February 2013 Newsletter

Hello friends and family!  I hope 2013 has found you content and living abundantly!  

I am still here living the vida loca in San Juan de la Maguana, DR working for Solid Rock International as a Medical Coordinator.   That means I get to see the best of both worlds here, experiencing the DR through the eyes of the Americans who come to do surgery, hold mobile clinics in the poor neighborhoods, build churches and schools, and teach Jesus through VBS and Bible studies.   I also get to dig a bit deeper by building relationships with the Dominicans here, attending local churches,  spending time with friends, working on my domino game, learning more Spanish...and generally watching God work in the lives of the people that I love here.  

But the thing is- what I DO is irrelevant.  What GOD is doing in the DR is magnificent.  And He allows me to be a part of it!  What GOD is doing is bringing revival to the youth in San Juan and I get to experience their WORSHIP.  What GOD is doing is having LOCAL Dominicans ADOPT street boys that I love.  What GOD is doing is having local Dominican doctors provide education in the poor neighborhoods about dengue fever and living in COMMUNITY with their neighbors.  What GOD is doing is having our translators stand up and PREACH to folks who are waiting in line to be seen at our mobile clinics.   What GOD is doing is saving a little boy who suffered a terrible accident in front of our eyes from certain death by HIS MIGHTY HAND.  What GOD is doing is finding the most amazing pediatric cardiologist in the capital to take care of a precious little 4 year old with a really fast heart.   What GOD is doing is guiding surgeons’ hands in amazing surgeries that CHANGE patients’ lives.  What GOD is doing is demonstrating to me constantly that HE IS GLORIFIED when we acknowledge Him as our PROVIDER and that we can TRUST Him with our lives.  

Look, life is messy here.  It’s crazy and emotional and batty and beautiful.  I wouldn’t trade a thing.   And I’d love to stay.  I want to continue to love and be loved here and seek community and see God at work in a way that screams to me that HE IS WHO HE SAYS HE IS.   And I need help.  I need prayer and money and encouragement.   I (and my colleagues here in San Juan) am a self-funded worker, which means I’m supported by you guys.   Without your financial support, I cannot remain in this position.  And my funds are dire as of late.  Soooooo I’m asking for financial support..and some prayers...and some encouragement.    The major prayer request is that my house in the States will sell (or rent super quickly!).   And the second prayer request is that I will see/hear God directing all of my steps/actions and be able to reflect Him in my life.   Thanks friends!   

Blessings, 

Nicole

****  tax deductible donations can be sent to Solid Rock International, PO Box 20867, Indianapolis, IN 46220 OR  www.solidrockinternational.org also has a donations page.

update

Grrrr the news is that I AM working on a blog folks, I really am.  BUT I am locked out of my other blog site and I have to pay to put pictures up on here....soooooooo I'm waiting and hoping (and WORKING ON AN UPDATED BLOG!).  The post is coming soooooonnnnnnnn.....

What Matters....

I could take this time to mention that I get nervous about my house not selling, about needing to maybe come home to handle business, about being sad about some sicknesses that my people have, worrying about what folks think about me, how I look, how I'm handling things, if I'm being a "good enough Christian", if I'm working hard enough and accomplishing things,  if I'm living up to the expectations of everyone who is supporting me.... ya know...all THAT stuff.

All that stuff- I don't think it matters today.  Or yesterday.

What matters today is that Y is happy, thrilled... CONTENT in Pueblo Nuevo....and I saw him and his brother today.   With Juan Ulise- who beamed and hugged me.   THAT mattered.

What matters is that I'm going to the capital on Friday to take E for his appointment at the pediatric cardiologist and I got the doctor's name and phone number miraculously and through a GOD MOMENT and the Hickory team hooked me up with money to pay for it.  It matters!  

What matters is that our thyroid surgery patient from Pinar Grande came to see me today at a barrio clinic and I got to head over to her house and meet her son...who had called my cell about a thousand times to check on his mother during surgery.  Precious precious precious woman, who doesn't have two nickels to rub together but sends me juice and oranges and fresh fruit from her home.

What matters is that I saw Rodi in Hondo Valle yesterday.  Taller than before, living with grandma, going to school.  SUCCEEDING in life.  Same goofy grin- ornery looks.  Geez- I miss him.  It MATTERED.  It was another God moment given to me at the side of a road  having someone MIRACULOUSLY APPEAR in a place I do not know well.   I'm so proud of him.

What matters is that I got to visit Willy today at his house.  And the diabetes is bad- it just is.  But his parents LOVE him and want to take good care of him.   And I met with Perdomo and we're coming up with plans.  One kid- one disease- One Hope- Jesus Christ.   We prayed- it MATTERS.

