homesick for heaven

Only in the Caribbean…

2012-04-25T08:56:00.001-07:00

Had so much fun with my “Only at UASD” post that I had to repeat it with a twist!

Only in the Caribbean will you encounter a huge pile of coconuts on your way to school:

Can I also point out that half of my teammates are frequent customers of the coconut water stand?

I will miss being able to get a cup of fresh agua de coco, a juicy mango ripened to perfection, or jugo de chinola (passion fruit juice) each for just 25 pesos (65 cents)!

What’s in a woman’s purse?

2012-04-09T12:54:00.001-07:00

A catchy title, but I actually did think it interesting to write about what’s in my purse, not just the girly things, but the essentials I tote around with me on campus as a missionary at UASD.

A water bottle. Make that two. It’s hot and I need to stay hydrated.
A roll of toilet paper. Well for all that water…and the campus bathrooms do not come stocked with TP (or toilet seats for that matter, but that’s not as crucial)!
Bilingual Bible. Standard.
Flyers for our Vida Estudiantil group.
Spiritual interest surveys that we use to help us start conversations about God and provide a way for us to follow up with students.
Printed copies of articles on topics like prayer, our identity in Christ, submitting to God’s will, etc. to share with students who might need encouragement in that area.
Bilingual copies of the Four Spiritual Laws. Basic tool for sharing the Gospel clearly with others. We use these often!
A game. Currently carrying Pass the Pigs. A great way to meet new students and get to know them in a fun setting.
A Christian book. Currently carrying Entrusting the Key by Ali Smith since one of the student leaders just returned it to me (we exchange books often!)
Lip gloss. It is a purse after all! Who says missionaries gotta look homely?

It takes some time to plan ahead, but I think that even when I’m back home in the States, I will continue to carry with me helpful tools to share Jesus with whoever I might meet that day!

Graduated, but not from living for God

2012-03-30T18:59:00.001-07:00

I am proud to announce that one of my disciples, Tanairí, just graduated last month from UASD! She was one of the first Vida Students to do so and finished with honors. She worked hard, developed her skills as a Publicity major, loved her peers, and was a strong leader in our ministry.

With her graduating and leaving UASD, it is easy to feel a little sad at the loss of a great contributor to our ministry. However, I am thrilled that I still personally get to see her often and that she is continuing to be a messenger of God’s love to the people around her.

So how does she make sharing her faith with others a normal part of her life? Here’s some observations I’ve made about Tanairí that I think we can all learn from:

She loves the Lord and makes spending time with Him a daily priority.
She loves others by taking time to get to know them, develop relationships with them, participates in activities that will allow her to connect with them.
She is not ashamed to share Bible verses and what the Lord is teaching her with non-believers.
She does not isolate herself from non-Christians, but pursues meaningful relationships with them while remaining committed to living a Godly lifestyle.
She prays to be used by the Lord to bring others closer to him and for the people in her life often.

The point I’ve shared in bold above is something I recently witnessed as I went on a weekend trip with her and seven of her friends from her graduating class. I was deeply encouraged as I watched her model Christ to her friends, none of whom are followers of God. It was evident that in the four years of developing a relationship with these friends, she was not only respected for her beliefs, but adored for her passionate and genuine walk with the Lord.

Perhaps the biggest thing that stuck out to me about her behavior that weekend that I believe all of us desiring to lead others to Christ can learn from was her refusal to hide who she is. Since she normally spends time praying and reading Scripture in the mornings, she continued to do that while on the trip, even inviting our roommate to participate with her. When discussing a song that had some suggestive lyrics, she stated that her reason for choosing to not listen to the song was based on what Paul says in Philippians 4:8, “Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable.” There was a little confusion at first because one of their friends was named Paul and they were a little shocked he would say something so poetic (haha!), but it provided a way for her to share what the Bible says about how to live.

Tanairí recently told some friends of ours that it was because of her time in the university with Vida Estudiantil that prepared her to be an effective witness to others. She learned how to be a student of Jesus, how to love others, and how to share the most important thing with those around her. My prayer is that many more will leave the university prepared to be life-long followers of God, just like her.

Being Less Stingy with Celebrating

2012-03-26T11:06:00.001-07:00

Someone asked me what I love most about when the spring break teams come to visit. After two weeks of hearing story after story of how God became real and personal to students at UASD through interactions with the spring breakers, I was hit with the sensational reality of how cool my job is and how quickly I can forget that.

On Stint, we share our faith regularly, sometimes seeing students enter into a relationship with Christ and others not. It can be easy to focus on the overwhelming need for more people to know God or the imperfections of our ministry. However, I was woken up from my slumber when I heard one spring breaker share with tears in her eyes and a smile on her face how precious this week of telling others about Christ has been. She was able to see someone invite the Lord into their life for the first time and recounted the story to us with such wonder—you could tell that it was an experience she will not soon forget. She told us how this trip has opened her eyes to the joy that is to be had when we share the goodness of God with other people.

