Video Update

Hello Everyone,

We know, we know... we don't post nearly enough. Its not that we don't think of it. Its just that we don't imagine the things we are doing would be interesting to anyone other than us.

Well, hopefully you have received our most recent newsletter. If not, please let me know and we will get one in the mail to you right away. If you did receive it, you are probably looking for the promised Video. Well, here it is...

We hope you enjoy a Dominican birthday celebration, a motorcycle ride, and a quick peek at the community of Sabaneta, where Lindsay and the kids are serving one day a week with the social work site.

God's grace to all of you,

Jayson

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE VIDEO!!!

Summer in the D.R. Top Ten List

Well,we just passed our 1 year anniversary here in the Dominican. The time has gone by so fast, with all of us experiencing and learning so many new things. Many people have asked us "what do you do there over the summer?" Most of the things we have done since school let out in June, hasn't been so different than other summers. Lots of playdays and family time together mixed in with some Dominican living. Here is our top 10 List for the summer of 2011in order from earliest to most recent: #10: Jayson and I were able to get away in June to celebrate our 12th year anniversary. We headed out to Punta Cana on the southern part of the island where we stayed for 2 nights. #9: Noah was able to spend some of his summer days helping out at our Special Education school, tutoring some students, having water fights, and observing new murals being painted.

#8 Amanda spent some time practicing her spanish while reading stories to one of our pre-school classes.
#7 Visitor from the states! Shelley Johnson came back in July for a wonderful week of encouragement, hugs, smiles, and tears! We were able to pick her up in Santo Domingo and show her the coast!
#6 Vacation Bible School! A church from the states came down and put together a week long Vacation Bible School for all the kids from our church and nearby communities. My kids had a blast and we were so blessed to have some English speaking teachers come and love on them for a week! We also had lots of fun cramming as many kids as possible into our vehicles for drop off and pick up!
#5 New friends joining the ministry! Another blessing of being a missionary family is when other missionary families come and join you on the field! One such family is the Miller family, who brought new friends for Jacob!

#4 Baking! Teaching! With all of our outreaches this summer, came the responsibilty of Jayson speaking into the lives of teenagers and young college students. At the end of each outreach, SI celebrates their time of service here with a banquet, in which I attempt to bake something yummy for each of them to enjoy. One such night was baking 140+ cream filled cupcakes!

#3 We can see! Jayson and Amanda had a wonderful daddy/daughter time at the eye doctors! Amanda needed a new prescription, and for the first time, Jayson needed glasses! He went thru quite a time of adjusting to this new phase of "getting older!"

#2 Jacob turned 6 and lost his teeth! My baby is getting older and was so proud of himself for pulling his front teeth out all by himself!

#1 Lots of new finds at the beach! We spent a couple of days at the beach this summer finding sanddollars, conch shells, sea urchins and more! Thank you so much for all of your prayers and your continued support and encouragement as we continue our new lives here in the D.R. We thank the Lord for keeping each one of us safe throughout the summer months here and we praise Him for the opportunity to serve here as a family!

Following Him...

Over the past couple of months, the Lord has really been challenging me to take a closer look into what it means to follow Him. In Matthew, Jesus tells His disciples, "Come, follow me and I will make you fishers of men." I wonder if the disciples knew what that would mean for their hearts, their minds, to truly follow Jesus into the world that is so broken with sin, sickness, disease, and hurt. I wonder how many of them wanted to back out of the deal once they saw the multitudes who cried out to touch the one who could heal them, to desperately want to hear words of hope and truth. These are the thoughts that I struggle with lately as I have taken on a new postition of helping out in another one of SI's ministry sites in the community of El Callejon.
Several days a week I go and help lead Bible Studies and do crafts at one of our women's social sites. It is a joy and a challenge all at the same time. These women and young girls are broken and deal with circumstances that some of us only see in movies. So many of the young girls are pregnant without husbands, physically and verbally abused, sick, poor, consumed with grief, and most have little or no hope of change. I follow these women into their homes and listen to their stories of death, infidelity, financial despair and I find myself weeping, begging God to give me some word of encouragement to share with these women.
It is in these moments when I want to scurry away and not look upon the brokeness of these people. Sometimes it is easier to avoid peoples pain, to not see the hurts of this world, and to not come into contact with these people. Because when I do, something breaks in me, and I am forced to understand that there is nothing about me or my words that can make a difference, but only thru the truth, hope, and love of Jesus can hearts truly be changed.
I pray each day for Jesus to shine thru me, to speak thru me, to show me how to love these people and to continue to give me the strength to follow them no matter what the circumstance or the cost to my own heart. I wonder if the disciples went thru the same thing? Did they question how far they would follow Him? I don't know for sure. But I know that He wants me to follow, and I pray that He would give me the strength to continue.


