Day four living in the DR.

August 24, 2009-- 10:10pm

Day four in the Dominican Republic. Check.

Apartment. Check.

Power & lights. Check, check.

Pest control. Check.

So here I lay in bed in our bedroom, which might I add is the only room in our apartment that has a/c, and I listen to the neighbors’ blast some array of reggae and Spanish ensemble. Life is definitely different here and it is going to take quite the adjustment for us to begin to feel like this is home.

Yesterday was sort of dramatic concerning our condo. First, we found out that we had no hot water and then the electricity/lights went out. We naively thought that it was our entire street doing without, however the Power Company came to our apartment during the night and took our meter! Haha! Not only did they just turn off our power but they took our meter! Hilarious ☺ The sweet man we are working with down here called us in the middle of the night and we told him we were without power. His wife and him rushed over to try and help us. When in doubt with the power, go straight to the power plant! And that’s what we did… we drove out in the middle of nowhere to the electric power plant to inquire! Everything seemed so surreal and like we were on some reality TV show.

We accidentally ended up signing a year contract in the wrong apartment complex. Dump international mistake number one, haha. But, after a minor hassle we were able to weasel our way out of it, kinda. As long as the cockroaches and frogs stay away this place won’t be bad at all! I just can’t wait to move into the apartments that we were shown today, they were beautiful!

Today we drove with Doreen to Higuey, a town about 45 minutes away. We filled up with gas for $4.44 and made our way through the country. As you approach the town you see beautiful mountains in the distance and then mass chaos of local Dominicans throughout the town. We passed numerous people on mopeds, bicycles, or merely hanging out of the street (mostly the latter). There were little ‘mercados’ that had hanging meats on the outside. I think I might become a vegetarian, haha! We finally made our way to the grocery store and it looked like a Spanish wal-mart. If it weren’t for Doreen we would have been in big trouble. EVERYTHING is in Spanish and not many people speak English. She’s like our own personal translator and the biggest blessing! We bought the necessities and headed home. We had to stop at the dentist because Doreen had an appointmet. While I was waiting for her a middle aged and young Dominican man/boy were asking me while I was there. I vaguely explained and they seemed blown away that we would willingly move to the DR. The young man even said “It’s so weird seeing you here!”. So there it was, my first experience as an absolutely minority. For Higuey is a city of locals only. Tourists never venture off to this area, hence the oddness of them seeing a blonde hair, blue eyed, white girl!

Haha. So the adventure begins! We still have LOTS to figure out and at times we seem overwhelmed with anxiety about how the Lord will provide. But, all we can do it sit and wait. We could use your prayers!

Love y’all!

The Latest...

As of now my precious husband has been in Florida for flight school for a week, and it will be one more week until he comes back! I miss him more than ever. It's a bitter sweet phenomenon being separated by distance. You long for your best friend more than anything, while at the same time you realize all the intricate things you absolutely adore about them. That is exactly what I'm experiencing. I am without a doubt the most lucky girl alive and I am blessed beyong belief to have had the opportunity to marry Travis and spen our lives together.

While he is away I'm tackling the book Every Womans Marriage. I always get motivated to do better and grow deeper when he's gone. Perhaps because I have much more free time. I have been learning so much and I pray that I will continue to gain wisdom especially in my ministry to my precious husband.

I am four days away from graduating, five days away from being unemployed, 7 days from being sweetly reunited, and 12 days away from moving Internationally. My life is the craziest adventure and I would not have changed a thing! I am so excited to see what doors the Lord open in the DR and for the time for Travis and I to solely rely on each other. I miss having my wifely duties so I am excited to partake in that again as well!

Yesturday I was reading in Isaiah 40, verses 10-11 I found to be incredible!

"See, the Sovereign LORD comes with power,
and his arm rules for him.
See, his reward is with him,
and his recompense accompanies him.

11 He tends his flock like a shepherd:
He gathers the lambs in his arms
and carries them close to his heart;
he gently leads those that have young."

I think it is vital to remember that the Lord is not only powerful and ruler of all, but He is also gentle with us and truly loves us. These verses are going to be a crutch for me as I travel to the DR and only have my wonderful husband. My heavenly father is always there in every season to love me and show me the way. I am forever grateful for His love!

8 hrs. in ER, 3 hrs of sleep later...

Last night my precious husband had to go to the ER because of the medical conditions last night. 8 hours, 2 doctors, and 6 nurses later we still don't have an answer or solution... is it frustrating? Absolutely.

The comforting thing to be is that my God is bigger than all of this. He already knows the outcome and the timeline for everything. What a breath of fresh air that all I must do is trust His timing and love Travis through everything.

It's so wonderful when the Lord sends his comforting veil down on us. Theres so many different perspectives you can take on our situation. However, I choose to be optimistic! The Lord has entirely shown his favor on us. You see if he got sick back in January, when he worked in sales and we had medical insurance, yes we would have been insured but there is no way he could have worked. It would have been weeks that he would have to take off and chances are I'm not sure they would keep him around with that amount of absences. Lets say he got sick while we were still in Texas and Trav was working in the plants (80+ hours a week). Well he DEFINITELY would not have been able to work and we didn't have health insurance. Now were in NY for the summer and I'm the only one working. He has plenty of time to rest and get rejuvinated AND the Lord blessed us mightily with charity care insurance. All of his procedures and doctors visits are 100% covered, it makes me want to ball just thinking about how blessed we are.

