Thursday, June 27, 2013

Next Stop : the Dominican Republic!!

First off, I want to say how thankful I am for you in my life, I have learned and grown because of you!  Just the fact that I can share this awesome experience and opportunity with you and that I know that you’ll be behind me, means the world. Thank you for taking the time to read this too!

For the past year and a half my job has been up in the air, and I was feeling the nudge that it was time to move on.  The non-profit grant field has been my life for the last 10 years, and in February I decided, as hard at it was, that it was time to start looking for something different.  I had followed some leads, put my resume in a few places, but they never resulted in anything...which was ok, I was confident that God would provide the right job (even if it was a 9-5), but I was never expecting this. 

As you may know, last year I had the awesome opportunity to go on two missions trips, one to Costa Rica and one to the Dominican Republic.  Both were in partnership with SCORE Ministries and through those trips I met a lot of great people, including the Executive GAP Program Director.  He had seen something in me during those trips and contacted me in May with this opportunity. After seeking God in His word and through prayer, talking to my closest friends and family, and weighing all my options, I couldn’t turn this opportunity down.  It was clear that it was time to put my faith into action, like when James spoke about Abraham in James 2:22, “You see, he was trusting God so much that he was willing to do whatever God told him to do.  His faith was made complete by what he did - by his actions.


With that said, I am so excited to share with you this new ministry opportunity that I am going to be involved in.  Starting August 24th, I will be the Student Life Coordinator for the Global Adventure Pursuit (GAP) Program in the Dominican Republic.  The GAP program is a 9-month program where 15 American kids ages 18-22 will come to discover and develop their bible & spanish knowledge & skills to use for God’s glory.  I will be a mentor to the kids and essentially do life with them to help them realize their greatest potential and link them with the ministries that are available.  I am both excited and a little nervous to leave all that I know for 9 months and to have such a great responsibility for these kids and their physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being.  When the kids are in class I’ll have the opportunity to explore some other ministry opportunities as well, like coaching, building houses, and working with the short-term missions groups that come down...things that I feel that God has been preparing me for.  

I know that this will be a life-changing experience and whole-heartedly believe that God has been orchestrating this in my life for years.  And because taking this chance, moving away from friends and family is so not me, I know that it is all God and in that I have complete confidence that He will provide: provide safety, provide funding, provide wisdom, discernment and understanding, provide prayer partners and financial partners, and so much more that I’m not even expecting. 

Through the program budget my room and board will be covered, which is a huge blessing.  However, to make this honor a reality, I need sponsors and partners to provide some financial assistance to help cover my additional expenses both in the DR and back here at home.  I am asking you to join other relatives and friends and prayerfully consider sponsoring me in this effort by either a one time donation or on a monthly basis.  My goal is to raise $3,000 in the next two months. 

If you have some time, check out the SCORE website www.scoreintl.org and see some of the awesome things that they are doing all over the world and the different ministries that are available. 
If you feel led to help me out financially, SCORE makes the donation process fairly easy and you can donate a few ways:

1)  You can go online to www.scoreintl.org/donate/donate-to-a-traveler and just make sure to put my name in the description box
2)  You can fill out the form I have put at the end and send a check to SCORE International; PO Box 9994, Chattanooga, TN 37412
3)  Send donations directly to me at 132 Ellen Drive Unit Left, Cheektowaga NY 14225 (please keep in mind that this will only be my address until August 20th)
4)  I can also accept donations of gift cards, air miles, or whatever the Lord has put on your heart!

Your prayerful consideration of support is very much appreciated!!  And above all, please pray for God to use me as a true role model and to share the love of Christ on this missions endeavor!  I am more than happy to answer any questions that you may have!!  Thank you, thank you, thank you!

And I’ll do my best to keep you up to date via facebook and on here!

You are LOVED & APPRECIATED!! 

-Jaime



Please use this form if you’re making a donation via check:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Please put the following gift on the account for Jaime Snyder who will be traveling to the Dominican Republic as the Student Life Coordinator for the GAP Program from August 24, 2013 - May 1, 2014.

Donor Name: ______________________________________ 
Phone #: ___________________________
Address: _____________________________________________
City: __________________________________  
State: ___________  Zip: ____________________
email address: __________________________________________
Amount enclosed: $______________________
Please make check payable to SCORE International, Inc.
and mail to: PO Box 9994, Chattanooga, TN 37412