Claire celebrates what God has done by sharing her experience with us at the weekly meeting

To see this girl celebrating so joyfully just one person coming to know the Lord made me realize that I also need to recognize and celebrate what God is doing at UASD each day and trust Him through the upsets. I celebrate the fact that it’s so easy to have spiritual conversations with students on campus. I celebrate my relationship with my disciples and how God is their Rock. I celebrate it when our Vida students laugh and play together, growing in community. I celebrate the times when students tell me they want a relationship with Christ, but just aren’t ready to take the next step yet because it helps me pray more effectively for them.

Thank you Red River team for spending the week with us and loving Dominican students by telling them the best news ever, and for being a huge encouragement to me! I pray that this trip is just a paragraph in your story of adventures with God!

Spring Break Week #2

2012-03-23T19:56:00.001-07:00

It’s been a very busy week! I’ll post more soon, but I wanted to give you all an update on how the second week of our spring break visits—this week from Oklahoma University and RSU—has been!

Above:The team shares observations about student life at UASD and discusses how to effectively minister to a Latin American culture

With forty five spring breakers, we were able to spread wide and tell lots of students at UASD about God’s love for them and how to find authentic community within Vida Estudiantil. Some fast facts:

Between the spring breakers, our Vida students, and the Stint team, over four hundred UASDianos (students at UASD) were told about Vida Estudiantil and invited to a weekly meeting.
We received contact information from over two hundred students interested in learning more about how to have a personal relationship with Christ and Vida Estudiantil.
I don’t have an exact count just yet, but I was personally introduced to two students today who received Christ as a result of meeting with the spring break/Vida students.
Saw over forty new students come to the Friday weekly meeting!

I can’t wait to share more stories with you about how we saw God answer our prayers to give us opportunities to share his love in powerful ways this week. Thank you for praying for this time and please continue to pray for those who are just beginning their walks with Christ and for those that are new to Vida Estudiantil to find life-giving community here!

A spring breaker jots down some details on the back side of a contact card (one of over 200) so we can follow up with them next week!

Got to worship the Lord in two languages at the weekly meetings!

One week down, one more to go!

2012-03-16T19:32:00.001-07:00

The first group of spring breakers completed their final day of work at UASD today. While we will miss their help expanding our reach on campus, we are celebrating all the amazing things the Lord did through them that will last beyond this week.

Praise the Lord for the ways he has blessed the week and answered our prayers!

Six of the spring breakers shared how one can have a personal relationship with Christ for their first time ever!
Ten follow-up appointments were made with students the team met at the beginning of the week.
As a result of being a part of leading a student to Christ and experiencing the “tremendous joy” of witnessing it happen, one spring breaker was inspired to reconsider what is most important in his life.
After a week of being challenged to share her faith with strangers, one spring breaker is preparing to share about Jesus with her mom as soon as she picks her up from the airport!
Students shared a message or testimony before a crowd for the first time in their lives!
God answered our prayers by giving the spring breakers wisdom in knowing who to invest their time in—will keep you posted on how some of those friends they made remain involved in the ministry!

There are dozens of stories I want to share in more detail, but for now I will just say thank you to the PSW spring break team for taking a week to share the most important thing with students in a country that is really important to me!

Lots of new students join the weekly meeting today at the end of the first spring break team’s week in the DR.

Student leader Albelina prays for the PSW spring break team as they prepare to return to the States

Only at UASD…

2012-03-16T06:32:00.000-07:00

A respite from my more serious posts…

Only at UASD will you find the bathrooms labeled with permanent marker:

You’d think they could have gone to the effort of drawing stick figures for the non-native speakers!

Raising Up Christ-Centered Leaders

2012-03-15T06:09:00.001-07:00

Here in Campus Crusade Dominican Republic, our goal is to not only see people enter into a relationship with the Lord, but also to help them grow into Christ-centered leaders.

For those of you who have been reading my blog and monthly newsletters, you are familiar with Ruth, one of the girls I am discipling (read more about what that means here). Meeting with Ruth and the other girls I disciple has been such an encouraging experience as I see this second part of our mission being fulfilled.

Always participating in our group’s events and willing to offer thoughtful suggestions to improve our reach at UASD, Ruth was recently asked to be a part of the Friday weekly meeting leadership team! This means that in addition to her 20 credit hours and working her part time job, she will also be responsible (along with the others on the team) for the preparation of the Friday weekly meeting: finding a speaker, having a fun community building activity, organizing prayer and worship, and asking students to share their testimonies).

Ruth and I are currently reading Beth Moore’s So Long Insecurity and are working through discipleship material that will prepare her to disciple someone else in the near future! Please pray for this young woman’s growing walk with the Lord, protection from evil, and for improvement in a physical health struggle she has had for a couple of years. Praise God for the ways he is raising up Christ-centered leaders at UASD!Ruth giving the message to students at our weekly meeting with Maira translating

Spring Break Day #2

2012-03-14T10:04:00.001-07:00

“I’m getting a deeper understanding of the culture,” said Star, one spring breaker who is here for her second weeklong trip with Cru. I remember Star from when she was here last year and how well she connected with the Dominican students, asking pertinent questions about their lives, learning some Spanish from them, and enjoying their company.

