Health Update

We have not shared a lot about Becky's health problems in the last year. Mainly this is because we haven't had a lot of answers and listing symptoms just leads to speculation (or makes me sound like a hypochondriac). Finally the picture is becoming more clear as I do the Mayo Clinic tour.

For the last year I have struggled with crushing fatigue, bilateral, migratory joint pains, rashes, and a few other annoying symptoms. I saw a variety of doctors in the Dominican Republic and finally in April found a couple in the capital who really began to help me in terms of alleviating symptoms while continuing to work on a diagnosis. They ruled out some major disorders like Lupus, but as all my blood tests were normal, did not pinpoint exactly what I had.

After seeing several great doctors and having a lot of tests, we have ruled out a lot of possibilities. At this point the diagnosis is "inflammatory arthritis." Now, this is not your mother's arthritis. My joints are not wearing out. Rather my immune system is attacking them and as a result they hurt a lot and don't always work so well. This also leads to fatigue since my body is in overdrive fighting a phantom. I always feel like I have the flu.

There are some medications that will stop or limit this process. The bottom line is that this is manageable and won't prevent us from returning to the Dominican Republic to continue our work. God is faithful and sustains us through whatever we face, so we press on! Okay, in reality on a bad day I don't press on, I just climb in bed and sleep. Then I get up and keep going :)

Thank you for your prayers and concern!

I Love America.....Or Do I??

Well, we have been back in the U.S. for a few weeks now. Everyone asks us if we are glad to be home or what we think of the U.S. after living abroad for three years. It is good to be "home." We miss family and friends a lot although we have built many friendships in the Dominican Republic.

I always used to say upon returning to the U.S. from a developing country, that it appeared as though they vacuumed the streets and sidewalks. Well I found out this is actually the case! Walking in downtown Minneapolis we saw a sidewalk cleaning machine that was actually vacuuming up leaves, trash and debris. (In Jarabacoa they have a street cleaning crew that works different sections of town early each morning.)

BUSY, BUSY, BUSY

As soon as we returned we jumped on a speeding train and haven't really stopped. This is partly due to our short time in the U.S., but it is also the culture here. Everyone's lives are scheduled and in order to spend time together we have to "get on their calendar." As we hear about our friends and family's lives, we get dizzy hearing the list of activities and commitments they have.

In the Dominican Republic we have a schedule and at times are quite busy, but most of life happens spontaneously and the next item on the list starts whenever the previous item is finished with some breathing room in between. We may have a long to do list for the day, but we don't stress when it gets interrupted by a power outage, or a friend who stops by to talk. Life just flows like a river and we go along for the ride. Sometimes it is a rushing river, sometimes a slow lazy one.

Is one way of life "better" than the other? Probably not. There are benefits and draw backs to each and we learn to live within our culture.

Here are some Yays and Yuks from the kids about the U.S.

Some of the food is yay and some is yuk: Yay for pizza, ice cream, grapes and apples, yuk for canned vegetables and casseroles.

Yay for being spoiled by grandparents, yuk for sleeping in so many different beds as we travel.

Yay for so many parks and grass to play in, yuk for gigantic stores that make you really tired!

Turtles Everywhere!!!

Recently Calvary EFC from MN visited and brought Turtles! "Turtles?...why Turtles" We kind of had the same question. But each turtle has a pocket and in the pocket is a piece of paper with a message or drawing from the child that made the Turtle at their VBS. The message is written in Spanish. What a creative way to involve children in missions!

The team brought about 350 turtles! We have been giving them out at kid's clubs, at schools and even the hospital. Having given out a few of them, it has been interesting to see the reactions. The Turtle itself is cute and the kids love it but the drawing and message is loved by all. For example, a girl named Isabella made a Turtle and the message inside it ended up in a prominent place on the wall in Feyo's room! [To find out who Feyo is, read the blog entre "A morning in August".] I saw it yesterday when at his house.

Thank you Isabella for brightening up Feyo's room with the wonderful message that "God loves you!" And thank you to all the kids at Calvary who Turtles with similar messages!

