Surgery is Scheduled

This is a long overdue update – life has been a little hectic.

On Tuesday, December 8th, Dick had an appointment at Shands Hospital in Gainesville, FL. We thought we were going up there to schedule his March surgery and to have a preliminary meeting with the surgeon. Dick went through all the usual intake questions (family history, previous surgeries, etc.) and then Dr. Beck came in and went through another battery of questions and pulled up information from records that we brought with us to the appointment. As he reviewed the CT scan he told us that the abdominal aneurysm was not as big as previously reported. It appeared that the 6.5 measurements was taken at a place where the aorta turned so it was more of a diagonal measurement - like measuring a cucumber that was cut diagonally – and that the aneurysm was at a measurement of 4.5. He was however very concerned about an aneurysm that Dick has on his ascending aorta – the large vein coming out of the heart. Since he only does surgery on the descending aorta and surgery on the ascending aorta is technically heart surgery, he sent one of his colleagues in to talk to us. Dr. Lee told Dick that he would need to have surgery sooner than later and asked if we would prefer to wait until after Christmas – which we said yes to. He sent Dick to have another CT scan, focusing on the aneurysms and we left Gainesville to return to Orlando.

Wednesday morning as we were drinking coffee trying to decide what to do that day the phone rang with a scheduler from Shands hospital telling us that Dick needed to get up to Shands immediately for surgery. Since he was the technician that was scheduling the surgery, he couldn’t give us any more information than that and Dick asked for a call back from the doctor to find out exactly what was going on. The doctor’s PA called back and told us that there had been growth in the aneurysm since September and the doctor thought the surgery should be done immediately. So we hastily packed our bags and headed for Shands.

Long story short, the surgery was not done that day. Dick spent 3 days in the hospital while they did testing, started weaning him off of his blood thinners, and he met with anesthesiology. In just a few short days, the 21st of this month Dick will be having a 6 hour open heart surgery where they will stop his heart and put him on a by-pass machine while they removed the diseased portion of his ascending aorta and replace it with a tube of some kind (can't remember what the doctor called it). The doctor assured us that there is only a 2% chance of death and that he performs these surgeries all the time ... comforting yes, comforting no, depends on the moment. Just the talk of death freaks us out a bit. But as a Christ-follower, death isn't to be feared, right?

The thing that Dick fears the most is the pain that he will inevitably endure and the 2+ month recovery process. This has made us ponder how gracious our Lord is to (usually) not let us know the hardships that we will walk through in life before we walk through them ... the fear of what is to come can sometimes be the hardest part of the journey ... sometimes.

We are so grateful for the way that God's providence has been woven throughout this whole process.

• The heart attack lead to the discovery of the aneurysm in his abdomen
• While surgery wasn't supposed to take place until March, Dick met with the surgeon last week only to find that the original worry (the abdominal aneurysm) wasn't as serious as originally thought but that the ascending aortic aneurysm, that was originally thought not to be a problem, was the one that needed to be cared for ... urgently.

So once again, while we were busy planning our way, God has been and continues to direct our steps - for that we are so, so grateful!

The day after we returned from the hospital, this is what we read in a new devotional that we received from a friend:
"… When your head throbs, when your heart palpitates, when your system is upset, it is natural to say with Jacob, "All these things are against me." We complain of providence, but this is the time to apply the promise with power. "Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God, I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you. I will uphold you with My righteous right hand" (Is. 41:10). When pain gives every sign of increasing, when we wait for the surgeon with his dreaded knife, if we are to be sustained under suffering that makes the flesh shudder, we need the upholding gentleness of God. "Fear not, for I am with you." This promise, like the nightingale's song, is most sweet when heard in the night season.”
And that does indeed bring comfort, how incredibly timely. I have a feeling that this will be something that we read over and over again in the coming days!

So we wish you and yours a very blessed Christmas. Hug your loved ones and remember what a gift they are in your life. We love and appreciate you all and covet your prayers for no complications and a speedy recovery.

Leaving Home to go Home

Dear friends and family,

April 1, 2011 is a prominent day in our memories. It is the day we wrapped up a year of preparation and packing and drove away from Tequesta, Florida - home to both of us for over 30 years. Over the last four and a half years we have faced many trials, but have had some of the most spiritually enriching times of our lives. Opportunities to serve, teach, and pray; encouraging conversations with outreach participants; watching God at work all around us; working alongside amazing Dominican and American staff - these are just a glimpse of the highlights of these years.

