Casa Abandonada

Last summer when I was running like a BOSS, I would run to the Casa Abandonada (Abandoned House) in Mogollon.   There was something about arriving there (puffing and sweating and gasping and sucking air in) and wandering through the roofless rooms, the beautiful stained blue floors covered with dry leaves and the cool balcony with no stairs.   You can see where the kitchen was and the yellow bathroom with blue shower and a patio out back.   There is a long driveway with palm trees on either side, mango trees all over, oranges/lemons/chinolas abounding, a ricola (small canal) out front  and behind the house, a river of wildness spilling its water over rocks and gurgling under more mango trees and a view of the mountains and clouds in the distance.   The vista is tremendous.  Being there feels like being the only person in the universe.   Like you and God have this cool secret.

You can feel that there was HOPE and  PLANS and HAPPINESS there, it was a house that someone loved.   And now....... no one remains.    It reminds me of when I was looking for a house in the States and I would see some complete bowsers.... but my personality is to see POTENTIAL and so I would say things like “well, it needs a little work.. but it’s got good BONES- I think I can work with it”.   And I think you can say that about the Casa Abandonada too.   She’s been through a lot- her roof is gone.   Some of the walls are covered in vines.   The trees are overgrown, there are bushes coming in the windows, which don’t have any glass or panes or jallousies anymore.    But she’s got Good Bones.   

It had been months now since I had been to the Casa Abandonado (let alone that I’ve gone running).    Physically...and spiritually and emotionally, I could always use a little work.   I can see what USED TO BE.   I can see that I’ve been through some stuff.  Some good, some bad, some mindblowingly phenomenal.  Some of my walls may have crumbled a little bit.   Oh and my eyebrows are way overgrown.    There are some pounds that have arrived that were uninvited.  I feel old sometimes, not so valuable, a little tired.  But I also know MORE than I did back when the roof was on so tight.   I've got YEARS under my belt of knowing how the rain will fall sometimes.   My blue floor can still shine, just needs a little clearin' here and there.  I know there was and IS HOPE AND PLANS AND HAPPINESS. 

I was at the Casa Abandonada this week- I walked there.  I didn’t run.  But the blue stained floors still had a little color gleaming through the dead leaves.    I heard the river calling me and I walked down the long shady driveway with palm trees on either side of me and the grandules swaying in the breeze in the field.   I sat on the rocks and watched the water swirl around me.  Then I climbed up on the countertop in the house and stared at the view out the window while the vines tangled up in my feet.   There were some tears shed.... tears of disappointment that maybe everything ISN’T always what I want it to be, that maybe I’m NOT what I wanted myself to be.   But there were also tears of gratitude.   That I’m WHERE I’m supposed to be, wrestling for what I believe is right.   That the rain will fall and drip all over but that my walls are still standing- the foundation is FIRM.  That God is IN it and He VALUES me, He loves me- shaggy eyebrows and all.    The thing is- I have Good Bones.   I was CREATED for days to sit in the Casa Abandonada and just BE.    YES I’m a little worn out, I get tired more easily, woeful things bring me down.   But I’m equipped for it.   I’ve got experience at this and I know there are days coming when there will be a new roof and glorious windows and the mangos will be hanging heavy on the branches with sweet juice dripping and little boys tossing rocks to knock them down.   This is a house well loved.    And so am I.  

I still dream a teeny little dream about living in the Casa Abandonada.  Totally impractical.  Pipe dream sort of stuff.   Growing basil and tomatoes out back and listening to the river at night and having a chinola vine winding its way up to the balcony where I’d have coffee in the morning overlooking the mountain view.    The realities of mosquitos and no power and commuting distance are lost on me.   :)  Because I RELATE to the Casa Abandonada.   What was, what is, what could be.   We remember together, this little house and I.   There IS hope and plans and happiness.  Now.  We know we have Good Bones.   We hope and we wait and we relish the times of laughter and blue gleaming floors and suck all the juice out of the glorious moments and we are expectant for those times to come again.   And again.  And again.   

Micah 7:7 But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord,    I wait for God my Savior;    my God will hear me.