A Morning in August

We leave the house at 9 am. Rick and Becky on a small motorcycle (moto) drive about 35 minutes to Boma. The road is windy and hilly. When the pavement ends, the dirt road quickly becomes unpassable for most vehicles. The moto has no problem. Sometimes two wheels is much better than 4!


After crossing a bridge and a beautiful field, we climb a steep hill to the house of Enrique. Enrique is the community leader. He meets us and shares that the mom of Valle had died a few days earlier. Valle is in the Bible study. Enrique wants us to go and spend time at the house, perhaps have a Bible study there. And so we go, continuing on the dirt road/path.

We are well away from Jarabacoa. We are past the reaches of electricity and running water. It is quiet and very peaceful for us, but we can tell that life is tough here. It is a farming community. They are pretty self-sufficient and they work hard to be so. They have learned to live off the land planting and raising animals who will be butchered (cows, pigs, goats, rabbits, chickens). And when one family has extra, it can be traded with neighbors or taken to be sold in town. They are within reach of the city but probably don't go there often.

We arrived at Valle's house and found him, his dad (in photo) and other members from the family. When someone dies it is typical for extended family and friends to come and be with the family for a full week. In this area, most people are related in some way. So the whole community was coming and going from the house.

We spent some time with the family and then went off to a shaded area to have some time with Valle. We shared some encouraging words from Philippians.
Enrique then suggested we hike up to the home of Feyo and Paula. Feyo is the brother of Valle. Feyo isn't able to walk. We aren't sure what happened, but he has been in bed for the last 10 years. Feyo's wife Paula attends our Bible study (pictured in her kitchen). We have wanted to visit him and finally have the chance. So off we go!
We hiked along a river, climbing up and up. Eventually we came to a small gate and a leveled clearing that had 3 small stick buildings. We entered the clearing and Enrique led us to meet Feyo. We had a wonderful time getting to know Feyo. He is a believer. He shared some of his story and we shared a little of ours. We asked about his needs and shared some verses from Scripture.
We hope to help Feyo get a solar powered radio/cd player and the Bible on cd. Feyo doesn't read. He told us, he only spent one year in school and then his dad pulled him out of school so that he would help on the farm. We hope to help him in this way. If this something you would like to help with, please let us know.

After some time with Feyo and his family, we returned to Jarabacoa. We left the house 4 hours earlier thinking we would minister in one way but ended up ministering in a totally different way. That happens a lot here!

Impact of Short Teams

Missionaries all over the world host groups for one week to a month to do a variety of projects: construction, English camps, evangelism, Bible School, education, sports camps, medical and dental clinics, and more. Some have criticized these trips as little more than "feel good Christian vacations" because they often include some sightseeing and recreation. Some question whether these short visits have any lasting impact on the national church.

We welcome North American visits and desire to develop partnerships between believers across cultures for a win-win situation. We want to see the body of Christ strengthened overalll through short term trips.
We just hosted 19 people from Calvary Evangelical Free Church in Rochester, Minnesota. Calvary EFC has been bringing teams since 1991 to work with Iglesia Nueva Vida (New Life Church) in Jarbacoa, Dominican Republic. Now that's a long term relationship! This team spent two weeks doing construction projects to facilitate better ministry at two churches, assisted in Vacation Bible schools at two churches, prayed and evangelized in two communities, and visited several worship services and Bible Studies to share their testimonies of faith.

A Challenge to Grow

In El Montaña, powerful testimonies were shared as Calvary team members recalled with the congregation the building and dedication of the church building some 18 years ago and a challenge to the Dominicans to outgrow the building so that the Americans would need to come back and expand the building! For the first time ever, members of the Montaña church led the Vacation Bible School with Americans as helpers rather than vice versa. And the congregation continues a kid's club in the afternoons on their own.

