The Good News

Greg's Wedding Vows

2010-12-12T14:54:00.000-08:00

Melynda and I renewed our wedding vows after 20 years of marriage. We will enclose an update shortly but I wanted to write out my personal wedding vows to remind and keep me accountable to them. I thank God for His guidance in our lives through the good times and storms of our marriage relationship. We both understand that we would not have made it without Him - God was and is the key. It also helps that Melynda is so lovable and I know how to do the laundry ;)

Onto my vows;

"My beloved Melynda, my Luv, L-U-V, you know what I mean. Almost 20 years ago, we committed to love one another forever and today we renew our love. But there is a huge difference in who we were then and who we are today."

I paused here and told her that "20 years ago, you were beautiful but today, wow, you are captivating." (and she was, is)

"To shed some light on how we have changed - I want to read a romantic quote from one of our favorite movies The Notebook - because it is how I feel about you.

"The best kind of love is the kind that awakens the soul and makes
us reach for more, a love that plants a fire in our hearts, and a love
that brings peace to our minds and that is what you have given me."

You have awakened my soul, brought peace to my mind, and definitely placed a fire in my heart. But I believe this quote points to One who is greater than even our love - our Abba Father.

Let me read it again - 1st part; "The best kind of love is the kind that awakens the soul and makes us reach for more" - I tried to love you without Jesus but I was inadequate. With God in me, He awakened my soul and gives me the desire to love you better.

2nd part - "A love that plants a fire in our hearts" - that fire from God has helped us - helped you to persevere through our tough times and for that, I thank you.

3rd part - "A love that brings peace to our minds" - God has given me a peace to rest in the fact that with His help, we will continue together as husband and wife forever.

Have I told you yet how beautiful you are? When I spend my quiet time with the Lord, He always points me toward you. It seems my #1 priority in life is not to be a great preacher (although it may happen) or a great missionary (that has happened, just kidding), but my purpose is to love you so much, unconditionally, that you will know how much God adores you, He always has and always will.

So in front of God, family, and friends; I am here to help you achieve all your dreams. I, Greg Burge, promise to love you forever, protect you always, and cherish you for the rest of your days. In sickness and health, for richer or poorer, I give myself to you completely and look forward to growing older with you and even more gray.

Te amo mi amor,

Siempre,

Greg

Day 5 - God is good, all the time!

2010-02-12T16:45:00.000-08:00

A major need right now in Haiti is clean water. It seems as if the top needs of the Haitian people are food, drinkable water, and sanitary bathrooms (they need an outside the box idea) for the people living in the tent cities. Our leader, Andy Patterson, ran into a situation inside one of the tent cities. He was checking on their medical needs and they took him down to the river that the people were using for this location. When he got there, he found out that they were using this river for their drinking water and all the people were using it also for their bathroom. Needless to say it broke his heart as he was feeling that there was no way to help them on this trip as w are a medical team. Andy and the Haitian translator stopped and prayed for this situation as he felt there was nothing else he could do (which was true and Andy said it was more like he was begging God to do something). On his way to pick up part of the team at the Miami clinic that night, Andy ran into some guys from Texas who were setting up water purification systems all over Haiti. He explained the situation at the tent city and these Southern Baptist men from Texas gave our team 75 free water purification systems proving to us once again (like we need more proof but it seems like we always do) that God still answers prayer in His perfect timing. At our evening debriefing with the entire team, Andy advised that we should write down these times when God answers our prayer so profoundly as it will help us to never doubt Him.

We all worked the same jobs on Friday. Those who worked at the Miami clinic yesterday, went there for another full day. Those who worked at Mision Rescate (such as Matt) did the same. The only change was with our mobile medical unit. We dropped off the team at the Miami clinic and then Andy needed two volunteers to help the Texas water purification team work in the Haitian heat all day, so Paul and I offered our services. Their tent was located right beside the airport and their storage area was immediately beside the U.S. Army. Paul and I basically moved 2000 water purification systems during our time there. Missionaries, Haitian Pastors, and neighborhood leaders all showed up and picked up numerous systems for the people they were helping. With this system, the Haitians could pour river water into the top and it would filter it down into pure drinking water. NBC news showed up for a demonstration that morning and the leader picked up dirt and trash right off the ground, filtered it through, and drank the water himself. It is an incredible system that only costs $40 dollars; what a blessing. It was an honor to stack those systems in the blazing sun while our U.S. helicopters landed nearby and being able to watch the military Humvee forklift in action. It does not get any better than helping to give out life saving water systems to families in need. It was my dirtiest, hottest, and physically draining day of the trip but so worth it.

The day closed with one of our Haitian translators, Frantzy, sharing his heart. He had lost family members in the earthquake so he was still in mourning. He went to Santo Domingo, in the Dominican Republic, to look for work to send back to his mother as he is now the last living male in his family. He then heard from a friend about this trip back to his capital in Port-au-Prince and saw his opportunity to use his English/Creole translating skills to help his people out. He is a young man of about 20 years and grew up in a Christian environment thanks to some local missionaries in his town near Cape Haitian in the middle of the island. He wanted to tell our group thank you for giving of their time and medical skills to help his country. He said he had never sensed God's love so powerfully as he did this week. He compared the love that was currently overwhelming him to the "number of stars in the sky." To tell our group thank you, he then sang a song in his native language Creole to his Abba Father. With eyes closed and tears streaming down his face it was once again an honor to be in this country and see God continuing to touch people that were surrounded by devastation proving that even in the midst of terrible suffering, God will bring peace and healing.

Romans 10:15, "And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"

Day 4 - more relief work and a miracle

2010-02-11T17:56:00.000-08:00

We are awakened today by the music of Michael Jackson at 5:55am on Wednesday. Laying in our tent, I was shocked to hear the song Thriller blaring through some unknown speakers nearby out on the street. This was followed up by "I'm Bad," and then "Don't Stop til you get enough" but I digress. I went back up on the roof to survey the area in front of the Presidential Palace and found out it was the U.S. Military cranking out the tunes while they passed out more giant bags of rice. It was very nice of them to entertain the Haitian ladies waiting in line although the songs were in English. By the way, those ladies could balance the large bags of rice on their heads as they walked back to their "homes." While we are on the roof , a Doctor from Chicago said there was a good chance that another "big" earthquake was coming to Haiti (how he knew this and when it was coming is another topic). Matt and I start discussing what people should do if they are on this 3rd floor roof and an earthquake hits (we are wisely sleeping on solid ground now in our tent while there are many still sleeping up here). We decide it would be wise to jump onto the top of our school bus which is parked right below us and then jump to the ground and get away from the building. It is crazy what you need to think through sometimes to keep your family safe.

I want to apologize again for having to show this trip through my eyes. I was only a small part of this team. The Doctors, Nurses, and Paramedics helped the Haitian people incredibly in their time of need. I was not able to be in the medical clinics to see first hand their skills and how they saved someone from a dire situation. The team was great to be around, even in these tough conditions and they worked hard and long hours.

The same crew of Doctors and nurses headed back to the Miami clinic near the main airport. This was made possible by an idea that Dr. Curran (one of the Doctors on the team) had to help Mision Rescate's relationship with the Miami clinic. Miami was getting too busy to take our emergencies that we did not have the technology or supplies available to handle in our makeshift emergency room. But Dr. Curran had the idea that if we sent an emergency to their clinic, we would send a Doctor along to handle the patient after they were taken care of for up to 24 hours. This idea worked and they also are now welcoming our help the remaining days we have available on this trip. This clinic was partially sponsored by Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt and was a very nice setup for the medical personnel considering the timing and the location.

I was going back on the school bus with a mobile medical unit team. Matthew and other medical people are staying at the Mision to help here. I am internally happy about the decision to have Matt work at the Mision as it is probably the safest place for him to be all day. Our mobile medical team stopped at a hospital and did some work there checking on the bandages of many patients who recently had amputations. This hospital run by 7th day Adventists was well staffed. We left there and decided to go directly into a poor neighborhood that our Haitian translator Frantzy (his english was great but as a person, he was even better) knew of. It was a little dicey at first when we pulled up as I believe the people thought we had food and rushed the bus. Luckily we had Dave and Mark Lynch as security/preachers and they along with our Haitian Pastor/translator were able to calm the people down and let them know we were there to help medically. Doctor Drew (deserves an award for his patience, kindness, and diligence) was our only doctor and was assisted by Paul and I (his manly nurses). We passed out medicine for children and adults along with vitamins. Dr. Drew was able to bandage up the head of a little girl that had been injured in the earthquake in a fashionable purple bandage. He treated kids with lesions on their body, children with diarea due to the conditions they now lived in, a baby who needed formula immediately as it was literally starving, and many others needing medical assistance. The team outside preached the gospel and kept the peace in what could have been a dangerous situation, instead cooler heads prevailed and people were able to get the treatment that they needed. It was a divine appointment.

That night we had a crisis with a baby boy who was having breathing problems. This baby was lucky that he had these skilled Doctors available to help him. It seemed the entire camp was outside the emergency room praying for this child. Despite their efforts which included reviving the child once when he quit breathing, the baby died on the way to the Miami clinic in the ambulance. They had done all that they could do except pray so as the boy lay there they bowed their heads to the King of Kings. Then after a few moments, God breathed life back into this child. Sometimes we get to be amazed by our good God. We can help and give our all but we need to remember to ask for His help as with Him all things are possible.

Day 4 - "The process is dirty but ...."

2010-02-11T15:57:00.000-08:00

Matt and I have not taken a shower yet, sorry. There are over 125 people at "Mision Rescate" (Rescue Mission) and the women are all sharing one bathroom while all the men share another. There are too many people in relation to the shower. I am not complaining, (maybe those near us are complaining about our smell though ;) just trying to give you a feel of our accomodations. It is a blessing that the Haitian Police are even allowing us to share their facilities. The Police are being unbelievably welcoming to us as we are invading their space. They let us stay as we are helping them get food, water, tents, gas, medicine, much needed medical help and other supplies to their families and their countrymen.

Everyday, we who sleep in the tents on the ground (in the Police parking lot) have to break down our tents, pack up our suitcases, and stack them in a "corner," somewhat out of the way. Matthew breaks ours down quickly (we have the luxury of stuffing it in the back of the Trooper) and then helps out the other neighbors around us which adds to the love that is outpouring towards my son who is surprising me with his dedication to serve. Later in the day, after dark, the process repeats itself with everyone rebuilding their tents once the vehicles leave for the night. Remember, this is not just one team. It is a mix of separate teams, from different countries, all trying to cohabitate and then work together the following day.

Omey (the defacto leader here from YWAM (Youth with a Mission) and Abner (head Doctor here, our close friend) are doing a great job, delicately/firmly leading all these different cultures/personalities. We had a little meeting today about some miscellaneous items. People were leaving half full water bottles laying around which meant that half of a water bottle was being wasted (not good when it is so precious here and others need it desperately). Even worse, there were also some partially used Gatorades (I would have considered drinking those if I saw them). The women's bathroom was being used but was not being cleaned. People were not understanding that you had to carry water up in a bucket so you could fill the back tank so it would flush. This was causing an obvious major problem. The men picked up the slack and kept a giant plastic trash can filled with water which the women started using to keep their toilets in use and clean.

The men from Brazil (also with the organization YWAM) need a special thank you from everyone in camp. They were not medical workers but they volunteered for every difficult job. Every day they cleaned the men's bathroom and no one understands the humility in that unless you saw this situation with your own eyes. It was not pretty.

Omey closed out the meeting advising us that a new life came into the camp late last night. A lady came in from the street ready to have a baby and Abner, Doctor Drew and others got up in the middle of the night to help. This was the 3rd baby born here since Mision Rescate had set up. Omey does not like blood and the other stuff involved with the birth of a baby and normally does not watch the process but this time she felt the Lord wanted her to be involved. What God was able to show her through this process, she was able to relate to our life here at the camp and in Haiti. Despite being "dirty" and bloody, the birth of a baby brings life and is a beautiful thing. Currently Haiti is bloody and dirty and we Americans and other foreigners are not used to living/working in these tough conditions (we are all dirty and the Doctors and Nurses are sometimes literally bloody). Omey said, "The process is dirty but the result is beautiful." I thought this was an exquisite metaphor. A baby being born in Port-au-Prince bringing life to a country in despair.

