In the newsletter I recently finished I wrote about feeling like I'm in a place where I'm blessed to be able to grow & flourish in who God's made me to be. Well... I never expected that to include becoming known as the photographer of the art movement that's starting here in Jarabacoa! Part of my personality (ENFP for all those who know Myers-Briggs personality types :-) is that I don't like to be put in a box or to put people in a box. In which, I feel humbled to be known as an artist as I sit & draw in the art school helping with classes there, known as the photographer (now with the assigment to shoot the paintings of the real artists around the area & my friends wedding this Saturday), & then again, I don't know anyone who lives as an ex-patriot from their home country who likes to be known by where they come from or the color of their hair (gringa, norteamericana, rubia, etc. are words I often hear as I walk down the street). I like to be known as a child of God, simply because that's all I can ever be sure of!

Life in the DR has been good this last month though! Ups, downs, all-overs, but where can you go to escape that universal reality? As I've been slowed down more than one would expect with the temporary loss of my computer currently being repaired in the States, I feel like there's so much to share (& so many pictures I wish I would be able to post...) that I'll just have to take it all as a lesson in patience & share as circumstances allow.

This weekend starts our vacation time over the holidays. As I already mentioned, a friend of mine is getting married on Saturday (she's one of the students at the art school & I have more to share with you about dear Nila at another time), and then I will be going on Sunday to spend a few days with my cousin & his family in the capital, Santo Domingo before returning to Jarabacoa right before Christmas & the New Year.

Happy Holidays & know you are in the thoughts & prayers of this daughter of the King who goes by so many different names :-)

It´s amazing how we are creatures of habit. Even those of us who love change & adventure! Not being in the blistering midwest cold adorned in a wool sweater & socks with the familiar Christmas tunes repeating in the background everywhere just makes it difficult to realize the season we´re in. When I stop to think about it, maybe being somewhere completely different from the ¨norm¨ for a holiday supposedly celebrates the birth of our Lord (along with all the cultural & pagan things we mix in) truly helps to strip away all that this celebration is not really about.

Jesus, Emanuel - God with us, wasn´t born on December 25th necessarily! Did he grow up celebrating his birthday in snow with chestnuts roasting on an open fire with jingle bells all around? My guess is no. Don´t get me wrong, I´m not condemning tradition, I´m just currently in a place where with those traditions stripped, I´m drawn to reflect more on what we celebrate as well as how.

I´m struck this year by the profound truth that Jesus is also named as I previously wrote, Emmanuel - God with us. I feel at a loss of words as I desire to understand more than I ever have what that means & pray it may sink in.

It´s mere days before Christmas & I´m down in Santo Domingo, the capital, spending some time with family down here (my mom´s cousin Kirk, his wife Melisa & their daughter Iandra Marie). Last week up in the mountains was quite rainy & chilly- there´s no real weather man around to say the temperature of how ¨chilly¨it actually is, but i piled on layers & layers of clothes at night & in the morning until it warmed up mid-day. Now down on the coast, it´s more than easy enough to be warm & entering the air conditioned mall where I´m using the internet for the first time in almost a week, it´s a refreshing change from the heat of midday here. For those of you enjoying all those traditions I grew up with & who are maybe in the middle of a little too much cold, may your holidays & time with family be filled with the warmth of the Carribean in your hearts! Love & prayers to you as we celebrate with great joy that God is with us!

So, as I'm realizing that in a few hours it will be March of 2005, I deeply apologize for the fact that I have not been keeping all my dear friends and family updated as I'd hoped & still would like to. While my computer returned safely from repairs in the States in the middle of January, I'm waiting to hopefully "soon" have internet access readily available in my apartment, and that's definitely been a huge hindrance to my communicative abilities. Enough with excuses however, time for the updating...

The last month especially has been an incredible time of growing into my family here. Right before Christmas I spent about five days down in the capital with my cousin Kirk's family, returning back home late on the 23rd. Christmas Eve is the big night for the family to all be together. I spent the evening with Francisco & Yeimi's family (I knew when I was here for my interview in June that Francisco & I would get along working together, but his wife and I have become great friends & his three kids like my neices & nephew) where we feasted on a huge Dominican style smorgasbord. The 25th is more the day where everyone's out in the streets with neigbors, friends & family.

A week later I brought in the New Year with brothers & sisters here at the church some of our staff attends, Amor a Quisqueya (Love to Everyone). There was a big all church potluck including roasted pork (a popular dish for the holidays) before a talent show which ended around 11:15pm where we brought in 2005 in worship & prayer before going outside to see the fireworks being shot in various areas of town after midnight.

