"I Love When God Answers Unspoken Requests"

Hey guys!

As I sit here wondering what to write, I'm relistening to the time in August (right after I had returned from training in Thailand) that I shared on a Sunday morning with my home church in ND on plans for Destiny Rescue in the Dominican Republic. I was in that in-between time of waiting on immigration paperwork, still hoping that temporary residency would come through. 

I didn't know on that Sunday morning in early August that the paperwork would drag out another full month before we found out that we were pursuing a completely closed off option. A little over a month later, I was in MI spending what I hoped would be the last few weeks of waiting. 

I didn't know that Sunday morning in early August that I would still be in MI almost a whole month after leaving ND, trying to figure out a second direction to pursue concerning immigration. 

Nor did I know that Sunday morning in early August that I would still be in the States until the end of October. 

It probably seems like I've visited this story so many times in my blog, but you see, here's the wonderful, God-proof thing:

On that Sunday morning in early August, there were questions that came my way about things to pray for and things that could possibly happen and - the answers are pretty much the same as they were then! 

Ok, so you're probably crinkling up your forehead a bit and trying to comprehend my rambling, but let me explain.

That morning, I shared statistics (which pretty much remain the same) and hoped for plans (many of which we've seen unfolding in front of our eyes as we've been here - some have progressed just as we hoped, some have changed in small ways but stayed on track with the overall focus, and other have completely been put aside and/or replaced.) All that is normal. All those are the usual things that come with any kind of presentation. 

But what made me excited while relistening to these questions and answers were the statements that were woven into that session. Facts. Truth that is still the same. And the words spoken in prayer.

"Do you want to know why the watchmen need to stay on the wall?"

"Stay in prayer. Pray for darkness to be exposed. That's a privilege we have as intercessors, that darkness looming and evil being planned would be unveiled." 

"There are things happening behind the scenes."

"Trust. To step out into the waters, the great unknown where feet may fail - it's literal. That's literally what is happening." 

"This is God's story, this is His plan. And He's not gonna stop now."

"There's great resistance against what [she] will be doing...The enemy does not what [her] there."

"That is one of the ways we can be praying, is to be praying against that resistance. That these doors will be opened up."

"There's no doubt that there's gonna be great resistance and [she's] gonna need prayer, to be covered in prayer."

"You really need to be praying for her protection. We have a responsiliblity to [her] as a body to be covering her in prayer."

"[They] definitely need a lot of prayer for wisdom and discernment..."

"God, You called us as a body...and we accept that calling."

"We say yes, Father, to standing with them. We won't stop until it's done."

"There is no physical boundary." 

"We say yes, and we do not look back."

"Father, you will intervene and be there in the places to direct where they need to be."

I've been thinking about you, the ones reading this blog, the ones staying in touch by email or messaging. I've been thinking about you as the Body of Christ and the prayers you have prayed on our behalf. 

There is an army of believers behind this work, warring and battling in prayer, and that is why we see miracle after miracle. 

The prayers you are praying are why we have contractors working on repairs to the home in December - December. The holiday month when it can be next to impossible to find willing contractors to take on new projects. This is why our local friends shake their heads at us and tell us, "You need to know that this is not normal - this does not normally happen!" 

Prayers. The reason why I hardly have time to think about where the finances will come from to pay for a bike or scooter so I can have my own transportation before someone up and offers to buy it for me. I hardly even thought about it! But there are people praying for our physical needs as well as emotional and spiritual ones. 

And prayers are what we need to keep going. 

The last few weeks have been a wierd succession of emotional ups and downs and I finally realized that it's because we're waging a war against darkness - duh!

Other than Thanksgiving week, physical plans surrounding the ministry have been accomplished with no interruptions. It's like the enemy was attacked by an onslaught of prayers from the believers and had no choice but to retreat. 

But he's a sneaky one, this enemy of Jesus Christ. he's been trying to stick his foot in to mess things up by another way. By emotions. They're hard to see. But the undertow is real. 

So we keep praying! And we pray for spiritual vision to clearly see what is happening. 

My dear brothers and sisters, keep praying! Praying. Fighting. Interceding.

You are a part of this. There have been days that I've felt alone, even stranded. But truth wins. Truth is that the Body of Christ can not function unless each member plays their part. 

So, my encouragement to you when you go over a prayer list and see my name or see the name of this ministry and send up a quick prayer - in those moments if you ever wonder if your prayers mean anything, remember this - yes! They can mean the difference between winning and losing. 

Hugs!

Rose B. 

The Worst Thanksgiving Day Ever

Yes, it could truthfully, pretty acurately be described as that. 
If Thanksgiving was meant to be a day off to take time to reflect over our blessings, and spend time with family, and eat lots of food...yeah, it wasn't any of that - at all! 
Actully, the entire week seemed to be a bad one. 

There were no pies, no turkey, no stuffing - our oven doesn't even work. It hasn't worked since we moved in, and our landlady has had trouble organizing a technician to come take a look at it. 
There was no taking a day off. Too much to do and too many interuptions in what had been supposed to be a week full of accomplishments made that impossible - besides, we're not in the States anyway. 
Nope. We're overseas being missionaries.

