Palm Sunday and Easter....and stuff that i miss

I would hope that you all know that I love living in the DR.  I love the culture, ALMOST all of it.  But there are days and times that I miss my life in the States terribly.    It goes without stating that family and friends are missed greatly.   But man,  Lent/Palm Sunday/Easter and Christmas are times during the year that I miss home ALOT.    Our traditions.  The sacredness of the Church services.  The music and songs and smells.   Today on Palm Sunday, I'm sitting in my lil apartment, listening to the motorcycles outside, preparing to pick some of my peas to cook for lunch with rice,  hoping our chickens will shut up soon,   finishing up an oatmeal breakfast, and I'm a little sad.   I'm sad because   I'm not sitting at Maple Grove watching all of the kids walk in with palm branches waving in the air.   We aren't singing the same songs, the same hymns together.    Those are the songs and the hymns that I grew up on.   I probably won't hear a sermon about the PREPARATION, the triumphant entry into Jerusalem, the excitement of the disciples thinking THIS IS IT- Here comes the King and we are At.His.Side for the Big Show to begin.    All the dreams, all the hopes of the people...pinned on Jesus the Conquerer, not Jesus the Lamb.    Jesus- riding in on a donkey, fulfilling prophecies and dreams,  hearing the shouts of the people HOSANNA.    Sigh.  I miss it.

Below a list of Palm Sunday quotes that I found to celebrate on my own- the triumphant entrance.

• Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you; righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey." - Zechariah 9:9

Matt 21: 8-11 Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.”

• "And you shall take to you on the first day the fruits of the fairest tree, and branches of palm trees, and boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook: And you shall rejoice before the Lord your God." – Leviticus 23:40
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• "Jesus found a donkey and sat upon it, as Scripture says: Do not fear, city of Zion! See, your king is coming, sitting on the colt of a donkey!" - John 12:14
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• The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!” And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written, “Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey's colt!”- John 12
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• "When Christ entered into Jerusalem the people spread garments in the way: when He enters into our hearts, we pull off our own righteousness, and not only lay it under Christ's feet but even trample upon it ourselves." - Augustus Toplady
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• "No pain, no palm; no thorns, no throne; no gall, no glory; no cross, no crown." - William Penn
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• "But Palm Sunday tells us that ... it is the cross that is the true tree of life." - Pope Benedict XVI
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• "Palm Sunday is like a glimpse of Easter. It's a little bit joyful after being sombre during Lent." - Laura Gale
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• "Lord, we lift up your name. With hearts full of praise; Be exalted, O Lord my God! Hosanna in the highest!" - Carl Tuttle
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• "Alleluia, how the people cheer and palm leaves rustle as the king draws near." - John Beavis

Oh and the music....the hymns...  Here it comes.. Are you guys singing these songs in the States today?  

All Hail King Jesus, All Hail the Power of Jesus Name, All Glory Laud and Honor, Blessed Be The Name of the Lord, Blessed is He, You Reign, Hosanna (Hillsong's Hosanna In The Highest- our wedding song!),  Majesty, The Revelation Song, Worthy You are Worthy, You are Crowned with Many Crowns..and many many more, plus a personal fave that I remembered this morning,  The Love of God.   I read the words to this song and could HEAR Dorothy and Anna and my Dad singing it in the pew in front of me at Maple Grove Mennonite on a cool Palm Sunday morning while the kids waved their branches and we stood and sang in 4 part harmony.   

The love of God is greater far
Than tongue or pen can ever tell;
It goes beyond the highest star,
And reaches to the lowest hell;
The guilty pair, bowed down with care,
God gave His Son to win;
His erring child He reconciled,
And pardoned from his sin

Oh, love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure—
The saints’ and angels’ song.

When years of time shall pass away,
And earthly thrones and kingdoms fall,
When men who here refuse to pray,
On rocks and hills and mountains call,
God’s love so sure, shall still endure,
All measureless and strong;
Redeeming grace to Adam’s race—
The saints’ and angels’ song.

