Pureza Retiro

This week I was blessed to have the opportunity to serve in a different capacity than normal.  Jess and Chelsie (leaders of Students International's women's sports site), Raul Canela (leader of our men's sport's site), Heidy (leader of our Los Higos social work site) and Jerry Cabot (youth pastor at my church) combined forces to put together a 3 day purity retreat for 60 Dominican Youth.  And so from Monday-Wednesday of this week, our base was filled with the laughter, joy and tears of youth from our communities.

Don't get me wrong, I love when we have American teens scampering around our grounds....but there was something so special about having the base filled with Dominicans.

The retreat focused on teaching the importance and value of marriage and glorifying the Lord with our minds, hearts and bodies.  The leaders got down and dirty as they tackled difficult questions and many of the youth had to confront broken images of family as marriage is not widely valued with many Dominicans.

Games were played, seminars were taught, testimonies were shared and  lastly the weekend terminated with a marriage ceremony in which we went through a mock wedding and the youth had the opportunity to "casate conmigo" or make intimate declarations of purity in front of their leaders, community and the Lord.

It was so much fun to be running behind the scenes and filling in the gaps and encouraging each participant as they took charge of such an important area of their lives that is so often overlooked in all societies.

Each girl was given a rose

The chapel at the base was all ready for a wedding!

The students signed a declaration with
various commitments

to be married with Christ :)

Raul prepping the guys for the importance of this decision

The girls all dressed up walking down the aisle

Each guy gave a girl a rose and escorted her to her seat

Waiting to walk down the aisle.  Yup that's Caroly my assistant
in the white!  She was a leader on the retreat.

Wedding Cupcakes!

60!

Heidy, Jess and Chelsie praying with each girl that
committed herself

The purity retreat was a great way to start Holy Week.  It was an amazing time to reflect the importance of giving up all of ourselves to the one who gave it all for us.

I hope and pray you have a wonderful Easter weekend and are reminded of the huge sacrifice made for all.  

Update: Milagros had her surgery (parotid gland tumor removal) in Santo Domingo yesterday.  I haven't heard how it went, but please continue to join me in praying for a safe and healthy recovery.

Patient Up Dates and Prayer Requests

I am so grateful for the prayers you send my way as I care for each and every patient.  Below is an update and further requests for four very special people that are near and dear to my heart.

Julian Hock

Julian is doing wonderfully.  He is a vibrant four year old with lots of energy, smiles and hugs.  If you remember, his mom Catalina was my Spanish teacher and is now on staff with Students International running our social work site in Los Higos.  Julian had a fractured left tibia which caused him an extreme medial deviation of that leg.  I am so excited to say that his deformity is almost completely healed after a rod was placed by missionary doctors in Santo Domingo in August 2012...only one month after my arrival to the DR!  He has a follow-up appointment in July at which point the orthopedist will determine when the rod needs to be taken out.  Please continue to pray for his healing.

Roseny

Roseny is my dear Haitian friend.  I met her over a year ago at the Haitian church I occasionally attend.  She speaks fairly decent Spanish and moved to Jarabacoa 12 years ago from Haiti to look for a better life.  She is a devout Christian and is continuously offering what little she has to her neighbors.  She volunteers her time on Wednesdays with me to translate for Haitians that do not speak Spanish, what an incredible blessing she is for me.  Roseny has 3 adorable sons and recently discovered she is yet again pregnant.  This is worrisome as she had pre-ecclampsia with her last child and has had uncontrolled Hypertension since.  She has seen a cardiologist and we are keeping a close watch on her...but she still has 7 months until her due date.  Please keep my friend close to your prayers and heart!

Milagros

We continue to pray for a miracle with Milagros as her surgery date is quickly approaching.  She continues to miss a lot of work and struggle with compliance, but we pray her diabetes and blood pressure will be controlled enough for her parotidectomy scheduled on April 14th.  Please continue to pray for her understanding and healing!

Juana

Juana's family has become my Dominican family.  She is standing next to her husband in the pink.  She has graciously opened her home to me and my students for multiple dinners.  Last year she was diagnosed with Stage 3 fatty liver disease...the stage before transplant.  This past week she has suffered a flare and was hospitalized.  We only have one gastroenterologist who comes to town once a week...I will be attending her meeting with him today.  Please pray that we are able to control the pain, bloating and fluid production that she is suffering and that she isn't progressing.


Thank you for being a part of my work in the Dominican.  Please let me know how I may better pray for each of you!

jOy!!

