Tree People

One year ago today I was sitting in a room filled with other soon-to-be-missionaries, for three weeks of training out in Colorado.  We were one week in, and I was overwhelmed.  I had been expecting to learn about being a missionary ‘out there’ not working on the ‘in here’ soul stuff. 

Gracias a Dios, He knew what I needed, even if I really didn’t want it!  As exhausting as it was, confronting myself was critical before plunging into cross-cultural ministry.

This morning I was reading in Mark 8 where Jesus heals a blind man at Bethsaida.  The first time Jesus touches his eyes, the man sees, but sees people who “look like trees walking around” (vs 24).  It is only after Jesus touches him again that his full sight is restored and he sees clearly.

What would have happened if the blind man would have decided that people who looked like trees walking around was enough of an improvement, and been content with partial sight?  Are there areas in my life where I prefer “halfway healed” to the patience it takes to allow Jesus to touch me again? 

Because, if I’m honest, I want Jesus to work with just one touch.  One touch, and everything is healed.  One touch, and I can speak beautiful, fluent Spanish, one touch and all the cultural differences fade away.  One touch and the women, teens and girls of El Callejon are perfectly and permanently transformed. 

I know Jesus can work in this way – He healed in one touch on many occasions.  But, perhaps there is something more He desires I learn in the waiting.    

Today is Memorial Day back in the US.  I have been living outside of America for eleven months.  It’s true that there’s a lot about the country which is not perfect. 

It’s also true, however, that we enjoy a peace, a prosperity, which few others have.  The possibilities in the US are mind-boggling.  Just go to a grocery store and count the flavors of yogurt (can you tell I really miss that?!). 

Memorial Day is a day to remember those who sacrificed so that we can live.  For me, it’s also a day to reflect back on the One whose sacrifice allows me not to just live, but to live an abundant life in Him.  That means so much more than unlimited yogurt! 

So often I’m content with the quick, but imperfect fix of partial restoration in Jesus.  Recognizing a few areas that need work, but refusing His invitation to go deeper.  I can see the tree people, and isn’t not perfect, but isn’t it good enough?

Forgive me, Jesus, my Savior and Redeemer, for being so content.  Thank you for how You have worked in me over this past year.  Give me the courage to admit those places where I cannot yet see clearly. 

Continue to work in me, I pray.  I desire a clearer picture of the world around me, of myself, of You.  Only in You can my broken places be restored, beauty replacing ugliness.  Increase my trust in You, trust that You will touch me again. 

Until all know, until all is restored, until with unveiled faces we worship You before the throne, may I be faithful.  Faithfully discontent with tree people, desiring the full sight which is only possible in You.

La Única Razón

On Thursday morning I was able to share a bit of my testimony with the whole outreach for morning devotions.  Before I spoke, Alberto led a time of worship, ending with the song "La Única Razón" (The Only Reason).  This was our favorite song when we came in 2008.  The rough translation is:

The only reason for my adoration is You, Jesus,
The only reason for living, is You, Lord,
The only Truth, is in You,
You are my Light and my Salvation,
The only Love is You, Lord,
And forever I will praise You. 
You are all powerful,
You are big and full of majesty,
You are strong, invincible,
And there is no one like You. 

How can I describe it?  Standing there singing that song, reflecting back on how God has been at work, moving me to this place?  Not just physically moving me, of course.  Spiritually, emotionally, too.  The impossibility of pulling up roots and going to a new country, culture, language…

Just a couple of months ago, I was in the throes of chaos.  Rootless, confused, ticked off, disappointed.  But, even in this, God has been with me, teaching me more about surrendering my life to Him. 

I was talking with a new friend at the gym recently about learning to live with open hands.  (The fact that I am actually able to have a conversation like that – in Spanish! – is, in and of itself, a testament to God’s grace and mercy in my life!) 

When I get tired out, frustrated, strained, I clap my hands back shut, tightly holding onto my little bit of control.  But, God reminds me, in all kinds of different ways, of His leading in my life.  On Thursday morning, it was through that song.  My desire is that Jesus truly is my only reason. 

Yesterday Joemny, Katherine and I studied Sola Fe (only Faith) and we read about Abram following God’s call to leave pretty much everything – and everyone! – he knew, and go ‘to the land I will show you’. 

Through Abram, God promised that all nations would be blessed.  And, thousands of years later, sitting in El Callejon, we were a part of that blessing being fulfilled.  How humbling, how amazing! 