September Rundown

How is this team-free time blowing by so quickly?   It seemed like everything was just COMING together so beautifully with education in the barrios and then POOF- down time.   But I LOVE it.    LOTS of Meetings.  TONS of paperwork.  Responding to about a kazillion emails.  Writing up action plans.  Folding scrubs without the pressure to put them away This Very Minute.   Going out to see some of our schools.   Packing up backpacks for newly sponsored lil 3 year old cuties.   Visiting other ministries and sharing HEARTS in Jarabacoa with the rock star Mike and Karen Unternahrer family.   Checking out other hospitals to see what they have available and see what educational needs may be present.    Celebrating birthdays.   Hangin on the beach for a day with El Jefe Monch.   Planning the logistics for the series of CPR classes coming up in October.   Inventorying the clinic and the pharmacy.   (Hey, the scary room remains almost stable- I’m holding my breath).    Talking with some local community leaders to promote our upcoming surgical teams.

Today I was able to check out a really cool project that a friend of ours has been working on with building these cool stoves for some poorer folks who live in her neighborhood.   She showed us how it worked (made of concrete and ash and just construction stuff thats COOL that I pretty much know zero about) and it was so neat to see the success of good PROJECTS.    It’s awesome to see the difference that it’s made in her community and how proud she is that her community has taken ownership of this project.   I’m reminded of how fulfilling it is when we get to share in the beautiful moments of OTHER FOLK’S ministries, like being with Mike and Karen in Jarabacoa and finding out more about SI (Students International).   Those guys are doing great work!  I was INSPIRED.   And then hearing our friends Brook and Josh in San Juan talk with such LOVE about what they are doing in Pueblo Nuevo.   And there’s Miguel and Kristen in Captivo and in church planting.  And Ashley and Laura and Liz- the Peace Corp girls with their Women’s Groups and Kids Clubs and sports camps and sweeeeeeeet stuff!    And I’m reminded of how I LOVED that church in San Pedro where Pastor Bienvenido was so welcoming and I felt so ALIVE hearing that worship there.  Oh and Central Mennonite Church here (where I often attend on Saturday nights) is church planting in La Florida, a community WAY up in the mountains.    And our friend Pedro is running a Christian baseball academy out in Hato Mayor that’s just THRIVING.   And Partners in Health in Elias Pina is doing AMAZING things with their programs and follow up on HIV positive patients.  And I LOVED the Ywam center where Emma was in Jarabacoa..oh and the one in the capital where Laura Blank is… and oh and on and on and on and on.

There’s a lot going on.    Turns out we aren’t the only ones feeling like we are here for God’s purposes.  And it’s just a feeling of camaraderie sometimes- knowing that others feel that same “pull” to be here or to be SOMEWHERE to serve or help or play or lay blocks.    It’s happening at home in Parkesburg, PA at The Point and  and here in the DR and pretty much everywhere I’ve ever been.   Seeing Jesus play out in the faces and acts of His people.  Geez- does it get any better?

I mean, you guys do know it gets old sometimes no matter where we are or what we are doing.  I love, however, those opportunities to step back and see all the bazillions of ways that God is being GLORIFIED through His people (or… as the case may be…DESPITE His people).   This is that time for me.   I can breathe and it’s beautiful.  I have time to hold my friends’ kids and watch movies with them and go for walks and inbetween the meetings and plannings and birthdays and inventorying and organizing and all that jazz… I SEE Jesus here.  And there.  And in Pueblo Nuevo.  And downstairs in the kitchen.   I do.

And of course I’ll be ready for the next teams.  I’m PSYCHED for surgery (it’s been a couple months!).   I’m JAZZED to head out to the barrios again.  I’m CRAZY-Beside-Myself for the next CPR training.  BUT… last week..and this week… I’m taking it in slowly.   It’s good stuff.   God is SO good.   Geez- I’m blessed.

a little Heimlich in the barrios.....

For the past year we here at SRI have had a goal of introducing more education into our barrio clinics/mobile clinics.  And we’ve had “glimpses” of what that could look like several times throughout this year.   But the last two weeks of barrio teams, this dream of sharing education has been realized in a bigger, better way than I ever thought possible.

