missionaryMAC

On February 27, 1844, the Dominican Republic officially severed from Haiti, making it the first and only Caribbean nation to gain independence from another Caribbean nation and meaning that today has henceforth been celebrated as a national holiday. I'd botch it up miserably if I tried to recount the whole story; that's what Google's for. Here's a look at some of the pomp and circumstance that went down at a local [private] school, though. Independence Day in the US is during summer break, but nothing of this caliber happens for those civic holidays that do fall during the school year. We left after all the kids we knew had performed, but there were multiple costumed groups still waiting in the wings!  Obviously the Dominican national anthem featured prominently in all of this. I'd been curious about the lyrics for some time now, so what better time to look them up? Here's Wikipedia 's unofficial English translation of the...

It was a blue ribbon weekend. And red. And a little bit of yellow. In the interest of tying up the loose ends of the acoustic panel project that the team a few weeks ago started on, I spent Friday and Saturday in Palmar. On Friday, while our carpenter Boby and his helper plowed through assembling, stuffing, and covering the remaining panels, I and my super duper helper Abby glued ribbon on the ceiling ones to cover extra staples we decided to add as an anti-sagging measure.  Dinner and laughs with friends from church was just what I needed to recharge before doing it all over again. Boby called in reinforcements to help with installation on Saturday. Ceiling panels ready to go up! And...most of them still are. By the time we left, we had made some progress on the walls... ...but not a single ceiling panel had been hung. I could  wallow in my seeming failure to properly estimate the scope of the work we asked the team to do compared ...

My Thursday looked like this: weekly Puerto Rico team meeting weekly Regional team meeting Quick touch-base with Seminary directory Joel to finalize the invitation for CMSCR's 2nd annual theological symposium in May Discussion re: the guest list for said theological symposium Brainstorming session re: activities for the missionary women at this year's regional conference A relaxing ladies' night with colleagues and friends was a welcome conclusion to that marathon of one thing after another. We gathered at the Fritsche home for fellowship, snacks, and to learn from one another. Clarion opened us with the song "Amigos de Cristo." Christel had prepared a devotion on Psalm 4, a vespertine Psalm (good for reading before bed!) written by David after one of his sons had murdered another. His reputation would have been at stake and there would have been a target on his back, which adds layers of meaning to the last verse (emphasis added):  Answer me when...

Ever have that feeling that Someone is trying to tell you something? Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. (Psalm 37:5) That verse has come up on three completely unrelated occasions between Friday and today: 1. The regional women's discussion group I'm a part of. We call ourselves Las Conquistadoras (The Conquerors). We're nearing the end of a book study on But Now I See . On Friday, Chapter 6 guided us through a discussion about staying the course in pursuing God's chosen path for our lives, through the lens of Hannah's prayerful persistence in 1 Samuel 1 . A fellow participant brought up Psalm 37:5 and its call for surrendering to His plan, unknown though it may be. 2. The (randomly selected?) Verse of the Day on the Bible app I use . 3. Today's assigned Psalm (vv. 1-11, anyway) per the reading plan I'm working through in 2019.  Some versions  of Psalm 37:5 end, "...he will do it." It. What is...

Montego Bay, that is. The return leg of my Jamaica trip went as planned - better, actually! - so yes, I did eventually make it to Montego Bay via the Knutsford Express. But first, three wildly productive, encouraging, enjoyable days. I had done some legwork to ensure that we maximized our time on the ground; we easily filled in the gaps and then some after realizing we could realistically get the Ministry Centre ready for hosting teams by the end of June! Tuesday, February 5 We are NOT in the DR anymore: TWO HVAC companies AND a roofing company arrived ON TIME to provide estimates for work to be done on the Ministry Centre. We were even able to call in the engineer who had previously drawn up some blueprints to consult with the roofing company rep. Dreaming :) The plan is to - literally - raise the roof.  The fastest appliance shopping trip in recorded history resulted in a refrigerator and range for the kitchen in the short-term team housing portion of the...

