The Drake Family

Life in Littleton

2012-01-23T23:13:00.009-05:00

It is hard to believe that it has already been close to 2 months since we made our loooong westward drive to Colorado. Here are some rambling thoughts on our time thus far:

We are really loving life here, and feel like we "fit" Colorado life pretty well....we are trying to take advantage of our beautiful, and fun "backyard"- the Rockies. We have been on some really great hikes in the foothills and on Saturday ventured a little further into the Front Range and hiked through a beautiful pine forest- spectacular views.

It has been wonderful to settle into our own place after being on the move for nearly 9 months. And, although we made a wonderful home in the DR, there is something about having your own "stuff" that makes life feel more comfortable and settled. We had a blast unpacking boxes and boxes of nearly unused wedding gifts that had been in storage- and are really enjoying using them now!

Christmas was really special this year to celebrate in our new home, just the 4 of us (although we missed our families greatly). We attended a Christmas Eve service and then came home and had a delicious meal. We started the tradition that on Christmas Eve the whole house (apartment) is candlelit- no lights except for the tree. It was a great way to settle our hearts for the coming of our KING! Christmas morning was fun watching Avery open her gifts. This year she asked for "Chocolate toys." It was fun to see how our family got creative in giving her just what she wanted- chocolate makeup, a dirt pudding kit, and chocolate santas! Lucas liked chewing on all of his new toys too- even though they weren't chocolate like Avery's!

My parents came out to visit a few days after Christmas and stayed through New Years. We had a great time showing them around Denver (and exploring it for ourselves). We went on a beautiful hike, ate lots of great meals (of course), celebrated my mom's birthday, went shopping, El and Pops went to a Broncos game, and had fun hanging out in our apartment.

Avery and Lucas have both adjusted well, and I think they both feel a sense of home here, and know that our long nomadic journey has ended (for now, ha). Avery is finally getting used to wearing layers of clothes, coats, gloves, hats, and boots, after living in shorts, and flip flops for the first 2 years of her life- we are now down to just one minor meltdown when suiting up to leave the house...progress! Avery looooves to play in the snow and go sledding with daddy. They have even gone night sledding after dinner and used Elliott's head lamp for light. We think Avery is going to be very social- she has fake conversations with people on the the phone or on Skype all day long....she also has a few imaginary friends, Wawa and Su-si. She also likes to play church and sing the doxology (thanks to Mia). Her favorite story in the Bible is Noah's ark, and she thinks that Noah's name is "Noah's ark."

Daddy made Avery a cardboard house (it is beautifully decorating our living room right now).

Lukey man is getting so big and turned 8 months this week. He realllly wants to crawl, but can't quite figure out how to get moving. Sometimes when he is on all 4's he just hops his legs forward until the reach his hands and then he tumbles over. He just learned how to put both of his arms up in the air when we say "SO BIG," and wants to do it over and over once you start doing it with him. He is a big eater, and seems to eat more than Avery at some meals. He is a babbler and loves to talk and make loud noises- he says da-da, ba-ba, squeals, screams, and has a husky giggle. Everyone who is around him, even for just a few minutes, always comments on how smiley he is. We are still waiting on some teeth.

Go Lukey, go!

Elliott started class today, so the seminary adventure has officially begun!

Lookout Mountain

2011-09-22T16:36:00.000-04:00

We are LOVING our time on Lookout Mountain. We say just about everyday that we want to live here some day! It is so beautiful here- the leaves are starting to change, the air is crisp, and it always smells "minty fresh" outside. The days go by slow, and I can feel my soul beginning to "breathe" again after 6 months of crazy transition.

Here are some pics from our first month:

Avery and Lucas enjoying the fire!

Avery's 1st Smore with an oversized marshmallow. She wasn't the biggest fan- she is our "I don't really like being messy" girl, so gooey, sticky, white marshmallow all over her hands and face isn't her idea of a yummy treat.

Sweet Smiley Boy!

Sidewalk chalk!!

Aunt Annie and Hap came to visit for one night. We had the best time! We hung out on the back porch, jumped on the trampoline, sang lots of songs, and played with Pinktail the kitty.

Oatmeal on a chilly morning

Sweet Aves

Little Lukey is getting so big! He loves to lay under this thing and watch the star light up- he likes to have conversations with it :)

Avery does not like to have her hair done, but she finally let me put her hair in pigtails! She loved it and felt like such a big girl. We even made it to the grocery store and back without her taking them out- what a record!

She wanted me to take a picture of her making this silly face- she thought it was so funny

Lucas turned 4 months on Monday and tried rice cereal. He loved it at first and then decided that he would just rather drink some more milk. We will keep trying, but I am hoping that it helps his reflux as he still seems pretty bothered by it even though he is on medication.

4 months old and already cruising around with Big Sis
(the car really doesn't go anywhere, Avery just likes to pretend to drive it).

Elliott started his first audio course through Regent College (where he will be starting full-time in Jnuary): Systematic Theology taught by J.I. Packer. Here he is looking all scholarly on the front porch.

More to come from the mountain soon....

Avery Einstein

2011-09-01T14:00:00.001-04:00

Avery and I were having fun on the trampoline and a little static electricity came to play with us....

10 Month Catch-up...

2011-08-30T20:41:00.026-04:00

Life has been really crazy the past ten months and blogging got left behind. But, now that I have finally come up for a little air, Drakesinthedr is back! (even though we aren't even in the DR anymore). Here is a recap of what we have been up to....

We felt the Lord was calling us something "new," so in January we began the process of selling our things in the DR and preparing to move back to the states. It was VERY hard to leave and say goodbye to so many woooonderful friends that had become so dear to us over the past three years. They were three hard, challenging, and stretching years, but also three fruitful, FUN, and adventurous years! Our life in the DR was full of so many blessings and we

experienced the Lord in new and fresh ways being outside of the comforts of US living.

Saying goodbye to Marlene, her husband Paco, and their kids Drelin and Paco Jr. I met Marlene on my second trip to the DR when I was 12 years old!

One last trip to the Santo Domingo Zoo with our friends the Salmonds.

The Women's Bible Study I was so blessed to be a part of.

These ladies truly showed love to me and accepted me as I was. It was so wonderful to be a part of a group of ladies that were of all ages and from all walks of life.

Saying goodbye at the airport to our dear Ana and her daughter Tata. Their family became a part of ours and my heart aches each time I think of them- I miss them so much.

We arrived in Orlando to stay with my parents on March 19. I was 8 months pregnant. Elliott stayed a week and then had to return to the DR for a month to finish up some final work. We missed Elliott ALOT while he was gone, but we also managed to have some fun... :)

We went to the beach...

we went to the park...

we swam in the pool...a lot...

and Avery baked with Mia!

Elliott joined us on April 19!! We were SOO glad to be reunited as a family of 3 (almost 4!).

Happy Easter

Avery loves bubbles.

Then on May 19 at 6:11am Lucas Elliott Drake was born. He weighed 6 pounds 7oz. He came 8 days early and I had a relatively quick and easy labor.

Avery came to the hospital with her Big Sister shirt on and was VERY excited to meet her brother "Lukey."

On June 4 Avery turned 2. We had a simple little party for her with my family. My sweet grandparents and aunt drove down from north FL to celebrate Avery's life and meet Lucas.

Avery loved her new Elmo camera.

Elliott's mom, DD, came to visit us in Orlando and meet Lucas.

John and Kate came to town and we got to spend the week together at New Smyrna Beach.

We officially became "mini-vaners"

We found this "choo-choo track" in the neighbors trash a few days before we left Orlando and it quickly became Avery's new favorite past time.

On August 5 we celebrated 5 wonderful years of marriage!

On August 9 we packed up the van and drove to NC to spend time with Elliott's family.

Grammy got the family together for a Clam Bake!

We left NC and flew to Colorado to attend a Debriefing and Renewal program at MTI, where we did our pre-field training in 2008. It was a wonderful week of processing all that we learned and experienced in the DR. It was so refreshing and "validating" to be with others that had lived and served all over the world and were going through many of the same things we are.

Lucas was a little more excited about the flight than Elliott.

And last but not least, we are now in Lookout Mountain, GA for the next 3 months.

Making cookies with the kiddos.

Lucas loves it here!

Hopefully the next post will be ALOT shorter and sooner :) Thanks to anyone who actually made it to the end.

Long Avery Update

2010-10-29T11:05:00.009-04:00

Well I realized that I have been terrible about updating the blog, and I also haven't been so great in writing down all that Avery is doing these days, so I thought I would tackle both at once. This post is more for my own records and for our families back home, so feel free to skip to the pictures :)

It is so hard for me to believe she will be 17 months next week- I feel like we were just having her first birthday party last week. Time is flying!

- Loves to play outside. Every morning after breakfast she grabs her red ball and baseball hat (ha) and stands at the front door waiting to go out and play. She loves to run, run, run, run and is pretty good at kicking a ball.

-Loves, I mean LOVES, shoes. It is her favorite word to say and she always points out peoples' shoes. Every morning after I get her dressed, she runs straight to her closet saying shoes and insists I put on the pair for her that she picks out. She also loves picking out my shoes. Same thing- after I get dressed she runs to the closet and comes out with a pair of shoes. She is actually pretty good at coordinating my shoes with my outfit- If I have on running clothes, she brings out my running shoes. If I have on a dress, she brings out my flats. If I have on shorts and a tshirt, she brings out my flipflops.

-Ridley is her best friend. She follows him around all day and loves to lounge on him. She now likes to pat him on the back and say "good boy" (It sounds more like bo-boy, but she's got the right inflection when she says it).

-She is starting to talk more and more. She can say: no, eyes, nose, hair, hat, hot, brrr, dog, bear, bird, boo-boo, uh-oh (her new favorite phrase- says it all day long), aww, shoes, boom, poop (she is always very insistent in letting me know that she has a poopy diaper), cheese, please, Dad...and others I know I am forgetting.

-Very affectionate- she loves to give hugs and kisses. For kisses she puckers up her lips and says mmmmm-mmmm until you kiss her. When she gives hugs she says "awwww."

-She still doesn't say any words in Spanish, but it is so cool to see how she understands it. If I ask her to give me a kiss in Spanish, she puckers up and gives me a big smacker.

-She goes to bed between 7-7:30 most nights and wakes up at 6:45 or 7 in the morning. She takes one nap around 11 and sleeps for about an hour and a half. She is finally better about going down for a nap and falls asleep pretty quickly.

-Her favorite foods are grapes, oatmeal, broccoli, cheese, yogurt, goldfish, smoothies, and tofu.

-Loves to sing and dance.

She is so much fun and brings us so much joy!! We love you sweet Avery Elizabeth Drake!!!

Avery with her Taiwanese friends at Para Te

Playing in the park

Avery at the beach with the Breul boys. They buried her and she loved it.

This was right after a big wave came and splashed her.

How Avery is currently napping

2010-10-20T11:36:00.002-04:00

Fishy Fishy

2010-08-02T11:01:00.006-04:00

On Saturday we went to the National Aquarium. It was such a fun and relaxing little family outing!! The aquarium is on lots of property right on the ocean with a beautiful view of the blue, blue water below. Avery loved the fish and would point and say "dat, dat, dat" every time she saw one. The aquarium has a new play area for kids and Avery enjoyed toddling around and playing. Then we found a nice shady spot under a palm tree, ate some Bon Popsicles, and watched Aves run around in the grass. Large areas of mowed grass are a scarcity here in the big city of Santo Domingo- so the three of us were loving it!

Look at Avery's little crossed feet- cracks me up.

Such a big girl!

There was a little group of special needs kids sitting next to us and they all wanted to come over and take pictures with Avery. They were the sweetest little kids ever. The little girl, Brittany, was so good with Avery and kept kissing her on the head. It was such a special moment to see Avery with these precious children. I felt the Lord smiling down.

PEACE

2010-07-21T08:04:00.001-04:00

Summer Fun

2010-07-07T12:45:00.005-04:00

We just got back from a WONDERFUL time in the states!! First we went to Dallas for my brother's wedding. It was a beautiful, Christ-honoring wedding, and we loved getting to spend time with John, Kate, my parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, and everyone else that traveled to TX for the wedding. I am SO excited that Kate is my new sister!!