It means that one or two of our translators show up on Sunday afternoon to review and prep some “charlas” (or “talks”) with the American team.    It means that we have a few props now, like a model for breast exams, some posters, coloring sheets for kids, handouts, prizes, etc, that we organize and prepare for the barrio teams.   It means that we are willing and open to learning about topics that our American teams might be gifted in teaching and then able to focus on a subject to present for the week.   It means that sometimes we stop before we hand out intake forms to the patients waiting in the barrios so that they can listen and watch a 5 minute talk about nutrition or Proper Body Mechanics or more.   It means that sometimes our doctors will leave their desks and come outside and talk to the patients (who are crowded under a tree waiting) about Dengue or Preventative medicine or community living.    It means we’ve got to have a number of Americans willing to do “education” and play with the kids and hand out crayons and sing songs about handwashing sometimes.   It means that we have to think about how we can introduce God and His Great Love for Us into every charla that comes out of our mouths.

It’s about 10 million times better than I ever thought it would be.  I thought that maybe we should wait and undergo some formal training, me and the translators and leaders and everything    I thought that somehow someone would tell us exactly what to do and when and that it would probably be sometime in the future when someone more gifted in educational promotion would be here.   I thought that basically since I’m not good at the stuff like this… that it would just wait and wait and wait.  And then God kinda pushed me.   He reminded me that He has called me to be a BRIDGE all the time.   I just have to connect the right folks… not always make everything happen by myself.     And it turns out that our translators are hugely smart and gifted and can freakin TEACH.   And it turns out that people show up here who know how to teach CPR and the Heimlich manuever and Nutrition and Proper Body Mechanics and Diabetes and a whole bunch of other stuff.  Ohh and I work with guys like Dr. Sandy Valdez and Dr. Borit, who came out with us, got up from their desks where they were seeing patients  and proceeded to talk to the folks waiting outside about Community Living, Dengue, Preventative Medicine, and Vaccinations.

On the last barrio team I was on, I had a woman who actually TAUGHT CPR and First Aid (like…FOR A LIVING!) in the States on our team.   And every day someone else would join in on the education fun and teach another charla/talk or participate.   We all learned amazing stuff from each other and I watched in awe as they and Hector (our translator) would teach the crowds.   My absolute favorite moment was probably our last day.    We had been teaching the Heimlich Maneuver every day, since it turns out that almost everyone here knows someone who choked and DIED on a fruit or something in San Juan.   THAT is horrible.  It speaks to a huge need to educate.   Teaching the Heimlich Maneuver took those guys less than 10 minutes.   Then we would have a member of the audience “demonstrate” and “save” Hector as he pretended to choke.    On the last day, as Hector was giving the scenario and then stated “which of you can come up and save my life?”, a small 5 or 6 year old boy in the front row sprang to his feet.  He ran to the Hector as quickly as he could and proceeded to attempt to “save him” although he only came up to his waist.   The audience dissolved into applause and I stood there in awe.    Everyone was smiling and sharing and so happy to have this basic information.     And I realized that teaching the Heimlich Maneuver possibly had greater life-saving potential than the pills that most of the folks in the crowd had come to see us about.   Incredible.

I’m sure that doing 5 or 6 “charlas” or educational talks every day in the barrios can get old.  Folks are pushing to get in the doors to see the docs and some don’t want to hear us or the kids just want crayons and it’s hot and we just want to get moving and yada yada yada.   But wow- seeing it WORK with the last two teams has motivated me.    I’ve seen folks get psyched and even ask us for extra handouts to do their own teaching in their communities.  Or start asking questions about diabetes and exercises, etc.    And then I hear Hector preach about God our HEALER when we have sicknesses or talking about spiritual parasites when we address physical parasites, and on and on and on.  It all runs together into beautifulness for me.   Amidst the chaos and pushing and heat.

And God nudges me a bit and reminds me that He’s got this all covered…this whole BRIDGE thing that He’s called me to be.  Just putting together a couple folks who have cool gifts that I might not and then letting me watch the beautiful chaos that He makes it all out to be.  Oh and yeah, reminding me to make about 2000 copies of the fruit and veggies coloring pages for the Kids in the Nutrition Charla.   Cuz- I’ve got mad skills for making copies.   God is really good like that.    He loves 5 year olds who try to save big guys from choking.   And so do I.

