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