When we made the commitment to leave our lives behind and move to the mission field, we did so without putting an end date on it trusting the Lord’s leading on timing. Our mission organization asks for a minimum 2 year commitment but we really didn’t have a feel at that point of how long we were to serve, instead hearing the Lord say, “go and serve and I will direct your next step.” So that’s what we have done. Our first few years were very hard. Learning to live in a culture with different norms and values was something that we tried to prepare for before arriving in the DR but until our feet actually touched ground there, we didn’t have a clue what we were going to face. So many things were different – from the way that neighbors interact (you are part of their family, you’re never too busy to talk) to the way that people drive (loco doesn’t even begin to describe it), to what to do if you have a fender bender (hand the person who hit you a couple hundred pesos and be on your way) – all of it was so totally different to what we considered “normal.” Add to that our bi-weekly shopping trips in Santiago where we were stood out for miles as the only “gringos” to be seen, and if we had a problem we were flat out of luck because the only English to be heard was the occasional American pop-song blaring from a car radio. But we slowly learned the language, learned the habits of our neighbors, found our way through Santiago shopping trips and adjusted, or even more so, enjoyed living life in the Dominican Republic.

This past year in particular has been an amazing year of ministry. Due to changes in staff, Mary Ellen was able to become more involved in the lives of the women working in the kitchen as well as do some of the cooking – which she loved! Dick was given the opportunity to teach bible lessons on a regular basis to the outreach participants. We were also both able to take part in a worship and prayer night, having the opportunity to pray for outreach participants and were also able to spend many hours sharing our faith and our lives with students and leaders around the table at mealtime and during breaks in our schedule. We seemed to be settling into our roles and responsibilities on the field and felt so blessed to be doing what we were doing.

On May 31 of this year as we were preparing to start a busy summer, Dick was spending time reading in Mark 5. Have you ever had the experience of reading or hearing something that you felt like was written or spoken just for you? How often have you read a verse of scripture that you have read many times before but at that moment it seems to jump off the page at you? As Dick began to read verse 19 of chapter 5, he sensed very strongly that the Lord was speaking to him.
"18 As He was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed was imploring Him that he might accompany Him. 19 And He did not let him, but He said to him, ‘Go home to your people & report to them what great things the Lord has done for you, & how He had mercy on you.’ 20 And he went away and began to proclaim in Decapolis what great things Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed.”

The revelation of the Lord was so strong that Dick wrote these verses in his journal. Wondering if God was beginning to prepare our hearts to return to the US, we began many lengthy discussions about what might be in our future and when we might return to the States.

On August 27th, Dick had stabbing pain in his back. We went to the local clinic (like an Urgent Care Center) and he was admitted and treated for angina. After a week of treatment and no improvement and at the prompting of his son, Jason, we made a hasty trip to Florida. Within 24 hours he was admitted to South Lake Hospital in Clermont, FL, where it was determined that he had 3 blocked arteries in his heart. Over the course of his stay there, he received 4 stents and it was discovered that he had multiple aneurysms that have, in some places, more than doubled the size of his aorta. He will need surgery as soon as his heart is healthy enough – sometime within the next 6-12 months. In the meantime, he is managing his blood pressure through a few different types of medication, keeping it low enough to not cause stress on the aneurysm but high enough that he can function. He has to be careful of the types of activities he does and also needs to take care to not be exposed to illness if at all possible. His doctors have advised him not to travel internationally or to any remote areas of the United States – in other words, to remain close to good emergency care. So it seems as though while we were busy planning our way, God has graciously intervened and ordered our steps. And the verse Dick read in May has taken on a whole new meaning to us - "Go home to your people & report to them what great things the Lord has done for you, & how He had mercy on you."

We can’t even begin to express how much we appreciate the love and support of so many over these past four and a half years. The opportunities to minister and serve the Dominicans and outreach participants were made possible because of your prayers, friendship and financial support. Thank you just doesn’t seem like enough but we do thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

Dick and Mary Ellen Meyer

The mind of man plans his way but the Lord directs his steps ~ Proverbs 16:9

Giving Thanks

Dear Partners in the Work in the Dominican Republic,

We have just said goodbye to our last American team for the year - twenty nine college aged students from a gap-year program called LIFT (Leaders in Further Training) from Camp of the Woods, in Speculator, NY. These young men and women have committed one to two semesters out of their lives to separate from friends and school to seek a deeper relationship with God and to better sense His direction for their lives. LIFT requires study and memorizations of great swaths of scripture as an important part of the program. As we listened to and watched them quote and apply scripture to their lives, we were humbled and encouraged!