Mavelin and the American educators prepping the crowd and asking questions.

Presenting their charla on Nutrition to the waiting kids.

Hector doing the story of David and Goliath.

Dr. Sandy Valdez and Mavelin speaking to the waiting patients about Community Living, Preventative Medicine

and Dengue Fever.

D

The kids anxiously raising their hands to answer questions (and win prizes!)

Folks settling in to listen to Dr. Valdez and ask questions.

Neonatal Resuscitation- This is supposed to be from July 21

Tomorrow (Monday) will begin one of my favorite things to do here at Solid Rock.  I get to accompany/support/assist Sam and Terry Wellman as they teach Neonatal Resuscitation in some local area hospitals.

This is the closest (except for the delivery of Baby Nicole) that I get to my previous life as a Labor and Delivery Nurse so it means a great deal to me.    I have heard Doctor Canario speak about the statistics of maternal and infant mortality here in this country and it’s not good.   It’s true that the places that we go often do not have the supplies needed….but it’s more than that.  Knowledge is Power, in this case.   The trick for us is to evaluate what is available to the health care providers…and then to use what is available to them to help save lives.   We also often leave supplies with the hospitals that we visit to help with Neonatal Resuscitation as well.

It’s fun, it’s exciting- it’s MOTIVATING again for me to watch how much people hunger for more knowledge.  Every time I have participated in these resuscitation classes, I am overwhelmed with how well received the classes are.  The doctors and nurses are always so grateful and anxious to participate.   It humbles me again at how much I took ( and still take!) my educational opportunities for granted when so many do not have the same opportunities.

It also gets me a little bit fired up at the thought of delivering babies once again in the future, hopefully in our new clinic.  How exciting to watch a new program start from the ground up!   Please continue to pray for our Revolution- the building of our new clinic..and the opportunities that it will afford those who live in San Juan and the larger surrounding area.

Bendiciones!

Santo Eres Dios

Often the most significant cool things that I get to participate in....are previously kinda unknown to me.  Or maybe I'm just clueless as to their significance in my world until they happen.    Last night I told one of my friends that I would help referee potentially unruly street kids at a church event in Pueblo Nuevo.   I envisioned it as a type of babysitting and really had no expectations.

It started off randomly waiting for street kids to materialize at a predesignated pick up spot.  Not a single one appeared so after waiting about 30 minutes, we set off to look for them in the streets.  There are a few parks around, a few spots where the "limpia botas" (shoe shine boys) can often be found.    It had been raining and there weren't really a lot of folks out in the streets but outside the Plaza Duarte (the closest thing to walmart that San Juan has to offer) we picked up Angel and Roberto, two 12 year olds who are some of the feistiest street kids I know.   I was a bit nervous to bring them since they are pros at scamming ice cream out of Americans and specialize in looking super pathetic to score sympathy from unsuspecting visitors.   Angel especially is one of my favs because he's got a great twinkle in his eyes and usually has about 20 bruises and bumps all over himself from wrecking bicycles or falling off motos or fighting in the streets.    He was thrilled to be invited to a church event, especially somewhere where he had never been.  He wondered aloud if there would be food but I quickly assured him it was a CHURCH ACTIVITY, without snacks.  So off we set for Pueblo Nuevo, after checking in with some other beloved street kids who promised to show up tomorrow.     I reminded them several times that they had to stay IN the church, no fighting, no knives, all that good stuff and they earnestly promised to behave.    I may have even mentioned that there could be prizes available for the attendees  :)