It was also so much fun spending time in TX because I hadn't been back since college. I got to see some of my dearest college friends and two of the girls that were in my K-Life small group!!

My college roomate and best friend Elizabeth and her precious little baby girl Reese came to the wedding!

After all the wedding festivities were over, we drove to Amarillo, TX to spend some more time with Elizabeth, her husband Mark, and baby Reese! It was so great to finally be able to visit Elizabeth and Mark, see where they live, and get a little glimpse into their lives. They were amazing hosts and made us feel so loved. We spend most of our time just watching Avery and Reese :)

Avery loved kissing Reese's toes!

We drove about 30 minutes outside of Amarillo to Palo Duro canyon to Mark's aunt and uncle's cabin to have dinner, watch the sunset, and look at the stars. It was so beautiful and quiet!

Elizabeth MADE matching dresses for Avery and Reese. We dressed them up and did a little photo shoot!

After a sad goodbye in the Amarillo airport, we flew to NC to spend a week at the beach with Elliott's whole extended family. His grandmother rented 2 beach houses for 2 weeks and invited all of the family to come whenever they could. At one point there were 25 of us there at the same time!! It was so much fun getting to see Elliott's mom, dad, brother, sister, aunts, uncles, cousins, and his cousin's kids! The beach was beautiful and we were blessed with amazing weather all week. Avery loved the water and the waves, she would charge into them as soon as we would put her down- no fear in her.

Avery is walking-walking-walking now.

Elliott's cousin, his wife, and their four children came all the way from Montana!

Great Weekend

2010-06-06T21:12:00.007-04:00

This weekend our church here in Santo Domingo put on a conference and invited John Piper to be the main speaker. We got to go to several of the sessions throughout the weekend- and were soaking everything in like sponges. It was so refreshing and filling to listen to a sermon in our "heart language," English, and to receive from one of God's servants that shares our culture.

Before we moved to the DR, I remember someone that had lived in the DR for a number of years telling me how RICH the US was- not just rich with money, but with spiritual recourses as well. In the US we are exposed to so much- preachers, books, musical artists- and there is so much variety in all of these things. I found that to be so true this weekend. I don't think I realized how spiritually dry I had become (even though God has been working in my heart in new and different ways because of our circumstances here), and how much a I needed to be challenged, encouraged, and filled by the hearing of the word of God. So praise God for the RICH weekend were were able to experience in Him.

Our good friends Jake and Kyla came down from Jarabacoa on Thursday night to go to the conference with us. Their son was born 5 days after Avery and they are already great little buds. Here is a little video of the two of them together!

A&J from Lindsay Drake on Vimeo.

Tomorrow!!

2010-06-02T20:59:00.005-04:00

Tomorrow- Avery turns ONE!!! We welcome the day with so many mixed emotions- so excited for all the new and exciting things ahead, and sad that the "baby days" of bottles, carrying her everywhere, etc., are over. The year flew by, but then again it is hard to imagine life without sweet Aves.

Here are some Avery updates for all of our friends and family at home (keep in mind that she is the first and only grandchild and the grandparents want to know all the details!) :

The biggest news is that she's walking!!! She took her first steps a little over a week ago (and loved it- didn't want to stop). She would go back and forth between Elliott and me...over and over and over. Yesterday, she started letting go of things and setting out on her own. I was so surprised when I looked over and she was in between the table and Ridley- walking towards him. Then she dove right into him and gave him a big kiss on the nose (I think that was her way of celebrating her big accomplishment). She also loves to push her little car around. She just smiles and looks from side to side to see who is watching her.

Her little personality is really starting to show. She is really friendly and waves to everyone and says hi with a southern drawl- "haah." She can also say da-da, Rid, Ana, milk, dog, bye, mas (spanish for more) and the occasional ma-ma. She had picked up on some signs really quickly and signs for milk, more, and all done.

She LOVES to look at books. It is so cute when she crawls over to her books, chooses one, and sits by herself, flipping through the pages making little noises. In one book, when I ask her where the dog is, she flips to the page with a dog on it!

She loves to blow kisses and give wet slobbery ones too. It is so cute because she is starting to give us kisses out of the blue- El and I can't get enough.

We just recently finished the "playroom." When our neighbors just recently moved (soooo sad), they gave us their couch, and we got a few things from IKEA and set it all up. It is so nice to have a place for Avery to play where she can get into whatever she wants- she is into everything these days. And I must admit, Elliott and I are really enjoying the playroom too!

I will post more pictures of the birthday soon- the internet is loading them really slow and I'm losing patience.

Well, I think that's it for now. Sorry I have been a bad blogger. We are headed to the states in a few weeks for my brother's wedding and then a family reunion with Elliott's family. We couldn't be more excited!!

Villa Pajon

2010-05-10T20:24:00.013-04:00

This weekend Elliott and I escaped to the mountains to celebrate his birthday and sweet little Avery had her first weekend stay with her abuelos (the De la Cruz family). We dropped Avery off at the de la Cruz house (along with just about everything she owns- ha) and set our for Valle Nuevo- the highest valley in the DR at 8500 ft. The drive was absolutely beautiful- high mountains overlooking valleys and lakes. We passed through the city of Constanza, which is one of the major farming cities in the DR, and then drove for about an hour up a rocky, dirt road to Valle Nuevo.

Valle Nuevo was the antithesis of Santo Domingo- quiet, clean air, secluded (we were literally in the middle of nowhere), and cold (40's at night and 60's in the day). We stayed in a little cabin with no electricity- at night we lit a big fire in the fireplace and used kerosene lanterns for light. It was so much fun. Here are some pics and a recap of our time.

On our way!!

So glad to be out of the city and in the fresh air.

Our cabin

The view from our cabin

The first night we grilled steaks and zucchini. Yum! While Elliott was cooking the steaks, I was inside building a fire. El had to come inside to get something and when he came back to the grill there was only 1 steak...a dog came and stole a steak off the grill!!

As the sun set, the clouds and fog set in over the farm fields.

Saturday morning- Happy Birthday Elliott!!!

The place we stayed is also a working farm. When we woke up on Saturday morning the farmers were out harvesting the potatoes. It was interesting to watch the whole process...the digging, the bagging, loading the truck, and then the workers that came back at night to glean the field for leftover potatoes.

We hooked up our hammock between 2 trees and spent the morning reading and dozing off.

In the afternoon we went on an awesome hike to this field filled with huge boulders- who knows how they got there?? It was crazy.

Elliott said that he got about a weeks worth of rest in 2 days....I agree. I want to book for this weekend!

And then to top off the great weekend, I got to go pick up my sweet little girl and be with her on my first mother's day! The De la Cruz family said she did awesome and that she smiled and laughed alot and didn't cry when she got passed around to everyone at church- I wish I had a video of her weekend!

teaser

2010-05-09T19:51:00.002-04:00

We had an AWESOME weekend celebrating Elliott's 32nd birthday!!

More to come tomorrow...

Para Te

2010-03-17T13:36:00.004-04:00

So there is a little jewel of a restaurant right down the street from our house named Para Te- it is heaven. Elliott and I stumbled apon it while house-hunting, and then it turned out to be right down the street from the house we decided to rent. It is a Taiwanese, vegetarian, tea spot with the tag line "Jardin del Descanso" (Garden of Rest). If you know me, you know that these rank among my favorite things...good ethnic food, I always say I could be a vegetarian, I love, love, love tea, and after spending 3 months in Guatemala I fell in love with little garden restaurants. And, to top it off, I can walk to it- another one of my favorite things.

The restaurant is in the Taiwanese family's yard, and they have made it into a little garden complete with a fountain, soft music, and bonsai trees! They have green and red tea- and then you get to combine that with just about anything you can imagine- raspberry, apple, orange, grapefruit, jasmine, lavender....(even prunes- haven't tried that one yet). Our personal favorite is Te verde con Jasmin poco azucar- green tea with jasmine, easy on the sugar. We have ordered it so many times that when they come to take our order they ask "te verde con jasmin poco azucar?" The food is awesome too- my personal favorites are the dumplings, and noodles with peanut sauce. Mmmmm. And to top it all off, the most expensive thing on the menu is 100 pesos (less than $3)!

I go every Wednesday with some other American moms. I am so blessed that the Lord has finally provided me with some American friends.

Katherine (on the left) had her TWIN BOYS on Monday!!

Avery and I have been sick all week...my neighbor (who is more obsessed with Para Te than I am) just brought me a green tea with grapefruit juice, and a frozen orange juice drink ....I am feeling better already!!

B&K in Haiti

2010-02-23T10:00:00.004-05:00

Two Saturday's ago we had the awesome privilege of having our new friends Ben and Katie stay with us. Ben and Katie moved to Haiti to teach at Quisqueya Christian School just a few weeks before the earthquake. A few days after the quake, I was blog-hopping, and came upon their blog. Turns out, Katie went to Baylor, and we had met once through a mutual friend. My heart was drawn so much to them because I know what it is like moving to another country....the adjustment, the highs, the lows, missing family and friends, adaptation...and then on top of all that, a MAJOR earthquake??? I can't even imagine. So, I sent them an e-mail and told them if they were ever in Santo Domingo, or needed to get away, they were welcome to stay with us. They took us up on it!!! Their school had a week break for Canival, and they were headed to a beach just outside of Santo Domingo, and needed a place to stay the night before they checked in. We had SUCH a great time with them...they are such an amazing couple. It was such an encouragement to see their faith in ACTION, on the front lines. God is truly filling them each day, so that they can make it to the next. They are excellent writers and update their blog often. Check it out! It will help you see what is going on in Haiti, and give you names and faces to put everything together. They wrote about our time together here.

God really used their time here to give me a grateful heart. It is so easy for me to compare everything to the states, and start to feel sorry for myself....we don't have Target, it's hot and we can only use our AC at night, constant noise, it takes forever to get the simplest thing done, terrible driving and traffic...on and on and on. Through hearing what they have been through, learning what Haiti was like even before the quake, and seeing how big their eyes were in Jumbo (a Wal-Mart-like store), God was saying, "Be grateful!! You have SO much. I have provided you with so much...and even if you didn't have these things, you would be fine."

What a blessing they were to us! Come back soon Ben and Katie, and in the meantime, you are in our prayers.

(My camera is semi-broken, so unfortunately we didn't get any pictures together)

Eight

2010-02-04T15:13:00.001-05:00

Avery is eight months old!!

She has such a fun little personality and a great sense of humor. She is always laughing at something...if I move a certain way, make a funny face, up on dad's shoulders, jumping in her jumper, dancing with dad, chasing people with Pops...she giggles and giggles. I love it! She loves to give wet slobbery kisses and even says "mmmmwa" (kinda- more of mom and dad's interpretation that actually knowing what she is doing). She is a really really good eater and eats most everything I give here. For some reason the DR only sells fruit baby food- no veggies. And the fruit they do sell has sugar as the second ingredient listed. So, I have resorted to making my own baby food, which has actually been quite fun. She loves auyama (a Dominican squash), broccoli, green beans, peaches, apples, and pears. But, her absolute favorite thing to eat is Cheerios- I never leave the house without them. She can even pick them up and feed them to herself. She is still a pro-sleeper at night, and now takes 2 naps a day (sometimes three). She sleeps with her little frog-blanket that Elliott has affectionaly named Maco (frog in spanish). She's still not crawling yet, but getting really close- although she can cover some serious ground by scooting backwards on her belly. Her hair is starting to come in more- I finally have something to wash when I give her a bath.

We love you so much Avery and can't wait to see how you grow and change this month.

So proud that she can stand up in her crib.

Dania's Quince

2010-01-18T13:33:00.009-05:00

On Saturday night we celebrated our sweet friend Dania's 15th birthday. In there DR (and most Latin countries), turning 15 is the BIG birthday. It is the coming of age, going from a little girl to a woman.

We hosted the Quinceañera at our house, and they invited about thirty of their family and friends. The party was "supposed to" start at 6:30. One of their friends has a minivan and offered to bring everyone from Cielo. The first group arrived at about 7:20, and then he had to turn around and go back for the second gruop. The second group got here around 8, and then we were ready to begin the celebration. Dania was upstairs getting ready, and stayed hidden from the guests. We gathered everyone around the stairs, which were lit with christmas lights and decorated with white confetti. Elliott announced her....Ana Dania Martinez Ortega...and she gracefully came down the stairs, curtseying her way down! Everyone applauded and shouted as she came down. Her little brother Gregory was waiting at the bottom of the stairs to receive her. He then escorted her around to greet each guest.

