Life in the DR....Week 1

  


 How would I describe week 1 on the mission field.....SUCCESS!

Here's is what I have learned so far:

•     Even on island time we accomplished so much in one week...phones, insurance, house hunting, adapting to the driving, money and learning our way around the towns and the grocery store.  You should have seen Brian and I starring at the spices.....no clue what they were! 

•   I NEED TO LEARN SPANISH!!! 

•     My children are ROCK STARS!!!   They have adjusted so well!  They have stepped out of their normal comfort zones.  They seriously have not complained about anything!!

•     Sticky frogs and those gecko lizard things are your friends because they will eat the bugs so don't kill them.  (I am still trying to embrace that one.) 

•    Don't worry about putting on make-up for straightening your hair because your make up will melt off and your hair will curl like you just had the best perm ever!    LOL  ;)

•      The police will give the driver a ticket for not wearing a seat belt because it is "unsafe" but a family of 5 can ride on one motorcycle with no helmets. 

•     I thought that when I sold everything to move here I had given up all I could....HA....then I learned that I can also give up hot water for showers and air conditioning!    It is an awesome reminder for me that when I begin to feel sorry for myself to remember how most of the Dominican's live here with NO clean water ...no HOT water....NO running water!  So I sit embarrassed and humbled and thankful for God's lessons.

•    Safety for our family is our top concern.  While we are out running around, we feel entirely safe....it's your home that has the valuables.  So we prayed and prayed for God to point us in the right direction for a safe place to live.  The top area to live for security is of course around triple what most places are a month.....OUCH!  But we found the 2nd safest place that has "mission impossible" type security...it has 3 bedrooms but we couldn't afford all 3 so they lock one and we rent it as a 2 bedroom and guess what????  We got it for the EXACT amount that we had budgeted!!  Isn't God FAITHFUL!!  My kids said they don't mind all 3 sharing a bedroom....WHAT????   (That's not what I'm used to seeing with the families on House Hunter International!  haha!)  Gotta brag that I have the best teenagers EVER!  Our landlord is so cool that when our 2 adult children come at Christmas to visit he will open the 3rd bedroom up for 2 weeks free!!!!  Don't you just LOVE it when God shows off like that????

    So for week 2 our goal is to get a reliable car that doesn't break the bank and get to work!   Can't wait to see what God has in store for us to learn this week!

Only God

      
 I have been praying for God to give me the words to write this post.  I want so badly for it to be a testament and encouragement for whatever you need in your life.

     This whole journey of stepping out on this mission field has been one of EXTREME growing of our faith.  It's so funny to hear people say, "What you are doing is so admirable.  You will be helping so many."  because we feel like WE have been the one's blessed more than you can imagine.  And I can not wait to share with the people in the Dominican  the love, knowledge and sacrifices that we have received from so many of you. 

     If you have read any of my previous posts you know that I have struggled with staying strong 100% of the time.  I have my moments of weakness because of my flesh.  I relied on what I could see and not what I couldn't.  But I just want to share with you all that it's what we can't see that is MOST important.  I have come to understand that I have NO CONTROL over anything.....it's all in God's hands.  I know you have heard this a million times but when you let go of that "control" you think you have and give it all to God....that is when life gets sweeter than you could ever imagine.  You grow to TRUST Him to lead your life, you finances, your day to day decisions. 

     Here's my recent story that reaffirmed that God will provide for your every need when you listen and obey His will.  Since Brian and I have said "Yes God" we have just taken one step at a time.  Each time God said,  "Ok...now do this." we did it....whether it was hard or uncomfortable.  The hardest part was keeping our patience as we waited.  But that is when we would literally drop to our knees and pray harder and strengthen our relationship with our Savior.  A few weeks ago I was talking to Brian and I said, "You know we talk about that we have faith that God will provide for us to go but we are hesitant to buy our plane tickets because of all the what ifs."  So we decided to pray for an answer on this huge leap of faith because we were pretty far away from our monthly support.   So this last Saturday morning we took the next step and bought our plane tickets to leave 8 days later.  That very same day we received a phone call from some dear friends of ours.  She had so much excitement in her voice and said she wanted to talk to us both on speaker phone.  As she was crying she began explaining to us that she and her husband had been praying for months about how they could support us.   She said she felt embarrassed and confused because God wasn't answering them....but they kept asking and waiting.  Well the same day that we bought our plane tickets God placed it on their hearts BIG TIME that they should pay for our rent for two years and not only at the low rent house we were budgeting for,  but for a home with more security for our families safety!   The coolest part was neither of us knew what each others prayers had been! 

