tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22816678113293237502024-03-05T23:43:30.807-08:00Hearts in HispaniolaJCRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09142563947938902842noreply@blogger.comBlogger91125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2281667811329323750.post-39954213242692284672015-05-28T11:20:00.000-07:002015-05-28T11:20:04.389-07:00Giving Cat a Voice<div class="MsoNormal">
Several days ago we celebrated the end of our third year of
the GO Seminary of the Americas. We
invited the students, teachers and their families as well as other
collaborators to join us for a day at the public beach in Sosua, celebrating a
year of hard work, theological discovery and a deeper understanding of the
Churches call to overcome the culture of the broken world with the culture of
the Kingdom of God.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbAjUbmWklouQTO2-oDPAR2R0heETYjIJyKSK-RbSHWB-hlEwonV-s7FKT2MfqKaoqJXYJ7uk9pMm41FNNrOnHs__IX6rRjVpaNC-Q4IdxasVgdfn2eTUbhskhlZcWO2sfyoNf3NQHa7io/s1600/Kerlyn+Instructions.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbAjUbmWklouQTO2-oDPAR2R0heETYjIJyKSK-RbSHWB-hlEwonV-s7FKT2MfqKaoqJXYJ7uk9pMm41FNNrOnHs__IX6rRjVpaNC-Q4IdxasVgdfn2eTUbhskhlZcWO2sfyoNf3NQHa7io/s320/Kerlyn+Instructions.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kerlyn giving instructions to the Seminary crew at the beginning of our day.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Kendrix and Kerlyn Pena, brothers who are third year
students that will soon lead a church plant in the town of Tamboril where they
grew up, joined me for some hang out time down on the beach away from a lot of
the hustle and bustle. We met our
waiter, Richard. He’s Dominican but was
raised in Queens, New York from the time he was 10. Richard explained that he continuously made
poor decisions. That he was frequently
in and out of trouble until he got into real trouble some time ago. He did 17 years of hard time of a 27 year
sentence. He got off early for good
behavior and was immediately deported.
He’s been back in the DR for a year.
He’s a year younger than me.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We invited Richard to join us. His transparency allowed us the opportunity
to be quicker friends. He didn’t know
who we were yet but he didn’t apologize for his past and we didn’t shame him
for it. We continued to hang out. This is incarnational ministry… being present
with cultural outsiders, with sinners, with what the self-righteous religious
identify as “those” people.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We were overlooking the beautiful beach and ocean. A geographic location whose beauty is
compromised by the brokenness of humanity, it’s reckless drunkenness and drug
abuse, it’s prostitution, it’s exploitation and failure to live up to its own
dignified expression of God’s image.
Some Dominican women came and sat down next to us. I noticed a young Haitian girl on the beach
near the water’s edge. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
She couldn’t be missed because some Dominican men that
worked the beach were heckling her and chiding her. She couldn’t have been more than 15. She had stripped down to a bikini and was
arranging herself, scowling at her hecklers and then redressed. I heard her vocalize and then saw her
sign. It became clear that she was
deaf. My heart sank. Not with pity, but with understanding.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This girl has the misfortune to be a young woman in the
context of the Dominican Republic. It’s
a life hard enough already for Haitian women, being positioned on the lowest
rung of the sociological ladder. Added
to this is her deafness. Deafness here
means absolute vulnerability and on a public beach in a country known as the
Thailand of Latin America for its own brand of sex trafficking it means that
she is at risk if she is not already being exploited.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The reality of her deafness becomes clear and it hits. It’s like I’ve been struck by a bolt of
lightning. I have two deaf, American
daughters with cochlear implants. They
know sign, they speak, they hear crudely but have as much access to all of the
world, hearing and deaf, that one can currently imagine. They are not at risk. They are protected, insulated from the sex
trade, loved, cared for, not alone… in part because they were born to Vicki and
I, but also because they were born in America and not Haiti, or not of a
Haitian couple in the Dominican Republic.
This young woman, this girl, could just as easily been one of my own
daughters had soul been sown to flesh differently.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Kendrix, Kerlyn and Richard continue to speak. The Spirit is speaking to me. “Go get her.
Feed her. Silence the hecklers
with your love and treat her like a queen for this next hour or two. Show her love and hope and care without
exchange.” And so I excuse myself.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I walk down the steps to the beach through the continued
sounds of men being less than they are intended to be and walk out to her near
the water’s edge. I start signing to
her. At this point I don’t know if she knows an actual sign language or just a
more general kind of charades. But she
does. It shows that given her life she’s
more blessed than others that face her same challenges in this context. She’s been to some kind of school. I sign to her that I have children, girls,
that two of them are deaf too. I ask her
if she’s hungry, if she wants some food.
She does and I motion for her to come with me. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We walk back through the same on-lookers, hecklers before,
now silent and watching. As a perceived tourist
and American in particular, there is <br />
a certain amount of influence you seem to just
have, whether it be legitimate or not.
Part of being a Christian means leveraging power and influence for those
that don’t have it. You take the Enemy’s
weapon to divide and use it to unite instead.
This is how those charged to be peace makers by their Master do the work
of justice and silence the Enemy behind his own lines. I sit
her down next to us. I ask Richard to
give her a menu. It just happens to have
pictures which makes it a little more useful for this girl. She points to what she wants and we get her a
drink. I sign to her asking her
name. She acts like she’s pulling a
whisker across her face from her nose to her cheek. Her name is either “Cat,” “Chat,” or “Gato,”
depending on whether or not you’re interpreting into English, French/Creole or
Spanish. I finger spell my name for her
and that it’s nice to meet her.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
At this point I’m concerned that Cat will think I want some
kind of “compensation.” I don’t know
that this is the case but that’s the problem, I don’t KNOW. So to be safe it’s time for me to excuse
myself, pay the bill and leave. Earlier
Richard pulled me aside asking for some specific financial help because he
claimed to need a few more pesos to purchase a phone. I told him that I’d see what I could do. But now my concern was that if I don’t leave,
Cat will think I want something but if I do leave they will run Cat off and
just keep the money spent on her behalf.
I pulled Richard aside, “Promise me you’ll treat this girl like a queen
for the next two hours and I’ll help you with what you need. Deal?”
“Deal.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0tju9RcNv9YRT3CDTMKm6lA4fH9fVhG-TY7-gpBEKtT0V-Z06bL-CAhJ7yiMuTAHokjqgY_z-PNq6Mxtoqja77oJm-KVjK4cmAYd8PsZd8h2XP8hpNwDPklZrNTWc4sNs-R5Bkk_ltuIJ/s1600/Cat.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0tju9RcNv9YRT3CDTMKm6lA4fH9fVhG-TY7-gpBEKtT0V-Z06bL-CAhJ7yiMuTAHokjqgY_z-PNq6Mxtoqja77oJm-KVjK4cmAYd8PsZd8h2XP8hpNwDPklZrNTWc4sNs-R5Bkk_ltuIJ/s320/Cat.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I said good-bye to Cat and left. As I got to the other side of the beach I
realized that I’d forgotten to ask for the receipt. I went back 10 minutes or so later and Kerlyn
went with me. When we arrived back at
the little restaurant Cat was feasting on a huge platter of food, Richard was
sitting by her and looked up at me, smiled and said, “I’m taking good care of
her, man.” And he was.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As I got my receipt I asked if I could get a photo with Cat
and she signed, “Yes.” I signed to her
that Jesus loved her and said good-bye again.
When I looked at the photo later I discovered that she had signed “I
love you.” I hope she knows or learns to
understand if she doesn’t already that the one she actually loves is
Jesus. I was just trying to follow him
and I’m not sure how well I did. But I
hope it further awakened in her, her own dignity as an image bearer of our God.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Pray for Cat. I don’t
know her story. I can only guess at the
hardships she faces. I don’t know where
she is today, who cares for her, etc. I
know that she’s at risk. I know Jesus
loves her and pray God has put and will put other Christ followers in her life
to build into her, to lift her up, to honor the image she bears.</div>
JCRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09142563947938902842noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2281667811329323750.post-31935029471724597262015-03-25T20:39:00.000-07:002015-03-25T20:39:34.357-07:00One Clean Windshield Worth 7 Lives…<div class="MsoNormal">
We have a saying at the GO Seminary of the Americas: <span lang="EN" style="color: #141823; mso-ansi-language: EN;">"The fingerprints of
the local church should be all over its neighborhoods. The community should
love the church so much that even if it disagrees with what the church
believes, it would grieve if it were gone."</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN" style="color: #141823; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN" style="color: #141823; mso-ansi-language: EN;">We
want to plant and lead the kinds of churches in our communities that would
leave those respective communities feeling diminished by our absence because our redemptive presence was so strong. When Jesus walked into a village things changed for the better. When a church is established in a neighborhood things should be positively different not because of us but because of who we follow and how we follow him. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN" style="color: #141823; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN" style="color: #141823; mso-ansi-language: EN;">In our Incarnational Ministry and Strategies
II course students are challenged to develop ways of creatively engaging their
culture with the Gospel and ever-serving presence of the local church. We want to pour ourselves out for others and
invite them to be a part of us if they are so led.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN" style="color: #141823; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-GEMCVdMRHSo_BlqIwDxkMogcudGugeSEDpddnrkY8DulKSUiISPyoTkpi9AHTHhCmZxoWY1QgOzzWQ7ikN80YvblBlCNW_Ilk_yptpKzVlvHaK6ftTvsSY6NW1BY3Llf7lWLBDdcsS4_/s1600/IMG_1593.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-GEMCVdMRHSo_BlqIwDxkMogcudGugeSEDpddnrkY8DulKSUiISPyoTkpi9AHTHhCmZxoWY1QgOzzWQ7ikN80YvblBlCNW_Ilk_yptpKzVlvHaK6ftTvsSY6NW1BY3Llf7lWLBDdcsS4_/s1600/IMG_1593.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN" style="color: #141823; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Today
something completely unexpected happened.
Today we hit the streets with squeegees, sponges, cold bottles of water
and fliers. We thought we were just
washing windshields and reaching out to public transportation drivers that
serve our neighborhood. We later
discovered that we were also saving lives.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN" style="color: #141823; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN" style="color: #141823; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Public
cars labeled with the same letters follow the same routes and are a form of
public transportation here in the Dominican.
We have a circuit that runs directly through one of our neighborhoods. They pack their cars full of fares and their
passengers can get from one side of Santiago to the other and back by following
the connecting routes. These men drive
all day long in crazy traffic (they make a lot of the “crazy” themselves) and
it’s thankless, hot work. Because the “A”
car circuit goes through our neighborhood daily for up to 12 hours at a time,
these drivers are considered a part of our community. One of our students asked “What if we serve
them and let them know that we care for them and are grateful for their work? We could wash their windshields and give them
water.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN" style="color: #141823; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN" style="color: #141823; mso-ansi-language: EN;">It
was a fantastic idea! Culturally, here
in the Dominican, when a windshield gets washed at an intersection or elsewhere
there is an expectation that the driver will pay for the service, EVEN if the
service was initially refused. They
almost always have to pay something. The
students wanted to turn the system upside down.
We’ll serve them at no cost AND we will give them a bottle of water as a
thank you for their service and invite them to the neighborhood church.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN" style="color: #141823; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrCEd3XrVXK-t4b40spbuj00whIpK_SZcmUFEqumOpB85QIudd_EP5wqRFc_sVZQuJTfMzoOJlzOkFBFOareAiOWU6tBERo1VFwdtpcc2fq2ZGyW_1oR-tUtMxK0F1F7E3BuniX0wDvszk/s1600/IMG_1603.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrCEd3XrVXK-t4b40spbuj00whIpK_SZcmUFEqumOpB85QIudd_EP5wqRFc_sVZQuJTfMzoOJlzOkFBFOareAiOWU6tBERo1VFwdtpcc2fq2ZGyW_1oR-tUtMxK0F1F7E3BuniX0wDvszk/s1600/IMG_1603.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a><span lang="EN" style="color: #141823; mso-ansi-language: EN;">So
we prepped, got materials together, and set out to the “A” car route. It went like this: 1. Student hails the car
and begins immediately washing the windshield 2. While another student sticks
his head in the car insuring that the service is free and 3. Hands them a
bottle of water 4. While saying, “We’re able to clean your windshields for free
because Jesus cleaned up our lives for free.