Today was an incredible day...not only did Rend Collective (my favorite Christian band) release their third album....

BUT

I met with Milagros and her meeting with the maxo-facial surgeon last week couldn't have gone better.  She brought her blood pressure and blood sugar records from our meetings and he APPROVED her for surgery!!

I attribute her new-found initiative and understanding to your prayers.  So thank you thank you for remembering her!!  If you could continue lifting her up; surgery is scheduled for April 14th.  :)

Milagros and I; you can see the 30mm Parotid gland
tumor on her left cheek

Also, pray for Milagros's continued depression.  I was ecstatic by the surgeon's approval, she however remains skeptical after so many failed surgical attempts previously; understandably so.  I will of course keep you updated!

Milagros, Keep Praying!

"Let them give thanks to the Lord for His unfailing love, and His wonderful deeds for mankind."

Psalm 107:15

Thursday as I was loading my car and getting ready to head out to Mata Gorda, I ran into Milagros.  She's back from the capitol, at last!

I must say, my initial reaction was frustration.  Here was this woman who only two months ago was crying out for help, desperately alone and needing her Christian family to surround her; yet when we did it appeared she didn't listen.  Milagros did what she felt best, regardless of the advice of those who know better.  Even when we firmly told her that it would be a waste of time and money to travel to Santo Domingo before her Hypertension and Diabetes were controlled, she went.

And then, in my frustration I started thinking and remembering the missionary training I endured two years ago at MTI and the chapter on "openness" I just finished reading from the book Cross-Cultural Servanthood and a conversation Sissy (the director's wife) and I recently had.  

I am serving in a pleasing culture.  A culture who at times will place themselves in a compromising position to honor relationships and to prevent hurt feelings.

Yes, Milagros took my advice.  And Betsy (the PT).  But, she also is taking the advice of her endocrinologist, cardiologist, gynecologist and facial-maxillary surgeon.  The last thing culturally she would want to do is let any of us down or un-fulfill her commitments.

Taking the advice of a multi-disciplinary team to an American sounds like an intelligent decision.  But, in a place where there is no correspondence between these providers (no progress notes, dictations, phone calls between specialists let alone electronic medical records) this can prove disorderly and detrimental to a patient.  Clearly, conversations need to be had to come together and decide a logical course of action for a case as complicated as Milagros.

And so, with all this in mind we decided to meet on Friday morning.  To say I went into that meeting a bit apprehensive is an understatement.  Milagros had gone to the capital to try and have two surgeries with completely uncontrolled blood pressure and blood sugar, no doctor in their right minds would operate.  She spent what little money she had and once again she missed work.  And, I had only spent three weeks with her which in my experience is not long enough to control her co-morbidities.

Imagine my surprise when I reviewed her medicine and I realized she was taking everything as I had prescribed.  When I asked about her symptoms (headaches, dizziness, pain) she said she felt the best she has in years.  And, when I checked her blood pressure....it was 130/80.  Completely suitable for surgery.

WOW!  Against all odds, Milagros is getting better.

Milagros was doing and listening and learning.  

And for that I thank you and our Lord and Saviour.  Because, trust me when I say this is a miracle.  A feat I was thinking impossible.

So, thank you for lifting her up in prayers and loving her from afar.  And don't stop!

Please, continue to pray for our relationship to grow, with trust and confidence.  That I may continue to be open to any cultural differences.  Pray for tomorrow when I check a fasting glucose and re-check her blood pressure that I can give her surgical clearance.  

And, most importantly, please pray that despite lack of communication between providers, that Milagros's appointment with her facial-maxillary surgeon on Wednesday will be fruitful.  I continue to hope for Milagros's life to be a miracle.  Join me in this petition.

February.

Do you ever have those mornings in which you are just so grateful to be alive?  I spent this morning with overwhelming gratitude for the little things.  For iced coffee, the roosters crowing outside my window, for the feeling of a warm shower, for speaking to a friend through Skype.

In this week of reflection after the tragic death of a staff member, I have found myself as we so often do in times such as these, thanking the Lord for the breathe of life.  That He would even give us the opportunity to live amongst His creation.  This gift that so often we overlook because it's all we have ever known.  But, how precious it is.  Every part of it.

Life continues to flow in the DR.  I have found this to feel more than ever like home as we as a staff and a community have been involved in all aspects of a full life....with an unfortunate funeral, the planning of a wedding, the welcoming of new staff.  All very different facets of life, yet very much a part of life here on Earth.

