Summer Fun

This summer the kids and I traveled to be with family. It was a time of laughter and renewal. We got to spend tons of time with grandparents, aunts, uncles and the new baby nephew/cousin. It allowed the kids to be poured into and loved. We are beyond thankful we have a family that loves our kids so well. Below are some of our adventures that Nana and Papa or Maga and Baba took us on. 

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Dave stayed through the summer. He has been having full days of practices and taking the boys to the river. He has seen some exciting things happen. Some of his former players who have grown up have started attending a Bible study with him once a week. 

           

Though it is amazing when we can see the fruits of our labors coming to fruition, we know that we are called to obedience. It is God who touches hearts. We can get discourgaed when things don't happen in our timing and yet, He is God. God is in control. 

1 Corinthians 3:5

5What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? They are servants through whom you believed, as the Lord has assigned to each his role. 6I planted the seed and Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. 7So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. 8He who plants and he who waters are one in purpose,a and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. 9For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.

We know that prayer is powerful. We are asking for prayer in the following ways over the next month:

-Healing for Indy-She is working hard, but it is a long process. 

-For the Department of Education-They are working on arragements so we can go back to school in person next month

-Church Community-Our church is in a small area called Corocito. Please pray that God will move hearts and the ones that are seeking will come to church. 

-Family Life- Our prayer is that God continues to put our family in the path of those that are seeking Him.

-Dave's Bible Study-We pray that fruit is planted and these young men grow in their faith.

Semana Santa

 Happy Semana Santa or Holy Week from the DR. 

While Dave is working, the kids and I are fully enjoying a week having fun and relaxing!

In a sad turn of events the Ministry of Education sent us back to virtual learning. While this news was heartbreaking and hard to accept, Doulos is committed to continuing to educate and disciple students throughout whatever means the Lord allows. We are hopeful that they will allow us to return to campus within the next few weeks. 

On a personal note, this change has been very hard for Josh. He loved being with peers and didn't want to go back to virtual. Dave and I decided that until school is back in person, I will host a small group of kindergarten students at our house. We turned our back bedroom into a classroom. Please pray for the three kiddos that will join my mini-class. (Carlos David, Jazmin and Alison) Cole will continue to go to Doulos for staff care. She is in a small class with other PreK3 kids. The Ministry of Education is allowing us to have preschool staff kids on campus. 

Please pray for energy for me as I will still continue to serve at Doulos while returning to the "classroom." I haven't taught in years. It's going to be a challenge, but will be good. 

God is good all the time and His plan is perfect. We trust that He is moving and working in us all. Have a wonderful Easter! 

Mathew 28:5-8 

5 The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6 He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”8 So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples.

School Opening

 These last three weeks have been a whirlwind. February 21st  we were told that we had permission to open school. We would move from fully virtual to semi-presencial. As happy as I was, part of me was absolutely terrified. We had all gotten into a great rhythm with virtual learning and now we would essentially have to do our annual two weeks of school prep for students in four days. We had to be ready by the 29th. 

As usual God’s amazing time was perfect. The week before we got permission we canceled school for two day to participate in a Christian conference where Doulos was being featured. I led a two day conference where we focused on being a crew. We did activities to explore our dream crew, weaknesses and things that are holding us back and how we can work together to accomplish the mission of Doulos. We ended the conference on Friday and Sunday we got the official call. Now it was time to work together to accomplish a long list of things to get school ready. 

It has been a really hard switch for our staff. The protocols are hard and time consuming. Students and staff are bone weary by the end of day. On Wednesday we had our first chapel of the year on campus and God moved. As I watched little ones raise their hands in worship and sing about how our God is stronger I was once again reminded why I love Doulos. This is why we do what we do. We are doing it to serve a mighty God and faithfully trust that He is planting seeds, breaking chains and changing lives through our discipleship with students. Please pray for our staff and that nothing will stop seeds from being planted. 

                                             

The Parable of the Sower Explained

18 “Hear then the parable of the sower: 19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path. 20 As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, 21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away.[b] 22 As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. 23 As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”

Big Changes

Last week the First Lady of the Dominican Republic opened up all the public fields. Dave was allowed to return to normal practices at the field. He had been doing small groups at the batting cage for the last few months, but this means that they can have full team practices. 