I’m still learning how to walk more fully into God’s calling on my life.  I’m still learning how to die to myself each day.  To open my hands and allow our all-powerful, big, majestic God to be my Only Reason for living.  But, my prayer is, that just as God’s blessing on Abram has being fulfilled over and over again, in some small way, my faithfulness may be a blessing to others. 

My only reason for living is You, Jesus.  May my life be a blessing, as I strive show Your love, Your light, Your salvation.  There truly is no one like You! 

Comparing Pineapples to Piñas

This coming week I get to share my testimony with our first group of students. Not just with the three assigned to our site, but to the full group, including the summer interns. I’m excited, and actually a little nervous, too! I haven’t had to prepare and give a 20 minute presentation in English in a long time!

But, God is so good, and I’m looking forward to telling a bit about how He has been at work in me and through me. Of course, the older I get, the more of the story there is! How do I pare it down? I also want to connect it to the students. So that in my story, they can see how God is at work in theirs, too.

As I’ve been pondering, I thought back about my first posts on this blog. The one about my bed. You remember, my queen-sized four-poster natural pine bed with the carved pineapples on top… Yep, I can still wax eloquent about that bed!

Yesterday I was typing random thoughts while eating some fresh pineapple. I had just made salsa with mango, pineapple, red and yellow bell peppers, red onion, tomatoes, cilantro and lime juice. All of the ingredients were fresh, brightly colored and full of flavor. Seriously, the fruits and vegetables here are crazy-delicious!

It again occurred to me that in God’s amazing way, He had truly provided in ways I could never have imagined. While I was pining (pun-intended!) away for my bed, He had entirely something else in mind.

You see, if I was still living in the U.S., I would still have my super comfy bed, instead of one whose mattress sags in the middle. I’d have those lovely four-posts with their carved wooden pineapples on top. But… oh, how much I’d be missing out on! And, not just that sweet, fresh, amazing, real piña, either.

I realize comparing a bed to a piece of fruit is like comparing apples to oranges, but that’s my point. Paul says that God is able to do “immeasurably more than all we ask or even imagine” (Ephesians 3:20). To me that means there’s no way for us to compare it to anything in our current understanding.

When in the same book Paul earlier talks about the incomparable riches we have in Christ Jesus (2:6) he means just that – without comparison.

Back in the U.S., I had no real clue what I was getting myself into. I couldn’t. It’s like comparing apples to oranges. There was nothing in that context to help me get a firm grasp on this one. Don’t get me wrong. There was (and still is!) so much about my old life that I miss, and miss dearly.

But, in His glorious grace and mercy, God is at work in me, changing my wants and desires. The wooden pineapple of my old life to the fresh piña of this one.

Oh, friends, how could I have ever imagined sitting in El Callejon studying the Five Solas with young women eager to learn more about God? Or allowing the Holy Spirit to give me words to share with a woman whose ‘marriage’ has so many similarities to what I experienced? Or talking with those who truly know what it means to pray “Give us this day, our daily bread” as they may have none tomorrow?

It wasn't possible, plain and simple. What an amazing and great God we serve! Who invites us to step out of our comfortable lives into a life we didn’t know existed. Into a way of meeting Him we never could have dreamed of.

No, in His love, God didn’t give me another pineapple bed. Instead, He has provided something I didn’t ask for, but now can’t imagine not having. To Him be all glory as He continues to work out His will in each of our lives. How immeasurable, how incomparable, is the One we serve!

Please jump over to the Social Work site blog MeetingJesusInElCallejon.blogspot.com to see what's been happening this week... in our new Site! 

And, I hope you enjoy this fun picture of Daisy and me out front, taken today.

Here's a picture that Katherine, from our Little Girls' group, coloured for me today.  I love how she spelled my name!  If I ever decide to try and get famous, this is how I'll start spelling it! :O)

Please keep the Dominican Presidential Elections (this Sunday, May 20) in your prayers.  Things seem kind of tense this week, with lots of people shouting angrily, rallies, and rhetoric.  Sadly, few people seem to know why they like the candidate they are so intensely supporting. 

Please pray that the election is fair, and free of violence, and that whatever happens, people will put their trust and faith in God alone. 

Below are pictures of the two-lane main street heading into downtown Jarabacoa.  There was a rally for one of the candidates, and traffic got pretty crazy!

I'm actually in the 'right' place.  The truck on my left is in
the incoming traffic lane.

I guess the blue truck got sick of waiting, too!

I hope each of you has a great night!  Thanks again for your interest in how God is working in my life, and the lives of the people of El Callejon.  To God alone be all glory!



