Tombstone

We have been meeting with our staff individually over the past week, and these meetings have been absolutely fantastic.  It's always informational the stuff you find out on a more intimate setting and how much you are able to get accomplished.  (No one else to interrupt or bring up random items.)  Today we met with one of our guys for about 3 hours and were able to really dig into some of his current struggles including time management and allowing time for his family.  God has been speaking to him about his time with his family and making sure he is loving on his wife and children as much as he is loving on those on the fields (something I think most of us can associate with when our work starts to take over our lives and we don't allow time for our family and more importantly God). 

Something J did with him and actually asked me a long time ago was if I were to die right now, what would I want written on my tombstone?  Obviously people put a variety of things on tombstones: "loving mother", "best friend", "giving", "precious angel"... whatever fits their life.  But if you were allowed only 3 things written on your tombstone, what would they be and in what order?  I found that when I took the time to answer this, it helped prioritize my life.  It helped me understand when God was calling me away from nursing at a hospital to working at the church and then ultimately becoming a missionary here in the Dominican, that I was not letting anyone down or shaming myself.  Because my number one thing revolved/revolves around God and no where on my tombstone did I have written "(insert adjective) nurse".  So when He called me away from something I loved and had taken time to pursue, it became a journey of trusting Him and allowing Him to work in my life. 

Thanks again to Financial Peace as J uses the same principle idea of "budgeting to zero" for time.  If you are not accounting and budgeting all of your time, you are likely wasting a good deal of it.  So plan out your hours accounting for family time, prayer time, rest, eating, work, etc.  Because when it is all accounted for, the chances of wasting it and misusing it is much harder.

Please be lifting up our brother through his journey as he attempts to reprioritize his life and invest more time with his family. 


Much love!!

Trials

We participated in another cleaning project this past Saturday in Los Castillos.  We have done a few of these in the past year, and they are always great in helping the youth (and even adults) learn the importance of taking care of the land.  It is rather customary here to throw all sorts of things out the window, on the ground, etc.  Cups, trash, diapers... you get the idea.  So these cleaning projects are a fantastic opportunity for an outreach in the communities.  J preached before the event started focusing on Genesis 1:27-31.  J wanted the youth to understand that we need to care for the Earth given to us by God.  After the cleaning part, what else is there to do but play some baseball for the afternoon?   Here are some pictures:

J preaching with the teams before the event.

Alfre leading us in prayer.

 

We use gloves to pick up trash, so here is J requesting a "right handed glove" from Alfre... it only took him half a second to realize what J was doing.

A picture of the "cleaning" in action.

Organizing the teams for some baseball.

 

And Saturday night, after a hot day outside when all I wanted to do was take a shower and relax, I see something crawling in Aubrey's hair.  I am immediately on "high alert" as bugs in general are not my thing, but especially bugs that tend to hide and you cannot easily see (fleas, lice... you probably see where I am going).  I pick it off and ask J (with some panic in my voice), "what's this??!"  And yes, much to my dislike, Aubrey had lice.  I immediately go into overdrive (kinda OCD, crazy overdrive) by googling and sending J to the pharmacy for some medicine.  (And of course I am suddenly itching all over the place just like all of you are at this moment!)  Seeing that everything online says to simply place the sheets, clothing, stuffed animals, and other items in hot water and the dryer, I am slightly panicked.  Because, we don't have hot water... and well we don't have a dryer either.  So what am I going to do?  So I do like every other person would and stuff Aubrey's baby and 2 stuffed animals in big baggies (something in which God provided from varying places in anticipation of this because we do not buy those here) and put them in the freezer and which are still in there 4 days later.  (I read this somewhere to help kill them and if not the freezer then 2 days away from a host.)  And I explained to Aubrey that her baby and animals had to go to the doctor in the freezer to get better.  She was ok with this.

Our freezer full to the brim with French fries, coffee, ice and frozen stuffed animals.  (We even threw J's hat in there for good measure... why not?)

 

J returns quite promptly with some medicine (as Dominican as can be)...

