HEY! Goodbye... See you later?

There are a LOT of challenges to living on the foreign mission field. 

Power-outages.

Mosquitoes. 

Tarantulas.

Government strikes.

Rice and Beans... every day :) (I actually love rice and beans for the record... but as much as I try I can NOT make it like the Dominicans and I could never eat it every day!)

We won't even begin to mention the spiritual attacks, especially when we live among  Satan worshipers and voodoo! 

It isn't always the easiest life... but it is worth every bug, centipede and dog bite :) 

(If you don't know what I'm talking about, now is a good time to read some of my older blogs, haha!) 

However, one of the most difficult things about serving here in the Dominican is the number of "Hellos" and "Goodbyes" that we have to say.

Amazing mission teams, interns, visitors and missionaries come down and we say "HEEEEYYYY!!!" 

A tarantula visiting our friends Craig and Joanna

We get excited, we fall in love, we bond, we laugh, we cry... and then in a few short days, weeks, months or years at some point or another we have to say "Goodbye" once again.

There are people who we meet once and won't reunite with until we pass from this earth.

Others that we have the blessing of seeing at least once a year!

Some come several times a year.

And there are a few that just overstay their welcome :) heehee. Just kidding!

But I must admit, it is hardest to say goodbye to those we have lived with, served with, suffered with and laughed with for more than just a day or two.

We face yet another one of those "Goodbyes" this week as we say "See you later" (because I refuse to say goodbye) to some of our dear friends - Ashley and Charles Carter. Because of a clear leading from the LORD and some health concerns, they will be heading back to the States tomorrow.

Charles (who we all call by his last name - Carter) and Ashley have been serving in the Dominican Republic for 5 years. They primarily served in the GAP ministry (college-aged students studying missions, Spanish and Bible), but also translated, taught, and served with Lily House as well. They have worked their butts off for God's glory!!!

Ashley and Charles Carter

However, you may know Carter more for his famous pregnancy announcements on my Facebook wall FAR before we even thought about having baby. 

Either way, they are some of our closest friends and we are sad to see them go. 

Like... REALLY sad.

So, why do I tell you all of this? 

What GOD is teaching me through their leaving and other circumstances that I am facing at this time, is that sometimes GOD leads us in a direction that we don't quite understand. 

HE pulls us away from those we love. 
HE turns our world upside down.
HE empties our hands of our most treasured belongings.

Not because HE is an evil GOD, but because HE is a loving GOD.

Because in our emptiness, our rawness, our nakedness... we have nothing more to cling to than to GOD Himself. 

It is where true trust comes in to play.

I don't know why trusting an all-knowing, all-powerful, always present GOD is so hard (HA-HA) but I guess the fear isn't so much in GOD Himself... it's more the "what comes next?"

HOWEVER, knowing that my Saviour is also, ALL-LOVING means that HIS plans are best. 

Jeremiah 29:11, 

"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."

So friend, maybe you're not heading to another country, but you're still heading in to the unknown. Be at peace. You may not know what's coming... but HE does. Trust Him. Follow Him. And rest in HIS promises.

Please pray for Ashley and Carter as they transition... until we say "Hello!" once again :)

Run AWAY!

Sometimes life seems to NEVER slow down. The second we get a moment to breathe something else comes up! Making time for family and REST is tough, but this weekend we decided to make it a priority and run away. OF COURSE, having 2 of our friends returning to the States soon gave us a good excuse and we had a blast spending time with them as we stepped away from reality for a few days - hence no Monday blog.

So instead of sharing everything we've been involved in over the last few weeks, I will leave you with a few photos. Don't be afraid to step back occasionally, friends! Find rest in HIM.

Psalm 61:1 

“Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer. From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the foe. I long to dwell in your tent forever and take refuge in the shelter of your wings.”

Treasure Hunt

I love a good treasure hunt. 

I love the challenge.
I love to think.
But more than anything I love the prize. 

HOWEVER, it would be pretty sad that if at the end of a long, challenging hunt you ended with no treasure at all.

In my years on the mission field, and most recently in youth and women's ministry I find that this is always the story.

Person feels void.
Person seeks to fill void by earthly means (eg. love, success, popularity, alcohol/drugs).
Void can not be filled.
Tries again.
Tries again.
Tries again...