Your windshield will get dirty again but Jesus can clean up your life
forever. If you want to know more about
it, come visit us one Sunday.” 5.” Here’s a flier with a scripture, address of
our building and times of service. Have
a great day!” The scripture is from John
4:13-14 and reads: “</span><span class="text">Jesus answered, </span><span class="woj">“Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again,</span> <span id="en-NIV-26171"><sup> </sup>but whoever drinks the water I
give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them
a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="woj"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYzET2iFPi5TveLSKabyVrIrRLib0ilBQeH1TGCAFZhrhOB76dE1eq5E9aG1GRDDtqIBa6z3yU32sBkaWJb6Abcuhnxj0pzePPRfoMEWFDaN012kNStLyT6zIaT02rIOuBPu7rDspIzrZT/s1600/IMG_1595.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYzET2iFPi5TveLSKabyVrIrRLib0ilBQeH1TGCAFZhrhOB76dE1eq5E9aG1GRDDtqIBa6z3yU32sBkaWJb6Abcuhnxj0pzePPRfoMEWFDaN012kNStLyT6zIaT02rIOuBPu7rDspIzrZT/s1600/IMG_1595.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="woj">We did one car after another… more than
80. But one was unique. The driver took the flier after we finished
and handed it back to a passenger as he drove off. Towards the end of the street the car stopped
and the passenger got out. He walked
back to the students. He asked them to
wash the windshield of his life. At
first they were confused. He broke down
and confessed, “You guys are here for a reason.
For me. I changed my mind. I changed it in the back of that public car
after </span>I heard what you said and read this verse. I need that water. I’m at the end. I had made up my mind to murder my family and
kill myself today but now I won’t. I’m
not going to do it. I was going to do it
tonight but now I can’t do it. He went
on to tell of extreme financial difficulties, that he had not been able to
provide for his family, that he can’t find work to provide for his wife who is
pregnant with twins and the twins and singleton they already have
together. He was at the end of his rope,
desperate and ashamed, believing that they would all be better off if they were
just dead. All together there are 7 of
them.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The students prayed for him.
They took up a modest benevolent offering to get him through the night. They confirmed where he lived and got his contact information so that they could follow up with him the next day and
connect him to the church and pastoral staff.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Something as basic and ridiculous as a squeegee saved the
life of two adults and 5 children today.
We never knew weeks ago when this plan first was born that it would be
used in such a miraculous way. The church,
the People of God, went to the streets today and a difference was made. Lives were saved. It’s an encouragement to be sure but the
question follows, how many has the Church lost due to its preoccupation with
comfort and complacency? How many more
will die? </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Today the fingerprints of the Church were on a squeegee that
taught me that pouring ourselves out in small and great ways is a matter of
life and death. We only discover this in
the act of serving. There is a real
battle going on that cannot be fought from a posture of comfort.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
May the Church reject complacency in favor of a commitment to
grow in its service and its redemptive engagement of the culture and community
surrounding it. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Redeeming, Renewing, Restoring. <span lang="EN" style="color: #141823; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
JCRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09142563947938902842noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2281667811329323750.post-7075189534789374662014-12-01T20:47:00.002-08:002014-12-01T20:49:51.986-08:00Giving Tuesday... Help us Keep Making a Difference<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp0-A72yjTVtb3xECJK1JHEbCz6CJnDTTXkGcmjCWuYQUzFq1YsJZAjwkf3gfRxgF3qsVvptvbn1Jts5OMJ3YoFOhPfY-2YjTbo60IvV4hfX0n377ykyODvAkfPoPdbBDsz2FypFTx7Eb1/s1600/web+LDC+Teaching+Edit+.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp0-A72yjTVtb3xECJK1JHEbCz6CJnDTTXkGcmjCWuYQUzFq1YsJZAjwkf3gfRxgF3qsVvptvbn1Jts5OMJ3YoFOhPfY-2YjTbo60IvV4hfX0n377ykyODvAkfPoPdbBDsz2FypFTx7Eb1/s1600/web+LDC+Teaching+Edit+.jpg" height="184" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jeff teaching an impromptu class with Seminary students at the GO Leadership Development Complex land that will one day host our GO Seminary of the Americas that Jeff is currently developing and teaching at.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis8mTMEX91XX-lc7-EXSG6OOxH0lCpF3IGybm3jkulOe2xE6iHLjZnxR5bHyToU6q-cSXAZCVVwBZUZeAkQjDP88tw7ZQeFmKGqU3DGQm3WJbSPgc8Z1pUQaxYCrxMlCki_2AJnmYza1QZ/s1600/web+vic+in+Haiti.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis8mTMEX91XX-lc7-EXSG6OOxH0lCpF3IGybm3jkulOe2xE6iHLjZnxR5bHyToU6q-cSXAZCVVwBZUZeAkQjDP88tw7ZQeFmKGqU3DGQm3WJbSPgc8Z1pUQaxYCrxMlCki_2AJnmYza1QZ/s1600/web+vic+in+Haiti.jpg" height="150" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vicki, lending a voice to Haitian pastors GO<br />
Partners with in isolated parts of the country.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMjTdeQKyFBAXRewAQfrlAp8eBaxpWlt6Eei29WdR56aaMXa_7XwZ5fNdRLarb9cv5EASvdW92_1MNaarAjG4FNNIARdzzctYckoFmYVz9EvkdaTnTlTus2cTbYfFw5x0CJjLVzrfHxF1o/s1600/web+Raena+in+Haiti.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMjTdeQKyFBAXRewAQfrlAp8eBaxpWlt6Eei29WdR56aaMXa_7XwZ5fNdRLarb9cv5EASvdW92_1MNaarAjG4FNNIARdzzctYckoFmYVz9EvkdaTnTlTus2cTbYfFw5x0CJjLVzrfHxF1o/s1600/web+Raena+in+Haiti.jpg" height="150" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Raena loving on children during our service trip to<br />
Phaeton, Haiti.</td></tr>
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The Rogers family has just completed serving a year and a
half on the island of Hispaniola!</div>
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Make an <a href="https://interland3.donorperfect.net/weblink/weblink.aspx?name=gomi&id=10" target="_blank">ONLINE DONATION</a> today in support of our work with GO
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You’re supporting our work to see the island of Hispaniola
Redeemed, Renewed & Restored!</div>
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Specifically, we are developing the Seminary of the Americas
which is in its third year of service.
Currently, Jeff is overseeing the training and helping to teach 25
different students and is adding a new cohort of up to 15 in January,
2015. There will be at least one new
church plant, one relaunch and the founding of one Celebrate Recovery ministry
coming out of the graduating cohort of 12 in the fall of 2015 after they
complete their third year of course work!</div>
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We continue to work in partnership with local leaders on the
island helping secure funding for nutrition programs that provide food for about
1000 children as well as access to clean water for the poor in 10 different
communities in partnership with local churches.
Our medical ministry provides access to those that would otherwise have
no access to basic healthcare and our sports outreach offers leadership
development to hundreds of at risk inner city youth.</div>
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We also continue to equip North Americans serving alongside
of us in various partnership development initiatives to become more missional
and intentional at home. This year we
helped host 80 teams which provided just over 1200 individuals to share the
Gospel and be Jesus alongside of local Dominican and Haitian pastors.</div>
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today through a one-time gift or a much needed monthly partnership of $50/month
or more. You can safely and securely set
up either online <a href="https://interland3.donorperfect.net/weblink/weblink.aspx?name=gomi&id=10" target="_blank">HERE. </a></span></div>
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Thanks for your generosity and support!</div>
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Grace & Peace,</div>
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The Rogers</div>
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*If you already partner with us financially we are grateful
for your support. If you would like to
make an additional one-time gift it is welcome.
We are grateful for your support.
We cannot serve the way we do without you.</div>
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JCRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09142563947938902842noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2281667811329323750.post-79281041119100921202014-11-04T14:08:00.002-08:002014-11-04T14:08:27.146-08:00A Scoundrel & A Picture of Jesus<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Ramón is a scoundrel and deserves to die.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He’s an exploiter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He’s lived his life at the expense of
others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He’s arrogant.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He’s selfish.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He’ll take advantage of you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
fact that he’s let his diabetes rage out of control and that it’s killing him
slowly, humiliating him… It’s everything he’s earned.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let him die and do the neighborhood a favor.”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">This statement is the summation of what many of Ramón’s
neighbors and acquaintances think about him and his current health
condition.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Ramón is circling the drain
due to unmanaged diabetes. </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">He has, until
the last few months, been circling it by himself.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I know Ramón.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">He is a scoundrel.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">You can’t hear
the intonation in my writing to hear that when I state that I write it as a
certain term of endearment.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’ve known Ramón.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">He was our landlord for the brief 6 months we
lived in the Dominican back in ’05.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">He’s
all of the things his critics have claimed but I always loved him through his
arrogance, machismo and swagger.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">He was
and is just another spiritual orphan made in God’s image.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">He’s only ignorant of the implications of
such a gift, to be so made.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">He need only
be reminded again and again and again… </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">until he hears it in such a way that it begins
to get traction in his heart.</span><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Since we moved back to the Dominican in June of 2013 I’d
lost track of Ramón.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I saw him here and
there but he no longer lived with his wife; they were separated (no doubt due
to him being a scoundrel, again, written with affection).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I knew he was in poor health but not the
severity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I found him again, in the
most unexpected of places.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I found him
in the GO Seminary of the Americas where I am teaching and developing a program
with a team of Dominicans and North Americans to better equip local leaders to
engage more faithfully the mission of Jesus in their own culture(s).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ramón was not there in class.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But Pablo was.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM_0RtYuy7xRaPwdP389FFA9eW6zm_MR8XGYlSU-K8iUCHUPQ1ij7tjqrKZ9TVZSVyqJhD_LUcw_stB6WbCJwNlqb5gUqiyuDyEL_MQ8W-RiH194eCL1wlR2snytKcS4rquzHSKgzusoBt/s1600/me+and+pablo+small.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM_0RtYuy7xRaPwdP389FFA9eW6zm_MR8XGYlSU-K8iUCHUPQ1ij7tjqrKZ9TVZSVyqJhD_LUcw_stB6WbCJwNlqb5gUqiyuDyEL_MQ8W-RiH194eCL1wlR2snytKcS4rquzHSKgzusoBt/s1600/me+and+pablo+small.JPG" height="320" width="313" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Me and Pablo</b></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Pablo is what you’d call a non-traditional student.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He’s an older gentlemen who has started
co-leading a Celebrate Recovery program in the nearby Central Church since he
started the Seminary (that’s a Gospel centered 12 step program reaching out to
those struggling with varieties of addictions).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>During our Incarnational Ministry and Strategies class we were
discussing the importance of taking redemptive ownership over our
neighborhoods, seeking to be responsible to meet the needs we saw around us
rather than ignoring them or waiting for others to do it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Pablo raised his hand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“My wife and I have started caring for a
neighbor who is very sick.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Could we as a
class go pay him a visit and maybe assess his situation?”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The next day during our lunch break, as a class, we walked
the 6-8 blocks to where this man was staying.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We brought him lunch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had a
nurse from our medical clinic go with us and we walked in the door.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There, in a wheel chair, sat Ramón.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This once proud rooster of a man, sat before
us in the humiliation of the consequences of not caring for his illness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He had bleeding ulcers on one of his
ankles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The other had terrible scarring
from a previous infection.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His blood
pressure was out of control as was his blood sugar.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because he’s neglected his own care, the
diabetes has taken his sight from him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This compounds all of his other issues because now he cannot tell which
medicines to take when, what time it is or what the proper medication or dosage
is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He. Is. A. Mess.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here, near the end, he is the material culmination
of his life’s spiritual poverty and he is alone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rather, he was alone… until Pablo and his
wife took on the responsibility of taking care of a neighbor who was formerly a
stranger.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Since this day of my reunion with Ramón weeks ago, his
health has somewhat improved.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He’s been
made more comfortable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Pablo has