Could we with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade;
To write the love of God above
Would drain the ocean dry;
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky.

Uff- I can't even sing it without tears filling my eyes.  The Love of God.  For me.  The triumphant entrance.  For me.  And throughout this week...the preparation.  The triumph and the pain.  The blood and the cross.  The empty tomb and a Risen Savior.   I won't celebrate it here like I do in Pennsylvania.  There won't be lilies everywhere, filling my nose with the most fabulous aroma.  There won't be peanut butter eggs here, or ham and macaroni.   There won't be Easter baskets or egg hunts or new dresses or hats.   On Easter Sunday next week, there won't be folks saying "He Is Risen" and me responding (in english at least!) "He Is Risen Indeed".  There won't be a somber Good Friday service ending in darkness as we prepare to Wait.  Wait.  Wait.  Because Sunday IS COMING.   There won't be sunrise services with sacred quiet on Sunday morning waiting until we can leap for joy that the Tomb. Is. Empty.   HE'S ALIVE.  

Nope.  I won't have that here.  It's different.  I'll look for it in other ways.   I'll  maybe have a Seder meal with Dan and Kari and Laura and our hubbies and crew.   We'll celebrate Passover and Easter differently.   I'll think of Ken Umble singing He's Alive on Easter Sunday back home and I'll WISH MYSELF there to hear it.   But here's the thing.  I don't know if it matters how we celebrate it because IT ALL HAPPENED ANYWAY.   It doesn't take away from the fact that Easter Sunday means all of my faith has culminated in the Resurrection of the Living Savior.   I get emotional about the traditions, my culture, and how much I miss it.  But my emotions don't make it more important to the world.   LIVING my faith out, living and knowing EVERY DAY is Resurrection Day is where it's at.  And in that way, this Dominican culture is awesome with Easter.   That is what they believe about Christmas AND Easter.  EVERY DAY is a reason to celebrate Christ's Birth.  Christmas on December 25 isn't such a big deal then.  And EVERY DAY is a reason to celebrate His Death and Resurrection.    So maybe Easter Sunday doesn't seem to be such a big deal here either.  It's not my culture- but it's maybe more important every day here.  It's true.  

So I'm taking a deep breath and listening to The Love of God and reading Matthew and John and cutting a few palm fronds to put on my kitchen table.   And I'll think of eating habichuelas dulce this week and getting together with my Dominican family and laughing at adults sitting in their kiddie pools in the street.   And it'll be okay.   It'll actually be great.  But guys, somebody eat a peanut butter egg for me.  If you are celebrating or have celebrated Passover, let your soul resonate in the sacredness of the Holy Supper.  And when when you enter your churches in the States...full of the intoxicating scents of the lilies...celebrate BIG.  Wave your palm fronds BIG.  Sing LOUDLY.  Not because it makes Palm Sunday and Easter more important for ONE DAY.  But because Jesus and His Resurrection is important EVERY DAY.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6B_jYtjvME

* everyone hold onto your hats- I just posted a GAITHER video.  This means I am old.  It's from possibly the 80's, based on hairdos.  However-  the harmony reminds me of the MG (Maple Grove) and I love my peoples there.   Carry on- it's a beautiful song.  

43 and connections

Hey.  A few things have happened since my last blog.  Um.  I had a birthday.  Turning 43 was uneventful overall.   It was a chill birthday out with the hubs and some pals.  The real party will begin when we have some time off since I have requested a Lip Syncing Party of the Solid Rock crew.   We all need weeks to prepare so there is not a date set as of yet.   However, I can promise that this is a closed event and NO videos or photos will make the internet (especially of me and my husband dressed up as Beyonce and Jay Z).   

Note that we are not Beyonce and Jay Z.  Instead we are blurry people.   On my birthday.  