We had the great privilege of pouring our Christian life experiences and insights into these enthused and eager young Christians. It would take a book to tell you about all of the affirmations and encouragements and glories-to-God that came during 15 days of dinner-time discussions, breakfast-time talks, and many more hours of leadership in Bible and worship time. I can strongly assure all of us “veteran” Christians that there is great hope and promise for the next generation of Christians!

Dick has had the opportunity to speak with each team this year about the importance of prayer in the life of a believer. During each outreach he presents a message to the students to prepare them for a day dedicated to prayer in the communities they worked in. Below is a list of prayer requests that we would like to share with you so you can join us in praying, if you feel so lead.

As we approach Thanksgiving, we reflect on how thankful we are for each of you – for your prayers and your support which enables us to have the privilege of serving here. Through your obedience to God, and then through His power pouring through us, you have made a difference in hundreds of young Christian men and women just this year alone.

The Lord bless you and keep you and your family and friends during this Thanksgiving time. Please let us know how we can pray for you.
~Dick and Mary Ellen Meyer

Dick facilitating a praise and worship night

Students gathered to pray for one of their fellow students

Students during the praise and worship night.

Prayer Requests
A young lady whose mom died and whose father is now seeing someone, she feels alone and abandoned
A young man whose friend committed suicide a year ago and he is now questioning where God is and where he is with God
A young man who committed his life to Christ at a camp meeting but has been making bad choices in friends and in activities, he claims a desire to turn from that but he is adrift
Jackie - is praying to be in the core of revival at the U of PA
Sondra - is going to serve in Africa with an organization called TIMO for 6 months
Mike - to sustain and increase his love for God
Jordan - his twin brother and younger brothers for their salvation and freedom from the world’s grip
Nicole - to be a strong woman of God and a godly influence to all she engages
Kenny - to be more kingdom minded
Natalie - to be a good wife & to set aside all of “me” in relationship and possessions
Amanda - to be a seeker of the Lord and His direction in all she does
Brennan - for an unshakable spirit as a man of God
Tyler - eager to serve “all out,” to be completely willing to be poured out 100% for God
Jonathan - a strong influence for God at ASU in Boone & to have a strong relationship with God
Nathan - to be a leader and teacher in God’s truths
Ian - to stay the course and remain faithful at the hostile environment of U of RI
Hannah - for more and more intimacy with God
Unspoken - for freedom from old habits and sustain a Christian walk apart from LIFT
Stephen - to finish LIFT well and for the fruit of patience
Tyler and Rachel - for God to be powerful and present in their lives. Enable diligence, effectiveness, and creativeness in teaching God’s word
Liam and Bekah - for direction of continued service to God (missions? US church?), also for Liam's health issues

Thoughts on Loss & Change

July 14, 2014

I haven’t written a newsletter or update in months. I have started a few but never seem to get very far. You see, I have been struggling. And no one wants to hear that in a newsletter (at least in my estimation). Newsletters from missionaries should be full of wonderful works of the Lord and salvation stories. I don’t have any salvation stories and while I know that the Lord is wonderful and working all around me – I would feel like a fraud right now if I shared anything but the honest truth about where I have been and why so much silence.

So if I were to write a newsletter, it might go something like this …

Life stinks right now. I am lonely. I am cranky. I don’t even like myself some days. At times I feel like I might even be a little depressed. This past year has been hard. For someone who doesn’t like change, who lived in the same town for 41 years prior to moving to the DR, and who had the same job for 20 of those years – I picked the wrong vocation to move in to.

Life on the mission field is a series of hellos and goodbyes and constant, constant flux. But this past year has held too many changes, too many hard good-byes.

First, my precious friend Carole, her husband Ron and their children Anna & Sara left the field. This family loved on us and welcomed us in when we first arrived – they were our family on the field.  I love her kids and we loved spending time with their whole family. Carole was my right hand in the kitchen and she challenged and inspired me in so many ways. She has such a beautiful, humble heart and she loves others well. She is one of the most unassuming people I know.  I miss her sweet presence and quieting effect on my life.