It came to my attention once again on Thursday night. My ministry partner and I prayed together before heading out as always. "Lord lead us to the women you have prepared to hear YOUR Word tonight."

And off we went.

"Hey! You American?" 'A' asked in a fantastic English accent.

"Ummm" - I contemplated. I don't mean to lie. It's just sometimes explaining where Bermuda is, who Bermuda belongs to, if the Bermuda triangle is real, have I ever gotten lost in the triangle, etc. takes longer than necessary! haha. Sometimes I just smile.

"No. I'm not American. I'm Bermudian."

"Oh cool." Still in English, "I know 5 guys from Bermuda. I didn't know white people lived in Bermuda." I laughed at the common misconception of the last part ------- (I had a Haitian roommate that was sincerely disappointed when she met me. "Where is the girl from Bermuda?" "HI! I'm Sarah." She sucked her teeth and walked away. LOL!!! "UM, Sorry?!") ------- HOWEVER, I blushed of embarrassment at the first.

"People from Bermuda come here?"

"Oh yeah. I have a few Bermudian clients that come back every other month."

:( 

"So why are you here? You seem educated and don't look in need." (She was dressed in designer clothes)

"I don't know really. I mean, I guess I'm looking for something. I just don't know what I'm trying to find here on the streets."

Breaks. My. Heart.

Perhaps you don't think you have much in common with this prostitute, but I assure you... we all do. 

Searching. Looking. Digging. 

To fill the loneliness... 
To fill the emptiness...
To blur the thoughts we lay in bed thinking about at night - and then wake up only to begin searching again.

Each week Robersy and I encounter people that are trying so hard to fill the void. Filling it with parties, filling it with religion, filling it with activities, activities and more activities...

Thankful to be mommy to this sweet boy
HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to all the mommas,
spiritual mommas, puppy/kitty mommas :)

Friend. Christ ALONE can fill the void. 

If you are trying to fill this void alone, you will be on this treasure hunt your entire life only to end empty handed. A sad, prize-less treasure hunt. 

Deuteronomy 4:29 says, "But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul."

Once you find Him... there is no more searching. HE fills that void and gives you a reason to live! The ultimate treasure is knowing HIM.

We had the beautiful privilege of sharing this message with 'A' on Thursday, but it's our joy to share this same truth in our various ministries each week and it's an honour to share this with you today.

Finding HIM and being filled by HIM has allowed us to be involved in some awesome things this week here in the Dominican. Besides raising a rambunctious 3 month old, Robersy preached several times throughout the week - the Dodgers, Seattle Mariners and Angels for Baseball Chapel, youth church on Wednesday and 2 church services on Sunday - while I led a study and activities at Lily House and planned games for youth group.

Praying over this notes and verses before we take them out this week.

It's funny. I remember planning games for my home church in Bermuda and someone always seemed to get hurt. Nothing has changed here. I get too excited! LOL.

PLEASE PRAY THIS WEEK - One activity I arranged for the girls at LH was to write verses and encouraging notes to girls that are still currently working in prostitution. We plan to hand them out this Thursday. Please pray that these girls will see that there are people who DO understand what they are going through and that there is HOPE... His name is JESUS.

Tight grips and whisper-screams

I cherish days like today.

It consisted of doing nothing to solve world hunger or changing the future of mankind. It was simply a day of rest with my sweet little family <3

I woke up and walked the dogs, fed Josiah, then, like a blob, climbed right back into bed. After a bit more sleep, Robersy thought it would be fun to bring Josiah in for some cuddle time...

We are thankful for Mondays. It's a day where we just hang out as a family. Sometimes we go out and do things, other days - like today - we stay in our jammies!

We are amazed how quickly time is passing us by and at almost 3 months old, Josiah is doing so many things already!

One of Josiah's favorite things to do is to play on his playmat. When we laid him on it the first time he... did nothing. "What a flop!" we thought. 

A few weeks later we tried it again. Seemed a little bit more interested in the toys. 

A few weeks later tried again and he was smiling and kicking the toys.

But on Sunday... with determination in his eyes, Josiah actually reached up and grabbed a toy!!!

Our mouths dropped open! 

"When did he learn how to do that?!" Robersy asked, grabbing his phone to snap a photo. 

