Oficina nueva

Buenos dias!!

Hope this Saturday is finding everone well.  What do you think of my new blog lay out???  Too "professional" looking?  Just thought my blog should reflect how much everything has changed in my life.  :)

This past week was one of my favorites here so far.  God has blessed me in many ways....

Numero uno:  Spanish has finally clicked.  Now, what does that mean?  Clearly I am not fluent after only two months of language training.  BUT at last I felt that "A-Ha!" moment.  That moment that anyone who has tried to learn another language experiences when everything comes together and you are actually able to communicate and understand more than 50% of what is being said to you.  So exciting!!  And answered prayers.  I'm still not ready to jump into the community alone and try to give good health care, but this was definitely the encouragement I needed to realize that I will conquer the Spanish language.  I expect to be ready to start my medical site in January.  I know at that point I will still have a lot to learn but I should be good enough to see patients and communicate in an understandable fashion.

PS...I can speak in the 4 past tenses, future and sunbjunctive....proper Spanish here I come!

PPS  I actually LOVE speaking in Spanish....I feel like a new world has opened to me.....

Numero dos:   I spent 3 afternoons (after Spanish tutoring with Catalina) organizing my future office space!!  So fun!!  I am sharing space with Vanesa who is a Dominican dentist that is a native missionary with SI...female power, just kidding...I'm not a feminist.....I promise.....

BUT!!  In November, Hans (American missionary with SI who runs the construction site) will be building my shelves, desk and patient examining room.  So I should be good to go in January.  As I see it now, my office space will truly only be for me to work, plan, keep medicines and patient records.  But, I will have the capability to see missionaries, students or any Dominican if need be.  Recuerdes (remember), my primary role is community outreach....getting down and dirty in this Dominican dirt...

Numero Tres:  I have been practicing a lot of medicine.  Thank goodness.  I felt like I was going dry a bit....between treating "gripe" (Dominican slang for the common cold), infected insect bites and taking care of missionary kids....wellness check-ups, reflux issues, etc.  my skills are being utilized and I am once again feeling like a productive part of society.

Numero Cuatro:  We had two adult teams visiting SI this week.  And what a blessing they were to us.  I spent time with three nurses, a cardiologist and orthopedist.  They were such an incredible source of encouragement to our ministry...and where I feel God is leading my site.  AND!!!  They donated numerous medical supplies.  I basically have a pharmacy at my disposal....from diabetic and anti-hypertensive meds to suture material.  My site is starting off in good shape!

Looks like a lot, but after a couple clinics in the community
they will be gone, donations are always needed!!

I may be a bit type-A

GI meds on the top, diabetic meds in the middle
wound care on the bottom

Shelves are courtesy of our construction site!
Gracias!!

As you can see this week has been a lot of fun and filled with encouragement.  The adventures continue as I move to my new house on Tuesday.  I promise to post pics once I'm all moved in.

Please keep me updated on any prayer requests you have so I may serve you as you are so faithfully serving me and my ministry  :) 

Martyrs and Doubt

"Anyone who holds onto life just as it is destroys that life. But, if you let it go, reckless in your love, you will have it forever, real and eternal. If any of you want to serve me, then follow me."

Jesus Christ, John 12:25, 26   The Message

Currently, I am reading a book called Jesus Freaks: Martyrs by DC Talk. It is an incredible testament to those who have been placed in the most ruthless situations humanly imaginable. Believers who are so strong in their faith that even when faced with death they would rather die and be tortured than renounce their Christianity.

I can't help but place myself in those situations. At this point, as a missionary God has not called me to testify in a country where I could face a shortened life by believing.  I often feel blessed that I am in a relatively safe place, but then are we truly always called to be "safe?"

I pray that if I am ever in a martyr situation I would without a doubt shout for all to hear that Christ is indeed my Lord and Saviour.   But, I wonder, is my mustard seed like faith truly enough?  The logical-medical-science thinker that I am, the faith God shaped within me.

Shamefully I admit, there are days when I arise and question, is all this stuff truly real?  But then, time after time God reveals himself to me and I breathe easier, "ah, it is You."