     I had been praying for God to provide in a way that there was no mistaking it was ALL HIM!

     So the greatest part of this story is that we never know what is going on "behind God's scenes".  He is orchestrating ways for you to be taken care of that you could never have imagined.

     Please don't get me wrong....money is not the only way we have been blessed with, although it is a necessity to survive while we are serving. 

     Other ways we have been blessed:

• Sold our house quickly 
• We got to rent our house back for 3 months until closer to time to go!
• Walking Taco Fundraiser with great hosts and volunteers and friends that put it all together.
• Old friends and New friends asking us to share our missions journey at their churches.
• Garage Sale at a friends house with TONS of donations to sell and many generous shoppers.
• Encouragement!
• Beautiful hearts sharing stories of how God healed them from exploitation.
• Birthday Party from a 9 year old friend and a bunch of other friends that opted no gifts for herself and donations to go to our ministry!  $770!!!!!!!!!!!
• Free place to stay for the last week before we left. 
• Many monthly and one time sponsors!
• Luggage! 
• New friends
• And of course an amazing ministry with a team that we cannot wait to serve along side.

      So we continue on to this next chapter in our life without being 100% funded but knowing 100% of that this is God's plan and we will always be provided for.  And with all of these blessing my excitement is that much greater to see how God will use us to give hope and encouragement to everyone that will cross my path.

Jeremiah 29:11

¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Encouragement

      I can't help but giggle when people ask how IT works exactly.  You know...this missionary thing!  Is Brian going to be working?  Yes....as a missionary.  No...I mean like having a real job?  Yes...we both will be working.   No I mean like having a paid job?  Yes.... a missionary does live by the support of other's.  (Insert confused stare here.)  

     I was just confiding in a friend (who's son is also on the mission field) and telling her how sometimes I feel like people think we are just asking for handouts.  She sweetly gave me these words to hold on to during those awkward times.  "Jenny....you have a ministry....just like a pastor.  You are just looking for your congregation.   Pastors are supported by their congregation as they serve." 

    I know I used the "B" word a lot but we are truly BLESSED with the people that are on this journey with us.  God is using us all to Go Make A Difference.

    

   

A quote from my favorite author/pastor Francis Chan, “The crazy part about God’s heart is that He doesn’t just ask us to give:  He desires that we love those in need as much as we loves ourselves.  That is the core of the second greatest command, to “love your neighbor as yourself.’  (Matt. 22:39).

Keeping Calm!

 

God keeps reminding me to not get so caught up in the stress or busyness of life that I miss out on the most amazing stories.  The reason I have been blogging so much it is almost like a journal for me, except that I'm putting it out there for the world to see....haha!  I have always said I'm an open book!  :) 

Each of us make plans for our lives.  No matter how much we achieve....it's easy for us to look at how much further we are from our ultimate goal, how much we have left to do and we are always looking for that light at the end of the tunnel.  But if we don't stop and TRULY pay attention to the awesomeness that God puts right in front of us.... because we are so ridden with anxiety, stress and control....then we've missed the whole point of what God wants us to learn, see and celebrate.   

The reasons that Brian and I know that God has THIS plan in our lives is because we have prayed, fasted, LISTENED and obeyed.  God stirred in us a desire to show people what we found.  A true relationship with our Heavenly Father.  He just kept pushing us to trust, to have faith and to follow.  We said "Yes" and then took the first step in obedience.....then the next....then the next.  My prayer is to tell and show everybody how God has changed me to love unconditionally like He does us.  I can think of nothing greater than if I helped someone take what I did and that was having RELIGION in their life.... to having that become a deep trusting RELATIONSHIP with my Father. 

So what God is showing me is if I only looked for that light at the end of the tunnel,  I would be missing out on the miracles of His works in every single day.  By recognizing them,  I have a reminder that we are not doing this alone...that HE is equipping us...He shows me that through what looks like an awkward journey to most of the world....giving up finances when we are taught to hold on to them tight......trusting Him is what will give other's the desire to take their first step too.

  Here is a note that a sweet friend sent me.



You are helping ME grow in my faith. I am a type "A" control freak!  I control nearly everything in my life! This is our chance to trust in God. I am not a deeply religious person. I believe in God, but do not attend church on a regular basis. I need to be able to let go, as well. Please pray for our family as I feel God is asking us to sponsor you, but it scares the day lights out of me! This will be my first step and we will see where it leads! You are a truly wonderful person! We have been planning this for a while, I just felt like maybe you needed to hear some good news! Thanks for being you!

