Paramedic Program

Over the past 7 weeks, I have watched with great excitement as the First Paramedic Education class has been underway here in San Juan.  It has been an honor to be a part of it.   It's been even MORE awesome to see my husband enjoy and thrive in this environment of learning.   Graduation is this upcoming Friday and I can't wait to watch Monchy and the other students "take flight" with newly learned skills and abilities.   As some of you may know, my husband is a very energetic (!!!) animated learner.  He has already found patients (off duty....at a 5k race) in San Juan, leaped into an ambulance with them, and gone to the hospital seeking further care for the patients.  My favorite part of this story was hearing him describe about how GOOD it felt to KNOW what to do with a sick or hurt patient.   So very rewarding!  

Here in San Juan we don't have the 911 system as of yet but according to Public Health, it is coming.  We don't have set jobs yet for the students or a "national" certification but we feel good about capacitating these students for roles in EMS, whether it is in the hospital, in our current clinic, in the NEW clinic that we are building, or for private contracts with ambulance transport teams.   I have also been so impressed with our developing relationship with the Public Health administration in San Juan.    I have met people who are passionate for change and improvement and who have a love for the poor.  These folks want to see our program succeed, for the good of all in San Juan.   It will take time and we will need to be patient as the government develops their EMS system and a national definition of paramedic...but I can see it coming in the future.    Dr. Canario wants to employ a number of the paramedics in our new clinic in the future, which is also encouraging to know.

It's been a pleasure for me to get to know some of the students in the program.   Wascar has been an inspiring student from the very beginning.  I am including his blog post below.  I don't think I can "boost" the program in any way more than to show you his words.   Beautiful testimony.   Please continue to pray for the students as the program wraps up this week!   It has been a wonderful experience!

Wascar Valdez is an enthusiastic student of PEP, having never received any prior medical training. He openly shares about the strength that his Christian faith plays as a paramedic student in such a revolutionary and demanding program. His blog explains some of his most vulnerable moments on the first day of class as well as some of his proudest moments throughout his training

When I heard that there were trainers coming to teach a paramedic class, I investigated to find out who was in charge. Later on I found out that the doctor in charge was Dr. Canario. I talked to him, and he told me exactly what I had to do in order to be considered to be a student of the Paramedic Education Program.

The first day, the paramedic instructors gave me the items I would need for the class: text book, workbook, uniform, trauma scissors and stethoscope during the inauguration ceremony at Hotel Maguana. I took them and I went home because the course was starting on Monday after and they gave me the items on Friday. The hard part was on Sunday night, I couldn’t sleep. I kept wondering if I should go or not, because at the inauguration ceremony I saw that I was the oldest of the students and also that I didn´t know anything about medicine. I went to the classroom early on the first day of class, I was seated and the classmates that were going to follow the course started to arrive. The instructors were Mike and Nick and then we introduced ourselves. The instructors told us that we had to take a pretest. Right there I looked at the door way to go home, but I told myself I am going to stay, and I stayed. The exam of 75 questions began, and I saw that there were letter options for each question (A,B,C, or D). At the end of the exam I only had 13 correct answers.

Then the instructors began to teach the classes from the book and I started to pay attention to it, they always did a review quiz the day after. For the first review I got 6 correct out of 10 questions; then 4 out of 10, then 8 out of 10, then 9 out of 10, then 5 out of 10, then 9 out of 10 and that is how the study began. On Tuesday, June 16^th I earned 10 out of 10 for the first time! I was very happy, I have never had a grade like that before! The thing I liked the most is that the instructor Nick said, “I will give you a red star” because the review quiz were having a star if they passed with 7 or more correct and all my friends had but I have never had such a high grade to earn a red star.

