On May 15 we moved to the Dominican Republic. On July 4 we moved into our rental house. You might wonder, what happened during that period of time. Here are a few highlights of things that have kept us busy:
The Search for a Car and a Home:
Both of these items took longer than we expected. We did buy a car, fairly quickly, but as you know (if you don't, see earlier blogs) there were some challenges with that. We are happy to say that we have been in a home for almost two weeks now. The search for a home is time consuming and can be frustrating. We looked at many, as an earlier blog shares. While we had hoped to move and be settled in a house before the Minnesota team came, our moving happened while a team was here. This might have been for the best as they rallied and helped us in many ways, including painting almost the entire inside of the house (it needed it!). We are very relieved to finally have a home. For the last year, we have felt "on the move" and now we have a place to make our own. Right now, the house is quite empty, with only the bare essentials. Of course the kitchen is setup and we have beds...but we really want a couch! Someplace comfy to sit would be really nice! But that will come and we are thankful for the things we have found so far.
Where do we buy stuff for our house:
Our most favorite place is to find a missionary family that is leaving and buy things from them. We have done this a lot. Second, we tend to go to Santiago and buy larger items there. In the Dominican Republic services are inexpensive (I get my hair cut for $2.25) but many products are very expensive (some times double the cost in the US). Recently we asked our mission team to purchase and bring a bunch of things with them. Then we purchased those things from them. This saved us a lot of money. We aren't in a rush to fill our house. We are trying to be very practical.
Car Issues:
I was told that with owning a car comes many visits to the mechanic. And yes, I can testify that statement to be true. My car has had it's issues. One day, I switched it to reverse and when I went to go forward, it was stuck in reverse. The cable had broken and it was stuck in neutral or reverse. Because this happened in a rather busy area, I had "fun" driving backwards to the closest safe place and waited for the mechanic to show up. He did, on a motorcycle, crawled under the car to see the broken cable and manually switched the gear. We then spent the day going to Santiago to get the part. Oh, if you didn't catch that...when your car breaks down, you get to help get the parts. I had to find transportation to get there and drive the hour, there and back.
Calvary Evangelical Free Church Mission Team:
46 youth and adults arrived from our home church in Rochester Minnesota for two weeks of ministry June 23 through July 7. For us this was a special time as we were able spend time with so many of our close friends. Of course, before the team came, there was a lot of preparation too. While half the team worked in construction, the other half ran 4 different Vacation Bible Schools. Most of the ministry was held at the church plant sites and people from the mother church, Iglesia Nueva Vida, where there working with us. It was tough to see this team leave and we all felt a great loss which stunned us for a while.
Language Learning and Practice:
After the team left, I, Rick, found a language teacher and began taking classes again. Already I feel it has helped me grow in my confidence. In addition to meeting with a teacher and my study outside of class, I am looking for places to volunteer so that I can practice and "challenge" my Spanish. For example, tonight I will attend the Iglesia Nueva Vida's youth meeting. With just this past week, I feel encouraged and feel my level of confidence growing.
The Internet and Emails:
Well, currently we do not have internet at our house. We have been placed on the "list" to get internet. Hopefully it won't take too long since we use internet a lot for communication as well as financial things. In the meantime, we check email a few times a week at a friends house. Of course, this makes it a little more challenging to keep up on the blog, but with time that will change!
Our role as a LEARNER:
Our mission, United World Mission, gives us assignments that are meant to help us in our transition there. One of them, encouraged us to have the mindset of a learner. This has been great advice to us. We have learned a lot about living here. And we are not done. We have had to do a lot of problem solving in areas that we thought nothing about when we lived in the US. What do you do when you don't have any water and are in the middle of washing clothes? Or what do you do when you don't have any water and you know you won't get any for at least 24 hours? What do you do when you get your car stuck in a river? What do you do when the electricity goes off at any random time? And much worse, what do you do when you realize you realize "you are the one who is out of place, the weird one, the one who doesn't fit?
In our missionary training there was a statement that was pounded into our heads. It is - "It isn't good or bad, it is just different." This statement has helped us greatly as we have learned about life here. Of course life here is different. Our challenge is to look at those differences, accept them and look for the value in those differences.
Our Directors will be visiting:
In mid-September, our United World Mission Directors, Paul and Joe, will visit us here in the Dominican Republic. This will be a special time as they learn about the work here and as we create a plan for our time here. While Rick will most likely continue studying Spanish after this time, our focus will move from language learning to areas of ministry.
In July, Doulos Discovery School held a three week soccer camp for ages 8 - 17. Ben was more than ready for the challenge. 5.5 hours a day, Monday through Friday, Ben was at Doulos running, kicking, and playing games.
Being the youngest, he took his share of bruises and gave out a few too. What Ben lacked in skill, he made up for in endurance. He quickly earned the respect of everyone there. At the end of the camp, Ben's team won the trophy and he was voted "Most Valuable Player." 
At times, Ben helped translate half time devotionals, at other times, he played to the camera...