Day 3 - Voodoo at the Presidential Palace

2010-02-10T13:31:00.000-08:00

Day 3 started early as I awoke to drums and chanting in the middle of the night around 3 a.m. I listened to the chanting get louder and louder, closer and closer, and then I saw a Haitian Policeman run by toward the front gate (to lock it, i hoped - nope - he just ran outside). I woke Matt up and told him we were heading up to the roof to check out what was going on. (I figured if the mob came into our camp knowing we had food or whatever, they probably would not go to the roof as they were still scared of buildings collapsing). The crowd was chanting with the drums as they circled the Presidential Palace. We had about 8 Haitian cops outside of our compound and thankfully the chanting, clapping crowd stayed a safe distance away, directly in front of the Presidential Palace dancing and waving their arms. There was one UN vehicle, kind of like a truck with a machine gun turret in the top but they were backed up on the opposite street and Andy (the leader) and I joked that it looked as if the UN vehicle was prepared to take off in the other direction if the crowd came our way. We all felt somewhat safe with the Haitian police because the people are scared of them because they will shoot them. The US military is technically there to help the people and do not want to shoot anyone but the Haitian police have a reputation of restoring order the hard way so we felt we had good protection. Right in front of us was an old man wearing a purple "dress/flowing robe" with stars on it, waiving his arms praying/cursing at us; so we prayed (to the One True God) and he backed off to the other side of the street; he was definitely not a good guy, spooky. Everyone did not get up at this hour to watch this but some nurses from England said they have worked in Haiti in the past and rituallly at 3am followers of voodoo come out and play drums almost every single night. They finally leave and Matt and I go back down and get in the tent and go back to sleep.

About 4:30 am, I hear music again. At first, I think, uh - oh they may be coming back with a bigger mob. But there is no drums. Just singing, and then I recognize the song. It is "The Old Rugged Cross." As I lay there I start thinking about the Haitians who are up at that moment in their lives and are singing. Most have lost their homes, jobs, their money, clothes, and food. Would I still love God after that? Then I think, at least they have their wife and kids; but some have lost their entire family. Some individuals lost everything and yet they still are singing to God.

I am going to write exactly what I scribbled down in the middle of the night - some of it may not be coherent but here it is;

"Our God is so real - I know the same God these Haitians are singing to. I know Him, how good He is and these people are still praising Him. One of the poorest countries on the earth and all they have right now is Him and He is still and always will be worthy to be praised. I told Matt to lift up a song in his heart and join these Haitian Christians in honoring God above all - what an honor to be laying in a tent and hear this worship with my 16 year old and hear him drift off to sleep - what an incredible night."

After the voodoo people came out, it was like we had the Christian response. It was so beautiful to hear the Christians singing. They had to be people sleeping in the tent cities close by. A Haitian pastor told me that in the past when the voodoo people came out and chanted while playing the drums, that the Christians did not normally get out of bed and sing. But they are now. Just like they spray painted on the Presidential Palace, "Satan is finished." It was beautiful and I just laid there in peace. It was a totally different vibe from earlier when I was prompted to get Matt up to safety. The Prince of Peace was here and He is good.

Matt and I went out with a medical mobile unit team in the school bus. Some of the team is staying at the Police station working in the clinic or emergency room. Other Doctors, nurses, and paramedics (including Brad) are now going daily to the Miami Clinic which is located at the Port-au-Prince airport and putting in a full days work there where they are busy and are incredibly effective helping people all day long. Our mobile clinic team has found out that the Haitian people are getting pretty good treatment from the medical communities around the world. The places we went today, the people had seen a doctor within the last three days which is almost unbelievable. Their top priority needs are clean water, food, and a place to use the bathroom (possibly litrines could be built) as the people in these tent cities are using the restroom in the same river that they use for drinking water. They are living in horrific conditions. It is tough to see. It has not rained yet since the earthquake which has been a blessing because diseases have not spread due to the lack of rain.

After the bus returned, I was able to explore a little. I was needed to drive my Trooper all over the capital city with Andy and our Haitian translator. We had to get some specific medicines from a pharmacy. We also needed to check out the tent city that we potentially could help the next day to make sure they were needing medical help. Andy was fearless in the middle of Port-au-Prince. He would jump out of my vehicle, buy some medicine, cross a busy street, talk to some street vendors by himself with his limited Creole language (he knows Spanish excelente) looking for the other supplies our team needed.

When our family first arrived in Santo Domingo in June 2005, we stayed with our "bosses" Danny and Denise Stone for four days and then "house-sat" for Andy and Pam Patterson for 6 weeks while they went home to the States to visit. So our first weeks on the mission field were in Andy's old home here in Santo Domingo. I told him (now 5 years later) while we were working together that he was doing a great job leading this mission team as it was not an easy task. He is back in SC working but one day I would not be surprised to see him back on the mission field because it is obvious that he was born to be a missionary. When I house sat for him years ago, I never would have thought we would be working together, driving through Haiti after a horrible disaster together but God knows the future and works all things out for good.

We had dinner and Matt and I went straight to bed. Matt had worked hard all day again and was passed out when the worship service began. Our tent was right beside the service and I decided to get up from my sleeping bag and join in because the Haitian worship leader was singing in English and it was powerful. It was mostly Haitians and Dominicans, as most of our team was in bed except Dave and Maria Fleming (Maria won the prayer award for this team as she was always praying for people while holding their hands, great job) and I believe Dentist Ben was also up praising the Lord. I was impressed by this Haitian worship leaders' English as we sang, "Hallelujah, Grace like rain fall downs on me" - it was incredible. The Dominican team finished the night by publicly apologizing to the Haitian people for looking down on them as a people all these years. They promised to be better neighbors and asked the Haitians for forgiveness. This disaster is bringing restoration between these two countries and the Dominicans really are being a great friend to their neighbor in need.

Day 2 - People from all Nations and tongues

2010-02-10T11:09:00.000-08:00

It is Monday, February 1st, 2010; I still cannot believe it is already the year 2010. Today some of the team will be working on the compound and staying here at the clinic while the others will be going on a mobile medical clinic to an orphanage. My son Matthew is going to the orphanage with my Brother-in-Law Brad and others while I will be staying back and working at the Emergency room among other duties.

The American military are passing out giant bags of rice and handling the situation extremely well. We need to give the Haitian people credit for being calm and respectful. From my vantage point, they have an unbelievably good attitude overall. I have not seen the craziness that is always shown on CNN.

Here at the compound at the Policia Nacional is a conglomeration of people from all around the world. The awesome thing is, that it is not just a one denominational deal here. There are Baptists, working with Pentecostals, Four Square churches working with Catholics, who are working with non-christians who are all here only to help the Haitian people - and they do need the help. Omey, a Dominican lady from YWAM, is the de facto leader here and is doing a great job facilitating all the Doctors and other type A personalities that have gathered here. My good friend Abner St. Gilles is a Doctor and a native Haitian (he speaks great English, comes to our house on Thanksgiving and watches American football) and here at the compound he is the right hand man of Omey - basically 2nd in command and doing a fantastic job as a Doctor and administrator. I am working alongside people from Brazil, England, the Honduras, Netherlands, Chicago, the DR, and Canada - it is incredible to see people from all over the globe reaching out to their neighbor in need.

A funny aside - (2 United Nation peacekeepers ask to exchange money with Paul, employee of Brookwood Church, and I. I give them some Dominican pesos and they give me a 10 rupee bill that I pass along to my son Isaiah. Well, Paul is trying to give them a dollar but they keep speaking slower and louder in their "English" saying they want his "South Carolina money" - we finally surmise they think S.C. is its own country. These guys from India come and work for the UN for 1 year and they have been here for 4 months so far and now are in the middle of some action.

The start of my day consists of carrying bags of water in bulk in the morning (that is how they distribute them here, cheaper, in small individual plastic bags) to different areas of the compound followed by being "promoted" to head of security at the entrance to the emergency room. Haitians were not listening to the Dominican YWAM workers and were barging into the emergency room waiting area even though they were not "emergencies" (basically trying to get out of standing in the long line at the next door clinic). I was the designated tall, white guy and had to do the one thing in the world I do not like to do - look serious and tell people "No" all day (unless they were an emergency). The emergency room started to regain efficiency a little after lunch but I was starting to panic. My Trooper was supposed to be returned first thing in the morning so after lunch I found my YWAM buddy who called his mechanic and .... the mechanic with my keys did not pick up his cell phone. He told me not to worry, that the mechanic was his friend. I decided to think how I would tell Melynda. Well honey, the car broke down, I pushed it into a yard, gave the keys to a guy I just met, never saw it again. That probably would not make sense to her, huh.

Around 1:40 in the afternoon, my '99 Trooper actually arrives and I thank my Lord in Heaven. The mechanic leaves it running, lets me check it out, and everything looks good. He was a good guy (I sensed it, though I admit to wavering). Later in the week we are standing beside each other at the nightly Worship service, singing and praising God together. I knew it would all work out, kind of.

The mobile team returns from the orphanage and it was good to see Matt back inside the safety of the compound so I understood how he felt the night before. Brad, his friends Matt and Dave, all had a great time helping the kids and the patients they were able to see. I was pulled aside by the Dentist Ben on the team who told me what a great son I had in Matt. Andy had brought some Haitians that lived in Santo Domingo who knew Creole and Spanish and were having some trouble communicating to the Americans in English. Matt was able to listen to the Haitians in Spanish and then translate that to English. Ben and a couple of the other ladies also wanted to let me know how hard working, respectful, and helpful Matt was and to let me know what a great teenager I had. He is a great guy and was turning into a man.

Our first night we slept on cots on top of the Police station. The second night it seemed everyone else decided to join us up there and in my opinion there were way too many people in tents up there walking around on the only building around that had not collapsed. Matt and I were able to commandeer a tent and moved down to the ground and set up camp in the parking lot. The view was not nearly as good but we felt safer and wiser than the others (although they were correct in that the building never collapsed).

Before we retired for the night, the team had a meeting to discuss the day. Dave, a retired Navy SEAL (I believe), said he noticed on the way back to the compound - a saying that was spray painted on the side of the Presidential Palace that was translated to us that said, "Satan is finished." (seems like not a very "Christian" thing to do but I liked it) Haiti has a lot of Christians but also has a lot of followers of voodoo, even high up in their government, and it was cool to see the Christians standing up for what they believe.

Day 1 - on the way to Port-au-Prince

2010-02-10T09:42:00.000-08:00

We left Santo Domingo at 4:05 a.m. with three new additions to the team in my Isuzu (a nurse, a paramedic and a cousin all the way from the great State of Washington - we always say you have to be flexible on a mission trip as things are always changing) and the back fully loaded with supplies. The only thing I was concerned about with my vehicle was my old tires as the entire time I have owned the Trooper, I have only needed to change the oil - it has been an excelente "jeepeta" as they say here.

We made it smoothly into the border town of Jimani in the morning, right on schedule to meet our armed escort into Haiti. They never showed. We waited around a little while and then Andy divinely stopped a driver who happened to work for YWAM dropping off another team so we decided to use him as our GPS directional guide. It only took 45 minutes in the shockingly beautiful landscape of Haiti for my vehicle to break down with a broken serpentine belt. My truck was cooked so we rapidly moved all the supplies into the already overcrowded school bus (I was driving just in case the old bus broke down - how ironic) and pushed my dead vehicle across the highway through a broken down gate into the front yard of a willing Haitian young man to be the security guard of the Trooper until we returned. I will admit to being a little concerned.

As we moved closer to Port-au-Prince, more and more buildings were demolished. I personally had never witnessed such a catastrophe and in my opinion it was worse to see it live. The one thing that struck me throughout the week was the positive spirit of the Haitian people to get back to the daily task of living despite the chaos all around them. As we were driving in, I was surprised to see so many people coming back from Church dressed in their Sunday best. I had always thought Haiti would look different from the Dominican where I live but it looked very similiar with the concrete buildings and little "colmados" (very small convenience stores) everywhere. We stayed at the main Police station downtown directly across from the Presidential Palace that was demolished. All the surrounding government buildings were also devastated. YWAM had setup a medical clinic inside and were distributing food, tents, water, and medical help to the people and the families of the police who in turn provided protection. The team arrived and started and unloading and I left immediately with a driver to fix my vehicle.

Since it was a Sunday (and after the earthquake, we drove by the auto parts areas with lots of stores, all demolished) and no one was open we could not find the belt part I needed. I was working with a Haitian guy around 20 years old who was on his first day with YWAM. He contacted his mechanic and who located a belt we headed back to my Trooper. We arrived, (my car was still there, yeah) but the mechanic noticed that the main problem was a "tensioner" was not spinning and I needed more parts. So I got the pleasure to drive around Haiti throughout markets and back alleys looking for ball bearings only a few hours into my trip here. Melynda knew we had a police escort (nope) and that I would be safe in the Police station by now (nope). We actually found the parts but it was so dark when we returned to the car (it was still there) he could not see to install the parts although we tried diligently to light up the area with our cell phone backlights (did not work).

