La Chikungunya, la chiku...what?

Have you heard of this nasty illness that recently jumped the Atlantic and is spreading like wild fire through the Caribbean? CHIKUNGUNYA, aka, CHIKV. It is now spreading through the Americas.  In other words, it will arrive in your town at some point if you live in an area where the Aedes aegypti mosquito dwells.

This is mosquito is the same mosquito that carries dengue fever and urban yellow fever.  A significant portion of Southeast Asia, Africa, Central and South America, and all of the Caribbean are home to this little beast.  This mosquito is also found in the southeast United States.

The Dominican Republic, like the rest of the Caribbean, has faced the threat of dengue for centuries.  There is no vaccine, although scientists are working hard to develop one. But the medical community is very experienced in treating the fever in these areas.  ChikV is entirely new.  There has been a public information campaign and the medical community has guidelines for treating patients. Mosquito 

So what is this terrible new infection and how do you pronounce it?  In English, it is pronounced "chik-en-gun-ye."  Here in the DR it is pronounced "Cheek-oon-goo-ya."  Don't ask me what happened to the "N" when it got here.  It probably went the same way as half the Spanish "S's" "D's" on the island, caught by a tropical breeze and now floating somewhere over the ocean.

The scientific details of the illness are readily available at www.cdc.gov and www.who.int.  Here is what I have observed as I have watched ChikV rip through the villages where I work and knock down many of my friends in Jarabacoa.  After the first case in a neighborhood, people start dropping like flies.  The whole family may become infected within a week or so and on it goes from house to house.  So many people become ill that there is doubt that it is from a mosquito.  Surely it must be in the water or be spread like the cold, people tell me.  It is well known that the mosquito carries dengue.  But the outbreaks don't sicken the majority of an area like ChikV.  Why?  Because many people have had one or more types of dengue and are immune to the type in the current outbreak.  No one has immunity to ChikV.

Typically, people are sicken rapidly with chills, high fever, and joint pains. One friend left my house feeling fine and by the time she arrived home, 15 minutes later, she went straight to her bed with chills and pains.  She stayed there for 3 days straight.  The rest of the week she continued to be ill.  There is a nasty rash that arrives to further torment the sufferer.  The initial infection seems resolve after a week.  There are no medications that speed healing.  Acetaminophen is the only medicine prescribed or recommended here.  Patients are urged to see a doctor and have a blood test to rule out dengue, as many of the symptoms are the same.  It is a great blessing that very few people die from ChikV, even a 91 year old woman, Dona Maria, in El Montaña survived by spending several days in the hospital receiving palliative care.

Woe to anyone who has a chronic illness, especially arthritis, or anyone beyond the mid-forties.  They will suffer from joint pain and swelling for a month to years after they recover.  It is truly miserable and no one can predict how long it will last.  

I have sat with many of my friends or their family members and heard the tale of their illness and subsequent arthralgia.  I can relate as I have inflammatory arthritis.  This is essentially what ChikV sufferers face.  I have even heard people say that old surgery sites and injuries are particularly painful and swollen.

So we pray together for endurance, relief of suffering, and that ChikV would subside in the Dominican Republic and elsewhere.  Privately I pray earnestly that I will not fall victim as I already live with these symptoms.  So far our family has not been stricken.  We are vigilant about using DEET and thankful for screened windows!  Ultimately it is God's mercy that has spared us.

Apparently I am not an American....

It is well-known fact that U.S. citizens traveling south of the border should not call themselves Americans.  Instead, they must call themselves "Unitedstatesians."  It sounds a little strange, doesn't it?  If a U.S. citizen answers the question, "Where are you from?' with "I am an American,"  they will be chided and lectured to the effect that "We are all Americans."  In other words, how dare one country seize the name of an entire hemisphere for themselves.  Yes, those "Unitedstatesians" are greedy little buggers.

Okay, you can tell from my tone that this is a pet peeve of mine. Here in the Dominican Republic, all U.S. citizens are called "americano/a,"  AMERICANS! Much to the chagrin of my Canadian friends, they are also called "Americano/as."  Because this term is so widely used in my adopted country, I get caught when traveling to another Latin American country by blurting out "Soy americana," before realizing I am about to receive "The We Are All Americans" lecture.  So I am supposed to say "Soy estadounidense," (I am a Unitedstatesian,) or  "Soy de los Estados Unidos" (I am from the United States.)