Yesterday in itself wasn't too bad. I got some document translation and other paperwork done that I hadn't planned on doing, exactly. But the circumstances surrounding the day - well, that's where the story lies! 

I did write a full large three paragraph story detailing the adventure of this week including: an unplanned overnight stay in a city a few hours away while buying a car, spending two days buying the car, having the same car out of comission until next Wednseday because of head gaskets needing to be replaced; architects coming to evaluate and make lists of repairs needed on the house (oh, yes! we officially have our first safe home!), wanting to get an electrical contract opened to provide power to the house so we can check the plumbing, not being able to do that and instead having to go a different route after trying three times; etc, etc. 
But instead, I erased all of that and decided to start with one simple sentence.

This morning, I cried. 

I was up on the roof talking to God, and I cried.
I cried because of the stress piling up around getting this entire operation going. 
I cried because documents need to be translated, vital documents; yet at the same time so do vital conversations and negotiations with electrical companies, and contractors, and landlords, and mechanics.
I cried because every day this week, every day, the schedule we made was not accomplished. In fact, every day, something we never even considered an issue, came up and overrided anything else we wanted to get done. 
And I cried because I was losing my passion. I was zoning out and it was all just becoming a job to me. 

This morning, God asked me a question - the same question Jesus asked his disciples in Mark 8:29. "But what about you? Who do you say I am?"
When I have bad days, I usually think about little Sebastian in Guatemala; the little 4 year old who has a dad who's a drunk, a grandmother who's deaf, and a mom who sometimes forgets he's there simply because she mentally can't help it. I think about the soldiers overseas who aren't with their families either and are facing tougher things than I am. I think about missionaries like Gladys Aylward or Don Richardson who've actually had the right to have bad days. And I count my blessings, I really do.  
But this morning, when faced with the question, I couldn't turn to any of these other people and say who they think God is. Because the question is, who do I think He is? 

Who do I think He is on a Thanksgiving Day that seemingly brings bad news with each developement? 
Who do I think He is during a week filled with delays and vital timelines, like inspection periods, creeping up without being able to do anything about it? 
Who do I think He is when I go to bed one night and have a hard time bringing into focus the purpose of being here? 

One thing I know - He is everything. The Son of the living, active, doing God. 
He is strength. And He is peace in the storm. 
He is the one who commands the winds and the waves to be quiet and tells the father of a dead daughter, "Do not fear. Just believe." 
He is strong enough to fight the spiritual battles in the warfare we are facing right now. 

For example:
Today was like the epitame of the entire week. 
We got a rental car to use while my bosses' car is getting repaired, so first thing this morning, we headed off to open the electrical contract - only to find that we're missing a paper we didn't even know we needed (thankfully, we figured out a temporary answer until we can get the paper). 
From there we went in search of a generator to borrow for a day so the plumber/technician could check the well pump and system of our safe home before the seven day inspection period allowed in our rental contract runs out (we have til Monday). The company in town said they have one on hand and we thought it was all going well - only to find out, after filling out ten minutes' worth of paperwork, that it didn't have the correct voltage. We left our rental car in their yard and hopped into the SUV of our friend who is helping us with this phase. 
Many hours later, 4:30 rolls around to find us back at the house with a generator we finally found from the next town over (a 45 minute drive, one way). The plumber/technician got there, and we can't wait to get things going - only to find out that, unbeknownst to the owner when he gave us the house, the well pump was stolen. Yup. Somebody moved the concrete slab that was in place the last years or so and supposed to be a sure guard guarantee against that very thing - they pulled up the pipe from way down under and broke off the pump (one of the most vital assests of a house) to sell. 
After going over what was there and making a list of supplies needed (including a new pump), we headed to the hardware store to check prices for tomorrow when we begin. By the time we got back to the yard of the first rental company (where we left our car), they'd already locked the gates and won't open them until tomorrow morning at 8:00. 
Oh yeah! One more thing. The schedule we made this morning said I was supposed to have the entire afternoon today to work on document translation :)
The epitame of the entire week - no joke! It's the kind of stuff that leaves us with the choice to either laugh or cry. 

Tonight, we laughed. 
Then we talked about how these things are not just a circumstance or coincidence. We are facing a real, head-on spiritual battle. 
The enemy hates what we're doing. 
He hates that we've been given open doors and God's favor. 
He hates that we are walking into his territory and actually making headway. 

So we keep doing it, we keep praying, we keep fighting and moving forward. 
And we answer the question, "But what about you? Who do you think I am?" 
Today, my answer is that my God is the one true God. A life giving God. My Father. 
And He is my reason to be thankful - even on the day that seems like the worst possible day ever to give thanks. 

The Path of Trusting

Trust.

It's been the reacurring theme of my life this year.