Before I tell you more about Star, I want to first say that I am a huge fan of mission trips, no matter the length. I am especially a fan of the weeklong spring break trips such as these for two reasons:

For their dedication to spend as much time as they can telling others how they can have a personal relationship with Christ and experience God’s love—in fact many have already come to know the Lord!
And for what God does in their own hearts as they discover the joy that comes with their role as Christ’s ambassadors. After participating in these short term missions, many decide to make spreading the Word of God a normal part of their lives.

It’s been exciting to see Star’s story unfold when it comes to how that first spring break trip impacted her life. Since then, she began taking Spanish Immersion classes (six hours a day, four days a week!) so that she can be prepared to serve others wherever the Lord takes her. She surprised me this year when I heard her speaking with complete fluency! At right: Star with Obed, a Vida student

God does amazing things through missions. To those of you who financially support myself and others so that we can bring the Gospel to other parts of the world, thank you. I pray that if any of you reading have the opportunity to go on a mission, for any length of time, or the opportunity to give to someone going on a mission to do so. It’s a joyful experience to be a part of bringing others to know the Lord!

“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” Romans 10:13-15

Spring Break Week #1

2012-03-12T20:19:00.001-07:00

Finally! Another blog post! I have recently felt convicted of not communicating very frequently through my blog, especially since it is one of the best ways that I can share with you what God is doing in students’ lives here in the Dominican Republic. I apologize and hope to pick up the habit of updating more frequently!

I will kick off my re-blogging by telling you about how God is using Cru college students from the States during their spring break. We have two teams visiting over two weeks. This first week we have with us students from NAU and UofA, two of which are returners from last years’ spring break trip that I remember interacting with.

While it may seem trivial to only have a week to spend doing missions, their role is actually very important. They will be going to campus for six hours a day meeting students, sharing the Gospel with them, and—the key part—asking God to lead them to specific UASD students who will remain in the ministry long term.

Why is this so critical? We have unfortunately seen a pattern of Dominican students being initially excited to make friends with Americans and while many of them truly do experience God through their friendships, the majority don’t get involved in our ministry. While we celebrate the ways God can use foreigners to lead people to Christ, we also know that it is equally as important that some of them join us in our cause: that every student at UASD knows someone who truly follows the Lord.

Here are some ways that you can pray for this week’s spring break team and Vida Estudiantil:

For energy to withstand humidity and cultural stress they are not accustomed to
For the Lord to show them who to invest their time in
For the spring breakers and Vida Estudiantil members at UASD to work well together to reach students on the campus
For our Stint team and national staff to guide everyone with wisdom
For God to reveal to the spring breakers more about his compassionate heart for people while they are serving here

Thanks for praying for us this week! Stinters getting to know the Spring Breakers

Why Wednesday is My Favorite Day

2011-12-09T05:21:00.001-07:00

Each Wednesday at 1pm, the Stint team and students from Vida Estudiantil meet up outside the library to share our faith. The first thirty minutes are spent reading a passage from the Bible that helps us understand more about why we share our faith and discuss what we can learn from the example Jesus set for us. We also do some sort of training—how to prepare and share your testimony, using illustrations to communicate the Gospel, becoming familiar with booklets and other materials to share with people—before splitting up in pairs to tell UASD students about knowing God.

This past Wednesday, I got partnered up with José*, a pre-Med student who has been part of our movement since the spring break teams came last March. This student was led to know Christ through their visit, another reminder of how important even short team missions are!

We forgot to bring the Four Spiritual Laws with us, a booklet that illustrates clearly and briefly the main points of the Gospel, but went out anyway trusting that God would help us communicate clearly how much he loves us and how in need we are of Jesus.

I was astounded when during our conversation, José* shared with the girl we were speaking to all of the main points and key scriptures from the Four Spiritual Laws from memory; he even recalled the illustrations and drew them himself on a scratch piece of paper. He also used his own illustration about how receiving Christ’s gift of salvation is like a sick person taking the prescribed medication that will make them well again. To not take the medicine is to deny the very aid you need. What I thought was cool about his example was the way he used his interest in medicine to clarify a spiritual truth.

It was encouraging to see how over the last eight months, José* has grown in his personal walk with the Lord and understands his role as Christ’s ambassador. His dedication to memorizing the truths that could speak most clearly to lost people challenged me to be more prepared to give an answer to anticipated questions about God.

I share this story with you for two reasons. One, because I want you all to be informed about what God is doing through the ministry he has sent me to serve and how you can be praying for us. Second, I hope that hearing stories about how young adults—even those with little time walking with the Lord—are living missionally will encourage other Christ-followers to be more bold about sharing their faith.

If you’re interested in getting your hands on the Four Spiritual Laws and other tools to help you communicate the Gospel with others, download this great iPhone app or visit this link.

Josh with some students during evangelism time

Investing Your Life in Others

2011-11-29T21:46:00.001-07:00

I want to share with you a major part of what you might technically call my “job” as a missionary, but really is so much more than that to me.

As a team, the six of us are here to support the current group of students and staff that make up Vida Estudiantil (Campus Crusade for Christ or Cru). Simply put, our presence here allows us to be committed to reaching more students at UASD for Christ, equipping students to do the same, and proving resources and an environment where they can grow in their faith.

