Celebrating Thanksgiving....Twice

Don't you just love Thanksgiving? We do! I love getting together with family and friends and sharing things that I am thankful to God for blessing me with. This year, though we were not with family since they are all back in South Carolina, we were with a lot of friends which made this Thanksgiving special. We actually celebrated Thanksgiving twice this year. No, your not seeing double from eating too much turkey. LOL We ate too much turkey since we ate it twice!

We had the joy and the privilege of hosting Thanksgiving dinner at our new home this year. We had five other missionary families join us for a celebration with all of the fixens (yeah, I know that is "southern"). We had the turkey, thanks to Tom Waldon, the dressing - two types actually, breaded and cornbread dressing - cranberry sauce, sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, mash potatoes, an awesome tasting corn dish (thanks Betty), pecan pie, pumpkin pie, and mincemeat pie...oh I know I am forgetting something but you can tell that we were blessed with a lot of variety and delicious food! Yummy! =)

There was a great time of sharing why we feel so blessed this year as well as a lot of laughter and story-telling of years gone by. I am so glad that we were able to have Bud & Karen Simon, Jerry & Betty Poppe, Danny & Denise Stone, Charlie Finocchiaro, and Doug & Carol Reed join us and share in such a wonderful holiday. It was our last gathering here in the DR with Doug & Carol Reed since they will be leaving us very soon to move back to the U.S. after being here for 19 years, planting churches and training up pastors to carry on in spreading and teaching the gospel. They are a real treasure and wish know that God will bless them in their new adventure!

Oh yeah, I almost forgot to talk about our second celebration...

At around 7:30 that night we went to a Dominican celebration of Thanksgiving. Doesn't that strike you as odd? Maybe not since most of you have celebrated Thanksgiving for as long as you can remember so it just seems normal and usual to you but the odd part of it all is that they are...shall we say...Dominican. It is an "American" holiday remember....we celebrate it because of the whole pilgrims coming to America and being helped by the Indians to survive and thrive deal?! Ahhh, now your with me. lol So Now your question is probably, "Why would they celebrate it?" Let me explain that most of these particular Dominicans have lived in America at one point in their lives, whether a long time or short time, they were able to experience the Thanksgiving celebration and they liked the idea and the concept behind it so much that they brought it back with them and they continue in the celebration here in the DR. Pretty cool huh? We think so! =)

Anyway, we were able to join well over 30 other Dominicans, which included one of our favorite Dominican families, the Cabrals, and our Dominican pastor and his family and many many others for a wonderful time of fellowship and of course, more food. =) I think that we returned home at around 11:40pm that night and well, let's just say that I am still not hungry and it has been 2 days. I have included pictures from both gatherings. The picture closest to this paragraph is of Zinayda, me and Mami Lydia (Zinayda's Mom). I love these two ladies! Hey look...I am actually taller than someone...that is a rare thing for me. Hahaha!

A Time For Thanks...

Can you believe it is that time again? That Thanksgiving is upon us and that we are close to closing out the year of 2008? It is incredible to me how the year has flown by. I know we all grew up hearing our parents and grandparents say that the the time just gets faster and now I must agree.

It is the time of year when we take a day to remember and to be thankful and to share that thankfulness with others. We should be sharing that thankfulness everyday of the year but I must say that this is one of my favorite holidays now.

God has done so much for each of us whether we admit to it or not. You are alive because He made you and wanted to have fellowship with you. He loves you whether you return that love or not it does not change how much He loves you. He has a plan and a purpose for each of you and it is for your good!

I cannot even begin to express the work that God is doing in me right now. He is taking me to new heights, new understandings. He is changing me from the inside out and I cannot wait to see the outcome of it all. I am so thankful that He has never given up on me or my family. I love Him more than words can express! I type this with tears of joy in my eyes. I serve a good God, a loving, kind, and generous God who deserves so much more than I could ever give Him but He is more than overjoyed with me as I am. He feels the same about each of you too! I want to share a little insight, a new revelation that I recently received. It may be old to some of you but maybe you need a refreshing of memory=)

I was reading the passage of John 15:1-5 NKJV. Here is what Jesus says...

