Witnessing Miracles!

     On August 30th my heart was forever changed.  Although my family has had experience with adoptions, one with my son and closely living through 5 with my sister, I had NEVER experienced looking in a mother's eyes as she told you she no longer wanted to care for her baby. 

    It was a Friday morning when I walked into Go MAD's Firm Foundation Children's clinic.  My interpreter quickly walked up to me and said, "Jenny, there is a mom that wants to give you her baby!"  I calmly replied, "Ok, let's all just sit down and talk about this."  I turned around to see the sweetest, tiniest baby girl with HUGE eyes, a mouth shaped in a little "o" and long skinny legs that were clapping her feet together as if they were hands.  She immediately melted my heart.  

We had to use several translators because mom is Haitian and speaks Creole to translate to Spanish and then to English for me.  The first thing I asked was how old she was and they said 8 months.  I asked if I heard them right because she only weighed 9 pounds!  Surely they meant 8 days!  They quickly confirmed she was 8 MONTHS!  Her skin was light, her hair was faded, all signs of malnutrition.  This baby is starving to death.  After we spent hours explaining to mom that we can not "take" her baby because that is not what our ministry is about BUT we would help her in whatever way we could.....I went in to check on sweet Calencia that was napping on a bed.  I found her in a huge wet puddle of sweat.  I picked her up to find that she wasn't breathing.  I tapped feet and started saying, "baby baby baby!" and she gasped a big breath of air.  I watched her closely to only see her doing this same thing about every 15 seconds!  She would begin to try to catch her breath and would finally wake up enough to get one and then right back at it.  I soon found out she has been doing this her whole little 8 months on this Earth.  We quickly took her to the hospital to find she had a birth defect that they classify as a cleft palate but with a little more to it.  After 5 doctors and 2 hospitals we finally found that there is a foundation here that can place a temporary shield in the roof of her mouth until she is able to have a permanent surgery at around the age of 3.  All I can say is she has more fight in her than most people I know!  I also know that God has huge plans for her life.

So now the rest of the story.  When mom came to us with her 8 month old baby....she was also 7 months pregnant.  Yep....you read that right.  We also know that mom works as a prostitute.  She says she is 17 although we are not sure that is accurate either.  It was a Friday when she came to our office and on Monday we picked her up to go to another doctor's appointment.  When we saw her I patted her greatly diminished looking belly and asked how she was feeling.  She told me that she had been in a car accident on Saturday and went to the hospital but the baby died.   There were no signs of injuries on the mom and what is still hard for me to comprehend is.... no sadness.  Since that time, the story changed and she told an interpreter that she had slipped on the floor in her bathroom and had a miscarriage.  Many girls here, since abortion is illegal, will drink poison to abort their babies.  I will never know the truth about what happened to that precious life and it will forever haunt me.  I want to badly to get mad at the mom and tell her what I think and turn my back on her......but I can't.  She's broken.  She's a kid.  I have no idea of what she has lived through in her life. She says her parents are both dead and her older sister kicked her out at a young age.  Is any of it true?....I don't know.  But who am I to judge?  I am here to tell about Jesus and give hope.  I am here to show grace.  Right now....I'm numb and am asking God for strength how to handle that part of it.  So we put all of our focus on Calencia and God provided us with hope and healing for her soon and much much more!

Birth mom and Baby

 