organized his medicines in such a manner that he knows when and what to take
and where it is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Last week, 4 of our
Seminary students asked to be excused from part of their afternoon class.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ramón needed a blood transfusion and here you
have to find your own donor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They wanted
to go to the hospital to see if they were a match.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This was possible because of Pablo’s
advocacy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Today in our Incarnational class we were discussing Micah
6:8: “You know, humanity, what the LORD requires of you, to do justice, love
mercy and walk humbly before your God.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
were discussing the implications of mercy, the difference between simply
showing mercy and actually loving it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>You see one can show mercy while still hating or resenting the recipient
of that mercy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One can show mercy and
still feel superior to the one receiving it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In fact, one can hate mercy and still offer mercy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Pablo raises his hand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He says, “Last week when I asked my classmates to go to the hospital I
also called a dear friend who is a Christian.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I asked her to go to the hospital too to give blood.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She refused and then she scolded me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She told me that I should not be doing this
for this man, that he was wicked and is getting what he deserves, that I should
just let him be and suffer the consequences of the terrible life he chose for
himself… that I needed to look out for myself, that the public hospital is filthy
and full of bacteria and that I’m putting myself in danger for a man that
deserves to suffer the consequences he earned.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I watched a single tear from each of his eyes roll down each of his
cheeks as he shared.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This woman, a
Christian, failed to recognize the implications of the Gospel and so responded
unfaithfully.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He knew it and this was
why he was sharing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was as grieved
for her as he was for Ramón who was receiving her condemnation rather than
mercy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She didn’t love mercy yet and
because of this she would not show it.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">But when you love mercy… you can’t help but express
mercy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The resources for this kind of
mercy reside in knowing and loving Jesus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Mercy is not just a “what,” it is also a “Who.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus Christ is the Mercy of God for all of
humanity. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Pablo has made that mercy his
own after having received it himself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>When Pablo looks at Ramón and what he has come to be, he sees himself
without Jesus, like we all should who name ourselves “Christian.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Indeed, the only difference between Ramón and
Pablo is that Pablo has responded to the mercy of Jesus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why would Pablo want Ramón to suffer what
Pablo himself also deserves but was spared because of God’s grace?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He doesn’t.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And so he, like Jesus, draws close and pours himself out for the so-called
undeserving, putting himself at risk so that his neighbor might be made new.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have not had final exams in this class but
by his actions Pablo has already shown that he has mastered the course and it’s
material.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LR8n-avQ5dg" target="_blank">He is himself a picture ofJesus</a>… and I presume to be his teacher?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We are brothers serving a common King, nothing more and nothing
less.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His love and mercy are a blessing
and encouragement to me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I hope they are
to you too and that you’ll find your own Ramones and respond as one that loves
Mercy, both the Person and the practice.</span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">From one scoundrel to another.</span></div>
JCRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09142563947938902842noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2281667811329323750.post-29723442264875104762014-07-14T21:26:00.000-07:002014-07-14T21:26:18.917-07:00A New CreationToday my mind continues to race back to what was happening 9 years ago...easily the most terrifying and joyful day of my life. My knees were worn from begging God to allow the girls to survive, even when doctors told me there was only a 50% chance. My heart raced, then ached, then broke as I imagined the odds. I remember trembling in my hospital bed the night before, my hip aching from steroid shots to strengthen the girls' lungs, my husband's strong arms faithfully embracing me and praying God's hands over all his girls. I couldn't imagine a world without them. I couldn't imagine my world without them. I had only known them for 6 short months, but my heart fell in love with them long before they had names. And those we had just drawn out of a hat. The time was too short. We needed 3 more months. <br />
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That was the night my worn knee prayer changed. Changed to the most difficult prayer I've ever prayed. "Oh, Lord, let your will be done. I will still follow you whatever the outcome. With an aching heart, I will still follow." Then I added my P.S., "but Father, oh how I would love to watch them grow up, to shepherd them, to teach them."
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56 and 61. That's the number of days these warrior girls fought in the NICU. 10. The combined number of days machines breathed for my tiny girls hooked up to ventilators. 6. The total number of holes they had in their hearts. 5. The number of blood transfusions between them. 6. How many days old they were before I ever was able to hold them. 5. The number of minutes each I was able to hold them. 5. The number of pounds they weighed...together. 3. The number of cysts in Sophi's brain presumably from an inutero brainbleed. 4. The number of days they were when I had to leave them in the hospital and began visiting my babies. 1. The nasty staph infection that turned Sophi's frail body septic. 6. The number of days old they were when their doctor told us they wouldn't survive through the night. 100+ The number of Dominican and Haitian brothers and sisters praying during a 24-hour prayer vigil at the church in Hoya del Caimito that same night. 9. The number of years old they both are today.
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCF2bGFZAHcskuF8UPgr4CHzhe5wh1zeQVUZL9VGedLfuFVEAziglxirkLQFvGvan2WePn_7lyagh188o6W7dqmxs3_RnaliW1w8HZvpt39GwcuiHGcZNxQBcYqxEzjOKuBerIBg6LtSA/s1600/DSCN2221.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCF2bGFZAHcskuF8UPgr4CHzhe5wh1zeQVUZL9VGedLfuFVEAziglxirkLQFvGvan2WePn_7lyagh188o6W7dqmxs3_RnaliW1w8HZvpt39GwcuiHGcZNxQBcYqxEzjOKuBerIBg6LtSA/s1600/DSCN2221.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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We experienced the most outrageous sunset tonight while cutting birthday cake outside. The kind where God just shows off. What started with hues of oranges and blues turned to pinks and blues. Taking your breathe away. Making you reach for a camera to record the moment. But the camera couldn't record such beauty. Sophi looked up and assuredly proclaimed, "God is saying Happy Birthday to us". With a smile, Raena said, "He's already answering my wish". When asked to explain, she looked at the white cloud with orange rays bursting behind it's curves and said, "Jesus is coming back to renew all things." <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisOd07nLYpD26bbAEf2RfBYpMCzW1syl-xNQzWDHQyeIZxjaJ38xPLH3rpG7tvHYYAm0vwDh3QvtEGVIwjk5l6UHc8BjsHOmwieyG7_7L5Hmh1xbUOwt0aoGkMdw1_iywh4IHDKmIlPPo/s1600/DSCN2222.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisOd07nLYpD26bbAEf2RfBYpMCzW1syl-xNQzWDHQyeIZxjaJ38xPLH3rpG7tvHYYAm0vwDh3QvtEGVIwjk5l6UHc8BjsHOmwieyG7_7L5Hmh1xbUOwt0aoGkMdw1_iywh4IHDKmIlPPo/s1600/DSCN2222.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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And this momma, this momma who gets impatient with these curly-haired beauties, who doesn't spend nearly enough time gazing into those big brown eyes to discuss what's important to a 9-year-old these days, who occassionaly yells to get them to stop bickering (I somehow manage to defend myself because they're deaf and our house is always loud, it's a ridiculously poor excuse), who nearly threw the pancakes across the room when one, not mentioning any names, ungratefully said she doesn't eat pancakes with syrup on them after I made three rounds of pancakes because the first had bugs in it, then another round because the syrup was infested with hundreds of ants, and finally because I flung them on the floor.
Oh, sweet grace, and beautiful sunsets, reminding us from the mouth of this miracle, purposed, wonderfully designed child that all will be renewed. That renewal and rejoicing is not only on the horizon, but is here today. With her words, all three girls began worshipping and making up songs to their God. Because what else do you do when you see His masterpiece across the sky? Dos Blessedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641218804086086523noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2281667811329323750.post-72667520859801519142013-08-19T08:44:00.000-07:002013-08-19T09:04:05.841-07:00Tasting God's PromisesThis journey of following that we have been on, this journey that has intensified over the course of the last 6 months as we have been thrust into the next chapter of our lives has been so rich and full of goodness. It’s not been without its concerns or stresses. At the top of the list of concerns that we’ve had surrounds how Sophi and Raena would adjust to living in the Dominican, their education, their health, their tech support without specialists easily on hand, etc…
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Concern is good. Concern is an expression of love. Anxiety… anxiety is different. It is the opposite of peace and inserts itself the moment trust in God gives way. Anxiety is the perversion of concern and is symptomatic of wanting to control all outcomes on our own terms. Anxiety indulges “What ifs,” and makes obstacles of countless hypothetical scenarios kindling embers of doubt into a raging inferno of fear induced paralysis. That’s where it goes. Anxiety distracts us, leading us to ignore everything else around us because we are so consumed by things that have not happened but might. It’s an effective tool of the enemy to draw us off course and render us utterly ineffective.
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Peter walked on water. He was bold enough to get out of a boat in an effort to meet Jesus who was walking on the water towards him. He did it! He was walking on water. He journeyed into the madness of trusting that if Jesus willed it the water would hold him and against all common sense and practical knowledge he was doing it. But he got distracted. He took his eyes off of Jesus and started to look at the waves all around him. He began giving the very real possibilities around him more authority over his situation than Jesus and he began to sink… But he didn’t drown. Jesus reached down, pulled him up and asked, “Why did you doubt?”
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Our journey is a different kind of dramatic than that. There have been times when we’ve been tempted to be stifled and hindered by “what ifs.” But God in his grace meets us in our fear and nudges us, rescues us from our tendency to sink and reminds us that the point is to follow Him, not to stop and obsess over the rocks we could possibly trip over along the way. We’re grateful for a God that nudges. We’ve needed nudging along the way. We’re also grateful for a God that adds to our courage as we journey forward with little signs of encouragement to keep going.
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpORBiBmT5l8VkRbp9fFcqZEZvBz2Pu86GNyWMuJ57xD4lw9bjsrrkYdSM42MuZr3FPAJzG3D958Zdqgc_R5GwY0KeFKr20xiu_fTkdJcAQJVKtaWYkLN0cYSd-GKyOSSzqNGVL6tm2DcW/s1600/tasting+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpORBiBmT5l8VkRbp9fFcqZEZvBz2Pu86GNyWMuJ57xD4lw9bjsrrkYdSM42MuZr3FPAJzG3D958Zdqgc_R5GwY0KeFKr20xiu_fTkdJcAQJVKtaWYkLN0cYSd-GKyOSSzqNGVL6tm2DcW/s400/tasting+1.JPG" /></a></div>
Our concerns surrounding the twin’s education given their hearing loss and needed supports to succeed have been significant. If anxiety were to creep in, this is one of the tenderest areas of vulnerability for us. So the girls’ success at school has been one of the potential stones in our path to obsess over (i.e. What are we thinking moving to a place with no support, no specialized professionals, no this, no that, why the heck would we dare get out of this perfectly good boat… you get the picture). And as we dropped them off today at their first day of Third Grade in the Dominican Republic we passed through the doorway into their classroom. The door was decorated with a rainbow. There was another on the bulletin board behind the teacher’s desk. Rainbows are cool; they’re great for kids, colorful, etc. I’d seen it the week before when I was putting tennis balls on the chairs and desks to cut down on class room noise. But I hadn’t really paid attention to the detail of the door or bulletin board until this morning as the girls sat at their desks for the first time. Both the board and the door read, “Tasting God’s Promises.”
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_tNs32IpBLnBSVxee8mFHZRpNye4wzhaXOsvanJbaCnQo_N3RjpYOc9wpBAHkY4YZ4Ptyf2FCM7wUPzkfA2Y6wlU69pS9eEbCRT7JVJdmDmcUJ96FMsCHxP-iPwAS0zZRbI-UoNeBq5VC/s1600/Tasting+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_tNs32IpBLnBSVxee8mFHZRpNye4wzhaXOsvanJbaCnQo_N3RjpYOc9wpBAHkY4YZ4Ptyf2FCM7wUPzkfA2Y6wlU69pS9eEbCRT7JVJdmDmcUJ96FMsCHxP-iPwAS0zZRbI-UoNeBq5VC/s400/Tasting+2.JPG" /></a></div>
And this is when I heard Him say in my heart this morning, “the rainbows are for you, they’re for the students but they are also for you. I’ve promised you concerning these daughters of yours. I’m reminding you that they are daughters of mine and that in as much as you are their father I am more their Father and I’m yours too. I’m no stranger to your concerns on their behalf. I will care for our daughters. And to remind you of this I’ve marked the proverbial stone in your path (Sophi & Raena’s education) both within and without with a rainbow, the first marker of my promises.” And so I walked away from a Third Grade classroom this morning completely and unexpectedly floored by our Father’s love and encouragement and any temptation towards anxiety just melted away.
