Priorities

If you have been watching the news lately, there have been many stories of tragedy amidst people just doing ordinary things. The people that were shot in Paris were simply eating dinner or attending a concert. Recently a mom was at home when a home invasion happened and she was murdered. You never know when it is your time to go.

"There are no two ways about it. You've got your eyes open or you don't. Your're watching at midnight or you're not. You better be ready when it comes flying at you, skimming swiftly over the surface of time. The cares of this world are no excuses. Not father, mother, wife, nor children. No burials or births or weddings. Not fixing formula, scrubbing toilets, peddling pills or prose. Whatever the great human enterprise currently in hand, the point is to watch. All the rest is addenda. Seeking the kingdom is the essential integer." (And the Trees Clap Their Hands by Virginia Stem Owens.

This month God has been showing us that we need to change some of our priorities and realize our reason for living on this earth. We are called to be good parents to Josh, good stewards of our money and good friends, but most of all our mission is to live for Christ. The rest is just addenda.

October Update

My job (Megan) has changed this month, and I am now doing English remediation for Kinder, First and Second grade at Doulos Discovery School. Today was my first day with Kindergarten and it was tough. I had two children flat out refuse to the play the game I wanted them to play. One little boy said he was too tired and laid down. In my head I am thinking, what a disrespectful little kid and how it's going to be a long quarter. I ended the class discouraged and immediately went to the Pre-K teacher to ask her to come in and give me some pointers. She started telling me about the background of the one little boy and how his dad abandoned his family last year. His dad left his mom with a newborn baby and four other children to feed. Instantly my heart melted for him. I know that he will be a tough case and will take a lot of creative positive reinforcement, but now that I know where he is coming from, I have so much more compassion. It reminded me that I don't really know what my students carry with them each day in emotional  baggage. My class needs to be a refuge where they are learning while feeling loved and safe. How often are we quick to judge before we try to understand where others are coming from or how they are feeling? We are called to be the love of Jesus to all those around us.

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest

Mathew 11:28

Dave's Update

Over the past couple months one of our sites has drastically changed and for the better.  At our field in Buena Vista, we had a team of older boys (16-19 years old), but some of these boys were at an age where they needed to get jobs and the team more or less fell apart.  We were praying about what to do and where we could minister if we needed to move from that field.  God, as always, answered in a big way.  One week, seemingly out of nowhere we had a bunch of younger guys, from ages 6-14, come and want to play.  We told them to spread the word and we would be back to practice with them the following week.  That week we had a little over 40 players show up to the field wanting to learn to play baseball.  Since then, we have formed a team of 16 boys ages 11-14 and have also continued practicing with the large group as well.  It has been great to see God transforming the hearts and attitudes of our boys.  They have learned a lot about working together and supporting each other as a team and not pointing fingers and yelling when they lose.  I know for us as leaders, we get frustrated at times when some of the boys stop coming, or when we don't see transformations as quickly as we would like.  During those times we try to take a step back and remind ourselves God is ultimately in control and he will bring exactly who he wants to our sites to hear His word whether its 6 boys playing basketball or 45 kids practicing baseball.  We are continually reminded how Christ did not only speak to the masses but also in small gatherings with the disciples.  

Mean Matters

The world is a scary place and it seems like each passing day it gets harder to be a Christian in the United States. We as Christians are being painted in society as hypocrites who are highly judgmental and full of hate towards anyone who doesn't believe the way we do. As I see post after post on the internet and read people's comments, I am sad to say I see tons of Christians reinforcing the world's view of us. Christians are  writing how this group of people will burn in hell or how God hates them. When I read the Bible I see Jesus showing love to EVERYONE! He is spending time with the social outcasts and groups of people who would have been hated by the Jewish Rabis at the time. He is full of grace and love. This doesn't mean he doesn't tell them they need to change, but he first loves and shows them a better way.

This month my co-teacher and I taught a lesson on how mean matters. The students wrote the word mean on a piece of paper with toothpaste. Then once they were finished they tried to get all the tooth paste back in the tube. It is impossible and the clean white paper is never the same again. We explained how this activity is just like when you are hurtful to someone else or say something that you shouldn't say. Once you put the tooth paste on the paper it could never be truly clean again, just like when you do or say something harmful, you can never make things go back to the way it was in your relationship. We as Christians need to take a long hard look at our actions and words. What kind of impact are we making on those around us for the kingdom?

July-August Update

July was a very busy time for our family and for me, it was by far one of the most difficult months since we moved to the DR. I  completed a three week Spanish course. It was incredibly hard and pushed me to a higher level of Spanish. I had tons of homework and poor Dave was often stuck helping me for hours at a time in the evenings. I had a glimpse into our future with Josh, long nights at the kitchen table trying to explain difficult concepts.  Dave spent July with teams. Students International has hosted missions teams non-stop from May until August. It seemed like every night we were going here or there and things just got crazy. We didn't have much family time, my Bible reading was rushed and my mind was going in a million directions.