So we head back to the home base in the dark (power had not returned to the country yet - just generators) flying through the capital, horn beeping, people everywhere, but luckily I was with the best driver I had ever seen (the mechanic) - I actually tell the mechanic this through the Creole (language of the Haitians - a dialect of French) translator. When I returned about 9pm, it had been dark for a few hours and my son Matt was mad at me for not contacting him somehow and letting him know I was fine. (I received it as he was worried about me because he loved me so much). I had missed dinner but I knew I was not as hungry as the people outside.

Before I left my Trooper overnight with the young man and his mother and sister, the mechanic thought it would be better for me to leave my keys with the family just in case my alarm went off and started to bother all the neighbors. (I vetoed this idea). But on the way back, the YWAM kid said if I gave the keys to the mechanic, he would go first thing and then return the Trooper to me so I would not have to go back into that area alone. (I had left some more money with the family to guard the truck and they advised they slept outside under a blanket right beside the truck. Their house was fine but there were some cracks and most Haitians are still sleeping outside due to fear of the house collapsing). Well, with some fear and trepidation, I handed over my keys to the mechanic and prayed for its return (when you leave the DR, the insurance is no longer in force - if it was stolen, then bye bye). So I walk into base camp for my first night in Haiti with no Trooper, and no keys - everything was going according to the plan ;)

Matt and I slept on top of the 2-story Police station on cots under the stars with a great view of the city and the Presidential Palace. There was a late night worship service going on that I was too tired to attend but I went to sleep listening to the song , "How Great Thou Art."

Background behind Haiti Mission Trip

2010-02-10T07:13:00.000-08:00

I (Greg) kept a journal during my time in Port-au-Prince, the capital city of Haiti. Keep in mind, my thoughts and observations come from the perspective of a guy going to help/work in any area that I could. I was just a small part of the team; we had Doctors, Nurses, Paramedics, skilled security guys, and translators giving their all for the hurting Haitian people. I worked in the area that was assigned to me daily (this was a team of 40 from S.C.) so I did not get to see what each and every Doctor and Nurse saw inside the clinics that were set up but I will do my best to give you a picture of what it was like.

First, I want to thank my beautiful wife Melynda for praying and giving Matthew and I the go-ahead to join the team going into Haiti. We have lived on the island of Hispaniola (this island that shares Haiti and the Dominican Republic) for four and a half years and never felt called to visit Haiti except for the temporary visits of landing at three of their airports delivering missionary supplies with Agape Flights in an airplane. We have met good Haitian Christians here in the capital of Santo Domingo and have always worked with Haitian guys on our job sites. There are now over 1 million Haitians living in the DR. But we have always felt called to the Dominican Republic and despite some offers from our Haitian friends, had never ventured into what we had viewed as a somewhat dangerous country.

This started to change when we got an email from Melynda's brother Brad. He is a Paramedic and goes to Brookwood Church in Simspsonville, SC and when he heard a mission team was going into Haiti, he felt like God wanted him to go so he signed up - you da man, Brad. Long story short we found out his team was being led by Andy Patterson, (an old friend of ours - he used to be a missionary here in Santo Domingo), so we called him up and he welcomed us to the team BUT he wanted me to drive my vehicle which led Melynda to pray some more. I could see how God was planning this trip and while I was praying, I never felt a complete sense that Matt and I would be safe the whole time, (and we weren't) but I sensed completely we were supposed to go and help - so I drove my '99 Trooper behind a school bus filled to the max with 40 people and alot of medical supplies. We were heading to "Mision Rescate" (Rescue Mission) which was being run by YWAM (Youth with a mission) which is led by another good family friend of ours here in Santo Domingo, Kent Norel. It is amazing to watch how God takes the terrible things of this world and see how he organizes and responds to it with love.

Heading For Haiti...

2010-01-25T18:22:00.000-08:00

We are asking you, our readers, to be in prayer for Melynda's brother, Brad, and the other 19 people (medics mostly) who are heading our way this Saturday (January 30th). They should be arriving here in Santo Domingo on Saturday and heading out really early in the morning on Sunday (January 31st) to work with YWAM at the medical tent which is set up in the area of the Presidential Palace.

Also, we are asking you to be in prayer with us as Greg and Matthew may go along with this same team. They will be traveling on a bus and probably followed by a supply truck. The good news is that they will have a police escort from the Dominican/Haitian border all the way to Port Au Prince and be stationed across from the National Police Station and have armed guards around them at all times, then be escorted back to the border as they return the following Friday (February 5th). We have heard good reports form the leaders of YWAM and while it seems scary we are praying for confirmation from God in His leading knowing that where He leads He will Provide and Protector.

Thank you for all of your support throughout this time and for all of your prayers. We will keep you posted as the final decision is made.

God Bless You All,
Greg, Melynda & Family

Haiti Relief

2010-01-24T20:42:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone,

As you well know these are devastating times for the Haitian people who were already living under extreme poverty before the earthquakes. We have joined together with several other mission organizations that are represented here and in Haiti to bring relief and aid to Haiti. Currently we are working with Missions Ventures, Four Square Ministries, International Baptist Organizations, Iglesia Christiana Palabras de Vida, Agape Flights, and YWAM (Youth With A Mission) - who has a base in Haiti - to name a few. Representatives from each of these organizations made a trip over to Haiti within the first few days after the first quake. They were able to check on staff members, friends and family members as well as assess the damage and to devise a plan of how to best serve the Haitians. Upon their return a meeting was held to discuss the needs of the people and to form a list of items to distribute among our supporters and others who are looking for ways to help.
That same group found great favor with many government officials in Haiti and were given armed escorts to and from each site that they went to in Haiti. They were also told that they have free reign in entering Haiti to bring relief supplies, doctors, etc. This is a blessing of the Lord as distribution of food, water and other relief supplies can be a dangerous situation if done by individuals without police or military support to keep order. As you know desperate people do desperate acts. There have been several incidences of mobbing when aid has been distributed and several injuries have been the result so it is a great blessing to know that we have a way to get the aid where it needs to go in safety.
We are working alongside Agape Flights of Venice, Florida who are currently working very long hours receiving and packing airplanes with relief supplies that are being donated, as well as doctors, and other aid workers coming to help. They are using their plane as well as several other planes that have been volunteered for use for the next several weeks. Agape is flying several flights a week here, to the DR, and to Haiti transporting supplies and people. We have opened our home to be used for doctors, relief workers, and missionaries traveling to and from Haiti. It is wonderful to see everyone coming together to help in whatever way they can. This is how the body of Christ should be all of the time in crisis and outside of a crisis.
We are distributing this list as a beginning to what will be a long journey of recovery and rebuilding in Haiti. We will try to keep the list as up-to-date as possible by adding items as necessary and deleting items that have already been supplied. There are a few items that are marked with and asterisk (*) an indication that it would be easier/ more cost effective to receive the money for such items to be purchased here in the DR and then transported to Haiti.
Our internet savvy daughter, Brittany, has set up a separate email for all of the responses coming in about how to help. That email address is www.supplies4haiti@gmail.com . Thank you in advance for all that you are doing to help in the relief and rebuilding efforts in Haiti. May God bless each of you for your sacrifice!

Food

Dominican Coffee* - 20 bags (cost of $2 per bag)
Plastic glasses* - 500 count
Water bottles* - Endless supply needed (Cost of $0.30 each)
Gatorade (bottled or mix) - Endless supply needed
Energy Bars - Endless supply needed
Supligen*(Powdered) - Similar to Pediasure - Unlimited supply (Cost of $8 a can)
Sustagen* (powdered) - Unlimited supply needed (Cost of $8 a can)
Trail Mixes - 50 large bags
Rice* - 75 bags to start (Cost of $20 for 50 lb. bag)
Beans* - 200 bags to start (cost avg. $2 a bag)
Cooking Oil - 50 bottles to start
Food to give away - needs to be easy to prepare over open flame and preferably
individually bagged, boxed, or pop-top since they may not have a can opener.

To make a camp for workers and recovery patients:

Tents - large and small - 500
Sleeping bags - 100
Quality tarps - 20
Portable showers - 2
Blankets -100
Sheets - 100
Rolls of rope (1/2 inch thick) - 3
Printer (Printer, copier, fax) -1 and ink cartridges (one dozen)
Plastic chairs* - 100 (cost of $10 each here)
Plastic tables - 10 - The heavy duty kind that are used in churches with foldable legs
Small plastic garbage bags - 1000
Large Plastic garbage bags - 500
55 gallon drums* - 10 (cost $15 each)

Needs in the Clinic:

Disposable sheets - 2000
Clorox* - 50 gallons (Cost of $7 ea.)
Ink Pens - 200
Pads of Paper - 50
Lysol (Spray and Liquid) - 100
Anti-bacterial soap - Unlimited gallons
Hand Sanitizer (pump bottles preferred) - 50
Diesel Fuel - endless supply needed (cost of $4.00 a gallon)

Personnel Needed:

Doctors
Nurses
Paramedics
Organizers - to sort food, medicines, clothing, etc.

Medicines:

Toothbrushes (soft bristle)- 500
Iodine - Gallons
Surgery Kits
Anesthesia
Anti-Inflammatory (pill form and injectable)
Betadine
Carbonated Water - Lots of bottles
Rubbing Alcohol
Gauze
First-Aid Tape
Bandages
IVs
Needles - all sizes
Antibiotics - Pill form and injectable
Granulated Glucos
Equipment for Sterlizing
Steroids
Stethoscopes
Equipment for minor surgeries
Nebulizers
Asthma medicines
Insulin
And anything else a doctor can think of for emergency that is portable and does not
need electricity. =)

That is the list as it stands right now. Again thank you for all that you are doing to help. Supplies can be sent by Agape Flights at:

100 Airport Avenue
Venice, Florida 34285

Please note that there is a $3.00 shipping fee per pound which helps to supply the fuel for these flights. You may also contact Agape at www.agapeflights.com or call 941-488-0990 for more information on shipping or transportation to Haiti.

If you would like to make a monetary donation, please send it to this address:

Bethel Worship Center
814 Fair Street
Camden, SC 29020

Please make sure you put Haiti Relief in the Memo line of the check.

Thank you so much for all your help and prayers!
In His Love & Service,
Greg & Melynda

BCS Team makes a come back...

2009-04-18T13:13:00.000-07:00

We have had the priveledge of working with Jonathan Jankovich and the team he leads from BCS (Bradenton Christian School) for the 3rd time. He, himself, has been here 5 times now. This time he brought a team of 16 youth with him and we made sure everyday was loaded with activity.

They arrived Saturday afternoon and went directly from the airport to the church (Palabras de Vida) to share in a time of praise and worship, prayer and teaching with the youth group.

~Sunday was full of prayer and praise as we went to Palabras de Vida with Pastor Raffy Paz in the morning and Iglesia Accion Misionera with Pastor Juan Santos. It was their first visit to Jaun Santos' church and it was unforgetable. Jonathan was given the opportunity to prech the sermon of his life. What I mean is that he had thought long and hard about what he would say if he could only preach one sermon for the rest of his life and this was his time to share that sermon. After his message many came forward for prayer - some were first-time salvation prayers, some for healing, some for encouraging but all were to grow closer to God. They even learned a littel merengue at the end of it all! Dancing for joy is just part of the Latino culture. We love it!!

~Monday was spent working hard at Restoration Ranch. We were able to accomplish a lot of work in a short amount of time. The group was split up into smaller groups which allowed them to split up and work on several tasks at once. One group was cleaning up the apartments of the first building. They had to pick up all of the broken pieces of block and chip away at chunks of concrete that has spilled or fallen and such during construction so that the floors would be as smooth as possible. Another group helped to fill in all of the trenches that were left from plumbling being laid. They busted up a concrete pad that was left from the big concrete truck and moved all of the debri to fill in the footers of the next building. A team helped me to organize the kitchen and begin on organizing sheets and towels into plastic bins. During the entire time we were at the Ranch teams of 4 rotated in and out to prayer walk the entire property. It was a long hard day that ended with a quick trip to Las Salinas where the salt mines are along the coastline. We walked up the beach and spent some time in taking communion before returning to Santo Domingo for dinner and rest. =)

~The team started out Tuesday morning traveling to San Pedro to visit another missionary and helping to pass out invitations to a big event as well as establishing a plan for the Baseball team of BSC to come and be a part of all that is going on in the Hales' baseball ministry in San Pedro next year. Then a quick trip to the market on the way home.

~Wednesday included a trip to Ina's and clean up and minsitry in Cercadillo. Ina is trying to help the community to establish a sens of pride in their area and one of the ways to do that is to teach them to throw trash in a trash can and not on the ground. We started the process by dividing the kids of Cercadillo into teams with our youth mixed in and we raced to pick up trash. The team who filled the most bags won a prize. Then some went to share their testimony with the kids and play baseball while others helped to tote water from the well pump area to the homes. That was soem heavy labor!! Later that evening we were able to take the team to ride on the Metro (our new railway tram system that is both above ground and below). all 25 of us gringo Americans laoded on the tram and headed from Villa Mella to the Malecon to Euri and Zinyada's home where we celebrated with Brittany in her disperdida (farewell party).

