A lot of conversations with Dominicans end with “si Dios quiere,” which translates to God willing. “Hasta manaña, si Dios quiere/See you tomorrow, God willing.” I’ve learned over the years that we don’t get to have a 1, 5, or 10 year plan. God has control. I’ve said this in many blogs. Life happens. God chooses the people that will serve in San Juan each week, and the patients that will be seen at the clinics, etc. All we are asked to do is obey and He will guide our next steps.
Jeff and I both passed our driving exam last month. The final step consisted of a 5 minute driving simulation. It was a bit intimidating, but then I reminded myself that we’ve been driving a little over 20 years (this didn’t stop Jeff from getting a speeding ticket about 2 weeks later). It feels good to have this process completed for the time being. Our next adventure is renewing our permanent residency, which is due to renew in May. It consists of a series of steps of updating documents and getting recent pictures. Thankfully I’ve done the renewal process enough now that it’s not as time consuming as it once was. I will begin gathering the documents needed later this month to submit.
Jeff and I have spent a lot of time lately preparing for the Clinic Dedication Ceremony that is on March 28. We have 100 people flying in for the celebration. We have been working through the logistics for transportation, lodging, and meals. We are so excited to host everyone in San Juan for this very special event that has been so many years in the making. Groundbreaking in November of 2014 feels like yesterday and yet forever ago at the same time. My Aunt Sherri, Grandma Deloris, and my dad all have plans to attend (pictured below).
Last week Jeff and I had the opportunity to be a part of a documentary that the senior class at Lucille Rupp is producing about the history of the school and the impact that Solid Rock International has had in the community. It was really neat to see how organized the students were when we arrived to share our part. We look forward to seeing the final production.
Since our last post, Braegan has celebrated her 10th birthday. We went to dinner as a family and also spent a day at a beach in Barahona. She has spent all but 2 birthdays in the Dominican Republic, so she always enjoys celebrating with the teams when they are at the guesthouse.
Last week we hosted a large team. There was a prosthetics team of 5 that Braegan spent a lot of time with (Russ, Sharidy, Shannon, Zach, and Aaron). We worked ahead in homeschool so that Braegan would be able to spend her afternoons learning about what they do and assisting patients as they were fit for their new prosthetics. Monday and Tuesday were consult days, 32 patients were seen, measured, and fit. On Wednesday the team spent hours making the prostheses. Thursday was “walk day,” and wow, was it emotional! If you follow SRI on social media you’ve seen the videos and the posts, amazing! Each patient walked out to “Danzando“! I’ve referenced this song in a previous blog, because it’s the song Braegan has been learning at her weekly worship dance class.
Brantley is always up for an adventure, and he loves being at school with his friends. It’s fun to listen to him tell stories. A couple weeks ago we had a week off, and we spent a few days on the north coast in Las Terrenas.
It had been a while since we had been there, and we had forgotten how much we love visiting there. Brantley loved being at the beach.
The kids spent hours in the sand creating their own communities, waterfalls, and castles. We also had lots of conversations with people passing by. Brantley also found the biggest bug he has ever seen!
Just around the corner from our airbnb was this giant tree. It reminded us of a tree from Lion King. The kids enjoyed exploring around it; it even had little caves!
What a month, and more exciting adventures are ahead. On Friday we fly to Atlanta to spend a week with Jeff’s family to celebrate his parent’s 40th anniversary! We are looking forward to spending time with them. We will then get back to the DR and have the clinic dedication a week later.
Ways you can be praying:
- health
- safe travels for us
- safe travels for all of the guests flying in for the Clinic Dedication
- all of the logistics for the Dedication
- gathering documents for our residency renewal
I will leave you with this passage from James 4:13-15, “Now listen, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.’ Why you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, ‘If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.'”