Last week we started orientation at school and Dave's parents were here with a work team. This meant that last week had the potential to send me in to hyper-stress mode, but God has been working on my heart. He has been teaching me to slow down. God has been showing me that I choose how I line up my day. I decide what things I plan each day and therefore control my stress level. Is it really necessary for me to schedule three appointments back to back so that I have to rush so much that I am a reckless driver and getting mad at people that are moving slowly? Do I need to say yes to one more commitment or is it better for me to simply say no? God has been telling me to slow down. This coming month I will be using the following verse as a reminder to build in time with God and keep my schedule reasonable.

                                Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him. Psalm 37:7


We also had the privilege of having our old youth group over and hearing them share how the trip has been going to for them. It was so beautiful to hear all the things they shared and how God has been showing them different things. We love each and everyone of them!

Please pray for me as I start school next week. I love my job and my co-workers, but it is always an adjustment getting back into the swing of things.

June Update

Recently I went on a staff retreat and part of it was learning another way to pray. We studied the model Jesus gave us and how we can use it. Jesus gave us the Lord's Prayer to help us.

Matthew 6:9-13

 “This, then, is how you should pray:

“‘Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name,

your kingdom come,

your will be done,

    on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts,

    as we also have forgiven our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation,

    but deliver us from the evil one.

 I realized that at times my prayer life doesn't give God the glory and praise He deserves. Prayer should be a time of fellowship with God instead of just a list of wants and concerns. The beginning of the prayer is giving God praise, surrendering control and praying that Jesus returns. These few parts are so important to prayer, yet I often fly by them in my hurry to get to my daily bread or needs. God longs to be in constant communication with us. This relationship should be personal and deep. He loves us so dearly and our prayer time needs to reflect our desire to be in a personal relationship with Him. 

Allowing God to Work in All Circumstances

In some ways, these last few months have been hard. Many people close to us have passed on, gotten sick or hurt. It seems like there are more and more difficult situations. In life it is so easy to ask God why do things happen or what could possibly be the purpose. I think that this month God opened my eyes to another way of looking at hardships. 

As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind." "Neither this man nor his parents sinned,"said Jesus, "but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work." John 9:1-4

In this passage the disciples just wanted to know why the man was born blind, but Jesus explains that it wasn't because of sin, but so that the works of God could be displayed in him. What a beautiful way of looking at troubles or situations that maybe challenging. May we all be praying that in all things God's work is displayed in us. 

This coming month we are determined to look at the hard, bad and ugly as an opportunity for God's work to shine! 

Current Need

In the Dominican Republic almost half the population lives below the poverty line which is currently two dollars a DAY! This lack of money often causes unhealthy habits and cycles in the home. As in most lower economic places there is a lot of alcoholism, drugs and abuse. This lifestyle is passed down from generation to generation. This seems like a problem without a cure, but this year I have seen the power of education and the love of Christ. Unhealthy lifestyles and cycles are being broken. People are being set free!

                                     


Next year I have the exciting opportunity to expand my job as the literacy coach to kinder, first and second grade. This means I will be piloting a program at Doulos Discovery to help students who are really behind. As I am looking forward, I have a few needs for my classroom and hope that some of you can help me out. I really need an ipad to do the type of assessment that I feel will be most beneficial. It can be old and used, it doesn't matter. Also I would like to get four other tablets to use in my classroom as instruction pieces. These can be old and used tablets of any kind. It doesn't matter if they are a kindle, ipad, surface or any other tablet. If you would be willing to donate an old tablet you are no longer using or sell one to me at a discounted price, please let me know.

                                               

Thank you again for all your support, thoughts, kind words and prayers.

Community

John 13:34-35

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

On Friday we received two separate emails. One was asking people to please go down to Santiago, which is about thirty minutes away, to donate blood. A co-worker of Dave's had been in an accident on Tuesday and was in need of blood transfusions. The second email was asking for prayer as one of my co-workers was about to have a C-section. Her husband wasn't allowed to go with her and they were both pretty anxious. In the email the husband asked "If  we, their community, can rally our prayers? "

The longer we live in Jarabacoa, the more often I see the body of Christ displayed. We often lack the same advanced medicine that is available in other countries.  We as a body have gotten into the habit of lifting each other up in prayer and with action. On Friday there was van full after van full of people from all over Jarabacoa who went down to donate. Some of the people didn't even know the injured person, yet they still went to donate. That is the body of Christ in action. We are called to love and support each other. 

My question to you is what have you done lately for a fellow brother or sister in Christ?

HUGE BLESSING

Two of my students accepted Jesus as their personal savior this month! God is moving and changing lives in our community. One of those students was baptized on Easter Sunday. How amazing is our God?