Someone else VERY precious had a birthday and her name is Nicole too.  Yup.  Baby Nicole is 4.  FOUR.   I can't believe it.  When I calculate my time here, I only need to think about how old she is and realize I have been here FOUR years.   Her birth day is still one of my greatest moments in the DR and I look forward to watching her celebrate many more of them.  She doesn't exactly understand that we have the same name and just yells "AMERICANA!" when she sees me.    She sits on my lap and cuddles and hugs and again, there IS the promise of an overnight stay when she feels ready to be away from her mama for a evening.    

It's been a crazy busy winter.  Aside from getting married and honeymooning and being a newlywed, winter is my busiest surgical and medical time.   We've had 7 surgical teams since January 7 and have had groups here 10 out of the last 11 weeks.   It's been fabulous, it's been frantic, it's been fiery, and God has been faithful.   When I remarked to Monchy about how tired I was feeling, he reminded me that last year I cried a lot and told him that  I couldn't do this.... and he casually stated how much better this year has been.   Much less crying.  Much less tears.  He's right.   Although I continue to have some anxiety over the clinic and our patients,  I have learned to trust much more.   I feel more trust in our Dominican staff and our American incoming teams, in my own personal SRI team, and in delegation.    The greatest thing lately is that I don't fold scrubs anymore.  I have turned over folding scrubs to  two of our fabulous interpreters and they do a far better job than I ever did.    For some reason, it makes my Fridays about ten million times better than before.    And- I feel like I can enjoy work and our patients more when they come in because there is a wonderful back up system behind me.  And seriously, who wouldn't love to squeeze some of the cuties below when they show up for surgery?   I think the suit jackets just take the cake.

Aside from surgery, my friend Cathy Case was here for 10 days helping in PACU and also teaching a CPR class for the Public High School Nursing students.    It's always so inspiring to watch the students get so excited about CPR, practice on the mannequins and answer Cathy's questions.   It is evident that the CPR classes over the last 2 years have made a tremendous difference in the teaching here.    The students can answer questions now that they were not able to answer several years ago, a testament to the updated information they are being given by their instructors.   

In February Monchy and I had some friends come to visit us in San Juan.   Mark and Margy Cottrell were here with their 3 sons.   In 1996 I was on my first mission trip to the DR with Margy when we first met Mark.  We worked on a construction project in San Pedro de Macorix (on the east side of the island).   Mark had made many connections in the DR and through the years he and Margy developed deep relationships with many Dominicans, including a woman named Maria, their "Dominican grandmother".   Although Mark and Margy had never been to San Juan, we all had quite a surprise when we learned that Pastor Enol (our Solid Rock pastor) had worked closely with Mark in the 90s in San Pedro.    It was a fun reunion to watch and even better, when we learned that Mark's "Dominican grandmother" had moved to San Juan.   She had moved in with her daughter and grandson, who just happens to be Nefthali, one of my dearest friends here.    Small world, we kept saying through a few shed tears.   Watching Mark reunite with Maria again was beautiful, reminding me of God's purpose in my life here.  Who would have known that I was in Maria's house in San Pedro nearly 20 years ago......and that I would be tight buds with her grandson in San Juan today?    That Margy and I would exchange looks over a Dominican street nearly 2o years later with both of our husbands in tow?   That Pastor Enol and I were laying blocks together building a school in 1996 and now taking care of people in the barrios in San Juan just this week?    Crazy small world?   Maybe...but I see God's hand over all this...demonstrating how He prepares us for things to come.   And how it runs together in His plan.   

Monchy at the new clinic site with the Cottrell boys, Sam, Isaiah and Eli.  

The Cottrells with their Dominican grandmother Maria

Beautiful reunions

Connections.  A new year of life.  Another birthday.   A husband and a castle.  The old coming together with the new.    One of our chickens had 2 peeps so we feel as though new life has come into our backyard as well.  :)  Easter is coming, my favorite day of the year.   Resurrection.   Celebrating life again.   I feel in the midst of it all.   

Thanks for the love and the prayers.   May the God of surprises and reunions and Dominican grandmothers take your breath away today with His Unfailing Faithfulness.