Last fall the Montaña church raised money through a yard sale to purchase a basic sound board and an inverter (battery back up). This enables them to have church when it is raining (tropical rain on a tin roof can be deafening) and when there is no electricity (which is most of the time). However since purchasing the equipment, they have stored it off site as tin roofs are easily broken into. The Calvary construction team poured a cement roof over the Sunday school room and bathroom to enable the church to store the inverter (battery back up) and sound equipment safely. They had been planning to have another sale to raise the money to finish this project, but since the Calvary team poured the roof, they have decided to focus their fund raising efforts on a community project: a communal well. The community of Montaña lacks a functional water supply, so they are digging a well and need to raise $23,000 pesos (US $650) for a submersible pump. This is a great opportunity for the church to help meet community needs and for Damaso Herrera, church planting pastor, to build relationships in the community.

We were moved to tears as the team excitedly unpacked their gifts at the beginning of the trip. We had requested more copies of the Bible in One Year for Children, Bible story videos and books as well a basic doctrine book used in discipling. As you may read in another post, Dominicans in the rural churches have the chance to "earn" the children's Bible reader by memorizing 16 Bible passages. We were overwhelmed by the $1200 worth of books and over 40 Bible Story videos they unpacked. Now we have what seems like an endless resource for sharing biblical truths with families. Mind you, we do hope to run out of "Bible in One Year for Children"!

Relationships

Chet Ross has been faithfully coming to the Dominican Republic serving as construction foreman and general roustabout on the team. His tender heart for Dominicans wins friends wherever he goes. Almost every Dominican he crosses paths with gets a nickname. On this visit he spent time with
"Smiley" Vanessa (Photo to the left) and asked about her friends from years gone by. He learned that one friend, "Gabby" had recently returned to the area after living in the capital for a number of years. He tracked her down and learned she was grieving over the recent death of her mother. His heart went out to her immediately and he brought her to our farewell party so she could meet Rick and I. Vanesa is also reaching out to her in this time of grief to help strengthen her faith in God.

Vanesa Nolasco, a Dominican missionary dentist, shared her testimony recalling as a young person watching Calvary expand the main church to accommodate the growing congregation. She said God had placed in her heart to share the love of Christ and she gained experience as she helped Calvary teams over the years. When she finished her dental training and needed support to work under Students International, she said she knew her friends from Calvary would respond because they had a heart to reach the Dominican Republic for Christ. She has been faithfully working at Students International for over 8 years now.

Roy Makosky has been on all 10 of Calvary's large group mission trips (he missed a teaching trip and a medical trip). And his wife Glenna only missed one of those in 1991. They live in Minnesota but are very committed to the work here. Over the years they have built a relationship with Ramon and Denis Vargas. Ramon, an elder at Nueva Vida, is passionate about evangelism. He and his wife Denise have ministered in just about every community around Jarabacoa. And though the years, a relationship has formed. Roy and Glenna pray for Ramon and Denis. And when they return, it is always exciting to hear what God has done, what God is doing, and what are the things that need prayer.

An Invitation to Faith

Part of the group accompanied Dominicans on two afternoons to evangelize. Unlike Americans, rural Dominicans typically welcome any visitor onto their porch or into their living room for coffee and good conversation. This enabled the Dominican believers in the two neighborhoods to talk about spiritual matters and invite their neighbors to a Bible study. I think it is safe to say the team members found this a challenge as they shared their testimonies through translators.

Rick and I are involved in various Bible Studies in villages outside Jarabacoa. Some are discipleship groups, but one in particular is clearly evangelistic. It is held on Saturday nights in the local butcher's lean-to. Alex (pictured with Rick) is a butcher with a calling. He may kill animals by day, but he is brings life to souls in his off hours!

Earning the Word

As we have been discipling adults in rural communities, we have talked about parents' responsibility to pass their faith on to their children through instruction and actions. Several parents asked for help finding Bible passages to read to their children. Wanting to encourage and reward this desire, we purchased several copies of "The One Year for Children's Bible" in Spanish (published by Anno Domini Publishing). Including shipment to the Dominican Republic, it cost about $20, so we were only able to buy a few copies.

We offered the book to believers in two of our study groups for free, IF they memorized a set of 16 Scripture passages. This seemed like a daunting task, but everyone was excited by the prospect of such a beautiful book full of Bible stories to share with their children.