Here is what I would like to preach back at my lecturers:

1.  When you ask me where I am from, you are asking for a specific country of origin, not a continental origin.  There is a difference between saying "European" and "French" or "Asian" and "Chinese."  If I ask you (latino/a) you will respond some form of your country's name ending in "ano" or "eño"as in Mexicano or Brasileño, not the continent you are from.  You don't want me to call myself an American, but you really don't call yourself that if I ask where you are from.

2.  The United States of AMERICA is the only country in the world with "America" in its name. (Also, I am not from the United States of North America . That country does not exist.)  Historically many countries have used "United States" in their official name:  Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, and half a dozen others.  The official name of Mexico is "Estados Unidos Mexicanos" or The United Mexican States.  So saying "Soy estadounidense" (Unitedstatesian) is quite general, and I don't here these other countries telling me I can't say this because they are "estadounidenses"(Unitedstatesians) also.

3.  In the entire rest of the world, if you asked someone for my national identity, the response would be some form of "American" in the appropriate language.  This indicates a person from the United States of America, not someone from the continents of North and/or South America.

4.  There is no such word as "Unitedstatesian" in English.  "Estadounidense" is a not translatable word!  The best translation would be "United States citizen."  Saying my nationality this way gives the impression that my rights as a citizen are being threatened or that I am in legal trouble in another country. As in "You can't do that,  I am a United States Citizen!" yelled in English to people who don't speak English.

5.  I REALLY believe that every country in the world has the right to decide what word or words will describe their nationality.  A prime example would be Costa Rica.  Costa Ricans refer to themselves as "Ticos."  Should I argue with them and tell them they are really "costariqueños"?  That would be rude, wouldn't it?

Sometimes I have answered the origin question by saying, "Where do you think I am from?"  Since I don't have an American accent in Spanish, it can be a bit of a stumper.  Swedish and Puerto Rican are guessed at as often as "Estados Unidos."  I am actually of Swedish descent, so that is a lucky guess! Thankfully no one has ever said, "Gringa" or "Yankee."  These can be derogatory.  Like other ethnic slang names, I can call myself that, but it is rude to refer to me that way, especially to my face.

Next time I am asked where I am from, I think I will say "I am a Viking."  This incorporates my ancestral home, Sweden, and my home state of Minnesota.  Oh, wait, I was actually born in North Dakota.  Can I still say I am a Minnesotan since I only spent 15 months in North Dakota and over 23 years living in Minnesota?  Plus, I have a Minnesota accent (in English).  Hmmm.  Where am I from anyway?

As American as Apple Pie

On November 27, millions of Americans sat down together and feasted on turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie.  We were blessed to celebrate the day with a group of North American friends in the Dominican Republic.  Because Ben and Elena attend a school primarily run and taught by Americans, they were dismissed at 12 on Thursday for a long weekend.

During the week leading up to Thanksgiving, I found myself explaining the holiday to a number of Dominican friends and acquaintances.  I told the story of the "First Thanksgiving," detailed the feast we have, and encouraged Dominicans to take time to thank God for all that had happened in the past year.  Many are aware of the holiday, but most don't know the specifics of the celebration.  One friend said, "So it is like the start of your Christmas celebration.  We have a feast on Christmas Eve."  Well, not exactly, but it is sort of.

A Johnson family Thanksgiving is to have pie for breakfast on Thanksgiving morning while watching the Macy's Parade.  Don't ask me how this got started, but it is hard to get into the groove of Thanksgiving without it.  This year, due to a little case of food poisoning earlier in the week, there was no pie to be eaten.  However, I did find the 2013 Macy's parade on youtube and watched it while I began to prepare mashed potatoes for 24 people.  Watching Al Roker and company excitedly announcing the imminent start made me smile. But when the first marching band came on the scene, it felt like home.

It brought back a flood of memories:  chilly nights at football games, the comradery of my college band, the national anthem.  Did you know that marching bands are very American?  Their origins are military bands, but the use of marching bands for high school and college sports is as American as, well, American football.  Certainly, there are bands in many other countries, but the tradtion and use is different.

Well, I enjoyed the parade and we went "over the river and through a village" to the VanDerMolen's to eat, relax, and thank God for His manny blessings.  Canadian missionaries joined us, although their Thanksgiving was in October.  Thanksgiving is a uniquely North American tradition. And I am so thankful to be able to celebrate it!