Come You Who Are Weary

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love, according to your unfailing love, according to your great compassion, blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me for my sin. For I know my transgressions and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight. So you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge. Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb; you taught me wisdom in that secret place. Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice. Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity. Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. Then I will teach transgressors your ways, so that sinners will turn back to you. Psalms 51:1-13

King David wrote this Psalm after the prophet Nathan had come to point out David's affair with Bathsheba.(2 Samuel 12) David was a man after God's own heart. God loved David deeply. David was greatly favored and yet through a series of bad decisions and choices, he is now a murder, liar and adulterer. He is in a dark place, looking at all his sin and begging God to forgive him. He asks that God forgives his sin, cleans his heart and resorts to him the joy of God's salvation. It seems like sometimes we think we are so deep in the pit of sin that there is no way God could ever forgive us, but that isn't true if we have a willing and contrite heart. If we confess our sins and are truly sorry, God will forgive us. He will blot it out and we will have a renewed heart. God longs for us to walk with Him each day. 

If you are feeling weary, burdened or cast down by sin, simply turn to the father. He says it best in Mathew 11:28-30.

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light"

Happy Independence Day!

Today is February 27th or better known as Independence Day in the Dominican Republic. We celebrated by having an incredible program at Doulos Discovery School. The students all did great. There were many performances celebrating the history and culture of the DR. There were also performances speaking God's truth and sharing that we can have true independence in Christ.

So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. 

John 8:36

 

If you want to read more about the history of the Dominican Republic, click here :http://www.lonelyplanet.com/dominican-republic/history

Feburary Recap

So the end of January and February was quite the time for our family. There were happy times and some bittersweet moments. As always we know and say "God is good."

Whatever is good and perfect comes to us from God. He is the One Who made all light. He does not change. No shadow is made by His turning. 

James 1:17

Dave had a two week team at his site. It was a group from a program that spends a year focusing on learning more about God and becoming who He desires them to be. The students take classes, do missions work and commit to a very strict code of conduct. It was so neat to see young men of God being strong witnesses to the boys in Jarabacoa.

Dave and Moreno (Dave's Co-Coach) put the boys in a four day baseball tournament against teams from all over the country. The boys worked hard and ended up winning the tournament. 

Both of Dave's grandparents passed away in the span of three weeks. They met when they were young and were a strong example of what it means to have a Godly marriage. They were married for sixty years and these three weeks were the longest they had ever been apart.

We had family come to visit. Josh got to meet Uncle Steven and Aunt Kelsey for the first time. Steve went with Dave to his sites and got to see what he does down here. It was so much fun having them all here and we are blessed to be so loved.

                                

This month I have been doing a unit with my first graders on how they are unique. They were amazed to hear that God knew who they would become way before they were born. We talked about how God has a plan for each of their lives. It was easily one of the best moments of the month to hear my students scream in excitement over the fact that God planned for them to be on earth way before their parents or even their grandparents were born.

Guard Your Witness

This week I was reminded of this quote:

It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you'll do things differently-Warren Buffet

The other day we were driving to the store and Dave pulled out into the street so he could see both ways before turning. A car came whizzing down the street, the driver started honking his horn and throwing his arms up at us. That person didn't recognize me, but I knew him. He is a missionary here.

Every time I have seen him this week I have judged him and thought don't you know that you can destroy your witness in a split second. It was wrong of him to be so angry with us, but at the same time it was just as wrong for me to judge him all week. How many times have I looked and been annoyed while waiting in line at the grocery store? How often do I get angry with other drivers? It is not my place to judge, but instead to learn from this experience. We are all called to be witnesses to those around us. It can take years to be seen as a good witness for Christ, yet one bad decision or one ill spoken word can destroy all that God has been doing through us. I am so grateful that God is a God who gives grace and second chances. He makes us strong when we are weak and is forever trying to grow us into the people He has called us to be.

 Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

                                                                             2 Corinthians 12:8-9

Blind Trust

The other day I had just started working on something and Josh started to fuss in his crib. He was done napping and was ready to be picked up, but I was in the middle of something and couldn't get him immediately. I had to first put down what I was working on and clean off my hands. This took me a minute and at this point Josh was screaming and getting really upset so I start calling out "Josh, Mom's coming....I've got you Buddy." He instantly calms because he knows my voice and knows that I have never failed him. He has complete trust in me because his short life experience has taught him that mom cares for me. It is same way with Dave. The other night Josh was feeling a little sick and couldn't get himself to sleep. Dave went into his room and started to rub his back. Josh instantly relaxed because he could see and feel his Dad. He knows Dave means security and safety. He knows Dave means love. Josh has complete trust in us, but we are humans so therefore there will come a day when we let Josh down. It is inevitable because of our sinful nature, yet there is a Heavenly Father who will never let us down. As I have been thinking about Josh's blind trust in us, I have been really challenged. Do I have blind trust in God? When I am in times of distress am I listening to God's voice?

The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing. 
Zephaniah 3:17  

Our Heavenly Father longs to be our comfort and consistency. He loves us more than is even imaginable.

But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.

Psalm 86:15 

Turn to Him and feel His never ending love

See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.

1 John 3:1