Pictured above is Julio, a leader at a church in Los Higos, who attends Rick's seminary class. Below Ana Maria, of Montaña, joyfully displays her copy of "La Biblia en Un Año para Niños." After these two had earned their books, the others redoubled their efforts to memorize and asked how many copies were left! We were very thankful when the team from Calvary Evangelical Free Church in Rochester, Minnesota arrived with more copies that had been donated. Now we can offer this great ¨deal¨ to more believers.

How big is your God?

Just how big is your God? Is He bigger than the stockmarket? Is He bigger than your company? Is He bigger than your illness? Is He bigger than your church? Is He bigger than Osama? bigger than Obama? Someimes our problems, enemies and even our heroes loom so large we lose perspective.

As Northamerican missionaries working in a developing country, we daily encounter problems that seem insurmountable. Often the people we are working with feel the same way.

One community where we work often only gets running water a few times a week and the people living there have learned to adapt to a situation that would cause most North Americans to tear their hair out. Not long ago, the water plant that supplies the community broke down and was off line for weeks, supposedly waiting for parts. As some wealthy people in this area have wells, they made their hoses available to the community. Our church members and others spent their time and energy hauling buckets of water up to half a mile back to their homes to meet their daily needs. The also collect rain water from their roofs. Needless to say that this took all their time and energy. The situation became desperate and we prayed with the believers that water would be restored. One day, we came to hold Bible study and found no one had shown up. We visited the nearest house and found two women out back washing clothes. After greeting us, they said, "Please forgive us, we don't want to have Bible study today. We just got water back AND the electricity is on for the first time in three days. We have to take advantage of it and do laundry and clean our houses!" We praised God with them and then visited from house to house and spent time with them while they were washing and hanging mountains of clothes.

In December we wrote about a disabled boy named Jordan who lived up on a mountain outside Jarabacoa. He has since died. We didn't hear about it immediately because the community is so isolated. There are thousands more children just like him being cradled by parents who live in isolated areas without the resources to adequately care for their physical needs.

Rick recently met with a leader in another of the 5 daughter churches. He sat in their tiny 12X14 home and heard their passion for reaching the lost in their community. He was there to invite the man to a seminary class Rick is teaching. He has a hunger to learn more of the Bible so he can teach others. Rick then asked about their needs and how we could support them and pray for them. The man shared that they are praying for a home that is more adequate to raise their children and hold Bible studies. Most evenings after 8 the youth show up and hang out with them until about midnight, all crammed into their tiny house. They also shared that they were praying for another pair of shoes. This man only has one pair that serve for work, going to town, church, everything.

Just today I spoke with a woman from church who has a heart condition that we have been praying for. After catching up a bit by way of greeting, she put her hand on my shoulder and said, "Becky please pray with me. The cardiologist just prescribed a medicine for me. I haven't been feeling well, always short of breath. I went to the pharmacy to buy the medicine and came away in tears because it is so expensive." She wasn't asking me to buy the medicine for her, just to pray with her that God would heal her or provide the means to take the medicine. The medicine would cost about $50 a month. This seems like little to us, but with an average annual income of $250 per month in this country, that medicine might as well be made of diamonds.

As North Americans we are "can do" people. "Where there's a will there's a way." We innovate. We problem solve. When one solution doesn't work, we go back to the drawing board. And when all else fails, we throw money at the problem. Because surely with enough money anything can be fixed. But fixing the problems at hand is not always the best solution.

However, God always has the best solution. We see this time and again in the Bible. God is concerned about us and our planet at the very deepest level. He not only wants to provide for our physical needs, He has a plan to save us for all eternity.

I have learned that as soon as a problem comes my way, I need to go on my knees to Him with it. Before I try to solve it, before I react to it, sometim9es before I even let myself feel the pain of it, I take it to God. As I process it with Him, I begin to see it from His view. I have learned to ask myself, "How big is my God?" And my answer is always, "Bigger than that!"

"Can there be any God but this God that I love? He surrounds me with His strength and clothes me with His grace. He puts into my hands gifts to relay to others. He entrusts me with tasks far beyond my human capabilities and enables me to carry them out. He me as daughter and servant destined to accomplish His purposes amongst the peoples of the world."
Psalm 18 (paraphrase from Psalms Now)