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8UmbRhPiTqyyAX2pAiONqi8WreGvOt-EAYPpDPcGkUOQblxeLB8ejsPtAKJJXaINeP0Gm3WbsTRB6l4ITPH8Qd5KZ4BV0h8f07mbycpKBT_gKZ7U_ohjuugmTtwAhbJxgcX_f2ecYUUcv/s1600/Tasting+3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8UmbRhPiTqyyAX2pAiONqi8WreGvOt-EAYPpDPcGkUOQblxeLB8ejsPtAKJJXaINeP0Gm3WbsTRB6l4ITPH8Qd5KZ4BV0h8f07mbycpKBT_gKZ7U_ohjuugmTtwAhbJxgcX_f2ecYUUcv/s400/Tasting+3.JPG" /></a><br />
I love that the teacher chose “tasting God’s Promises” rather than “taste” because it conveys on-going experience in motion; it has not been completed and we are also not waiting on it. It’s happening now and it’s an on-going discovery. So “Tasting God’s Promises,” the teacher later explained is actually their class’s theme for the year. Turns out, I think it’s mine too.
JCRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09142563947938902842noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2281667811329323750.post-11940834652838360042013-08-13T08:46:00.002-07:002013-08-13T08:46:49.763-07:00God Gives Us These Things To Build Our Faith<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYTsHMyv2G6pOBF1OiI2Ap7Mt3HLLio-4g4xpTymiXGkC3VHc00EgDjuid0MlRZlgyvYgXzoo69012yVHyss06k-QEawHQ_KTaWa7ChFnCmONrkE6t_ZAqjeaO3Eh_W80Ou_2cp-BuehA/s1600/sophi+iloveyou.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYTsHMyv2G6pOBF1OiI2Ap7Mt3HLLio-4g4xpTymiXGkC3VHc00EgDjuid0MlRZlgyvYgXzoo69012yVHyss06k-QEawHQ_KTaWa7ChFnCmONrkE6t_ZAqjeaO3Eh_W80Ou_2cp-BuehA/s320/sophi+iloveyou.jpg" /></a></div>
There it was. What we had prayed for, hoped for, consulted nearly a dozen experts on, and spent a small fortune on was sitting on a paper towel.
“God gives us these things to build our faith.” That was our diagnosis today. Interesting how these words weaved together by our friend and Australian audiologist serving in the Dominican created a tapestry of courage, faith, and perseverance we could wrap our family in. Grateful that she was the one telling us disappointing news because she started with a phrase like this putting everything in perspective.
The tests she performed were the same ones that slapped us in the face 8 years ago. I found myself once again looking nervously at the concrete floor hoping the tests would produce good news, rather, the news I wanted to hear. The surgery we painstakingly waited 6 years to do and saved up money to have done in May had failed. The grafted skin didn’t stand a chance against planes, humidity, ear molds, and a nasty infection that blew her new ear drum.
My first thoughts led to blaming myself for what I did or didn’t do to create the situation. How do you “lessen” humidity on a tropical island? My second went to the hospital bills still pouring in and how that money could have been used to feed children here instead of on a surgery that only had a 60% chance of taking. Then it came like a tidal wave. I couldn’t look at Jeff for fear of sobbing. I couldn’t look into the big brown eyes of the fragile yet courageous one for fear of falling apart. How could I tell her after everything she’s been through that it didn’t work and we were going to have to go back to all our extra precautions, away from a pediatric ER, away from our expert surgeon, away from specialists …and then her calm eyes met mine and she reminded me that “God gives us these things to build our faith”. Before fear could consume me, Hope arrived.
I learned that my faithfulness was still determined to have conditions. We would go, we would stay, if we found a teacher of the Deaf to go with us and if Sophi’s ear was healed so the risks were decreased. Our hearts continued to not only be tugged, but pushed, pulled, dragged towards moving back to the Dominican. And God has shown me on His terms that it was without a teacher of the Deaf and now, painfully, without Sophi’s ear being healed.
And there it was in black ink underlined years ago from another battle with overwhelming fear “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the Kingdom of God.” Luke 9:62
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipiqLHuEMAMSFRnXYvwESTCSShJyibDS6nLXD4-0zhTmYq-wqFiN7-zQFRywsuXlpM2pGrUYbY6Y-aDK4EEhKh6qivVOR80byp2b4nEHiXRmlGRFYWSSmZsBNfGQJNpNn9RCkbcxp1jjg/s1600/Jules+Wiegand+Family+Photography-38.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipiqLHuEMAMSFRnXYvwESTCSShJyibDS6nLXD4-0zhTmYq-wqFiN7-zQFRywsuXlpM2pGrUYbY6Y-aDK4EEhKh6qivVOR80byp2b4nEHiXRmlGRFYWSSmZsBNfGQJNpNn9RCkbcxp1jjg/s320/Jules+Wiegand+Family+Photography-38.jpg" /></a></div>
So, we walk forward in faith. We dry our tears. We dry Sophi's tears and encourage her through her fears and frustrations. So many challenges in 8 short years. Yet I look at how each challenge has grown her character deeper, her wisdom wider, her fortitude stronger, her empathy and compassion towards others greater. We can't protect our children from every hurt and every frustration. In doing so we stunt their spiritual growth, their dependence on their Creator, their character development. In overprotecting we actually keep them in shallow waters when indeed, they can swim in the deep end.
We appreciate your specific prayers that the infection has not affected the electrodes in her implant and we pray against meningitis. We pray for courage and peace for Sophi as she faces old challenges.
Dos Blessedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641218804086086523noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2281667811329323750.post-87427487887338123582013-05-31T09:48:00.002-07:002013-05-31T09:48:12.177-07:00Introducing People to GO
One of my privileges serving with GO is to introduce people to our ministry on the field, check out the brief video my friend and coworker, Reid Olson, put together about Exploratory trips with GO on the island of Hispaniola.
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="281" mozallowfullscreen="" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/64320016" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="500"></iframe><br />JCRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09142563947938902842noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2281667811329323750.post-82143273383424241402013-03-25T12:35:00.000-07:002013-03-25T13:33:31.628-07:00Opiates and Operatives<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXNKQ-IpsUE_BrUz5k2T7xlskvKCPhc2H21U6vo43YXRgddHCVqM6JIIU1U8QKA4Ei7kUYw8MluwECcQCooxF2dPfw1cjEjL7tyrH8MY7FbXRhUn-Vy2ZEjV6Udy23DVAGz46TBhOTIOix/s1600/drugstore.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXNKQ-IpsUE_BrUz5k2T7xlskvKCPhc2H21U6vo43YXRgddHCVqM6JIIU1U8QKA4Ei7kUYw8MluwECcQCooxF2dPfw1cjEjL7tyrH8MY7FbXRhUn-Vy2ZEjV6Udy23DVAGz46TBhOTIOix/s320/drugstore.jpg" width="191" /></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">There’s a used Christian book store we pass nearly every
Sunday when we take our girls to get donuts after church.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> We</span> noticed that the Book Nook must have been
in a former old neighborhood drugstore because of the tile in the entryway.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It simply said, “Drugs.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Karl Marx is popularly known for the quote, “Religion is the
opium of the people.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I imagined him
walking by to get a donut and snickering a little to himself, saying, “See, I
told you so.”</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Opium’s medicinal purposes
in Marx’s day were to sedate, relieve pain and stimulate hallucinations. So per
Marx’s review religion at best was little more than a coping mechanism for the
oppressed and at worst a tool for power brokers to exploit and marginalize
while they secured more power and wealth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It’s seems clear that Marx believed religion served both functions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He believed it to be symptomatic of living in
a broken world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He assumed if we could
repair the world, religion would go away.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">What strikes me about this
critique is considering what the spiritual environment must have been like for
such a critique to be levied.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Church
is not called to numbness, to a sleepy apathy, to passivity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s not called to this and when we witness
it as such we must recognize unfaithfulness to the mission set before the
Church.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To learn what it means to really
follow this God-Man named Jesus is to step out onto water with him, to embrace any
and all suffering purposefully and to pour ourselves out for others, friends
and enemies alike.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And it’s not for some
abstract heavenly reward… some spiritualized materialism.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s simply for the love and glory of God and
the simple desire to see brokenness restored to rights.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is invigorating and life begetting and can
awaken radical creativity!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Christians believe that the
world is broken as a consequence of an alienated relationship with God that has
lead to the unraveling of creation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Human ingratitude and the refusal to accept God as enough was the first
manifestation of sin in the Garden.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
alienated us from God, from ourselves, from each other and from creation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We live at least in 4 layers of profound
brokenness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But Jesus makes possible the
healing of these relationships.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We can
be whole and can grow into that wholeness and call others to it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God, through Jesus, invites us to partner
with him in redeeming, renewing and restoring creation!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God’s dealing with human sin is not the end
of our spiritual journey.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is the
beginning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now we can be made useful and
can engage the world and our neighbors as stewards and friends rather than
exploiters and strangers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">There’s no time for
sedation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The world is on fire with the
consequences of our brokenness set in motion long ago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Christians have the spiritual resources to
engage these fires with grace, mercy, humility and faith.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We can face the hells of hunger, of
malnutrition, of poor medical care, of desperate tragedy, of cancers, various
expressions of injustice because hell has no power over us because of
Jesus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We can face the hells of inner city
poverty and drug addiction because hell has no power over us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The fear of death should not hold us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The fear of God is the end of all other fear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We can move into slums, we can befriend drug
dealers, we can provide homes for orphans, we can share our resources,
collaborate and build more secure futures so that as creatures made in God’s
image we can share in a life characterized by that common dignity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We can find ultimate meaning in the
everydayness of whatever career we might have if we recognize the eternal value
of those we work with and engage them daily as such, co-image bearers worthy of
our love and sacrifice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Marx had a view
of the “faithful” that was characterized by a numbness that was checked out
from the real world and real problems.</span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq0q2XIvSCtu6ntmbY6fMfI74cHuQWg7bzW-u9qDUSHc5Msh7etgWqnHxaTllpr8XSstdChPn8cG2eLI5YKgnwGIBYa-9G2Djn4kNrcPH1XOQiNssRRbNSDl154N_rLEYqUMg-4M-lfaq3/s1600/smokejumper.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq0q2XIvSCtu6ntmbY6fMfI74cHuQWg7bzW-u9qDUSHc5Msh7etgWqnHxaTllpr8XSstdChPn8cG2eLI5YKgnwGIBYa-9G2Djn4kNrcPH1XOQiNssRRbNSDl154N_rLEYqUMg-4M-lfaq3/s1600/smokejumper.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Smokejumper</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">But those that have learned
about the established and coming Kingdom are not so faint hearted, apathetic
and diminished.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’re equipped to be
more like <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smokejumper" target="_blank">smokejumpers</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’re like those
that parachute into forest fires to put them out, put an end to their violence and restore
the lands compromised by them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We parachute into the
impoverished inner city.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We parachute
into the slum run by the local drug lord.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We parachute into messy lives and relationships at work or with our next
door neighbors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We parachute into
conflict to make peace by Jesus’ means of making peace.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">We’re smokejumpers and
clandestine contrivers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We make inroads
into other countries, sometimes hostile to our presence, for the sake of the
Gospel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We develop organizations to rescue
children from sex-slavery.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We establish businesses
to provide dignified wages for women who formerly prostituted themselves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We dream about how we might leverage
ourselves for the sakes of others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
find ways to serve, simple and profound.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We risk… we risk.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because we know
that everything we have belongs to God and because the fear of God brings an
end to all other fear and <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+15%3A55-57&version=NIV" target="_blank">because death has lost its sting.</a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If we lose our skins along the way, we’ll
just trade them in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Christians, at least
in our most faithful expression of what it means to follow Jesus look a whole
lot more like operatives than those under the influence of opiates.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rather than avoiding conflicts of all kinds,
we are called into them as peace makers, as first responders, as pioneers in Jesus’
name.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is the ministry of
reconciliation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
JCRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09142563947938902842noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2281667811329323750.post-38084144706407828652013-03-12T08:52:00.000-07:002013-03-12T08:56:24.318-07:00Just Two Days a WeekImagine that your neighborhood only received water twice a week, that though your house is plumbed and you’re connected to the main, that the utility only provided service to your neighborhood 2 out of 7 days. That’s 8 days of access to water a month. Imagine also that the water never runs on the same 2 days. That’s what the community of Los Perez lives with. In fact, neighbors leave the tap on so that the sound of water alerts them to waters presence in their neighborhood and then they shout and spread the word. Imagine how your life would be different living around the availability of water and your ability to store it well. Imagine how it would affect how you do laundry, wash dishes… wash yourself. Imagine having to randomly stop what you’re doing and switch over to your water based chores… you’re reading this post and then suddenly you have to stop because the waters on and dishes need to be washed and so does the baby. Along with all of that, imagine the likelihood of waterborne disease in the water you have been able to store and is all you can afford to drink.