January 10th brought us new staff. Brian & Sissy Entrekin & their two little girls joined us (which has been a huge blessing to me as I got the blessing to know them at training in Colorado). Over the holidays I was made aware of an apartment closer to the center of town which came furnished for a reasonable price, & on January 15th I moved. For a week my neighbors included our staff pastor's family across the street in the furnished house where they have lived since they arrived two & a half years ago- needless to say, the Lord works in interesting ways & in the search they were doing to help prepare for the Entrekin's arrival, they found a house perfect for ministry opportunities, moved there, and now Brian, Sissy & their girls live across the street from me.

The last few months have brought so many other thoughts and circumstances that I desire to soon be able to share with you. I leave you here for tonight however. As soon as I have hi-speed internet connection I will go crazy posting some pictures finally, and in this week hope to have some time to catch you all up on other news & prayer requests.

Today I arrived for training in Palmer Lake, Colorado for the beginning of my three weeks of training at Missions Training International (www.mti.org) to go through the SPLICE program. The next three weeks I will be alongside other like-minded Christians in the three-week, pre-departure program to help develop the practical skills and attitudes to help us through the challenging and rewarding process of being interwoven with another culture. SPLICE focuses on skill & character development in the six vital areas of: Spiritual, Personal, Lifestyle, Interpersonal, Cultural, Endure/Enjoy.

Last week I was blessed to be able to spend time with friends and family in Minnesota. I'll go more into depth of specific prayer requests as they arise on the prayer page, but I beseech you to pray that this will be a time of strong relationships and community and that I alongside the other missionaries in preparation here may be surrendered to our Savior & what HE wants to show and teach us in this time.

It's quite a surreal place knowing that the majority of the last 24 hours in the States before moving to the Dominican Republic, will actually be spent in the air looking over the United States of America (or maybe more like sleeping in a plane while flying between the numerous airports I'll be visiting). This past weekend was an incredible time. There's a worship song by Charlie Hall which my a dear friend from MTI blessed us all with at training, and the last few weeks here in Denison, sharing with different churches, being comissioned & blessed by my home church in Kiron, Iowa yesterday, and the time spent with family & friends in person, on the phone & via other modern telecommunication has been a blessing in abundance of 'sending off'! The lyrics to the song are:

lay down all riches for the pearl of great cost
count it as nothing for the sake of the cross
pour out an offering of our lives for the lost, send us out
YOU'RE OUR GREATEST DESIRE, AND JESUS, YOUR NAME IS OUR GREATEST SONG
SEND US WITH FIRE TO GO LOVE THE WORLD
SEND US WITH FIRE TO GO LOVE THE WORLD
channel our passions into pleasing Your heart
come consecrate us, come and set us apart
hope of the nations, we lift high the cross, send us out

It's about three hours from when we need to leave for the airport... nice & early! I really am fairly close to ready to go, but even if I laid down to sleep, I don't know that my body would allow it.

One incredible thing about today, 11.16.04, is that exactly one year ago today, in the middle of a somewhat despairing point with doors all around me recently slammed shut, the God of the Universe reached down & His Holy Spririt spoke clearly into my life as I was crowd control in 3rd Grade Sunday School, reminding me who I was created to be, and in the service at Park Ave spoke to me again sending me to Urbana 03. Here I am, a year later. I'm overwhelmed at the Lord's faithfulness as I look back at the whirlwind of this last year! Humbled & amazed that the Lord of Heaven & Earth loves each of us, His creations, so much that He desires to have relationship with us broken sinners that He sent His Son to die for us & then everyday is faithful to be the lifter of our heads! Praise the Lord & may we learn a little something about true faithfulness from our heavenly Abba Father whose name is Faithful.

Holy guacamole! One week from today I'll be waking up in the Dominican Republic! I just received the schedule for my first week of orientation in Jarabacoa. Let's stay focused on the present though... Many of you may have heard be use the analogy of the perverbial carrot out in front of me. That 'carrot' so to speak which has had a date on it for the last two weeks is now about to hit me smack between the eyes. Such a crazy reality! Such a paradoxical reality! I'm so excited, and altogether at the same time mourning all that I'm leaving for at least the next two years, and then there are the moments when I ask God & myself, "WHAT IN THE WORLD AM I DOING?"

All that said, it has been blessing after blessing as details have been falling into place. My insurance was accepted & coverage began yesterday. Time with family & friends in the area has been falling into place to be able to see them. There has been an incredible support network made up of you my friends & family around me who have encouraged me & prayed for me, more faithfully than I'll probably ever know or be able to thank you for. Jesus has been real & alive to me as everyday, in grace, He's been showing me how He desires to draw me close in His love. Thank you dear fellow journers in this world that is not our home for lifting me up in your prayers & encouragement! The emails which have filled my mailbox faster than I can reply, the few calls I've received, & the simple knowledge that there is such a willing network out there if needed has blessed and strengthened me to press on through this time of transition into so much unknown.