So many times as I sit here with my fingers poised over my keyboard, learning to trust and to entrust the details of this venture in life seem to be the common thread in anything I begin to write or to even think of writing down.
And I must say, I have this little nudging feeling that this theme isn't coming to a close very soon, either! I can look back over this entire year - all the way back to trying to figure out what the next step was after leaving Guatemala until today - and trust has been the cost demanded at almost every turn.

Trust.

It's comes at a high cost.

It demands acknowledgement that the self-sufficiency we seem to think we possess isn't as strong as we like to believe it to be. It leaves no corner unsearched, no turn untouched. When one part of our self says, "I've learned this terrain. I know what it means to trust. We can move on to the next level; we can take the next turn.", in the next bend of the road, the landscape is inevitably scattered with higher hills to climb and a louder, more forceful confrontation, asking, "Do you still trust? Can you trust God with this one? Do you think you've learned what it takes?"

Trust.

It can be the hardest, most difficult lesson to learn - this learning how to completely give up control of something.

With trust comes vulnerability. It's not easy to hit a rock wall while climbing, with the only hope of succeeding lying in trusting someone else. Even when that 'someone' is a God who has proven Himself faithful time and time again leaving no room for doubt that He knows what He's doing, the self side of human nature and the need to control situations and circumstances never fails to make the process a hard one.

Trust.

It can be one of the most beautiful terrains to cross.

Once we climb the hill, take in the beauty of the view, and proceed around the next corner, the next turn, only to confront a larger, steeper, harder mountain to cross, we find that the perseverance, determination, and the strength we've gained through the process of trusting has equipped us more thoroughly than we could have ever forseen.

Trust is how our faith grows.
'Trusting' is to have faith in someone or something. Learning to trust God with every detail of every circumstance, new or old, cultivates a faith that becomes stronger every time a new challenge or another demand arises. And faith - a faith that is not stagnant or dormant but grows and lives - can move mountains.


It hasn't been quite 3 weeks yet since I've moved to the DR.
Time is a funny thing when trying to measure it through 'concept.' When I think of the day we walked off the airplane onto Dominican soil, it seems like 3 weeks. Yet when I think of all the work we've been doing and the meetings, contracts, documents, etc. that those 3 weeks have covered, it seems like much longer! At the moment, life is being lived one day at a time with a general agenda of what we hope to accomplish in a week.

The roof of our apartment building
has become my favorite place to get
away to read, study, or even have
breakfast :) 

This past week has been a cumilation of so many things. We signed a six month contract on a second-floor, 3-bedroom apartment last weekend, got the electrical contract into place, and moved in. This week we've been working on getting an internet contract set up for our apartment, hunting for a first girls' home location, compiling and translating a 16 page document detailing our program descriptions for child services to approve, meetings with our lawyer on legalities, waiting on bank account processes to go through, and the list goes on.

We've experienced so much favor in so many different areas! For instance, the electrical company has a gurantee of turning on power within 72 hrs. of completing a contract - we got ours turned on the same afternoon (not a normal occurence, at all!). The internet carrier we're going with has a gurantee of setting up within 5-7 business days of completing a contract - this morning I got a call saying they'll be out this afternoon or tomorrow (if they carry out their word, we'll have internet in 2-3 days, including the weekend!). A few days ago we were out looking for a printer to help with the mounds of documentation we have. In the first store we checked out, the sales rep. ended up being the president of the company and after hearing a little bit about our ministry of helping girls rescued from human trafficking, she donated a used model of the highest quality printer they had in the store!

We participated in a walk for advocating children's rights on Thurs. One of Pastor P's connections we met there is a real estate agent, along with his wife, and told us that there is a house they found in the area that we might be interested in looking at to use as a home. It seemed like the perfect property and all of us were pretty excited about it. That evening, he called us up with a different property they had found and thought might be an even better fit for us. We checked it out on Friday and started comparing the two properties. The first one was a two-story home that could accomodate up to 10 girls, with little need for repairs or additions to the layout to have it approved by child services' inspection. It had great yard and activity space with an extra room that could be used for tutoring lessons. The second house is a bigger, three-story house that could easily accomodate up to 15 girls, has an extra area that could be used as an office, an extra possible counseling room, as well as plenty of yard and activity space and a room for tutoring lessons. When we go down the list of requirements from child services, it has pretty much everything - BUT it is in dire need of a lot of repair work. We met with the owner yesterday to talk over contracts, agreements, price, changes we'd make to the property, etc. We were also informed by the real estate agents that the zoning laws in the area of the first house won't allow it to be used as anything except a private home. So, we continue to pray that God will push us in the direction of the right location and home and give us clear answers on whether or not to proceed with this most recent option.

God has visibly been giving us so much favor as we move forward and we continue to count on your prayers as the process keeps unfolding.

Personally, I also heavily rely on your support through daily prayers.
The responsibility of having everything - from contracts, processes, and paperwork to conversations, proposals, questions, and legalities - requiring to be filtered through my translation because of the language barrier, weighs heavily at times. It can seem overwhelming, enough to rob me of sleep on occasion; but trust and faith keep happening and God keeps on being faithful and good! 