Here are a few pics of our days here in the DR!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTuBeXtyFm0

Season of Visitors

The last couple months have proved to be busy and filled with blessings! Visitors starting coming the second week of January with Jayson's brother and sister-in-law. They were followed a week later by my parents who were able to stay for 2 weeks and then Jayson's mom, Karen, was able to come down and visit with us for a week starting in February. It was during the same time as a large group of around 70 students who came down on a work trip from Hume Lake, CA. It was an amazing time as we witnessed each person using their own gifts and talents to bring the love of Christ to others. Karen blessed certain ministry sites with balloon making, and everybody got into it...including me!
The children had so much fun choosing different animals and hats for Karen to make for them. It was an incredibly joyful experience to watch and partake in. It was a great week having Karen be a part of the ministry here and to truly see what Students International is all about. Just this past week we had our good friends the Johnson family come with their three children to take part in all sorts of activities for the week! We kept them busy hiking waterfalls, teaching Bible Studies, fixing sinks and toilets, attending banquets, soccer practice, visiting each ministry site, and helping out at the special education site just to name a few! All of their children jumped right in to trying to communicate with dominican children, handing out toys, and doing ministry right alongside of us. It has been a wonderful season of blessings from so many visitors. The Lord continues to shine His face upon us by sending encouragement, love, prayers, and lots of laughs to keep us going. "I call on you, O God, for you will answer me; give ear to me and hear my prayer. Show the wonder of your great love, you who save by your right hand those who take refuge in you from their foes. Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide my in the shadow of your wings..." Ps. 17:6-8

Overcoming Challenges


"But Jesus said, 'Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.'" Matthew 19:14

I love this verse and it has taken on new meaning for me this week as I was placed in a different environment in which to serve. As part of Students International, we have such a special ministry site called, "Centro Especial Genesis." It is one of about 3 special education schools on the island and it provides education and therapy to about 30 special needs children from pre-school on up to high school. Over the last couple months I have been praying for God to use me and show me where He would like me to serve, and over the last 2 weeks an opportunity has come up to serve at Genesis. It is so interesting, because I pray and pray and wait for the Lord, and then He reveals His plan, and I say, "No Way! I am not equipped to do that!" And it is in those quiet moments of panic when I hear His calm voice saying, "Yes, Lindsay, I know you aren't, but I AM." So, I am still learning to let go and let God have His way with my life and my time, and when I do obey His calling, I am greatly blessed.
I am able to work alongside an incredible woman who has a passion for these children and is passionate about the Lord. It is such a gift to work alongside those in ministry who love what they do and pass it along to others. I follow her around with my clipboard and take down all sorts of notes about things that need fixing, or projects to be completed, or just share a smile or word of encouragement to her throughout the day. I know that I am getting much more out of serving there then they are getting of me! But, that is God's way, continuing to bless us when despite the challenges, we follow His voice and trust in His sovereignty and strength. Each child there is a gift unto the Lord and the smiles, laughter and singing that goes on throughout the day is more meaningful to me than any other song sung by the greatest of choirs.


In His Mighty Name,
Lindsay

Back to Blogging

I can't believe it has been 3 months since we last posted a blog. So much has happened in that time it would have been much easier to post each thing individuallly and share the details of them, but, because we didn't, I will try to give a quick snapshot of most of them to get everyone up to date on our adventures. So, here goes...

November was a pretty smooth month. Lindsay and I continued language class, and the kids continued in school. It was a good month for us, as we all started to settle into the routine of life here in the DR, and we spent a lot of time as a family just living life and enjoying each other. For Thanksgiving, Lindsay's brother John came back to visit us. John had just recently been here with a work team thru SI, and loved the town we lived in and the atmosphere here. So, he bought a plane ticket and came to stay with us for a few days. We enjoyed having him here for Thanksgiving, as it was our first holiday away from "home", and I think he enjoyed his time here as well. We had plenty of things to do while he was here, like... Thanksgiving dinner at the base with all of the SI family, game night in the chapel at the base put on by Lindsay and I (which included a rather boisterous competition on the Wii with almost all of the men. Needless to say, Dominican or American, if you put a bunch of men in front of a video game which is trying to asses a fitness age, it is going to get a little loud and a little competitive), a motorcycle ride up to Manabao, and a trip to Cabarete after church for a little time on the beach. All of that, plus we stayed up til 1 or 2 most nights playing "Settlers of Catan". It was a full weekend, and one that we won't forget for a long time.


December brought some colder weather to Jarabacoa. It rained a lot and the temp was only in the 50's or low 60's. I know all of you in the midwest are laughing at me right now, but seriously, that is cold here. I try to justify this by saying things like... our house is all concrete and we don't really have windows, just louvers, and 55 degrees and rain on a motorcycle is pretty cold. I know it is hard to justify to those of you in the "cold" part of the US, but trust me when I say, we were cold here.