Something that I have found particularly rewarding is my time with my disciples, three girls that I meet with weekly that are seeking a deeper relationship with the Lord and how to follow him. Together, we are all learning practical ways that we can understand God’s will for our lives through various materials.

With two of the girls, we are studying apologetics (rational basis for the Christian faith, click link to find articles on this topic) which is helping us realize the importance of understanding what we believe and how to communicate that clearly to others. One of them is also reading Beth Moore’s So Long Insecurity after I read it as recommended by one of my supporters back home. We are hoping to get a hold of a Spanish copy so the other can read it too!

With the third girl, we are reading a book called Taking Every Thought Captive by Jerusha Clark. As we read, she and I have been made aware of the lies that we have been deceived by about our worth, relationships with others, and our God. It’s been exciting that as I share what I am learning, she is vulnerable with me and is allowing the Lord to help her have a healthier thought life.

God has been teaching me what it means to really invest in these girls’ lives. I want each of them them, as well as any student in our ministry, to know God deeply and be equipped to bring others into a meaningful relationship with Him too. A verse that helped me understand how to do that better is 1 Thessalonians 2:8:

We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God, but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us.

Just as Jesus demonstrated the significance of “doing life” with his twelve disciples, Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians tells us that sharing every day life moments with them was a crucial (and enjoyable!) part of his ministry.

It has been such a cool thing to see how the girls God has given me to care for are opening up more and more as we share normal experiences like going grocery shopping, eating lunch together, visiting each others’ homes, discussing our family trees, even cleaning together! Every meeting with them doesn’t have to consist of a huge spiritual revelation. I will never be able to love them fully if all I am seeking is to force spiritual growth on them. But building friendships filled with fun, silliness, sharing of burdens, intentional conversations, and prayer will help me better understand how to serve them and draw them nearer to God.

You don’t have to be a missionary to invest in other people’s lives. God has given each of you people in your sphere of influence with whom you can reveal his love by simply sharing life with them. My prayer is that all of us would be able to love these people genuinely, not seeing them as some sort of project that could benefit from our time and expertise, but waiting on the Lord to show us how to point them to Him as we place ourselves in their lives.

Little Things That Bring Me Joy #4

2011-11-04T06:49:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, my parents celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary! The coolest part of this day for me—and every year I always seem to forget so it’s a surprise every time—is that my Dad gives me a call and tells me Happy Anniversary too.

Twenty years ago, in my parents wedding ceremony, my Dad called three year old Jessica up to the altar to place a necklace around my neck as he told me that he was not just committing to being a good husband to my mom, but a father to me.

Even separated by 3,000 miles, I still got a long distance call from my Daddy yesterday to say “Happy Anniversary.” Definitely brought me joy as I thought about what a special gift he is!

When I was having a really tough time in the DR last year, he was on a plane a week later to celebrate Thanksgiving with me, he always offers a perfect mix of gentleness and strength when I need him, he planned an incredible three week trip to Europe just for the two of us, and is the best example I have of what it means to live with Christ-like integrity and wisdom. Love you Daddy!

Attempt at Perfect

2011-10-30T08:10:00.001-07:00

I’ve been distracted from blogging for a while. We’ve had quite a few visitors this month and have been keeping busy, but I’ve also been sick all week—which has given me some time to reflect on a few things.

A month ago, my roommate Katie told me about how some friends of hers dedicated an entire year to making the perfect batch of chocolate chip cookies. They would bake at least a batch a week, trying different recipes, playing with oven temperatures, tweaking measurements. The best part is that everyone got to be taste testers in the mean time.

So we decided that we should take on a challenge of our own, to use this year to “perfect” a culinary endeavor. What will mine be?

Scones.

For those of you who have not had the pleasure of trying one of these delectable foods (perhaps you were more of a muffin person when faced with the decision at Starbucks), scones are a British biscuit-like snack that many enjoy with tea. Personally, I treasure scones for how they contributed to one of my fondest memories growing up of having tea parties with my mom, grandma, and siblings.

I finally got around to baking a batch this weekend. Here’s the basic recipe I used, though had to make a few cultural adjustments (stores don’t sell baking soda or buttermilk; fortunately these are easy to substitute).

They came out pretty great!

As I ate my tasty scone, I reflected on what it means to be made perfect. My scones tasted great already, but were they perfect? What would need to be changed about them to be without flaw? If people eat and enjoy them, does it really matter then if they are perfect?

To confess, I have been guilty of trying to make myself perfect. I recently discovered this (though not for the first time in my life) as I realized how worn out I was and how much I depend on affirmation from the things I am able to accomplish.

Key example: the first couple days of being sick, I felt really guilty for watching t.v. when I could have been working on something productive—emails, newsletters, this blog, even studying the Bible.

Yikes. This is when I realized that I need to relearn what it means to rely on God’s grace and remember that love is the greatest thing He’s asked from me.

A recent entry of a blog I subscribe to called The Resurgence puts it this way:

“…Our humanness is bound up in imperfection and that Jesus has perfected us by grace and thus we press on for his words of “Well done” and nobody else’s.”

Long story short, I am not perfect and my scones will probably never be either, but both are still enjoyed despite their flaws!