Then the instructors Mike and Nick began to teach a lot about anatomy, lifting patients, intubation, how to start an IV, how to put gloves on and how to take them off, and so many other things. Jon came and taught us about EKG’s. The instructors Bill, Erik and Krista came and along with Mike and Nick taught us many ways of treating trauma injuries to the head and neck, chest and abdomen. I feel very well, that with God’s help, and also with the help of Mike, Nick, Jon, Erik, Krista and Bill, I will be able to be one of the very first paramedics to graduate in this country.

I have learned to intubate a patient and to perform CPR, to start an IV, to deliver oxygen, to splint, to administrate medicine like: epinephrine, and some others, to take the blood pressure, pulse, and respiration, to do the SAMPLE and OPQRST assessments.

On Friday’s of each week we go to the hospital emergency department to practice what we have learned, this is difficult. If I saw a person wounded or with a trauma, I was afraid, but thanks to God and to my instructors I have learned how to help wounded people! On Friday we had to take care of a 34 year old man that was taken to the hospital with a broken leg and my partner and I had to splint it, I did it like a pro, and that is the way we are going to perform our duties from now and on. On Saturday, Nick, Deivi and I had to enter the birth room at the hospital, we were present in two deliveries. One was made by the doctor and the other by Nick, and I was expected to do the next delivery that never arrived while at the hospital. I hope to deliver a baby next week.

Thank you a thousand times for what you have taught me and for your dedication. God and we, the people of San Juan de la Maguana appreciate it. I thank you forever Mike, Nick, Jon, Bill, Erik, Krista and Nicole among others.

- See more at: http://guesthouse.solidrockinternational.org/posts/uncategorized/week-5-of-the-paramedic-education-program/#sthash.WX7QsXk5.dpuf

May showers

It has FINALLY started raining in San Juan, about a month too late.  The topic on everyone's lips has been the severe drought, leading to hysteria over the dam going dry and San Juan losing all access to water in less than 2 months.  It really has been no joke.  The dam that supplies water to our town has been at an all time low.   Monch and I frequently have had no water inside of our apartment and have resorted to carrying in buckets from a spigot outside.  Of course this makes showering, toilet flushing, laundry and washing dishes So Much More Fun (that is sarcasm).  However,  the drops are beginning to fall and the hysteria is hopefully dying down.  And NOW I can start to plant more veggies in our yard which makes me very very happy.

In other very important personal news, Lazzy (our chick) is a girl.   Therefore Lararus isn't exactly a suitable name.  But it fits her and we are sticking to it.   Lazzy still isn't aware of her "chicken-ness" and believes she is a very small person, leading to strange behaviors such as attempting to sleep in our bed and attempting to eat off of our plates, etc.    It's the small things that lead to the richness in life, isn't it?  Laughing at our chicken is certainly one of them.

May has been a busy month for both Monchy and I.   We have barrio teams nearly every week, with groups arriving from several colleges such as Ohio Northern, Cleveland State, St. Francis, Southern Utah, etc.   I often wonder what lasting effects a mission trip can have on a college student.  I remember my first trip to Haiti when I was 18 years old.  It blew my mind wide open and I believe that it planted a seed that led to the life that I currently lead.   I sometimes wonder if some of the college students will be/could be teachers or social workers or nurses, doctors or surgeons that will come to the DR in 10 or so years to offer their services to our patients.   :)

And the Paramedic Program is underway!  It's been so very very exciting to watch this happen.   Monchy is a student in this very very intense program and  I was able to have a very small role in the planning.  I must say it is the most exciting program that I have had the honor of helping with in a long time.   Michael Trompak is the Paramedic Instructor working with EMT trainer Nick Maxwell and they are doing an awesome job with their 25 students.   It's a very intense program, with approximately a year of classes being combined in a 9 hour-a day 7 week time frame.    The paramedics also have clinicals in the public hospital here in San Juan and it's a great joy for me to see our organization and Dr. Canario working together with those in Public Health who affect decisions over the entire region.   So far Monchy is really enjoying the program along with 24 other students and they are learning an incredible amount of information.    We post pictures on our web site (www.solidrockinternational.org) as well as our Solid Rock Facebook page and Instagram account.    Check out these incredible innovations to healthcare here in San Juan.

