Yet another transition..

New house in Montellano (close to the Mak School - We rented
the bottom 3 bedroom portion.

As if giving birth to our fifth child, deciding to move to an island I had never been to, stepping out of a culture I've know for 35 years and into one I had never experienced, nor knew the language, packing up and selling belongings we've accumulated in our 10 years of marriage, saying goodbye to a great job, friends, and family, AND stepping into full time ministry with your spouse in ONE year wasn't enough of a transition... we've decided to face yet another!

When we arrived on this island, we came with the titles Host Family and Director of D.R. operations. Josh filled both these roles (and any others needed), while my focus was the hospitality side of things.
Josh, myself, and our kiddos absolutely have enjoyed hosting over 200 guests in our home this past year.  The friendships we have made have and still are huge blessings from God.  Regardless of the struggles we have faced this year, when teams came through... JOY abounded.  We can't tell you enough how the Lord has used members from each team from the states in our personal lives.  Once again, THANK YOU to all the teams that have come to serve Makarios, our family,  and the people of the Dominican Republic.

Jen, Parlyn and Regina at the Makarios Summer School
Finale Fiesta

The big transition?  After much prayer and wrestling with decisions, we have a peace about moving out of the host family position and therefore, out of the host apartment at the Makarios House.  We struggled with the decision because of how awesome it is witnessing people being transformed during their mission/vision trips.  Having the privilege of sitting in on nightly devotions and hearing what God was doing was definitely a highlight for us. I was also blessed by the privilege of getting time to chat with group members during meal preparation and I know that Josh had a blast serving along side of group members in the communities.

There are many reasons why one can become exhausted here, in turn makes having quality family time difficult.  With Josh being able to focus on the Director position alone and I on helping Josh,
homeschooling, and caring for the kiddos, we believe this will be the healthiest decision for the family for this season.  Now, will we still be a part of the teams this coming year? ABSOLUTELY!  Our kids have already expressed their desires to still serve with the teams.  I will also have a little more time to live in the community we serve and work on building local relationships. We are also praying about sending Finley to the Mak School.

Who will fill our role?  A couple from Texas, Margaret and Doug Beck have arrived this week.  They led the first team this summer and we were able to spend the week getting to know them.  They will be a huge asset to the Makarios staff!  Margaret likes to play jokes too... look out Josh and Doug!

Parlyn makes friends quick=)

The saying, "Bitter Sweet" rings in our ears.  We are sad in a sense of letting go of the role, but excited to see what and why God is planting our family in the near-by city of Monte Llano.  We will be in walking distance to the Makarios school, Templo Biblico, and many staff members homes.   In the midst of looking for a new place I have seen how easy my heart is prone to fears.  Fear is sin.   It was hard to chose the location and details because of fears of the unknown.  I wore myself out trying to think of all angles, pros, and cons.  I was reading in a book and challenged by this, "what is God teaching you this week and how are you responding?".  GULP! He is teaching me that I was not trusting Him, evidenced by my stress, anxiety, & indecisiveness due to my fears.  Like anything, I know first hand the difficulties that transition can bring, so I ask you all to be praying for our family as we make this move.
We finally got rid of mice and tarantulas where we currently live... so what critters await us in the new place we will rent?  Most people shop for accessories for their new house, I will be shopping for Raid and a few cats!

We will be in IL Sept. 15-22, and NC Sept 23-Oct 6.  In IL my parents are hosting a time for you to come visit.  Sept 16 12:30-2:30 at 932 E Dunne, Morton IL.  There will also be a time in NC on the 23 of Sept.  More details to follow.  We will be raising funds for our big move in to the new house posted above as it is a lot more money that we had not planned on spending.  Inverter, batteries, fridge, stove, washer, beds, and more.  All blessings we had living at the Mak house that we now have to purchase.  Look forward to seeing you all!

Grace,
Jen

Ollie and his friends at the Finale Fiesta

Ollies 6th Bday Party

Ollie's 6th Bday Party

Belle's 8th Bday Party

Princess Party for Belle 8th Bday

Building in the Mak House

Tate and Issac collecting Guavas

Finley being Finley

My girls!

The baby chick that came back to life
is now a rooster - yes the one Parlyn was
shaking by the neck from a post a few months ago.

When the power goes out....

It's 10:33 right now and the power has been out here at the Makarios House since 9:15pm. It was extremely hot today so all the rooms are hot. The power was on from 4pm-7pm which was not enough time to charge our batteries. Not to mention we spent most of the day with dead batteries as well. We have an inverter that charges batteries when the power is on. When the power goes out we use the battery power. The wrench this summer is that the community we live in was cut back on power for no apparent reason except that Edenorte, the power company, is very corrupt. they also raised the cost electricity by 50%! So today and yesterday we have had only about 8 hours of power and our batteries barely have enough time to charge.

What do you do when the power goes out? We live in a concrete house and you can hear every move made when the fans are not running. All the kids have woken up now either hot or because the dogs down the road can be heard loud and clear. We are praying the power comes on at 12am but there is no guarantee. This is not a complain session but an honest picture of one of the many challenges we face. The month we get brand new batteries, the city power comes on less and less so having new batteries does not help. We could buy 4 more batteries but you still face possible inability to charge them. I can live without Internet or computers now after living here for a year but it has taken a year to realize I can live without them. Communication with family and friends is cut to zero and the ability to get work done goes down hill.

What would you do without power every day?
What would you do without AC and fans?
I guess go to bed would be an answer but I can't because of all the noises. How do other people live here without power? That must be so depressing and creates hopelessness. No wonder some of the kids are tired the next day for school or adults are tired during the day. It's easy to make judgements on this culture when you have but when you don't have you begin to see through their eyes.
This is our daily challenges and I can say it is pure frustration in all honesty.

Very thankful for God providing all that he has and continues to do. Tonight I am asking for his grace and strength in how to make it through this night with a little sleep....josh (this was actually written a few weeks ago but didnt post for some reason... oh ! The power went out=)  



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad