In Light of Christmas

Christmas was good.
We didn't have ham with all the trimmings and no desserts except some delicious chocolate chip cookies made in our now partially functioning oven. (It's still missing a part but at least it turns on now.)
As far as decorations go, we found a little 2 foot tree at a local store, so we strung some red and green ribbon, a strand of lights, and some tiny little ornaments on it; and made a big bow out of red fishnet to hang on our apartment door.
But what we did have was time.
My bosses' youngest son and his girlfriend came down for a week, so we took 4 whole days off to do nothing work-related. And it was good!

During those four days, we visited three different beaches, took an excursion to another little island, went snorkeling in some freshwater lagoons, and relaxed a lot. The best thing about it all was intentionally not focusing on work during vacation. It can be hard to not do that, especially when your life mostly consists of thinking about, planning for, talking about, and doing everything work related. But we did it! We refused to talk about work until the evening of the fourth day, and by the end of those four days, we all felt refreshed, rejuvinated, and ready to head back into all the lists of things still needing to be checked off before opening the home.

2015 has been a great year.
I've been to 6 different countries (including layovers in Japan and Canada), moved 4 times, and worked 4 different jobs.
It's been a crazy year of growing and learning about faith and trust.
A year of seeing dreams come alive and unfolding right before my very eyes.
This past year has been one full to the brim of changes and fulfillments, hellos and goodbyes, laughter and tears.
And above all, 2015 has been a year of learning to rest in God. Learning how to rest in the middle of all the changing and growing and moving and trusting, in the chaotic and the mundane, during burnout and boredom, and even when I have no clue what the next week will look like.

Since moving to the Dominican Republic in late October, I've experienced, like never before, seeing God go before us and opening doors and moving hearts to accomplish the work of His heart.
One gigantic example of that has been the house we will be using as our first safe home.
Finding a house that fits the criteria of Child Services requirements, in itself, was a big thing.
The next headache was getting the terms of the contract in place to where they needed to be, but of course God doesn't leave anything to chance and all that was resolved.
The next step was getting the renovations done - all the plumbing, electrical, painting, property fence, etc.
By the time we found the house then had the contract in place, it was nearing December and we were told several times that local contractors will not want to take on a new project in December. Our plan, and our budget, had been to buy the supplies in the DR and get volunteer contractors from the States to come do the actual work. But since we want to open the home in January, it proved to be impossible to get volunteers down on such short notice.

So many small miracles have been happening since then. Our very first job was to get a well pump in, because without a pump there was no way to check the plumbing system. The pump we had looked at was going to cost about $600, if I remember correctly. On our way to pick it up, we stopped at a different hardware store, just to see if there were some other price options for a good pump and found one for around $200. Ever since then, that hardware store has been one of our best friends! Not only do they normally have lower prices than any of their competition but they also often give our ministry discounted totals. On top of that, through connections, we've found contractors that started work right away and their labor prices have been much lower than we expected. In the end, pretty much all the work will be done by this first week of January, right inside the budget of the extra funds we raised for this specific project - and it's all been getting done in December! It's like God has enjoyed hearing people say, "That is going to be impossible." just so He can prove that He specialized in getting the impossible done.

The next step is getting the house completely furnished and the inside fitted out with tables, chairs, beds, kitchen supplies, bathroom suppliec, ets. - which has been the ongoing project for this week and next week. We can't get Child Services' approval or inspection done until the house is completely ready. There's a whole next step of agreements and documents that will need to be written up and put into place once their approval is through. For instance, we need to have a child protection order from the local judge for each girl in our care.
Sometimes, I think about all the things that have happened (like a 20 page programs description document that needed to be written and translated, and almost a dozen other policies that needed to be translated) and all the ways God has dispelled every fear and put to rest every wory; I think about the hours of lost sleep and days of reaching a burnout point; I think about the answers to all the prayers like our first two house moms with such compassionate hearts for the girls that they don't even know yet, and seeing the hardwork pay off; and I think of how He proves His love in the little things (like someone donating for a motorbike that I hardly had time to look for, let alone wonder where to finances would come from).

Then I look into the next week, next month, and have my lists of responsibilities, tasks, worries, and fears and wonder how this will get done or that will come through. I wonder about the roles of social worker and counselor and who will fill them; I wonder about learning center programs and how we'll develop them in the beginnning; and I wonder, how do I maintain perspective?

My dad called me on Christmas day to see if they could buy me a roundtrip ticket to MI over New Year's. At first, I didn't think it would work out, because the first week of January is the week we wrap up with all the inside furnishings and put on the final touches to getting the house done. However, he did find a ticket that allows me to get back on Monday afternoon, so I get to spend four days with part of my family who's gotten together this week.
It took me my surprise as I realized I was talking the DR as "home" and how even though I am enjoying the vacation, my focus is on what's happening there. That brought with it the answer to perspective that I was looking for.

We all know what Christmas is - the birth of Christ, the only hope for a broken and dying world. Many times, I've wondered what it felt like for Jesus when He first left His perfect, beautiful home to come live in the comparison of a dump. Throughout the entire life of Jesus, His goal, His focus, was always to do the will of His Father. It didn't matter where He was or who He was speaking to or what He was doing - His life was lived in the perspective of His relationship with His Father, my Father.
Christmas, our reason to rejoice, was God's greatest sacrifice. And He did it willlingly, because He love us so, so much that possibility of having us accept His gift and grow a relationship with Him and spend eternity with Him was big enough to make the sacrifice worth it. His love for us is so undeniable that He willingly gave up the best to live in the worst just to prove that He loves us.
So in light of that - in light of Christmas and what it truly means, I have found my perspective. The perspective of living my life, learning to know the heart of the Father.
I think about the girls. I think about the brothels and streets corners where they are working right now. I think about their stories of abandoment and dispair and the utter neglect they experience.
I think about the hope they will discover and the love they will encounter. I think about the value they will learn their lives have.
Because it's not about ourselves. It's about Christmas. And all the reasons that Christmas happened 2,000 years ago.

Sitting here at the beginning of a fresh new year, I am filled with so much anticipation and excitement to see how close we are to opening the doors to the first girls rescued out of the horrific conditions of sex trafficking and human slave labor. Please continue to be praying for the processes to be completed swiftly so the year 2016 can be a year of hope for these precious lives!


For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
~Isaiah 9:6