Indian Dinner Party

This weekend we had a retreat for the SI staff.  Next week our busy season begins, with teams of students coming down from the US all summer long.  So, this was an opportunity to rest and be refreshed. 

Our speaker was a pastor from Tennessee named Matthews.  He is Indian, born and raised in the southern part of that vast country.  How he and his family got to Tennessee is a story in and of itself!  (I’m still trying to process all that he taught, and hope to write some blogs about some of it in the near future.) 

For those of you who know me, you can probably imagine how my ears perked up when I found out Matthews was Indian!  We sat near each other for one of our meals, and I just had to talk food with him!  I gushed about how much I love dal (a red lentil dish with garlic, ginger, and lots of awesome spices) and my masala dabba (Indian spice container) and the Basmati rice I shipped down when I moved.

On Saturday Matthews waved me over.  How about if we cook a meal tomorrow night for whomever of the staff might like to come?  Ummm… You bet!!  Around 20 people said they wanted to give it a try.  That was going to mean a lot of dal and rice!

After the retreat ended on Sunday afternoon, I headed into Jarabacoa to find ingredients.  Where I lived back in the US, deciding to cook spur-of-the-moment wouldn’t have been a big deal.  I had three 24/7 grocery stores less than 2 miles from home, and far more than that just a little further out. 

Here, well, it’s a bit different!  The vegetable market and most of the stores were closed.  Thankfully, one of the bigger ‘supermarkets’ was open, so I could buy ginger, garlic, onions and carrots.  The garlic came in a package of 5 bulbs, the only ginger in a package about 4 times what I needed.  But, it was there! 

I wanted to make raita (cucumber or carrots grated into plain yogurt) but there was no sugarless plain yogurt to be found.  It was a bit disappointing, but I guess it shows how far I’ve come that I could just shrug and not fret about it!  I decided to grate the carrots into a side dish with popped mustard seeds instead.

I walked back home and got to chopping, sautéing and simmering.  The grater in my kitchen here is plastic.  The carrots were giants.  It was like a mini-workout for my arms!  The dal got to simmering.  I’d never quadrupled the recipe before.  4 cups of red lentils take quite a long time to cook down! 

I pulled out my lovely Basmati rice, inhaling its signature ‘popcorn’ smell.  20 people in a rice-eating culture meant I’d be cooking a whole lot of it.  Sure, we could have just used plain white rice so I could save my precious supply, but, I really wanted to share this special flavor with my friends.  I soaked some of my saffron in warm milk to add to it at the end. 

I packed the hot pans in towels and boxes and carefully carried them down my stairs, loaded them in my car and slowly drove two streets over to Brian and Sissy’s.  Matthews had cooked a huge pot of chicken curry with potatoes, Sissy had made a big salad, Mary Ellen had baked brownies, and Vanessa brought cheesecake.  It was a feast!!

Everyone seemed to really enjoy the food, which always make me happy.  One of the Dominican SI missionaries, Vanessa, thanked me for cooking, and for sharing a bit of my life with them.  I thought about it, and she was right.  I was sharing a bit of myself, and it felt (and tasted!) good. 

I pray that I continue to step out and be vulnerable in sharing more of myself.  It was so awesome to have so many of our Dominican staff willing to try completely new and foreign flavors.  I pray I’ll continue to have an open mind to tasting and seeing all the good things that God is doing here in the DR!    

Sola Scriptura

Today, I carried our two plastic chairs back to the old site to meet with Joemny and Kathy for discipling.  (Please check out our Social Work site blog for an update of the move so far – with photos!) 

Since Daisy and I want the women to have the basics of faith, I’ll be studying the Five Solas with them, too.  Today was Sola Scriptura.  They loved it!  How crazy-awesome is it that I get to share Biblical truth… in Spanish… in El Callejon?! 

At the end of our 90 minutes together, Kathy said she wanted to share a testimony:  The devil really didn’t want me to come today.  First my cousin called and said there was work this morning.  I told her No, I’m going to Bible study.  She said I had to go, I told her No.  Then my mother-in-law called and told me there was work.  I told her I was going to Bible study. 

Then a friend called and wanted me to go to La Vega (about 30 minutes away).  I said No, I’m going to Bible study, but he kept bothering me. 

Joemny called to make sure I was coming, and I’m so thankful because I started to think maybe I wouldn’t come.  But, God knew I needed to be here today learning these wonderful things about the Bible.

For someone who does not have regular, steady work, this is huge.  I never told them that they must choose.  In fact, if I had known, I probably would have told Kathy to skip and go work.  Oh, thank you, Father, that it wasn’t up to me! 