Then Jayson and Lindsey left. They were our pastors in the truest sense of the word and cared for us when we hit a really tough spot in our transition here. Jayson is a no-nonsense, get-things-done kind of guy but he also has a tender heart and a passion for the Word of God. Lindsey opened her heart and her home to woman in our area and led Bible studies and provided lots of fun opportunities for fellowship. What an oasis that was! Whenever I left her home, I felt filled, strengthened, and encouraged. I miss their godly counsel and care.

And then Carlos died. He lived right next door to us, he was struggling, and he killed himself. It was hard walking through the months before his death and the months since. Carlos was blind but never let that stop him from working hard in our kitchen and around the base. He always walked with a broom handle to help him determine where he was and where things were. The tap, tap, tap of his stick was a constant part of life here on the base. Every time now someone taps the ground with a stick, my heart wrenches a little. And I miss his laugh. When he laughed it was a full-on belly laugh that could be heard around the base. I loved Carlos but am afraid he died not knowing how much I cared for him.

Then our dearest friends Karen & Kenny left, after one short year of being here. This woman and I share so many similarities in our pasts and also in our current lives. She “gets” me in a way that I don’t believe anyone else on this earth understands me. And we worked well together too. We both thought that we would have a long-term working relationship and were looking forward to that. Transition to the mission field from life in the States is hard but it is made easier knowing that you can share those unique struggles of transition with others. Because of our similar life stages, when I said I was missing something back home or had a heart ache over something or someone, I knew she could empathize. I miss having that comradery and I miss her wise-counsel and unique perspective on life.

And then Kim & Carlos left. Their leaving felt like the final break from what we knew when we first came here and what we felt was our support system here in Jarabacoa. Kim arrived not long after us. She had the same Spanish tutor I had in Guatemala and had heard stories of us through our tutor Sonia before even meeting us! Even though we weren’t exactly of the same generation, we had the bond of finding a godly spouse unexpectedly in life as we were bumping along being content in our “singleness.” She and Carlos are a beautiful picture of a redemptive God and I miss their fellowship and friendship.

Quite frankly, I am numb from all the hard good-byes.

So, if I were to write an update right now, this might be what I would say in it. I really wasn’t sure if I should write about this and as I write I’m not even sure I will send this out. Today the feelings are not quite as glum. I took a true Sabbath rest yesterday and I went to bed early and slept deeply. I feel refreshed today and even understood a good part of the sermon in Spanish at church this morning. I know that these feelings of loneliness and ineffectiveness aren’t necessarily unique just because I’m on the mission field. I could very easily be feeling these same feelings sitting in my living room in Florida. We all experience loss and change in our lives.

So as I reflect back on this past year of loss and change, I know that the great truth is that God is unchanging and never leaves us. No matter my circumstances, I know that He is the one true constant wherever I am. He is the great strength giver, the great comforter, and the lifter of my head. Because of who He is, when I look to Him and lean on Him, He gives me the strength I need to continue on. And those are promises I can cling to no matter where I am!

 
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord. 1 Corinthians 15:58.

2013 in Review

It’s been a very busy year here on the base at Students International in the Dominican Republic; we hosted a total of 656 students and adults!

We began our year with two back to back groups in January then had a little hiatus in February before having a full month of teams in March. This is typically a very full month because many colleges and high schools use their Spring Break week to go on a mission trip. During this month, we welcomed at team from Jupiter Christian School as well as our dear friend Victoria Humphrey and her son Zachary. We were blessed to have them stay in our home—we love when people come to visit (hint, hint =).

Relax & Know That I am God   In May, our whole staff went on a weekend Spiritual retreat to prepare for the upcoming eleven straight weeks of summer teams. The theme of the weekend was “Be Still & Know That I am God.” The verse from Psalm 46 refreshed us and reminded us to entrust the coming stress to the Lord—a timely word!

Although the days are long and the weeks seems even longer, we love the summer time. We get to reconnect with old friends and meet so many new people. We love serving these folks who give of their time, treasure, and talent and we are always encouraged by what we see the Lord doing in and through their lives.