We arrived and they immediately hit it off with some other kids that they recognized and were happy to talk to.  I then had them sit right next to me, even though Angel snuck off to peer out the windows and ask the American group for food, cross necklaces, gum, bracelets, tictacs, and whatever else they were handing out.  I had to hide a smile as he would hide what he already been given to ask for more.   When I pointed out to him and those handing out things that he had at least 3 bracelets already, he reminded me that there are many people who live in his house and he thought it important to ask for enough for his mother and sister too.    He finally made it to his seat as the worship was starting.   Meanwhile Roberto was wide eyed listening and watching the music begin.    It was about this time that I begin to "take in" the full house in the church, young folks anticipating the program.    Americans, Dominicans..... just people waiting to see Jesus.   As the songs began to unfold, people rose to their feet and hands went into the air.    There was a loudness and a stillness at the same time.... music pounding, hearts filling, Christ in it all.   It was heavenly to see, English speaking mouths forming words in spanish all to praise Jesus.   Heavenly to see Joel, Santiago, Brook and Josh in complete worship up front and old and new friends all around screaming the words as loud as they could.   The last song that we sang is below.   Its not the first time I've heard it but I've been singing it ever since we shouted the words to Jesus last night, telling Him that He Is Holy.  Holy is His Name.  With Everything that I am- I will sing to You how much I love You.

There was a holiness all around, Holy Spirit descending...on street kids, on the orphanage, on the Americans, the Dominicans, on even me.    I could see how a casual commitment that I made to a friend became an opportunity for Jesus to call me to Himself, to remind me that my life is His, that I BELONG to Him, that He has brought me to HIS place, THIS place.    I was there, called with the street kids, to fall right down and receive another yet chance to Be Loved, to give Him my whole heart, to know that when we forget why we are here and how we are serving... He shows up in His Way and reminds me to CHOOSE LIFE.  CHOOSE HIM.  CHOOSE  To. Be. A. Part. Of. What. HE.  IS. DOING.

Needless to say- Angel and Roberto had a great time.  They were the first ones to raise their hands to receive Jesus (and maybe prizes too?) and I couldn't help but grin from my seat as they were hugged and prayed over and just LOVED on.   Laura came to pick us up at the drop off point and we stopped for hotdogs and chimis on the way home ( I shamelessly bribed them with food in exchange for good behavior).    They had a good time yeah...but it was me who of course was wasted.   Wasted again with how GOOD it is.   Wasted at the Words Of Worship that I can't stop singing (and I have no voice left so it's not sounding so great).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMwuEIzOxwY

Aunque tú
Estabas cerca
Inseguro y distante
Estaba yo

Tu gracia luchó
Por mi respuesta
A la puerta me esperó
Le dejé entrar

Te diste por mí
Por mis ofensas
Por rescatarme
Pagaste mi dolor

La maldición
Tu cambiaste
Por eterna redención

CORO 1
Vino tu amor
Para salvar
Fuiste a morir
Te entregaste
En mi lugar

II
Me diste perdón
Y vida nueva
No hay nada
Que me aparte de tu amor

Mi aspiración
Y mi deseo
Es rendirte adoración

CORO
Vino tu amor
Para salvar
Fuiste a morir
Te entregaste
En mi lugar

Vino tu amor
A libertad
Fuiste a morir
Te entregaste
En mi Lugar

PUENTE
//Santo eres Dios
Tu nombre santo es
Con todo lo que soy
Te cantaré
Cuánto te amo//

Here are the words in English...

Although you were close

I was insecure and distant.

Your grace fought For my answer

You waited at the door and I let You in

You gave for me... For my offenses

By rescuing me... You paid my pain

you changed the Curse...

By eternal redemption

CHORUS 1

your love came to save

You went to die

You gave In my place

II You gave me forgiveness And new life

Nothing can take me away from your love

my aspiration And my desire

is to surrender to you in worship...

CHORUS

your love came to save

You went to die

You gave

In my place

your love came

to free me

You went to die

You gave In my Place

BRIDGE /

You are Holy, God.

Your name is holy

With all I am I will sing

how much I love you...

Beautiful song...And I guess thats it.

He is the HOLY GOD, the only God and His Name is Holy.

And with all that I have, I will sing to Him how much I love Him.

Quiet TIme

The rush of medical or surgical teams is over for the moment.   The SRI summer teams are more construction, youth groups, or VBS.  So the SRI medical coordinator, (yup, that would be me.....) has a bit more downtime.  