And He so graciously reminds me that I am not the only one who has doubts.  Perhaps doubt is a natural part of faith, a tool we may use to strengthen our trust.  Even the disciples had their doubts.  This to me is craaaazy.  After the resurrection, the eleven disciples were in Galilee on the mountain Jesus had instructed them to go.  "When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted. (Matthew 28:17)."  Jesus was standing there in front of them, in the flesh, and some doubted.

And yet, these same Christ followers were commissioned to "go and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19)."  These same incredible men who doubted our Saviour but continued to follow despite their moments of doubt founded the first church, arguably converted the most believers to Christianity of all time and many became martyrs.

And they were missionaries.  Clothed in the grace of our Lord, they were given His words to speak, His words to share.

So, perhaps I have not yet been placed in a martyr situation because I question and doubt. Or perhaps I am called to support those who are persecuted.   The underground church.   Or Christ desires to work through me in a "safe place," at least in this moment.  Either way, I look forward to my faith continuing to grow.  To rest assured that occasional doubt does not negate who I am- His.  I continue to pray and desire the day I arise every morning, never once questioning but always knowing without a doubt in my mind that contrary to what the secular world teaches, God is very real and more tangible than the palm of my hand.

I pray we each come before our Lord with child-like and martyr-like faith.  Trusting that any of our human failures in faith will be interceded by the Holy Spirit.  I pray that we never lose site of our purpose and boldly proclaiming whose we are, despite those whispers from the evil one trying to lead us astray.  These intrinsic attacks to our Spirit are some of the greatest sins.  Father, I lift these to you.

Dengue and the Dominican

Well, it's happened.  I have diagnosed my first case of Dengue.  I'm not excited to say my dear missionary friend is now in the hospital fighting this dreaded tropical disease, but to say it has been exhilarating walking through the process with him and his wife is an understatement.

Dengue is a vector born virus that requires a mosquito to transmit the disease from one infected person to another.  This happens most commonly during the rainy season...and guess what season we're in?  It produces a severe fever (the most prolonged I have ever seen...like 104ish, lasting for days), a rash, muscle and joint aches (severe), laboratory abnormalities, among others.  It typically runs its course in 5-7 days.  There is no treatment except supportive management and very rarely is fatal.  The biggest complication tends to be dehydration.  Have I lost you yet??  I am a medical provider  :)  Thankfully for my friend, tomorrow is day 5 so hopefully he will start to improve.

On Saturday we have our first short term missionary team of the fall serving with us, to be followed by three more consecutively.  October looks to be a full month.  We may be starting this with challenges as Dengue has already caused 4 times as many reported cases in the DR as this time last year.  I have the job of warning and protecting our short term missionaries without completely freaking them out!

If you could please pray for my friend and another staff member who was also diagnosed with this virus.  We are grateful that we have access to a basic hospital with the necessary supportive management, but there are so many in this country who are in compos (remote villages) with no access to facilities.  I would be grateful that you remember us during this hurricane-dengue season!

Guess it's back to smelling like Off....I had a Dominican friend tell me that I finally didn't smell like one of those Americans....I didn't understand until I realized we all smell like insect repellent...yup another thing that causes us gringos to stick out...that and our incessant need to carry water bottles.

Dios Bendiga....

La fin de semana pasado (last weekend) I was blessed to spend two blissful days in Las Terrenas with Bruce and Ellen Pearson and Lourdes Kleid.  What a surreal moment it was to drive, in my car, across my new country, with my new missionary friend to spend time with people from home.  I realized on that trip that my heart truly is in both Las Terrenas and Jarabacoa, or perhaps is just throughout la Republica Dominicana.  I am so blessed to have the opportunity to serve in both places!

This trip was also special because I was able to spend a lot of time with my sponsor child Bileysi.  She is a gorgeous girl of 14 who is essentially an orphan, both parents abandoning her when she was young, she lives with her grandmother in a small scrap wood house.  It was incredible that we had the opportunity to finally converse (in my limited Spanish) and really get to know one another.  I can't wait to be a bigger presence and encouragement in her life as I hope to serve in Las Terrenas with Sowers of the Kingdom on every short term out reach they have (usually a week in November, February and April)

My birthday has truly been a season as my friends in Las Terrenas threw me a surprise birthday party!  Hey, if this is the life of a missionary than I never want it to end.  :)  of course for more reasons than just birthday celebrations!  Jesus always talks about the joy in abandoning our life to him, to say I feel that joy, love and support from so many is an understatement.