You Know You're a Missionary When... {Part 1, probably}

...you finish up some random paperwork late in the evening then head up to your hotel room, excited to make dinner - excited because today, you bought a few little dishes {like a small frying pan and a cutting knife} and the ingredients that give you the freedom to actually, wonder of wonders, fry your own deluxe egg & cheese & ham sandwich. ...you set out the margarine {because missionaries aren't rich, after all, and butter is comparatively expensive} and eggs to be able to conveniently pop them right into the frying pan once the veggies are cut up. 

...once everything is ready, you set the pan on the closest burner and, with much anticipation, turn the knob on the stove, ready to make one of the most appreciated sandwiches of your life. 

...the knob turns with no problem, you smell the propane from the stove, but no flame turns on. 

...and all those little joys of learning how to appreciate the little things {like owning your own pan and cutting knife, the ingredients to make a good sanwich, the dishes to put food on and eat with} seem to vanish as you remember - you live in a developing country. Developing countries' stoves usually need to be lit with matches or a lighter. 

...the appreciation for the little things doesn't disappear for too long because along with the other purchases of the day, there is a little lone avocado in the small refrigerator just waiting to be eaten.

...the appreciation for the little things returns as you cut this delicious piece of fruit open with your newly purchased cutting knife {this is, of course, is assuming you love avocados as much as some missionries do - or at least one in particular who comes to mind}, sprinkle the yummy inside with some salt {also newly purchased}, and begin eating it with your newly purchased spoon {plastic - because a bag of plastic utensils makes more sense while living in a hotel than silverware}. 

...the gratitude for the extra flavor salt adds may make you appreciate the little things more than ever, especially since the day before when you invented a new sanwich using avocado, mustard, and cheese {presliced - the knife had not been purchased yet} the only thing lacking had been salt!

So, the question remains - why didn't you just make another simple sanwich that didn't require frying and add salt to it? Oh well...maybe next time. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Whether the above account is true or not will be left up to the reader. 

In the mean time, go ahead and check out the few pictures I've had the chance to snap over the past 4 days. It's been a full schedule each day, ever since our pastor contact picked us up from the airport early Tuesday afternoon. My mind is full of legal references and details and my notebook quickly filling up with daily excerpts of information that need to be recorded in a more legible manner. Tomorrow, however, marks our first weekend and a chance to take a full day off. We're planning on visiting a nearby beach for a chance to relax our brains and recharge for another full(er) schedule next week. 

Pastor P has a lot of contacts, including the manager of a hotel close to his church. Our rooms each have little kitchenettes that have already been fully used and appreciated! (as well as served as reminders of things to be appreciated ;) 

View of our town at night. 

The Dominican Republic in all it's beauty! (well, not all - but what do you expect when trying to snap a great picture from inside a car going 100 {kilometers an hour} down the highway?)

We found the original pizza hut :D 

One of many things that I've been able to see up close and personal happened yesterday and I wanted to share it with you to help paint a small picture or idea of how real our life and work is. 

After an appointment with human services' lawyer, our friend "Mani" took us around the area so we could get better aquainted with the town that will probably become our new home (granted we find a house with the right criteria). The town is set in just far enough from the beach so that we can't see the ocean without driving to one of the public beaches or nearby resorts. He took us to the closest access point that includes a lot of little shops and resturants set close to the water's edge and a wide open space where you can go swimming, lay in the sun or under the palm trees, or take a walk in the sand while watching the fishing boats. It's a beautiful place and full of families just taking the day off, tourists on a lower budget, or tourists who wander down from some of the larger resorts that are within walking distance. After spending a few minutes checking out the place, we hopped back in the care and drove for maybe 15 minutes to a part of town where Mani told us that a lot of the corruption takes place at night. "At night, it's like a different world." he said. "It's not a good idea to be there at night." Even just driving through during the day, we could easily see the difference between that part of town and the part we're currently staying in. The paved streets are broken up, the shops and houses worn and sagging - there's poverty everywhere. In Mani's words, "People just live one day at a time here." It's so heart-wrenching and almost difficult to grasp the concept of the reality of resort hotels and ransacked homes (ransacked by corruption and poverty) within near seeing distance of eachother. 

And so as you close this page and go on about your normal life or whatever you have planned for the day, please, my friend, remember this truth:

~It's easy to overlook what is right below the surfice if we choose not to uncover it.~

Moving Update

Plans to make the move to the Dominican Republic around the end of August kept getting delayed, pushed out by two more weeks, delayed again by another paper...until finally we thought we had everything set to be cleared by the end of October - two months later than our original plans!

"We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps." (NLT)

Overview: 

I left ND the last part of September and, at the time, plans were to be in MI for a few weeks (til around mid-October) then fly out from here once our temporary residency visas went through. Literally 2 days after getting to my parents' place, I got a call from the wonderful Mr. and Mrs. Everett (my bosses) telling me that such and such had come up with this certain paper which we needed that we hadn't gotten yet and due to that, we'd be delayed another few weeks (til the end of October). By then, I'd gotten used to hearing that, so I found it a little humorous and was actually kinda happy for the extra time because it meant I'd get to make a short trip to TX, connect with a few extra people, etc. We even booked flights for October 29th with certain plans that all the paperwork would be through by then. 