The verse the Lord has been comforting me with is: Psalm 84:11-12... it is amazing!

11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield;
the LORD bestows favor and honor;
no good thing does he withhold
from those whose walk is blameless.

12 O LORD Almighty,
blessed is the man who trusts in you

And so the plans of us moving to the DR are postponed a little... just until we get trav back to perfect health again.

Please pray for my baby :)

Divine Orchestration

Sometimes I can't help but be utterly amazed at how absolutely perfect the Lord's plans are. I can't tell you how many times events have happened in a way that is so unique I would have never been able to plan myself. There's no doubt that the Lord's ways and timing are perfect and profoundly unique!

For life's latest example...

Let me set the stage for you. My precious husband and I are in the planning process of moving to the Dominican Republic. It's is a HUGE adventure and risk. There are moments when it would seem so much easier and secure if we just quit and settled for the "normal life". Well with every discouraging thought the Lord so graciously sends a bout of encouragement our way.

This past weekend we had the privilege of attending a wedding in Oxford, Maryland. Well, on Friday night before the wedding on saturday, my husband and I were slightly exhausted from the drive that day so we decided to lay low and hang out in the room. We just read the Word and I wrote in my prayer journal. That night I specifically lifted all the details of our move up to the Lord. I begged Him to lead us to His will. I asked that He might bring people across our paths that would help us in some way...

Now its Saturday, the day of the wedding, and Travis and I are so excited to be there. After the ceremony we make our way to the reception tent and randomly chose a table (there were no table assignments). A young couple sat down next to us. We struck up a light conversation with them and found out that they are moving to Haiti in September! If this was not a relationship sent straight from the Lord I don't know what is! How wonderful that they are moving to Haiti to do missions and we will be in the DR soon! I'm excited to see how we can get together and team up with them. Trav's and my dream is to start a business that could fund missions and an orphanage!

The Lord is so good to us.

He is our provider and I trust Him with our lives.

...

Sometimes I wonder why the journey of spirituality is so difficult. Why in some seasons it's so easy to yearn for Christ, and in others you are in constant reflection of the "zealous, super-eager Christian" you once were. Is it even possible to not go through the slow times? Or are they are imperative to our walks that we wouldn't grow at all if it wasn't for the deserts...

Well I'm over my desert. I want more. I want more of Christ. I want more wisdom & knowledge. I want more of who I'm supposed to be. I want more passion. and I want more love.

the remedy?

pursue even when the feelings aren't there.

So, here I go!

Digging in the Word today I read Jeremiah 17... Lo and Behold look what verse 5 says!

This is what the LORD says:
"Cursed is the one who trusts in man,
who depends on flesh for his strength
and whose heart turns away from the LORD.

If that's not the Lord reminding me that I must be in a continual pursuit of Him and not dependent on myself then I don't know what is! It goes on to say that this man will not recognize prosperity when it comes. This is huge for me too since my husband and I are at a point where we are just beginning and we so desperately want to be successful in whatever we do.

And then the Lord gently showed me reason number two why I should not neglect my spiritual walk... Check out verses 7-8

"But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,
whose confidence is in him.

8 He will be like a tree planted by the water
that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes;
its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought
and never fails to bear fruit."

A-mazing! What a wonderful and glorious life it would be to have continual confidence. To not fret when storm clouds are in the near future. For we can hold the confidence that the Lord is working on our behalf!

And following truth number two rolls in truth number three. If I'm to live a different, sold out to Christ life my heart must be different. Check out verses 9-10--

The heart is deceitful above all things
and beyond cure.
Who can understand it?

10 "I the LORD search the heart
and examine the mind,
to reward a man according to his conduct,
according to what his deeds deserve."

That's a big chunk for me to grasp today. Oh I love when the Lord continually shows patience to me. I am so unworthy of His love but I desperately want more!

one more thing...

thought you might like to see a Virginia sunset...

Week Two

First week of classes, done!

First Paper, done!

First quiz, done!

I definitely hit the pavement running here! I'm busy busy with school work but learning SO much! I love all my classes (Revelation/Daniel, Acts, Genesis, Church History, and Women in Ministry).

Here's another update... as mentioned in earlier blogs I'm a fan of changed lives. I love them and the radically testimony they can give the world. Well, back in the summer the Lord told me to lay down my relationship with my boyfriend. It was hard but I knew it was the right thing to do at that time. During these few months apart the Lord totally rocked his world, transformed his life, and revealed so many things to him. It's so exciting to see it lived out! I'm a firm believer that the Lord, in his timing, will bless your obedience. Now, with his new perspective on life, and new found priorities, it gives me complete confidence in Him. As long as he's locked in to Christ, I am able to trust him and his leading. The Lord is SO merciful and gracious to us. He visited me this past week and set up a fun photo shoot... here's a few pictures.

Love you and miss you all!