Now...please don't think I'm sitting here thinking, "Oh,  look at me!  I'm leading people to Christ."  Because what I'm really thinking is, "Thank you God for pulling me closer to YOU in this journey and at the same time using my clumsiness through it all to give other's the desire to say "Yes" to what you are asking of them."

TOP 10 LIST - David Letterman Style! (ok...maybe not!)

 

 

    My version of David Letterman's Top 10 List!  Only these aren't  funny (although they can be fun!) because I'm not that witty....I wish I was....but in my humble opinion, they are vital to living a life of happiness!

 

TOP TEN LIST TO THE TRUE WAY TO FIND HAPPINESS!

 

#10 - As hard as it is.....FORGIVE people who have hurt you.  It's not for them...but for you!  Free the anger in your heart. 

     Matthew 5:43-44  ⁴³ “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.

       #9  SERVE OTHER'S - Don't just sit back and wait for people to help you, even in hard times.  Get out and help those in need.  It will bring you more joy than you can imagine and you will forget about your troubles for a while.

Mark 10:45  ⁴⁵ For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

     #8 TALK TO GOD, pray and ask Him to guide you in your life.....EVERY....SINGLE....DAY.

Matthew 7:7-8  ⁷ “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

 

     #7  STOP TRYING TO BUY HAPPINESS!  Be faithful with God has blessed you with and use it to bless others.  Give until it hurts.  That is when you draw closer to God.  When is the last time you said, "God....I need you!  I have everything I want!" ?  Just sayin!  :)

Matthew 6:19-20

19"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven.

 

 

     #6  Don't worry - Be happy!

Matthew 6:25-27

²⁵ “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷ Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
 

#5  Know you are worthy of God's love, no matter what you have done in your life.

Luke 5:31, 32 ³¹ Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. ³² I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

#4  HAVE A PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD AND YOU WILL LIVE IN ETERNITY WITH HIM.

John 4:13, 14  ¹³ Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, ¹⁴ but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

John 3:16  ¹⁶ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

 

    #3  Give all you worries to God.  Then rest, and know He will take care of you.  It may look way differently than you had planned....but he is faithful.   Don't you dare take those worries back either!  (That's the hard part.)

Matthew 11:28-29 ²⁸ “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

     #2  TRUST!  Make your plans according to God's Will.  His plans are greater than ANYTHING you would've come up with anyway!


Jeremiah 29:11
¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.


#1 I've got nothing to add except that I think this one is the most important!
 
Romans 12

Place Your Life Before God

 ^1-2 So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.

Answered prayers!

    If you haven't read my post previous to this one....stop now and read it first.  I want to share with you all how God answered me that very day.  It's so important to notice when He answers your prayers.  Sometimes we just think, "Well that worked out nice!"  because of the subtlety.  But there was no mistaking what took place this last Tuesday.

    Right after I got off my knees from praying and seriously begging like a toddler for God to move in big ways to bring us supporters.....I got a text.  It was my sweet friend from HS, who is one of our monthly supporters.  I told him I was having a rough morning.  He gave me so many encouraging words that were definitely God speaking through him.  He reminded me that we have to put ALL our trust in Him.  He said just that morning he noticed his finances were scarce and did what seems to be counter-intuitive.....he wrote a big tithe check.  He has seen God pull him through tight spots when He gives it to him.

   So encouraged I went about my day.  I picked up one of my sweet students and took her on a girl's day out.  We went horseback riding at our friends house.  It was hot and humid but refreshing and regenerating!  Right after I went through a drive through at my pharmacy all sweaty and not to fresh looking.  As I spoke to the Pharmacist, she asked if I still lived at the address that had on file.  I laughed because it was like 5 houses ago.  She wanted to update it and I politely told her there was no need because I was moving out of the country soon.  She was curious where and when I told her she said she had heard about our family  She told me her husband was just in Haiti on a mission trip.  She requested info and I gladly reached into my purse and pulled out several of our information brochures! 

    Later that evening I get a call from my sweet friend who is also a supporter and said that her mother (another supporter) has a voucher from Delta airlines she wants to give us!!!!  Ok....so for some reason we usually fly American but this time we are flying Delta because it was the ONLY airline I could find that has night flights.  The reason that is so important is because we can not take our pups with us if the temperature will be over 85 degrees where we depart or land!   So Delta it is!  Who would know this....except God!!!!!