We are in a season of preparation.  In two weeks we will have a month of teams.  A time when once again our base will be alive with youth and energy.

I just returned from a week of service in Las Terrenas with Sowers of the Kingdom.  The very organization started by faithful christians from my church in NY that brought me to the DR five years ago.  It was a joy to serve alongside brothers and sisters in Christ from NY and spend time in another part of this country which has captured my heart (about 3 hours east of Jarabacoa).

I continued to meet with Milagros for regular blood pressure and blood sugar checks until last week when she went to the capitol to stay with extended family.  This was her original plan before we started meeting; to have a parotidectomy in February when we as an organization do not have teams and she could have vacation time.  This plan was made before she understood that no matter how much she wanted surgery now, until her co-morbidities were controlled no surgeon would operate.

Last week, without my knowledge, she moved to the capitol temporarily to follow-through with her plan and stay with extended family.  My initial thoughts were dismay.  Who would operate on her?  And once again she would be spending so much money only to be told that she would need to wait.  And after all the hours of education, monitoring, exercising with Sissy and Betsy; Milagros is doing what she thinks is best and not listening to what those around her are saying.

But, this week I have found peace.  Most likely she won't be able to have surgery at this moment.  But, perhaps spending time with family in Santo Domingo will give her the support she needs.  Maybe regularly meeting with her various specialists, will help her finally understand what we have all been trying to teach her.  So, please join me in continuing to pray that Milagros will have the healing she needs...emotionally, physically and spiritually.

This afternoon I am reminded by how vast my role as a missionary truly is.  My roommates and I will be taking 15 youth (some from our volleyball site, others that we mentor) to see my friend Nestor Ortega in concert in a town at the bottom of the mountain (La Vega).  Nestor is a Christian rapper who is becoming very well known, especially abroad in the states and Spain.  I met him when serving with Sowers of the Kingdom several years ago.  I love when various aspects of ministry collide.  We serve a great God, don't we?

I hope and pray all is going well with each and everyone of you and that the brief reprieve of cold weather this weekend rejuvenated your spirit and you can join me in appreciating the world and life that has been created for each of us.  And please, if I may so ask, keep our grieving staff in your prayers as we remember the life of one of our own.

Some highlights from this past month:

Las Terrenas

In Las Terrenas, with Bileysi, my sponsor child

Tita, Dr. Fernando, Oscarina, Michael and Dra. Vanesa
French bakery in Las Terrenas

Cow Jam!

Las Terrenas, taking a break from clinic for lunch!

The beauty of this place.

My new favorite fruit....that I may never have again,
because I can't remember the name!

Samana

Sissy and I!
We had the privilege of going whale watching!

Clinics

My favorite Haitian patient from Buenos Aire

Valentine's Day Party 

Silvia, Mary Emily, Amy, Marcela
We had a missionary kids Valentine's Day Party!

Chelsie (my roommate), Marcy,
Nigera (the daughter of our Ama de Casa)

Nigera, David, Amy, Marcela, Vanesa and Silvia
Watching the Little Rascals

Teams

Fernando and I with our two week group in January

Milagros=Miracle

Milagros has worked at the base camp of Students International for more than 5 years as a housekeeper.  She is a quiet, heavy- set woman in her forties who looks older than her age.  She has lead an impoverished life in a tiny scrap wood house about half a mile from the base with her two teenage children.  She smiles often, but behind her wrinkles, it is obvious that the years have proved hard.

No one speaks of her children's father or why she is alone providing for them.  She has extended family but they have done little to help support her.  She was even the sole care giver of her elderly father who couldn't ambulate until his death several months ago.  A death which has caused much despair in her life and has propagated her into depression.

If life circumstances weren't enough, Milagros has a huge tumor growing on her left cheek (parotid gland).  It is completely compressing her facial nerve, ear canal and cheek causing a lot of pain.  She, like many Dominicans (and all of humanity), wants the best care and so has been going all the way to the capitol and is seeing private doctors.  Doctors who are good but fail to take the time to explain to her why she has been denied surgery several times.  And with each trip she spends more of the money she doesn't have.  And her income continues to decrease as her co-morbidities have rendered her incapable of working.

Por fin, I sat down with her last week and listened.  And checked her blood pressure.  And her cholesterol.  And prayed.  And discovered a blood sugar of 512.  512.  That's real bad.