Until Monday, a week ago. 

Update:

A week ago, I got a call from Mrs. Everett telling me her brain is about to explode, after which she proceeded to fill me in on a conversation she'd had with the Domincan Consulate in Chicago. Evidently, we didn't qualify for temporary residency visas due to inefficient personal financial solvency and needed to apply for a business visa instead. The paperwork is almost as in depth, but the visa in itself restricts us more once we are on the ground in the DR. All that aside, we were still one paper short for this visa. The paper was one our DR lawyer needed to get from the Ministry of Labor and, at that point, we had no idea how long it would take. 

Understandably, all three of us were frustrated. Mr. Everett spoke with the pastor we're connected with in the DR and he promised to personally call our lawyer to talk over specifics and have her email us. No email came. I emailed her again - still no reply. This  went on for a few days.

Friday afternoon, I got another call from Mr. Everett - with news of another change of plans but thankfully, this time, in our favor. He spoke with our pastor contact again who gave us a clearer picture as to why all these complications have come our way. The DR government overhauled their immigration policies last year, which we already knew. What we didn't know is that the policies are still being sorted out and the ability to stay in the DR indefinitely on a 30-day tourist visa still stands (a small monthly fee does apply. Eventually, though, if the change of policies are enforced, anyone in the country with the 30-day visa will need to leave the country every 30 days). Another policy we didn't know is that even though all the registration paperwork for our organization is cleared, the government doesn't issue business visas until the organization is already up and running.  

In that light, we have decided to put aside all the paperwork for any additional visas right now, and just head down to start looking for housing/land, staff, etc. In a few months, once we have the basics in place, we'll re-evaluate the need for applying for additional visas above and beyond the tourist visa. 

We would have changed our tickets to leave this week if possible! Because of previously made plans, we won't be able to leave until October 27th, but we're all ok with that and have complete peace and confidence that there has been a reason for the 2-month wait filled with constant delays, even with the frustrations that came with it.

October 27th!! I always debate a little bit on how excited to sound when I tell people that we have a definite moving date, because I have enjoyed all the extra time and memories this summer. But once you've spent a whole summer not staying in one place for longer than 6 weeks at a time, you'll understand how ready I am to finally be in one area, working one job for an extended period of time! Thankfully, my job consists of tons of mulit-tasking and we'll be traveling to different places in the DR for setup purposes, so I won't get bored very quickly ;) 

When I step back and take a look at this summer, I know I've truly enjoyed it. Nothing about working several jobs and traveling a lot has been out of my comfort zone - I thoroughly enjoy those things and definitely am not done with it! The strain came from the not-knowing. The lesson for this goal-driven, detail-loving, constantly-planning gal has been constantly learning how to trust God even when I don't see the end result. 

The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps. 

Proverbs 16:9

And So It Goes

Welcome to the new blog! Yes, you are on the right site.

Recently, I've been mulling over changing a few things on here since it's September, the month that marks the 2nd "blogiversary" of my public writing efforts. In the last few months, I've also been contemplating changing the name of the blog from "Life is a Journey" to something that is still in standing with the address - a life with a destination - yet opens up the focus from writing mainly about life happenings to including other topics of interest. It was tough coming up with a different title that encompassed everything I was looking for, but after a lot of brain racking and some suggestions, "Beyond What Is Seen" came about. More likely than not, there really won't be too big of a change as far as content and writing go, but you never know...:)

On a note of continuing the saga of my life:
The day after getting to Michigan, my boss called me up to inform me that our paperwork will be delayed (again) by a few more weeks, pushing our moving date to somewhere around the end of October.
I laughed, amused at how many times it's possible to hear the same story, then headed off to TX to visit my bro and his family for a few days.
Do I still get impatient? Yes, even when I've learned to enjoy the extra time. But learning trust and flexibility will prove to go far, I know. There's also definitely been added bonuses like getting to be at my cousin's wedding that I thought I'd have to miss out on, etc, etc.

Until next time! 

~ In the Morning

There's something about morning and all the freshness and promise of a new day that it brings that turns my heart heavenward a little more than any other part of the day. There's something about the quietness and lack of distraction that makes conversations with my Heavenly Father a little more close to my heart - something makes it easier to listen and more open to sharing... 