Then it was picture time!! Dania posed for some individual shots, and then took a photo with just about every combination of people possible.

Gregory, Ana (mom), Dania, and Altagracia (grandmother)

Avery stayed up for the whole party...oops. She was in her PJs and all ready for bed when the doorbell rang...once she found out there were people here, there was no getting her down.

After the big photo shoot, came the food. Not a crumb was left!

Then it was time to sing Happy Birthday and cut the cake.

We had an awesome time. We were so honored to be able to celebrate Dania and her family in this way. Her mom told me that it was a dream come true for them all!

Earthquake in Haiti

2010-01-14T10:13:00.006-05:00

Friends, thankfully we as a family are fine, yet we mourn for the destruction in our neighboring country Haiti. We also mourn for our Haitian friends and neighbors living here, the majority as refugees, in Santo Domingo. Most have family and friends living in Haiti, and of course a great percentage of them hail from Port au Prince.

As Mission Emanuel, we are striving to be a conduit through which food, water and medicine can be delivered quickly and efficiently to both Port au Prince and to the current and future refugees living in our small community of Bayona here in Santo Domingo. If you feel led to give financially toward these efforts you may contact Mission Emanuel's US office at (877)422-9200.

Several of our Mission Emanuel teammates plan to drive three truckloads of goods (boxes of nonperishable food, water bottles from Mission Emanuel's water purification plant, and first aid supplies and antibiotics) on Saturday or Sunday, depending on when we can access the medicines and the accessibility of the Jimaní border crossing. Personally, we will probably not be traveling on this first trip to Haiti, however we do want to be conduits for the love and provision of God in our community. Please pray for us to know our role here in Santo Domingo in making the love, compassion and sovereignty of God known to a scared and mourning Haitian community.

Of course, please continue to pray for all Haitian people, especially those living (and dying) in and around Port au Prince. May the God of all grace, who calls us to his eternal glory in Christ, heal, restore and redeem this situation and these loved people.

We Made It

2009-12-16T09:27:00.006-05:00

Barely. I came down with dengue fever on Wednesday (from a mosquito bite), and was in bed until we left early Monday morning. I had a really high fever, headache, and bad pain behind my eyes. El was super dad and took care of Avery, ran errands, and packed for us. But, now we are home, I'm finally feeling better, and we are loving being back in the good 'ole US of A.

Avery opening her first ever Christmas gift; a pretty red Christmas dress from Hap!

Glad to be in the US for the first time!

The Beach

2009-11-13T08:28:00.005-05:00

Saturday we took our good friend Ana and her two kids Dania (14) and Gregory (12) to the beach. It was Dania and Gregory's FIRST time ever at the beach. They absolutely loved it!! We picked them up at the bus station and they were grinning from ear to ear. They piled in the car and off we went! We went to the Guayacanes beach that is about 45 minutes outside of Santo Domingo. It was a gorgeous day. All three were like fish and barely left the water...except to bury Dania in the sand, of course! They thought the salt water was soooo strange, and very very salty.

Being with them at the beach was a reminder of how privileged we are....getting to travel, see new places, and experience new things. Can you imagine living on an island, being 45 minutes away from a beautiful public beach, and in 14 years never having the chance to go?

Lately

2009-11-06T07:23:00.006-05:00

Here are some things that have been going on around here....

- Avery turned 5 months this week! It's really hard to believe. Her little personality is shining through more and more each day. She found her feet and loves them. Anytime she is laying on her back or sitting in her carseat they are in her hands or in her mouth. She learned how to roll over from her tummy to her back. She loves to make funny noises and blow air and bubbles through her lips. She is in the 50% for weight (13 lbs) and 25% in length (I think her chubby cheeks and legs push her into the 50% in weight!- ha). She loves evvvverything to be in her mouth...even my hair...and cracks up everytime because I think it tickles her tongue. So cute!

Daddy's girl

Some of our new friends let Avery borrow their swing. She loves it!

This is her new face that she does ALL the time.

-The cultural retreat we went on last month up in Jarabacoa was really great. They taught alot on the history of the DR (and the whole island of Hispanola) and showed how it still influences the way Dominicans live today. We also learned practical tips about driving, how to dress, how to greet people, etc. They taught us things that we do as Americans that can be offensive and/or send a message we don't want to send. For example, when offering a visitor a drink/food, you just bring it to them and then they have the opportunity to say "no thank you." Whereas in America you normally ask someone if they want a drink/food first before bringing it to them. Here, if you ask first, it sends them the signal that you really don't want to give them anything.

The Dominican culture is very formal (style of dress, style of furniture, way of greeting), so they had a formal dinner for us the last night. After dinner we learned how to dance Merengue and Bachata! (El and I still have a LOT of work to do on our new moves- ha)

-2 weeks ago Elliott had the opportunity to speak at the Young Life/Vida Joven leader retreat at Juan Dolio beach. He did wonderful job, and we had a great time spending time with the Young Life staff. Avery liked it too because she got to play with our friends' baby, Judah, who was born 5 days after her!

-God has been really generous and gracious to us over the last few weeks in providing new friends and new fellowship opportunities! This had been a prayer of ours for over a year. He is faithful to provide.

-Things are finally cooling off here (a little bit). I made chili and cornbread this week out of my excitement....we were sweating (in out shirts and shorts) all the way through dinner. Oh well!

-Monday is Constitution day here in the DR. Yay for Dominican holidays! I think we might head to the beach one day this weekend.

I think that's it for now.

Avery

2009-10-07T10:45:00.005-04:00

Long time no blog

2009-10-05T12:44:00.005-04:00

Sorry it's been so long since we last posted...here are some updates from our lives in Santo Domingo.

1. We moved! We found an awesome house about 15-20 minutes away from Bayona. Our time living in Bayona was SO worth it. We learned so much about the people and culture we are serving, and built relationships that would have been impossible had we not been living "with" them. But, it was time to move. We love our new home, and it's location! It has provided us with a place to rest, be together, and get away from the stresses of Dominican life. We are so grateful that God provided just what we needed.

2. Avery is 4 months old! She is still a little thing weighing 11lbs, 11oz (but chubby, chubby). She LOVES to make noises. It seems like she babbles all day long. She is still a really good sleeper. All I have to do at night is put her down in her crib, and she's out for the night...no rocking to sleep, and no crying, she just goes to sleep on her own!! (unfortunately its another story for naps). She loves Ridley....everytime she sees him she smiles or laughs. Whenever he is in the room, she watches him and follows him around with her eyes. She loves to grab her toys...and they go straight to her mouth. Last week, she had her first little cold, poor thing. She ran a fever and was really congested and had a bad cough. She was a trooper though, and was still as sweet as ever.

-I have gotten stopped about 10 times by people thinking that I was carrying around a babydoll. Then when they see that she's real, they are shocked. Even those that do know shes a real baby call her Muñekita (little babydoll). I think its the blue eyes, chubby cheeks, and white skin.

3. Her passport and birth certificate got delivered today! YEAH! A little guy brought it on a motorcycle in his backpack. Now we can actually leave the country....I feel like I should be boarding a plane right now to celebrate :)

4. God is doing some pretty awesome things through Elliott. In May he became the Ministry Director for Mission Emanuel. He is now in charge of the 9 Dominican team leaders. It is so cool to see all of the ways he is growing in this new role. I know its hard for him to see the impact he is having down here, but its HUGE. Needless to say, I'm a proud wife.

5. We are going on a cultural retreat this weekend up in the mountains. It is taught by an American woman that has lived in the DR for 26 years. She is going to teach on Dominican culture and values, and how to grow personally while living here. Even though we have lived here for over a year, I think we are going to learn a ton, and that it is going to help us minister more effectively and deeply. I'm also excited to get to spend a weekend in the mountains....cooler weather, I hope!

6. We are missing fall big time. It's still as hot as ever here. We miss the crispness in the air, leaves changing colors, college football, wearing long-sleeves and corduroys, and making chili and pumpkin spice muffins. So, please enjoy those things for us :)

Well, I think thats it for now. Thanks for reading! I'll post some new Avery pics soon...my camera battery is dead and I'm waiting for it to charge.

We are complete

2009-09-01T22:15:00.002-04:00

Kent+Michelle

Lindsay+Elliott

John+Kate

= a complete Sterchi family!!! (plus Avery and all the little ones to come)

YEAH!!! My brother John got engaged to Kate on Saturday morning. I am so so so so excited that they are getting married. I love Kate so much- she is so awesome. I can't wait to spend time with them as a married couple...holidays, family va-ca's...its going to be so much fun. Yeah!! Ahhh!! (Can you tell I am EXCITED).

Congrats John and Kate. I love you both so much. God has done amazing things!

Our Current Weather

2009-08-21T21:15:00.006-04:00

(according to www.weather.com)

Right now for Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

83 F

Feels Like 94 F

Widespread Dust

I guess that could have something to do with my headache...

3 Years of Wedded Bliss

2009-08-04T15:41:00.005-04:00

Yep, thats right....Three years ago today, Elliott and I were pronounced husband and wife! Our three years of marriage have been so wonderful, each one very different. Our first year we were newlyweds and lived in Texas and North Carolina, our second we were nomads and lived out of suitcases traveling between NC, FL, CO, the DR, and Guatemala, and the third we have been gringos trying to figure out life in the DR.

Elliott is such an amazing husband. He loves me, serves me, and cares for me in so many selfless ways each day. He challenges me to surrender more of my life over to Jesus, and trust His loving hand. He is my best friend. I have loved watching him become a dad. He is a wonderful father. He loves Avery so much, and I am so excited for her to know her daddy more as she grows. I am so blessed to be married to a man who leads and serves his family. Thank you Jesus for Elliott Drake! Happy Anniversary El, I love you with all my heart.

2 Months!

2009-08-04T15:17:00.003-04:00

Avery is 2 months old today!

She had a great second month...
She got to meet her DD and Bear (El's parents)..
Her Uncle John came for a visit. He made her smile ALOT
She now sleeps through the night (8-10 hours...lucky us!!)
She is starting to make little noises. She surprises herself everytime a new one comes out, and always looks so proud.
Loves laying under her "discovery gym"
Sucks both thumbs...is she going to be ambidextrous?

Her eyes are very very blue

We went to the pool on Sunday and Avery took her first dip...she loved it! She got more and more comfortable the longer she was in...by the end she was dunking her little fists in the water all by herself. Here are some pics...

We love you Avery! Thanks for being such a sweet, sweet daughter. We can't wait to watch you grow in your third month!

Lobo and Chivito

2009-07-25T22:45:00.002-04:00

Tuesday morning I discovered our Dominican dog Lobo attacking a small goat. The goat was tied up in the field across from our house and Lobo was on his typical morning jaunt through the neighborhood. Anyway, all turned out okay when our friend and neighbor Lalo was able to free the kid from the stump and scare Lobo away by throwing a huge stump at him.
I don't have much more to say except that next time I hope to respond more quickly and effectively to the sound of bleating goat and barking dog. I sort of just stood there and watched it all unfold...

Hoteln' It

2009-07-16T20:48:00.006-04:00

Two nights ago we woke up at about 2:30am...this time it wasn't a crying baby wanting to be fed. It was the stillness and heat in our bedroom. The power was out and our inverter (the bank of car batteries that makes power when the power isn't on...about 8-12 hours each day) was drained. That means no fans. That means sweltering heat. That means no sleep. That means fussy baby and an unhappy mommy and daddy. In the morning, we found out that the power line on our street was broken. When it still wasn't fixed by yesterday evening, Jack offered for us to spend a few nights at a hotel until the problem could get fixed. So, we packed our bags and the pack-n-play, and off we went to AC and hot showers!!! (Sidenote: as we were leaving the house our water was also down to a trickle).