So what other things are so American, that they are rare or non-existent in other cultures?  Food is an easy one as every country or culture has their cuisine.  Some items that seem to be unique to the U.S.A are root beer, peanut butter, and baked beans.  There are also foods that originated in the U.S. and are now sold around the world.  CocaCola, cold cereal, and SPAM come to mind.

The other day, I was chatting with a Dominican and an Argentinian.  I told them what foods we prepared for Thanksgiving.  Some dishes were familiar, like mashed potatoes, but others like cranberry sauce were harder to explain.  But the Dominican had tried turkey and didn't care for it.  The Argentinian said they grow turkeys in her home country so she likes them.  She described a meat dish that was made with a lot of sugar and we cringed to hear her describe it.  But then she said that she had tried coconut fish, a Dominican dish, and couldn't stand it and we all agreed that what you eat growing up sets your palate for life.

I am currently planning a small sewing project, a kitchen aid mixer cover.  I say planning, because I have been stymied trying to find the perfect fabric and batting.  I want a quilted look with kitchen themed calico fabric.  At home, I would simply stop in at my local fabric/craft store pick out a set of fat squares and some batting and get to work.  On a recent trip to the fabric section of downtown Santiago, I found kitchen themed upholstery fabric (very pricey), plain cotton fabric, cartoon and children's themed cotton and a couple of choices baby blanket pre-quilted fabric.  How do you explain what calico is to someone who doesn't know what quilting is?  And what is the word for "batting" in Spanish anyway?  Needless to say I struck out.  I did get some beautiful fabric for Elena's Christmas dress however.  The fabric stores mainly sell upholstery and decorating fabric or fancy dress fabric.

The United States has a rich history of quilting. But quilting is not unique to the U.S.  Evidence of padded fabric and clothing has been found as far back as the 12th century in Europe and Asia.  But there is a uniqueness to American quilting that certainly is not found in Central and South America.  An American quilt evokes may sentimental and nationalistic thoughts and feelings.  Grandmas, quilting bees, homesteading and its accompanying poverty, log cabins and cold winter nights.  I even think of Betsy Ross sewing the flag, although this is largely a myth.

We are very excited to welcome Rick's brother Bob and family to Jarabacoa for Christmas.  They will be bringing some Christmas gifts and hard to find American products.  Many American food products are available here because as more and more Dominicans have spent time in the U.S. they have acquired a taste for American cuisine and CAFTA ensures that items imported from the U.S. are not outrageously expensive like they were in the past.  Still, there are some things that are just hard to find and we miss them.

As you head into the Christmas season, stop and thank God for all His many blessings.  His blessings run so much deeper and plentiful than material goods and holiday food.  Love, Grace, Mercy, Peace, Joy and Hope can't be bought or worked for, only freely received from the hand of God.

2014 in Review

As we have done in the past, this entry will give a quick update of each church.  In each church, there are changes and many needs.  Listed below are some prayer requests for each church but first, we will list some universal prayer requests -

• In the Dominican Republic just about everyone believes in God and God is often mentioned ("thanks/glory to God" or "if God wills"). But for many these are traditional sayings. Pray that God would lead us as we help people discover Jesus anew and His importance in our lives.
• Pray for more Dominican leaders!  Specifically, pray for those that have a heart for youth and children's ministry.  
• Pray for missionaries to join us!  We need help (be kind please!) and are praying for God to send us teammates.
• Pray for God to reach Dominican youth!  We are praying that churches in the Dominican Republic will be more intentional about reaching youth.  Two that we work with, are doing just that!
• Pray for the sick and injured!  So many are sick and struggling in every community we work.  This year Chikungunya has ravaged the country.  The young bounce back quickly, but middle aged and older folks are suffering for months following the initial infection.
• Pray for stable jobs for so many!  The majority in our churches work daily jobs, meaning they find a job for the day and then have to find another the next day.  You can imagine the stress they live under.

Central Church - Nueva Vida Jarabacoa

With a new pastor - Pastor Francisco - there is a lot of change. Pastor Francisco Tejedas is a strong leader and preacher. He has many ideas and the energy to pursue them. One idea has been to have regular conferences filled with excellent teaching. As a result, they have begun to develop relationships with other churches across the island. Pray for Pastor Francisco and the church leaders as they continues to shepherd the flock and prepare the church for ministry. 