Fall Semester Students  Not long after we said goodbye to our final summer team, ten students and their director from Bethel College out of Mishawaka, Indiana arrived to spend the following twelve weeks with us. Mary Ellen took Spanish classes with them and we periodically hosted them in the guest house when they were not staying in host family homes in the surrounding areas of Jarabacoa.

Vermont Blessing  In early November, Mary Ellen traveled to Vermont to meet our newest granddaughter Amalie, born to her oldest daughter, Melissa and her husband Shadi. We now have a total of nine grandchildren—what a blessing!

Family Visit  Not long after Mary Ellen returned, her father Allen, mother Betsey, sister Pam, and brother-in-law Jason came for a week and a half visit. What a rich time of reconnecting with family. We enjoyed introducing them to our life here and felt so blessed to have them here with us!

Giving Thanks  With turkey and fixings from Agape (our mail service) and ingredients from students parents, we celebrated Thanksgiving with the Bethel semester students at our home. We fed them comfort food and a little bit of the comforts of home. We were even able to stream a little football!

Christmas  The following week we held our annual Christmas party for all our staff and their immediate families. In all, we served close to 150 people a traditional Dominican Christmas dinner complete with pork, roasted by one of our ground-keepers. The evening wrapped up with games, worship and a Christmas gospel message.

Joys of Ministry  This is just a glimpse of the year and some of the highlights. In many ways, our lives are very routine. But we love to look for ways that the Lord can use us and pray that we have many more opportunities to serve Him! One of Dick’s greatest pleasures is that he gets to spend a Sunday evening of every outreach preparing the outreach participants to go into the communities the following day to do a prayer walk. He also spends meal times interacting with the students and adults on the teams; finding out what God is doing in their hearts, asking challenging questions and giving them an opportunity to process what they are experiencing. Mary Ellen loves spending time with the seven Dominican woman under her supervision. Conversation is actually happening now—which is thrilling but even more importantly, she is learning more about them and their spiritual needs. Please join us in praying for all those whose lives touch ours, that we will be a witness to God’s grace, love, and mercy.

This year, we will spend Christmas in the DR. Dick will be back in the Jupiter area in February for GIBC’s mission conference and hopes to see many of you then! We love you all and appreciate so much your investment in our lives and in turn, the lives of the people we work with—both Dominican and American.

Sweet Amalie - born to Melissa & Shadi Battah in October

Students going through a meal line this summer

Thanksgiving dinner with the semester students

Christmas dinner for the SI-DR staff

Mary Ellen's parents and sister & brother-in-law during their visit in November

Celebrating Christmas with friends here in the DR

Mother’s Day 2013

I miss my mom today. I am living on an island in the Caribbean and she is almost 1,000 miles away and I can’t just pop in to visit or have one of her delicious home cooked meals. I can’t wrap my arms around her and enjoy one of her wonderful hugs and tell her how much I love her. Gratefully, I can pick up a phone and hear her sweet voice and will do so as soon as I finish capturing these thoughts of her and her influence in my life.

I have always loved my mother dearly but as a young child and well into my teen years I never understood her (self-centered creature that I was). It wasn’t until I became a mother myself that my eyes were open to the sacrifices she made on behalf of her children, of the obstacles that she had to overcome, and of the many anxious moments that me and my siblings put her through. I am sorry to say that a lot of those gray hairs on her head were caused by me.

My mother exudes care and compassion. She probably wouldn’t agree with me because she is her own biggest critic. But it’s those qualities that brought her to the point of returning to college while I was attending college so she could pursue a career in nursing after her children were mostly grown and moving on in the world. I can’t count the times that we would run into people while out and about who had either had my mother as their nurse or someone in their family had had her as their nurse. They always spoke so highly of her loving care and the special time she took with her patients.

Those college years were years of healing in our relationship that had gotten very stormy during my teen years. We became college buddies; we commuted to college together and would often spend time together studying or eating lunch in the school cafeteria. I am so thankful that God gave me those years with my mom. It was during that time that I started to view her as a person and came to admire her dedication to whatever task she had at hand. I was always an average student in school – mostly because I just didn’t apply myself. But in college I became an A-B student and even made the Dean’s List a few times. I attribute that to her example and her encouragement.

My mom is a wonderful encourager. She knows how to speak into our lives words that build us up and is one of our biggest fans. She is so proud of our accomplishments in life, no matter how small, and she is not afraid to let the world know how she feels.