In our free time we are often visiting family and friends.   Of special note recently were two visits to our friend Felix.  Felix has Huntington's Disease and is rapidly declining.   I visited him about 2 weeks ago and was really concerned about him.   However, I was able to connect him to a local pastor and I left feeling as though he had a bit more support around him.   We spent some time praying for him and the Pastor promised to check in on him.   Monchy went to see Felix last weekend.    He took him some groceries and reported that his spirits were much improved and that Felix felt that his medications were "working better".    Huntington's is a tough disease in the DR with very little support.  Please pray for Feliz and that he will be surrounded by love in these difficult times.

My other favorite patient is Baby Nicole and she is growing like a weed!  She's 4 years old and still can't wrap her head around the fact that we have the same name.  She continues to call me "Americana!".   Tragically both her 18 year old brother and her brother-in-law were killed in a motorcycle accident on Mother's Day weekend.   Laura and I spent Mother's Day morning sitting by Baby Nicole's mother as she grieved for her oldest son and her oldest daughter's husband.   It is beyond humbling for me to know that she stood up in the midst of the funeral to be sure that we were given tomatoes, sweet potatoes and mangos that they had picked for us during the week.     Gifts for ME in the middle of such profound sadness and weeping?   I just had no words.

And that is often my response here.  I have no words for many things that I see or experience or hear here.   I wish that I could share them with you- how my heart sings to see a mother breast-feeding her new baby, how triumphant I feel playing dominos with my elderly neighbors,  how Jesus speaks to me when the translators sing together,  how helpless I am when Feliz can't control his arms or legs and has to lie down to talk to me,   how terrified I am when we need blood at the clinic, how my tears slid down while I rubbed Baby Nicole's mother's shoulders as she cried at her son's funeral,  how loved I feel when my husband does the laundry,   how frustrated I get when another 15 year old has a c-section for no reason.....     Ahhhh life in the DR.   Many many times I have no words.

Recently I've realized that I'm approaching my 5 year mark here.  I have nearly 4 1/2 years living in the DR.   And I'm humbled by knowing how many of you have contributed to my ability to be here.   For 4 1/2 years you guys have walked this road with me, encouraging me, praying for me, sending cash and hair dye and M&Ms and birthday cards.    THANK YOU.   Again, words just don't do it.  In either language.  But THANK YOU.     I could never do this without you.   Or without Jesus.  He continues to sustain me in the tough moments and the tears...and in the celebrations.    May you feel His arms around you in all of your tears and celebrations too!

Lazzy

Bueno.   Far be it from me to brag...but I must announce that Monch and I are parents to a very small chicken.   We'd like to introduce Lazarus (Lazaro to those of you who speak Spanish and "Lazzy" when we are feeling sentimental) to the world.    Lazzy is the sole survivor of our attempt at animal husbandry.    He was born with 3 siblings and he's the only one left and just barely.  His mom decided she was done with him and attacked him and he's been with us ever since.  He actually doesn't KNOW that he's a chicken but that's okay.  

Photos below:

In other notes- April has been a "quieter" month overall.  We've had several weeks without teams and had a MAJOR spring cleaning at the GuestHouse/Pharmacy.   We "renovated" the entire Pharmacy and also Room 14, which is where my "work office" and extra meds are located.   Next up is of course the Scary Room.   That overhaul will take place this summer.   After the Scary Room, I'll finish up at the Clinic, where I hope to work on an overall inventory of supplies and equipment in preparation for the New Clinic.   Construction is moving FAST on the new land (see Jeff's blog, as well as Ken Potter's blog for updated info on the new clinic!) and they will begin to pour cement hopefully this week.   May is a month full of our college teams, which is really fun.  They are super  passionate and eager to serve and we have several team weeks that are so full that we will set sail to TWO barrio sites every day.   Next week we will begin to visit the sites in preparation for the mobile clinics.