The Cost of Transformation

2011-10-16T09:12:00.001-07:00

I wrote the following exactly a year ago today. It’s amusing to read things you’ve written in the past, and I share it on my blog today because even after an entire year, it still has meaning for me.

We're studying Forgotten God in our small group and this question got some heavy reactions:

"Are you open to being transformed [by the Holy Spirit] no matter what that may mean for your life? If you do want to be changed, why do you desire this? If you don't, what is keeping you from desiring this change?"

So what is my answer?

Before I offer it, I want to share how the story of Elijah has captivated me lately. The story is in 1 Kings 17-19. What caught my attention was what he said in Chapter 19, verses 3,4:

Elijah was afraid and fled for his life. He went to Beersheba, a town in Judah, and he left his servant there. Then he went alone into the wilderness, traveling all day. He sat down under a solitary broom tree and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life, for I am no better than my ancestors who have already died."

I can totally relate with what I imagine Elijah was feeling. His lament followed a sequence of events in which he saw God provide free refills of flour and oil to a widow, raise her child from the dead, burn an offering that was drenched in water, send rain after years of drought, and run faster than a chariot to escape that rain. In all honesty, this man saw God do astounding things. What could cause him to find himself alone and waiting for death to take him? Was it taxing on him when the widow cursed God for allowing her son to die? Was he nervous when the worshippers of Baal were calling on their god to ignite their offering? Did he feel burdened in being the one to pray fervently for the rain to come? Surely Jezebel's threat of death sent him right over the edge.

I said that I can relate to Elijah. While I've never witnessed God's work in the same way that Elijah did, I have seen God do mighty things before my eyes. When I asked for a way out of the temptation to follow my peers and their recreational drinking for sake of keeping companionship, he provided a community of new friends who were truly following Christ, who were fun and helped me walk in a path that was life giving. I received courage as the Lord brought me to East Asia to share the Gospel with college students and witness some give their lives to Christ despite a language barrier and a strong opposition by the national government. Now as I am in the Dominican Republic, I am leading our team of five young adults who have never been out of the country for a year, not to mention never with the sole purpose of reaching students for Christ as a profession. We don't know what students need to hear to be free to experience Christ, my Spanish is at best mediocre, and our team dynamics are far from seamless.Despite how I've seen God work in my past, most days the weight of these responsibilities brings me to the same disposition as Elijah: "Take my life, for I am no better than my ancestors who have already died."

Before we answer if we are open to transformation by the Spirit, we have to analyze the cost.

Is it too honest to share that there are days when I wish that the success of my job didn't depend on God working through me? That it would be more comfortable for me to go back to being a high school math teacher where I can put in the hours of preparing lessons for students, being a good role model for eight hours a day, then go home and relax?

Instead, I am challenged with continuously seeking God's counsel to lead my team with wisdom and strength to obey his commands. When the Spirit asks me to drop my anger towards a teammate and spend time in prayer that unity and love would abound, I can't help but think, "No, thank you!" When the Spirit is asking me to lead my team in a time of worship, I want to crawl in a hole and stay there because I'd rather be shy about my gifts of singing and playing the guitar than to trust God that His Spirit will provide much needed rejuvenation to our team despite my lack of proper training.

So how can we be sure that the benefits of letting the Spirit transform our lives out weigh the costs?

Growing up, my mom always challenged me to do socially risky things: sing in talent shows, try out for cheer, run for student government, wear a super trendy outfit to school, take back food that wasn't cooked to order. I always groaned and tried to get out of doing these things, but she always convinced me that it really wasn't that big of a deal and that I had more to gain than to lose. I'll never forget the day that I learned that the reason she pressed me so hard was because she was too afraid to take these kinds of risks! We were at a water park and she refused to go down the water slide. Even after I told her how much fun it would be and that it wasn't that scary, she still resisted.

While I won't compare the thrill of living in compliance to the beckoning of the Holy Spirit to a trip down a water slide, it does help me realize how much I've gained when I've accepted my mom's challenges and how much we have to gain when we take the risks He asks us to take. I received attention and appreciation by my family when I sang for them. In cheer, I was able to express myself through movement and blossom in a time when my self confidence was in need of a boost. Being in student government put me in situations where I needed to meet new people and I saw myself being able to encourage those who felt unseen in our student body.

We won't always know what the benefits are of following the Holy Spirit. They might not even benefit ourselves, but someone else. If I want my answer to be "Yes, I want to be transformed by the Holy Spirit no matter what it may mean for my life," I have to remind myself daily of the truth in Psalm 84:10-12:

A single day in your courts is better than a thousand anywhere else! I would rather be a gatekeeper in the house of my God than live the good life in the homes of the wicked. For the Lord God is our sun and our shield. He gives us grace and glory. The Lord will withhold no good thing from those who do what is right. O Lord of Heaven's Armies, what joy for those who trust in you.

Little Things That Bring Me Joy #3

2011-10-15T20:54:00.001-07:00

Playing games is a favorite family pastime, college experience, and one way that I still enjoy interacting with friends. They can be fast paced like Catch Phrase and Speed, or thought provoking and strategic like Settlers of Catan or Bang.