"I have NO IDEA!" I whisper-screamed back trying not to startle him in the moment. 

I guess it wouldn't have mattered how long it took for us to get settled because once Josiah had a grip... he was NOT letting go!!! 

It's funny how the Lord gives you these little moments that come back throughout the week to give you a picture of important lessons for our souls.

On Wednesday I've been teaching a lesson at the Lily House called "Girls Gone Wise in a World Gone Wild." We've been learning about rebellion of heart and how rebellion doesn't start on the outside. It always starts in the heart and eventually creeps out in our actions.

In this particular lesson the author, Mary A. Kassian, explains that in the 1700's new believers in New England and other colonies along the Eastern seaboard wouldn't simply tell others that they had been "saved" or that "Jesus had come into their lives." 

They proclaimed, "I have been seized by the power of a great affection!"

Seized!

Grabbed!

Captured!

Grasped!

Gripped!

Snatched!

HE had grabbed a hold of their lives and wasn't letting go! 

Like Josiah taking a hold of that toy, except it isn't determination urging HIM to do so, it's an outpouring of love!

Later that same day I had the blessing of teaching a small group of girls a lesson about Ephesians 2. In the first few verses we were reminded that we're in a big mess. 

"And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest."

BUT GOD...

The 2 most precious words in scripture. They simply remind us that our salvation had NOTHING to do with us and EVERYTHING to do with GOD.

"But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus."

HE loved us, HE captured us and HE held on tight :)

I love that through the busy days and the uncertainty of tomorrow I can be sure of one thing...

HE's not letting go.

Thankful for this reminder through the actions of my strong little man! 

Being a missionary is BORING!

“I think someone is being raped outside the gate.”

The four of us ran to the window to see what was going on. The screams and breathing was that of a person being attacked and it was right in front of the entrance to our home. Once we looked we could see that there were several neighbors running from their houses, so we shut the door and windows, shut off the lights and hunkered down.

Heck no! We grabbed the keys.

Once Robersy went down and gave us the thumbs up, the rest of us ran down to see what was going on. A young lady was sitting on the floor. Hands, arms, foot and hip all covered in blood. Everyone stood at a good distance as she cried. We inched in closer.

Nic, a GAP student that was spending the night at our house with Austin, mentioned he had training in First Aid and before we knew it was he was CAREFULLY checking her wounds to make sure nothing was broken. She continued to cry.

Meanwhile the police spoke to two handcuffed men nearby until the true story came out.

Moments before we had heard her screams, two men were speeding down the road beside our house with the young lady, then they threw her off.

YES!!!

They threw her off the bike!

The men (and by the looks of it, the woman as well) were clearly high or drunk or both but either way, they made the decision to throw the girl off the bike.

After they threw her off, they jumped off the bike fleeing to abandon both the bike and the girl. The police were right around the corner :)

Thankfully the men were caught and taken to jail – ironically on the back of 2 police bikes – and the girl was driven to the hospital by a neighbor because the ambulance NEVER arrived! We could hear it in the distance, but it never got there.

Help didn’t arrive in the way we had expected, but God allowed the four of us to be a help and light not only to this young lady, but to the police officers and our neighbors as well. We comforted the young lady and reminded her that it could have been worse, MUCH worse (none had helmets on) and we thanked the LORD, audibly and publicly, that she was ok.

Keep praying for her full recovery.

As I share our experiences each week it is not, nor has it ever been, to scare my family or discourage people from coming to the mission field. 

It is simply our reality.

Scary? YES!

Dangerous? YES!

Exciting? Ohhhhh, YES! Lol.

And our experiences are not the only ones out there.

I write this blog, sharing the CRAZY things we get up to, in an effort to shine a tiny light on what missionaries face all around the world.

God has called us out of our comfort zone to guide others to Him and Satan HATES it! That means we are under attack! 

We face tough things. 

REALLY tough things. 

And if you think my blog contains ALL of our experiences, you are sadly mistaken. Even this week I faced a situation on street ministry that shook me up too much to share. I try to filter a little :)

You see... through every trial, every problem, every attack, I try to find Jesus. 

His light, His lesson, His message.

That’s my way of kicking Satan in the hiney.

