missionaryMAC

I'm a legal temporary resident of the Dominican for another year. My annual residency renewal appointment in Santo Domingo was last week and shockingly coincided with TWO other missionary friends/colleagues: Tirzah and the Fritzlers. Both had extra errands to run, but I still decided it wasn't worth driving separately, so Tirzah picked me up at 6 am. Grimacing as I got in, she asked me if I was OK. I was not. My whole body hurt from a hike two days prior, and I'd woken up with an [unrelated] sore throat; my tonsils were SO swollen. A tellingly uncharacteristic car nap made the last stretch of the drive go by quickly. Immigration office selfie.  Not every residency trip is hunky dory. Part of what became an unnecessarily long day was self-inflicted - stops at a baking supply store and Krispy Kreme - whereas other, out of our control delays were potentially avoidable. We made the most of a 2-hour midday wait by having lunch in the Colonial Zone and visiting my favorite art ga...

The DR held a biannual FORO ("forum") over the weekend, meaning the local leadership circle, regional representatives like me, and, in this case, twelve  US partners came together to celebrate how God is growing His Church in this place and to discuss what resources would be most impactful in order to see that work continue. It had been four years since we'd met in the capital, so I had the tremendous privilege of spending four nights in one of my favorite places: Santo Domingo's charming, historic Colonial Zone, Meanwhile in Santiago...Dana was hosting a team from Concordia Theological Seminary, Ft. Wayne: dividing and conquering at its finest.  We tend to ease people into the FORO agenda on Friday, after travel day, so I'd helped organize an excursion to the Columbus Lighthouse and a casual, family-style lunch. We even had a few hours of rest time before we did squeeze in a wee bit of business.  Victor Reyes, a member of Iglesia Luterana Pueblo Nuevo in Santiag...

Three weeks after I'd just been there for a regional leadership meeting , Belize welcomed me back with open arms...and fresh tropical flowers on the coffee table in a building I'd never stayed in before, The Cabana (loved it!).  My task this time was straightforward: host a pair of physicians, both known and hand-picked by the Belize team, who'd be conducting individual assessments for six* families of kids with disabilities in Valley of Peace, a Salvadorian immigrant community. Let this be a friendly PSA to check incoming passengers' flight statuses before driving an hour to go pick them up.  Me: "Coffee shops near me" Google Maps: 👆 Drs. Charlie (left) and Keith (2nd from left) came at an opportune time: the outset of a "Mercy House" project, the primary driver of which is the Rev. Benjamín Flores (right). It's not a physical place but rather a three-pronged campaign to provide support and resources to the aforementioned families in three cate...

An hourlong drive to the desert oasis of Cieneguilla helped a volunteer team from the North Wisconsin District mentally shift gears from VBS mode to women's retreat mode. Women's ministry is an emergent area in which US volunteers can support the Peru mission as they provide encouragement and resources to the newly formed Peruvian equivalent of the LWML (the UDLP, or Unión de Damas Luteranas del Perú ). A growing group of ladies from all three congregations in Lima meets locally on a regular basis, but it was immediately evident that an overnight, offsite gathering provided a special boost for them organizationally, personally, and spiritually.  The Wisconsin team welcomed 16 Peruvian guests with hugs (pictured) and goodie bags.  Group sessions typically began with singing. The team taught the ladies one of the same songs they'd taught the kids at Castillo Fuerte mere days prior: "Praise Ye the Lord." The ladies - Peruvian and otherwise - got SO into a Lutheran W...

What a joy to be back in Peru after almost a year since my last trip there . I thoroughly enjoyed hosting nine ladies representing six North Wisconsin District congregations for just over a week at the beginning of February. I learned a few things about a part of the country I've never been to. North Wisconsin has culture! Some hardcore delegating helped them pull off a two-pronged project: a 4-day summer  escuelita (VBS) at the Castillo Fuerte after-school program in the district called La Victoria, followed by a women's retreat about an hour outside Lima (which I'll detail in a separate post).  As always, I arrived in-country in advance of the team so I had time to prep for their arrival. After walking by this mochi donut place a gazillion times over my past several stays in Lima, I finally grabbed one for an afternoon snack on my way to the grocery store. It was...chewy.  The team "Lutheranized" a scuba-themed VBS program that included a memory verse from John ...