<br />
<br />
For years now, Pastor Nico, has served this community. He lives here with his family and has established a church. Through G.O. his church is able to provide a nutrition program to the children there that would otherwise be hungry. He and his wife have taken it upon themselves to teach the illiterate adults in the community how to read and write. They have a chalkboard mounted to the exterior wall of their little house under a makeshift patio.
<br />
<br />
This summer we were able to collaborate with Pastor Nico and Mac Parrish to install a water purification system. For Pastor Nico it was an opportunity to provide safe drinking water to the people of his community in Jesus’ name in an affordable way. 5 Gallons of drinking water goes for 40 pesos (about $1.50 US). He is able to offer it for 10 pesos. This meets the people of his community where they are financially and helps to run the cost of the program. Because water is scarce we later constructed a cistern to hold enough water to be purified throughout the week. For Mac this was an opportunity to execute what would be a tremendous Eagle Scout project. At 16 years of age, he took on this very ambitious project, the fruit of which will not only improve lives but save them.
This is one of 8 water project G.O. has done on the island to date. Take two minutes and check out our quick clip highlighting this great project.
<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="281" mozallowfullscreen="" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/49252934" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="500"></iframe> <br />
<a href="http://vimeo.com/49252934">The Clean Water Project in Los Perez, Dominican Republic</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user1664636">Jeff Rogers</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />
<br />
We are moving our family to the Dominican in June. If you'd like to help us and help further this kind of ministry please consider making a one time contribution to "Send Us" as well as partnering with us monthly. Details and links to donate via the web are in the panel to your right.JCRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09142563947938902842noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2281667811329323750.post-89669183239452893132013-03-07T09:57:00.000-08:002013-03-07T09:57:29.618-08:00Three Gifts our Daughters Gave us Last Night...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7TpLniU4FcvXzs_yuq-z4pkB1cBN7xH8kaa-Srv2EsJFIeCQhBus1kSznoqohr1J7EQsFyDEOYg_yZF0_lWooirnzaZNvfF-Edno1lkrFjWvnprMd5stZ_28mqIU7Ovn5oPo1VYERix5K/s1600/Jesus+jesus+jesus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7TpLniU4FcvXzs_yuq-z4pkB1cBN7xH8kaa-Srv2EsJFIeCQhBus1kSznoqohr1J7EQsFyDEOYg_yZF0_lWooirnzaZNvfF-Edno1lkrFjWvnprMd5stZ_28mqIU7Ovn5oPo1VYERix5K/s320/Jesus+jesus+jesus.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Last
night was a gift the Lord gave us from the girls in three parts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The first was a song from Sophi at Taco Bell.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At Taco Bell Sophi was writing this song
based on “Jesus Loves Me,” a sort of remix.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She was totally unprovoked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She
was entertaining herself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was
singing it as she wrote it at the table.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It reads:</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Jesus,
Jesus, Jesus,</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Loves,
loves, loves, me, me, me,</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Yes
He does, does, does love me</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The
Bible tells me so</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">He
is strong but we are</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Weak,
weak, weak, </span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Jesus
loves you even</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">When
you sin and that’s</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Why
he loves you so much.”</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The
2<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">nd</span></sup> and 3<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">rd</span></sup> gifts came right before bed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Later on last night I read the Bible story about
Zacchaeus to the girls. <span class="usercontent"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">After their devotional, Raena told me that she thought everybody should be
missionaries. I got to explain to her that all Christians are no matter where
they work, whether they're firemen, vets, doctors, dance teachers (or at least
they can be and should see it that way)... they're missionaries where they are,
loving and serving people where they are at. Not everybody has to move
someplace different, that's just the journey that we happen to be on. She's
getting it (gift #2). It's very cool to watch.</span></span></span><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri;">
<br />
<span class="usercontent">After hearing the story of Zacchaeus, Sophi wanted to
make sure that we were giving enough money to help the poor (gift #3) because
he committed half of what he owned to the poor as well as repaying those he
cheated four times what he had taken from them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I explained to her that because of the work that we do, we get to help
all kinds of people in all walks of life that suffer from all sorts of
circumstances and especially those facing the challenges of material poverty.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These kids are keeping an eye out.
Accountability comes from all over the place.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span class="usercontent"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">We have often
wondered what our approach to life and ministry will make of our children.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We thank God for his grace in giving them
hearts compelled to love others whether those others be kind or mean and spirits
that desire to be generous.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They seem to
be grasping things at 7 that took us longer to understand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our prayer is that they would grow in wisdom
and peace, expressing forgiveness, mercy in humility.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They appear to be on the path…<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What a blessing.</span></span></span></div>
<br />
<br />JCRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09142563947938902842noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2281667811329323750.post-9189996444391556052013-03-05T11:12:00.002-08:002013-03-05T11:13:18.995-08:00Blessing in Transition...<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">February <span style="color: black;">1</span><span style="color: #1f497d;"><span style="color: black;">8-24</span> </span>was a
special time for Vicki and me. We went back to the Dominican to help lead
our annual G.O. Staff meetings. We went down 2 days <span style="color: #1f497d;"><span style="color: black;">early to visit</span> </span>our new apartment as we prepare to
move down in June. It was a significant milestone for us as we stood out
on the patio our last night there, looking up at the moon and stars with
prayers of thanksgiving on our lips. 11 years prior we looked up into
that same Dominican/Haitian sky on our first trip to the Dominican with
Southeast Christian Church and asked God why he had brought us here.
We’ve spent 11 years discovering the answers to that question. And so…
we’re coming back. It was a special week for one other reason. <a href="http://www.bobrussell.org/2013/02/24/photo-journal-from-dominican-republic/" target="_blank">Bob Russell</a> <span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #1f497d;"><span style="color: black;">came</span> <span style="color: black;">down the</span></span></span><span style="color: black;"> </span>
same week to visit our ministry<span style="color: #1f497d;"> <span style="color: black;">and</span></span><span style="color: black;"> </span>do
leadership training with our staff as well as our pastors and seminary
students. Bob’s special for a lot of reasons. His presence with us
has led me to reflect on the ways in which he’s been special to me in particular.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0UxVvrlsUGSYTs740bFtiQI4Wh4wDLZGN6a_404LuZ6MTU57760Iw5mnz5ey94_MX2ZHDzdCGdZpylVc3OtG91IsRLMw_aLp2Q3bkGy-oZqrOKa5C_IrTdf6X0ITNYuu6KuR9YtA37BFd/s1600/Bob,+Vic,+Jeff.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0UxVvrlsUGSYTs740bFtiQI4Wh4wDLZGN6a_404LuZ6MTU57760Iw5mnz5ey94_MX2ZHDzdCGdZpylVc3OtG91IsRLMw_aLp2Q3bkGy-oZqrOKa5C_IrTdf6X0ITNYuu6KuR9YtA37BFd/s400/Bob,+Vic,+Jeff.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJPsUCRa2sVTQTzAtGJBD0inDydYupCe-x1SaMxhVoyfuYXbmcaxrXUenSRRqn4CznvPSOsxz7i665lSaiIERyz7HxZayDZJ4Uq84wR22MLWMGimugy32_BIXUH9k0DPQeNAcq7DJhOOze/s1600/bob+dedication.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJPsUCRa2sVTQTzAtGJBD0inDydYupCe-x1SaMxhVoyfuYXbmcaxrXUenSRRqn4CznvPSOsxz7i665lSaiIERyz7HxZayDZJ4Uq84wR22MLWMGimugy32_BIXUH9k0DPQeNAcq7DJhOOze/s320/bob+dedication.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sophi & Raena's Baby Dedication</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I grew up at Southeast. My mother was a part-time
secretary there when I was little. I can still remember the smell of the
ink of the newsletters and the clacking sound of the automated folding machine
that she would use to get the letters out. “Brother Bob” had his office
down the hall. I remember when I was 7, before I was to be baptized by my
Dad, meeting with Bob in his office as he reviewed the Gospel with me, ensuring
that I really understood (as much as any 7 year old could and as much as any
adult can) what I was getting myself into. For years I sat at his feet as
a member of the congregation, listening to his teaching. He was there
when the twins were dedicated at the church and was present for my ordination
into ministry. And now, in what is a significant life transition for our
family in moving back to the Dominican Republic, he has been present,
discovering the ins and outs of our ministry and has poured his wisdom into
people I care about both with regards to our staff and the local leaders we
serve.</span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJkvlNqGmYfgtu-PKVB2N-sgdB5ToWzLgL-rWcHId7kV2poR50mWOCFRBUW-Y1Sgz1nTQ3sPUh2IJvGxlQojc1m9kUcc6oNFG_mbdKE7hrZYqn9rJyftkRF_fWnlm3BeYxTIjyKzNqWNQp/s1600/bob+teaching.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="148" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJkvlNqGmYfgtu-PKVB2N-sgdB5ToWzLgL-rWcHId7kV2poR50mWOCFRBUW-Y1Sgz1nTQ3sPUh2IJvGxlQojc1m9kUcc6oNFG_mbdKE7hrZYqn9rJyftkRF_fWnlm3BeYxTIjyKzNqWNQp/s200/bob+teaching.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bob teaching G.O. Pastors<br />
& Seminary Students</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBf_LKfsucXCGa0jlQwOWoofWAJJHhpZ1BdA1YLFrYEqqNsUXrfmJmWw4YNyag31UoWk_BFPBSuTAjXIC9MUaDD07vaC2AaipRCRXoFSPi1feEq6rJCli741iekBJI5E0M0fEziu1QgRfk/s1600/bob+with+g.o.+staff.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBf_LKfsucXCGa0jlQwOWoofWAJJHhpZ1BdA1YLFrYEqqNsUXrfmJmWw4YNyag31UoWk_BFPBSuTAjXIC9MUaDD07vaC2AaipRCRXoFSPi1feEq6rJCli741iekBJI5E0M0fEziu1QgRfk/s200/bob+with+g.o.+staff.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bob with our G.O. Field Staff</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We don’t stand on our own feet. We are not self-made
people. We are the sum total of those whose combined influences have made
us who we are today and who we are becoming. In Christian community this
is how the Spirit teaches and guides us in part, through others and their lives
and the lives of those that influenced them. I’m grateful for Bob’s
humility and influence, I’m grateful for his obedience. God has used him
to lay the spiritual foundations of many of which I am just one. And I’m
blessed to have been able to share a little bit of what that influence has
meant in the life of our family and ministry.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Bob doesn’t like to travel outside of the U.S. much.
He’s pretty frank about it which makes me grin. He was outside of his
comfort zone coming with us to the Dominican, but, Brother Bob, I’m so glad you
did. You were a deeper blessing and encouragement than you will ever
know. Thanks for your service on behalf of the Kingdom and your
willingness to be poured out for the sake of others.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
JCRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09142563947938902842noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2281667811329323750.post-41024965016140404402013-02-20T16:52:00.000-08:002013-02-20T16:52:51.499-08:00A Longing Fulfilled...