She is a woman of faith. She loves Jesus and loves others with that same love. Just ask the people in her small mountain church in North Carolina or those in her small group from her Florida church, or the women that she helps at the pregnancy center, or her friends, or her neighbors, or her grandchildren, or the myriad of people who have been touched by her faith through her years of involvement in Cursillo and CFO! She and my dad faithfully pray for their loved ones and are not afraid to share their faith or to take a stand for what they believe in.

I sometimes wonder why at the stage in my life where I could be free to spend lots of time with my parents, why God would call me to be so far away from them. But I am here on the mission field in large part because of what they have poured into me over the years. They have helped to shape and mold me, they have been such an example to me of a life chasing after God.

So, I miss my mom today – and lots of other days too – but I am so very grateful that she has and will continue to have great influence in my life.

I love you mom!

We Are Trying Something New

We tried to keep our blog updated regularly but have not done a very good job of late. Part of the problem with that was that one of us felt like she had to write a short story every time she updated the blog ... usually because enough time had lapsed that there was a lot to say.

We have switched to an e-newsletter format (through Mail Chimp) with the hope that we can update more often and keep those updates short enough that you don't have to take a coffee break to read them!

If you are not on our newsletter list and would like to receive an e-newsletter, please send us a message through here, facebook, or shoot us an email and we'll be happy to add you.

One of our January teams making their way through the dinner line in the dining hall.
So far this year we have hosted three teams and are getting ready to host two more Spring teams before we prepare for a VERY full summer. We are so thankful for our teams!

In February we had a break from teams so we got together with several other ministries in town to tour each others facilities.
Here we are touring Caribbean Mountain Academy, a ministry of Crosswinds. This is their team house.

It's Kip's first birthday tomorrow! He is a great dog with LOTS of personality. He keeps us (well, mostly Dick) running up and down the hill playing Frisbee whenever he can.

Gifts from God

This morning was a beautiful reminder of how relational this culture is. I woke up with my mind swirling with the details of the busy day before me -- Language study, details for the upcoming trip to the States, more details regarding a full month of teams and visitors in October that need to get done BEFORE our visit to the States. Before I could even fix my morning cup of tea, I hear that the kitchen and grounds crew are going to go visit one of the cooks who has recently had knee surgery - do I want to go? The first thing that grips me is a little bit of fear because I am still so unsure of my language skills and heaven forbid I sound foolish! But I decide to go and jump in the van to go visit Lucila.

We head out toward the mountain range that is across the valley from the base. I have never been in this area before and it is a beautiful drive. We leave the main road and travel roads that are narrow, gravel, and full of pot holes. We have to dodge a horse grazing by the side of the road and the occasional chicken that runs into the road. We pull over to let a hay laden truck that is traveling the other way go by. They smile and wave.

As we go, I love listening to the friendly, joking banter between Mili, Carlos, Joan, Fico, Juana, Rudy, Hans, and Wilian. And I find that I can actually understand most of what is being said and can laugh along with their jokes. I remember a year ago listening to the same banter and wondering if maybe they were laughing at me and my futile attempts to communicate. They may have been but I have come to know them well enough to know that they are not malicious - they just love to laugh!

As we enter the community that Lucila lives in, Angela, another one of our cooks and Lucila's sister, comes out of her house to wave us in for a cup of coffee. Now I'm sure you are different from me but honestly, if a van load of nine people that I knew drove by my house in the past, I'm not sure that I would have done the same thing. I mean, is the house clean, do I have enough coffee creamer, do I have the time? Somehow those questions don't seem to matter so much anymore.

We drink our cafesita (a small cup of Dominican coffee with LOTS of sugar), leave the van there and walk down a few houses to see Lucila. We sit and talk for a bit, well, I sit and listen while they all talk about her surgery, then we head back to the van and drive back to the base.

As I sit here ready to get busy with my Spanish "tarea" I can hear the guys working on the grounds. I'm sure that Mili is busy in the cabins, getting them ready for our fall visitors. I love how willing they are to stop their busy schedules to go and sit for a minute with a friend so she knows that they are thinking about her. I think back to the many times that I should have put my friendships first and let my business go for a brief hour to be sure that that friend knew how important they were to me. I purpose in my mind to do that more.