Good stuff going on with SRI- we have started a Creole class! Pastor Enol is teaching the translators (and me sometimes too!) Creole in order to better serve our Haitian neighbors in the mobile clinics.  My mind is already full of a jumble of Spanish and English but I'm going to try to throw some extra Creole words in there as well.  Photo below of our FUN class!  :)

Blood.  I can't tell you how stressful I sometimes feel at our clinic with no blood bank.   GYN surgery is often the most difficult because of the anemia that we see in our patients.  Most patients are asked to find blood via a family member before surgery but not everyone has success in their search.   Below is a shot of our very GIVING Nef  (more than a translator!)....giving up his blood for a surgical patient.  Laura also donated (in the nick of time, actually!) but I don't have a picture of her in the lab.   Sometimes teams laugh for a minute when I ask them what blood type they are upon arrival.  Oh the things that we have to think of here!  I miss the days of making a quick phone call to the blood bank to ask for a unit of blood.   Please note that Nef is still wearing his scrubs because he went right back to the OR to translate for the surgeon after he donated blood.

Personally I'm enjoying my quiet times at our little apartment.   I love our patio and my plants outside and have recently tried to plant vegetables, zinnias, herbs, and sunflowers!  My neighbors think that I'm nuts as I wander around with my watering can in the mornings while Lazzy flies around my feet.  We also have a tiny mango tree, some papaya trees/plants (with fruit on them!), a lemon or lime tree, some guanabana trees,  lots of chinola vines (some with fruit!),  and some type of peas that grow up our bedroom windows.  Although our patio is small, it's brimming with life!    On our back patio are our 4 hens and one rooster...it's LOUD here in the mornings!

Marriage is an adventure with my favorite adventurer!  Our best times together remain the very simplest of things...visiting friends and family together and sometimes walking together on Tuesday nights at the track across the street.   We are looking forward to a Solid Rock staff retreat next weekend in Jarabacoa at a hostel that we stayed at on our honeymoon.    Monchy will be starting in the Paramedic Program in several weeks as he finishes up his semester at the university.

This ministry thing continues to amaze me.  It's HARD and beautiful at the same time.  We struggle at the difficulty of working with real live broken folks who fumble and soar at the same time, just like we do.    Recently I participated in a woman's spiritual retreat with Kari, Laura, and Kamanda here.   There were about 50 million things that I soaked in and want to remember and share but 3 big points remain on my heart this morning.   One is to RECEIVE.  One is to FOLLOW (Jesus!).  And the last is to REST.   We were supposed to release things in our lives that prevent those 3 points.   Needless to say, I am still releasing!  And will continue to do so.  The retreat also spoke about expectations, our expectations of ourselves, of others, of God and then God's expectations of US.  That just blew me away.  It turns out I have tons of expectations...for me, for others (HELLO husband! hahaha!),  and for God.   Lots of stuff to release...and I'm still working on that.   For those ladies who may be interested in a retreat...check out velvet ashes.com.   Fabulous fabulous experience.  

Thanks for all the prayers, dear friends.   They are FELT and celebrated.   Over the next several months I will begin (again!) the process of paperwork to be a legal resident of the DR.  As you may know, this has been a very difficult and costly journey and still hasn't been resolved.   I am not attempting to become a citizen but only a legal resident.   I would greatly appreciate your prayers in this matter.    Other prayer requests include strength for the journey (May will be very busy!),  continued growth in our marriage,  the ability to find quality time together for Monch and I,  the continued search for Christian support and community here in San Juan, and continued safety (we never take travel and/or commuting here for granted) and health.   I feel like I state this a million times...but I would never be here except for the love, prayers, and financial support of you guys.   THANK YOU for believing in God's work here!  

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.  