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiujWEQY2kNMcFGfwmS-U2su6U6AkB7a__rnTGIjAe3jr3-WDVu7A0DlD2b6tnjmIbdNe9_eJS6z4lD8CNUnoqCFzP3TH1mznoqVMIozneupk-3P2ThPFjZHrNbSkAv7aW0SbUBNgCuE7TQ/s1600/Rogers+family.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiujWEQY2kNMcFGfwmS-U2su6U6AkB7a__rnTGIjAe3jr3-WDVu7A0DlD2b6tnjmIbdNe9_eJS6z4lD8CNUnoqCFzP3TH1mznoqVMIozneupk-3P2ThPFjZHrNbSkAv7aW0SbUBNgCuE7TQ/s320/Rogers+family.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Eight years ago this past January, we moved to the Dominican
Republic. For the four years prior, we traveled back and forth for a few
months to six months at a time between our International Headquarters in
Louisville to the field in the Dominican. A few weeks before
we departed, we discovered we were pregnant. A month after moving we discovered
we were having twins. So, our journey would include two little ones a
little earlier than we had planned, but we had learned to trust God’s
plans. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Our hearts were filled with anticipation for this new
journey; to have a more permanent residence, more consistent relationships, and
simply to serve on the island our hearts had been bound to. Many of you
know our story and what happened next. After only 5 short months, we
landed back in the States. What was supposed to be a short stay after our
delivery, turned into an 8 year journey of faith through tears, challenges,
incredible joys, victories, and miracles. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Our hearts were never released from the Dominican.
While we were not serving full-time on the field, we served stateside with G.O.
building relationships, recruiting teams and partnerships, helping with the
organizational structure and spending our summers in the Dominican. While
we tried not to let our roots grow too deep in Louisville, hopeful this was
only a stop on our journey, God had other plans. He led us to incredible
relationships through community, inner-city ministry, and a growing
understanding of Deaf culture. The resources He poured out on our girls’
with state-of-the art medical professionals in the NICU, therapists, teachers,
Deaf adults, and other families with Deaf children was both generous and
encouraging. Even more gracious, He added another angel to our family
with the healthy birth of Ella Jayde in March 2010.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUw381Wu4ThkVXAGS0tpcwxa-h4t2SB5ohbCseudRZJsnfmBjqAc7oRqdkp33MYjeI72V2h2t6hnu2A-kHPkKG6HM9ia-ytfS0M9iBnEKH5CDYqDb5VNflbL7S_GHEdey1kU5oY-VzJ2vZ/s1600/iloveyoudr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUw381Wu4ThkVXAGS0tpcwxa-h4t2SB5ohbCseudRZJsnfmBjqAc7oRqdkp33MYjeI72V2h2t6hnu2A-kHPkKG6HM9ia-ytfS0M9iBnEKH5CDYqDb5VNflbL7S_GHEdey1kU5oY-VzJ2vZ/s320/iloveyoudr.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The deep longings in our hearts for the Dominican and Haiti
painfully remained. For the past eight years, we’ve prayed for God to
make a way for us to return. With our girls’ special needs, we were
prepared for that to be much later in our lives. However, last summer,
God began showing us in numerous ways that the time was coming sooner rather
than later. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I type
now from our apartment in the Dominican after painting the girls room because</span>
will be returning to the Dominican this June to live! Can you stop for a
moment and rejoice with us!! I continue to read and reread “Hope deferred
makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.” Proverbs
13:12 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Such a sweet deep longing is
being fulfilled!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thank you, God for your
continued hand and guidance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thanks to
all of you who have continued to support us on this journey.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
JCRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09142563947938902842noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2281667811329323750.post-86862201879363418502012-05-09T07:22:00.000-07:002012-05-09T07:22:18.300-07:00Water of Life, a Gift from the Church to the CommunityOne of the services we have been able to provide in partnership with local leaders serving on the island of Hispaniola is access to purified drinking water. This effort is a ministry through the local churches to the community at large. It is an effert to assist in renewing communities and restoring Creation. Currently we provide access to clean drinking water to at least 9000 people. Units like the one in this brief video are being run by pastor's and local leaders in La Mosca, Batey 9, & Batey Cuchilla as well as the Hole shown below. We are currently slated to do 3 (and possibly a 4th) more installations in the next 6 months in 3 other communities: Phaeton, Haiti; 2 in different mountain communities near Puerta Plata (and 1 in Los Perez if #4 works out).<br />
<br />
Please take a couple of minutes to see how this system is working in the Hole. <br />
<br />
<br />
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/8v9vmZMAIh4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>JCRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09142563947938902842noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2281667811329323750.post-12180667092393626772012-03-30T15:24:00.001-07:002012-04-02T10:42:49.579-07:00Jamie Barnes & Brooks Ritter Play for G.O.!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmsEo1hV6nE9izpDqr6EYxSTaUOlr_NbFyyMjI9DriBgA2VTHxKAdr7bpCoy1i9dZbwonQh3TECnUXP7gTW5ns8vbn9bMBfdZaZ53zBwgT19yYFVeLukM_oW_F-UM1HkX6K8Ar-dSKQjD3/s1600/BreachbentPosterB+(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmsEo1hV6nE9izpDqr6EYxSTaUOlr_NbFyyMjI9DriBgA2VTHxKAdr7bpCoy1i9dZbwonQh3TECnUXP7gTW5ns8vbn9bMBfdZaZ53zBwgT19yYFVeLukM_oW_F-UM1HkX6K8Ar-dSKQjD3/s320/BreachbentPosterB+(2).jpg" width="309" /></a></div>
<br />
Jamie & Brooks just headlined our Breachbent Benefit show on March 30th! They're auctioning themselves off on Biddingforgood.com to further their impact for our ministry!<br />
<br />
Have Jamie and Brooks come to your home and perform a private concert for you and your friends and family. The winning bidder will get an unplugged acoustic concert of shared songs between Brooks and Jamie and this will be a memory that lasts forever. When Jamie and Brooks have Grammy's piled up on their shelves you can proudly say "They performed in my living room once".<br />
<br />
<strong><span style="color: #6aa84f; font-size: large;">Current Bidder has secured them for $500 (as of 4/2/12)! Auction ends on 4/8/12</span></strong><br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.biddingforgood.com/auction/item/Item.action?id=159068044" target="_blank"><strong><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Register and bid here.</span></strong></a>JCRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09142563947938902842noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2281667811329323750.post-74862737187916389562012-01-27T14:25:00.000-08:002012-01-27T14:25:14.181-08:00You're Invited!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic1K7pbMx38srFeHZVHePb6dq8U6A8cPytGaKpZt1OSx84tqwd1QZxk8Y06CBK3WIfrtzR9Tp7YD3x7qHXiny8ZHiiMTbeB5hVT1osAHhkMS4eg491uZHhBsokvIoWICZqzqbq_AsLuid1/s1600/Restore+Creation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="123" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic1K7pbMx38srFeHZVHePb6dq8U6A8cPytGaKpZt1OSx84tqwd1QZxk8Y06CBK3WIfrtzR9Tp7YD3x7qHXiny8ZHiiMTbeB5hVT1osAHhkMS4eg491uZHhBsokvIoWICZqzqbq_AsLuid1/s200/Restore+Creation.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw0kSavL7KoTwo9E9NK96ElRhZGnIMYXC0sgrjFmA_gaxAtFQ-9ey-jARWMB-Eypo7_8suQMg1hQl_CyOtcri3Zju8XtslRZaSMEbLRL-thWplW0oqpYIVtnVferQqvrNwotKhkH1VZ-kc/s1600/Redeem+People.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="123" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw0kSavL7KoTwo9E9NK96ElRhZGnIMYXC0sgrjFmA_gaxAtFQ-9ey-jARWMB-Eypo7_8suQMg1hQl_CyOtcri3Zju8XtslRZaSMEbLRL-thWplW0oqpYIVtnVferQqvrNwotKhkH1VZ-kc/s200/Redeem+People.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0JAwm1YrhukfYBjE0HX0rlDXTGgdI1NBqVjmX1SokJh9d322ls5TA-2hWYOiyXlllYFO72CeGESWkQ63dtgzx8uFn0G-0l7r8pRfQhyoZfQM1NSuNPybcQ20z_-NJMXJjAugZIZV04sql/s1600/Renew+Communities.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="123" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0JAwm1YrhukfYBjE0HX0rlDXTGgdI1NBqVjmX1SokJh9d322ls5TA-2hWYOiyXlllYFO72CeGESWkQ63dtgzx8uFn0G-0l7r8pRfQhyoZfQM1NSuNPybcQ20z_-NJMXJjAugZIZV04sql/s200/Renew+Communities.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<br />
<div _mce_style="text-align: center; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;" align="center" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: white;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;"><u>Please Join Us on the Rogers' Friend & Family Trip!!</u></span></strong> </span></div>
<div>
<span _mce_style="color: #000000; font-size: 12pt;" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: white;">Come serve with us in the
Dominican Republic July 17-24th as we work alongside local leaders to redeem people, renew communities and restore Creation! </span></span></div>
<div>
<span _mce_style="color: #000000; font-size: 12pt;" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: white;"></span></span> </div>
<div>
<span _mce_style="color: #000000; font-size: 12pt;" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: white;">We will be celebrating Vicki's 11th year with
the ministry and Jeff's 10th with any of you that care to join us. For those of
you who have never been, experience our ministry first hand and serve alongside
of us. For those that haven't been in a while, please come back with
us!</span></span></div>
<span style="color: white;">
</span><br />
<div>
<span _mce_style="color: #000000; font-size: 12pt;" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: white;">The focus of the trip will be
helping to construct the G.O. Medical Center, serve children in our nutrition
centers, children's ministry and more!</span></span></div>
<span style="color: white;">
</span><br />
<div>
<span _mce_style="color: #000000; font-size: 12pt;" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: white;">Cost for the trip is
$950+airfare.</span></span></div>
<span style="color: white;">
</span><br />
<div>
<span _mce_style="color: #000000; font-size: 12pt;" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: white;">If you are interested in this trip
please email </span><a href="http://heartsinhispaniola.blogspot.com/p/contact-us.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: white;">Vicki</span></a></span></div>
<span style="color: white;">
<span _mce_style="color: #000000; font-size: 12pt;" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt;"></span></span><br />
<span _mce_style="color: #000000; font-size: 12pt;" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: white;">We need final commitments no later
than March 26th. We would LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to see you
there!!</span></span>JCRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09142563947938902842noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2281667811329323750.post-53211365968717086102012-01-22T21:19:00.000-08:002012-01-22T21:31:27.464-08:00One Miracle to Another<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZku4DnFp3M2oJ2aRNVEMZ6aplEvMzH_DRlO-XcPmpSJwPwyxfe_DmeAQDw6NREQq_TkYB1-7GRZbJZlLHnajkL9RXDFt7EHI3lKM17KQenVCJeg1PxMuCI6HWjdYLnYvlOYN_dlmSBZki/s1600/Wilson+and+the+girls.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZku4DnFp3M2oJ2aRNVEMZ6aplEvMzH_DRlO-XcPmpSJwPwyxfe_DmeAQDw6NREQq_TkYB1-7GRZbJZlLHnajkL9RXDFt7EHI3lKM17KQenVCJeg1PxMuCI6HWjdYLnYvlOYN_dlmSBZki/s320/Wilson+and+the+girls.jpg" width="267" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Scars cover his body from unsuccessful
surgeries.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But two scars in particular
take this mom to my knees.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He showed me
during his last hospital stay.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One on
his hand and one on his shoulder.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With
his timid smile he told me it was from biting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>His mom further explained that his pain is so intense that he bites
himself to endure it until it passes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Today, about 20 people gathered around this little
boy with the courage of a lion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even
facing the biggest surgery of his life, his smile brightened the room and the
spirits of everyone around him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He has a
way of doing that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of capturing your
heart with his smile.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of breaking your
heart with the suffering he’s endured in his short nine years of life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">We prayed for Wilson’s healing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We prayed for peace for his faithful mom,
Tatiana, who has been a warrior for her son.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Who was so willing to put her 9-year-old son on a plane and send him to
a foreign land with a foreign language to live with a family she did not know
in the care of doctors to save his life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>By the grace of God, she was able to come with him, however, she
painfully left two children behind with her mother.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hope in the face of despair.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Determination in the face of suffering.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig4dDs1l6O4UArAxEr-HvAa6-VEdBaDQC2Ij0vz6yhP9UEeP_3nBW5eTASIPoFfO08uEJNAhVWtvdEpbBcucuJn6EjatVZ2Gt9bmBpAO3bpGQvtnfW_-31o1egCBsLKYbGYvBBJ0_LP9RM/s1600/wilson+prayer+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig4dDs1l6O4UArAxEr-HvAa6-VEdBaDQC2Ij0vz6yhP9UEeP_3nBW5eTASIPoFfO08uEJNAhVWtvdEpbBcucuJn6EjatVZ2Gt9bmBpAO3bpGQvtnfW_-31o1egCBsLKYbGYvBBJ0_LP9RM/s320/wilson+prayer+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Today, at 8:00am two surgeons will begin restoring
his broken body.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In a scheduled six hour
surgery they will be repairing Wilson's urethra and the fistula using tissue