Thank you Lord, for the gift of this morning and for reminding me that you created us to be in relationship with each other. Thank you for these wonderfully, warm, loving people that we get to walk along side of, who extend so much love and grace. Thank you for laughter and "cafesitas" that help bridge the language gap. Thank you too for bringing us to this place in our lives, to this country, to these people, to serve You in this way. We pray that we represent You well!

TS Isaac ... Life as Usual

About to be slammed, we are at the tip of the pink section.

 As I type this, Tropical Storm Isaac is dumping lots of rain over us. Earlier this morning, the mountains were crystal clear for the first time in days, washed and blown clear by the torrential rains and high winds last night. They are cloud and rain covered once again and it looks as though they will be for most of the day today.

For the past two days Dick and I have pondered the differences of life here with a storm on the horizon and life back in Florida under the same circumstances. The picture below kind of sums it up - the first entry under "Favorites" is Jarabacoa. There is a little rain cloud next to our town's name as we sit in a torrential downpour from the tropical storm. Next to Jarabacoa is Jupiter. After Jupiter is a triangle and when I click on that, it tells me that Jupiter is under a Tropical Storm Warning. In the past week, that triangle never appeared next to Jarabacoa.

I am thankful that the National Hurricane Center puts out plenty of warning so people can prepare for storms. I have seen first hand the results of Hurricane Andrew and watched in horror the results of Katrina. I remember all too well the 2004-2005 Hurricane seasons when our hometown took 3 direct hits from hurricanes in the span of 13 months. I was thankful that I had followed the advice of the weather experts and stocked up on batteries, put away cans of food, prepared bottles of water, and had plenty of propane for our camp stove. I remember my goal being to prepare to resume life as close to normal as possible once the storm had past.

But we have been reminded once again how different "normal" here is. The inconveniences of life after a storm in the US are everyday occurrences on the island of Hispaniola. Power outages are daily, sometimes hourly, sometimes minute to minute occurrences here; and the power can be out for days at a time. There are many people in the communities we work in that don't have power - ever. We are blessed to have a battery inverter in the house and a generator on the base. We use bottled water every day - we prepare our food with it, we brush our teeth with it, we only drink bottled water. We have seven 5 gallon water bottles sitting outside our kitchen door as I speak. And we are blessed here on the SI base to have a large water cistern with a pump. Many people locally do not have running water in their homes so they collect rain water in a oil drum or lug buckets of water from the river. Electric stoves are the exception in the Dominican. If a Dominican home has a stove, it is more often then not powered by propane - which makes sense in a country where the supply of electricity is so sporadic.

The day before yesterday, we drove down the mountain to go to the big grocery store. There were no long lines at the gas pumps, the grocery store was no busier then usual, there was plenty of bread, water, and canned food on the shelves, and people still lounged on their porches visiting with their neighbors. So it kind of makes sense that Weather Underground would not have a little warning signal next to Jarabacoa. In so many ways, life just continues as normal here - storm or no storm. The power will go off, there will be rain to gather from the barrel out back, and food to fix over the stove powered by propane. Granted, we are only dealing with a tropical storm, not a Category 5 Hurricane, but please pray, because with so much rain there will likely be mudslides and flooded homes. Families who have so little already may lose what little they have. The risks of disease and infection goes up when the rivers get stirred and when there is standing water around. That too is life as usual here. Pray that we who have been called to be Jesus' hands and feet will serve in a way that bring honor and glory to Him and in a way that brings hope and healing to those who need it.

"For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God." Colossians 1:9 & 10

Summer Time

We are well into our summer season of teams here in Jarabacoa. We have been so busy that our one year anniversary of being here in the DR came and went without us even realizing it. It's hard to believe that we have been gone from South Florida for over a year and we can honestly say that while transition here has been rough at times, it is happening and this is feeling more and more familiar and more and more like home to us.

Here are some high points of what has been going on in our lives.
We have a puppy ... depending on who you ask on which day, this is either a high point or a low point! If you read our last blog post, we introduced you to Kip, who is a Border Aussie that is now almost four months old. He is a very good natured, lovable, high-energy dog who keeps us on our toes. Mary Ellen has become a big fan of  Cesar Milan, "The Dog Whisperer" and is about half-way through the dozens of episodes posted on YouTube. We have learned a few very helpful tips that have made life with Kip much more enjoyable!