As the days have been getting shorter and the air a bit chillier, I've loved throwing on a sweater and hopping on my bike for a spin around the little country town I live in to add to our morning chats, when possible.
God teaches me so many things in so many different ways, not just in the mornings. Sometimes it's in the conversation with a coworker at the diner - reminders to take opportunities to let the light of Christ shine in every word, every action; reminders to take to heart the situations and stories of each priceless soul I come into contact with and to remember to live in Love. Other times, it's in the middle of a certain song on a Sunday morning - everything else fades into the background as He gently wispers the promise that He knows the beginning from the end and He is faithful to complete what He has started. It might be while working on the construction site with the brother-in-law, cooking dinner after a long day, hanging out with the cousin, driving with the bestie as we roll down the windows and turn up the music, or stopping beside the road on the drive home after a late shift just to look at all the stars; maybe it's in the conversation with that awesome person who "knows what it's like", in the middle of a circle of saints praying for my future and sending me on as I round the next bend in the road, or in overhearing the innocent conversation between my little niece and nephew in the backseat of the car saying, "I just can't wait to see Jesus."
But there really is something about mornings! A few days ago, as I was out riding my bike, I turned right onto the dirt road that took me a just a little outside of town to the small cemetary nestled in among a few tall trees. It might be weird to some people (actually, I think a lot of things I do or have opinions of are weird to a lot of people!), but I actually really like cemetaries. There's a song I used to listen to as a kid that talked about what kind of legacy we leave behind in the "line between the two". When you look at a gravestone, there is usually a name engraved on the top and two dates engraved beneath the name - with only one little line that separates those two dates. Sometimes there's a small epitaph as well but not much more than that. The question that particular song was asking, and one I ask myself on a daily basis, is this: What kind of life will that little line between two dates on your gravestone represent? And walking through cemetaries, looking at the names of the loved ones buried there, thinking about the lives represented on those stones, always helps put the big picture into perspective for me. Now, I could sit here and write a whole big blog post on legacies and choices, etc, but I'll let you think about that on your own and keep going with what I was saying about mornings and bike rides!

As I turned my bike into the small driveway, the sun in my face and the air gently moving the trees, I slowed down then came to a complete stop before reaching the gate to the fence that surrounds the cemetary. 
It was quiet. 
I could hear the birds chirping overhead and the field mice scurrying through the grass, but there were no cars going past, no people's voices, no train whistle - everything was quiet, and peaceful. 
"God, why can't it always be like this? In a place where even my brain slows down and I don't have a million things going through my head, where I can hear myself breathing because it's so calm - why can't it always be like this?" 
"I am with you, always."
Such a simple answer. One that was, sadly, almost missed.
Such a simple answer but one that speaks through every circumstance, every question, every worry, doubt, and fear!
It's the answer that promises, even when sorrows last through the night, joy comes with the morning. 
It's the peace that comforts the mother who has lost her son, the husband who has been diagnosed with a brain tumor, the broken soul who has forgotten the reason for living. 
It's the hope that comes when we cry out with confusion and chaos surrounding us on every side, when friends turn against us, when everything we thought had meaning has been stripped away. 
It's the joy in a newborn cry, a wedding day, or Christmas morning. 
"I am with you, always." Not just some of the time. Not just in big moments. But even in the mundane, He is with us. 

On this morning, today, I begin packing up my things and prepare to leave ND tomorrow. It's bittersweet, understandably so. A cousin is getting married in IN this weekend, and since the preliminary processing for our immigration paperwork is almost complete, I'll be visiting family and friends in MI until final processing is through and we can make the move down to the Dominican - hopefully in a few weeks! God is so continually faithful and I look forward to how He works out the final few details - as well as every detail from then on, of course :)   


Weeping may last for the night, but joy comes with the morning. Psalm 30:5
And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Matthew 28:20

~ While Waiting

You know that feeling of waiting for something? Remember as a kid seeing all those colorfully wrapped gifts piled under the tree just waiting to be opened? 
The week before Christmas always seemed to pass so slowly - yet in a blink it was all gone. After a few seconds of tearing, there you were, left with an unwrapped gift layig in your hands or sitting at your feet - the colorful paper gone, but the appreciation of finally knowing what that gift was and being able to touch it and play with it or wear it... That appreciation and joyful happiness in your gift would somehow not have been quite as full without those long days of waiting...
But oh, how hard and long and unbearable waiting can get! Even when you know - you know in the end it will be worth it, you know when the paper falls away, when you open that box and begin to put the pieces of the puzzle into place or read the first page of that new book or assemble that train set and listen to the wistle blow for the first time, even when you know the waiting is a very good thing, it still doesn't always make it very enjoyable (in fact, sometimes it can be downright boring!). 

Now, I'm not saying I've been bored - quite the opposite in fact! But it would be foolish to try to deny that waiting for this paper to be returned and that paper to be processed before the completed application can even be sent in doesn't, at times, make me impatient. 

I don't like waiting.
I was that kid who not only shook the wrapped packages to try to guess what was inside but considered shaking to be a last resort.
I was the kid who would inevitably 'happen' to overhear certain conversations or open the exact 'wrong' doors - surprises were only fun if discovered!
Waiting - what does that even mean?

Patience.
Gratefulness.
Patience.
Trust.
Quietness.
Patience.
Treasure time.
Treasure moments.
Treasure relationships.
Patience.
Learn patience. 
And don't let even one minute slip by unnoticed while waiting...  

