missionaryMAC

I mentioned that short-term volunteer Krista Hahn is an amateur cake decorator. Cake, then, was an obvious contribution for her to make to last night's welcome BBQ for five of the six incoming seminary students (one is still in the throes of visa paperwork). Her unassuming "How should we decorate the round one?" turned into five colors of icing and... ...Luther's rose! We used a cool sprinkle technique on the sheet cake. Here, I'm tracing the letters in the Spanish word for "Welcome!" before piping over them with alternating red and blue icing.  Needless to say, they were a hit.  Ways you can pray for the guests of honor who'll begin their pastoral formation on Tuesday:  thanksgiving for the safe arrival of the five new students who are already in-country; for expedited processing of the one remaining student's visa paperwork;  for all new students as they transition and get settled in the DR in the coming week

Among a slew of visitors in Santiago this week is Dr. Phil! Not THAT Dr. Phil, Dr. Phil Frusti, Director of LeadaChild , a LCMS RSO based in the Kansas City area whose mission is to share the love of Jesus with children around the world through Christian education. At the invitation of Regional Director Ted Krey, Dr. Phil and his wife Cassandra made an unprecedented visit to the Dominican Republic. He led a 2-day workshop for our Lutheran school teachers and chaplains Thursday and Friday, and today is the second day of a workshop for incoming seminary students. I had the distinct pleasure of interpreting for him Thursday, Friday, and yesterday mornings. He's clearly worked with an interpreter before and made my job easy, although having done a midnight airport run on Wednesday night, I was thankful for afternoon reinforcements on Thursday! Both groups practiced creativity, collaboration, and critical thinking with a team building activity:  who can build the tallest [

Not pictured: the rolled up fleece blanket topped with a sprig of purple orchids that was on the chair when I walked into  the dentist's office yesterday. I went to the dentist here in February, to a place that came highly recommended. I was satisfied but not blown away. Shortly before the  regional conference , I mentioned offhand to fellow missionary Jana that I needed to make a six-month checkup appointment. She started raving about a place she'd gone, Dental Cibao Spa, but honestly, she could have stopped when she said they had the aforementioned blankets in case you got cold. I was sold. My appointment was yesterday and did not disappoint. From the ample natural lighting to the soothing music to the Vaseline they rubbed on my lips - twice - to the moist, perfumed towelette they laid across my nose and upper lip, I felt pampered the whole time. Getting my teeth deep cleaned was a bonus. Krista  came with me and loved geeking out over each new tool & treat

Join me in welcoming Krista Hahn to the DR! Krista is a short-term volunteer who'll be sharing her gifts with the Regional Team for the next three weeks (and  blogging  about her experiences!). She's a wife, mom, amateur cake decorator, and dental hygienist by trade that runs a non-profit safety net dental clinic in rural Kansas. Here, she'll wear many hats: accounting, communications, consulting, development, community health evangelism, and more.  Krista represents a growing part of my job: identifying, recruiting, placing, and overseeing not just teams of people that stay for a week, but individuals with specific skillsets that commit for anywhere from a few weeks to a few months. My random thought in the shower this morning, though, was that she really is here as part of a team; her family, church family, pastor, coworkers, and others make up the rest. Check the LCMS website for more opportunities like this one around the region! Yesterday, Krista's

I was privileged to spend the past week in Punta Cana with my fellow LAC missionaries and their families. You guessed it - our annual regional conference! We united around the theme "Rest in Christ" and the words of Exodus 33:14: My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest. Our times of worship, keynote Bible study, women's activities, and more spoke to one of my greatest struggles on the field: rest (as I blog at 10:30 pm...). Together, we unpacked God resting from His work of creation, Sabbath rest, renewing and "rest"oring our whole selves, the eternal rest with Christ that awaits us, and respecting our teammates' days of rest. If THIS doesn't look like the start of a restful week, I don't know what does.  Each year, we bring together a short-term team to provide childcare for our ~50 missionary kids. Some of the volunteers were friends or family members of missionaries, others were connected to FORO congregations, and s

That's how the kids at Castillo Fuerte bid us goodbye everyday (typically accompanied by a kiss on the cheek and/or a hug). I said "chau" to Peru last Sunday. I meant to post this much sooner, but thanks to a Shared Album, I was admittedly intimidated by the volume of photos to sift through; and  the past 36 hours have been...unexpected (but I'm ever more grateful for the missionary community I live and work amongst).  Enjoy this pictorial (and videographic) look at my "workweek" in Peru and its conclusion on Saturday. Seeing as how the Castillo Fuerte kids start arriving around 1, we did a variety of things to occupy our mornings. Among them was craft prep. Not pictured: traipsing to a market that made me feel like I was on The Amazing Race  to buy snacks for the kids; visiting a terrorism exhibition and a craft fair at the Ministry of Culture; walking/running on a paved trail in San Borja; and the obligatory Starbucks run...or walk, literally.