This week Doulos was told that we can have students who have internet issues at home or are really struggling to learn virtually on campus. This is huge! We have been allowed to have a few students on campus for different therapies, but this new decision will allow us to have up to 45 students a day on campus. We are going to make the most of this time to not only educate children, but care for their physical, social, emotional and spiritual needs using different programs like are shown in the photos.

                 

                               

As far as the country we are still under curfew, but it is far less restrictive than in January when we were under a 12 o'clock pm curfew on the weekends and a 5 o'clock pm curfew on weekdays. We are thankful for more freedom and the ability to go run errands without the stress of making curfew. 

While this season has been difficult, we have seen that God isn't limited by any earthly circumstances. God is still moving and using each of us to impact the kingdom. We are still working with children and families. We are still doing life with those around us and trying to be witnesses. We all need to use every opportunity given to us whether it is at the gas station or in line at a grocery store to be a light. 

Mathew 5:14

You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a basket. Instead, they set it on a stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

One way each of you could really support us is to pray for teachers and support staff to come to Doulos. We have several open positons for next school year. We are seeking teachers and administrators who love the Lord above all.  If you know of anyone who would be interested, please refer them to our website. (http://doulosdiscovery.org/) or feel free to contact me directly. (megan.adams@doulosdiscovery.org) 

Fall Update

We are beyond thankful for each of you and your support during this crazy COVID season. We know that your continued support, love and prayers are a gift from God. We connected with some of you during this time, but we wanted to send out a summary of the last few months and ways you all can continue to pray for us. 

Spring 2020

Like most of the world, the DR shut down due to COVID. We spent a few weeks not being able to go anywhere except the grocery store or hospitals. The borders were closed to non-Dominicans and life slowed way down. Dave dove into professional development, helping raise funds for a food program to help at-risk families and trying to find ways to stay connected to the boys. Megan continued to support teachers as they were thrust into distance learning and “homeschooled” Josh and Cole. Josh and Cole struggled to adjust to the new normal, but loved having mom and dad at home.  It was a long three months, but God was faithful and we made it. 

June and July

Dave continued working on professional development, working with the food program and raising funds for the site and Ellian (assistant coach).  It was awesome to see how many people were willing to help support the site so that we were able to keep Ellian working at the site and continue to be blessing for Dave, Zurdo and the boys. 

Megan worked through most of the summer preparing for the upcoming school year. Doulos knew we had to be prepared for virtual, in person and any combination the government may decide upon. Megan led new staff training and all staff orientation. Most of these training sessions were via zoom. It stretched Megan’s coaching ability and was a great time of learning. 

Josh and Cole loved the summer life. We spent lots of time playing in the water, playing kickball and going on walks.

                                   

August

Megan started school August 17th. Megan provided professional development for the whole teaching staff alongside the instructional coaches. God has been very clear on what to do this year and she is thankful! 

September 

Dave was finally allowed to start practice again with a small group of boys. The fields remain closed so having the batting cage continues to be a huge blessing, bigger than we ever would have imagined.  

October

This month we have been blessed to have three weeks with family. We are spending this time relaxing, rejuvenating and connecting with family. 

                 

Current Life

Our family has been in quarantine for the past seven weeks. The Dominican Republic has asked the population to stay in their homes and only go out for necessities. We are allowed to go out and exercise, but should stay away from others outside our immediate family. The measures the government is taking mirrors other countries. Our quarantine is supposed to lift at the end of May. 

Due to the quarantine, Dave and I are both home. Our days are pretty repetitive, but good. I spend the mornings doing "school" with the kids while Dave works. He is working on further developing his Spanish, taking leadership courses, participating in staff development and reading about Dominican history. I spend my afternoons on zoom calls with staff, preparing training for next year and doing professional development. It has been a very sweet season for our family. The kids miss normal life activities like seeing friends or going to the pool, but they couldn't be happier that we are all together. Please don't let the photos fool you. It hasn't been all sparkles and rainbows each day. We have low days and we have high days. The kids love being together, but cry often because they miss normalcy. We are working on taking each day at a time. 