I called Jack today to thank him and told him that Avery has had the best day of her life...literally. She has been so happy and content since we got here. I don't think I realized how much the heat affects her at home. Elliott had to go into Cielo to do some work today, but Avery and I just enjoyed a quiet and relaxing day here at the hotel. This morning we read, listened to some music, and played. Then Elliott came back this afternoon and we spent some time relaxing by the pool.

It has been a great little retreat for us. God knows just what we need...even if He has to use broken-down power lines!

Sweet Avery has gotten to wear her long sleeve sleepers that she doesn't get to wear much at home

Headed to the pool

Enjoying the AC

My new favorite spot

2009-07-14T14:43:00.004-04:00

Last week we went with Elliott's parents to the Botanical Gardens in Santo Domingo. I have been wanting to go ever since we moved here. It was really beautiful, quiet, and peaceful...three things that are hard to find in this big city. I think it is going to become a place that we "escape" to quite often. They have lots of trails, so we could even go there to run. My favorite part was the orchid exhibit. They had dozens of different kinds of orhids....all different colors, some big, some small, even fragrant ones (those were my favorite because they smelled SOO good). We had a wonderful time...it was good to be outside, enjoying nature and each other.

There were lots of mosquitos...Avery is getting quite used to viewing the world from under a net. Poor thing.

Have you ever seen a pink pineapple?

ONE YEAR!!

2009-07-06T16:00:00.006-04:00

One year ago from now we were sitting in the Orlando airport eating sushi and drinking one last Starbucks as we waited to board the plane to make the big move to the DR. Oh, what a year it has been. It has been great in so many ways and hard in others. We have learned so much about ourselves, each other, Dominicans, and God. We are definitely not the same people we were when we left the U.S. a year ago. It feels really good to have finally reached the one year mark. Besides adjusting to having a newborn, we feel settled here and feel like we have found a good "rhythm." Thanks SO much for all of your prayers....we wouldn't still be here if it weren't for them.

Some of our first year memories:

-Constant noise...bachata music, people selling things over a loud speaker, roosters, motorcycles

-HEAT!!!...taking cold showers and barely drying off before hopping in bed to make it through the night

-Finding out we were pregnant 1 month after moving here

-Hosting lots of birthday parties for our friends and neighbors

-Learning to live more simply

-Giving yourself 3 hours minimum to make a grocery store run

-Introducing Dominicans to American food

-Our 2 day trip to the Campo...Elliott still loves the Bestia

-Elliott's men's bible study in the garage every Tuesday night

-Learning to drive like a crazy dominican...we are no longer phased by the traffic and lack of order on the road

-Everything breaking a month or so after you buy it

-Getting out of traffic tickets (that we didn't deserve) by speaking only English

-Still struggling to communicate in Spanish

-Line drying clothes

-Lots walks with Ridley in the park....people are afraid of him and move to the other side of the street when they see him coming

-Being able to travel around and see the beautiful Dominican beaches and mountains

-Floating in the sea off of Bahuruco

-Termite infestation in the guest room closet

-Giving birth to our precious little Avery

El's parents are here and will be baby-sitting tonight as we go out and celebrate the BIG one year anniversary!!

Wise Words

2009-06-29T11:17:00.003-04:00

Sometimes it is hard to express all that we feel, and experience living in a foreign land, serving as a missionary. As we will celebrate our one year anniversary of living here next week....these words written by missionary Amy Carmichael pretty much sum up our experience over the past year.

"a door was opened for me into a new life and I took the first step in...Today as I thought of all that has passed since then, of the little little one has learnt or done or been, I felt as if one has not taken even a step into the land which opened out before one ten whole years ago. Tonight in my evening reading this verse came: "In His quiver hath He kept my close." I never noticed it before. It is the revised version of Isaiah 49:2. Is it not beautiful? And does it not fit into the verse linked always to me with September 23, 1886, "able to keep you from falling"? Dear friends, I don't often write of these inner heart things in my Scrapperies, but to the glory of His name let me witness that in far away lands, in lonliness (deepest sometimes when it seems least so), in times of downheartedness and tiredness and sadness, always always He is near. He does comfort, if we let Him. Perhaps someone as weak and good-for-nothing as even I am may read this. Don't be afraid! Through all circumstances, outside, inside, He can keep me close."

All Smiles

2009-06-18T14:39:00.005-04:00

Here's a little Avery smile to brighten your day!!

One week old

2009-06-11T18:48:00.003-04:00

Its hard to believe that at this time last week little Avery was about to come into the world! This first week has flown by, and she is growing and changing so much already. We have had a great first week! Our love for her grows by the minute.

Look at my chubby cheeks....I'm a really good eater.

Conocerla

2009-06-08T19:39:00.005-04:00

Well, we've been parents for about ten months now, but it's hard feeling like a parent when you haven't yet met your child. About 5 days ago we had the privilege and joy of meeting our daughter, Avery Elizabeth Drake, when Linds gave birth to our precious, 6 1/2 lb, 50cm little treasure. She's absolutely beautiful in every way, and we can't wait to know her more and more as she grows and develops.

Our little 5 day old ladybug!

I'm going to miss being pregnant.

2009-06-03T11:09:00.003-04:00

I guess thats a pretty rare thing for someone to say one day before their due date. But, in the DR, pregnant women are treated like celebrities. There is a common phrase that everyone says..."pregnant women don't wait in line." So, I don't have to wait in line to use the bathroom, order food, pay our cell phone bill, check out my groceries, etc.....it's great! As soon as I get in line, the person in front of me will turn around and push me to the front of the line. At first, I was a little shy and would stay put, but then I realized that I better take advantage of the royal treatment while I could. Elliott has milked the "pregnancy privileges" as well. We will be out, and he will ask to do something and then throw in, "my wife is pregnant," and immediately the person will throw up their hands and say "claro, claro," (of course, of course). So, while I will not miss carrying around a watermelon, the backaches, the heartburn, and all of the other annoyances that come along with being pregnant, I will miss being a member of the pregnancy elite!!!

Please pray that little baby Drake will grace us with her presence before my dad has to go back to Orlando early Saturday morning.

Updates...

2009-05-28T17:59:00.003-04:00

-Sorry its been a while since we last posted. It seems like alot has been going on, but not too much to write about. Just trying to tie up loose ends before the little one enters the world. I was also on bedrest 2 weeks ago, and have been trying to slow down the pace of life since then.

-Well, we are now a week away from Baby Drake's due date!!!! We went to the doctor today and got a great report. Over the last 3 weeks we have had some complications, and they were worried about her growth. But, today they told us that she is definitely growing, and as far as they can tell all looks healthy. Our hearts are rejoicing!!!

-My mom and dad get here on Saturday! We can't wait! We are hoping that the little one decides to come before my dad has to leave the following Saturday. It is going to be such a blessing to have them here with us.

-The Americanos are rolling in to kick off the summer projects. It is kinda strange knowing that we won't really be involved much this year because of having a newborn. But, it really is great to see familiar faces. In the "missionary world" we have found that it is rare for someone to be the only Americans living and working on the field like we are. Most have a team of Americans that they work with. So, for us, it is great when our "team" comes to join us...even if it is just for a week, or a month.

-Its mango season around here....and in my opinion they are better than ever this year. Mmmmm. Now we are just waiting for the avocados to ripen up and join them.

-When the power is on we are now ALLLLOOOOTTT cooler. We got an AC unit for our bedroom, the guest room, and Baby Drake's room. I think it is the best investment we have ever made. Now if the power would just come on more often so we could actually use them :) But, I really think they are going to help us rest and relax alot more, because when it is hot and humid out (and in the house) it is a whole lot easier and more comfortable to just keep moving than to stop and rest. So hopefully they will help us not run ourselves so ragged like we have been prone to do these last 11 months.

We love our Mommas!

2009-05-10T17:48:00.004-04:00

One of the hardest things about living in the DR is being away from our families....especially on days like today. We have two of the greatest moms in the world! They love us and support us in countless ways. They have both done amazing jobs at loving us across the miles. We are SOO excited for them to be grandmothers in a few weeks!! We can't wait to watch them love on our little one. We are so blessed because they are both coming down to stay with us for a few weeks after she is born...Mia (Lind's mom) in June and DD (El's mom) in July. We can't wait to get to spend an extended amount of time with them both. On the verge of becoming a mother myself, I am so lucky because I have two great examples of what it means to be a loving, sacrificial, wise, encouraging, giving, and nurturing mother. Thank you God for Michelle Sterchi and Debbie Drake!! We love you SOOO much mom and wish we were there to give you a giant hug today...but we hope you feel it from afar.

SURPRISE!!!

2009-04-27T15:55:00.012-04:00

Last Saturday night, Zeneida and Rosario threw me a surprise Baby Shower. It was really fun to celebrate with friends and family...the Breuls came down from Jarabacoa, Sally Dulap came in from Santiago, my parents were here, and many of our Dominican friends joined the celebration!!!

They had the top floor of the Nazaret school all decorated with baby clothes, a HUGE stork, and a 7 ft. waterfall with lights!! Bet you have never seen a waterfall at a baby shower before! We played some hilarious games....quiet the crying baby, and sing your favorite lullaby. Dominicans love being dramatic, so you can image how those games went. Then, everyone had to give Elliott and I some new parent advice. We ate some yummy food, and then we opened gifts.

Quiet the crying baby

More games

With Javier and Rosario in front of the pink waterfall!

Mia and Pops!!

The Breul Boys

I really was soooo blessed by the shower. We have had our ups and downs living here this first year, but it really made me realize how loved and supported we are. It is definitely a night I will NEVER forget.

A few weeks ago my mom's friends threw me a Skype shower since I couldn't be there in person. It was really fun too!

Here I am on the Big Screen!

My mom and all of the hostesses.

We have been loved from afar in so many creative ways during my pregnancy. Love can not be bound by distance!!

Getting closer...

2009-04-23T22:02:00.014-04:00

My mom and dad are here! My dad came down for the Men's Trip, and my mom came down to help me get things ready for the baby. We have been having a great time. Today, our friend Bob came over and painted a beautiful little mural on the wall of the nursery. I love it! I am so excited to welcome the little one into the world, into our family, and into her new little room. Tonight I went in and just sat in there, prayed for her, and rejoiced over the wonderful gift that she is going to be in our lives (and already is). I will share more pics and stories from the week later on....I just couldn't wait to share Bob's masterpiece :)

Last Saturday, I was suprised with a Dominican Baby Shower, and the hostesses went in together and got me this rocker!

Georgy

2009-03-19T10:39:00.013-04:00

What would a morning in the DR be without hearing "E----lio" coming through the front gate? Georgy is a ten year old boy that lives right behind us. We met him when we first moved in. He lives with his mom Amarilis, and his two sisters Leslie(2 1/2) and Jasmin(1). To help earn money for his family, Georgy comes over and helps us with yard work...he waters the grass, picks weeks, and rakes. On Tuesdays he always comes over and helps Elliott set up the garage for his Tuesday night Bible Study. He also really likes to help bathe the dogs. Sometimes we go out in the morning and he is just sitting on the driveway waiting for us to come out. My three favorite things about Georgy are:

1. Every time you pay him....he skips all the way home.

2. He has a GREAT smile.

3. He believes some crrrazy things. For example, Georgy believes that if you are sweating and you wash your face with cold water...there is a strong possibility that you will die the next day (according to him...hundreds of people die from this every day).

He really has been such a joy and blessing in our lives. I really love that he has Elliott in his life since he doesn't live with his dad. You can tell he really looks up to and loves Elliott.

Last week we had a birthday party for him. Here are some pics....

I made him a "G" cake

The Preggo Update

2009-02-24T20:04:00.004-05:00

Well, we haven't really blogged about me being pregnant...so I thought it was time. So far, time has fllllooowwwnn by (I hear I am the first pregnant woman to ever say this), but its true. I really can't believe that I am now 26 weeks along. Sometimes I feel like I need more time- ha!

Our little girl remains nameless. Elliott is affectionately calling her Junebug since she is due on June 4. Sometimes I call her Juney for short. But other than that, we are a little behind on the name search. We are open to any suggestions!

We have a GREAT doctor here in Santo Domingo. She speaks English which is really nice not to have to try to explain and understand everything in Spanish. I know I will be especially grateful come delivery time. Last week we went to our first birthing class at the hospital (in Spanish). We are in a class of about 8 couples, 6 Dominican, 1 Paraguanian, and us!! Our teacher's name is Mechy, and she can't weigh more than 85 pounds...quite a contrast in a room full of pregnant ladies! El and I were definitely holding in some laughs during the class...its a whole new cultural experience.