Kathy and Joemny are making a choice to be fed with the word of God.  They are choosing to ignore obstacles, and continue growing in Christ.  Kathy is trusting that by making this choice, God will supply her needs and provide work another day. 

Friends, I was speechless and humbled - and yes, I had piel de gallina once again!  What incredible faith.  It made me even more determined to pour into these precious daughters of our Father!

This afternoon I had to run some errands, and while I was out I stopped by the Jarabacoa Supermercado where my friend Yelena works.  She called me yesterday to say she can’t do any yoga or pilates for a while, as she’s having a lot of trouble with pain, and her doctor wants her to stop what she’s been doing so they can try and figure out what’s going on. 

Even though she assured me her doctor said our sessions hadn’t caused her this trouble, I felt really bad for her.  And, I’m sad that we can’t continue exercising together.

Since chocolate always makes me feel better, I wrote a card and got some of my yummy Dove dark chocolate to bring her.  When I walked into her office area, I noticed that she had a Bible opened to Numbers.  I asked her about it, and she said she’s read through the New Testament, and now is reading through the Old. 

I told her how much I love reading the Bible, too, and we chatted for a while about this and that.  Even though I couldn’t understand everything she said (story of my life right now!) just knowing we both love Jesus added something to our conversation.  I hope we can continue getting to know each other, even if we can’t continue exercising.

All three women are very different from me, and I rejoice in this.  I rejoice, because I am seeing more and more of our great God as I see how He is moving in others.  And, really, despite our differences, in the end, we're all the same - sisters in Christ seeking more of Him through His holy, inspired Word. 

I love that the Bible, thousands of years old, written in other languages from Spanish and English, is unifying believers to this day.  I know several of you are living in places where the church seems to be divided over the Word, but, be encouraged, it is also unifying in ways incredible and beautiful and powerful and profound.  What a God we serve! 

Enough Faith

This afternoon Luz, Ramona and I met to continue our discipling.  As we talked, Ramona shared that she’s been asking God for something for years now, but it still has not happened.  “I guess I don’t have enough faith”, she said. 

This is a personal struggle for me.  You see, I remember many, many years ago, sitting with my family in a church we were visiting during summer vacation.  The pastor went on and on about how people with different sicknesses, like cancer, don’t have enough faith.  If they prayed with true faith, God would take away their disease. 

My mother, at that point a two-time cancer survivor, could barely stay in her seat.  “Oh, so I guess it’s all my fault”, I heard her mutter.  The audacity of this ‘man of God’ placing the blame for disease on a person's faith stays with me to this day.

So, I put aside my lesson and tried to address her statement.  I pointed us to the story in John 9, where Jesus healed the man born blind.  “Who’s fault is it?” the disciples wanted to know.  His parents?  His?  Surely someone has to be to blame!  But, what did Jesus say?  He was born this way so that the work of God might be displayed in his life. 

I asked the women, Do you think when he was born, his parents prayed that he would be healed?  Do you think throughout his life, the man himself prayed to be able to see?  But for years and years, the man stayed blind.  Why?  So that Jesus could heal him at just that time, to show God’s power. 

Just think, if God had answered his or his parents’ earlier prayers, this story wouldn’t be in the Bible, and we wouldn’t be learning from it, more than 2,000 years later. 

It’s not easy, but sometimes God doesn’t answer our prayers in the way we want because there is a bigger picture.  Sometimes, He wants us to show the world how a Christian lives with disappointment and need.  If we respond in faith, trusting that God will provide in His way and in His time, others may learn from our situation. 

Sometimes, He knows that what we think we need is not what we truly do need.  Out of love, He does not give us what we ask.  Sometimes, in the waiting, He works to change our hearts so He can give us what we truly do need.

Luz shared how for two years and ten months she prayed that God would free her husband from prison.  Without going into all of it, he was arrested and convicted in quick succession nearly three years ago for crimes related to his business ( a colmado, or small neighborhood store).  Imagine having your spouse – and your only source of stable income! – suddenly gone. 

The sentence didn't seem to have a specific duration, so she continued praying that he would be released. 

I asked Luz if back during the trial, she had prayed that God would send her husband to prison, or free him.  Of course, she had prayed for him to be free! 

But – and this is so incredible! – while he was prison, his heart was changed.  Now, he treats her with respect and love.  He even says, Dios te bendiga (God bless you)!  “If it wasn’t for prison, he would not be the man he has become”, Luz said with conviction.

