missionaryMAC

Well, the conference room anyway. Over the weekend, Tirzah and I attended a retreat put on by a brand new missionary care organization called Yuvia at a resort in Puerto Plata. The content, built around the theme "Dwelling in the Rhythm of Wellness," was tertiary to our dual purposes of  1. meeting other expat missionaries; and 2. gleaning pro tips we could incorporate into LAC's annual missionary conference (Tirzah's in charge, and it seems I'm helping more and more with each passing year).  Check and check. Any of you LAC missionaries reading this will have to wait until August to see what new tricks we have up our sleeves, but I can say for certain that my circle of like-minded friends is already larger. I'd previously met another attendee (we're Facebook friends!) although I have zero  memory of it, and another couple used to live in our neighborhood next door to a former missionary family. I'm looking forward to some hikes and coffee dates in the

I wish I were showering instead of blogging right now, but alas, that seems to be a bit much to ask these days. The pump war in my temporary apartment (72 more days) continues, although in all honesty, it's probably me that's changed, not the situation: I'm beyond over how water or the lack thereof governs my day-to-day existence.  My favorite part of being anywhere else is unlimited, on-demand, hot, pressurized showers. That includes the Krey family beach house on the north coast, where I was invited to spend the early part of Holy Week. I went up for two lovely nights, joining Ted, Becca, and their five kids for pool time, an afternoon at the nearby public beach, morning and evening devotions, card and board games, and even homework help.  This is undeniably my favorite spot, although as stated above, the shower was a close second. It was rainier than I might have liked, but that meant a rainbow one morning. I'm convinced the DR has more than anywhere else I've t

Palm Sunday in the Caribbean is BYOP: Bring Your Own Palm. I guess churches in places where tropical flora isn't native get palm branches from florists that grow them in greenhouses or import them or something? I, on the other hand, got the following text message last Sunday at 8:11 am:  Also, do you mind grabbing a couple more of your palms? We don't have any in our yard. I snipped a couple extra fronds from the pot on the front steps of my apartment complex and off I went. Like most around the region, my church's service began outdoors; we marched around the block waving our branches to the tune of All Glory, Laud, and Honor (in Spanish), accompanied by the Rev. Sergio Fritzler on accordion and a choir of dogs and motorcycles, before entering the sanctuary. It went like so: I'll get into the rest of my Holy Week as well as what tomorrow, Easter, looks like in a separate post. I was pleasantly interrupted with water for the first time all day at about 8:30 pm, so I pau

I've anecdotally shared my housing situation often since this saga began nearly a year ago - moreso as of late as it's become an enormous frustration and stressor - and many of you continue to ask and pray, so here's the 411.  Last spring, my landlord shared she'd be needing "my" house back temporarily. After suspecting as much for months, her "temporarily" has officially turned into permanently - or at least indefinitely.  Since July 1, I've been living in an apartment about two blocks from there. In recent weeks, I've become increasingly annoyed with its quirks and am beyond ready to nest into my own space, albeit not the one I'd give anything to have back. The mission's contract on the apartment ends June 30, by which point I'll need to relocate. I'm not mad about this aspect; rather, I have a countdown on my phone (82 days, 10 hours, 4 minutes, and 40 seconds as of this writing).  So where am I going? That is the burning

See if you can answer these multiple choice questions (answers at the end of the post): 1. By God's command, the prophet Hosea had to marry... A. a prostitute B. his sister-in-law C. his sister D. an Egyptian princess 2. Who took a burning coal from the altar of the temple to cleanse Isaiah's lips? A. A seraphim B. The high priest C. King Uzziah D. Jeroboam 3. From where were the men who conspired to kill Jeremiah because he prophesied in the name of God? A. Jerusalem B. Tekoa C. Anathoth D. Jericho Why the pop quiz?  The facility adjacent to Iglesia Luterana Cordero de Dios in Licey that formerly housed a parochial preschool now houses preteens (I'm not sure how the grade levels correlate, but they're 12-14 yr. olds). Attendance dipped so dramatically at Concordia Lutheran School on account of COVID that it was forced to fold, but God opened literal doors for a public school in need of a new facility to move in. Part of the agreement is that Rev. Yban Navarro retained

Excitement is building as our region prepares to graduate ~80 deaconesses across five countries in May. Our missionary deaconess are working furiously to ensure that the course materials are top-notch and that each of the graduates is prepared for the high calling that awaits her. As such, Deac. Caitlin Ramírez traveled to Guatemala last week to assist with an intensive. Her seminarian husband is in the throes of a demanding vicarage, so I took 3 yr. old Abraham off his hands one afternoon. Note my sarcasm when I tell you it was a real sacrifice to take him to my favorite place in Santiago: the botanical garden! I run or walk there most mornings but had never been in the Mariposario Greta , the butterfly house. It wasn't there when I first moved here, and it's closed at my usual hour, but given that it's indoors and therefore shady , it was high time to check it out with my buddy.  I'd been in butterfly houses before; this one was decidedly smaller but impressive nonet

I promised to post a Part II of the Wray, CO, short-term team , and I am. I'm also committed to posting more regularly in April than my schedule allowed for in March! "Mission Education" includes culture! Moreover, Monday is an off day for the bulk of DRLM mission activity, so we spent the day in Puerto Plata. We toured a fort I'd never even been inside, had a leisurely lunch, took in the characteristic architecture in and around the plaza, got gelato, and stopped at a chocolate factory (my 2nd time in under a week ) on the way back to Santiago.  I mentioned host home meals before , but I'll highlight two: Venezuelan empanadas with one of our seminary couples, and a typical Argentinian asado  with the Fritzler family.  It's really a shame I don't let my teams have ANY fun.  Within minutes of arriving from the airport, several of the youth from the Good Shepherd Lutheran Homes group home had made friends with the team. Throughout the course of the week, the