~Thursday was when the trip was winding down. They headed over to work with Jerry Poppe in Los Alcarrizos to help by painting the Haitian church and its newly added area for children's church. They also gathered around to pray for a child who is deaf and play with several of the Haitian children. That evening we got all cleaned up and dressed up and went to "The Cave" to eat dinner. A real splurge for us, the Burge family, as we have only been there one other time. It was a time of great food and great fellowship to end a great and impacting trip!

~Friday morning was off to the airport to say so long until next time. It was also time for us to say farewell to our daughter, Brittany, for 6 weeks as she traveled back with them to attend school with them and have the high schol experience. =)

Healing and Freedom were the theme for this team's trip and they accomplished both...prayer and fulfilling of healing as well as being set free from old ways of living and thinking. Lives were touched on both sides and God was glorified!

Brittany has left home...

2009-04-12T12:15:00.000-07:00

We now have a new respect for parents who send their children off to college. Letting Brittany leave 6 weeks early to go to Florida throew us all out of wack! She has been working very hard this school year to finish early so that she could travel back to Florida with the team from Bradenton Christian School. She has been blessed with the opportunity to go to high school there for about 6 weeks and enjoy being around other Seniors, go to prom, and go to the library - oh, how she loves her books! =)

We knew that letting her go with them in April was going to be hard but we did not realize just how hard it would be! After enjoying working with one last team with her by our side helping all the way we said so long - we don't like to say goodbye; it is just too final for us - we circled around her and prayed for her (as you can see in the picture on the right side. She is in the center...look at the feet) then we watched her walk through to the check point at the airport with tears being held down with large gulps. As I turned from watching her walk through the doors, leaving us and heading into a new adventure with God, I heard Greg say, "Well that SUCKED!" *Excuse our language. Haha!* It truly did suck! We walked out to the waiting guagua (bus) and loaded it with our heads down and tears beginning to flow. Once we were on the bus Greg asked Guillermo (the driver, who is more like a family member) to put in some music and we each retreated to our own seat to cry. Yes, grown men can and do cry especially when their little girl grows up and leaves home. =) After a while, we came together and talked and cried and then called to see if Brittany was able to get through Customs without a problem (since she is 17 and trying to leave the country without a parent she could have been stopped even with our letter of permission). She was fine and said that she had left us a gift at home, a letter. She even wrote one to Guillermo, she is just too sweet and thoughtful.

When we got to the house we gave Guillermo his letter which he started to read then got choked up so he put it in his pocket and said he would read it later when he was alone. Can you tell she has had an impact on everyone around her? To be honest, we have not read our letter yet...we just can't handle it, not just yet anyway. We are very thankful for all of you who have lifted us up in prayer. We know that Brittany is ready for the world with God by her side and that she is truly in the center of His will for her right now it is just hard to adjust to her being gone especially to another country. Sorry, no pity for those of you who are only a few hours drive from your kids. ;) We are an ocean away and we know that it will only be a few years before she is half a world away as she plans and believes God for His provision and timing for her to go to live in Europe and eventually Isreal.

Please keep us in prayer and more importantly keep Brittany in your prayers as she prepares for college and for the plans and purposes that God has for her in the future.

We love you Brittany and we will miss you, but we are proud of the woman you are becoming! =)

Monthly Challenge...

2009-04-08T10:42:00.000-07:00

As many of you know, we have added a column on our newsletter which is the "Challange of the Month". The challenge changes from month to month and while we issue the challenge to each of our readers we also follow through with the challenge. I wanted to share with you the results from one of those.

In March the challenge was to go beyond yourself to reach out to a person in need. We know that the economy has many of you looking for ways to trim your budget just as it done to us, but we know that we are to trust God in all our situations no matter what the circumstances may be. It is yet another trial that gives us an opportunity to stretch our faith and continue to show and share God's love.

Most of the time when we reach out beyond ourselves and help another we do not get to see just how far our act of kindness reaches however, in this case, God allowed me to find out just what He was able to do with my willingness to reach out to another.

I had prayed that God would show me a way to reach out to someone in need. We help a lot of people here in the DR but sometimes I just want to do something random, something new, something different. As I was preparing for a team to come and stay in our home and writing a grocery list I heard the Holy Spirit tell me to make a list for Marisol. I was taken back for a moment though I quickly realized that this was the person I was to help. Marisol is a single Mom with 2 girls, she runs a hair salon out of a room of her rented home. She seems to struggle to make ends meet, as do so many others.

Two days later, when I went to the grocery store, I purchased food for her and took it to her house. When I walked in to deliver the groceries to her she was talking with a friend. She stood and asked me what I was doing and I told her that God told me to get the groceries for her and that they were a gift from God. She looked a little stunned. She asked me why? I told her that God loves her and that He wanted her to have them. I could see the welling of tears in her eyes. While I was unloading the bags of groceries from my arms the Lord spoke to me and told me to leave some money with her as well. I didn't think that I had enough money on me but I looked at what I had left and it was exactly what God said to give so I gave it all to her. I gave her a hug, told her again that God loved her, and that I would see her again soon. Leaving her home I felt a little lighter on my feet and my heart was full of joy! That was an awesome feeling and both of us were blessed, but God was not finished.

A friend of mine saw her a week or two later and noticed that there was a difference in her posture and facial expression. She asked Marisol what was different and Marisol shared with her what God had done. The day that I visited her and she was talking to her friend she had been telling her friend that she was giving up and that she thought God had forgotten all about her and her struggles. Her friend was trying to encourage her and tell her that God did love her and had not forgotten about her. A few moments later I walked in with arms loaded with groceries and a financial gift having NO idea all that she was thinking or feeling, but God did! She cried after I left, and she decided to go to church that very Sunday and gave her life to Jesus Christ. She knew that God did/does indeed love her and that He is watching out for her every need. Now she has her children going and even her boyfriend. She is on fire for God, sharing her story with everyone she meets. she even has a Bible out on her station so that when people see it and ask questions she has another opportuinty to share what God has done in her life! It is awesome! God is Awesome!!!!

I am so thankful to God that He shared with me what He had done in her. It could not have come at a better time for her and the revealation of it all could not have come at a better time for me, as I was struggling with the fact that Brittany was leaving home to start in her new adventure with God.

We are old...

2009-03-31T20:02:00.000-07:00

Well, it is official... we, Greg and I, are old because we now have three teenagers. That's right, Isaiah is a teenager today.

Happy Birthday Isaiah!! We love you!

We were able to celebrate with him today and thanks to a friend Isaiah was able to find a recipe for making Chick-Fil-A sandwiches so that is what I made tonight. They were not exactly the same so I will play with the recipe but they were pretty close. Closer than we have had in over a year since there isn't a Chick-Fil-A in this country. =) We even add the pickles. I made tea mixed with fresh sqeezed lemonade too! We will be taking Isaiah to bowl in the next day or two as he requested.

A fireman in our family and "Did you hear that"?

2009-03-26T21:19:00.000-07:00

We had a lot of excitement in our home today. As if we needed anymore of it. lol I must start at the beginning...

I told you in our last post about having a gas water heater downstairs. It is actually just outside of the bathroom downstairs in the laundry room. Well, we were enjoying having warm showers for a while, a nice break for the cold ones we usually have. Anyway, this morning Greg had taken a shower downstairs, then I did so we could go and run errands, buy food for the incoming team and such. We told Brittany that if she wanted a warm shower to take it downstairs and she said she would.

Off we go on our errands and just after we made our first 2 stops we receive a call from Matthew. He told us that the water heater had caught on fire and he had put it out. He was calling to ask what else he should do now that the fire was out. After getting back home and getting the full story we found out that Brittany had been in the shower. She said she was just singing Praise songs and had conditioner in her hair when she heard that still small voice tell her to, "Get out of the shower, now!". She said she started rinsing off to get out and that she heard the same voice (the Holy Spirit) tell her again, "Get out of the shower, NOW!" So she jumped out wrapped in a towel and looked out of the window to see the water heater consumed in flames. She ran to matthew and told him and asked him if he knew where I kept the fire extinguisher and he did so he ran to the kitchen to get it.

Brittany said that he came running back down the stairs with it and ran straight out to the fire and sprayed it like a real fireman and put it out completely. She said, "he was so calm!" she said she asked him after he came back in from putting out the fire if he had ever done that before and he said, "No!" She asked him how he knew what to do and he said he didn't. He said he was trying to read the directions while he was running down the stairs but it all looked like German to him and he couldn't read a word. He said he just looked at it and the thought came to him that the pin sticking out of it looked like one on a grenade so he decided to pull it out and see if he could get it to work. (Thanks to my brother, Brad, for the knowledge about grenades not that Matthew has ever pulled the pin on one of those.) He said he realized that it let the handle loose so he just aimed and sprayed. He backed up and waited a minute or so and looked for any remaining orange glow from anywhere and ran up and sprayed that then backed up again. He said that once it was all out he realized what God had just help him do and then he got a little shakey from it all.

After going out to the laundry room and assessing the damages we realized just how good God is and how tired our guardian angels must be ( ) because the fire could have happened while the kids were upstairs and it could have spread and caught the paint cans and cleaners that were on the opposite wall on fire, it could have followed the gas up the line and blown up the tank that is outside the kitchen window (how it did not only God knows). It could have engulfed the entire laundry room in flames in a matter of a few more minutes...but GOD. He was watching out for my family and for our home. While it did take us a few hours to clean up all that was burnt or charred we are so thankful that it did not spread any further. Go God!!

Later, as I was talking to Brittany about how she had listened and heeded the words of the Holy Spirit, she said there have been several times in the past, the last few weeks especially, when she feels like she heard that same small voice tell her to get up and close her door or close her window or other things and how, even she tought it was a strange idea or saw no real point in it, she would get up and do it anyway. I said that I experience the same thing a lot of times too and sometimes i follow through and sometimes I don't. Like when you lay something down somewhere and you immediately hear that voice or have that thought that says,"you shouldn't leave that there" and sometimes you move it but sometimes you don't and then you end up not being able to find it later or it gets broken or something and then you can think back and remember that "something" told you not to leave it there. I know you have experienced something similar, we all have. We talked about how that can be God using those small oportunities to train our ears to hear Him when He speaks. That we could be tuned in to His voice so that when He does speak to us to say, "get out of the shower" we will listen and obey.

He has such plans for you; plans for your welfare not for evil, to give you hope and a future, (Jeremiah 29:11) and even if you don't fully understand or believe it He cares about the things you care about and He is always there watching over you to protect you. However, you must have ears to hear and the willingness to follow through even when it may sound crazy or ridiculous to you like getting up to close your door or moving something to a different location. He loves you and those around you. Listen for Him today. Listen with your heart it might just save your life!

Thankfulness...

2009-03-13T06:40:00.000-07:00

We have a team staying in our home this week. It is actually a combo of two teams, one has 5 members and the other has 15 members. We aren't leading this team just housing and feeding them. =) If you have never cooked for over 25 people you should try it sometime. It is a lot of work but it can also be a lot of fun. No really, it can be fun!

Anywho, we have a gas water heater and we were trying to bless the team with warm showers instead of cold or shockingly cold showers but it backfired on us because everyone was enjoying the shower so much that they were taking 2 a day and not in any hurry to get out. I know many of you are thinking what is the big deal right? Well, here in the DR things are different, obviously. We have a huge undeground tank (a cistern) in our front yard that holds water that is pumped in from the "street" or city water system and it does not flow everyday. We can actually go a week without it pumping in to refill the cistern. While our cistern is the largest on the block and holds as much as a small swimming pool but we still need to watch our comsumption because we never know when it will stop flowing and for how long.

Guess what happened mid week with this team? Yes, you guessed it...we went from a full cistern on Saturday morning to an empty one on Wednesday morning. That means that with 25 people in this house we could not flush toilets, run water in the sinks, or wash dishes much less take showers. We asked the teams to pray for the water to begin pumping in from the street again and that we would be able to contact a water truck, which can be expensive, to come and dump water into our cistern in the meantime.

We were able to contact a water truck and they were able to come out that afternoon to help replinish the cistern and while they were here emptying the truck of water the street pump came on. Praise the LORD!! It was getting pretty stinky in the humid house with 4 toilets full and needing to be flushed. Haha!

Once the water was back in the cistern we went to turn the pump on to get the water flowing back through the house and it would not work. Mind you that the pump was new, only a week old, and it wasn't working. Matthew came up with the idea of hauling buckets of water to a rope and lifting them up the side of the house to the roof to pour into the tank up there so that gravity itself would help to distribute the water throughout the house. Great idea!! After about 4 buckets he was already getting tired and we were recruiting team members to take shifts. 20 something buckets later the tank was finally showing signs of the work being put in. In the meantime we were trying to get the pump fixed and taking buckets full of water in and pouring them into the backs of the toilets in order to flush them. I just had to laugh. I mean what else can you do in that kind of situation except find the humor right?!