Good morning from Kingston, Jamaica, where I arrived last night approximately when  I had planned, just not how  I had planned.  I was going to meet Area Facilitator Charles St-Onge in Montego Bay and take the Knutsford Express bus to Kingston, to assess its safety, comfort, and reliability before recommending it (or not) to short-term teams. Southwest Airlines flies into Montego Bay, making it an attractive option from the US. Plans changed when I saw the following from Charles: "I will not make my connection. I'm going to try and get a flight to Kingston today." Thank you, ice storm in his hometown of Montreal!  Given that there are few non-resort hotel options in Montego Bay, and rather than take a form of transportation we knew nothing about that would put me in Kingston after dark, I too rerouted myself directly to Kingston, arriving within 15 min. of Charles. The only catch was that two hours at MIA became seven! I kept busy by writing a story abou...

I'm beat after spending all last week with 11 Oregonians that started their week off by keeping me up until 2:45 am ;) I still maintain that I have the best job in the world, though. Certain fellow missionaries may make the same claim, but they're wrong. I've never been a teacher, but maybe the thrill I get from opening others' eyes to the impact of what God is doing in this place and to my adopted culture is akin to watching the light bulb go off when something clicks for a student.   But I digress. The best way to sum up all that was accomplished is Romans 10:17: So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. The team's "work project" was to assemble, decorate, and install acoustic panels in the a three-story facility that houses a school, church, and Mercy Center/seminary. Like most buildings, it's pure concrete and tile, and therefore echo-y -y -y -y. Adding some soft mass to the walls and ceilings is phase 1 of ...

Last week was abbreviated thanks to a Monday holiday ( Día de la Altagracia, or Altagracia Day, which honors the DR's patron Virgin), but it ended with a marathon Friday. Bright and early Tuesday morning, the Warren family and I set off for the capital to pick up my temporary residency card as well as their youngest daughter Joanna's. Plans changed mere blocks from our neighborhood, though, after a freak collision with a motorcyclist.  Blake, Lizz, Joanna, and I were shaken up but otherwise unharmed; the motorcyclist broke his leg in two places. The Warren-mobile's front bumper is being held together by duct tape but was able to be driven away from the scene. God's hand is evident in that the damage could have been much worse on all counts; instead, the incident created a witnessing opportunity: Regional Director Ted visited the motorcyclist in the hospital! From then on I shifted into short-term team planning mode for the 11 servants from various Portland-area chu...

Walking to my car after church yesterday, I was asked an interesting question: what name would I give the church? Having been forewarned last Sunday, I was prepared with my answer and corresponding reasoning. I've thought it odd from the beginning of my time here: only one of the five LCMS churches and/or missions in the DR has an actual name , and it's hardly ever referred to as such. By and large, people refer to the respective places of worship by their locations: Las Américas. Ozama. Palmar [Arriba]. Pueblo Nuevo. And mine, Licey.  That's about to change, though. In addition to implementing a cleaning schedule and placing offering envelopes near the Bibles and worship folders, the current church council determined that we need a name! Members were polled today; the council will discuss and vote at their 2/10 meeting.  It's an intimidating prospect, the naming of a church. The options are limitless. Joking with one of the seminarians assigned to "Lice...

I'm basically running a regular "Er"bnb over here. Two days after my parents and sister left, my friend Katherine arrived. She and I met at Lutheran High School South's freshman orientation in 2001 and have thus known each other waaaaaaay too long. Add visiting liturgical artist Kelly Schumacher into the mix and... ¡ Bienvenida ! (I won't tell if you won't, but in my excitement to see Katherine, I forgot to insist that she take the traditional picture by the heart. We faked it the day she left.) She had two requirements for her vacation: 1) see me; and 2) see sand and waves. Check and check. Monday was a perfect beach day at Costambar with several other missionary families.  Tuesday, I put her to work! Katherine speaks fluent Spanish, so we tag-team interpreted Kelly's lecture on liturgical art for the seminarians.  Kelly, founder of Agnus Dei Liturgical Arts , is in the DR until January 31 to paint a commissioned work ...