   Wait.....there is more.  I woke up the next morning to an email that said that my friend from HS with all the encouraging words....his check had been sent to us!  $500!!!!!   Reminding you that he already supports us monthly.  He had sent it before we had spoken.  Chills right?  The email also said that the girl at the pharmacy had signed up to be a monthly supporter!  Seriously?  It couldn't have been because she was all impressed by me.  I was tired and hot and not my spunky self.  It was all God prompting her to do so.  When I looked at her last name so I could look her up on facebook I realized that she was a doctor's wife.  The same doctor that my former office manager had been trying to introduce me to because he had a heart for missions!  So God was like, if you can't meet him then I will arrange for you to meet her! 

   I LOVE when God shows off like this!!!  So when people doubt and when I have glimpses of doubt that we WILL be fully funded in 17 days and ready to go!  I say.....ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE WITH GOD! 

    If you have been prompted by God by reading this to sign up with us....please click the big yellow Go MAD box on the right side of this page.  Click on Make A Donation.  Under 'Program Designation' click Brian and Jenny!  Walk this walk of faith with us!  Help us share with the families that desperately need us in the DR, what AMAZING things God did to help us get to them.  We all need HOPE and walking in COMPLETE FAITH is the only way to have it!!!!

Deny myself? But I have never heard a commerical for that!!!

      I'm probably not going to sound like I've got it all together in this post....because I don't!  My emotions are all over the place.  I am the kind of person that NEEDS to learn something from every situation.  I have always said if you don't learn something or use your struggles to help someone else then they were all in vain.

   Here is what God is showing me this morning.  As I was having a conversation with my Mom about what the plans are for the next few weeks. When are we leaving?  Where are you going to live if you don't get all your funding?  What's going to happen if in 6 months you don't have your funding?  My answer was, "I don't know."  (I love you Mom and understand your worrying.)  But this is a journey of FAITH which doesn't come easily or I wouldn't have to fall onto my knees daily and talk to God.   Do you know how hard it is to be moving out of your house in 3 weeks and not knowing if you are leaving yet as planned or staying and waiting for God to move in people's hearts to partner with us?  But as I am sitting here pleading with God this morning.  "God....please send our sponsors NOW.   Move in a mighty way to prove to me that this is your WILL.  I can't sit back and not know when I should buy my plane tickets or will we have enough to live on while we serve."  And do you want to know what "popped" into my head?  Yes Jenny....now you understand what the families all around the world are saying while they watch their child die of starvation or disease.  "How can I survive?  Where will I get food or medicine?  Why isn't anybody helping me?  How many times did I sit back and say, "Somebody needs to help them!!! Then I went and made MY family a huge meal and threw away leftovers."  I didn't think my little bit could help do anything....so I did NOTHING.

     So all the nervousness I have been fighting, the doubts and fears I have pushed back and handle on most days...they are still there.  But I am choosing to not dwell on them and focus only on God.  I have to stay in the word and talk to Him.  It's the only way I can keep my sanity through this journey and it's STRENGTHENING my faith like NEVER before.  Do I wish it would come easier?  Ah YES!  Is it fun to suffer?  NO!  Is it easy to wait?  Nope!  Do people think I'm crazy?  Yes!  But I think if we always are in "control" of our resources, bank accounts, 401k's and have everything all tidy and "secure".....when do we ever have to rely on God?  When do we have to put our TRUST fully .....I mean every single bit of it...... into the Maker of Heaven and Earth??? 
    
     So what about those families that I was just mentioning before...the one's watching their children suffer and die before their eyes?   What if they had never been introduced to God?  What if they don't own a Bible?  How do they handle their fears, their struggles, their desperation?   Who do they turn to?  Where do they find HOPE?

     We need to all pray and listen and ACT!  We need to give until we suffer. Because it's in that suffering that we grow closer to Jesus.
  
    I'm probably not getting this whole story right but Brian was telling me about a man that Francis Chan had interviewed who was thrown in a prison because he lived in a country where you were persecuted for being a Christian.  He had managed to keep a tiny piece of a Bible verse he had torn out and hidden.  He was locked up for a long time with only the verse to read and give him hope.  When he was finally released and had everything at his disposal again he BUT he wished he was back in the prison facing death daily.  He explained that when all he had was those words from Jesus and no other distractions or resources or help....it was then that he felt the closest to God. 
 
   Don't let the distractions from this world get in the way of what God has called us all to do.  That new outfit, cappuccino, another meal out or the latest electronic toys are all just immediate gratifications.  They will fade.....trust me I know...but knowing you Made A Difference in someone's relationship with God will also strengthen yours.

What the world teaches us.

What the Bible teaches us.


Mark 8: 34-36
34 And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 35 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it. 36 For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?