Things keep plowing along down here.  Yesterday marked exactly two months since I moved, crazy how time flies.  I have joined an intensive Spanish college class for five weeks which is going great.  Yesterday we learned 4 past tenses all in one class!!  Crazy.....but at least I no longer have to talk in the present with an added "pasado" at the end  :)  Once this class is finished I will resume one on one tutoring with Catalina.

Next Monday (October 8) Catalina, Julian and I will make the trek to Santo Domingo to see how his leg is doing.  They placed a metal plate (8-plate) on the medial aspect of his tibia which will hopefully help correct his mal-alignment.  Every couple of months we have to get XRays taken to assess when he can have that plate removed.  This can take up to a year.  Please pray this surgery worked so he doesn't have to undergo an osteoplasty in the future, which is a much bigger surgery.  We should know if there is any improvement after this doctor's visit.  Will keep you updated!

September is almost done which is a relief as this certainly is the hottest month of the year, you won't catch most people outside between 12-3! 

Personally I am overall doing well but starting to get rather impatient with bouncing around.  I am currently so blessed to be house-sitting for dear missionary friends of mine while they are in the states, it is a nice reprieve to have the conveniences I'm accustomed to (kitchen appliances, dishes, knives, etc) but even here I can't escape the cock roaches.  I pray that by the time you see me in December they won't gross me out as much...I already feel God changing my heart!

The hope is that I move into my house at the end of October where I will reside with two other young missionary ladies in their 20s.  It will be nice to have a place to call "home."

I pray each of you are soaking up that lovely sweatshirt weather in the northeast...enjoy it for me!!

Melisa on the left is a missionary friend from Jarabacoa and
my future roommate!  These are all sponsored kids with
Sowers of the Kingdom, Bileysi is to my right!  What
a  model pose :)

Tragedies of a Spanish Student

Well.   I kid you not when I say that I just spent all morning studying Spanish while house sitting for a missionary family on furlough and said "hola" to the house keeper as she left.   Hola.   Really Rachel????

Basic Spanish!!!   Even non-Spanish speakers know "hola" is hello and "adios" or "ciao" is goodbye. Yet I, who have been living in a Spanish speaking country for two months and taking Spanish for 6 weeks...said the wrong thing. Humbling.

I was accurately warned that learning a language is indeed a very humbling experience, I just felt that first hand. As I am learning more complex Spanish, those simple things that I once knew so well are just slipping from my mind. Sigh.

But, overall, Spanish has been going well. This weekend I am traveling to Las Terrenas to spend time with Lourdes, Bruce and Ellen (my dear friends and founders of the Christian non profit organization Sowers of the Kingdom....or en Espanol, Sombredores del Reino). Las Terrenas is where I first got a taste of the DR...and where a huge part of my heart resides. It will be amazing to see how much I truly am able to communicate with all those Dominicans that I have served beside for the past couple of years but have only been able to communicate via body language.

I know I still have a long way to go with language...but I can't believe how far I am compared to when I started! Can't wait to see how much I know by christmas time! Soon the day will come when I can't think of a word in English but only Spanish....and how sweet that day will be...

Adios mis amigos!! Bendiciones!!

In 52 days...

The electricity is out again.  But, this time there is rhyme and reason to the cause- it is thundering and torrentially down pouring outside.  Perfect time to write a blog update, by candle light, though I can only type for as long as my laptop battery allows….or I run out of my room because a cockroach desperate to escape the storm has crawled across my foot…

Today marks my 52^nd day in the Dominican Republic.  In many ways it feels like an eternity, in others it feels like we were just celebrating my departure on my parent’s back patio.

It’s hard to place into words how my heart has already changed.  I was warned of this by other missionaries and in MTI.  The longer you live on the mission field, the harder it is to return home; to the materialistic world of abundance in the states.  Of course I take any advice that people give with open mindedness (or at least I try), but I can already see how true this actually may be.

Yesterday I had lunch with Catalina, my Colombian Spanish teacher who has become one of my closest friends here.  Afterwards we drove home.  On that drive we passed neighborhoods that just a month ago seemed so poor and desolate to me.  So, well to put it frankly, foreign.  I am surprised by how unsurprised I have become by these things in only a few month and how I am starting to accommodate to life here.