We are beyond thankful for God's provision and peace during this time. We know that many are struggling financially, socially, emotionally, spiritually and physically during this time. We continue to pray that we can be a light during a dark time. Please let us know if we can be praying for you or if you know of anyone who needs extra encouragement. We desire to use this time as a family to strengthen good habits and lean into the Lord. 

The last few weeks God has been teaching me about the Acts church. It was amazing. The church lived as one cohesive unit. They shared EVERYTHING and nothing was withheld selfishly. God has been showing me ways that I can be more like the Acts church. May we all use this time to show God's love to all those around us and be drastically different. May others come to know the Lord because of our extreme love for others in during a hard time. We can give all we have but remember, if we don't have love, it is useless!

If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

1 Corinthians 13:3

Adams Update

Hey guys, 

I (Dave) hope everyone is doing well with all the coronavirus craze sweeping the world.  I have seen a lot of people on social media posting some really funny jokes, memes, gifs, etc that I personally find hilarious.  I have also seen others calling for people to take it more seriously. Personally, I think both sides are valid. This is certainly something to be taken seriously, but we can’t lose our sense of humor either.  Here in the DR we are starting day 3 of a 15-day nationwide quarantine in attempts to “flatten the curve”. Personally, I think they will end up extending it, but only time will tell. This means that we are to be at home and only out for essentials such as medicine or food. Schools have been shut down until after spring break.   As it can be a little frustrating at times not to be able to go out and do some of our favorite things (pools, rivers, waterfalls, etc), we are enjoying this gift of more family time and I hope all of you are doing the same. On the “keeping our sense of humor” part of things, here are a couple of my favorite jokes of the coronavirus: 

I also saw another one that had so much truth to it: 

So often, as Christians, we get so busy with our daily lives that we forget how to truly rely on Christ.  We start believing our own hype, listening to others build us up, listening to the world telling us how important we are, that we forget that we have little control over anything. We look to our own comfort more than we look to Christ.  Then something like the Coronavirus hits and we get a small glimpse of how small and out of control we really are when our “comfort” is taken away. As Christians we should always be striving to be uncomfortable in our faith. It shouldn’t take something like a virus to remind us how powerful God is and how powerful we aren’t. If we are truly seeking Him daily like we should be, we will always strive to be more like Him and be seeking constantly for ways to share His love and light with others.  We should never be content with where our own personal walk is or with how many people we have shared with. There is always a lot more work to be done in both areas no matter who we are.  

During this time, while some choose to live in a state of fear and panic, we have an incredible opportunity to live in the confidence in Christ.  This is such an easy time to show everyone how we are different from the world because we serve a God that is so much bigger than anything here. Talk with friends/family/coworkers/etc who don’t know Christ.  Ask how they are doing, see if you can help them with anything, even, heaven forbid, offer them a roll or two of toilet paper if they need it. When we can put others first during difficult times, we can really let Christ’s light shine through us. 

Please let Megan and I know if there is any way we can help you or pray for you.  Take advantage of this time with your family. We can choose to look at this as a huge inconvenience or as a blessing to connect/reconnect as a family.    

Life Happens

So lately I have been reminded of one of my favorite country songs Life Happens by Thomas Rhett. The song talks about how quickly life passes and as we may make plans, life doesn't always go as we anticipated.

It seems like yesterday Dave and I moved to Jarabacoa. I was six months pregnant with Josh and full of excitement. Josh came and life was great. Before we knew it, I was pregnant with Cole and we were ecstatic. Two months before giving birth to Cole, the Lord called us to open our hearts to another amazing child. Indy moved in, Cole was born and life went on. We thought we were set for awhile and were anticipating Indy going off to college and life settling down. Dave told me we could "talk" about more kids when Cole was seven. SURPRISE, God had other plans. Indy has two beautiful, smart nieces. Indiana is eight years old and Diana is one and a half.

Over the years we have been involved with the girls in various ways such as helping babysit or take them to the pool for an afternoon of fun. Six months ago we felt called to offer to take guardianship of the girls and their mother said she wasn't interested. We thought the door was closed. In July, the mother contacted us and asked us to take guardianship. The girls moved in a month later.