Oh there is work to be done.  The pharmacy always needs inventory.  The scary room still has many suitcases to be unpacked and organized.   The clinic could use my attention.  Our dryer room is full of empty (or full?) suitcases/bags, etc that could find homes.  But I’m in the States now, fueling up on the love of the folks who send me.   Gazing at the mountains from our cabin porch.    Snacking on blueberries with my folks and reminiscing.    Playin a little wiffle ball with my nephews.  Visiting with my crew.    Sharing what is up in San Juan and the vision for the future.  

Lately I’ve been missing babies... delivering babies.... holding their mama’s hands in labor.   But it only makes me more excited for the new clinic and the day when WE can have Obstetrics in our clinic.  It’s a little way off- we’ve got the BUILD the new clinic first.   But I dream of one day.    I don’t see great OB statistics here.  In fact, I sometimes see horror stories.   I used to pooh-pooh all the continuing ed and pathways and drills that we had to do in the US hospitals i worked in.   It drove me crazy to come into work on days off for classes, courses, and demonstrations.  But now I see the need.   I see the value.   And I’m humbled when I see the desire to LEARN in the faces of those that I love here.   It pushes me to want to be a better teacher.  

It excites me for a new clinic with a passion for the poor and demonstrating INTEGRAL (spiritual, physical, emotional) health.  It (GULP) makes me wonder what role I will have in continuing education in the future. Could it be that God will have me involved in doing things that I used to roll my eyes at?  :)  I think He’s been working in my heart AND in my abilities in this way.  At the very least I think He’s calling me to ENCOURAGE this type of education.   It excites me when I see Americans come down and want to teach or demonstrate or share.  It reminds me of how education can change the world.   And I see it on the school side as well.  I see the kids that graduate from our sponsored schools down here and I see some of them volunteer in the community, or end up translating for us, or go on to greater things.   I see my friends wrestle to continue their education, although it sure seems to take so much longer in the DR.    It’s cool to see the need and the fruition of education both on the medical (our clinic and barrio teams) sides and the school side.   Sponsoring kids really DOES make a difference.   Having CPR classes really DOES save lives.   It’s exciting stuff!   I mentioned several months ago that participating in the Neonatal Resuscitation classes taught by Sam Wellman was one of the single most valuable things I feel that I have done here.   And I get to do that again in July when I return from the States.  It saves babies, guys!  How awesome is that!   

So YES, I’m psyched for the future.  I’m increasingly PSYCHED for the new clinic and the change in healthcare that will result in San Juan.  I’m wanting to learn more MYSELF in order to share and teach.   It cracks me up that once upon a time I never wanted to do anything except Labor and Delivery.   And now I know a little bit more about General Surgery and Ortho and ENT and Gyn and Tropical Medicine.     And I want to know MORE.   And YES, I know that much of what I do is QA (quality assurance) but I’m learning more about that as well.    I miss my maternity mommies...and I hope the day is coming when I get to see them again.  But I love what God is doing here in San Juan, changing lives, changing MY life still.  I love that I am part of something that is growing and evolving and spinning around to bring us  all back to Him.  

When I’m working in the clinic or in the barrios on the mobile medical teams, I often feel like I am IN the moment.   I’m not even thinking much about tomorrow- just the folks in front of me and how the American teams are feeling/doing/experiencing.   I don’t know that I have much time (or energy) to dream so much about what WILL be.  But in weeks like this..... time in the States to breathe and catch up and process..... I think of what is COMING.   

And I want to be ready.  It’s good stuff.  :)

clear natural pool in the DR

beautiful Pine Creek, PA

Gorgeous two worlds collide!  Beauty all around us....

PS For those of you who don’t know what I’m talking about with the new clinic...go to our website at www.solidrockinternational.com and check out The Revolution!

On the humdrum

It has recently come to my attention that I usually try to make my blog entries kinda interesting.   I think that is completely normal- HOWEVER- I need to be honest that my life in the DR isn't always wide open and fascinating and so emotional and full of spiritual mountains.   Sometimes I do laundry too.

So here it is.....an affirmation that not all of my life here is thrilling and "missionary-ish".

Almost every weekend before the teams arrive,  Laura or I pick up dog poop here at the Guesthouse.  And that stinks, literally.   We also "open the rooms" meaning we unlock the doors of the rooms that have been prepared for the teams, open the windows and turn on the fans.    Yippeee for excitement, eh?