Fortunately, the pump was fixed within a few hours and we were back on track again. Needless to say, there were no more warm showers which meant that the showers were quicker and a little less frequent. Hahaha!

We are so thankful for the teams' flexibility and that they all seemed to just take it in stride. They also got to see God answer their prayers...quickly! All this to say that you need to remember to be thankful for the little things in life. Remember how truly blessed you are in the U.S. that you do not have to worry about your water running out, when you turn on the faucet it is always flowing. No worries about pumps to get water from under ground to your roof and from your roof through the rest of your house and the wondering of when will a repairman get here to fix this problem (in this country taking a few days to fix anything is "normal"). Not only fix it, but do it correctly instead of just rigging it to work for now. =) When you do not know what else to thank God for - though we know there is so much more to be thankful for - just tell Him thank you for running water, a roof over your head, humor, and good friends.

May His love abound in your hearts today and everyday!

Melynda

Team RC

2009-03-07T11:29:00.000-08:00

Things are coming right along on Restoration Ranch. A team from Restoration Church in Spartanburg just left after working long and hard on the ranch. They were able to get a lot of work done in a short period of time.

I had the pleasure of working with Chris and Cliff in wiring one of the apartments of the first building. I learned a lot and had fun doing it. Greg and Matt had the manual labor side of things. They helped with everything from digging trenches for the plumbing of the septic system from the house to the septic tank to hauling cement and block. They worked hard. Brittany was cleaning the boxes were they were building the boxes for the drain system and she said she felt like an archelogist with her paintbrush in hand and gently but thoroughly brushing away the dirt so that the cement blocks and sealing would stay and not shift. Isaiah helped to shovel all of the excess dirt and rock and broken block up into wheel barrows for it to be wheeeled out of the apartments leaving behind cleaner and smoother floor areas that would be ready for the final pouring of the floor.

We also got to experience sleeping at Restoration Ranch. Greg, Brittany, and Matthew slept outside on cots under the gazebo while Isaiah and I share a small pup tent and slept on the ground with a blanket and pillow. Did you catch that? A "blanket"...it was cold down there. Yeah, I know, I know...you guys have had snow and really cold weather but for us, here in a tropical region, it was cold. We each had a blanket and we were curled up and still cold. It was unbelievable!! I was amazing to be able to look up and see millions of stars shining in the night sky because there were no street lights and car lights and such to obstruct the view. It was breath-taking! Greg and Brittany were able to see a shooting star together. A great Daddy-daughter moment indeed. =)

Another first was to be able to cook on a stove outside. It is so different than cooking on a grill. It was fun to try to beat mother nature by blocking the wind so that the flame on the gas stove would stay lit while trying to cook. But that didn't hinder us from making a cake to celebrate a team member's birthday. lol

The team also brought suitcases full of school supplies including pens, pencils, glue, markers, crayons and several hundred notebooks that we were able to take and donate at the school near the Ranch. It was fun to go in to each classroom and listen to the team members take turns in sharing their testimony and then hand out the school supplies to each student. There were several students who stood up before their classmates and either sang a song or gave thanks for the supplies or other forms of gratitude for the gifts they had received. You could see that it touched each team members heart and it was talked about more throughout the evening.

We are very thankful to the team and hope that they are all doing well and are blessed for all the blood, sweat, and tears they pored out to help the dream to become a reality. Blessings and love to each of you!

~The Burge family

A Great Blessing...

2009-02-26T12:26:00.000-08:00

I am so thrilled to announce that my (Melynda's) Mom, Yvonne, was able to finally make the trip down here to the Dominican Republic to visit us. We have been here over three and and half years and she asked that her Christmas present be a trip down to see us. I can't tell you how exciting this was on so many fronts. For one she was able to get a release by her neurologist to travel here which is a HUGE indication of the healing that has occured in her. Thanks only to the Jehovah Rapha - our Healer. Second, she was able to see for herself where we live and what we do which helped her to set her mind at rest and made it easier for her to give us her blessing in being here. Don't get me wrong... she has understood and supported us but this has brought it to a whole new level.

We had a great time the day that she arrived. We waited until she arrived to celebrate Matthew's 16th birthday. We went to eat at Wendy's. **Sidenote** For those of you who take Wendy's for granted...think again. There is only one in the whole country right now and it doesn't have a 99 cent menu so it is a real treat for us to go there. After the visit to Wendy's we went bowling...again only one bowling alley here. We had a blast. My mom hasn't bowled in over 30 years but she had great form! We did a lot of laughing and high fives all around. Isaiah wants to go back for his b-day at the end of the month of March.

As a combo gift we were able to go up to the North-western shore of Samana to go whale-watching. The Humpback Whales come every year for breeding and birthing in the bay. The prayer is always that you will actually be able to find and observe them when you go out on the boat. It was our priviledge to be able to go out with a Marine-biologist who was able to give us an in-depth and interesting background on the whales. Our prayers to see whales were answered in a BIG way...not only did we see a mother with three babies but we also got to see two males chasing each other and bumping each other in a battle to win a female to mate with. It was a once-in-a-lifetime event. They were so big measuring about 50 feet long and weighing about 40 tons! God is so creative! They moved with such grace through the water and it was amazing to see them jump.

Needless to say it was an amzing week and to top it off my Mom said that she was proud of the work we are doing here and she understands why it is that we can't leave. While we miss our family and friends our heart is here in the D.R. and in what God has called us to do. We love you Mom (a.k.a. Mema) and we miss you!

Birthday Wishes...

2009-02-15T14:28:00.000-08:00

Happy 16th Birthday Matthew!

We are so proud of the man you are becoming and we look forward to seeing all the great things that God has planned for you! Remember Jeremiah 29:11 We love you!!

Happy Birthday to all of our readers who have had a birthday in January or February of this year as well! ;)

Another First

2008-12-18T15:25:00.000-08:00

Who remembers the song..." I feel the earth move under my feet..."? We just had the earth move under our feet. We experienced our very first earthquake which measured at a 5.1 on the Richter scale. It only lasted a few seconds, but I was watching the Christmas tree shake and felt the second floor of our concrete house quivering under my feet. It started in San Pedro de Macoris located an hour and 45 minutes east of Santo Domingo. Kind of freaky, yet in a weird way, it was kind of cool.

Celebrating Thanksgiving....Twice

2008-11-29T17:26:00.000-08:00

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...

2008-11-20T15:41:00.000-08:00

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...

2008-11-12T14:26:00.000-08:00

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? =)

We have a car...well almost

2008-10-26T14:06:00.000-07:00

We wanted to give you a new update on the car, or Trooper in this case. If you remember we wrote to you several months ago about the opportunity to purchase an Isuzu Trooper from another missionary and we asked for your help and prayers in order to purchase it. We have been here in the D.R. for 3 and a half years without our own car. (Read over past blog post for more info) We are praising the Lord and thanking you because we are only $879.00 away from having it paid in full.

To top it all off the gas prices here have gone down over 30% in the last month! Yeah!!!! We have never seen gas under $5.10 per gallon for regular here in the 3 and a half years and it is now down to $3.90 per gallon. Wow!! It had been hoovering around the $6.00 mark for almost a year. I know that we heard a lot of complaints from people in the States about gas prices going up to $4.00 and while we could sympathize it is all a matter of perspective as you can see we are celebrating about having the same prices you were complaining about so remember to give thanks to God above in everything that you have. When you think your price is high try living here. That doesn't just apply to gas it applies to the cost of food, electricity, housing, clothing, etc. It is all much higher here in a third world country. Many of you who have visited know what I am talking about and the rest of you just need to trust me and again be thankful that God is providing for you and for us!

We ask that you continue to pray with us that the final amount would come in very soon. We know that many of you are facing economic stresses and plaese know that we are praying for you. We understand what you are going through...more than you know. What affects you affects us as so many of you are our supporters and without you we cannot be here doing the work that we are. We pray earnestly that God is providing for your every need and that you will see Him and His faithfulness in the midst of these econmic troubles. Reamin in Him and He will remain in you and He WILL be faithful to you and bless you no matter what the economy is. Trust in, rely on, and believe in Him continuously!

We love you and our prayers are with you!

The Burge family

Lots of quick updates...

2008-10-24T12:47:00.000-07:00

This month has a busy one once again...

I, Melynda, celebrated my 37th birthday on the 18th of this month. I don't feel a day older until I think of my daughter going to college next fall. =0

We are getting ready for a team that is coming in from Maryland for an 8 day mission trip. Pray that they will be able to accomplish all that God has planned for them and that we will have safety and protection during all of the traveling.

Remember my story about Mandie and Edwin Speegle? Keep praying for them to get a Tourist Visa to travel to the US. They now have finalized the adoption process here and have Edwin's birth certificate but are waiting on his Dominican Passport and then they can file papers (yeah, more paperwork) to apply for the Visa.

**We urge you to take some time each day to pray over the upcoming elections. There are a lot of churches doing "a prayer a day" or the "prayer for a moment". If you would like more info please contact us or ask your local pastor. It is time that we stand up for our faith and the best way to do so is to get on our knees before God and ask for His guidance, mercy, and direction. All with a repentant heart.

Things are progressing at Restoration Ranch. We will be updating in detail soon. In the meantime be praying for the finances to continue to come in as we approach the end of building walls and soon we will begin the process of pouring the roof! Yeah, 4 homes (building #1) is closer than ever to completion!

An awesome book to read...One Month to Live by Kerry & Chris Shook.

Well....what are you waiting for? Get off the computer and go get that book. *Grin*

Praise Reports...

2008-10-20T15:56:00.000-07:00

I got the news and wanted to share it with all of you...

Just a few days ago I wrote about my Aunt Meg and how the doctors said that she had cancer in her uterus...guess what...she is HEALED!!!! Yeah that's right...no cancer. The doctors are astounded and cannot believe that the tumor that they found is not tumorous. Go God! Go God! We are all doing the happy dance around here and praising God for His healing touch!

Guess what else...my brother does not have to go to Iraq for a second tour. I am so beside myself with joy that I don't know what to do except dance and sing.

Whatever you are believing for...don't give up! Keep believing God and trust that He has the best plan for you, your loved one, and your friends. Keep standing in faith even in the midst of the hardest trials you may face...keep standing firm on God's Word and believe that He is who He says He is and that He can do the impossible!

A short trip and a long prayer...

2008-10-14T11:33:00.000-07:00

I, Melynda, made a short trip to S.C. (sorry I could not visit with you all while I was there) to visit with my brother before he follows through with orders to be deployed once again to Iraq. I am praying that he won't have to go but I wanted to see him in case he does otherwise it will have been a 3 year time span between visits. That is just too long for me.

What I thought was going to be a trip to spend time with him turned into so much more. God has a way of taking our plans and turning the upside-down and bringing more out of them than we ever thought possible. Here is what I experienced on the short (13 day) trip to the States...

I arrived at the airport in Atlanta after a very long day of layovers to be greeted by my Mom and my sister, Angela, and my cute niece, Eliza. We loaded up my suitcase and headed out to meet my stepsister, Katie, and her son, Caden to eat dinner. The next day we left out from Atlanta and made the trip back to Greenville/Simsonville, SC. Of course we made a few shopping stops along the way. haha

I spent 2 hours helping my sister pack boxes as she was prepping to move to Texas two days later. We spent several hours the next day packing then met up with family for dinner. On Saturday we loaded her whole house into a moving truck. There were only 3 of us loading for a while then my brother's friend joined us for some heavy lifting. We retired early and rose early (4:30am) to get on the road so we could make it to Louisiana the first day. So my sister, my mom, Eliza, and I rode together in the car and my brother and his friend rode in the truck.