Tucked in

Yup,  I took a month off from my blog because...ummm.. well, I got MARRIED.   Two times.   I got married legally in the DR on December 4th and then had a fun wedding on December 14.     There was English and Spanish spoken and roast pig and whoopie pies and baby Nicole and 3 preachers and our family and friends and Monchy and it's everything I ever wanted.  

Photos below.  :)   It's been a great ride so far.  After the church wedding (which took place in a glorified campground), Monchy and I spent 10 days driving the Hillux all over this beautiful country, spending a few days with my folks, sibs, and friends in Juan Dolio, chilling out with international folks at a few hostels in Cabarete and Jarabacoa, and  checking out some Dominican baseball games in San Pedro and Santiago.   Monchy met Robinson Cano, which was a major highlight.  And we learned more about Chris Columbus and his first "pueblo" here at La Isabela.    I read 9 books and Monch learned how to surf.   It was kinda the very best honeymoon ever.

And now we are tucked into our little apartment by the Castle in San Juan.     I have basil growing outside and we have a rooster and two hens (and 4 eggs!) out back.   We have a hand dug fire pit where we've roasted marshmallows and boiled up hot chocolate with our friends and neighbors.   We don't always have water inside but we carry it in by buckets from the spigot outside.   We don't have phone signal inside but we have chinola vines by the entrance and peas growing up our bedroom window.   We have a Dominican washing machine and I hung up 4 wash lines for our laundry to dry.  Monch can walk across the Avenida to the stadium to run and I walk across the street to play dominos with the old men who play everyday at 4.    We've found 2 tarantulas and 2 frogs in the shower.   Oh and to get INTO our shower you have to step over the toilet.  We have 1 pasola and 1 scooter and that is our transport daily.   We bring them into the apartment at night and I wipe the oil off the floor every morning.   We are working our way through a Spanish devotion book.    Sometimes I cook Dominican dinners of potatoes and yucca and onions and eggs.    I start my coffee greca in the morning and have steaming hot coffee with milk before I leave for work.     I delight in days off together when I can make Monchy a big breakfast.   Our life is simple but I love it.

And now the busiest time of the year is upon me.   We are in the midst of surgical teams.   The majority of our teams are repeat customers which is always like receiving friends and family.   They know me and celebrate life with us!   I LOVE it!   I love coming into the recovery room and watching them with our patients.   I love watching them come back from the barrios with their stories.   I love watching them unpack the MARVELOUS things that they bring.   I love watching the docs do consults.    I grieve with them when we walk into situations that we cannot fix.   We had Ortho 3 weeks ago, ENT 2 weeks ago, Neuro consults on Wednesday this past week,  and we will start plastic surgeries on Monday.   Then we have general, ortho, and gyn on the horizon.   I am learning more and more...much more than this labor and delivery nurse ever thought possible!    The pharmacy is filling up and the scary room is (KINDA) under control!   I spent 2 days last week calling up our referrals of the barrios teams from over the last 6 months.     I am more and more excited for our Paramedic Program to begin in May and enjoying the planning stages of talking to Dr. Canario and others for its progress.   Monchy is currently working at the construction site of the New Clinic (JOY!) and preparing to start his 3rd semester of college.   Our schedule is insane...but the moments together are sacred.   Fun normal moments for us are visiting with family and friends and watching downloaded movies on laptop.    My healing moments are quiet times in our apartment on the patio with my plants or curling up with a book on our couch.    Monchy's healing moments are running at the track across the street or hitting up a gym in town.   We both enjoy visiting the barrios and hanging out with our neighbors and friends.     Going to new places and seeing new sights is a thrill for both of us.  We don't live a spectacularly exciting life but find beauty in simple moments.