 We are currently in the process of gaining legal guardianship. This means that we will have the rights to make medical decisions or enroll them in school, but it won't be adoption. We can't take them out of the country without parental consent. We are asking for all our prayer warriors to be praying for favor as we go before the judge September 11th. This process can be short or it can be long and we would like it to be done and settled. Please also pray for the girls' biological parents. We are going to continue to partner with them and work together to raise the girls. Please pray for wisdom as we navigate this huge life change.

Please also pray for Indy. She has been accepted to a university in Spain and has the financial promises to go for four years, but she is waiting to hear about the visa. She will find out September 5th if she got it or not.

Also, a HUGE thank you to those of you who have offered extra financial support during this transition! Once all is set, we are anticipating that we will need to raise around 1000 more dollars a month. We know that God will provide!

                    

This is the verse I am praying over our family and future as we are all adjusting. Some days are easy, but most are HARD! God has promised He will fill our mouths with laughter.

True Repentence

One day Baby Cole, Josh and I were laying in bed reading books Josh kept putting his arm on Baby Cole's stomach. She got mad after telling him to stop a few times and bit him hard. He started screaming and Cole pulled away. As Cole looked at the bite marks, she curled up in a ball and started sobbing. She kept repeating"I so sorry Josh, I hurt you." She said this over and over while rocking herself back and forth. I took me fifteen minutes to get her to stop crying so we could talk about what happened. Today our pastor was talking about allowing sin in our lives and how we are called to rid ourselves of all sinful acts and have true repentance. The Lord reminded me of this event with Baby Cole. Do I truly feel that level of remorse when I go against what God has called of me? Do I feel true remorse when I chose to be harsh when the Spirit is leading me to be gentle or when I refuse to act when the Spirit is clearly telling me to move?

The Lord doesn't want us to be trapped in guilt from the past, but to be forgiven we do need to acknowledge that we have fallen short of the glory of God and confess with a contrite heart.

June Update

So, I (Dave) don’t know about anyone else, but I feel like any time I read the news, social media, etc. Someone somewhere is being offended by something and we are constantly reminded how we need to be tolerant of everything and appease everyone.  The biggest problem with this mentality is that it is spilling into our churches.  As Christians, we are called to be set apart.  We are called to be different, and many times that includes going directly against social norms and at times even being offensive.  We need to dive back into the Bible to find answers about social topics.  For example, abortion is not our choice, sex outside of marriage is not ok (EVER), divorce is not ok (except for very few exceptions), goal in life is not to be happy, work shouldn’t be a higher priority than your family, and lastly, and I can’t stress this enough, if your opinion or mode of thinking goes against what the Bible says…YOU ARE WRONG!!  Too many times, we don’t want to be labeled as a prude or conservative, but the Bible calls us to be conservative thinkers.  We, as Christians, need to step up, especially now more than ever, and be bold about our faith and not worry about what others think or how they will react.  Fear is dictating how we share (or don’t share) the gospel in our daily lives.  Jesus was not afraid to speak the hard truths and stand up against social norms. He was bold yet always loving. He never held back, but always spoke the truth in love. We need to follow the example that has been laid out for us.  One example of where Jesus went against social norms was with the Samaritan woman at the well. We as Christians must take a stand in love and speak truth boldly!

John 4:7-42

^7-8 A woman, a Samaritan, came to draw water. Jesus said, “Would you give me a drink of water?” (His disciples had gone to the village to buy food for lunch.)

⁹ The Samaritan woman, taken aback, asked, “How come you, a Jew, are asking me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?” (Jews in those days wouldn’t be caught dead talking to Samaritans.)

¹⁰ Jesus answered, “If you knew the generosity of God and who I am, you would be asking me for a drink, and I would give you fresh, living water.”

^11-12 The woman said, “Sir, you don’t even have a bucket to draw with, and this well is deep. So how are you going to get this ‘living water’? Are you a better man than our ancestor Jacob, who dug this well and drank from it, he and his sons and livestock, and passed it down to us?”