Who doesn't want to use lice shampoo with super heroes on the front??  I mean, it definitely makes me feel reassured seeing their fighting powers and their motto of "An intergalactic mission to kill the lice of the head".  Doesn't that make you feel good and taken care of?  And there are no directions anywhere so I follow what I read for the majority of lice shampoos.  Now because I am crazy about this, we all get to use the "special shampoo" (which smells very strong of a flower bouquet and in fact has the last ingredient listed as "fragrance") and let it sit in our hair for a solid 10 minutes.  Aubrey was ok with this and found shampooing and rinsing with our clothing on pretty fun.  We then spent the rest of the evening combing through everyone's hair.  Luckily, it appears Aubrey was the only one to have it and we caught it pretty early, but still it gives me the heebie jeebies to the max.  And I have to give amazing credit to my husband who deserves a superhero t-shirt for being so calm and collected and willing to go through all of my long hair looking for these things.  (And who actually continues to look because again I am crazy and think "oh, I have an itch, it must be lice.")  Aubrey is getting better at sitting still as every night we search through her hair looking for nits.  I guess you could call it a game to see if you can find one.  (Oh and mind you, they don't have lice combs on this island.  So we use a flash light, the finest comb we could find and ultimately go through hair by hair on Aubrey's head.  I think it took us about 1.5 hours last night.)  So we have an exciting date night scheduled again this Saturday for our special shampoo use.  Funny how Saturday nights used to be so romantic, but I wouldn't trade these superheroes or the flower fragrance for anything.

 

The next morning, J, Rafael, the girls, and I drove to Nagua as they were starting a week long tournament in the name of AIM.  (This is where we held the first completely Dominican led camp last March.)  Our relationships with the coaches and one specific Pastor in the area continue to grow, Praise God!, and it was great to be back.  Here are a few pictures of the day.  Sorry there aren't many and not too great.  I was watching 2 girls and holding 1 while on the field.

During the opening ceremonies.  AIM was recognized again and J was asked to say a few words.

Here J is batting the "first pitch".  :)

 

 

Our drive back from Nagua was much more downcast as we received news that Luis Chingping's wife passed away that afternoon (he is the president of the Christian Sports Association here in Sosua, someone we work very closely with and who actually traveled to the States with our guys a few weeks ago).  As it often happens, this was very quick and quite a shock.  One of those surreal moments as we had just seen her 1 week before at the airport picking Luis up with the other guys.  It's always hard to understand when God takes someone so special away so suddenly especially for the family, so please be lifting up Luis and all their family and friends as they adjust to life without this special lady.  There are always the "firsts" when someone passes away and we are quickly approaching the holidays. 

 

We love you guys and your support and prayers.  We are blessed to have such a faithful family with us every step of the way.

 

 

"I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world."  John 16:33

 



Thanks, Gracias, Danke, Grazie, Merci

As our Cuban brother, Rudy, has said, "Sometimes the words 'thank you' just don't seem like enough." And I must say right now this is exactly how we feel.  In case you don't know, our computer died last Thursday.  It was working fine Wednesday (I'll admit we had been having a few problems and glitches for the past few months but I was just pushing through hoping to make it to December) and then Thursday morning, it just wouldn't turn on.  I tried and tried with "hard rebooting" and unplugging and replugging and battery this and battery that... but to no avail.  We left it plugged in (and I think charging according to the light) overnight and nothing.  Needless to say, this was very disappointing (and rather annoying) as we do a lot on the computer including keeping you all up to date and work and communication and yes, fun stuff like Netflix.  We called J's mom to ask her to start looking around as the AIM staff was still in the States and therefore a new computer could easily be brought back with them.  And of course I was stressing (typical me) about funding a new one and getting one back and how it's all going to work... "chicken littling" it again.  And now comes the most amazing part... Monica (J's sister) heard of our need (as she and her husband, Cody, are the tech people in the family) and immediately posted our need on facebook with requests for help in any way.  What is such a blessing, and I will admit something that actually brings tears to my eyes right now, is the overwhelming response she had from people willing to help.  In 24 hours, Monica had found support for $1100.00 to purchase a new computer for us.  Through her faithfulness and willingness to get the need out there, we were blessed beyond measure with not only a new computer and a solid state hard drive (to which I am assured will help the poor laptop with all the traveling we do) but with a showing of love felt all the way in the Dominican.  So, I want to take this time to say thank you to each of you who helped this happen.  Thank you for your willingness to donate to us and support us in our times of need.  Thank you for the prayers through this time and faithfulness.  We are blessed and grateful!!!
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And because I have not been able to blog in a while, I want to catch you all up on all the other amazing things God is doing.