As always, I covet your prayers.   Your support has been immense and I can't thank you enough for the cards, the words of encouragement, the cash you slip into my pocket, and the prayers.   We save all of our cards in a folder and Monch says that when times get hard, we'll pull out the cards and read about everyone who believes in us and Jesus.     So thank you.  THANK YOU.   I'm Mrs. Rodriguez now ("Mrs. Monchy") and it's beautiful and different and hard and easy at the same time.   Thank you for walking this journey with me.   Thank you for caring about us but also caring about our people and our patients, our new clinic, our education programs, our babies in the Nutrition Program, for Felix in Las Charcas, and baby Nicole.  Thank you for sending medicine and socks and M&Ms and beef jerky and surgical supplies and shampoo.   Thank you for serving Jesus, sometimes through serving me and the patients and the Dominican people.    He SUSTAINS us.  

Civil ceremony...which took place at our apartment with the local judge.  

Our wedding "practice" at the Christian camp here in SJ.

The big day....beautiful to have Bud and Sue at my side.  

Under a mango tree.... just love that guy.   

And this is how we roll.....

This was one of my favorite moments from our wedding...when folks surrounded us to pray for us and bless us.   Just sacred.

Laundry day...... on the patio.   Monch had to teach me how to use the Dominican washer but I've almost got it down now and can nearly be trusted to do it alone.  :)  

An afternoon at the Presa (the dam) with Emma and Aneury!  Fried fish for the win!

Ortho surgery....great times!

Dan with the group explaining the progress of construction for the New Clinic.... so exciting to see hands at work!   Seeing it happen makes it more real for me...we really are going to have a new clinic!  We really are going to deliver babies one day.  My obstetrical heart is just jumping for joy!

Jeff and Kamanda with the teams out to eat ice cream.  We usually go out to eat at a Dominican restaurant on Wednesday evenings, followed up by ice cream at Bon Helado.  

Monchy taking his Dad's blood pressure.  Each one teach one!  :)  We believe in education!  

Nutrition "charlas" (talks) in the barrios.  Did I mention we believe in education?  Go Euclides!  And thanks teams, for participating and supplying lots of teaching aids!

Again, it's not just our incoming teams that do all the work.  Here is Simon outside of the barrio clinic checking the blood pressures of some elderly patients who are still waiting to enter.  Our translators are much more than translators!    They sure do know how to run our show efficiently and I am so very proud of all of them.   Dominicans loving Dominicans!  It's beautiful!  

This is one of our pharmacy boxes, filled with medicines for the barrio mobile clinics.  It weighs a billion tons and takes practically a village to carry/unload (or 3 brothers plus one pharmacist)...

Machines doing "stuff" at the New Land....prepping for the new clinic!  I have no idea what they are doing but I'm sure Jeff or Dan or Ken could tell you.   I'll stick to medicine, thanks!

Again, it's exciting to see things happening with the new clinic- machines and dirt and shovels and stuff!   Follow the progress at www.solidrockinternational.org!  

Haiti

24 years ago I got on a plane to Port au Prince, Haiti for 10 days.   I slept on an army cot and dug rocks out of creek beds and used a pick to help make footers for a school and cried my eyes out.   I saw men with big guns and garbage burning and sewage running in the streets and stunning green mountains.  I saw tarantulas in the outhouse and watched the Jesus movie in Creole or French and held a little girl named Milla in my arms.   She had fathoms of stories in her eyes and I wrote poems about it.    I spoke with great drama at my church when I returned…and gasped at how great and white and clean the airports were when we got back to the States.   

It was my first mission trip and it wrecked me forever…. in a good way.  It blew open the perimeters of my “life” vision and filled me with a desire for MORE.   More life.  More culture.  More travel.  More Jesus.  More dirt under my feet in different lands.  More different stuff.  More DIFFERENT overall.   And I guess anyone who knows me knows that I kinda march to the beat of my own drum….that maybe I haven’t done the things that folks have expected… that maybe  I’ve taken a chance here and there….and maybe it’s been the long way home sometimes.    There has always been Jesus in it.   There has always been this hunger.   And Haiti opened it up.