It’s my way of saying, “Look what you TRIED to do, you big meany, AND look at what CHRIST taught us through it.”

For example... 

This past week I was home all day while Robersy was out. This meant at some point during the day I HAD to take my poor puppies out to pee since Robersy wouldn’t be home until late.

So I got Josiah’s carrier (which is totally magical and puts him right to sleep immediately), put the dogs on their leashes and locked the door behind me. The dogs had been great and did their business quickly so it didn’t take long before I was returning to the house.

The sky was dark and it wasn’t raining but suddenly a clap of thunder startled all of us and Tonky (our middle “child” and wuss of the family) darted for the house pulling me forward. 

There is quite a bit of construction on the road in front of our house at the moment so as I fell I also tripped over rocks, let go of the dog’s leashes and tried to catch myself.

It felt like slow motion but as I held my baby close I was able to maneuver and landed on my back/side instead of my front. The fall startled Josiah so he cried, but he wasn’t hurt. I just laid on the ground until he calmed down.

Remember the construction? Well there is about 20 men doing that construction. HAHA. So I had an audience! But out of those 20, two men stopped what they were doing and ran towards me to help me up.

Bad idea!

My other dog, AKA my favorite “child,” LOL is VVVVEEEEERRRRRYYYYYYYYYY protective of me. She has been since I got her, and at the sight of 2 men coming towards her “momma” she went CRAY CRAY! My sweet girl barked and snarled and did all she could to stop the men from “hurting” me.

By that time I had sat up, but continued to cover my little boo boos with kisses and let Chiquita keep everyone away – even though they were trying to help.

Ok, so stay with me here.......

That could have been the most discouraging thing to happen in someone's day.

A father's love.

Embarrassed with falling in front of 20 men. 

Feeling like a horrible mother and knowing people will judge you for walking 2 dogs with a baby. 

Physically in pain, but thankful that your baby is ok. 

The situation just stunk.

BUT!!! As I sat on the floor with my arms wrapped so tightly around my precious boy. I pictured Jesus.

How His arms of love cover each one of His children. But our God and precious Savior loves us SO much that it leads Him to protect us from the "evil one" too (Chiquita gave us this visual).

My protective girl.

Isn’t that beautiful?!

Every day we have a choice. 

We can let the bad things, the attacks, the experiences DISCOURAGE us and make us ANGRY and just cause us to be super negative people (and HORRIBLE examples of Believers).....

 OR

We can find Christ!!!

He is always there, but we can chose whether we see Him or not. We can learn, we can grow, we can change simply by choosing to kick Satan in the hiney and see our Savior instead :)

Full heart.

My heart is full.

I am thankful as I feel like life has finally found a "normal." We're getting used to Josiah's quirks and habits and we are now enjoying the time we spend as a family of three. Although no day ever goes as planned, I have learned the importance of stopping, resting and breathing.

My heart is full...

Visited Lily House 3 times this week! YAY!

Josiah slept through the night every night this week except for Thursday night.

Spoke to several girls on Thursday night.

Got to spend time with friends throughout the week.

Spent time with one of our favorite people this weekend. GAP student Nolan Coley!

A girl came to church with us on Sunday! Pray for A :)

Ran in to my uncle after church and had a good chat.

Make chicken kabaabs on Sunday then all 3 of us took a 2 hour nap. woooohooooo!!!

Went for a 45min run this morning and Robersy got to sleep in with Josiah! Everyone is happy!



Thankful for a good week and looking forward to the days ahead.

A few weeks ago I promised you some photos from Youth Sunday and since we are celebrating a job well done with dinner for the teens tonight, it seems it must be time to share them now. Enjoy!

Have a great week!

Hit by a bus.

Have you ever been hit by a bus?

I remember while I was in High School a girl in my class was hit by a bus! Thankfully the speed limit in Bermuda is 35km/hour and I'm pretty sure the bus was pulling out of the bus stop, but still! We were all stunned. Thankfully she fared pretty well, but I remember a school assembly meeting about how her backpack saved her life! We all had our backpacks strapped to our backs afterwards!!! lol. SCARY!!! I was reminded of this while reading earlier this week.

In a few minutes of my crazy role as a new momma I've been able to start a new book. It appears I started it at some point since things in the first few chapters are highlighted and underlined... but I can't remember, so I started again :) It's called "Follow Me" by David Platt.