I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Each branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.

Now I know some of us have heard this same passage many times but I don't know, for some reason I saw it from a new and simple aspect this time. If you pay close attention you will see that the only thing we are asked, you could say required to do is "remain in Him". Look it over. I know that most, if not all, of my years as a Christian I have spent worrying about the "bear much fruit" part. I thought that in order to show or prove that I had God in my life I needed to "bear much fruit" but that is not the point. If I "remain in Him" then He will be able to bear fruit through me/my life. Do you see?

Think about it this way. If you look at a vine, a grape vine for example, you will notice that if a branch has a small cut that causes the water and nutrients from being able to flow from the vine into the branch and it becomes more and more brittle and it eventually dries up and dies. It needs a regular flow from the vine in order to sustain life as a branch and in order for grapes to bud and grow from it. It is not the branch that gives life for the bud but the vine itself. It is the same for each of us. If we (the branches) remain in Him (the Vine) then He will bear fruit through us. It is not our doing but His! We cannot do anything without Him. We cannot do it to please Him or to be proud in and of ourselves - it is all because of Him! Oh, how I hope you are able to see what I am saying. I truly believe it will set you free as it has me. Hey, there's another one..."...the truth will set you free." =) Anyway, all we are required to do is to stay - as my family now says -"hooked up" to the vine (Jesus). How do we do this? By reading His Word by spending time talking to and maybe more important...listening to Him, by asking Him to lead us through our day and help us to make the right decisions, by including Him in our decisions for heaven's sake! We get so bogged down by thinking we need to "do" something that we forget to stay and receive. We are supposed to "remain" which means to stay connected to, to abide. Are you abiding? Living in His presence?

It simply means that you make your home in Him. You spend time each day with Him. If you work then turn off the radio or put on some classical music on your way to work and talk to God, ask Him to be part of your day, to lead you to make the right decisions then listen for His still small voice throughout the day. When something good happens, even a small as a front row parking space, give Him thanks. On your way home reflect on your day and the good things that happened and tell Him thank you. If you had a rotten day thank Him for being there with you and for understanding where you are and ask for His peace as you go home to see your family, friends, etc. Include Him in your daily life! You will be amazed at the difference it will make in even a few days time. And guess what? His fruit will begin to be grow in you and be seen by others. Yeah, His fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. You won't be doing anything different except remaining "hooked up" to the vine and these are the things that will come out of it. You are responsible to "hook up" and remain that way.

Sure, there will be some trimming and pruning as you hook up, but it is for your good. It is because He is trying to cut away those things, people in your life that are trying to separate you from Him. Going back to the grape vines in vineyards...the vine keepers (or vintners)prune the vines to keep them bearing fruit year after year they are pruned and year after year they produce more and more grapes. Better grapes than the year before. The same for us. We have a vintner who is an expert pruner and He is looking to bring the best out in each of us.

If you are not "hooked up" I want to encourage you to do just that. It might be hard to do at first, but it will get easier with time and oh, it is so worth it! Begin you day by saying a simple pray before your feet hit the floor and then continue by talking and listening throughout the day. You may think that you don't hear anything but that will change soon enough you will realize you are listening to and hearing from God in small ways and then big ways. Don't stress about it just keep on going, keep reading, keep talking to Him and keep waiting on Him. He is there with you all of the time even when you can't feel or hear Him. He has waited on you this long you can wait on Him for a while if you need to, right? =)

A Shout out to our friends in Maryland...

We had so much fun hosting the Glass Team from Maryland. They were here with us from November 1st - November 9th. We are so thankful for the new friendships that have been established over the last 9 days.