What matters is a bunch of lovely children surrounding us and singing in Los Rincones at the top of their lungs at the end of the day and we leave feeling like everything we did was needed and important and well received but that the greatest of these is LOVE, ya know.    Oh those beautiful faces.  

And the mountains soar over us in Cercado...and the rain poured down and cleansed us all.  And we stomped in mud and pulled teeth and took blood pressures and hugged kids and whispered "I love you" in little ears.   And "Dios te Bendiga" in others.   It matters!

And the bus gets stuck and the driver just grins and we motor on.

And my friends who need to get their paperwork MIGHT be making a teeny tiny bit of progress.  It SO MATTERS.  Pray.  Pray.  Pray for them.

What matters is that we are DOING life here.   I'm screwing up left and right, bumbling and fumbling my way through.   But we are LIVING out loud- with Jesus.  I'm seeing Him- I've seen Him so much this week- I've FELT Him right next to me.   And all this stuff that I was all KINDA stressed out about....it's melting away.  I don't think it matters so much.   There are moments of complete dismay and sadness...but there are MORE moments of knowing God is WITH me.   Sometimes I think that I MIGHT trust Him more and more, poco a poco.   It could be happening, ya know.  It matters.

:)

What I love....

I love Jenny.  She's kinda weird and dysfunctional and strange and funny...and she loves me too.   She "speaks" with her ears.  Odd.   

I love Dominican food.  I love locrio....

and I love watching folks cook it.

Yum.   This meal took Chino about 2-3 hours to cook.   It was DELISH.

I love F.  I love visiting patients in their homes, however tragic their stories.  I love how they run for chairs for us to sit on and hand us limes and almonds and sugar cane from their trees and gardens.

I love the crack of dominos on the table.

I love the view from Room 16 at the Guesthouse.  It's MY view.

I love REAL chinola juice (and I love the concentrate too).

I love the beautiful little kids at our schools and how they want EVERYONE to take their picture.

I love the mountains in El Cercado.

I love Laura and Monchi and Chino.  They are my peeps.

I love the adventures we have.

I love Baby Nicole.  I LOVED the day she was born.

I love arripitas.  And I like the way Emma and Yeco make them.

I love clowning around in our kitchen.   I love wearing my Eagles keychain wherever I go.  

I love bathing in rivers with lots of folks that I don't know.

I love little guys with heart problems that our teams/groups find and then make ways to get medical care for them.

I love watching the Dominicans care for each other.

I love Y.  I love how Chino cut his hair.   I love how he BEAMED in his new get-up-and-go "look".   I love how Margo found a new outfit for him to wear too.  

I love my family in El Cercado.  I love sitting on the patio there.

I love our rocking chairs in the cabana.   So does Diego.  :)

I love where I live.  The Casa Huesped (Guesthouse).

I love Dominican baseball.  I love seeing the dream wind and unwind and gleam.

I love watching the little guys watch the big guys.

I love playing dominos by the river.  Oh..and I like winning too.

I love Dan and Kari and how we do life together.  DE LO MIOOOOOOOOOO....

I love finding stuff in the clinic.  It's kinda a miracle sometimes that I actually DO find stuff.

I love watching new teams check out the OR and unpack their stuff.

I love San Juan and where our clinic is located..by the bridge over the river next to the checkpoint in Cepilla, Corbano, San Juan de la Maguana, Dominican Republic.

I love going out to Bienvenida Restaurant with our groups on Wednesday nights.  I love how the owner gives me avocados.  

I love the stunning city parks in San Juan and the beautiful cathedral.  

I love visiting patients with Dr. Perdomo and taking tours of the public hospital.

I love going to the barrios to do Operativo Medicos (mobile clinics).

I love how folks hustle to get in line wherever we are for our barrio clinics...in churches, schools, houses...and sometimes..under mango trees.

I love the unbelievable beaches of Samana.

I love fresh fish by the sea.

I love looking at the world through a window and someone else's eyes.

I love riding on the back of a moto.

I love working with our translators.  They are the BEST!

Even after long days and exhaustion.

I love dancing bachata with Monchi.

I love visiting folks and checking on their kiddies.

I LOVE Juan Ulise.  Always have.

I love my room with my Chooch poster and flimsy closets crammed with extra medical stuff and referrals taped to the wall.

I love MLB.com

I love the churches that we go to, especially the Saturday night youth service at Central Mennonite.

I love watching and participating in surgery.  I get to work with the best of the best... and they have the most caring hearts and phenomenal attitudes.

I love sitting by the road and watching life go by.

I love bonfires in the streets where we drink hot chocolate from an open fire and dip bread in it.

I LOVE watching Baby Nicole grow up.

I love hoping and hoping and hoping for her future.

I love watching the groups get PSYCHED for their week during orientation.  ( Don't they look psyched!)

I LOVE my life here.  God is good.