~ A Month in Time

~dancing at the Saturday night market~ 

To some people a month seems like a long time to be in a foreign country.
An entire month in a place that is in no way familiar to the place you call home.
That's four whole weeks of life smack dab in the middle of an unknown culture with people you haven't met before!

beautiful gardens designed by the current
king's late mother 

I have several email addresses - all of them with a reason of how they came to be. One of my most recent ones is also my current favorite: worldtraveler. Now, I've only been in two continents so far, so I can't rightly say I've traveled the world yet! But I've been born with a traveling bug in me - the kind that if I would have been around in the pioneer days of North America I would've been on a wagon train blazing the trail to the West, no doubt.

at one of the large tea plantations

The reason I like that email address so much is because it signifies a passion of mine: a passion for exploring, adventures, learning new things, and growth - always growth. Every time I read those little words that compose that simple little email address, my thoughts inevitably go to a bigger picture.

In a bigger picture, 1 month is only 8% of your year. Which also means, if you live to the age of 70, four weeks is merely about .11% of your life...so...a month really might not be that long after all :) In a bigger picture, a month in a foreign country doing life in a very unfamiliar place with people you haven't met before is going to be only a small .11% blip in the history of your life-span.

market at the Karen
(long-necked people) village

Yet in a bigger picture, that small little blip just might be what changes your entire life forever.

The first time I traveled outside of the continental United States, I was 9 years old. Along with seven of my siblings and my parents, I flew to a little village in the mountains of Guatemala to a mission that had served as an orphanage during/after the 30+ year civil war that had ravaged the country. My dad had seen the orphanage while it was still fully running, but by the time I got there, full-time orphan care had turned into more feeding center and village outreach programs. (That same location is still being used for similar outreach programs today.) We spent a month there. A month that changed my life...although it took years to find out just how far-reaching of an effect those four short weeks would have.

one of Thailand's night markets

In the years after, I saw many changes happen in that village/town, experienced the ups and downs in the lives of people who became like family, and watched God using all of it to work changes in my own life and bring perspective to what otherwise would have been a very narrow, sheltered outlook on life. Twelve years and many, many details and lessons later, another month in another strange and foreign country is being used to change my life again.

So how is Thailand? Hot and humid! But it's also been raining off and on this past week so that helps cut the humidity a bit. It's also beautiful with green hills/mountains and colorful architect. The people are very kind, respectful, and helpful and the western staff has been very welcoming.

Thai food!

Most of my work days (weekends are days off) have been filled with numerous meetings on policies, procedures, and detailed information on what exactly is involved in helping girls who have been sexually exploited and trafficked find healing and confidence, as well as empowering them to be able to successfully reintegrate into a 'normal' life. We've covered things like defining the roles of house parents, how the safe homes are run, and what child-protection looks like; seen what's involved in counseling, case working, education, and vocational training; and even learned some basic self-defense strategies - and still have a week and a half to go! Sometimes all the information and detail that I've been learning almost seems a bit overwhelming, but I'm reminded again and again of how this is God's work.

Buddist temple

God hears the cries of the oppressed and He will answer them - Psalm 10:17, Psalm 34:18, Psalm 82:3, Job 34:28, and on and on. Even after seeing how a Destiny Rescue operation and aftercare program runs, there are still questions we have that won't have answers until we are on the ground in the Dominican Republic and figure out practical hands-on applications of what we've been learning here in Thailand, since each country has different laws and standards that we need to honor and work with.

hand-painted bowls

But even with all the questions, the anticipation on getting on the ground and putting to use all this newly-learned information keeps growing. Seriously, to think that I can be used to demonstrate the heart of God, to help answer the cries of the oppressed, to be an advocate of justice - how can that not be exciting?! It seems so big! Yet it's so simple. 

Simple how? 
You place your will into the hands of God and open your heart to let Him show you His heart. 
You let go of the things you hold so tightly on to - things like comfort, safety zones, routine - and open your hands to receive what He wants for you and of you. 

hand-carved flower soaps 

God has created us to grow, learn, experience, and explore. Combine that with Jesus' teachings and examples of serving, forgiving, loving, pouring out of yourself and into the lives of others and life begins to make sense. 
Too many of us want it all figured out. Because then it's safe - you know what is expected and what to expect. But God purposely created us to need Him. When our perfectly formed safety bubbles burst and suddenly life becomes ugly and full of despair or when the routine becomes mundane and we find ourselves questioning whether our lives even have purpose, He knows. He created us to need Him so we would hang on to Him! He wants us to find our safety in Him so that when all around is unknown filled with questions, we have peace because we know Him. 

assorted nuts for sale

But the really, truly awesome thing about it all is that it never stops! He always has new terrain for us to discover and new ways to demonstrate to us His heart and our worth in Him. 

On another note (or maybe kinda, sorta that same note):
Since the Everetts and I will be moving indefinitely, we are planning to apply for temporary residency in the Dominican Republic, which would allow us to stay in the country for a year at a time and give us the ability to work and operate. We just found out some previously unexpected possible delays related to the paperwork involved in the application process. If things go as we've been told they probably will, this will be the first delay to getting started that we've run into. Please be praying that God's timing (whether that means sooner or later) will be clear and we will continue to trust Him to show us His will. (Because we are still human and really don't have it all figured out yet!)