 

In two short months…..

*I am no longer shocked by the accommodations where people reside. 

*I no longer believe an oven is a requirement (or a garlic press, knife, dish towel, etc).

*I now think my 2001 suzuki with a crack across the windshield is a very nice car.

*I know how to effectively kill cockroaches (or at least fumigate them from any holes).

*I realize that even as a missionary (which compared to how lavishly I lived and the money I made in the states is far less) I am more wealthy than most Dominicans.

*I realized that in a developing country that they are incredibly grateful for anything from the States.  Second hand clothing is worn proudly, which to me is a paradox.  Great that perfectly good clothes are being put to good use and meeting a need, but sad that we send things to other countries that aren’t good enough for us but we think are good enough for others.  Good or bad?  Not sure I know the answer.

*I’ve learned how quickly mold can grow in the heat.

*I’ve learned the best way to learn a language is to read the bible in that language….it is 100% grammatically correct.

*I’ve learned that in the States we just may have too many rules….

*I’ve learned that when Dominicans pull off the side of the road because it looks like its going to rain….it’s best to follow suit.

*I’ve learned how complicated the war against poverty truly is, and that so often when we are trying to help we are enabling and harming.  Again, another lesson without a clear solution.

*I realized I am being blessed by those I’m here to serve far more than I am blessing them.  I pray that changes with time, but I’m not sure it will.  It may just be a part of the kingdom of God.

*But, most importantly I have learned how deeply our creator cares for His creation.  Whenever I have started to feel alone, a missionary calls me.  Whenever I feel useless and unproductive as language school is all-consuming, I am given the opportunity to serve.  And when I can’t possibly tolerate one more night with cockroaches, I get a break (sorry to vent about the cucarachas).

 

I wish that I could tell you I stop getting surprised by answers to trivial prayers.  I wish I could say that becoming a missionary has changed my human failures, but then I would be lying.  I am still amazed when God works in my life and through others.  I am still amazed that the creator of the estrellas (stars) even cares about us.  But, I guess it’s that amazement that will continue my passion for sharing His love for little us.

Keep Chuggin Along

When I wrote my post last week....I didn't think I could feel more "chaotic," then I found a cockroach in my bed.  But, amidst all the craziness there was beauty.

Catalina teaching Kenny and I Espanol!

Kenny and his espousa Karen are new missionaries
with SI, very dear friends of mine and will be in charge
of all the students who visit on short term out reaches, interns,
volunteers and semester students

I am so thankful for my Spanish classes....every morning from 8-12 followed by 4-5 hours worth of homework en la noche!  I just finished week 4 and was super encouraged on Friday when I was able to have a 5 minute conversation with a woman who works in the kitchen!  I have known Mili for two years and we have never been able to actually converse....so this full immersion thing must be working!  Beauty!

I am dog-sitting for the next month.  That is a complete blessing in itself, for all of you who know my animal obsession.  I get a bit like Elmira Fudd (yes that's a looney tunes reference) sometimes.  Therefore, having a dog to cuddle and play with is the perfect anecdote to my chaos.  Thank you Jesus.

And finally, the biggest provision.  My birthday.  One I will not soon forget.  My missionary friends planned a surprise birthday breakfast at a coffee shop in town, complete with cafe and croissants (ok not so Dominican, but still delicious!).  This came at the perfect time as I had just skyped my parents...

Surprise!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

As if that wasn't enough...I went to a concert in Santo Domingo Saturday night and then out to dinner at the top of one of the mountains in Jarabacoa on Sunday night.  Anyone who knows me knows how important birthdays are to me.  God knows that too.  And guess what, he gave me one heck of a birthday.

 

I am so blessed by the love and support I have both here and in the states, so please, don't worry about me too much....

 

AND!!  As of yesterday I officially have a real first aid kit in my car, with suture material and all...get ready DR.  Traveling wanna-be-Dr. Quinn-medicine-woman-who-also-loves-Jesus has arrived.  :)

 

Restaurant on top of the mountain!

Kim, Mary Ellen, me and Karen

Fundraiser- missionary model calendar...

thoughts?? haha

 

Gorgeous Jarabacoa!!

Kenny, Karen, me, Kim, Mary Ellen and Dick

Yummy!!!

Jarabacoa at night!

 

 

I am blessed!!!