Tag: prayer warrior

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 

Lord, Give Me Urgency

My heart feels extra heavy today. There is so much need, so much darkness, and so much division in our world. As I hear the news, read different posts, and see videos and pictures of things that are happening all around the globe, my heart breaks. I told myself that this morning I would focus on fighting on my knees, but I feel I cannot even find the words. All I can get out are tears. As the tears roll down my cheeks, I ask the Holy Spirit to intercede for me. 

When I was in college, I took a class called Global Cultural Intelligence. This class was KEY in opening my eyes to see the world through Jesus’ lens. You see, I grew up in a very small town with very little diversity where people mainly focused on what was going on in their own world or the world of their neighbors (you know–in small towns everyone knows everyone else’s business). Being global minded wasn’t even something that I had heard of. 

Since moving to the Dominican, I have had a serious perspective shift. Through many conversations with my people here in the DR and my students from different countries all over, I have felt convicted that I am sometimes ignorant of what is going on in the world. One thing I have come to realize is that our world is God’s world–and to be aware of things going on in the world shows us how we can better and more specifically be praying and interceding. 

I feel like the Lord has put the word, “urgency” on my heart. 

-Urgency for the time we are living in

-Urgency for people who do not know Christ

-Urgency to share His hope to the brokenness in our world

-Urgency to be His hands and feet and share the Gospel unhindered

-Urgency to fight in prayer 

I will be 100% honest with you…during my prayer time I typically pray for those in my circle. But that isn’t who I want to be. I want to be a prayer warrior for my people and the people I haven’t even met yet. I want to be the kind of person who doesn’t just read the news or hear of current events and flip a switch back to whatever I was doing because it isn’t directly happening to me.I want to have God’s lens for His world and His people. Whatever is on His heart, I want it to be on my heart. Whatever breaks His heart, I want it to break my heart. 

So in my prayer time today I did not just focus on lifting up those who are being threatened, persecuted, or facing trials right now.

 I prayed also for us–the Church–that we would be an extension of Christ to our hurting world.

 I prayed that Jesus would tear down walls of division even among the body of Christ so that we can stand united to make Jesus’ presence known and His love felt to a world that is desperate for hope and redemption. 

I prayed for urgency so that we may know that the Lord is coming and there are so many that haven’t been told the Good News yet. 

May the Lord plant urgency on all of our hearts. To be global minded, to be people who pursue unity and peace tearing down walls of division, to be people who fight on our knees, and to be His hand and feet.