We have a new granddaughter. On June 19th at 8:45pm, Amelia Grace Meyer was born to Jason & Christina Meyer. She weighed 6lbs, 15oz, was 19 inches long. Both mom and baby are doing well although there were some challenges to begin with and Amelia had to spend her first night in the NICU where Christina works. This is our first grandchild on the Meyer side of the family, She is absolutely beautiful and we can't wait to meet her in person. 

Our oldest granddaughter, Kylie, arrives tomorrow and will be here until about mid-August. She will spend her first two weeks here participating in an outreach with the team that will also arrive tomorrow. We are so excited to have her here! She will make the 12th person in the house this summer (we have 8 interns and one volunteer living on the lower level of the guest house for the summer) but we still have one bedroom available if anyone wants to visit!

About 2 months ago we began to attend a church that has an English-speaking pastor. We had been going to a wonderful Dominican church where the teaching was great and the pastor and the people were warm and inviting. When we first began to go there last summer, there were lots of American teams visiting and the messages were all translated. After the summer teams all left we tried to remain there and glean what we could but it was difficult at our current level of Spanish understanding. So we found out about a church just on the outskirts of town and visited there. We have really been blessed by the little church at Caribbean Mountain Academy and are thankful for the bible teaching we receive there.

We have been encouraged by the teams that have been here thus far this summer. A highlight for us is attending the banquets at the end of the outreaches and hearing how the lives of the students, the leaders, and the communities they work in have been touched and changed during their two weeks here. Meal time is a rich time for Dick to be able to interact with the teams and their leaders (Mary Ellen is busy in the kitchen until most of the team is gone from the dining hall). Please pray for the remaining teams that will come through our gates this summer. We have recently been challenged anew to be certain that as we live out our busy lives, going about our daily tasks, that we represent Christ well.

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.  Titus 2:11-14

Gearing Up For Summer!

Here's a quick post to catch you up on what has been happening lately in our lives.

In January we welcomed a gap-year program for their 2nd visit to SI-DR; the Joshua Wilderness Institute out of Hume Lake, CA. In March we had a full four weeks of back-to-back teams, including two teams from Jupiter: the Musicianaries and a team from Jupiter Christian School! In April and the first part of this month we had no teams but spent time doing projects we don't have time for while teams are here (general maintenance and organizational stuff) and working on plans for the year. It is still strange to us that while the school year is winding down in the States, we are gearing up for our "season" here.

In April, we welcomed a six-week old Border-Aussie pup (Border Collie-Australian Shepherd mix) named Kip into our home. He is adorable, energetic, and entertaining to say the least - there's lots of personality packed into his little body! We had forgotten how similar to having a baby it is to raise a puppy! Thankfully, the night trips outside have almost stopped and we have an arsenal of chew toys to help curb his appetite for furniture!

The first of May, Mary Ellen was given an opportunity to take a quick, last-minute trip to the Orlando area to settle some of our things into her parent's new home and visit with her brother's family, three of her four daughters, and six of her seven grandchildren during an impromptu mini family reunion. The only down side to this trip was that Sarah and Nadia were not able to be there due to Sarah's work obligations. It was a very brief visit but such a precious time and it did her heart good to see her parents settled into their new home with her brother and his family close by.


This past weekend, we joined the rest of the SI staff at a retreat that was held on the property that SI-DR used to call home (La Casa Tranquila). It was a wonderful weekend full of fellowship, refreshing and renewal. We were challenged to accept fully God's ferocious love for us and to make solitude with Him a priority in our lives. In doing this we are free to look to the Lord for all that we need - affirmation in our call to ministry, the ability to live in community with each other, and grace to extend to others.

We returned home ready to dig in to our final preparations for the summer. We are one week away from the start of our summer teams and there is a lot of activity here on the SI-DR base. We are excited and ready to get going again after a bit of down-time. We will spend this week making sure the guest house is ready for the ten interns who begin arriving on Wednesday, filing orders for delivery, and shopping for our first team that will arrive on the 21st.

We covet your prayers for a smooth summer and fall with lots of energy and grace to see it through! Please pray that all that pass through SI-DR will be free from sickness and harm. Pray too that those who have not yet committed their lives to the Lord would do so and for those who have given their lives to the Lord, that they will leave with a better picture of God's call on their lives.