A Day in the Life of....

October 2017

What might a day at Freedom look like for these cuties? Click here to find out!

A Day in the Life of....... Have you ever wandered what a day looks like for one of our students? I've put together a short video that gives you a small glimpse of what it looks like here at Freedom! See link above to view the video. If that video sparks your interest at all and leaves you wandering in what ways you can get involved, there are several different ways! First of all, you can take a trip! (click here for more info!)Taking a trip allows you to physically participate in what God is doing at Freedom International. Whether it be through construction or helping out in the school, it gives you the opportunity to make a life-changing difference in the lives of our kids! It's amazing to see the relationships that are formed between teams and our students in just one short week. Those relationships are often strengthened through return trips or even sponsorship! Speaking of sponsorship.....This is Weslin and his first day at Freedom International was June 12th. The first day of school really wore him out! He's still one of several in our Pre-K 3 class that are looking for someone to sponsor them. Becoming a sponsor gives you the opportunity to develop a life-changing relationship with one of our kids. 100% of your support goes directly to their education. You have the opportunity to exchange letters and can even visit them! What a blessing for these kids to know that they have someone constantly in their lives, who loves them and is lifting them up in prayer! We love seeing the excitement on our kids' faces when they hear that their sponsor is coming to visit! What a sight it would be on graduation day to scan the audience and see a room full of sponsors who have invested in, prayed for and loved on our kiddos! If you are interested in sponsoring Weslin or any of our other kids, click here for more information! Most importantly, you can pray for all our students. Pray that their lives would be changed by the Holy Spirit, that they would Love God, Love People, Live Design, and that they would go into their communities and the world doing what they were designed to do......to bring glory to God!  Pray for all of us missionaries on the field as well. As Jason (our president) always points out "...everyone who is fully trained will be like their teacher." (Luke 6:40) Pray that we would be constantly walking with and growing in our relationship with the Lord. Pray that we would be fully surrendered to Him and that we would allow Him to lead this ministry as He sees fit. After all, we are only stewards. God is the owner.  As Hudson Taylor says....."I do thank God for permitting one so unworthy to take any part in this great work, and do not regret having engaged in it.  It is His work, not mine or yours; and yet it is ours not because we are engaged in it, but because we are His, and one with Him whose work it is. Whether you take a trip or sponsor a child, you are all already involved with and play a big part in this ministry. It's your financial support and prayers that allow our family to be here! Thank you for investing in what God is doing here! We love you  all and thank God for surrounding us with such an amazing support team!

September 2017 Update

Undeserved Kindness  Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord  Jesus Christ ~ Galatians 1:3

I've been doing a study by She Reads Truth on Galatians and I've been struck by this verse in chapter 1. Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ ~ Galatians 1:3 The study points out that the greek word used in this verse for grace is 'charis' and it means "an undeserved act of kindness". The greek word for peace used here is 'eiréné' which means "a sense of health, welfare or wholeness". 'Grace and Peace' Every time these words appear in one of Paul's epistles, we find them in this order. Grace then Peace. I love that Paul puts them in this order!  Apart from grace, there can be no peace. As the study puts it "There can be no wholeness apart from God's undeserved kindness." I don't know about you but I constantly find myself trying to find peace outside of the grace of God. My heart wanders and looks often  to the things of this world to satisfy my soul. We sang the song "Come thou Fount" the other week in church and these words really pierced my heart. "Prone to wander Lord I feel it, Prone to leave the God I love. " But yet God's grace and undeserved kindness continues to pursue me! I love the Chris Tomlin version of this old hymn. He adds the following chorus. How Your kindness yet pursues me How Your mercy never fails me Till the day that death shall loose me I will sing, oh I will sing All I have to do is rest in the undeserved gift of grace from a God that loves me more than I can imagine! And it's through this undeserved grace that I can in return truly show and demonstrate the love of God to those around me! What's Happening with Freedom! This summer, we were able to move into our new kitchen which is located in the multi-use! Thanks to these wonderful ladies, we got it all set up and ready to use in one day! It's been a huge blessing for school lunches and for the teams! Summer is always packed full with groups. This summer we had close to 200 people. Thats 1600 meals! As you can see, I was super excited to have a commercial 12 burner stove! It also comes in very handy for feeding 120 kids lunch everyday.  Gabe's been busy with getting our second 8-unit apartment building up and running. We just poured the first ceiling yesterday! Currently, all of our apartments are occupied so this building is essential for preparing for more people who are interested in joining our  ground team!  Gabe's also been busy finishing up this building! Not long ago, this building consisted of one shop (the lower right side of the building). Now we've added a second shop and also 2, two-bedroom apartments above the shops!  Austin and Laura will be occupying one of those apartments! They arrived on campus this past Monday and we are so excited to have them here! Please keep them in your prayers as they adjust to their new life in the DR. This summer we started having chapel every Friday morning for students in Kindergarten through 4th grade! We are currently focusing on how to love one another! Check to this short clip of the kids singing! We've had so many new things going on this summer! I think a favorite of mine is the new playground! These kids went from playing in an open field with a few beat up balls and jump ropes to this! What a blessing it's been! You can see the joy written all over their faces every time they get a chance to play on it. We are so thankful for everyone who financially and physically made this playground possible! As you can see, my kids and all the MK's are also loving that this is now in their backyard! It's definitely getting good use! (click the photo to see a short video of the zip line!) If you remember, these girls spent an extra 5 - 6 weeks in the states this summer while waiting on their visas. So many of you were lifting us up in prayer during that time and we can't thank you enough! While they missed about 4 weeks of school, they all got A's and B's on their most recent report cards and are continuing to speak more and more Spanish! Ava just turned 9 in August (she is a 3rd grader this year) and Blakeley and Karsyn will be 8 in November (they are currently in 2nd grade). I'm not sure where my babies went but it's been a joy to watch them grow!

A New Year!

January 2017 View this email in your browser

What’s Happening with Freedom? Click here to see a short video of all that God did in 2016! Our school bus fleet has grown by 1! A big thank you to everyone one who gave towards the match. With a projected 210 students next year, this is a must! Gabe has been working hard on our multi-use building. This will make a huge difference in my area of service! The bigger kitchen will allow us to expand our meal options and will also provide a cafeteria area for the kids/teams. If you would like to help finish this building, click here to give towards our "Building" fund. Our tractor is on it's way  and should arrive January 28th. This tractor was outright donated to Freedom. God is so good! It's amazing to see how He continues to provide. Francielis is in Blakeley and Karsyn's class and is in need of a sponsor. You can sponsor her for $50/month. We also just recently introduced Anchor Sponsors. Anchor sponsors will sponsor a class as a whole for $200/month. This will add the flexibility to provide additional curriculum, improve our meal options, provide teacher's aides and will also allow us to take them on a field trip once year. If you are interested in becoming a sponsor, click here! The Countdown Has Begun! The Suon Family will make the big move on January 23rd! Please keep them in your prayers this week as they finish packing and say their goodbyes. It's a bittersweet moment but we are all so excited to have them on the field! Quick Pyle Family Update! Both sets of our parents were able to visit in December and January!  We loved being able to share our life in the DR with them. After a much needed Christmas break, the girls are back in school! (Ava - 2nd grade, Blakeley & Karsyn - 1st grade ) While it's not always easy for them to go, they are all doing an amazing job! On April 29th, we will be heading back to the states for 4 weeks. We would love to meet with you and share all the amazing things God is doing in the DR! You can email us at kristapyle@itisforfreedom.com to set up a time. We are truly thankful for your continued support! Please continue to keep us in your prayers. Pray that we would keep God first and that everything we do would bring glory to His name.