And after 24 years, yesterday I went back.   I went back because I’m going to marry someone from this very same island and I needed a new stamp in my passport.   I went back because I’m trying to beat the system and get this paperwork on my own terms.   But the Feelings ROLLED over me at I crossed that border.   The goodness and faithfulness of God overwhelmed me as I drove on these roads with mountains and plantains on either side.  Girls with hair ribbons walking home from school, motorcycles flying by me churning up dust.   Not so different than THIS side of island, is it?  But 24 years later……  24 years later and here I am.  I live on this same land.   I am loved (still) by the same God who brought me here, who showed me His Face in another language so many years ago.   I am loved by and I’m going to marry a man who was raised on this tierra.    How Good Has God Been To Me!   It felt like coming full circle, this quick trip to Haiti.  It felt like I could see His Hand over me, guiding me through college and nursing school and travels to Europe and living in Florida and California and Pennsylvania, in working in so many different hospitals and holding new mama’s hands and crying tears of joy and sadness and agony and celebration all through these years.  

It felt like God was bringing me back to the beginning…the reminder.  I love DIFFERENT.  I love God’s face on laughing 10 year girls with bright green hair ribbons.    I love God’s voice in Sandy Valdez when he’s preaching.   I love God’s teaching heart in Kari mentoring the young ladies at church.  I love God’s healing in our patients.   I love God’s patience in Laura working with her mamas and babies in the Nutrition Program.  I love God’s servant-heart in Dan preparing special coffee drinks for us in the Guesthouse.  I love God’s hand on Dr. Caceres when he’s doing surgery.   I love God’s calling on my life.   I feel so grateful for the opportunities that I have had….both in the past 24 years of my life…and in those to come.    It takes my breathe away, to recall where I have been, where I have come from, and how FAITHFUL My God Is.   It makes me laugh to think of the young girl (me!) who went to Haiti…who was afraid to eat the food, who hated sleeping on her soggy cot, who wore pajama pants nearly every day and cried at the poverty that she saw.     I laugh at her now during my cold showers, when I carry buckets outside to get water, when I drive my pasola to work,  when I light candles because we don’t have electricity, when I take parasite medicine, when I play dominos with my neighbors in the light of the afternoon sun under the mango tree.    

I think of that young girl, anxious to be like her friends and do the traditional scene…..work/money/marriage/kids.   I think about her now that I am preparing for this new step, this new Sharing of Life.  Monchy and I are about to marry.  24 years later, I am going to become part of a team, The Team Rodriguez.   God has been faithful and surprised me when I least expected it.   His goodness has not ended.   I am praying that I will learn to be a godly wife, that God’s goodness can be seen in our marriage.    I think about who I was and who I am and I am so GRATEFUL that God’s timing was not mine.   I’m so grateful that I can relish every minute of this.   I’m so grateful that this man, this marriage, this job, this ministry, this calling……came when it did.  

And I’m grateful as always to be here.  THANK you for supporting me.   THANK YOU for praying.   My cup is overflowing and although I think sometimes that I have some words, they just can’t explain what it feels like to SEE GOD’S GOODNESS.  Through you.  With you.  Because of you.  Because of Him.   

I’m including a copy of our wedding invitation so that you can see and remember to pray for us  (It doesn't actually look like this but you can see the photo and the info and the verse!)   We covet prayer.   We covet your words of encouragement.   We covet your wisdom shared with us.   THANK YOU.   Dios Te Bendiga Mucho! 

Love, Nicole

Monchy & Nicole

The Wedding:  December 14th at Camp Bethel in San Juan de La Maguana, DR at 10 am

Philippians 1: 9 And this is my prayer:  that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and understanding, so that you may be able to discern what is best….

*Please be on time.  We will start at 10 am

*Bring casual clothes to play baseball or dominos and a bathing suit for the pool

*No alcohol please