I told Luz, During all those years and months of praying, God seemed not to answer you.  But, I quickly added, I don’t think it was because you didn’t have enough faith.  Instead, it was because God knew the bigger picture.  He knew that your husband needed to change his life, and that his time in prison could be a chance for this to happen.

Yes, we all need to pray that God increases our faith.  Yes, we need to pray boldly.  But, I believe our prayer for more faith needs to be more afaith in Him, that He sees what we cannot, that He knows what is happening and understands what we truly need.  We need to cry out, asking for His help to continue trusting Him when He seems not to be answering. 

Oh, Father, we lack so much, but You are loving and powerful and know exactly what we need.  Holy Spirit, I pray You take my faltering attempts to explain, and in Your way, move in Ramona and Luz.  I am humbled and so blessed to learn lessons of faith from these sisters in Christ.   

Piel de Gallina

When something here is really moving, or surprising, or scary, people say, “Tengo piel de gallina.”  Piel means Skin, and Gallina is Hen or Chicken, so the phrase "Tengo piel de gallina" literally means, "I have chicken skin".

If you’ve ever cut up a whole chicken, you know the raw skin is pretty pimply or bumpy.  Are you getting it?  Piel de gallina is the same thing as our Goose Bumps!  Having never seen a goose up close and personal, but having spent a fair bit of time in chicken plants, I actually prefer the Spanish!

Yesterday was a day of Piel de Gallina.  I was alone in El Callejon as Daisy had to go to the capital for some personal business.  I remembered back to my first day alone… it seems like so long ago, although in reality, it’s only been seven months. 

In the morning, I met with Joemny and Kathy, two of our young women.  They are both relatively new believers, and are hungry to learn more about the Bible.  We started simply, talking about how they read the Bible and spend time with God. 

I also shared our desire that as they grow in Christ, they will be able to help us lead.  Watching their faces light up as we talked… Piel de gallina! 

Over lunch, Lorianny, Jenifer and Erika stopped by to color.  Then Johana, LaLa and Noelia came in.  Then Franklin, Tule, and Jamie.  I loved hearing them say Por favor, and reminding each other that Kinverli doesn’t like the word Feo (ugly). 

Even more, I loved hearing them exclaim Que bonita! (how pretty!) to each other as they colored.  There were a few tiffs, but for the most part, they worked side-by-side.  Nine precious children of God, sitting around the table with me… Piel de gallina!

In the afternoon, I had our Pre-teens (ages 11-12).  We were reading the story of Jesus walking on the water.  In Spanish, it says that the disciples thought Jesus was ‘un fantasma’.  Claribel asked me if I believed in ghosts, because there was this movie and this man and his family were killed and the ghost made the lights go out… She pointed to her arms – Piel de gallina! 

Suddenly, all the girls were chiming in with movies they’d seen, or people who’d told them similar stories.  I couldn’t catch all of it, but tried to help them understand that allowing our minds to be filled with that type of stuff is not pleasing to God. 

I asked them how much time they spend each day watching TV and movies.  The average was around two hours.  How much time do you read your Bible and pray?  Some said each day, others once a week, others didn’t respond. 

Our truth comes from God, and from His word.  I know it’s fun to watch TV and movies, but we need to always remember where the truth is. 

I also tried to encourage them to talk with their parents, with Daisy or me, with another adult, if things they saw made them scared or upset. 

I’m not sure I got through to them, but rejoiced that they were willing to ask me questions, and that I was able to understand a significant part of what they said.  Just seven months ago, I could barely catch their names!  Piel de gallina.

On my way home for the week, I stopped at our new site.  (Jump over to our Social Work site blog for the latest pictures!).  As I walked around the large, lovely space, you guessed it… Piel de gallina.  Right now, it’s empty, but so full of promise! 

When I think about El Callejon, I know that it, too, is filled with promise.  Some days, we just want to quit and move to Switzerland where everything is tidy and orderly. 

(My friend Brian lived there, and told me they had a guy whose job it was to clean up the black scuff marks at the train station.  I think he was trying to show me how overly rigid they were.  To me, it sounded heavenly!!) 

But, God is at work in El Callejon.  He is at work in big ways, like our new building.  He’s at work in ‘small’ ways, like the excitement of sharing a Bible verse, and hearing a little one learn to say Por Favor. 

The girls’ memory verse for yesterday is Philippians 4:13:  I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.  All the things He calls us to do, we can do.  In His way, in His perfect timing, in His strength.  Just allowing these words to penetrate my heart… Piel de gallina!!