The guys returned Monday afternoon after 9 days in the States.  And from the things I have heard, it was a phenomenal trip although exhausting.  We have our weekly meeting today in which I know I will be hearing even more about their experiences and growth and will try to share those with you soon.

While they were gone, it was much quieter around here.  J returned late Sunday night, the 12th, and according to him the work in Hato Mayor was used by God in many different ways.  4 men prayed to receive Christ (2 from our AIM coaches), Gloria a Dios!!  After having a very productive, doctrinal talk on baptism, 8 men were baptized.  (The average Dominican is taught you should wait 3-6 months before being baptized to learn doctrine and in essence to prove your faith is genuine.)  Chains were broken and the freedom of Christ's salvation was emphasized to all the men throughout the camp.  (Again, many Dominicans are held down by their previous lives and sins even after accepting Christ.)  Praise God for His truth and those able to preach it.

J had the final Paz Financiera this Monday with the pastors and leaders of the community.  According to J it was a great finish and several of the pastors were requesting the DVDs to show their congregations and reach out to their areas.  (A complete blessing as this was the idea behind administering the class to these specific men and women.)  And just another woohoo! for this class was shown in the States by one of our own staff who decided it was better for him not to buy a computer (although there is a need and want) but apply those funds to another area in his life to get out of debt.

As the AIM guys are back and "on fire" for discipling and reaching others, this week (and honestly all future weeks) is dedicated to getting out there and reaching those coaches we work with and finding new ones.  Pouring into the coaches and leaders so they can in turn pour into the youth and kids.  Raising these men and women up to be better and stronger in their faith.

Please be praying for the AIM staff and us as we continue along this process and really shift into overdrive.  Pray for a willingness to get out of our comfort zones and our areas and reach new people.  Pray for Christ to shine through all of us throughout our work and life, and pray He will be glorified in all we do.

Aubrey with several of our neighborhood friends.

Aubrey and Ryann.  We are beyond blessed for these 2 amazing girls.

Daddy teaching Aubrey how to throw and catch with a princess glove.  Go hard or go home... "There's no crying in baseball." :)

While the guys were gone we cleaned out the equipment room to organize, count, see what we had, etc.  J found several balls from TU and here is one he took the liberty of making better.  Yes, he has some crazy eyes here, gig 'em!

 

 

 

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 

Matthew 6:19-21

Let the Storm Rage

Sometimes God calms the storm.. Sometimes He lets the storm rage and He calms His child.

This was my past week especially in the past 3 days.  Between 2 sick kids with fever, cough and congestion, J being gone since Thursday at a clinic in Hato Mayor, being without power for 24 hours which is only a problem as our batteries died (so no fans or lights) amongst other things, it was a rough couple of days.  And more than once it came to tears.  (ok, I'll admit several times)  As we prepared for J to leave for the clinic, there seemed there were too many things pressing against us.  Too much to get done, too much happening at home, too much pushing down, too much, too much... We were under attack.  Miscommunication with the States, frustration here, again sick kids and all the other things, our enemy was working overtime.  And finally I came to the realization that there must be some awesome work happening and about to happen for him to attack like he is.  And from what I have heard from J (I don't have the entire scoop as he returns tonight), the clinic has been simply amazing.  Barriers have been torn down, people have been set free, and the freedom offered by God has reigned!  (And this idea of complete freedom from Jesus is something many in this culture do not believe.  Many say someone is not a Christian because they wear make-up, color their hair, drink alcohol...)  And this is worth ALL the struggles and tears and trials this past week.  Knowing truth is being preached and people are being set free! 

And I must say that God did not leave me during this time.  I knew He was there.  I could feel Him and He provided by surrounding me with family.  Not only did I have the prayers from our family in the States, but our family in the Dominican came to our rescue the night without power.  As I was breaking down because Ryann was hurting and crying with a fever, there were no fans nor lights, Aubrey was tired and cranky, supper had not been made and mom was well... exhausted... I see the safari drive up with Rafael and Tati to save us and take us to Pastor's house.  It was a true blessing and something I have to be able to admit... sometimes I need help.  Ultimately this is a pride issue I struggle with.  I don't want to look like I cannot handle my kids or my life, I don't want to burden anyone else or get in the way... 