A fun group game that I haven’t gotten to play since my days at ASU (a whole year ago I know…) is Mafia. For those of you unfamiliar with the game, it’s basically where all players are secretly given roles and everyone has to figure out which ones are the Mafia by reasoning it out with the other players.

My moment of joy today was seeing five of my Dominican friends—including Leyla—learn the game as they played it with us for the first time and love it! After one round, they begged to play again. I am loving being able to bring in pieces of what is fun to us into our growing relationship with them.

It was a little tricky to play the bilingual version, pero vale la pena!

Eucharisteo

2011-10-06T06:44:00.001-07:00

This post was really hard for me to sit down to write.

I will only use one sentence to describe the chaos that has been overwhelming me last week:

Our electricity has been completely out for eight days now—no fridge, washing machine, internet, lights, hair dryer, charging of phones…nothing!

There’s no need to go into the gory details of how that’s affected our daily lives, because this post is not aimed to glorify the problem, but rather glorify our Caretaker.

You know how people say they hate praying for patience because then they are faced with situations that require patience? Well, since this summer I’ve been seeking to know the joy that comes from gratitude. Hence, the electricity has been out among other circumstances that force me to look a little harder to find that beauty amidst the ugly.

It may be hard for us Westerners to relate to the passage in Matthew 6 about worrying over what we will eat, drink, or wear because God knows and provides for our needs. Even as I go on week two of no electricity, I still have my fundamental needs met and then some.

But I don’t think it matters how difficult a trial we are walking through; God still wants to be our provider AND even more importantly, wants us to experience joy regardless of our circumstances:

I know what it is to be in need and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. Philippians 4:12

But how is that joy possible when the world is chaos around me? Ann Voscamp, author of 1,000 Gifts puts it this way:

“I would never experience the fullness of my salvation until I expressed the fullness of my thanks every day.” (40)

Eucharisteo in the Greek language means “to give thanks” and is where the practice of Eucharist, or taking communion, gets its name.

The secret of being content and filled with joy despite your circumstances is recognizing that there are many things to be grateful for. That God is still good. That He is not withholding electricity from my apartment because He doesn’t love me, but He dearly loves me and I can experience that love despite that problem.

I don’t know if that makes much sense, and I hope no one reads this thinking I never complain about things because I’m grateful for the good things in life (believe me, I can be an expert complainer!) But I just want others to know that there is peace and joy to be found when we choose to seek God, thank God, and enjoy the good things of life.

One step at a time

2011-09-28T08:49:00.001-07:00

While the coast we live next to in Santo Domingo isn’t what I’d call a beach, the paved sidewalks that line rocky cliffs hugging the water make an ideal running trail. Normally when I run, I can’t think of anything except for what’s playing on my iPod, but today I actually learned something.

I was on my return from the halfway point and still had yet to pass Adrian Tropical, this restaurant that serves as my “only ten minutes to go” landmark. I had already been running for fifteen minutes, I was tired, and wanted to give myself a break by walking for a bit. I tried to justify it by saying to myself, “I’ve already ran for twenty minutes…I worked out yesterday…what would stopping for a few minutes do to me?”

I even tried thinking of the satisfaction finishing a thirty minute run having given it my all the entire time would bring me (I’ve never been much of a long distance runner, so for me thirty minutes is plenty). But fifteen more minutes of giving it my all seemed too overwhelming to attempt.

Then Matthew 6:34 came to mind:

Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.

As I meditated for a moment on how Jesus tells us to live life one day at a time, I was encouraged to complete my run the same way—one step at a time.

Literally, for the next full minute I kept mentally repeating after each step, “That one wasn’t so bad.” Before I knew it, I was back to my starting point and as I stretched out my sore muscles, I thanked the Lord for empowering me to attain that satisfaction of finishing well.

It may seem silly to find such victory in completing a half hour morning run this way, but I write about it because it really helped me make the connection between what we are incapable of doing on our own strength and what we can do in God’s when we walk with Him one day—or step—at a time.

A glimpse of the sunrise from the Malecon is worth waking up early for

Little Things That Bring Me Joy #2

2011-09-22T15:37:00.001-07:00

Finally bought a toaster for our apartment. That’s another thing I went without last year. It’s just easier to put a slice of bread in there and wait a few seconds for evenly cooked toast.

The fact that we now have a toaster is great, but it’s the way that it springs the toast out of the machine like those guns that launch free t-shirts into the crowd at sporting events that makes me giggle.

It’s like it wants me to play hide and go seek with the toast. As I look into the toaster for my two slices of bread for my sandwich and only spot one, I can almost hear it taunting me: “Oh ho, gotcha this time. You’re probably wondering if you’ve lost your mind and really did put two pieces in or not. Sure try and find it if you think it’s really there…”

About 10 seconds later—which is really 9 seconds too long—I find the previously launched toast laying inside a bowl we keep by the microwave.

Though it’s not something I spend my whole day laughing about, those few moments of searching for my food from the springy toaster brings a smile to my face.

And anything that can do that is worthy of being added to my joy.

Little Things That Bring Me Joy #1

2011-09-17T15:26:00.001-07:00

I decided to add this section to my blog as seeking and valuing the good things in life—no matter how small—has been a recent objective of mine. The challenge was inspired by Ann Voskamp’s book 1,000 Gifts.