Nueva Vida of Buenos Aires

The first church plant to have a official pastor!  He is Pastor Alex Balbuena.  2014 began with Pastor Alex undergoing spinal fusion surgery. Praise God, the surgery was very successful. And as he was able, Pastor Alex and Carol began to minister as they did before. In 2014 the church started a youth ministry and in August a team from Chicago came to work with this group.  With time, God has been restoring this church as a light in it's community.  In addition, God has also brought some new families and while the church is small, they are a solid, faithful group.  God has taught them much in these last years and they have been strengthened.  Becky and I feel encouraged and look forward to see how God will work.    

Nueva Vida of El Montaña

When we came, this church was filled with relatively new believers.  Damaso, from the central church, volunteers as pastor.  Today, many of those who were new believers, are key leaders in the church.  Our focus in much of 2013-14 has been in helping them create a plan to disciple their children and youth. Rather than quickly offering a plan for children's, we slowly worked with them helping them think through and create a plan.  Late 2013 they adopted the statement - "Our objective is that the children will know and love God.  Also, we have the goal that our children will become Christian leaders, pastors and missionaries.  Matt. 22:38, Matt. 28:19-20, Duet. 6:1-9."  Now at the end of 2014, the formal trainings ended long ago and Praise God, they have started a Sunday school for the kids.  Our role has focused on helping these new teachers be successful. Please be in prayer.  Also in 2014, Rick started meeting with 4 young men that attend El Montaña, discipling them as present and future leaders.  For years, we prayed for God to send some men to the church and God is answering that prayer!  Praise God!!!

Christian Church of Boma

For the last few years, our ministry has focused on helping support the leadership by teaching on topics that they requested.  In late 2013 and into 2014 we focused on developing a Sunday school.  By spring of 2014, a plan for teaching children was formed and functioning.  We also worked to start a Bible study with unchurched adults and youth.  This seemed to be going well but then fell apart when key individuals moved away from Boma.  In the last few months, we have not had regularly weekly ministry but have attended services and preached at times.  We have had many discussions with the leadership of the church and are asking the Lord to give us wisdom as to what can be done for the church to reach the community of Boma with the gospel.  Please keep Boma in your prayers.

Nueva Vida of Los Calabazos
As we shared in January, over the past 6 years, many that were attending in Los Calabazos have moved to Jarabacoa and are attending the church in Jarabacoa.  As a result the church of Los Calabazos has very few people.  Even Julito, the leader, often attends the church in Jarabacoa because his daughters live and attend school there.  With few people in the church and infrequent services, we made the decision not to continue a regular ministry in Los Calabazos and to focus more time and energy in El Montaña, Buenos Aires and Boma.  Nicolas from the central church continues to oversee the church in Los Calabazos.  We hope to start working there again in the future and we continue to feel there are opportunities, particularly in the area of youth ministry.  Our prayer for Los Calabazos is that God would draw people to Himself.  Over the years, there has been a lot of evangelism with little results.  Our prayers are that God would bring a revival in Los Calabazos.

Thank you for your prayers!

Mackey's on the move!!!

Plans aren't set but August, 2015 - January, 2016 we are planning our next "HOME MINISTRY."  In days of old, this used to be called furlough.  It will be a time for us to reconnect with you, get some extra training, and visit colleges with Ben!  That last point is somewhat of a shocker but it's true.  Ben is a 10th grader this year and next year will be his junior year, a good time to visit college.

While years ago, missionaries went to the field for 4 years and then returned for 1, it seems today we see missionaries on various schedules.  A lot of it depends on what you are doing and how costly it is to travel to the USA.  Missionary school teachers, for example, tend to go home every summer.  In this hemisphere, many are able to return home for Christmas break as well.  We have many friends who do this.  In fact, most of our missionary friends here go back to the USA at least once a year.

For us, it seems best to be here for 2.5 years and then return for about 6 months.  Every time we go and return, there is adjustment.  And so yearly visits would seem emotionally hard for us.  At the same time, being away for 4 years seems too long.  We feel it is really important to be face to face with supporters and family.

As we begin to make these plans, we want to let you know.  If you work at a church and there is a mission conference, please let us know its dates as soon as you can.

We hope we can see YOU in 2015!