Approaching Halftime

It is really hard to believe, but we're almost halfway done with our year here in the Dominican Republic. Time has absolutely flown by, and yet with all we've experienced, it feels like we've been here much longer than 5 months!

Since our last post, our routine and schedule here has been far from normal. Christmas break, a mission trip to Azua, a visit from family and many other miscellaneous events have made life an adventure over the last month.

Christmas break here is very similar to what we're accustomed to back home in Indiana, except without snow! The weather here did change in December, although it wasn't a drastic change. The mornings and evenings were much cooler - sometimes dipping down into the 60s. Daytime was a bit cooler as well, although we still had plenty of days in the mid-80s. We're currently in what feels like Spring here because trees are starting to show lots of flowers, fruit is starting to bud and the weather is getting warmer again.

Pastor Quina taught the kids how she makes Christmas crafts.

During Christmas break we were able to spend time with people in more casual, intimate ways. We had several invitations to people's houses for holiday celebrations. We went to special church services where almost every time ended with sharing cookies and a special Christmas tea made with ginger. We learned some Dominican Christmas songs and experienced how this country celebrates Christ's birth. It was a beautiful time!

On the second day of the new year we loaded up our van with 6 youth and our family for a mission trip to the city of Azua. Azua is in the southwest part of the Dominican Republic, about 3 1/2 hour drive from Moca. We worked with Pastor Raul Aquino and the Christian Community Church. The partnership with Pastor Aquino came about because many of the translators that have worked with previous teams from Nappanee Missionary Church and Bethel College have come from his church in Azua. It was a pleasure to reconnect with several of the young men who we had met over the past few years, to meet and get to know the pastor and his family and to work alongside many from his church.

Our group had many great ministry opportunities during our three days in Azua. We preached, led worship, performed dramas, taught Bible lessons to children and went door-to-door sharing the good news of Jesus Christ. The youth from our church here in Guanabano are incredible and very easy to work with. While we are looked to as the leaders, we rarely have to take charge of the group because they are very mature and understand what needs to be done and how they should carry themselves. They are a great example to us when it comes to ministry and their willingness to serve.

Our group in Azua.

On the way home from Azua, we ran into some car trouble. One of our water lines sprung a leak and the engine kept overheating. We finally had to pull off the road to try to fix it. Our youth proved themselves very resourceful and worked hard for about an hour to patch up the cracked hose with gum and materials they found on the side of the road! The patch held up just fine for the rest of our 3-hour drive back home and our mechanic even said that their work could have held up for much longer if we had needed it to. We thanked God for the youth and for His protection!

Less than a week after our trip to Azua, we received some much-anticipated guests when Katie's mom and stepfather arrived. They spent a total of 15 days with us. They accompanied us to the national conference for the Christian Missionary Alliance Church, which was a great time to meet other missionaries and many pastors and other leaders of various CMA churches here in the Dominican Republic. After the conference, our family generously took us for a week of vacation in Puerto Plata. We really enjoyed the time to relax, swim, play and just spend time together. It was a very refreshing time for all of us.

Vacation with family was very fun!

We've had a somewhat normal routine these last few weeks, but things are about to change again as Dan's parents arrive this Friday and will spend two weeks here with us. We'll head up to the north coast again for about 5 days of vacation and the rest of the time we'll be together here at our house in Guanabano. We're so thankful that our families are able to experience what our lives are like here. And the vacations have come at a good time as we gear up for the second half of our year here.

As we look forward to the rest of our time here, we are starting to realize how short the time really is. We've got two groups coming from Nappanee Missionary Church and two groups coming from Bethel College. We're excited to be here to help host those teams, but we also know those visits will only speed up our time here.

For much of our time here, we've missed home and the life we left there. We still miss it, but we're starting to feel more comfortable here. With that in mind, we're starting to look toward what's ahead - what God has planned for us. Would you join us as we start to pray and seek God's plan for our future? We don't want to look past what's left for us this year, but we want to start listening for His plans for the future. Thank you for your support and your willingness to pray for us.

Some other prayer requests:

- Pray that we would take advantage of every opportunity to share the Gospel.
- Pray for one of Pastor Quina's churches that is going through a very difficult time and is in need of a fresh start. Pray that we can serve well in that process.
- Pray for Victor, one of the youth here, who just left home to start studying medicine in Santo Domingo. He's an amazing young man and we know he'll do well, but transitions are always difficult. His absence will also be felt here at our church, as he was one of the leaders among the youth and even among the adults.

We love you all very much! Thank you for your love, your prayers and support!