As noted above, of course I do laundry.  Yup.  Surprise.  And our washer or dryer occasionally leaves weird marks on my clothes and they seem to be destroyed much easier than in the States.    Right now I have about 6 dresser drawers that need to be organized.  And then I have a bunch of medical stuff in my room that I have to go through and determine if it needs to STAY in my room or I can punt it somewhere else.   Booooorrrrrriiiiinnnnnnggggggg.

I have to sweep out my room almost every day because it's so DUSTY here and there is dog hair all over the floor.    Same for dusting.    Bathroom is the same-  dust EVERYWHERE.   Sometimes I think the cleaning is oh-so-futile.  

Bill paying by computer.  Ugh.  Mom and Dad help me with lots of paperwork stateside but I still have to stay on top of that stuff.    Also- continuing education credits for the nursing licenses and staying on top of my CPR, NRC, BLS, etc.     Really fun when the WIFI goes in and out and I lose credits that I PAID FOR.   Grrrrrr!

Plants.  I have some basil and palm and other "plant friends" that I am trying to keep alive.  I'd like to add tomatoes to the mix but that hasn't happened yet.    I fail miserably at watering my plants but fortunately it's the rainy season here.

Email.  I spent lots of time emailing incoming teams/my boss, etc.   Also very fun when the WIFI isn't exactly dependable.

Med room/pharmacy.  Every week after/before a barrio team I have to clean up after the week (even if we don't have a team in there are many folks who use our pharmacy) and organize it  for the next folks.   That includes ensuring that we have enough intake forms/paperwork, etc.   And Scrubs.  I fold scrubs and put them away in the pharmacy too.  Ugh.  This week I bet there are 100 scrubs waiting for me in the laundry room.    Glamorous, isn't it?

Scary room/clinic.  There are about 6 suitcases and one random stack of PVC pipe that need to be organized this week in the scary room.  I also noted at least 5 suitcases in one of the closets in the clinic that need to be unpacked and put away.

Relationships.  Just like at home- folks need quality TIME and conversation.   One of my dearest dominican friends lives within walking distance of this clinic and I bet I don't see her more than once a month.   Boo.   And I'd love to get out to the orphanage more than every 8-9 weeks.  

Church.  I go to church on Saturday nights at Central Mennonite here and I love it.   But hey, english is still my first language and sometimes it takes intense concentration to understand the majority of the message.   I'm usually pretty tired after church because it takes a lot out of me.

Food.   I'm the first to admit that I kinda loathe the kitchen work (for the most part).   But when we don't have teams here, we still eat.  Keeping the kitchen clean with food in the frig is something we have to be intentional about.    I WILL say that my little basil plant has created my favorite meal- tomatoes/basil/cheese/olive oil salad and I can eat the same thing everyday very happily.  Our local Dominican friends find it disgusting.   :)

Jesus time.   I'd love to be that disciplined person who says they have devotions and prayer time with Jesus every morning at 5:30.   But I'm not.   I wrestle with it.

Nicole time.   This is not a country where being alone is encouraged.  Alone time is an anomaly.   Laying in my bed on a Sunday morning sleeping past 6:30 is a crazy gift.   Being able to think and process and dream- wow.  

Meetings.  We don't have a lot but we DO meet as house staff.   I am actually one of those peeps who LOVES meetings.   We have a meeting with our translators this week that I am really looking forward to.   Meetings, yay!  Is everyone jealous yet?

Support/counseling.  I meet with one of the pastors at our church (and sometimes with the pastor in El Cercado as well) occasionally for counsel and support.  It's been very positive and I'm so grateful to have had these opportunities.  

These are just some examples of the basic or "humdrum" aspect of life here.   I do want to be open about the fact that it's GREAT and I love it but I still make my bed in the morning and don't always feel like "Miss Sally Spiritual".   It's still LIFE after all.    I wonder if because I work overseas at a ministry folks suppose my life is straight street evangelism or watching miracles in the clinic every day.  Not quite.  But sometimes I see Jesus in the humdrum laundry days too..... or picking up dog poop.  It's not glamorous- but He's with me nonetheless.   And I'm grateful.