So praise God for these trials because I have been shown I am stronger than I realized, I can drive in the Dominican, we have family and friends who love us very much and will do anything for us, we have a neighborhood full of kids who adore Aubrey and Ryann and stay for all hours to help me, we have friends who will go out of their way to stop by the house to listen to and check on Ryann and Aubrey (Dr. Duncan and his beautiful bride Sarah- a nurse), I can make a mean pot of white rice (and I'm not talking minute rice), and so many other things!  Although I will admit it's easy to say this all now because we are on the downhill slide, I am grateful for this week in its entirety.
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Our guys left yesterday and arrived safely in Houston last night.  It was kinda sad to see them off at the airport.  I know, crazy, but I realize how much they have grown to be a part of our family and how much they love us and visa versa.  Here is a picture of them all looking very handsome and ready.  (They were VERY excited and maybe a touch nervous.)

 

Another picture of the guys training in our living room before leaving for the States.

 

 

Two weeks ago, Salomon, one of our staff, was hosting a tournament in Sabaneta in a new area he is working.  We went for the morning as support and to see the game.  J ended up preaching a message to the boys and we got some time just having fun and being outside.  And I must say it was one of the most beautiful places to play baseball I have ever seen.  Here are some pictures of the day...

Apparently J has made it his mission to get ridiculous pictures of Alfre.  So he tricked him into this picture by asking Alfre to look at something and then "click".  Hahaha... no matter how old they are, boys will always be boys.

One of the girls and me.

For all my Tennessee family, this boy is wearing a Pigeon Forge shirt.  :)

 We see shirts from all over but this is one of the first Tennessee shirts I have seen.

 

Salomon leading a group of boys between games.

During Alfre's prayer.  Can you spot the gringas?

Aggie pride!  Saw 'em off!

 

 

Praise God for each of you!!  Ugga mugga!  (We have been watching a lot of Daniel Tiger.  Thank goodness for youtube.)

 

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”  John 16:33

Visas, can't leave the Dominican without them

Praise the Lord!!  6 out of our 7 guys were approved for the visas.  According to several sources, this is a very high percentage to be approved.  But, we are still working on getting the last man approved for a visa, so please keep praying for this!  I cannot wait for their trip and the training and growth they will experience while in the States.  To be honest, I am slightly jealous that I will not get to be there to undergo this with our guys.  It will be an amazing week and from what I hear, FULL of dinners (apparently they have about 34 dinner invitations!).  What a blessing to have such a loving AIM family who are willing to share their homes and love on our guys. 

Here is a picture of a few of them dressed up ready for the interview.  J went with them to Santo Domingo this past week overnight as they had to be at the embassy at 7:30 am.  J said it was a fantastic time of hanging out and bonding with one another.  Something always important for a small team to do!

While in the States, our guys will be receiving training from FCA!  (What a privilege and honor for us for FCA to take part in the lives of these men and AIM's work here on the island.)  But, before they leave they are completing some online training- the 3 Dimensional Coach which from what I hear from them is FANTASTIC.  Here is a picture of them during dinner break of the training this past Saturday.  We got some pizza and I made cookies.  (And just to brag a bit on my husband, he is translating the entire thing as they watch it.  I am quite impressed with how much better his Spanish has gotten in the past 2 years.)

 

While J was in Santo Domingo, Rafael and he met with the AIM coaches in San Luis to find out what needs they have and ultimately how they are doing.  It was a great opportunity to hear them sharing their adventure.  One of the coaches J met was wearing the shirt from last year's FCA clinic.  On the back of the shirt he is wearing it says "giving my all" or "all in".  In this case, this coach has given his all including the color of his shirt.  What was once true black is now a dirty brown because  of all the time he has spent on the field in the sun.  I love seeing some faded shirts!!

 

 

The past 2 Sundays, Aubrey has gone to Pastor and Grandma Tati's house for the afternoon (which mom is LOVING!).  She plays, has a great time, eats and comes home ready for a nap.  This past Sunday J and I were invited and J got into the water games.  (I will admit I put Aubrey up to this to splash him and Niriel really got into it.  She has quite the arm.)  So here are a few pictures of our fun in the sun...

 

And one of Aubrey ready for the day.  I will say she gets her fashion sense from me and her faces from Daddy!  :)  (And she picked the converse herself.  Something I promote quite strongly!)

 

 

Praise God for our family here on the island who are willing to help in any way possible and our family in the States and Canada who love and support us.  We are blessed to have so much family all over the world!!

Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.  Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man.

Proverbs 3:3