December also brought us a couple of special nights. Unfortunately, those special nights happened to fall on the exact same night. The SI Christmas party is a big deal, because all of the staff and their families come to share a fun evening and a large Dominican meal. More on that in a minute. But the other thing on that same night was "Expedition Night" at Doulos, the kid's school. So, Lindsay and I had to split time a little, trying to enjoy both. We got to see the projects the kids had worked so hard on all semester, all of which culminates in a final project which showcases the area of expertise that they have studied. For Noah, we got to see and hear his class's presentation on birds, especially those found here on the island. Noah studied, took pictures, went camping, and begged for a pet bird all in the course of one semester. For Amanda, her class learned about simple machines, which the third grade class always does. The third grade class has built most of the playground equipment at Doulos thru their study of simple machines, like a teeter-totter, a slide, and others. Amanda's class used a pulley (a simple machine) to make a belay for the rock climbing wall that they built on the playground. Pretty cool! And Jakey's class, they learned all about inventions, including a visit to a brick factory. Their class built and painted a bookshelf for the classroom. It was a great semester for the kids, not only with expeditions, but with learning to live and speak with their new Dominican classmates.


By taking shifts, we were able to also make our way over to the SI christmas party, where I was not only able to help lead some Christmas music, but also got chosen, as part of a game, to drink an entire bottle of freezing cold grape soda without taking my mouth off the bottle. Let's just say that I did not feel very well for quite some time after that. It was a great party and it culminated with something I don't think you can really understand until you see it, but here goes... For the dinner, we served pork, which we had cooked locally and cut up. We actually ordered 4 pigs. As part of that, they give us the fully cooked pig's heads. Now... In America, this is gross. Here, they love it. As a matter of fact, they fight for who gets them. So, the dinner ends with a raffle for the 4 pig's heads. When a name was called, the person who won would scream and jump up and high five everyone and run to get their pig head. I swear I have never seen anything like it. Lindsay said she would leave if they called her name. Well, they didn't, thank goodness. But, all that to say, Lindsay and I both agree that watching people celebrate about winning a cooked pig's head is just not something you see very often in any part of the world, but something we thoroughly enjoyed.

Lastly, mid-December brought about the close of our first season here in Jarabacoa. Lindsay and I finished our language classes, the kids finished their first semester of school, and we all traveled back the the US for Christmas break. We were happy to spend time with all of our friends and family, and God provided so many opportunities to share with people about our new lives and what we are doing. But something amazing started to happen just before we left, and was confirmed while being in the US. During the month of December, we started to realize that "Home" was taking on a much different meaning, and while we were glad to be going "home" for Christmas, we were also leaving "home" to do so. It was a strange feeling, but one that I think confirmed something to Lindsay and I. It confirmed that although there are times that are diffucult here and we are not sure why God has chosen this place for us, we know that this is exactly where we are supposed to be right now. Our family, while still adjusting, is successfully transitioning and learning to love our new "home".


Let me wrap this up with a verse that served as my text for a sermon at our home church over the break. It comes from Luke chapter 12. It says "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and these things will be added to you as well. Do not be afraid, little flock, for the Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom."

So, here we are, back in the DR and starting this new season of life, which is working as full-time cross-cultural ambassadors for the gospel of Jesus. And as we continue to adjust to this new life, we are holding fast to that promise in Luke 12, which is that God will provide for us as we continue to seek after Him. Praise be to God in our house and in yours...

Blessed by My King!

Psalm 145:1-2 says, "I will exalt you, my God the King; I will praise your name for ever and ever. Every day I will praise you and extol your name for ever and ever."

Over the course of the last several weeks, I have truly felt the Lord's love lavished upon me. It is often times so difficult to receive as in my heart I know that I wander far from Him at times, and that my attitude does not reflect one of praise and worship as it should. And yet, I am amazed at how He keeps hurling His loving kindness down from heaven to breathe life, encouragement, awe and excitement into my very being.
During Missionary Training this past July, we were encouraged to take time to record our "God sightings" during each day. We were told that often times when people are so far from home and living in a different culture, it is of vital importance to declare to others how you see the King of kings....my King. I see Him in the creation that surrounds me here, the way He paints the skies in brillant colors and the brillant greens that I never tire of.
His abundant goodness comes thru in the smiles of family members who travel miles to spend time with us. I see His unfailing love as He gives me the desires of my heart by providing me with wonderful fellowship from friends and church family who came and served with our ministry last week. I am blessed with a new sense of hope for people here whose hearts are moving towards knowing my King. Psalm 145:14 continues to say that the Lord upholds all those who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down. And again in Psalm 56:8, "You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in Your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book." I am blessed by knowing that my King is compassionate towards me and that He is the one sustaining me in this place.
I have never been more thankful for my salvation than I am here, it is not only what I have been saved from, but the relationship that gives me a hope and a future.
Much Love, Lindsay
P.S. I remember watching this clip a few months ago, and being re-awakened to who my King is....I hope you will take time to watch and reflect.
YouTube - That's My King! Do You Know Him?