My mom is going to come down in April to help me get the nursery set up when my dad comes for the Men's trip. I have spent waaaay to many hours searching baby stuff online. But, when there is no such thing as Target or Babies-R-Us here...its all I'm left with.

We are SO excited to know our little girl. We grow to love her more and more each day.

When life hands you sweet lemons... Make grapefruit juice???

2009-02-19T19:35:00.007-05:00

Lindsay's been slightly limited in her culinary creations because lemons don't exist in the DR. That's right, you can comb the countryside, the city fruit markets, the supermarkets- no lemons.

What's tricky is, if you ask a Dominican if there are lemons here, she'll say, "Claaaaro! Tenemos limones." (Clearly...of course! We have lemons.) Of course what she means is that they have limes. Yes, Dominicans call limes "lemons," which, when you've been hunting for lemons for eight months, only feels like lemon juice on a wound...

Today, Linds had a "hunch" that we were going to find lemons--real lemons--in the grocery store. And guess what? We did! The label said "sweet lemons," but she was convinced that this was just another Dominican "citrus idiom," and that they would actually be juicy, perfectly tart lemons (like the ones she used to pick in her grandmother's back yard). She was so certain of the reality of these lemons that she splurged on a bottle of tahini sauce to make fresh hummus with her fresh lemons.

She just finished squeezing a batch of fresh, grapefruit-tasting juice... As far as I can tell from the pile of fruit peels, it was made with "sweet lemons" and some "Dominican" lemons... that is limes. This is the kind of thing I have grown to love more and more about my wife each day. She's a genius in turning sweet lemons, limes, or whatever else life throws her way into a new, creative, tasty juice. I can't wait to see what she finally uses to make that hummus!

All the way from TX

2009-02-16T13:47:00.003-05:00

Last weekend our friends Mark and Elizabeth Mason visited us from Lubbock, TX. They braved the long journey from TX with 3 flights each way...even spending the night in Dallas on the way home. Elizabeth and I met at Kamp Kanakuk when we were in 9th grade, and then were roomies at Baylor! She is the greatest friend ever, and maintains long distance relationships better than anyone I know. Her and Mark are such a blessing to Elliott and me, and we had a blast showing them around the island. Check out Elizabeth's blog for pics and stories! (Thanks for letting me mooch Elizabeth)

You will be missed....A LOT!

2009-02-02T14:29:00.005-05:00

Well, our only American friends here in Santo Domingo are moving back to the states. We are really sad....REALLY sad. We met John and Sarah and their two kids Evie and Ransom shortly after we moved down. We are going over to their house tonight for dinner and goodbyes. We don't know what we are going to do without them here....they have been such a huge source of fun, fellowship, and encouragement for us.

John and Sarah, thanks so much for always being up for hanging out. You will be missed greatly.We will miss hanging out at the pool, eating together, playing video games, "cultural venting," Sunday lunches at "Panera/Chipotle," watching movies on the roof, and so much more. We can't wait to hear all that God does in and through you in the next stage of your life. And, if the Missouri cold is too much to handle, you always have a hot, AC free room waiting for you at our house.

We love you,

Wissy and Wissy (no, thats Elliott)

bittersweet cold water

2009-01-05T15:09:00.004-05:00

About six weeks ago we rigged up our cooler next to the tub and began mixing frigid tap water with a large pot full of boiling water to arrive at a pleasant bathing temperature. A full cooler provided the two of us with just enough warm water to thoroughly bucket bathe (although one typically finds it difficult to rinse his/her armpits).

Last night all that changed. The heat is back, waaaay earlier than we expected, so I escaped to the refreshing cool waters of a simple shower. We're hoping it's just a January "heat wave" and the temps will soon be back in the 70s. Summer isn't supposed to arrive in Santo Domingo until mid February!!!

In conclusion, there's nothing sweeter than a refreshing cold shower to cool the body on a hot night. The bitterness comes in realizing that the desire to take a cold shower indicates that the hot nights have returned...

The Blessing of Family

2008-12-30T10:24:00.016-05:00

(The gender of our baby is announced in this post!!)

This year Christmas was different. We celebrated in the DR.

AND, we had the awesome blessing of getting to share it with my family. My dad, mom, brother, 2 aunts, uncle, cousin, grandmother, and my aunts mom came down to celebrate with us (there were 11 of us total). Right before we moved here, we threw out the idea that my family come down for Christmas and that we go to the beach for a week....thinking that it was a lofty request....but that it was worth throwing it out there. Everybody immediatly responded...WE ARE IN!! My mom went to work and researched just

about every hotel on the island. She found us an awesome brand new hotel in Punta Cana (on the east coast).

We had the BEST week together. The beach was one of the most beautiful beaches any of us had ever seen. We took lots of walks...ate too much food...played Apples to Apples, Rummikub, and worked a puzzle...played lots of tennis...had our own Christmas Eve service on our balcony...had a gift exchange...and just enjoyed being together as family. And then, on Christmas morning, we had everyone guess what they thought baby Drake was...8 guessed boy, and my grandmother Hap guessed girl. HAP WON!!! We are having a baby girl!!!

On Saturday we checked out of the hotel, and loaded a bus to Santo Domingo. When we arrived at our home, Rosario and Javier had prepared an enormous Dominican lunch for all of us. We then took them up to Cielo to meet some of our friends and show them around Mission Emanuel's property. We had a great last dinner in the Colonial Zone....and then had to say our goodbyes.

I don't know if Elliott and I were ever able to express to them how much it meant to have them all here with us. We can't imagine what our Christmas would have been like had they not come. It is also so wonderful because now they all have seen where we live and got a glimpse of our lives. I know I am biased...but I think I have the best family in the world.

Metered

2008-11-27T21:16:00.006-05:00

After reading our previously written post titled "Darkness," my dad thought that we were deliberately refusing to pay our power bill. Afraid we were serving as a bad example to others and worse, a poor witness to Christ, he called me out. So, just to clarify, we were not refusing to pay for our consumption, but rather, were not given any opportunity or means to pay. In retrospect, I suppose we could have estimated our usage costs, gone to the power company's office and handed them cash. The truth is, for better or worse, that option never crossed my mind until now. Anyway, Tuesday a team of sub-contractors installed a watt meter on our home, so we're now officially within the electric company's grid, and regarding this matter, I think above reproach. That's good. I'll make a comment on this post when we get our first bill…

English Night

2008-11-25T19:20:00.006-05:00

There are lots and lots of youth learning English in the communities where we live. So, we thought we would take the opportunity to help them practice...and give us a break from having to speak Spanish :) Last Sunday, we hosted the first of many "English Nights." About 25 people showed up! Some are just starting out in their English studies, and others are pretty muchfluent. We wanted to encourage them in their studies, and give them an environment to practice what they are learning in their classes. The only rule for the night...NO speaking Spanish...3 strikes and you are out. The activity for the night was charades!! None of them had ever played before...but Dominicans love drama, so they caught on really quickly. We tried to introduce them to some new words they may not be learning in class...some more useful than others...popsicle, rainbow, first date, telephone pole (Elliott's idea), garbage truck, etc. Then we ended the night with an American favorite...Bomb Pops!

Our next English night is scheduled for December 7....Christmas theme! Anyone have any ideas for games or activities??

Tales from the Campo Part 1: "La Bestia"

2008-11-11T21:53:00.010-05:00

I was absolutely fascinated with life in the Campo. As I rode the bestia through winding trails and over log bridges, into the lush foothills of Vallejuelo, I honestly thought, "This is a highlight of my life."

There's much to write regarding Vallejuelo, our bus rides to and from, harvesting crops, and the gracious hospitality of our hosts, Paco's family. Nevertheless, I must begin the debriefing somewhere, and the bestia seems like the perfect spot...

When I asked Silvilio, Paco's father and the unmistakable family patriarch, what type of animals they used to subdue the land he answered, "Burros (donkeys), mulas (mules), caballos (horses) y bestias (beasts)." To which I thought, "Beasts! What kind of genetic engineering are they doing out here in the campo to produce such a laborer and what does the 'bestia' look like???"

"What is a BESTIA?!" I asked. Unfortunately I didn't understand the answer, so my vision of a cross between a mule and Sloth from The Goonies continued to pervade my imagination. Then, on our way to bathe in the river, Paco mentioned that his brother was going to meet us there. He was going on the bestia. "Now, I will see the beast!"

As you can imagine, I was quite surprised (and rather disappointed) when Paco's brother, son and cousins arrived at the river on an animal that looked to me like a small horse.
Turns out that "bestia," although it's not listed in my spanish-english dictionary, is the name given to female horses here in the Dominican Republic (and for all I know anywhere spanish is spoken- bloggers feel free to comment). Basically a "bestia" is a mare.

The story would be quite disappointing if it ended on this note, but, fortunately, as I mentioned earlier, I ended up spending considerable time with the bestia and she and I became fine friends. After loading her down with water and slop to porter to the pigs in the highlands, I mounted the bestia and headed out of town and into the foothills.
Riding a bestia is waaaay better than driving any type of vehicle. I would love to be friends with our car, but it's never going to happen. However the bestia and I connected. She responded to my encouraging words; she carefully carried me over bridges, through rivers and up muddy ravines. I cared for her so much that I even felt bad that her hair was dirty and knotted. Now that's love.

Off to the Campo

2008-11-07T13:09:00.003-05:00

We are leaving bright and early tomorrow morning on a 5am guagua (bus) to head to our friends "campo" (farm) for 2 days. Our friend Marlene went to her husband's family's farm a month ago to have her baby...and has been there ever since. We will be traveling with her husband Paco and her grandmother Mercedes to visit Marlene and meet Paco Jr. The farm is about 4 hours away from Santo Domingo outside of San Juan de la Maguana. We are really excited, and a little nervous....its our first trip to the campo and we don't quite know what to expect (will we have to share a bed with 3 people we don't know?). But, we know we are in for an adventure. We will post pictures and stories from our little trip when we get home.

Darkness

2008-11-02T15:46:00.004-05:00

This morning while we were at church our area of town finally received power. We typically only have "street power" for about eight hours each day, which is sufficient to charge our inverter that provides us with electricity for the remaining sixteen hours of the day. But, after losing power early Friday evening our inverter discharged over the ensuing 24 hours and by 7pm last night we were in the dark.

According to the local press, the Dominican energy sector is on the verge of collapse and blackouts have been far more widespread and extensive than the power companies are reporting. The companies report several reasons for going "offline," including insufficient fuel supplies and insufficient payment from customers. The biggest delinquent customer is the Dominican government, which owes the generators at least $US354 million. Other delinquent customers include the vast majority of Dominican residents, including your's truly. However, how can we pay our utility bill when the power company neither meters our consumption nor provides us with any system of payment??? We'd far prefer to pay for what we use and have dependable power!

We remain very grateful for the electricity that arrived this morning and has been recharging our inverter all day without interruption. We are thankful that our water service remained constant through the blackout. It's one thing to sleep in the tropics without a fan. It's another thing to sleep in the tropics with neither a fan nor a cold shower to cool you down through the night. We are thankful for the ridiculous amounts of razor wire, metal arrows, window bars, steel gates and two dogs that protect our home from intruders. Especially when it's dark.
Most of all we are thankful for the promises of God, given through His word, secured through his Son. This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. --1 John 1:5-7

Hermanita en la R.D.

2008-10-23T13:51:00.004-04:00

My sister Elysia visited us a few weeks ago and we had the best time. After hearing about the DR for many years she was finally able to experience it for herself. We hope she liked being a part of our Dominican life as much as we enjoyed having her.

We picked Leash up at the airport on Thursday afternoon in a rain storm. From the very beginning everything worked in our favor for giving her a full Santo Domingo experience. She was starving so we stopped at "fast food" Pollo Victorina for some chicken strips. Believe it or not, none were actually prepared, so we waited for a good ten minutes while them grilled some up- special order! We then made the trek across the city to our home, which typically takes about 45 minutes, but with all the street flooding took a bit longer. Leash was immediately impressed with the very tiny cars and buses that never make their way to US ports. And also impressed that those very same micro machines could pass through the enormous puddles!