If you haven't read it, READ IT! It's good... well, it has been good so far.

But in the very first chapter he makes a point that was brought up again in Bible study on Wednesday, youth group on Friday and again in church on Sunday.

So. I think the Lord is teaching me something. Or He just wants me to share :)

"Imagine you and I set up a meeting for lunch at a restaurant, and

you arrive before I do. You wait and wait and wait, but thirty minutes
later, I still haven’t arrived. When I finally show up, completely
out of breath, I say to you, “I’m so sorry I’m late. When I was driving
over here, my car had a flat tire, and I pulled over on the side of
the interstate to fix it. While I was fixing it, I accidentally stepped
into the road, and a Mack truck going about seventy miles per hour
suddenly hit me head-on.

It hurt, but I picked myself up, finished
putting the spare tire on the car, and drove over here.”
If this were the story I shared, you would know I was either
deliberately lying or completely deceived. Why? Because if someone
gets hit by a Mack truck going seventy miles per hour, that
person is going to look very different than he did before!

In light of this, I feel like I’m on pretty safe ground in assuming
that once people truly come face-to-face with Jesus, the God
of the universe in the flesh, and Jesus reaches down into the depth
of their hearts, saves their souls from the clutches of sin, and
transforms their lives to follow him, they are going to look different.
Very different. People who claim to be Christians while
their lives look no different from the rest of the world are clearly
not Christians." Page 17 Follow Me

WOW! We'll let that marinate in your heart for a moment.

.............

We finally had a night of the week with NOTHING TO DO!!! woohooo. That is, until some of the teen boys from church asked Robersy to lead a Bible Study. (YES. You read that right. These kids are thirsty for some more Jesus!!!) Of course when the girls heard about it, they asked me if we could meet too.

Their excitement excites me! And exhausts me :) But mostly excites me. So we've been going through the book of Ephesians. In the second half of the first chapter Paul talks about how he had heard good reports of the church in Ephesus. Their awesome testimonies had reached Paul! 

Robersy and I sell solar-powered lanterns to groups that come down in order to help families that have little or no electricity. By reaching their physical need, God has opened doors to speak to these families about their spiritual need too. We've been able to use these lanterns as great teaching tools too. So I pulled out a lantern at the Bible study with the girls and explained how the light shines brighter the more time it is placed in the sun.

The same is true with us as Christians. As we spend time with the Lord, our light and testimony shines brighter to those around us. As we "shine" we are given opportunities to share Christ with others!!!

...................

One of our boys in particular was SUPER excited to meet Don.

At Youth Group on Friday, a few of the GAP students and I ran the games (We rocked it by the way! haha. Musical chairs was a hit!!!) and we had a special guest come and speak to the teens. I'm not a baseball fan (although I'm getting better) but I will say that it was pretty cool to hear Don Gordon, who played professionally in the major leagues for the Toronto Blue Jays and the Cleveland Indians.

I actually used to collect Toronto Blue Jay baseball cards (WHY?! I have no idea.) so I might have one of Mr. Gordon tucked away somewhere. Either way, he doesn't just play great baseball, he is amazing man of God.

He shared about how he got in to all sorts of things when he was young, but then God captured his heart. And guess what... there was a major change in his life!

.................

On to Sunday. Pastor Nate has been working his way through James. In the second chapter we're reminded that "faith without works is dead." Our pastor did a fantastic job reminding us that it is by GRACE that we are saved... HOWEVER... our faith is followed by obedience (or works). There ought be to be change in our lives!

...................

Why do I share all of this? 

Because I am saddened to see people of all ages come to the Lord and stay the same. We confuse "freedom in Christ" with being comfortable and so instead of realizing that the freedom we experience in Christ is the power to overcome sin, we stay and enjoy it because, "well God is going to forgive me anyways." Right?

I have been reminded over and over and over this week how there should be a difference when we come to the Lord!!!

That means our walk, our words, our actions, our obedience. In front of the world AND behind closed doors.

Do I look and act like the crowd or does my life reflect the One who died for me?

I may have never been hit by a bus (and I pray I never am!), but I do pray that my life, touched by God himself, might draw others to know Him as Savior.

How about you?