Worth the watch, here’s a four minute trailer for the book that has helped me recognize God’s blessings in the mundane.

Ann Voskamp’s book inspires the blessings of gratitude

Now on to my joyful experience for the day.

I’ve never bought a dragon fruit before. In fact, I didn’t know what it was called until I Googled it when I got home from the local Domincan super market. It was an impulse buy; I was curious to find out what this artichoke gone pepto bismol tasted like:

Laying forgotten in my refrigerator for a few days, I realized I still needed to figure out how to eat this thing. I asked my roommate to look into the proper way to cut and eat a dragon fruit as I placed it on the cutting board. “Slice it vertically like a kiwi,” she says from the dining room.

I can’t explain why, but I got this unexpected rush of anticipation as I prepared to reveal the insides of this intriguing fruit. What color would it be? Would it have seeds like an orange? Would it hold its form when cut open, or gush juices all over the place?

I can’t remember ever reacting this way to a simple task as cutting open a piece of fruit, but as the two halves fell open I gasped in awe of what I saw. Shocking fuchsia brilliantly complemented with beady black seeds and a texture like sherbet.

This experience of seeing the inside of a fruit for the first time may seem trivial to some, but to me it was like God sharing with me His wonder and tenderness through His creativity.

I am thankful for the reminder that the dragon fruit brought me:

God is good.

He makes beautiful things.

He loves to bring us joy through his creation.

He loves to bring us joy through our experiences.

He loves me.

What brings you joy today?

Music makes you well

2011-09-10T21:25:00.001-07:00

One of my favorite stories in the Bible (or at least makes the top 20 list) is in 1 Samuel 16 where King Saul’s soul had been troubled by a spirit that made him feel depressed and full of fear. His servants encouraged him with the following advice:

“Find a good musician to play the harp whenever the tormenting spirit troubles you. He will play soothing music, and you will soon be well again.” 1 Samuel 16:16

David, a God fearing man, shepherd, and harpist, was appointed for the job and as the King’s men suggested, Saul’s spirits would be lifted whenever he played the harp for him.

I love this story because it confirms why sometimes listening to music brings me comfort, encouragement, perseverance, and peace. Music can be a very powerful ailment for our sufferings when the words are edifying and promote wholeness.

I’ve often been one to benefit from others’ music recommendations, so here’s one for you guys that has inspired me to remember the important stuff in life. It’s by one of my favorite artists—Francesca Battistelli—and the rest of her songs are just as awesome. Buen provecho!

This is the Stuff

Do you have to speak Spanish?

2011-09-03T16:26:00.001-07:00

A lot of people ask this question when I tell them that our team will be working full time with college students in the Dominican Republic. One reason why I chose this country to do my Stint over others was for the opportunity to use the Spanish I had studied for five years while in Jr/Sr High.

Even with my plethora of book knowledge, I found listening and speaking a bit beyond my capabilities upon my initial arrival to the DR last year. Thankfully, my vocabulary and verb tense skills sharpened up throughout those first ten months as I spent more time doing life amongst Dominicans.

I’m pretty fluent now (someone even thought I was Dominican the other day!) However, half of our team is just beginning to add Spanish to their language repertoire.

Though it’s only been two weeks since our team has been in country, I’ve been delighted to find evidence that supports one doesn’t need to know Spanish right off the bat to make an impact in the Dominican Republic. One teammate has made connections with over a dozen students already by simply picking up a basketball or tennis racket and communicating through his actions on the court. One girl asks lots of questions and carries a small notebook with her where she jots down new words, phrases, and even Dominican recipes! Another teammate has an incredible ability to understand the gist of what is going on in a conversation and ask insightful questions that help spur the discussion further.

While I wouldn’t tell my teammates that developing their language skills isn’t important, I would say that humility and compassion for Dominicans are two qualities that would go a long way as they seek to demonstrate Christ’s love at UASD.

I can’t write this entry without thinking about the 90 students we received in spring break and summer project teams. The majority of them were not Spanish speakers, yet we are currently ministering to students that they initially reached out to!

So shout out to my three teammates who are kicking butt and taking names as they combat tropical heat plus cultural overload, yet still manage to build solid relationships with students; and another to all those that have come to serve the people of the DR and found a way to love them when you couldn’t speak their language. To me, you all have lived out what Paul encourages the Corinthians to be to the lost:

I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some. I do everything to spread the Good News and share in its blessings. 1 Corinthians 9:22b,23

Ricardo getting to know the guys in a tennis match on campus

What’s it like to be a student at UASD?

2011-08-30T16:33:00.001-07:00

Some of you have recently started reading my blog or just joined my support team, and as I’m going through the process of reacquainting myself with the main university we’re serving in the Dominican Republic, I deemed it important to share with you a little bit about UASD (Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo).

There are 120,000 students on the main campus, making it nearly double the size of the largest university in the States (which happens to be my alma mater: ASU). It’s a public university with a history; it was the first university in the Americas, founded in 1538.