The next day we drove to the mountains of Jarabacoa to show Leash more of the country and do a riverbed hike called "Los Rapidos," which culminates at a spectacular waterfall. Ridley went too. Saturday was supposed to be a beach day, but was cut very short by more torrential downpours. We headed back to grill out and enjoy a slight break from the heat that the evening rains had brought. Sunday was filled with a church service in Cielo, two birthday celebrations and then dinner and strolling in the Old City. Monday was the worst, cause Leash had to go home, which made us very sad... Thanks, Elysia, for visiting! We love you!!

Waco's Finest

2008-09-29T13:35:00.005-04:00

Grocery stores here in Santo Domingo aren't like US stores...in the US you can pretty much guarantee that if you bought something there before, you will be able to find it the next time you go (a certain kind of pasta, salsa, brats (El's fav), sour cream etc). Not here. Because most of the items are imported, you never really know what you are going to find. It makes shopping alot more exciting (or disappointing). Let me give you an example....the other day Elliott and I were out for our weekly shopping trip. I was headed to the checkout line when all of a sudden I see Elliott running/skipping towards me with the BIGGEST grin on his face. It took me a second to figure out why he was so excited....and then I saw it....a can of Dr. Pepper in his hands. Then, I joined in on the celebration...jumping up and down shouting "no way, dr. pepper, no way!!" Needless to say, we made a scene. Elliott showed me where he found them...and we pretty much cleaned out the stock of Dr. Pepper (not knowing when, if ever, they would have Dr. Pepper again).

He knows...

2008-09-15T12:03:00.005-04:00

The other morning I was having a bad start to the day. I was missing home, we didn't have power so I couldn't do laundry that had been piling up and starting to smell, etc. Then I heard, "Sallllluuuudooosss," "Elllllioooo, Liiiishhhhiii (Lindsay)." I went to the door and saw our neighbors Rafa and Charo...plants and machete in hand. They had come to plant some plants in our yard. Charo is a wonderful gardener and has a beautiful yard full of plants, flowers, and palms. They had dug up some of their very own plants from their yard and brought them down to us. Charo went straight to work...

This blessed me so much. I felt like the Lord was smiling down on me saying, "I see you, I know where you are at, and I'm sending you a little something to brighten your day." Elliott and I had been wanting to plant some things in our yard for weeks, but hadn't had the time to do so. And then, in a matter of a half hour we had 5 new plants!

This Boy´s Gotta Fly!

2008-08-21T13:01:00.003-04:00

I know his ears look as if they could flap him to the Carribbean, but so far he hasn´t lifted off on his own. If you would like to pray for something specific, please pray that this guy, Ridley, would somehow get a flight from Orlando, Florida to Santo Domingo. We´ve been baffled in our efforts to get him off the hands of Lindsay´s parents (who have been oh so, so gracious in caring for him for almost two months) and into our hands before he ends up in the hands of the animal shelter keepers. Please pray, especially for a delivery opportunity this coming Wednesday. The whole thing is burdening others and stressing us out!

Up in Flames

2008-08-17T14:53:00.009-04:00

Here are a few happenings from our first month here. The more important updates are in our newsletter that you will receive this week. Thanks so much for your prayers as we have transitioned to our new life here. Please keep praying...so much is new and different...and we have ALOT to learn.

1. I guess we are official Dominican's now...we burn our trash. We are not big fans, as we like to help, not destroy the environment...but when the trash men come about every 3 weeks (at best),and our garage is overflowing with trash (and all the smells and flies that come with it), we are left with no other choice.

2. Shopping, shopping, and more shopping. Our first few weeks were spent driving the crowded, traffic filled streets of Santo Domingo looking for furniture. At this point, we would give anything for a Target or Ikea. But, we have enjoyed all the different kinds of carts....this one was our favorite...

3. In the course of a month we went from owning zero pets, to owning 2 dogs. When we arrived in early July, Ridley was too young to come down. We were told by various Dominicans that we needed to have a dog in our yard at all times...so Vijo gave us one of his dogs from Cielo. So, now Lobo lives with us, and we are awaiting the arrival of Ridley sometime within the next 2 weeks.4. Weddings!!! We had the privilege of attending 2 weddings this month. One Dominican, and one American...one started on time and the other started 2 1/2 hours late, I bet you can't guess which one is which. Jainero and Lisette were married on August 2nd and Sarah and Nick were married on August 9th. Please pray for these 2 couples as they start their new lives together as one.

And we're off....

2008-07-06T13:44:00.002-04:00

Today is the big day....we are finally moving!!! We are busy packing and running last minute errands and then will head to the airport for out 8 pm flight. We will try to post as soon as we can from the DR, but will have limited access to internet for the first few weeks.

Thanks so much for keeping us in your prayers...we need them!

Home Sweet Home

2008-06-28T13:30:00.019-04:00

Here she is...our new home for the next 2 1/2 years!

(Still needing a second coat of paint and some trim work)

Last week we went down with the Orlando family group to paint our house. There was lots and lots and lots of work to be done. We are so grateful for all the help we received from our brothers and sisters from Orlando.

The highlight of our trip: One night Elliott and I were eating dinner with the group in Cielo when we got the call that Lalo, Zeneida and some other Dominicans were at our house working and wanted us to come help. When we showed up water was flying out every door and window...one guy had a hose and was spraying down all the walls, and 5 people with push brooms followed him pushing all of the water out the door. About 20 minutes into creating this "water park" the lights went out. So we all scurried out of the house to fetch our flashlights. We continued spraying down the inside of our house by flashlight. Oh the things you get to do when you live in the Dominican Republic!!!! Nothing like taking a hose to the inside of your brand new home.

Sanding down the walls for the first 2 1/2 days...not the most fun job in the world, but it is a
very good arm workout.

Missionaries on Wheels

2008-06-05T08:00:00.001-04:00

When Lindsay and I calculated our 2008 budget we included $15,000 for a used SUV to serve our transportation needs in the DR. We need an SUV for a few reasons, the most significant being higher ground clearance to traverse flooded roads when it rains (which happens just about every time it rains). After consulting Consumer Reports for reliability and robustness reports and considering the most serviceable vehicles in the DR we narrowed our search to three options: Nissan X-terra, Nissan Pathfinder, and Toyota 4-Runner. Fortunately we found a great vehicle to fit our needs and our budget, and it was our first choice of the three. Here's our 2002 Toyota 4-Runner. We hope she'll serve us well for many years. Sale price- US$15,000.02, proving this "line item" to be our most accurate budgeting yet!

Apartment on Wheels

2008-06-03T11:02:00.007-04:00

Good thing we invested in some quality suitcases before all of our traveling began! We have certainly gotten good use out of them.

In some ways it is hard to believe that we will be moving to the DR in a month....but on the other hand it seems like it has taken us FOREVER to get to this point. We just spent 2 weeks in Winston-Salem with Elliott's family and friends. It was a sweet time of hellos and goodbyes. (Hellos from our 3 months away in Guatemala, and goodbyes for our 2 years in the DR)- lots of differing emotions competing. On our way down to FL from NC we stopped in Atlanta to visit my Aunt Annie. My grandmother Hap was also in town visiting. We had an awesome time with them! Now we are in Orlando with my family. We are so glad to get to spend time with our families before we make the big move...but are really ready to settle into our new place in the DR. It has been over a year since we had a place to call "home." I have started calling my suitcase my Apartment On Wheels. Even our dog has caught on to our lifestyle.....

Meet Ridley

2008-05-23T11:15:00.005-04:00

Call us crazy...but we are officially dog owners. When we got home on Saturday from our trip to the DR I made the mistake of looking in the paper to see if there were any puppies listed. Then, we made the even bigger mistake of going to "look" at the puppies. The next day, Ridley went home with us. We were planning on getting a dog before we moved to the DR to be our guard dog....we just weren't planning on getting him so soon. But, we are loving every minute with him. He is a really good puppy!

Bad Bloggers

2008-05-01T23:06:00.006-04:00

We are bad at blogging...sorry! Here are a few brief updates:

1. Last weekend we went on a trip to Lake Atitlan. It is an absolutely BEAUTIFUL place. The lake is an old volcano crater filled with water, and is surrounded by three volcanoes. It was a much needed time to relax, read, and soak up some rays.

2. Tomorrow is our last day of school. It is hard to believe that are finished with our nine weeks of class. We loved our school, and grew really close to our teachers Merle and Elena.

3. We are leaving after school tomorrow to go on a road trip with the Breuls. We will be going to Tikal (the big Mayan ruins in Northern Guatemala), and then spending a few days hanging out on the Rio Dulce....check out our hotel. We will be celebrating Elliott's big 30th birthday (it's on May 8th...make sure you wish him a happy birthday!!).

4. We leave Guatemala on May 10th to go to the DR to look for a car and get things set up for our arrival in July. Please pray for this time...that God would guide and direct us in all of our decisions.

A God of Miracles

2008-04-08T16:52:00.007-04:00

Em....claiming victory over her "halo"

You may recall that while we were in training in Colorado, 6 of our classmates were in a horrific car accident. Out of the three that survived the crash Andrea and Em suffered the worst injuries. They have both undergone numerous surgeries and have had countless medical procedures preformed, but considering the type of injuries they suffered they are both making INCREDIBLE progress . Both, Andrea and Em are now in their hometowns are are receiving therapy there. Last week Andrea's doctor told her that from his perspective she may be able to live in the developing world someday if that is where God would lead. He also said that although her accident was "catastrophic" her progress has been "incredible." Yesterday, Andrea took her first steps since the accident!!! The neurosurgeon told Em that she is extremely blessed because the injury she received was so severe that people usually don't survive it, and if they do, they are likely paraplegic, paralyzed from the neck down. He said it is not common at all to see someone with the neck injury she had to still be alive, let alone walking and talking. And if that isn't awesome enough....her "halo" was removed last week!!

It has been such a faith builder to receive news about Em and Andrea. God saved their lives, and continues to heal them more and more each day. Please join with us as we continue to lift them to the Father, that he might continue to work miracles in their body, emotions, and families.

Some specific prayer requests off of Andrea's update site:

1. Please continue to pray for Andrea’s vocal chords.There has been a definite improvement in volume. Andrea says that it is because she works hard to force more air through her throat. Nonetheless, she is not where she needs to be so thanks for continuing to pray with us for that.

2. This is a new request: The index and middle fingers on both hands are numb and her left foot is not fully “sensitive” either. There are several ideas about the cause but whatever the reason; would you please join us in praying that the Lord would restore her feeling in those places?

Pacaya- Oh My-ah!

2008-03-16T22:53:00.024-04:00

As Linds mentioned in our last post, we recently trekked up to an active volcano named Pacaya to, well, play with the lava. We had no idea just how much playing with the lava we would actually attempt. I hope the following "pictograph" tells our story well.

After a one-and-a-half hour drive and a 45-minute hike we reached the edge of Pacaya's lava field. She's a real monster, as you can see from the photo.
Aaron, Elliott, Lindsay, Kent, Michelle and John about to contend with fuming Pacaya...

Once down on the lava field Momma Michelle decided she would feel more confident traversing the glass-like lava and steaming vents with the expert assistance of our Guatemalan guide, Erwin. Hand in hand, they carefully led our whole group across the treacherous terrain.
Erwin y Momma

Upon reaching our first flowing lava stream, I decided to incinerate the end of my walking stick. In this highly courageous move I singed my leg hairs and burned my right eye. It felt swollen 'til later that day. Aaron had a more favorable outcome with the same river, successfully lighting a cigarette in the molten lava.

After surveying some active vents, Erwin led our group to an erupting vent that gave us all an extraordinary thrill. A huge mass of molten lava began bubbling up right in front of us and soon covered an area about 100 feet wide. Erwin told us that we had "muy buena suerte" (very good luck) to see such an event. The photos speak for themselves...

John seems quite glad to be so close to orange, liquid rock.

Feeling celebratory on the morn of his 23rd birthday, and confident after his successful exploitation of the small lava stream, Aaron decided to get closer to this relatively huge eruption. It was really hot.
¡Feliz cumpleaños hermano loco!