My heart broke for this woman who sat in front of me,  depressed who wants to take care of her body, but has no idea how to control Diabetes.  Or why a doctor would deny surgery on her cheek because what does high sugar have to do with a surgery?  A Christian woman so alone, uneducated and confused but just desiring people to walk beside her.

And so, I ask for your intercessory prayers.  Please keep Milagros close to you, as I sit down with her every Monday and Friday morning to go over her meds and control her illnesses.  As Sissy (our director's wife and PT) and Betsy (a PT volunteering with us) teach her simple exercises and how to change her diet.

Pray that she is open minded, that we are able to simplify complicated disease processes into a way that she can understand.  Pray that we can control her Diabetes, high blood pressure and cholesterol to a level that will enable her to have the surgery she needs.

And then, once she has the surgery she needs, this woman whose name in Spanish means miracle will finally have the peace and hope she deserves.  And that, as children of God, we all do too.

Oceans and Rainbows

Sometimes, we just can't shake things from our hearts.  And sometimes those somethings are so evidently God filling us abundantly with His words and His presence that we absolutely cannot dispute them.

Many people on my Facebook have posted this video over the past month.  I ignored it at first.  For those of you who know me, I try my hardest to not give in to "popular" music.  But then, this morning, I awoke with those words in mi mente.  And, at 8:30 am the Spanish church down the road began their Sunday worship practice and guess what song filled the air?

And so, as I sat with my coffee, candle, journal, awesome new study bible and Book of Common Prayer gifted to me by my Grandmother whose previous owner (my Great-Grandfather) received it in 1930 (COOL!), I meditated on these words.

You call me out upon the waters
The great unknown where feet may fail
And there I find You in the mystery
In oceans deep
My faith will stand

And I will call upon Your name
And keep my eyes above the waves
When oceans rise
My soul will rest in Your embrace
For I am Yours and You are mine

Your grace abounds in deepest waters
Your sovereign hand
Will be my guide
Where feet may fail and fear surrounds me
You've never failed and You won't start now

So I will call upon Your name
And keep my eyes above the waves
When oceans rise
My soul will rest in Your embrace
For I am Yours and You are mine

And then I remembered the beautiful reminder and promise God gave to Noah so many years ago and continues to give us (taken on Friday Jan 10)….

Yes, that is my Dominican house.  And yes our land lady painted it pepto bismol pink.  But, look at that majestic rainbow crowning Jarabacoa with the grace and glory that God has given us!

On Wednesday I returned to the DR.  I had a phenomenal 3 week trip to the states.  I was able to touch base with so many of the people I love most in the world.  I had Christmas and New Years with my parents.  I traveled and spent time with friends and family.  I spoke at three different churches (including a Spanish only speaking congregation!) and hosted an open house at my house.  I had a sweet meeting with my mentor.  And I was reminded of why I do love both the American and Dominican cultures.

Over the past few months, a common thread has been weaved into my life within me and as I met with so many of you in the states.  As this month commenced I officially have completed half of my commitment time (3 years) with Students International.  So what does that mean and what is next?

I am such a forward thinking person.  This has enabled me to be motivated and keep focused on the next step and accomplish long term goals, but it has hindered me from completely living within the moment and focusing on the here and now.  So, even more than your questions of my missional future, are mine.  Where will I be in two years?

It is a difficult question to ponder because as you know it took many years for me to get to this place and for my medical site to look somewhat like what I had envisioned.  And now it does, and I am here.

And I am so happy to be here.  Yesterday began our first group of the new year.  And I am pumped.  I am energized to see patients, to incorporate students into my site and to speak of the gospel.  I love the life God has given me and the place He has brought me.

So, I return to the words found in the song "Oceans" and His promise to forever be with us.  And I so clearly find the answer I am looking for.  

It is so easy to get lost in the future, to be consumed by the "what ifs" and the "where am I going?"  A dangerous place in which we are ignoring the words that God has spoken.  His promise to lead us, to guide us, to love us and to be with us, siempre.

And so, I am so very grateful to have found rest that my next decision is not mine and one that I need to make now.  It never has been and never will be.  I am thankful to love what I'm doing and will be in the Dominican serving for as long as The Lord wants me to.  And whatever the next step may be, whether it be in 18 months or 5 years, it will be glorious and He has and is preparing me to continue testifying to His name wherever that place is.

I hope and pray 2014 is finding you well with the ability to rest in the present and you are filled with rainbows and reminders of our purpose for this year and forever.