Truly, as my hours Stateside continue to dwindle, I realize that I'm to the point that even with my long list of things I'd like to get done, as long as I get things in a suitcase & get on my plane next Tuesday morning, the rest is not composed of life or death things which can't be done from the DR or are simply frivolous anyway. With that I'd ask for your continued prayers in the rest of this time & below include my flight schedule. (May all my luggage neede make it along with me through all the flight changes...)

Tuesday, November 16, 2004
Delta 606
7.00am Omaha - 10.11am Atlanta
Delta 206
11.32am Atlanta - 12.14pm St Louis
Delta 5651
12.50pm St Louis - 4.15pm New York JFK
Jet Blue 425
9.10pm New York JFK - 1.45am (November 17) Santiago, DR

There are sometimes those plans out in front of us that always seem to theoretically seem like they'll actually come to fruition. Well, as real & exciting as the call I've felt to go to the Dominican Republic, it's incredible to be able to announce that it is a reality with dates and plane tickets as opposed to the "theoretical someday." Students International's policy is that financially I be at 90% of my Mandatory Support Goals in order to purchase my tickets. I praise Jesus that I'm able to write that I'm now beyond that! Aleluya, Jehovah Jireh is our Abba who faithfully provides for us!

I just purchased my tickets to make the move to the Dominican Republic! I have a full day of flights NOVEMBER 16 flying from Omaha to Atlanta to St. Louis to New York to Santiago, Dominican Republic (arriving at 1:45am on the 17th). The irony of departing on November 16 is that it is exactly one year from the day Jesus renewed His call on my life in the midst of a few despairing days & He sent me to Urbana '03! That means three weeks from today I will be starting to settle in in Jarabacoa. I've been in contact with our staff leaders on the field. They will be arranging some temporary housing for me as I will spend that first week doing orientation along with some house/apartment hunting, car shopping, getting a cell phone, and everything else involved in "getting settled."

As my days Stateside are now numbered, there are also many things that need to be wrapped up here. Highest importance to me is relationships! The extreme paradox of excitement & grieving are swirling about inside me as I'm so excited to go to where I know I'm supposed to be, but that doesn't mean it's easy to say goodbye to those who have shaped and formed my life by their presence in it (it's not death, but there is going to be physical separation, and that is "grieve worthy").

THE SOVEREIGN LORD IS MY STRENGTH! HE WILL MAKE ME AS SUREFOOTED AS A DEER & BRING ME SAFELY OVER THE MOUNTAINS. -Habakkuk 3:19 This is a promise that the Lord has sweetly spoken into my life, & it is one of the amazing promise & truths I'm clinging to through all this transition. May it be so in each of your lives too! Thank you for your prayers & support! God bless!

"That which you don't know about yourself can control you. That which you do know can bring freedom & power to change." This statement has been difficult Truth which has been freeing in the seemingly overwhelming week and a half at MTI. Some of the modules we have addressed in large group, small group, and around the table at meal times have been: Values, Spiritual Vitality, Cultural Perspective, Gender & Calling, Lifestyle Choices, and Moral Purity. Yet to come in the next week and a half: Relationships in Crisis, Missionary Kid Issues, Transition, Soul Care, Conflict, Stress, Grief/Loss, and Endurance/Enjoyment.

As well as large group time in teaching and discussion, we have small groups of 5-7 men/women with whom we dig into the Word in Bible Study. Our study has been based off of the central focus of the Knowledge of God looking at: God's Majesty, God's Faithfulness, God's Holiness, God's Love, God the Redeemer, and God the Creator.

I can't put into words how incredible training was! Friday I flew back to Iowa where I'll be for the next indefinite amount of time in the end of my support raising process.

As I reflect on my weeks in Colorado, I'm blown away by the Truths that have been brought back into the Light about who the Lord is. God is God! God is good! God is not always safe, but He is faithful! I wouldn't want to head to the field without going through this training during which I was allowed to grow in self-awareness, and be equipped by hearing stories of the realities of life as a missionary, as well as learning practical ways to deal with different situations as they arise.

So now I'm in the indefinite land of waiting. I have a few speaking engagements set up during which I have more opportunities to share what's on & in my heart about the Dominican Republic & what I feel called to. I'll highlight the following prayer requests in more detail on the prayer page, but I ask for your prayers as support continues to come in, that it would all be according to the Lord's divine timing, as He lays on the hearts of His children when & how much to commit to. Also pray for me in the mundane of the last minute details (ex: immunizations, insurance, packing, housing, etc.), as well as in saying good-byes.

PS - As I know you must care for me if you're checking this website for updates, I'd encourage you to learn more about how you can partner in this ministry. A great book that's been brought to my attention is: Serving As Senders Neal Pirolo it focuses on "How to care for your missionaries while they are preparing to go, while they are on the field, & when they return home."