As the lava crept closer I heard, "Señor Drake! Get up here. You’re going to be the father of my grandchildren!" It was a good point, so we retreated from the orange madness. Linds, Momma & Pops were very happy to have there three young men back up on the higher rocks safe and sound. After taking one last, respectful glimpse toward her crater, we started climbing our way out of Pacaya's crystalline landscape.

You do NOT want to fall on this stuff.

Mission Accomplished! It was AWESOME!!

We Have Visitors!

2008-03-13T18:58:00.006-04:00

On Saturday my parents and John arrived in Antigua. Then on Tuesday, Elliott's brother Aaron came to visit too! Elliott and I decided having them in town was a good enough excuse to take a week off from school. We have had a great week of exploring and learning. I don't have much time to write because we are about to go to dinner to celebrate Aaron's 23rd birthday, but I thought I would at least share some pictures from the week....

Dinner in an old convent

Enjoying the beautiful views of Volcan Agua

Visiting a coffee farm...Elliott is hard at work turning the drying beans

A hike up to the top of the city, Cerro de la Cruz

Playing soccer with the Breul boys

Today we hiked an active Volcano...what an experience...we will post pics and stories soon!

10 razones para mudarnos

2008-03-02T16:20:00.003-05:00

Well, we´re moving across town. We arrived in Antigua with the intention of living the whole time with a Guatemalan family to maximize our immersion experience. We have really enjoyed our time with Familia Roma in the northeast corner of Antigua, however for the reasons listed below we have decided to move on... Apartamento 2 de Callejon del Espiritu Santo here we come!

Razon 1:
I can handle two twin beds smushed together for a week or so, but after that my feet miss Lindsay´s feet too much. It´s time for a cama para dos (bed for two).

Razon 2:
We expected to be part of our Guatemalan host family, but they see our presence in their guest room more like a source of income than an opportunity to welcome us into the family. We totally understand their position considering they have three new random guests about every three weeks. They´ve been hosting students for twelve years, so inevitably they have had to establish some healthy boundaries. They prepare separate meals for us and either the husband or wife joins us to chat, however they don´t eat with us. It´s a little awkward and we´ve decided we would actually talk a lot more spanish at meal time if we were alone.

Razon 3:
You may recall that we met an awesome family when we were in training in Colorado who are studying spanish at the same time, in the same school as us. You may also recall that they too will be serving in the DR beginning this summer. Over the past two weeks we have grown even closer to John, Sally, Jake, Riley and Lucas Bruel. Last week an apartment opened up right next to their´s so as of next Tuesday we will be their new neighbors! We are so excited to continue building our friendship, practicing our spanish and having tons of fun with them. We feel incredibly blessed to be given this opportunity.

Razon 4:
The apartment has an extra room with two twin beds (don´t worry, our´s has a queeen), an ideal location for family to stay when they come visit! In fact, over the next month Lindsay´s parents and brother, and my parents and brother will all be visiting us in Antigua! The beds will be put to great use! We can´t wait to see them all!!!

Razon 5:
Our new living situation will provide Linds with much more control over her diet, which is very important to controlling her hypoglycemia.

Razon 6:
Señora Roma is an excellent cook, but Linds is waaaay better. Time to put back on some pounds that I´ve lost. Estoy muy flaco.

Razon 7:
We eagerly await the opportunity to establish a home and "nest". While this desire won´t be fully fulfilled until we arrive in the DR, our new apartment will provide a much better interim nest than our little room in a strange house.

Razon 8:
Washer & Dryer

Razon 9:
Did I mention the queen bed?

Razon 10:
Jacuzzi (just kidding)

We´ll post photos soon!

Antigua

2008-02-26T17:22:00.004-05:00

Sorry we have neglected our blog lately...and thus have neglected you. We are still alive, and are enjoying our time in Guatemala. We arrived here last Wednesday and hit the ground running. We spent the first few days exploring the city, and then started our classes on Monday. We go to class each day from 8-12, and then have a few hours of homework each afternoon. I have only been in class 2 days but I can already tell I am learning a ton! We each have our own teachers. My teacher's name is Merli and Elliott's is Marcos. We are living with the Roma family. They live about 6 blocks from the school. We have our own private room (with 2 twin beds- pushed together of course) in the upstairs of the house. We have a great view of the mountains and see the sunrise each morning (yes, we have to get up very early). We eat all of our meals at the Roma's home. Our "madre" is a very good cook; her dad used to be a chef. We will write more detailed posts soon and include some pictures- we are just trying to get used to life here and our days fill up quickly because of our Spanish classes.

Thank you for your continued prayers as we adjust to yet another place (We calculated that we have slept in a total of 10 beds in the last 2 1/2 weeks!). God is faithful and helps us along.

A Tribute

2008-02-08T00:08:00.001-05:00

It is hard to believe that we leave MTI in the morning. We are completely drained emotionally and are ready to get some rest, but are very sad to leave our friends and community. Yesterday we had a memorial service for Karin, Jessica, Isaac. It was a beautiful tribute to their lives that were lived so well. All three of them lived with passion. They are an inspiration to us.Please continue to pray for Scott, Andrea, and Em. You can read about their progress on the following sites:
Andrea and Scott
Em

prayer & grief

2008-02-05T12:31:00.001-05:00

Sunday evening we arrived back at the MTI training center after a wonderful trip to Santa Fe to meet dear friends. We were severely blind-sided by tragic news- earlier in the day six of our classmates were in a horrific car accident as they drove from Palmer Lake to Golden to hear Philip Yancey speak.

We soon learned that two beautiful women, 42 year old Karin Jordaan from Pretoria, South Africa, and 21 year old Jessica Pety from Duluth, Georgia, died on the scene of the accident. The others, Scott (29), his wife Andrea (28), their 18 month old son Isaac, and Em (24) were all rushed to area hospitals. On Monday morning, Isaac also went home to be with the Lord.

Andrea has multiple injuries, including a broken clavicle, a broken jawbone, two fractured vertebrae, two broken arms, a broken ankle, a broken leg and some internal injuries. She has undergone multiple lengthy surgeries and had a plate placed between her C7 and T1 vertebrae this morning. More surguries await her in the coming days. Her vital signs are strong, and the doctors are encouraged by her continued recovery.Scott has a torn rotator cuff and was transfered out of the critical care unit into a hospital room this morning.

Em also underwent surgery to repair fractured vertebrae. She is now breathing on her own and is recovering as well.

As you can imagine, this has impacted our community here at MTI in many ways. Although we only knew these friends for 2 weeks, we quickly grew to love them as we were all on the same journey and shared a common call and passion for missions. Our hearts are heavy. We miss them, and we wish they were here with us. The staff here at MTI has done an incredible job of allowing us to process the tragedy, grieve the losses, and rejoice that Karin, Jessica, and Isaac are now in GLORY with their Savior. What a roller coaster ride it has been. But, it has been such a life-giving experience to walk through this with such a loving community.

Please, please, please pray for the continued healing and protection of Em, Andrea, and Scott. Pray for Scott and Andrea as they grieve the loss of their only son. Pray for the families and friends of Karin, Jessica, and Isaac. And, pray for us as a community walking through this time of great sadness.

Jessica

Karin

Isaac

Tri-Lakes Sentinel

2008-01-26T15:13:00.000-05:00

Weekend Edition

Well, the weekend is finally here and I am sooo glad to be feeling well enough to give you the scoop on recent happenings here in Palmer Lake and around the world!

-Prayers & Celebration
Yesterday morning my fever finally broke and after remaining isolated for 72 hours I reentered society and had dinner with my bride in the dining room. I was absolutely exhausted, so we sat alone, but it was encouraging to hear the applause of my classmates when I joined them in the buffet line. Their prayers have been fervent, I know, and it was a joy to see them again.

-A Tutor and A Movie
After looking forward for months to this invaluable preparation here at MTI, it was painful to lie in bed this week as morning and afternoon training sessions rolled on. Knowing that much of the material covered this week was foundational, I found myself anxiously wondering what I was missing. Fortunately, Lindsay is a wonderful student and teacher and she has already brought me up to speed on much of what I missed.
To pass the time I also borrowed some DVDs from the MTI library (limited selection). They weren't official lectures or lessons on cross-cultural adjustment, but "Little House on the Prairie" proves to be an excellent cross-cultural handbook. Laura Ingalls describes our own adventure to the DR quite well when she says, "I knew there would be rivers to cross and hills to climb; and I was glad, because this is a fine land and I rejoiced that I would see it."

-Eagles Soar

Last night Las Aguilas del Cibao defeated Los Tigres del Licey to become the national champions of the DR's professional baseball league. This, the Aguilas 20th championship title, comes at an opportune time as the team's city, Santiago, hosts this year's Serie Del Caribe to determine the top baseball team of several Latin nations. It's also nice that Lindsay and I will be moving to our new home in a year that celebrates the championship victory of our favorite Dominican baseball team.

Sick in Bed

2008-01-24T17:10:00.000-05:00

Elliott is sick in bed....He has been running a high fever for the past 2 days, has body aches, and chest congestion. He has had to miss the last 2 days of classes. Please keep him in your prayers. Pray for his healing, and pray against discouragement in his heart. It is really hard for him to be missing out on all that is going on, relationships, and the valuable teaching. It looks like he will be out again tomorrow because his fever hasn't broken yet. I would also appreciate your prayers for my health, that I do not catch what he has (we are staying in a small hotel-like room). Needless to say, I am constantly Lysol-ing and drinking lots of Emergen-C!

The first 2 days of teaching have been AMAZING. I am learning that the mission field is going to be much more difficult than we expected, but also much more rewarding and fulfilling at the same time. Yesterday we took a test to find out how we are orientated...time vs. event, concealing vulnerability vs. revealing vulnerability, individualistic vs. group orientated, planning ahead vs. dealing with things as them come. Once we evaluated ourselves, we then evaluated our new country and saw where there is going to be potential conflict, and need for change (on our parts). I found out that I am very different from the DR as I am more time/planning oriented, and they are event/"go with the flow-ers." It is so good for me to recognize this before entering the field so that I am not "blind-sided" by it which can cause frustration, anger, depression, etc.

That is just one small example of all we are learning here. So far the time here has been invaluable to our longevity and enjoyment on the field!

In CO

2008-01-22T09:39:00.000-05:00

GOOD MORNING!

Lindsay and I just awoke to our first morning at Mission Training International (MTI). We are so excited to be here!
Shortly after arriving in Palmer Lake, Colorado (just north of Colorado Springs) yesterday afternoon, we had orientation and met our classmates and trainers. Our class is 38 strong, representing 21 sending organizations and preparing to go to 29 different nations to make disciples. Perhaps most exciting, there's a family here preparing to serve with us in the DR! They will be working in Jarabacoa, about an hour and a half from Santo Domingo. Amazingly, after leaving MTI they will be in Antigua, Gautemala for 4 months studying spanish at CSA, the same school we're going to!
This connection is a HUGE answer to our prayers. Please pray that God will build a strong bond between us. They have three boys, ages 8, 7 and 4, and I can't wait to go sledding and build snow forts with them!

Peace to you. We'll right more soon. Off to class...

Hidden Talent

2008-01-15T00:10:00.000-05:00

For those of you that don't know...Elliott is an advanced Rock Climber. Here he is scaling the North Face of Stone Mountain in Roaring Gap, NC. Notice how he has no need for a harness or ropes. He hopes to show off his skills some more while we are in Colorado for cross-cultural training.

We would also like to give a shout out to John and Kate for their outstanding commenting!

Alpha Star

2008-01-03T21:57:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year!

We hope your holiday celebrations were full of joy and peace.

We had a wonderful Christmas celebration with Lindsay's family in Orlando before driving back to NC to spend actual Christmas day with my family. What a blessing... my mom, dad, older sister Rachel, brother Aaron, younger sister Elysia and Grammy were all "home" as well. We cherish time with our families knowing that it will be limited in the coming months and years.