from the inside of his mouth. In addition, they will be reconstructing the
anus, rectum and the colon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s a huge
feat for such a little boy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Over the
weekend he began asking his mother difficult questions about his
mortality.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">After several people prayed today and the pastor
began thanking everyone for coming<a href="http://www.blogger.com/" name="_GoBack"></a>, my 6-year-old Sophi
spoke up and said she wanted to pray.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She put her little hand on her friend Wilson and asked the same God that
restored her 2 pound body that had holes in her heart, spots on her brain from
a brain bleed, multiple blood transfusions, a bad staph infection, and 61 days
in the NICU where she teetered back and forth between life and death.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She spoke boldly to the God who held her when
I couldn’t and asked Him to heal Wilson too.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She prayed that he wouldn’t be scared.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She prayed that he would be wisdom, peace and light in the world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And with that, our little miracle said
amen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq_AScX9bOcGXNKNU37kwC3G3rr7y45icGz6Y23FwiYph1JLJ3jm2cklKZwPx9ZrhXcjS4t7c7YTsgEf8TMw7xGm60st3d3m2kYPqltNtBZzwS4WC5JI-zFyjLFVU4rJEQ78nPCN3ODBxb/s1600/wilson+prayer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq_AScX9bOcGXNKNU37kwC3G3rr7y45icGz6Y23FwiYph1JLJ3jm2cklKZwPx9ZrhXcjS4t7c7YTsgEf8TMw7xGm60st3d3m2kYPqltNtBZzwS4WC5JI-zFyjLFVU4rJEQ78nPCN3ODBxb/s320/wilson+prayer.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Today, we pray for another miracle for Wilson with
the same boldness that Sophi prayed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Please join us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>JCRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09142563947938902842noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2281667811329323750.post-36406801324758290522012-01-21T21:30:00.000-08:002012-01-21T21:30:04.255-08:00Red Beans, Rice & Gingerbread with Wilson<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMCgPz1sAexC2xBhut5xz5nCiFfcwiKrmSnFt6KzyyQfpYAXqhaiHUeKd2z3JYaVkGoW3su-1xzxYpd0Th7AAT-jiJVtTTIHiX6jdIVVSaeU2Zc_8aAEKIG6bQRi1fBMhAhI0OCJAKQvxK/s1600/DSC_0084.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMCgPz1sAexC2xBhut5xz5nCiFfcwiKrmSnFt6KzyyQfpYAXqhaiHUeKd2z3JYaVkGoW3su-1xzxYpd0Th7AAT-jiJVtTTIHiX6jdIVVSaeU2Zc_8aAEKIG6bQRi1fBMhAhI0OCJAKQvxK/s320/DSC_0084.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We were blessed to host </span><a href="http://www.go-ministries.org/news-and-events/news/354-helping-wilson-heal" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Tatiana and Wilson</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> at our home for a day during
Christmas break.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The girls got to play
with Wilson while we treated them to a Roger’s style red beans an coconut
rice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wilson was not a fan of the coconut
rice but enjoyed the beans well enough.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKuOWm1wQaJFDWnIUXw5XqBJxWk4GbDGJ8GVqDVFOUTNaeGFVfUa_5rNassf2ENLc_ZyrSUid1gf0tulwFqI5JHbIC-pjFCh8eZ0TLqjmmuplUSB8m1aKrcGSmxs2ml6Ks-SM23LLXNRZi/s1600/DSC_0077.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKuOWm1wQaJFDWnIUXw5XqBJxWk4GbDGJ8GVqDVFOUTNaeGFVfUa_5rNassf2ENLc_ZyrSUid1gf0tulwFqI5JHbIC-pjFCh8eZ0TLqjmmuplUSB8m1aKrcGSmxs2ml6Ks-SM23LLXNRZi/s320/DSC_0077.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-outline-level: 6;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 13pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: inherit;">After
dinner they settled in around the table and constructed gingerbread
houses.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A good time was had by all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’re so grateful for the opportunity to
share with them as they await what we all pray will be life enhancing treatment
from Kosair Children’s Hospital.</span><span style="display: none; mso-hide: all;"> portunity
is to sign up for a 15 minute period during the day of his surgery. We would
like to cover the surgery in prayer, for Wilson, his recovery, his family and
his country. Please take this opportunity to sign up for a time using this
link: <a href="https://www.google.com/calendar/selfsched?sstoken=UUc5RFlZNWo4VVVXfGRlZmF1bHR8MzJlNTE2ZTA3ZjQ0YjExYmZjMDVjMzU4Y2UyZWYwY2M" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3b5998; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">https://www.google.com/calendar/selfsched?sstoken=UUc5RFlZNWo4VVVXfGRlZmF1bHR8MzJlNTE2ZTA3ZjQ0YjExYmZjMDVjMzU4Y2UyZWYwY2M</span></a><br />
Please ask those who you know that have been following Wilson's journey to
consider committing to signing up for a time to support Wilson in this way.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCRCWx3FNfxzqPAaoRKUfSE4LTiNe1RdwWBClhg2At4OEE8aZ7XTbQgARxJSk85Ui8G0JIENk1erSys-J5-D_LKACsQLJirPfrUOFQ93b-EIZakbYiDFr3Tcjhi0XJmPhgLzv3Bw6XjDXA/s1600/DSC_0082.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCRCWx3FNfxzqPAaoRKUfSE4LTiNe1RdwWBClhg2At4OEE8aZ7XTbQgARxJSk85Ui8G0JIENk1erSys-J5-D_LKACsQLJirPfrUOFQ93b-EIZakbYiDFr3Tcjhi0XJmPhgLzv3Bw6XjDXA/s320/DSC_0082.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Keep up with Wilson and other G.O. Ministries updates by clicking "like" on the </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/?ref=hp#!/pages/GO-Ministries/276359909110" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;">G.O. Ministries Facebook page.</span></a>JCRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09142563947938902842noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2281667811329323750.post-33461184299454892262012-01-06T09:17:00.000-08:002012-01-06T10:34:37.612-08:00One Dollar<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBvO0OnGMe-oi1RsA0AmuwwFIYT837FxfQC9FrkodjYd-92UxImmWOqnIL4MDF_gzHJ9XjbNRpBm5On2Gw7Hc5GArFZjzHxxblbvefHWIlyU00DYiotq6wSL8agY0LREzPNWh9Cv6OIpso/s1600/one+dollar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBvO0OnGMe-oi1RsA0AmuwwFIYT837FxfQC9FrkodjYd-92UxImmWOqnIL4MDF_gzHJ9XjbNRpBm5On2Gw7Hc5GArFZjzHxxblbvefHWIlyU00DYiotq6wSL8agY0LREzPNWh9Cv6OIpso/s320/one+dollar.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I was passing the hospital where all my girls were born and thanking
God for His amazing provisions of giving life to each of them when our van sounded
like it needed a trip to intensive care. It eventually started purring
again and I settled back into daydreaming until I got home and told Jeff about
the episode. The next day, she started coughing again, this time with a
massive fever that ended with Jeff and Ella being stranded on the side of the
road. Thankfully, Dave Vogt, a great friend and longtime supporter just
happened to be driving by, and rescued them. Another good friend,
supporter and mechanic took a look at it and gave us the bad news. Our
faithful companion was gone. Engine blown, no chance of revival,
destination…junk yard. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ4XjZsXHbv8b67rEiI9gJ9hqKiTIJbNLrSAUmY0BC2x7dR1TmFukHdCiPiSW_v4-uJgzWuoTlus3UqpmS7jRXnxQUJq7-4Eke5qKpmPmnRfjjMPESyZyTF5seDv-v4mr-Ml9omhl2CTL9/s1600/Venture%252C+Last+Days.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ4XjZsXHbv8b67rEiI9gJ9hqKiTIJbNLrSAUmY0BC2x7dR1TmFukHdCiPiSW_v4-uJgzWuoTlus3UqpmS7jRXnxQUJq7-4Eke5qKpmPmnRfjjMPESyZyTF5seDv-v4mr-Ml9omhl2CTL9/s320/Venture%252C+Last+Days.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Our Dead Venture</div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We borrowed a car from Jeff’s parents and began praying for
another car. Old faithful had been paid off for years and we didn’t have
the money for another car. However, over the years we’ve certainly
learned that God supplies all of our needs according to his riches. He
has this way of showing off. Just flexing His muscles and charming
Creation to remind us who He is and who we are in Him. He tells us not to
worry about what we shall eat or drink or wear. We figured He meant what
we should drive as well so without a worry (seriously, this was a victory learned
over time), we put it to prayer.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">My best friend and longtime supporter of our ministry called
me asking for prayer because she was discontent. Now this sister is
typically not discontent, especially when it comes to material
things. She saw a van (the day before ours blew up) and couldn’t get it
out of her mind. She wanted it and was even dreaming about it. She
was frustrated because her van was perfectly fine. But man, she wanted
this new van. I prayed with her about it and somewhere in our conversation
I mentioned our van. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I didn’t think much about the conversation until Jeff and I
were sitting at a leadership conference where the speaker was talking about
being generous leaders. My phone beeped with a text message and I
admittedly and possibly even rudely checked it during the session. It
read, “We would love to give you our car once we have bought another one – if
you want it, that is…we love you, friend!” I tearfully passed it over to
Jeff who smiled and choked back tears. Seriously, a big show off our God
is! We were so grateful (Jeff’s parents may have been more grateful
because they would get their car back! </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings;">J</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">).
We were floored even more as I thought they were talking about their older
car. She later clarified it was their family van. Wow,
humbled. I felt like one of the silly disciples who cast my net over the
boat with low expectations only to be overwhelmed with a net so bountiful I
could not pull it in.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So, with God’s provision, our friends’ faithfulness, and $1,
we now are owners of a van that the girls say is a racecar and draw it with
flames coming out of the back (I think that may be because of the way daddy
drives it </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings;">J</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">). Today, if you’re
burdened by what you should eat, drink, or wear, or maybe how you will pay that
bill, let me encourage you to turn to the One who owns all the cattle on a
thousand hills. He is faithful and He loves to show off! </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCtIScPvnSsYd_csph2zqeiZYyJQlfwxDNr0lOG3d3zNR1c5UlNqe78BOp8BnOLVHlzuB9eTrSHOK_BHe0ga5y4W35MpepPjydbGv2k038cCqWqJY2IKHlWKO-8-gNDsqlNAvgDu91befm/s1600/Living+Voyager.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCtIScPvnSsYd_csph2zqeiZYyJQlfwxDNr0lOG3d3zNR1c5UlNqe78BOp8BnOLVHlzuB9eTrSHOK_BHe0ga5y4W35MpepPjydbGv2k038cCqWqJY2IKHlWKO-8-gNDsqlNAvgDu91befm/s320/Living+Voyager.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Our Living Voyager!</div>
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And for each of you out there that support our ministry financially and through prayers serving vicariously through us, you continue to be a regular means of how God shows off his faithfulness to us and we thank you and Him for that!</div>
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</div>JCRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09142563947938902842noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2281667811329323750.post-8848651389430905622012-01-05T05:30:00.000-08:002012-01-06T07:21:16.545-08:00Rogers Ministry Highlights from the Past Year...<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="276" mozallowfullscreen="" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/34592635?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="417"></iframe><br />
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You can see an update about our girls <a href="http://youtu.be/zmj3fKg-56Y" target="_blank">here</a> if you like.<br />
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Grace & PeaceJCRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09142563947938902842noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2281667811329323750.post-14484607469653009532011-12-06T18:56:00.001-08:002011-12-06T20:18:31.719-08:00Sophi and Raena meet Wilson<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRla-0B9vaX7BLMkWE7tuiuXVYS_P5gUdeW91hnAVvqxFEkSr0pCPJfFbjen2BA3ik5jlVV_BFBBgMNUs5fW6fYNUPazwJbrsHUehEqagDE_pGTx8HtfUJq86xuGijSzXQ2OGbJoJ56lVD/"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRla-0B9vaX7BLMkWE7tuiuXVYS_P5gUdeW91hnAVvqxFEkSr0pCPJfFbjen2BA3ik5jlVV_BFBBgMNUs5fW6fYNUPazwJbrsHUehEqagDE_pGTx8HtfUJq86xuGijSzXQ2OGbJoJ56lVD/s400/IMAG1029.jpg" /></a><br />
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Saturday after Thanksgiving we were able to visit with Wilson and his mother, Tatiana. Wilson is a 9 year-old boy who lives in the <a href="http://heartsinhispaniola.blogspot.com/2009/11/blog-post.html" target="_blank">Hole</a> in Santiago. We got to meet him when he started attending our nutrition center in order to get one good meal in him a day. His mother eventually started cooking for the center. Before long she became a Christian. Wilson was born with a severe birth defect affecting his bowel and urinary tract. He has suffered infection after infection and experiences a lot of pain with his condition. For years we have been trying to find him help and in the last two months the right contacts were finally made.<br />
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After having met a willing pediatric surgeon on the golf course, Brook, our founder, connected with the right guy. Within two weeks a meeting was scheduled at Kosair Childrens Hospital and Vicki went to meet with the head of the hospital and key decision makers in order to present Wilson's case. The hospital administration agreed unanimously to treat Wilson for free and within a week all of the necessary paperwork was filed and Tatiana and her son were awarded medical visas to the US. <br />
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They are being hosted state-side by ministry friends who home school and are fluent in Spanish. Medically, Wilson is receiving the best care possible as well as one on one education.