NOW.....the really cool goosebumpy part to this story.  The Sunday after baby Calencia entered our lives, our church prayed for her to find the help she needed.  At that SAME moment a couple we met once at a local missionary meeting, were sitting in church just down the street.  The pastor walked by them and stopped he said, "Debbie, something big is going to happen this week.  It's nothing that has been on your radar but God has a plan and you need to listen."  He turned to her husband and simply said, "Bill, you just need to trust God on this."  The next morning as we were getting ready to go pick up baby Calencia, Bill had been out on his morning jog.  He told me later that he usually only does one lap around but he had extra energy that particular morning so he did a second lap.  He "happen" to jog by our house right when Brian (my husband) stepped out of our house.  I heard them chatting so I stepped out to a "Welcome to the neighborhood!"  Bill asked how our ministry was going and I told him just a bit about our sweet little patient.  Shortly after Debbie and Bill paid me a visit at the clinic.   They asked about Calencia and I saw something in their eyes....a little spark of interest.  I asked if they would like to go meet her....it was a quick YES!  God had being laying Romans 8:5 on Debbie's heart:
⁵ Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. ⁶ The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.
Debbie told me that had been expressing through Bible verses how He expects so much more from us than to live for our own comfort.
Being obedient to what God tells us to do....die to ourselves and follow Him.....they said, "If this is your will God....open the doors for us to adopt this baby."  And that is EXACTLY what He did.  Sweet baby Calencia is now Sweet baby Naomi.   She has a Mom and Dad and who want her to be their child forever.  She is now living with HOPE!  She will NEVER have to worry about food, no medical care, and an unfortunate cycle of prostitution that occurs in families here.  She WILL know the LOVE of JESUS! 

Thank you God for allowing me to witness this miracle of a new life with you!


Introducing Naomi and her new family!

                                  
                                                            Amazing Dad and Mom!

                                                         Big Protective Brother Carlos!

Please pray with me for how I can help the birth mom.  After I told her that I found a family for her baby she was excited and her next question was, "But do I still get to see you?"  I told her definitely and I will take her to church.  She also needs hope and love.  As happy as I am for my sweet little patient my heart will never get over looking into the emptiness of her birth mom's eyes as she got out of our car.  I snapped this picture of her walking in the distance....alone..... back to her home.  She looks so alone.....I want to show her how to walk with Jesus.

 

          

        

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”   John 13 34-35

 

         

For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you.   John 13:15

Keeping It Real!

  Marriage....it is not always easy.  Actually if you ask me it is NEVER easy.....BUT it is a CHOICE.  You can choose to be happy, choose to be selfless, choose to be forgiving, choose to show grace, choose to LOVE like Jesus does.  But let's be real...most days I don't even think....I just react, speak without much thought and anger easily.  Do I WANT to be this way?    Uh no!  But I make excuses, I'm hot, I'm tired, I "deserve" more,  I....I.....I!!!!!!!!!  So I am a piece of work!  BUT....I am work in progress!  I am recognizing that I am a child of God which means I am made human and with many flaws and the ONLY way to be like Jesus is to be in CONSTANT communication with Him.  That's what I love about this journey with Christ is that it is continuous.  You can't be saved and then go on your merry way.....every day it's a WALK with Him. 

 Our journey to the mission field was NOT like this, "Hey honey!  Let's sell all of our worldly possessions and move away from most everyone we love and rely on other's for support and work in a place that's beautiful but hot and where we don't know the language and we may get what belongings we do take stolen!  Sound good?"   Brian - "Sure honey....sounds SWELL!  I'll book the flights!"

 The process to get here was definitely long and hard but SUCH A TIME OF GROWING IN OUR FAITH AND OUR RELATIONSHIP!  Now since we have been on the mission field for over a month, we are digging deeper than ever before to keep walking and growing with our Savior because it's the only way we can face the challenges we are faced with daily.

 So now that I put my human flaws out there for the world to see I want to honor my husband that is WALKING this WALK with me!  You see I get to post pictures and stories about PEOPLE that we come across and how we are trying to help them.  My husbands job is not as glamorous BUT SO necessary.  He makes the Safe House Safer with locks and screens to keep thieves and critters out.  He is scrapping some kind of unknown mold out of a room in the clinic that can cause some serious health issues.  He is fixing too many areas in the school to list to make it safer and more functional.  He gets us safely to work in an area where nobody follows traffic laws.  He will IMMEDIATELY stop what he is doing to take a family to the hospital or go and get formula for a starving baby.  He also has worked endlessly to learn how to get us insurance and safe car, home and area to live. 