After three months as house guests with Lindsay's parents and Terry and Betty, it is great to be back in our own apartment. Sadly, we are now preparing to pack it up. On January 21st we leave for cross-cultural missionary training school in Colorado and our lease will end that same weekend. Between now and then we need to sort through all of our belongings to determine which go into storage and which get placed aside to be packed and carried to the DR by short-term missionaries going down to Santo Domingo throughout the spring and summer. We have decided not to ship anything into Dominican customs to avoid the inevitable bribes and hassle required to get anything out on the other side. As of now, if it's going down it's going in a suitcase...

Our first sorting/packing challenge was the 19 bins worth of stuff that has gradually accumulated in my parents basement since my 8th grade graduation. Lindsay claims I am a bona fide packrat, and I must admit that after sifting through the items such as those listed below I have to agree:
- Mardi Gras beads from 1990
- A collection of pewter dragons
-Two years worth of pay stubs from my first job
- Newspaper clippings from Michael Jordan's biggest games
- Scratch 'n Sniff sticker collection (complete with Garbage Pail Kids)

Of course, the Rubbermaid treasure chests contained some real gems including my Alpha Star space shuttle and moon rover!

Needless, to say, the trash bags, recycling bins and Goodwill piles are building. I feel silly to have collected so much stuff, but relieved to know that all these years I've been hoarding only junk that no one else could use or want.

About two years ago I stood proudly on my soapbox and preached to friends about the tragedy of American storage units. "In the DR there are no storage units!!! In the rare case that someone has something they can't use, they give it to someone who can use it. We wealthy Americans have so much stuff that we have to rent 10x10 rooms just to store what doesn't fit in our huge houses! What is wrong with us??!!" Yesterday Lindsay and I reserved a storage unit for our furniture and winter clothing, so I've officially stepped down from my soap box.

Cold Night Shelter

2007-12-16T22:20:00.000-05:00

Our friends Justin and Holly live just north of Boston. Their blog is currently posted with all sorts of snow storm updates and photos of frolicking in the winter landscape. But here in Florida, the standard of "cold" is much different. As I write, the temperature in Melbourne is 53 degrees, but the mercury is expected to "plummet" below 45 during the night. Compared to New England, this doesn't seem very cold, but to homeless Floridians with no food and no shelter, it's quite chilly. So tonight, the Cold Night Shelter, another one of His Place's gracious ministries to the poor, is open. There are probably about 75 people sleeping on mats and blankets throughout the church's fellowship hall and sunday school classrooms. They have already been fed a hot meal and will enjoy a good breakfast in the morning and leave as the sun rises with a packed lunch.

Lindsay and I have been looking forward to experiencing a Cold Night Shelter, but unfortunately we left Melbourne this afternoon to return to Orlando. After just a few hours away we already greatly miss our friends there. Our hearts are filled with both sadness to have left them, and gladness to know of the extravagant love pouring through them this evening.

We pray that as many step off the cold streets tonight to enter the warm embrace of His Place they will know and feel God's great love for them.

Dry Bones

2007-12-14T11:53:00.000-05:00

Part of Elliott's training in Melbourne was to do a 4-part preaching series. He has been teaching on God's Faithfulness and how that relates to our faith. Last night was his third part in the series and he spoke on God's faithfulness to redeem. The Lord used Him in a mighty way.

He spoke on Ezekiel 37- The Valley of Dry Bones. There is one point that I thought I would share because it really spoke to every heart in the room last night. After God brings all of these bones back together and forms bodies with tendons, muscles, skin, breath, and life, the bodies look back at God and complain. Despite the miracle of redemption God has just done in their lives, they say to Him: (v. 11) "Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone, we are cut off." Elliott made these powerful observations about the response of the people:

1. They are so consumed with what they were, that they can't see who they are.

2. They are still defining themselves by the results of past sin rather than the transforming work of God in their lives.

How many times do we loose sight of what God has done in our lives because we are still stuck on what we have done in the past? How much freedom do we forfeit because we can not move beyond our past failures and sins? Look at what God HAS DONE! Look at the redeeming work He is doing in your life! God is continuing to redeem you because He always finishes what He starts. Today, let us rejoice in the redeeming work of God in our lives.

40 Bags per Day

2007-12-09T00:08:00.000-05:00

This week we spent several hours in the food pantry at His Place organizing and shelving hundreds of pounds of food. I've never seen so many cans of green beans. And corn- lots of corn too. And who knew you could buy mashed potatoes in a can??? Lindsay took charge of the fruits/veggies/legumes section while I shelved the soups, condiments, and canned meats and fishes. I use the term "fishes" loosely to include tuna, salmon and clams.

New donations to the pantry arrive each day, which is great, but unfortunately many bags and boxes include waaaay too much cream of onion soup and chicken broth. It made me wonder, "What goes through people's minds when they prepare to provide for the homeless? Are they just digging around the back of their own pantry looking for 'too much of something?'"

A sign near the door provides guidelines for giving: 1-3 person family = 1 bag/6 items; 4-6 person family = 2 bags/12 items. About 40 bags of food go out each day, so the pantry can be drained fairly quickly if new donations don't come in. Never the less, like every other aspect of this ministry, there's always room for following the Spirit as He leads. Food is not rationed out of fear but rather distributed with trust that God will provide all that is needed. Yesterday a homeless man came by the church not to ask for food, but rather to give it. He had used his food stamps to purchase several bags of goodies and then brought them by the pantry so they could be shared with others living on the street.

Being here with Terry and Betty we continue to experience more and more of God's faithfulness. We'll write more about that soon!

Some other funny (and some sad) food items we shelved:
1. Beanie Weenies
2. Blueberry muffin blueberries without the muffin mix
3. Dog food
4. Chinese wafers(?) from an oriental supply store
5. Condensed milk (high fat, med fat, and low fat varieties)
6. Watercress
7. Cans and cans of pumpkin pie filling (must have been on sale after Thanksgiving)

Melbourne, FL

2007-12-05T22:57:00.000-05:00

Well, we made it to Melbourne and have had an awesome first few days. We are staying with Terry and Betty Morris who are our leaders and mentors. Thirteen years ago they felt God calling them to minister to the homeless and drug and alcohol addicts in Melbourne. Taking a big step of faith they moved here from Jupiter, FL with open and obedient hearts and started His Place Ministries. Now, thirteen years later they have a recovery home where 19 men can live and go through a Christ centered recovery program. The men all live together in 2 duplexes, are required to hold a job, and go through a series of Bible Studies and a 12 Step program. It is neat to see how God is using this ministry to restore hope and change men's lives. They also reach out to the homeless in the community. Each Sunday night at Street Life the homeless can come and receive a hot,free, home cooked meal. They also have a Cold Night Shelter on nights where the temperature drops below 45 degrees. Anyone who does not have a warm place to sleep is welcome to come. Everyone piles into the Fellowship Hall of the church and is provided a sleeping mat, blankets, and a meal. In addition to these ministries to the homeless, they always have an open door to anyone that is in need. His Place is a place where all feel welcome, and all know they can come to receive love and help for their physical needs. Terry is also the pastor of His Place Church, and Betty leads the praise band.

Elliott and I feel like sponges...we are soaking a ton in! This time here in Melbourne has been invaluable, and we are so thankful God has crossed our path with Terry and Betty's. We will update soon with stories and pictures from our time so far!

Saying goodbye to the City Beautiful

2007-11-26T19:31:00.000-05:00

It is hard to believe, but this is our last week in Orlando. We leave on Saturday to begin our ministry training period in Melbourne, Fl with Terry and Betty Morris. While we are sad to leave friends and family in Orlando, we are very excited that we finally get to go do what we have been talking about for the last 3 months.

This time of support raising has been trying at times, but overall God has used it to bring people around us to hear our story and encourage us. We have received so much love from the body of Christ during this time. People have welcomed us into their homes and offices, taken us to dinner, and come to desserts to hear what God has called us to do in the DR. We hope that God has used us to open peoples hearts to what He is doing around the world, and how He wants them to be a part of it. We serve a BIG God!!

In August God showed us that we were not to go off and be lone rangers for Him in the DR, but that He wanted to raise up a body of believers to "send us out." We are confident that God has built that body, and that while we are the ones physically going there are many many many others going with us in prayer and in spirit.

Here are some pics from our time in Orlando!

Please pray for Elliott this week as he prepares the 4 part sermon series on God's faithfulness that he will preach during our time in Melbourne. Pray for wisdom and discernment as he prepares to communicate what God has placed on his heart.

My FINAL final, finally!!!

2007-11-13T17:05:00.000-05:00

Today I took my final final! Due to my health struggle last August, my graduation plans took a little detour. My nice little plan of graduating early in December '06 suddenly had to take a back seat to my health and our new marriage. So, for the last year I have had the joy of embarking on a "non-traditional" college plan. In January, I started the daunting task of taking 2 of the hardest classes ever to be created....Swimming and Aerobics, along with a Public Speaking class. And, in August I began my last class online through Baylor. It is quite a struggle to be self-motivated to study for the class that you avoided registering for 7 semesters in a row, but I made it. And now I am waiting until December 15th when I will officially be a college graduate!

Thanks to all my awesome friends who called today to congratulate me. Y'all are the BEST!

Elliott surprised me with a celebration picnic in Mead Gardens. Mom, Dad, Hap and I walked up to the sight of balloons, and a brightly colored bouquet of flowers decorating a picnic table. El brought take out from my favorite Mediterranean restaurant, and we finished lunch off with a big piece of Key Lime Pie! After lunch we played a game of bocce ball and walked through the gardens.

I was reminded today that I have the best husband in the world, the best family in the world, and the best friends in the world. I praise God for these incredible gifts!

Noel trounces our future home...

2007-10-31T17:58:00.000-04:00

According to weather radar, tropical storm Noel has officially passed over the DR, but the effects of its torrential rains and high winds remain for our Dominican and Haitian brothers and sisters. The DR's Emergency Operations Center's latest bulletin reports that at least 41 people are dead, 20 are missing and more than 50,000 have been evacuated. We assume that flooded rivers and mudslides have caused the most destruction.

On Monday, Jack and Jenny had to leave Cielo prematurely due to flooding in the streets below. Apparently Cielo residents were marooned for some time as the rising river surrounded our beloved hilltop village. Nick took these amazing, comparative shots of the river valley from Club Bamboo.

Jack, Nick and Jenny flew home yesterday, and although their flights departed as scheduled, heavy rains continued as they took off. According to Jack, many were concerned because the 30+ inches of rain forced the government to increase water flow out of the country's river dams, increasing the risk of more severe flooding downstream. Anyway, we're very grateful that they are home safely.

Lindsay and I made fast friends with a missionary couple back in March. Michael and Kristen Shaul live in San Juan de la Maguana, officially in the DR's "Sur" but actually northwest of Santo Domingo. San Juan, notorious for flooding, lies at the base of a major mountain range called Cordillera Central. We are very concerned for their health, especially since Kristen is eight months pregnant. In addition to praying for our friends in the communities, PLEASE pray for Michael, Kristen and the babe, and their ability to minister in the midst of disaster.

Desserts and Dinners in Orlando!

2007-10-23T14:40:00.000-04:00

Rick, Lea, and Darby Steinberger were the hosts of our first dessert in Orlando! Thank you Mark and Pam, Matt and Amy, Dayne and Stephanie, Kelle, and Becky for coming to hear about the call God has placed on our lives. We are very very grateful for your support and encouragement.

Last Friday night we headed over to the Chapin's house for games, dinner, and sharing. First, Brady entertained us with his collection of spaceship and dragon LEGOs. Then we headed outside to play some tackle football (Lucky for me Annalee and Brady were only interested in tackling Elliott). Dinner and dessert were delicious!! Nancy is quite the chef. It was especially special for me to get to share our hearts with the Chapin's because Nancy and Robb have been faithfully praying for me since I was in elementary school. I know that their prayers have been powerful and effective in the past, and I am so grateful that they will be lifting prayers on our behalf in the future!

Thank you so much for your prayers last week while we were in the DR. We had a fruitful trip and trust that the Lord used us for His glory.

Our First Post...

2007-10-15T09:44:00.000-04:00

Thank you for checking out our blog! We have had a wonderful first week in Orlando. It has been great to reunite with family and friends. We are off to the DR this afternoon for an unexpected trip. We will be there until Saturday afternoon. Please pray for our safe travel, and that the Lord uses us to administer His grace and healing. We will post again when we get home with pictures and stories from our first week in Orlando!