in our fundraising and forming partnerships

-to keep building deep relationships with the players and enter into their worlds

-for the Lord to ignite a fire in our players for His Word + that the devotionals and things they learn on the field would stick with them as they live out their day to day lives

-unity for the coaches 

-for the resources & funding to come together for us and the ministry as a whole

-wisdom in equipping these athletes not just in baseball but for life/teaching them life skills to succeed

Mission Zoom is a non-profit ministry and organization that is passionate about making disciples and partners with missionaries in the Dominican Republic in order to bring Christ into the culture here.

If you are interested in financially partnering with us for Jesus, here is information on how to give:

–https://www.missionzoom.org/donate and make sure to email kathy.sarita@missionzoom.org in order to confirm your donation is directed towards “Alan and Ashley Rodriguez.” otherwise it will go to a general fund

-Checks made payable to “Mission Zoom” with “Alan and Ashley Rodriguez” in the memo line. Checks may be sent to the following address:

Mission Zoom 

456 Waterford Dr.

Cartersville, GA 30120

We would love to connect and chat with you! 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/journey_to_dominican/ or https://www.instagram.com/aa_rdgz/ 

Facebook Ministry Page: https://www.facebook.com/arodmin 

Missionary Without The Title

Are you feeling discouraged about your work and have a passion for ministry? Or are you just wrestling with feeling unequipped like you are not sure how to share the Gospel? Grab some tea or coffee, and let’s chat a little! 

About four years ago I had this grand idea of what my life would look like in the years to come. 

-live in the Dominican Republic

-be working in full time ministry

-hopefully married 

-100% confident in my Espanol

-fit and making “healthy” my life style

-have my own car

And yada yada yada

Well, let me just tell you that my life now is not exactly what I thought it would look like a few years ago (especially being fit HAHA ). I do live in the Dominican Republic and I did marry the man of my prayers buuuttt…

-I am not in full time ministry

-90% still nervous with my Espanol although I am fluet

-daily trying to find the discipline to take care of my body

-do not have a car

Of all the things mentioned on my list, I have wrestled a lot with no longer being in full time ministry. Some days I almost feel bad that I am no longer serving in ministry full time, and then other days I feel that I am doing more ministry now than when I was a missionary. When I am in the states visiting, I often get the question, “Oh so what do you do there [in the Dominican Republic]?” And close to every time I answer, I feel almost a little hint of guilt that I came to do ministry but am no longer serving in missions. 

When I moved here three years ago, I had no doubt in my mind that I would be a life time missionary with the organization I came to serve with. I had a heart full of expectation (some expectations that I did not even realize that I had at the time), and an eagerness to jump in and serve anywhere. Little did I know that my main coworker would be a computer for the next couple years. The following years were some of the hardest and loneliest years for me. Despite the challenges that I experienced during this time, I am thankful for this season of stretching and how God molded my heart through it. But, it just was not a good fit for me.

As I have transitioned into another season and found some healing from the past season,I have realized that my worth has not decreased because I am no longer a “missionary.” In fact, I AM a missionary. I am a missionary without the title. YOU ARE a missionary without the title. 

Whether you are a crazy successful business woman/man, a cashier at the local grocery store, teacher, or stay at home mom…YOU ARE A MISSIONARY. You are God’s vessel of love and peace to those around you. You have the message of the Gospel to share with everyone you come into contact with. You have been commissioned by the Creator of the universe to go and share the Good News. Each of us has this holy calling on our lives. You do not have to have a certain label in order to do so. Just an obedient heart. 

We do not have to beat ourselves up for working a normal 9-5 job. We do not need to feel discouraged like we are not making a difference because our work takes place outside of a church building. WE ARE THE CHURCH. We are the walking, breathing church. No matter if we are in an office, a coffee shop, a hospital, or at home. Our mission field is right in front of us, and we are commissioned and equipped to share the Good News no matter what.

We are all missionaries, even if it is without the title.