We were able to travel back out to Pastor Robbie's orphanage in San Juan de la Maguana and spend several days there playing with and ministering to the kids. The team made wooden cars for each of the kids. They loved them!!! The best part is that can handle the rough dirt and gravel terrain out there as well as those tenderhearted bu rough and tough boys. =) It did not seem to matter how young or how old they were they were thrilled to get a wooden car. Yeah, I know, there are several of you out there reading this and reminising about your wooden cars or trains that you played with as a kid. =)

The team was also able to help us to go to Santiago and dig up plants to be transferred to the Ranch in Bani. Jim had so much fun hacking away at the weeds with the machette that he got carried away and wacked his chin. Don't worry we had 2 paramedic/firemen on the team so he was all taken care of quickly and without stitches. Needless to say we didn't let him use the machette anymore though. =) All of those lovely plants that were donated to us by Luis Arocha who is a botonist here in the D.R.


We then traveled out to Bani where we had a day of Evangilism, Construction, and Gardening. They were able to visit the public school that is located about 1/2 mile from the Ranch. The team put on a puppet show an awsome drama and more puppet skits and then a fun cowboy skit that the kids went wild over. They donated some funds to the school and we headed back to the Ranch to plant all of the those Cruton plants around the gazebo areas. We will be planting more in the future when the buildings are completed. After the planting was finished and we had lunch under the gazebo/shelter they were able to help us move a couple hundred cement blocks up into the building to be used to finish up the second floor as well as cleaning out a bunch of rubble that was hauled over to finish filling the footers on another building. And then we headed back to the school to do the same program for the afternoon students. It was a long day with a lot of work but it was oh so worth it!

The next day the Team decided to bless us, the Burge family, by helping to fix a few things around our house. They sent me, Brittany and Lora away for the day so that all of the men could work on the house. They fixed 3 toilets (some with leaks and some that just did not seem to flush well), They fixed the gas water heater that is in the enclosed laundry area that is on the side of the house (don't worry Ty and Troy, we have it off until we get those carbon monoxide detectors=D ) which gives us hot water for showers and for washing dishes. YEAH!!!! They also scraped and scrubbed all of the thick algea that had grown on the walkways for who knows how long. (Thanks Greg M for all of that muscle work.) And they scraped areas of the roof that were leaking and sealed and painted those. And they scraped, sealed, and painted Brittany's entire room and ceiling, Isaiah's ceiling and the bathroom walls and ceiling, all of which had leaks from all of the Hurricanes and Tropical Storms we had this year. It was like a mini Extreme Home makeover in one day! Thank you Jim G., Jimmy, Ty, Troy, Greg M., Greg B., Matthew and Isaiah for making our home safer, sealed and in better working order. And thank you Lora for filling the day with laughs and fun! Are you ready to come back and get another one of those delicious Philly Cheesesteak Sandwiches? *laughs and licks lips*

To finish off the week we were able to arrange, with the help of Bud Simon, to take the team back out to where they had visited over two years ago and they had been part of a team that built a church and playground for a small village. They were worried that all the work they had done would be either run down from lack of care or no longer being used but much to their surprise it was up and running and improved! Where they had built the shell of the building - meaning that they had put up the posts, and roofing for a covered shelter - the space between the columns had been filled in with cement block so that they had solid walls and the playground had been taken care of and the kids were playing on it when we drove up. You must understand that this was a surprise visit that was able to be put together at the last minute so the Pastor had no idea that they were coming but when his wife saw them she immediately recognized them and the smile on her face was priceless. She had opened her home to them on the previous trip and they had used it for a week as a dental clinic and she cooked for them several times. It was a time of rejoicing and remembering. every member had tears in their eyes as they remembered what all was accomplished and as the people of the village came to see who the "Americanos" were they recognozed them and there was even more rejoicing! It remined me that we are all connected as brothers and sisters in Christ. No matter what our culture, skin color, race, denomination, or location...we are all ONE body seeking after the ONE true GOD through Jesus Christ! Don't you just love God's creative variety? =)