The trip out was long but good, for the most part, as I was able to spend some time in deep conversation with my brother and with my Mom and sister. It was our first journey out West that was not because of a custody battle. (I will save that story for another day). Even though it was not the way most people would choose to spend time with family I think that it was a very memorable and ground-breaking way for us. You have to understand our history together to fully appreciate the significance of it all so you will have to trust me when I say that it was a journey of the heart for each of us. Yes, as with most long road trips, tensions did get a little high at times but we worked through it...Thanks Mama! =) and we did arrive safely in Texas Monday evening. We unloaded the truck. Actually, we started unloading the truck when I had a sudden and pretty serious asthma attack that came out of no where. Luckily Brad, my brother, and Semore, his friend, are both Paramedics so I was in good hands. After a good scare and several shots of inhalation meds I was back to breathing regular. I was done for the night and was put on strict rest by both paramedics. Not so bad when I think about not having to unload the truck. lol Just kidding Sis! =D

We spent a day together before heading out again at 4:30am on Wednesday to get back to SC. What is it with the early morning stuff anyway!? After arriving back in SC and dropping off my brother and Semore so they could get some rest my Mom and I headed for her home. Yes, crazy as we are and as tired as we were we shopped on the way. At least my Christmas presents are all purchased and they all fit into a suitcase. We have learned that we don't "need" much but when your kids are too tall for their clothes it is time to get some that fit. *giggles*

I was able to spend some time with Greg's dad and step mom and Greg's mom over the next 4 days before heading back to the good 'ole DR and my loving husband and children. I also got to spend some quality time with my Aunt Meg. She shared with me that she had not been feeling well and so she made an appointment to go to see a gynecologist. The news she received was not good...not good at all. The gynecologist took three tissue samples and said that she is afraid that my aunt has uterine cancer though she could not say if it had progressed any farther.

Needless to say, my Aunt was down and in need of prayer and encouragement. Once again I saw that God's timing was perfect for me to be there to do just that...encourage her and pray for her. While I prayed for her that very day I also told her that I wanted to spend some time with God and ask Him how He would direct my prayers for her, for her future, etc. She understood.

A little background on my Aunt Meg ~ she has been the prayer warrior over my life for as long as I can remember and I am sure even further back than that. She and my Nanny (my Mom's mom) have served as my "safe place" and my refuge before I knew that God could and wants to be that for me. She has been so much more than an "aunt" she has been like a mom to me. I love her deeply and we have shared a lot of pain, sorrow and joy together. I was the one who was there when her 4 year old son drowned and went home to be with the Lord. That is just a snippet of the strength of our relationship. I just knew God was not finished with her yet!

I spent a long time alone praying for her but was awakened later in the night with a sudden desire to pray for several of my family members. I feel like I was fighting a spiritual battle for each of them and it ended when I felt God's peace come over me and then I went back to sleep for a short time. When I saw my Aunt on Sunday before leaving to came back to the D.R. I was ready to pray for her once again. I cannot tell you what all the Holy Spirit gave me to pray because I cannot remember it all but I could feel the power and presence of God there with us and when I finished praying we were all in tears and I believe with all of my heart that the cancer is gone! She will receive the results in a few days but I already know the diagnosis. I serve a very real, powerful, loving God. He is the Alpha and Omega, the Creator of you and me and He CAN do all things! I can't wait to give you the doctor's results and rejoice because my God is faithful and He is Jehovah Raffa (my Healer) He is the great "I am"!

All of this to say that what I thought would be a trip home to spend time with my brother was that and so much more for me. I had 28 hours to reflect on my life, to learn more about myself and my family, to be a blessing to them as well as being blessed by them, to see how strong my Mom's faith has grown, to hear the wisdom that God has imparted in my brother and the change that has taken place in him, and to see my sister start her journey of a new level of faith and trust in God, and last but not at all least to have little reminders of why I am so blessed to serve God, and why I need to have complete dependence upon, complete trust in, and total reliance on HIM who loves me most!!! I love you Daddy (God)! I love you Jesus! I love you Holy Spirit!
~Your daughter, Melynda

The Geary Family from SC

2008-09-23T11:08:00.000-07:00

We have had the most enjoyable time with the Geary family. They have been staying with us for about a week. A mother, Gloria, and her three sons, Hatcher, Reid, and Harrison were finishing a year mission trip around the world. They started by packing up and taking a trip to IHOP (International House of Prayer) in Missouri and after spending several weeks ther they began a trip across America sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with everyone they met. They then travel to places like Granada, Ghana, El Salvador, Ciaro, Madrid, Malasia, and Singapore and many others.

We were blessed to have them stay with us and share their stories of adventure and sharing the gospel with all people. Amazing family!!! You can read more about them on their blog at http://www.gearyfamilymission.blogspot.com/ Talk about the chance of a lifetime...I know we are not supposed to be jealous of others but it was difficult to not be when you sat acroos the table and hear the stories of how God moved in their lives and in the lives of others all across the world.

Go Geary family! We loved having you and we look forward to seeing you in Gaffney, SC in the future!

We Have New Roommates

2008-08-20T09:27:00.000-07:00

Well, our prayer to make our house open to and to be used to bless others is already happening. Goes to show that you should take care in what you pray because you just might get it! In this case we are both happy and sad to report that our home will now be shared with another family. Why is that a happy and sad thing? To answer that means I have to share a bit of their story...

There once was a family who lived in the Dominican Republic and their names were Jason & Mandie Speegle. They were living in Santo Domingo serving the Lord through the ministry of Crown Financial and one day they met the Burge family who also lived and served the Lord in the Dominican Republic. After spending a little time together they became very good friends sharing so many things in common like... enjoying eating icing right out of the container, enjoying the gift of living in the DR, but finding the driving in the DR a stressful chore, and of course that 2 of the 4 are life-long Cowboy fans. hahaha They enjoyed several Sunday dinners followed by the watching of the Cowboys and whoever they were playing on t.v.

One day the Speegles shared their desire to adopt a child from the Dominican and asked the Burges to pray with them that God might lead them to the right child. He did...and sooner than they ever expected Edwin David entered their lives and they were hooked from the moment they saw him. The Burge family was overflowing with joy in celebration with the Speegles and they enjoyed watching him grow over the next several months. Secretly they also enjoyed being called Tia Melynda and Tio Greg (that's Aunt & Uncle). =)

One evening, Jason & Mandie shared with the Burges that they were praying about moving back to the US and to pray with them about God's direction. Jason was offered his "dream job" of working at the college he once attended and they were praying about accepting the job. While this made the Burges a little sad...

**Side note** One of the hardest things about living on the mission field is making friends who then leave and move on to the next adventure with God. **

...they also were joyful and expectant on what lay ahead for the Speegles. A few weeks or so later Jason accepted the job and they began their preparations for the move which included training someone to take Jason place, selling items, getting paperwork filed and the adoption finalized so that they could all leave as a family.

Well...this is were it gets hard and sad...while Jason and Mandie had done everything the legal route to adopt Edwin (such a cutie) the paperwork was slowing down and included very important paperwork being lost, fraudulently signed by an impostor (unknown for weeks by Jason & Mandie and their lawyer) and the money that went with the paperwork stolen by the impostor (he posed as a government official and signed the paperwork but ran off with the money). So, they had to refile paperwork and pay more money to get that processed. Luckily Greg and Melynda had a friend who was able to get the paperwork pushed through for them. Go God! While all of this is going on Jason and Mandie were running out of time before they would need to leave for the US.

With less than a month before their departure date they were working to get Edwin's adoption finalized so that they could get his Dominican Passport and apply for his US Passport or Visa when they were told that would would not be possible because they had not followed the guidelines for an International adoption. True they had not because they had applied for adoption as Dominican residents (remember the lost paperwork? that was their residency paperwork that was being made current) so those rules were not supposed to apply to them. They had to halt the finalizing of the adoption and talk with the US Embassy and other government agencies to find out what to do next. Long story shorter, when the date came for them to leave for the US Mandie had to stay behind with Edwin to finish the process of trying to get a way for Edwin to go to the US. They had already sold most of what they owned, turned in their notice to the landlord that they would be leaving and sold one vehicle so when the Burges heard that they were looking for a place to live they offered for them to live with them. They, Mandie and Edwin, are moving into the Burge home and praying that the Visa will come through very soon so that they can be reunited with their husband/daddy in Kansas. Looking for that "happy ending".

Now you see why this is a bitter-sweet scenario. We are blessed to have them stay with us but hope and pray for them that it will be a short time before they are reunited together as a family and all live in a cute cottage-style home in Kansas. No, really they rented a cute cottage-style home that wasn't just part of the fairy-tale ending. *smiles and laughs*

Please pray for them to have favor with the US Embassy, US government and Dominican government to solve this and allow his adoption to be finalized, and Passports issued so that they can be together again. Thanks!

We're in...

2008-07-28T19:21:00.000-07:00

We have moved into the house but our internet is problematic. We did have favor in that we were able to get phone/internet connections in 3 days and power was turned on after less than 48 hours which more than just favor it is more like a miracle here in the D.R. =) But our "new" modem is not working out to well so I am hoping that what I am typing will save and I won't lose it if the internet should decide to go off again. *ugh*

We are once again blessed because we have friends from the US (Florida actually) here to help us unpack, paint and set up the house. Jonathan, "Mr. B", Jesse, Jen Doll and Gideon (Jonathan's son) flew down to help us. They are all from BCS and they have been able to make several trips here to help and build relationships in several orphanages over the last year and a half. When we talked with Jonathan (a.k.a. Mr. J) and told him that we may be moving he talked with the others and they decided that they wanted to come back to the D.R. again but this time they wanted to be a blessing and help us since we have been a blessing to them and to others. They bought tickets before we ever knew when we would be moving but God's timing is perfect and they arrived on Monday. They have their paint clothes on and they are busy painting the downstairs living room/den. We are so thankful! Also thankful to Betty Poppe (a.k.a. Betty "Crocker" Poppe) as that woman can cook! She is keeping our tanks full so we can keep on working. =)

I posted a few pictures so you can see something the boxes covering the floors the painting going on everywhere. Haha!

It's moving day...

2008-07-24T07:06:00.000-07:00

Well, I will keep this short because it is going to be a very busy and long day as we plan to move a large majority of our belongings today. We want to thank all those who are helping us to move today. Thanks to the Simons, Jason Speegle, the Darnells, and Abner for your willingness to help load and unload. We could not do this without you all.

Hope to have pictures of the house for you soon! Okay, gotta run!

Busy, busy, busy...

2008-07-17T17:07:00.000-07:00

We are busy little bees around this hive. We have a future missionary couple, Tom & Cindy Darnell, staying here with us in the Agape house. They have been a HUGE blessing to us by helping us to pack up everything we own and clean rooms, floors, and do a ton of much needed yard work. I don't think that I would be this far along in packing without them.

Here is a taste of what is going on in our home right now... while hosting another team of 17 from Texas that has come to work with the Youth of Palabras de Vida (our Dominican church home) at the 3rd annual youth camp this weekend (July 18th- 20th) which we are also helping with, and we are also trying to pack our entire house. The team arrived in two different shifts (two different days) and are currently settling in to sleep for a few hours before they have to get up at 4:30 am to get ready and meet at the church by 5:30am. They will be gone until Sunday night and then we will continue hosting them until Thursday morning then we are planning to move on Friday and Saturday. Whew!

It is only by the grace of God that I am not going crazy right now. Hahaha! It has been interesting finding places for everyone to sleep while there are boxes in the corners and luggage in the dining room. =) I just keep thinking about the little train engine,"I think I can...I think I can..." and I keep repeating the verse that says that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Seriously though, we are so appreciative of every single person/team that comes to the D.R. to serve short term or long because we are blessed to see God work in the lives of the Dominicans and in the lives of the teams. They always leave blessed and changed for the glory of the Lord and we are glad to be able to play a part in it.

Thank you Lord for your continued provision, blessings, and direction! Thank you to all of you have been lifting us up in your prayers and for your continued support. God bless and we will keep you posted!

Sole Mates

2008-07-13T16:28:00.000-07:00

I wanted to share something with each of you that really touched my heart. On the last day that our home church (Bethel Team) was here and we were at the Ranch they saw the need of the Haitians and Dominicans that they had worked so hard with for a week. What was the need? Shoes! The Haitians were in ragged shoes if they had shoes at all and the Dominican family that care-takes the land needed shoes as well. What did the team do? They gave them shoes off of their feet then we joined in prayer over all of the workers and care-takers and many of the team members left barefoot or in sock feet as they loaded onto the bus. Talk about a real soul-winners or should I say "sole" winners?! The Haitians were double blessed with the gospel and with shoes. =)

A New Place to call "Home"

2008-07-12T16:42:00.000-07:00

Yeah, that's right...we found a new home. Thank you for all of your prayers. We found a home in a section called Arroyo Hondo. It is a secure, gated community which is a big relief to both Greg and myself. Though we finally gained the peace of the Lord after the break-in, I can't say that we have been able to sleep as soundly as we did before. Some of you know, after having been here to visit, that every house you pass has bars on the windows and doors and a large gate guarding the entrance to each individual house and when we drove through the new neighborhood we actually found homes without the gates, without bars on the windows and doors which says to us that this is really well guarded.

I, Melynda, made a list of things I would like in the next house and God meet all but one item which was the large kitchen like I had before. He has given me ideas on how to make the smaller kitchen work though so I am fine. The best part is that we will be in a gated/secure area with gurads at the only entrance/exit of the neighborhood and the kids will have the opportunity to ride bikes again without ingesting a load of pollution from cars and such. I can't wait to get out and talk a walk with my hubby and children in the evening or early in the morning. Another bonus is that we are neighbors with several other missionary families who have truly enjoyed living there. Yeah! Go God!

