missionaryMAC

​As we do twice every year, the LAC regional leadership came together at the end of January to update one another on our various areas of responsibility and strategize about how we can more effectively Spread the Gospel, Plant Lutheran Churches, and Show Mercy. On this particular occasion, we were privileged to have all three members of the St. Louis-based missionary recruitment team join us. Their keen insights helped us hone in on precisely which human resources are necessary for said work, and how best to seek out, vet, and care for interested individuals.  We met in Palmar Arriba, joining the seminary community for Matins each morning and a delicious Dominican buffet lunch when classes ended around midday.  I got to host my former coworker from the short-term unit, Anne. It would have been a travesty for her to come all the way to the DR for the first time and see nothing but the inside of a conference room (her words, not mine), so I had  to take her to the botanical...

​I recognized the name "Schneeberger" from fulfilling my regional role in support of coworker Ashley Lehr, the "me" of Puerto Rico. She'd hosted the team from Fergus Falls, MN, twice previously, so I was excited for my turn to spend a week with the four couples plus Pastor Bill who escaped subzero temps for Panama earlier this month.  Knowing my prep would involve grocery shopping AND a marathon of hardware stores, I arrived two days before the team. My go-to hostel is permanently closed and I don't have a new one yet, so we stayed in the Bella Vista area; I took full advantage of its walkability and Google's ability to find "coffee shops near me" :) I had the same acai bowl from AMARA coffee & flowers (left) for breakfast two days in a row.  A first for me was that the team landed in-country before I did for a few days of solo sightseeing; we met up for orientation over lunch on a Saturday. Later that afternoon, I Uber-ed to the airport to...

With a new year came a new focus for me and a team of five volunteers from Trinity in Henrico, VA : youth. Contrary to what the gushing words of praise and thanksgiving on my Facebook wall might indicate, though, we had very little to do with organizing an overnight retreat for preteens through twenty-somethings; rather, we came alongside the Rev. Rafael Milagres, a handful of new deaconess grads, and a few key members of the youth group itself.  As soon as most businesses returned to regular operating hours on January 2, we, too, returned to work mode. A morning shopping trip yielded the raw materials for LOTS of prep: posters (Nicole), plastic wrap balls (Andrea and Isaiah, pictured), and marshmallow cereal treats (Jessica).  So that the team could get the lay of the land and do any necessary onsite setup, we made the hourlong drive to Cieneguilla ahead of the Peruvian contingent, on Friday afternoon. With the sun starting to set behind the mountains, it was too cold for the...