 I am so thankful not only that God has given me Brian to be my partner in this life but also that God has given me the ability to STOP and REFLECT and APPRECIATE what BLESSINGS I have in my life.

 

     

1 Corinthians 13:4-10          

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. ...

Loving this Community!

     If someone asked me to describe in one word the people that live in the Dominican I would say........Community.  So far everywhere we have gone we have noticed that people work and share as a community.....together as a family.  I absolutely love seeing it in action and it reminds me of what God has shown me during this whole missions journey. 

    I always knew community was important but you don't always understand until you have been the recipient of a communities help....so many people surrounded our family and embraced what God placed in our hearts to set out and do.   Friends and complete strangers partnered with us but praying, donating, sharing, encouraging and inspiring us to give our lives to showing other's God's love.  That to me is the definition of community.  To come along side and use the gifts that God blessed you with to help others.  I still have the pleasure of witnessing (even if it's on facebook) and hearing about my community of friends back home working together to give each other strength and show God's love.

   Here is a few examples that I am able to share.....I get to witness first hand families coming to the clinic where I work and how the employees treat them as family and help them as they do their own.  I also have the HUGE pleasure of having a teacher from one of our schools that is helping interpret at the clinic for now AND he is teaching me Spanish in between patients.  He also teaches English to his friends, usually for no pay, because he explains, "Without knowing English they can't get a job here because most jobs are in tourism."  What an amazing HEART my friend Melvin has!!!!  So blessed to have him in my life!!

   God keeps pointing out these examples to me.  He is reminding me that we are the flesh to do His will while we are on this Earth.

Two are better than one,
because they have a good return for their labor:
If either of them falls down,
one can help the other up.
But pity anyone who falls
and has no one to help them up.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 NIV

 

     There’s no doubt about it.  God placed us in community together, whether we are living in the same town, state or country.  Now, it’s up to us to BE community to each other.  The cool thing is, we don’t have to do it alone or in our own strength.  God knows how difficult life can be.  He gives us His spirit, to rule and triumph over the ugliness in our lives…if we only let Him.

     And here's the cool part...you don't have to do this all by yourself, tap into His unlimited supply of resources every day to be His community to those around you.

  
Romans 12:9-10
Don't just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.
   

Life in the DR - Week 2

  We found out this week that we can pack all of our belongings and move in a half an hour!  We all brought 2 suitcases each after we sold most of our belongings.....and guess what?  We have really only unpacked and needed the items out of one!  This just proves again to me that we don't need possessions to be happy.  Now having said that!  haha....There are so many things that I wish I could have brought with me for the clinic.  I would LOVE to have a file cabinet.  (I know I couldn't have packed it anyway but still....haha)  When I began as the school nurse I got rid of like 3 of them in my office.  I don't like clutter and old information just stored in drawers.  But just one for our patient records could make life more organized.  I have learned it is super hard to find organizational items here on the island and if you do, they are expensive.  I would also love to get Internet and a laptop for the clinic so we could modernize it just a little.  It's the simple things!  ;)


   Things that are just becoming a daily routine are:

• Washing fruits and veggies in bleach water to kill bacteria.

• Not flushing toilet paper.

• Not running air conditioning.

• Using electricity as little as possible because it's so expensive.

• Jumping in the shower several times a day to cool down.

• DEFENSIVE DRIVING...HAHA!

• Money conversions.....$1 dollar is 41 pesos.

• Metric.

Hard things we are dealing with:

• Missing our families and friends!

• Wanting to help everyone we see.

• McDonald's....just kidding. (sort of)

• Not getting ripped off because we are gringos. 

• Not knowing the language!!!!  That is super hard for me at the clinic.

So....looking over the list of what we NEED....what we have LEARNED and what is HARD....I would say we have been blessed and covered by God's provision. 

I would love to hear how God is blessing you like only He can!

2 Corinthians 9:8

 

⁸ And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.

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).