I hope to post pictures once we are in the new house. Thank you Lord for your continued provision, protection, and direction. Thank you friends and family for your prayers! We love you!

"One Shovelful at a Time"

2008-07-11T15:22:00.000-07:00

Wow! Can I just say we have, once again, been overwhelmed by God's goodness, blessings, and provision! We just finished with our home church of Bethel Worship Center in Camden, SC. Let me just put a small plug in here...if you do not have a church home and you are anywhere in the Columbia, Camden, Sumter area and are looking for a church you must at least visit Bethel. I know you may be thinking, "that is a long way to drive" or "with gas prices so high it is not worth the cost" but I will tell you that you are wrong! We lived in Columbia and we drove the 50 minutes each way and we were never disappointed. I would dare to say that even with the gas prices here, $5.75 per gallon of regular I would still pay the price to drive if I were in SC. They are family to us and they receive everyone that comes in the door the same regardless of age, gender, what you wear or how you look... you are a child of the living God and they will love on you just as He does! I don't know what we would do without them, their support and prayers.

Now back to the story...we were blessed to have 25 of them come and stay with us for 8, no 9 days (more on that in a minute). Even after living all together (all 30 of us) in our home here and sharing 3 bathrooms, braving the heat, traveling together 1 hour and 35 minutes each way in a guagua to and from Restoration Ranch we managed to still love each other. =) It probably helped that we were in air condition on the bus which was a good thing after we spent the day sweating while laboring in the hot sun. =)

They had asked us for a "wish list" full of items that are difficult if not impossible to find here, or they cost just too much to even think about buying. Well, once again our Bethel family worked together to fill not one or two of those wishes but filled then ALL and then added items of their own like a new DeWalt tool set. Those of you who know me (Melynda) know that I love tools! They brought us a shop vac which also has been put to use a few times. And just when we thought they were done and we were already speechless they pulled out a new laptop...better and with more memory than the one that was stolen in May. I am still shaking my head in amazement! God's word is true...He says that that which is stolen from you will be returned 7 fold and He did just that! Actually I think it was much more than 7 -fold.
We are so proud of each member...let me see if I can name them here - Pastor Casey, Leland, Eric, John, Russ, Brent, Les, Terri, Karen, Brenda, Kaleigh, Kirstin, Briana, Maggie, Brittany, Helen, Travis, AJ, Josh, Andrew, Jeremy, Brice, Trisha, Jessica, and Kalyn. Whew, that's a mouthful. They were able to accomplish so much in one week that we are still astounded. Here is how the Ranch was blessed by their hard work: (enjoy the photos posted throughout this entry)
~They repaired a lopsided and sinking outdoor sink
~Placed shower rods and curtains in two bathrooms of what we call "the little house"
~Installed two ceiling fans under the gazebo - helps keep flies off of your food. =)
~Built the framework for a concrete ceiling to be poured so we can build a second floor
~Purchased a rebar cutter (which has already saved us thousands of dollars in labor already)
~Fixed the air-conditioning in our car
~Fixed several plumbing issues in the house.
~Cleaned up all of the remaining rubble, dirt, broken block and such from in front of the first building by loading it one shovelful at a time into a wheelbarrow and wheeling over to fill the footers of the second building. We got smart by the 3rd day we rented a Bobcat to help us out.
~And last, but not at all least, dug a huge hole for the septic tank. When I say huge I mean HUGE! It was over 7 feet deep and 24 feet long by 12 feet wide. Greg and I had hoped that the Haitian workers that were hired would finish or at least get close to finishing it before Bethel arrived but they kept quitting and walking out saying the job was too hard. It says a lot when Haitians, who are not really welcomed into this country with open arms and who do just about anything to make money and eat only rice and beans or rice alone just to survive and stay here rather than go back to Haiti, walk away from a job that was paying them and housing them because it was "too hard". It shows the tenacity that our team had in order to come in when the hole was not even a foot deep and dig it out to completion. On the last day they were able to put in the rebar and pour the cement flooring in the bottom which Pastor Casey then carved the initials "BWC 2008" into and said he hoped he never saw the bottom of it again. Hahaha They worked all day, everyday to get that hole dug it became known as "the pit of despair". It sounds horrible and while it was, it was also a place of much laughter, strengthening (both physically and spiritually), and friendships deepened just as the hole did. Greg continually brought relief to those digging in the hole with his comic relief. I just love that man! =)

I also want to share something very special with you that came out of that time in the hole, it is something that still brings tears of sorrow mixed with tears of thankfulness and joy to my eyes as I type it. Pastor Casey shared this with us the last night we had a time of devotion and sharing. He said that the Lord spoke to him clearly and audibly while he was digging and he climbed out of the hole and tried to write it down as fast as he could. Here is what the Lord said to him regarding Restoration Ranch...
“In this place I (God) will break off generational curses. Where there were generations of hatred, they will be replaced with generations of Love. Where there were generations of abuse, I am going to replace it with generations of grace and compassion. Where there were generations of ignorance and illiteracy, I am going to replace it with generations of knowledge and understanding. Where there were generations of despair, I am going to replace it with generations of hope. Where there were generations of incarceration, I am going to replace it with generations of freedom and deliverance.”
***That alone makes all of the pain and soreness from all of the work worthwhile.***

It can be rebuilt...

2008-06-18T18:45:00.000-07:00

You won't believe all that God has done in the last few weeks. Don't worry I will share it all with you in hopes that your faith will grow and all of it will glorify God.

Many of you are aware that I feel over 6 feet from a ladder last April and broke my left kneecap and have had trouble ever since. Well, another missionary here, Kristy Engel who is a nurse, has also experienced knee trouble and she told me that there was an Orthopedic Surgeon coming to work with her In La Romana and she gave him my contact info and visa verso. I started emailing back and forth with Dr. Price and he felt that he may be able to help me. So Greg and I began to pray for several things...

1. The money to pay for the surgery and all that entails

2. The money to stay at either the mission house that Kristy has or a motel without stairs because I would not be able to climb them after the surgery.

3. That it would be worth having the surgery...would it really do any good

Let me tell you...God blessed our socks off! Not only did the surgery go smoothly but it did not cost 1 peso! Dr. Price and his hardworking team brought everything from the equipment to do the arthroscopic surgery to the anaesthetics and pain relievers for use after the surgery. Amazing! Now...that means that the surgery would not cost us anything except the gas money to get to La Romana and lodging and food, right? Wrong! God took care of our lodging and food as well. Let me tell you how He provided.

Friends of ours, the Speegles, work with Crown Financial Ministries here in the DR and the President of the board for the DR has a house in Casa de Campo that he said Jason & Mandie could use for the weekend. It is a 4 bedroom house so they asked if they could have us join them and he said yes!

You need to understand that Casa de Campo is one of the most beautiful, secluded, self sufficient areas/neighborhoods on this island. It has a gorgeous golf course, marina, and beach as well as it's own shops, restaurants, grocery store, etc. We saw yachts from Puerto Rico, Florida, and several from Delaware. There are 5 golf courses at Casa de Campo the most famous is The Teeth of the Dog.

It was an absolutely beautiful house with its own pool and plenty of places to lounge. Incredible view. Soft green grass to walk barefoot through, large bedrooms with air condition (a rare treat for us) and big comfy beds. It was an awesome way to spend the weekend before I had surgery. I know that we say it time and time again but God is so faithful to us and continually shows His love for us and His abundance in so many ways. I cannot tell you enough how much we needed that little mini vacation especially since we had not had a solid nights sleep since the robbery and with a surgery on Monday it was more than we could have thought or asked. Thank you Father God!

The surgery went well. We actually arrived early to the hospital and spent some time watching Kristy greet and speak to many different patients who came into the hospital looking for help with things like nerve damage, tumors, a growth on a young boys' face, hernias, etc. I could see the love of God coming through Kristy as she spoke with some in Spanish and others in Creole and told them if and when she would have someone there to help them. I was in tears seeing people through the eyes of Jesus and with His compassion. I just wanted to lay hands on every person there and pray that God would heal each of them.

My surgery went well. Dr. Price was able to clean up a frayed tendon, remove some small bone fragments, and clean up some stuff on the back of my knee cap. I am so thankful! Now when I am back to exercising I will know that the pain I am experiencing is for my gain and not making things worse. I am recovering, slower than I would like but recovering nonetheless. =)

We share all of our victories, blessings, and difficulties in hopes that your faith will grow.

Until next time...may you rest in God's protection and peace.

In His Love & Service,

Melynda

Go God!...Go God!

2008-05-26T19:23:00.000-07:00

We wanted to share some good news with you! We have been praying for so many different things in our lives and we are seeing things happen!

1st ~ Thank you to those of you who have given towards the purchase of the car. We have well over 1/2 of the funds needed to pay for the car! We still need $4,354.00 to meet our goal but we are well on the way! Yeah! Can I have a round of applause?! =) *big smiles* If you haven't heard about this please look back in our blog and read all about the car and the donations. You can still help us to meet the need to pay off the car by sending a check to:

Bethel Worship Center

814 Fair Street

Camden, SC 29020

**Please write Burge or Car on the memo line**

2nd ~ I will be having the arthroscopic knee surgery on June 9th. Though I don't want to think about the needles and stitches I am very happy that it is going to be worked on. Thank you to Dr. Jim Price and all of his nurses and staff that will be coming with him. Also thank you to Kristy Engel for thinking of me and informing me about him. Yeah!! I am believing for a speedy recovery. Dr. Price thinks I should be back up and running within 2 weeks time after the surgery which will be just in time for our home church in Camden, SC to arrive and work at Restoration Ranch.

3rd ~ We will be having a great friend of ours, John Woods, visit us June 3rd - June 10th.

4th ~ We have made a decision about the whole Agape vs. Restoration Ranch deal. We have volunteered to help the couple who will be replacing us as Field Directors for Agape. They will be arriving in mid to late July. We had hoped that we would be able to continue with both but that was not given as an option so we are transitioning out of that role. We ask that you pray for John & Sarah who will be replacing us as they are coming in expecting their second child within a few weeks of their arrival. It is enough to go through culture shock but to do so while being a few weeks from delivering a baby, not really knowing any Spanish, and taking on a ministry is a bit overwhelming. We offered to continue running things until November so that they could have the baby in the States but they are eager to get here so we have gathered names for an Ob-Gyn who speaks English, a good pediatrician who also speaks English and we will help them to settle in as much as possible.
We will continue to help the missionary community as we have the entire time we have been here as well as working with teams to continue to build at Restoration Ranch. In fact, there will be a team here May 31st - June 7th.

5th ~ This also means that we will be house-hunting so please pray with us as we begin the search. We are praying for another house where we can house teams, a safe neighborhood, a Godly landlord/lady, and a great location at a great price. Once again...you all get to share in the experience of watching God work on our behalf. We know He already has the perfect house picked out for us we just need to find it! ;)

Well, that's the update for now. Please email us, write us or call us. We would love to hear from you. You can email us at burgefam5@yahoo.com Look for more updates on the blog soon!

Sleep...

2008-05-19T19:11:00.000-07:00

Well, after just over two weeks of not sleeping very well and waking up at every sound we finally slept more than we were awake for the first night two nights ago. We have been praying everyday and night but we just have not slept well. We had a couple over for dinner last night, they lead the Praise & Worship at Palabras de Vida here in the DR. They wanted to pray with us before they left for home and I am telling you that the presence of God just settled in this house. Thank you all for your prayers as well.

Then today another missionary couple, Jerry & Betty Poppe, came over and prayed over and annointed our house. There were many tears shed as we felt God with us as we prayed in each and every room of the house. God is so good! We are so thankful for the outpouring of love, emails, and phone calls we have received during this whole ordeal. Thank you Lord!!

Please keep us in prayer and pray for another laptop. We are down to one for a family of five where our oldest daughter is on-line for high school and Matthew needs to use it for reports and Greg and I need it for work. It has been a challenge, but we know that God will provide!

Cinco de Mayo

2008-05-06T14:49:00.000-07:00

Well, I must say that I will never remember Cinco de Mayo (May 5th) the same way again. When I used to hear someone say or refer to Cinco de Mayo I used to think of the 5K race that I ran with my Mom when I was about 11 years old. I ran and I won first place for my age group. That was a great day! Don't get me wrong...I will always hold onto that memory but right now there is another memory that will come with it. It is the reason for this blog entry and for requesting your prayers.

On Cinco de Mayo 2008 (yesterday) we were robbed. Yes, you read that correctly. It happened at about 2:30am and yes, we were at home when it happened. Don't worry! We are all safe and they didn't touch a hair on any of our heads. Thank you again Lord Jesus! Here is the story... *Warning* it may be a little long!