^13-14 Jesus said, “Everyone who drinks this water will get thirsty again and again. Anyone who drinks the water I give will never thirst—not ever. The water I give will be an artesian spring within, gushing fountains of endless life.”

¹⁵ The woman said, “Sir, give me this water so I won’t ever get thirsty, won’t ever have to come back to this well again!”

¹⁶ He said, “Go call your husband and then come back.”

^17-18 “I have no husband,” she said.

“That’s nicely put: ‘I have no husband.’ You’ve had five husbands, and the man you’re living with now isn’t even your husband. You spoke the truth there, sure enough.”

^19-20 “Oh, so you’re a prophet! Well, tell me this: Our ancestors worshiped God at this mountain, but you Jews insist that Jerusalem is the only place for worship, right?”

^21-23 “Believe me, woman, the time is coming when you Samaritans will worship the Father neither here at this mountain nor there in Jerusalem. You worship guessing in the dark; we Jews worship in the clear light of day. God’s way of salvation is made available through the Jews. But the time is coming—it has, in fact, come—when what you’re called will not matter and where you go to worship will not matter.

^23-24 “It’s who you are and the way you live that count before God. Your worship must engage your spirit in the pursuit of truth. That’s the kind of people the Father is out looking for: those who are simply and honestly themselves before him in their worship. God is sheer being itself—Spirit. Those who worship him must do it out of their very being, their spirits, their true selves, in adoration.”

²⁵ The woman said, “I don’t know about that. I do know that the Messiah is coming. When he arrives, we’ll get the whole story.”

²⁶ “I am he,” said Jesus. “You don’t have to wait any longer or look any further.”

²⁷ Just then his disciples came back. They were shocked. They couldn’t believe he was talking with that kind of a woman. No one said what they were all thinking, but their faces showed it.

^28-30 The woman took the hint and left. In her confusion she left her water pot. Back in the village she told the people, “Come see a man who knew all about the things I did, who knows me inside and out. Do you think this could be the Messiah?” And they went out to see for themselves.

Family Update

Gang,

I am sorry it has been so long since we have sent out an update. Life seems to get crazier and crazier, but never doubt how much we appreciate each one of you and your support!

Adams Update

Dave

Last week kicked off summer teams. This means that Dave will be very busy hosting teams and working with the boys. He loves his job and how God allows him to keep working with the boys. 

I (Megan) have two more weeks of school before summer. These two weeks will be very hectic as Doulos hosts a learning conference. Sometimes it can feel overwhelming or impossible, ,but I try to remember that my power doesn't come from myself, but it comes from the Lord. His power isn't limited!

Indiana is two weeks away from graduation. She is thoroughly enjoying her senior beach trip this weekend.  Please pray that the Lord makes the next step clear for her life. She is in a season of waiting and it is hard! Please  pray that everything will fall into place according to God's will.

Josh started karate last week and loved it. He continues to love school and is beginning to read. It is fun to see his little face light up with pride when he sounds out a word.

Cole continues to amaze us. She has such a spunky personality and is beyond brave. She knows no fear and tries to copy everything her older siblings do!

                                                     

Forming

Update

Cole and I were attempting to make salt dough. It’s very simple to make. You just combined salt, flour and warm water. As we tried to put the salt in the measuring cup, we ran into a problem. The salt had gained moisture and turned into a tight rock. We threw it, shook it and did everything we could think of to break it. Then I had the idea to get the meat tenderizer. I raised it above my head and took a big swing. It didn’t do anything. The salt was so hard. I have no idea why, but I had the urge to softly tap it. As I barely taped it, the salt started to break off. It only took a minute or two and we had our cup of salt. As I was looking in the bowl, I felt the Lord gently open my eyes to how he sometimes shapes us.

 

There have been times when the Lord has shaped me in big, bold and hard ways, but more often than not, He shapes me a tiny bit at a time. He calls me to lay something down or lets me experience something that I never thought possible. He does this process so that I can continue to grow and develop. We serve a mighty God that knows exactly when to tap and when to shake us to our core.

1 Kings 19:11-12

The LORD said, "Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by." Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. ¹²After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.