So what’s it like to be a Uasdiano (student at UASD)? While tuition can be as low as 6 pesos (equivalent of 16 cents) per credit hour for those that attended public high school, they can spend a small fortune just getting to and from school everyday. For someone who takes class Monday-Saturday (which is quite common), they can spend about $15 a week taking public transportation.

Another challenge students are faced with is an inadequate study environment. I went to class with a friend once and the lights were out, some students had to stand or sit on the floor since there weren’t enough desks, and the sound of construction outside made it nearly impossible to hear the professor.

Students walking to class while construction of the Engineering building is in progress

Of course UASD has some redeeming qualities that makes it worthwhile to study there. Besides the fact that it is the most affordable option in the country, it is also well recognized by academic institutions abroad making transfers and advanced education more attainable.

What I love most about UASD culture is the ease of meeting people on campus. You can’t go far without seeing a group of students sitting leisurely on the grass or friends spending their free hours in between classes on a shady bench. Ask one to tell you about Dominican culture and they’ll talk to you for hours. I so enjoy their openness to make new friends and jump into conversation on any subject.

Spiritually speaking, most Uasdianos belong to a church (Catholic, Evangelical, Protestant being the most common). Collectively, Vida Estudiantil and the Stint team last year had over 1,000 spiritual conversations on campus. Something we learned from those discussions was that being affiliated with a religion doesn’t necessarily reflect a genuine faith in God. Many students that consistently attended church and believed in the divinity of Christ and existence of God would say they didn’t feel ready to have a personal relationship with Him. To illustrate how cultural religion in the Dominican Republic is, we learned that even atheists were familiar with Scripture quoting multiple passages.

There are a lot of faithful believers at UASD, and it’s encouraging to see groups of people meeting for Bible studies around campus throughout the week. But if I were to choose one verse that reflected the general spiritual need for UASD it would be this:

“Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’” Matthew 7:21-23 NLT

I’m still learning about what God’s doing at UASD. This week our team will be heading to campus daily to do some intentional studying of the university and its students so that we can minister more effectively to them. Pray for the students of UASD and our team so that more people can come to have an abundant life with God!

Mighty Creator

2011-08-23T19:54:00.001-07:00

Something I’ve been really excited to do this year with my team is a study on the different characteristics of God. We’ll be using Ann Spangler’s book The Names of God as our daily devotional to help us learn and meditate on what it means to recognize God for the various identities that He has.

Today, our team learned that God is Elohim, our Mighty Creator. This is the first name used for God in the Bible during the description of how the universe was created. The coolest part of our conversation was when we shared how we experience and benefit from His creation in our daily lives. Here’s a few of the daily gifts that we receive through His works:

The majestic display of lightening from behind dark hurricane clouds

The vast variety of living things, even just on the street that we live on. We take joy in seeing the mango trees, palms, and orchids that brighten up our urban apartment neighborhood.

The power of the ocean as the waves crash against the cliffs.

His overwhelming presence in silence.

It was so refreshing to talk about the ways that God’s creation have refreshed our souls. I’m looking forward to learning more about His character together this year and falling more in love with who He is.

And I just have to put this shout out in here:

Today is my teammate, Katie’s birthday! She rocked it practicing her Spanish on campus today and gave our team a great reason to come together and celebrate.

Katie meeting students for the first time at UASD

Things I lived without last year

2011-08-20T17:05:00.001-07:00

I thought my experience from our “moving in” shopping trip today would be a great illustration of what it’s been like as I begin my second year of Stint to the Dominican Republic.

I’m not sure if my new teammates thought I was managing with less, just being frugal, or plain out of my mind last year when I told them that we’d have to buy an oscillating fan, ice trays, and a kitchen trashcan since we didn’t currently possess any of those. Now that I’m sitting in the living room with the fan creating a cool, forceful breeze, I’m beginning to think I was on the brink of insanity too!

As I followed my teammates around the department store trying to remember why I went all last year without some of those items that they considered basic, it hit me that although I was returning for the same length of time to the same location, this year wouldn’t be a repeat of the last. Jimmy and I are not the same unsure and sprouting leaders that we were at the beginning of last year now that we’ve gained the gift of experience. My four other teammates are not the same people that joined us last year (whom I keep thinking I’m about to see walk around the apartment any second now).

On the other hand, some things haven’t changed a bit. Which brings me comfort. As we drove up to our old apartment, geared up to move back in, I got such a wave of excitement. This is my cowntry! (country of course sounds much better in a Dominican accent). I missed the eloquence of the flow-y Caribbean Spanish, the ease of taking public transportation, the teal blue sea right outside my window. Mmm! Love it.

So I look forward to embracing the new while growing more in love with the home that I was introduced to exactly one year ago. I trust that God will use the experience and compassion from last year to help me lead my team more aptly. I trust Him to use my new friends/co-workers/roommates to powerfully impact the students as they commit themselves to serving the Dominican people. I trust Him to bind our team together in unity. I trust that at the end of this year, I will be more in love with Him than I was when I first accepted the call of Stint and than I am with Him now.

Our team, left to right: Ricardo, Katie, me, Maira, Josh, and Jimmy at briefing in Chicago.

Massive shopping trip where we broke the news that our milk will now come in a cardboard box.

It’s not the DR if you’re not squished in a car having a great time!