We were blessed to stop by and share with he and his mother that Saturday afternoon. Within about 5 minutes Sophi and Raena had completely overcome the language barrier and all we could hear were shouts and giggles in the other room.
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiidyz30Pac6G0iVRkWxuhQa0UL48WfJUDkPu1up2dkEIs6roOEba7Nqv_XJktWhsyjX_LLDLCEIiuGvlWhLlqhbz-T4Pw0C9xVrafgzK4KllzMPWVO1bMgT3oFp8seJn7b2bQqJFjQSNKI/s1600/Tatiana.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiidyz30Pac6G0iVRkWxuhQa0UL48WfJUDkPu1up2dkEIs6roOEba7Nqv_XJktWhsyjX_LLDLCEIiuGvlWhLlqhbz-T4Pw0C9xVrafgzK4KllzMPWVO1bMgT3oFp8seJn7b2bQqJFjQSNKI/s320/Tatiana.jpg" width="191" /></a></div>
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We were delivery personnel on this visit. While at the G.O. Ministries’ Women’s Conference in La Vega in the DR, Vicki was given many encouraging letters from the women from the church in the Hole that had been written to love on Tatiana. Needless to say, they were a welcome gift. We were able to sneak this photo while she was reading. What a blessing to have them here and have the opportunity to love them well.<br />
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To get more info on Wilson’s story visit G.O.s web <a href="http://bit.ly/tQjo39">here</a><br />
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To keep up to date on Wilson’s progress follow him on G.O.’s Facebook page <a href="https://www.facebook.com/?ref=hp#!/pages/GO-Ministries/276359909110">here</a>JCRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09142563947938902842noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2281667811329323750.post-81988343536376907942011-08-15T08:39:00.000-07:002011-12-06T20:18:54.456-08:00Blessed to be Doctors to Our Doctors: Part IIWe're grateful to be able to share with you Wave 3's coverage of Eliezar's recieving of his Baha at the Hueser Hearing Institute.
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Vicki also took footage and captured the moment Eliezar heard for the first time. You can see that <a href="http://www.vimeo.com/27640935">here.</a>JCRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09142563947938902842noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2281667811329323750.post-51638191287363351392011-08-11T12:24:00.000-07:002011-12-06T20:20:04.433-08:00Blessed to Be Doctors to Our Doctors<div>
Dr. Vladimir and Dr. Auris Canela serve as doctors with G.O. Ministries. They could certainly have chosen to start their own practice, but instead, they chose to serve the poor through a daily medical clinic in Hoya del Caimito, Santiago, Dominican Republic. Their medical knowledge, compassion, and care heal the hurts and pains of many people who would not be able to afford medical care on the island. They work in conjunction with local churches traveling with medical teams to remote sugarcane villages, landfills where multiple families are trying to survive, and remote communities far from medical facilities found in the city throughout the year to treat patients as well. In an average three day clinic, they see and treat up to 1,200 people.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhokxoQDJ5e-S_hvpbU7Cc_C9xVTQdUXN-G2dSYNFnQZybT_O1_EGOAG97Rp_SkyNvioHy0qy0jtmOZ3WZyQmtqrExzeH_F-6VChxDiajKJXgHB6wlOp0cyjpAaJrObct0t_bpOzN_4b9bb/s1600/auris+pic.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5639630081817114130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhokxoQDJ5e-S_hvpbU7Cc_C9xVTQdUXN-G2dSYNFnQZybT_O1_EGOAG97Rp_SkyNvioHy0qy0jtmOZ3WZyQmtqrExzeH_F-6VChxDiajKJXgHB6wlOp0cyjpAaJrObct0t_bpOzN_4b9bb/s400/auris+pic.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 266px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
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On January 3, 2011 they welcomed a son, Eliezer Rosario Canela. In the midst of their excitement, they noticed something strange about his underdeveloped ears. After a visit to an audiologist, it was confirmed that he had a hearing loss due to bilateral microtia with the ear canal. As doctors, they desperately want to help their son, but his issue is out of their realm of expertise. The audiologist told them Eliezer is a great candidate for a Baha, an external bone conduction device that would enable him to hear, but there is not a Cochlear Clinic that provides such services and technology on the island. They know that time is of the essence and greatly desire for their son to hear their voices.<br />
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This is a scenario that Vicki and I are all too familiar with and we have intimate connections in terms of the sort of resources that Vladi and Auris need for their son. We have been able to secure pro bono services on behalf of Eliezer Rosario from Heuser Hearing Institute where our daughters attended school for 3 years and receive audiological services; we have received at the very last minute word that Cochlear is donating the necessary equipment amounting to close to $4000, and in collaboration with some of our partners we have raised just over $7000 to help cover all of this families expenses related to the Baha, additional services, travel and hosting.<br />
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The final piece of this whole process came together during our service in the Dominican last week. We were able to get letters from the American doctors in Kentucky confirming the dates/appointments and details of the services being provided on behalf of Eliezer. This was the evidence needed in order for a visa to be awarded to Auris and Eliezer for travel to the US. They got it!!<br />
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Today we will be picking up Auris and Eliezer at the Louisville International Airport and hosting them during their brief 10 day stay. We are blessed to be a part of this ministry to this family and grateful to report to you that your support of us through your use of the Kroger gift card frees us to do this kind work on behalf of others in Jesus’ name!<br />
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Please be in prayer for Vladimir, Auris and Eliezer. Specifically pray that all of the treatment goes well and that Auris and Eliezer are blessed by their time with us here in Louisville. They arrive on the 11th of August, have appointments throughout the week and return on the 19th to the Dominican where Dr. Vladi will be waiting to speak to his son and be heard for the first time!<br />
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Our daughters Sophi and Raena have Cochlear Implants. Eliezer will be receiving a Baha seen <a href="http://products.cochlearamericas.com/customer-stories/julian">here</a>.<br />
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Thank you for your partnership in the Gospel! It extends through us to others who are serving his Kingdom through the gift of medicine.JCRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09142563947938902842noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2281667811329323750.post-58547134159297714432011-06-27T09:50:00.001-07:002011-12-06T20:20:23.074-08:00Hope for Daadli: Part II<img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5622943226541407090" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB_hAj5yFLvS7opO9tFaHhNmW7TEVw0xUqYxC4olaTLruszTVIaiBNwwLR-IIamQfmooe1IgXU7LfBwZID7V0MBe1RMFx89OljrCLAiOiMWLV65Ls-LANZztKP6WXUXfZBnhsHmneteDwW/s400/daadli+before.jpg" style="display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /><br />
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We first wrote about <a href="http://heartsinhispaniola.blogspot.com/2011/05/hope-for-daadli-fruit-of-partnership.html">Daadli</a> several weeks ago. We’re excited to report that her severe cleft palette has been corrected as of this past Thursday, June 28th. Here she is today!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ6cV7i3BvVejRWgMUSt0nk6i4Z-AflX0cAhuxh8wlmxEWCYm9n7B_TE-YzMfvHUiWFAJQBJMTKtZbDfC1c6FlCub62sP5e-rtJIw2cnmCcd_3pV53bH_R8L_81LJEC3b5U9SAB1NO_NVN/s1600/Daadli+After.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5622943232730827906" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ6cV7i3BvVejRWgMUSt0nk6i4Z-AflX0cAhuxh8wlmxEWCYm9n7B_TE-YzMfvHUiWFAJQBJMTKtZbDfC1c6FlCub62sP5e-rtJIw2cnmCcd_3pV53bH_R8L_81LJEC3b5U9SAB1NO_NVN/s400/Daadli+After.jpg" style="display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 300px;" /></a><br />
Much thanks and gratitude to Cross Point Community Church, Operation Smile, Moise and the G.O. Team for helping to make this happen!<br />
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The Rogers family will be meeting Daadli fact-to-face in just a few weeks. Looking forward to introducing our daughters to this little lady at the nutrition center in Brisas!<br />
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Grace & Peace,<br />
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The Rogers<br />
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</div>JCRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09142563947938902842noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2281667811329323750.post-18964592439848511092011-06-03T13:10:00.001-07:002011-06-03T13:24:27.339-07:00Pray for Our Drilling in Phaeton, Day II (Drill Trouble)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyf0JetBv51BkXgFqokS3K7bEbD3KtAZeGlWwj3OeC5bw-Fi1bO21a3GTYYaxFpJI84htKtOiTGAXo1Cgm1my2hTOIfi0OEdRdZK5zh5vSJm_gRn6r6Z9JWiHh6NEhaopfiTyGvJpOU88N/s1600/drill.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5614088623192020578" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyf0JetBv51BkXgFqokS3K7bEbD3KtAZeGlWwj3OeC5bw-Fi1bO21a3GTYYaxFpJI84htKtOiTGAXo1Cgm1my2hTOIfi0OEdRdZK5zh5vSJm_gRn6r6Z9JWiHh6NEhaopfiTyGvJpOU88N/s400/drill.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div>This is the rig we are using in Phaeton, Haiti. As of 4:12pm EST the rig is down. Our drilling team is currently trying to repair it. Yesterday, June 2nd, they were able to drill 60 feet into the ground. Today has been slow going and we think we've only gained another 10 feet. The capacity of this unit is 150 feet. Pray the rig gets repaired and that they can stay at it until water is struck. Pray that there is water to strike!</div><br /><br /><iframe height="350" marginheight="0" src="http://maps.google.com/maps?t=h&hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=19.674929,-71.897213&spn=0.006486,0.010364&z=17&output=embed" frameborder="0" width="425" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no"></iframe><br /><small><a style="TEXT-ALIGN: left; COLOR: #0000ff" href="http://maps.google.com/maps?t=h&hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=19.674929,-71.897213&spn=0.006486,0.010364&z=17&source=embed">View Larger Map</a></small><br /><br />This is Phaeton in the map above.<br /><br /><br /><div>Pray this prayer with us based on Isaiah 35:5:</div><br />"Lord, we beg of you, let the eyes of the blind be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Cause the lame to leap like deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. Make water gush forth in the wilderness and create streams in the desert. By your will cause the burning sand to become a pool, the thirsty ground to become bubbling springs. We pray that your grace embrace the people of Phaeton and that by your mercy you would renew their land. We ask all of this for your glory. Amen."JCRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09142563947938902842noreply@blogger.com