~mountains of Thailand~ 

~ Planes, Trains, and Everything Else

By the end of this I'll have been traveling for 4 days, on 3 planes, in 2 hotels, on 1 train, and in multiple cars/taxis/shuttles; through 4 states, 3 countries, and 16 time zones. Yeah, lots of down time. I mean, the only thing I have to worry about is getting to my destinations on time (so far, anyway) and then it's just sit back, relax, and find something to read or watch! For real, though - everything has been going so smoothly...well...kind of ;)

Current location: Japan - Narita International Airport
Local time: 15:45

I boarded my flight this morning (or was it yesterday morning? jet lag...) at 11, but not before slightly stressing myself out - of course! I left the hotel with what I thought would be plenty of time to check my bag an hr. before my flight would begin boarding. But of course it's Chicago and of course it's a huge airport that I've never flown out of before (unless you count that one time when I was 9) and of course I overestimated myself - just a little. (Never one to like running late and always one to kick myself when I do...well, let's just say if that expression would be literal, my legs would be black and blue all over by now!) For future reference, some airlines depart out of terminal 1 (the closest) and arrive at terminal 5 (the farthest). Without going into much detail, I kinda might have misread the board and ended up on the other side of the airport, only to have to turn around and go right back to one escalator away from where I'd started. No, I didn't run, but prayers were going up at all times! I finally arrived at my gate only to find a long line of business class waiting to board, so I technically still got there 10 minutes 'early' (using that word in the broadest term possible).

Hey, at least it was better than the night I boarded the train!

2 days earlier:

My lifelong bff, Kezia, and I took off a little earlier than the rest with 2 of the 4 kids (my sis, Rachel, and bro-in-law, Jason's kids) to my sis, Gina, and her husband, Joe's, apartment in Minot for family dinner on Wed. evening. My train had been scheduled to leave around 9:30 that night so they were all gonna stay in town (the rest of us live 45 minutes outside of Minot) til it was time to drop me off at the station. During dinner, we find out that my train was going to be delayed for 3+ hrs. so Kezia decided to head home earlier than the rest since she'd be working the next day. The rest of us popped in a movie and I may or may not have dozed off a few times (hey, it had been a long day!)

A little more than an hour before my train was due to leave, as we were thinking about getting ready to head to the station soon, Rachel asks if I got my luggage off of Kezia's car... I think you know where this is going! Thankfully Kezia picked up as soon as I called, even though it was midnight, and headed to the station asap. 
We asked the station agents if it would be possible to hold the train for 5 minutes, since it was looking like Kezia wouldn't get there with my luggage til 5 minutes after scheduled departure time. They said there was no way they could do that since the train was already so far behind the original schedule - so we prayed! 'Last minute' we overhear that another passenger was missing a previously checked bag. Our only option if Kezia didn't get there before this bag was located, would have been to drive my luggage to the next scheduled train stop an hr. or two away. So we kept praying that the missing check bag would be delayed as long as necessary. (Again, black and blue legs here! I couldn't believe I forgot to unload my stuff before Kezia had left town!) 
Miracle story: the car bringing the missing check bag and Kezia bringing my luggage pulled into the station at the exact same time!! My awesome family quickly helped rush everything from car to train right before the doors closed - no joke! 


So, yes, it's already been a trip full of stories and I haven't even landed in Thailand yet! Above it all, I am reminded again and again how God answers prayers - all kinds of prayers. Protection, provision, peace, and so much more have been my constant companion and each step closer to this destination brings more excitement and anticipation of what God will do and what I will learn in these next 4 weeks. 

He has worked wonders! From connections through a team visiting Guatemala to the directors I will be working with and Destiny Rescue; from searching for a church body to bringing me to ND and placing me with an amazing body of believers who have already stood behind me; from March to July, it's been one God-appointment after another. 

My God is alive! When He finds willing hearts to do His work, there is no stone He leaves unturned and no detail He overlooks to make sure His truth stands firm. 


Snapshots from ND - my new 'back home':

Kezia - not many people are fortunate enough to have that friend who they've known since toddlerhood, but I'm thankful I'm in the minority on that one!  

Daryn, Dylan, Kara, and Karlin - these stinkers made it hard to be excited to leave

Marion - everyone's cousins should take lessons on how to be awesome from this one ;) 

Joe n Gina - we fought as girls and united as women - watch out world! Oh, yeah, Joe's pretty cool too

not many sunsets can beat a ND sunset

theater in Medora, ND

ND storms - some of my favorites

I worked at this little 50s diner for 5 weeks. I'll be back, dear Kroll's

bike/road-trip with family while our uncle and aunt form WI visited

tubing! 

and boating - loved every hour on those lakes! 

Jason n Rachel, you guys are the best. I don't know where I'd be without you <3

Isaiah 30:21
Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you saying, "This is the way; walk in it."