We were sleeping soundly. Greg had returned home from his men's Encuentro Con Dios (encounter with God) weekend. He returned Sunday evening and we got home about 8:00pm and he was able to tell me how much God touched his life and the lives of others. Awesome! We retired a little earlier than usual because Greg had a long weekend and was very tired. Anyway, about 2:30 I, Melynda, heard someone come into my room. I slightly lifted my head off the pillow to look to see who it was. Then I saw someone hurriedly walking out of my room bent over. I thought that it was Matthew because it was someone the same build, no shirt on, and no shoes on. I thought that maybe he did not feel good so that is why he was walking bent over. I didn't say anything but I laid there and thought,"Why did he come in our room when he has a bathroom?" Then I remembered that the puppies were sleeping in his bathroom so it would be easier for him to come in our room than to try to round up all the puppies in the dark, especially if he was not feeling good. After just a few seconds I heard the jingling of keys and I thought, "Why would he need keys in the middle of the night?" So I thought maybe I should go check on him. I decided to wait a minute or two to see if he called out to us and about that time I saw the same person enter our bedroom a second time. As soon as he walked past our bed and over to my desk I sat up and said,"Matt! What are you doing?" That startled the intruder who jumped and grabbed our new laptop and ran out of our room. As he was grabbing the laptop and running I yelled to Greg,"He is stealing our laptop!" At which Greg went from sleeping soundly to standing upright and yelling at the top of his lungs in a language I have never heard! It was not English and it was not Spanish. =)

Greg went toward our kids rooms'and I went toward the stairs where the thief had run.

I went running downstairs and when I got to the bottom of the steps I realized that the front door was open and my keys were hanging in the inside lock. I ran out of the house and down the side walkway until I felt the Holy Spirit say, "STOP!" I stopped and stood there staring into the backyard waiting to see if I saw someone jump over the back wall. After no more than a minute I turned to go back to the front door.

By the time I got inside the kids and Greg were all downstairs and turning lights on everywhere. Brittany suggested we call Euri Cabral - that is the Dominican family we have become really close to. She called him and woke him and Cheizi up. While she talked to Cheizi her dad, Euri, was calling the police.

Meanwhile I am walking around the house with Greg trying to figure out where they got in. I went into the back kitchen and the door was open and I saw a tool sitting on the short wall that I knew was not ours (I am the tool person in our family). I called to Greg and as he was coming I also realized that they had moved my laundry basket and the rolling cooler was missing. I asked Greg if he had opened the door for Gracie, our Miniature Schnauzer, to go out and he said no. I found that puzzling. I continued to look around and a few moments later Brittany went to the same door and noticed that the bars that guard the door were bent. We all went to look and realized that the thief had used a car jack to pry open the bars.

Greg soon realized that his wallet, keys, and watch were gone. He had put them on my vanity, which is not where he normally laid them. I went upstairs and immediately called to cancel the 2 debit cards he had in his wallet. Greg said that they, the thieves, were going to be very disappointed because he did not have any money in his wallet. *Note - this is part of the Praise report to come out of this.* Greg began to tell us the story about when they took up an offering during his men's weekend and he was praying about how much to give and he felt that God was telling him to give it all. He said he hesitated and said,"God are you sure you want me to give it all? How about half so that I still have money for bills and such?" He said he felt that God said, "Give it all." So he gave it all. I am glad. I would much rather God have my money than a thief! =)

Just before the police arrived we were walking around trying to figure out how to secure the car and house since they stole Greg's keys which had a key to the front gate, keys to the house, and the only keys we have to the car. We thought about taking the battery out of the car so they could not steal it if they came back but we remembered that we could not open the car without the key because of the alarm. A minute or two later we decided to stand outside the front door and watch for the police and that is when the second Praise came into play. Matt found the keys to the car and Greg's watch. Evidently they had sat them on the ledge on the front porch and when they had to leave running because we woke up and were yelling they ran by trying to scoop them up but the keys and watch fell out of their hands. Yeah God! They did not have keys to our car, house, or front gate!

A few minutes later the police arrived. That is when a few of the pieces of the puzzle started to come together. As we walked around the house and told the police the story we found the car jack that the intruders used to pry the bars open. we also found the cooler that we thought had been stolen. They had moved it to a set of steps leading to a room on the backside of the house. They had laid it caddie-corner on the steps and used it to boost themselves up onto Brittany's balcony which is why Gracie, who Brittany had closed up in her room, was growling around 11:30 that night. Brittany had thought maybe she heard or smelled a rat so she just closed the windows and got ready for bed. Evidently, when they climbed up and saw that there was a dog in that room they decided to avoid it. Again, a praise because normally Gracie roams the house at night but that night God knew that Gracie needed to stay in b=Brittany's room to protect her from the intruders coming in.

Two of the policemen stayed and kept guard over our house while Greg and Brittany went down to the police station to file the report they actually stayed and guarded the house until 7:00am.

As the light of the sun began to shine the Light of God's Son and His protection also began to shine. Let me explain...Our neighbor came over to check on us and as he was talking he saw something out of the corner of his eye. When they went to inspect they realized it was Greg's wallet. So, after everything, the thieves only got our new laptop. As you noticed I have said"they" that is because we believe - and so do the police - that there were two the guy who came upstairs is the one who fit through the bars, looked around downstairs until he found my keys and opened the front door for his accomplice. The accomplice thought that my Bible cover was a pocketbook so he had taken it over to the door where he could see it in the light and had gone through it looking for money. What a way to find the Word of God huh? Hahaha! We also figured out that they had climbed up on another balcony, but realized it would be too hard to get in that way so they dropped the car jack (yeah, that would be a second car jack) down to the ground. We also discovered a machete (in case you don't know that is a really long and sharp knife that is used to cut down bushes, thick brush, etc) in the front yard. They could have used this on us but didn't. The police told us that there are usually two or more and that more times than not one or both are armed (yeah, with a gun). They police believe that the guy that was downstairs was probably armed since the one that came upstairs was not (remember he was barefoot and had no shirt on).

As you can see God's hand of protection was all around us. Things could have been really bad but none of us were hurt or even touched. We have already joked as a family that maybe, when Greg was yelling, he was actually saying their names and that the enemy in them was scared because it was as if God was calling out to them through Greg.

Needless to say, it has been hard to sleep at night but we will get there. We were surrounded by friends all day yesterday and many more who called to check on us throughout the day yesterday and today. We are so grateful for God's protection and we have already, as a family, begun to pray for those who broke into our home. We are praying for their salvation. Yes, we are putting into practice the verse that says to pray for your enemies. It was hard a t first but within hours of the break in we began to pray for them. "Father forgive them for they know not what they do."

To end all of this we would ask that you pray for us to once again sleep in peace, for continued protection, and that the enemy would not be able to stand against us or cause us to become bitter towards the Dominican people. The enemy wants us to give up, leave and go back to the States so...we are going to do just the opposite! we are going to stay and pray even more for this country and the people within it! The enemy will not win through the Burge family! We will stand and watch the Lord for the battle is HIS! And through him we have the VICTORY!

I want to leave you with this thought....
Wallet...$10.00
Laptop...$800.00
Friends who surround you with love and prayer in a crisis...PRICELESS!

Lots of Love,
Melynda and the rest of the Burge clan =)

Encounter...

2008-04-30T18:52:00.000-07:00

Hello...

Just a quick update. Greg will be going on the Men's Ecuentro Con Dios (that Encounter with God) this weekend. It will be totally in Spanish so he will be tired when he returns and his brain will be ready for a break. Hahaha!

We are believing God to give him a refreshing of His Holy Spirit and to recharge his batteries like God did for me when I went on the women's Encuentro back in October of 2007. It was a life-changing experience for me and I am hoping for the same for Greg.

That's all for now. I will let you know how it went when he returns. =)

Oh yeah, Happy Birthday Mom! We love you! ;)

All is well...

2008-04-24T13:11:00.000-07:00

Just an update to let everyone know that all is going well with the Burge family in the D.R. We are busy as usual. I did want to give you a few updates on Praise Reports and Prayer Requests...

We are asking that you pray with us as we are facing some big decisions on how, what and where God is leading us for the near and distant future. We know that we are in the right place - working on the mission field of Santo Domingo. As many of you know we have been working with Restoration Ranch (a children's home that is under construction and we hope will be open and housing children by early next year) as well as working with Agape Flights (a ministry that brings in mail/cargo to and from missionaries). We have been working with Agape for almost 2 years and we were recently faced with a small dilemma.

Let me share a little more... while we were waiting to find land for Restoration Ranch (henceforth referred to as R.R. since it is easier to type =) ) we decided to help several missionaries in the work they were doing here in the DR. Not only would this help them in what they were/are doing but it would help us to get to know the missionaries, use and learn more Spanish, and learn more about Dominicans and the needs we may be able to help meet. Any who, when Agape said they needed a Field Director to do exactly what we were doing we felt it was a great match. We never gave up on R.R. and we have watched God's timing be perfect in every way! Well, just recently we were told by the Executive Director of Agape that we needed to be Agape 100% and only Agape. There are also several other things/new policies we are struggling with at Agape one of which is the way they want us to go about raising our support funds.

As many of you may already know we have always relied on God to be here. When God called us to the mission field he made it very clear to us where He wanted us to go and how and when. We have shared our experience as part of our testimony. When we came to the DR we came with money in savings and support promises of just over $300 a month. Yes, we live in a third world country but, $300 doesn't even cover our grocery bill much less any of the other monthly bills because things cost double to triple what they do in the US. =) Have we ever missed a payment or a meal?? No, God is faithful! He has always provided everything we have needed and even some of our wants as well! I, Melynda, keep the books and I like to see things match up on paper and I feel like I am limited to what I can see - you know the old saying," continue

We understand that Agape is trying to make a standard for all who may come after us, but we just don't fit inside that box. The policy would cause us to leave the mission field as early as August and we would have to stay in the US until we raise the entire amount of the Agape approved budget which is close to $60,000 a year. For one, we don't agree to the budget amount and secondly, we don't think we should leave indefinitely. We feel that doing it that way takes God and our faith and trust for His provision out of the picture. We know that it is hard to walk by faith...some of you may be going through that growth period in your lives right now - hang on! God is faithful - but we know it is the right thing for us. It is hard to explain but it just fits.

We have prayed hard about this and we ask that you join us in prayer. As it stands right now we have been put in a place of making a decision between Restoration Ranch and Agape. Our leading is, of course, to go with Restoration Ranch, as that is the reason God brought us to the DR in the first place. Yes, it has taken a long time to come to fruition, but we all know the our time is not God's time and God's time is always perfect!
We still hold out hope that God will touch the Executive Director's heart and that we can continue to help both ministries but ultimately we want to serve God. We know that working with Agape has been a blessing to their ministry growing here, the missionary community has been blessed and we have been blessed and learned so much through it all. It has been God's timing. If it is only for a season then we will all depart stronger because of it. God is so good!

Next is a Praise Report and prayer request all in one... it has to do with my knee. I broke my knee cap after falling off of a ladder in April of 2007 and it has not fully healed. I was talking to a missionary here who leads 50+ teams a year (most of them a medical teams as she is a nurse) and she told me that she has an Orthopedic surgeon coming in June who may be able to help me. Yeah! I have already been in contact with him and he believes that he can do an arthroscopic surgery on my knee and help me. That is the Praise part! Now the prayer part is that we will be able to go when he comes and that all will go well with the surgery. =)

Last, I ask that you pray for the missionaries here in the DR as there seems to be a greater spiritual attack against us than there has ever been before. We knew coming to the mission field that we would be on "the front lines" but this is stronger than we have experienced to date. Just pray for protection, wisdom, and strength.

Thank you all for taking the time to read our blog, pray for us and support us. We cannot do it without you! We need you! Thank you again....until next time...

Dios les bendiga richamente and Vaya con Dios! (May God bless you richly and go with God)

Our First Team in 2008

2008-04-12T20:00:00.000-07:00

We had our first team of the year. The BCS Team (that’s Bradenton Christian School for those of you who are not familiar). There was an awesome group of 17 Juniors and Seniors (with the 3 teachers included) on the team. We were so glad that Jesse, Jen Doll, Jenny, and Krista were able to make it back again this year.

They arrived and went straight to the church to minister to the youth group at Palabras de Vida. Sunday we went to church and then we set off for La Romana to work for two days at a girls’ home. Of course, when it came time to leave the orphanage…no one wanted to leave.

Wednesday we dug out the paintbrushes and headed for Ina’s to paint her newly built church/ministry center. That was loads of fun! We had bright blue paint all over us by the time we finished. We split into two groups half going to take all of the children to play baseball and the rest continued to paint and dig up roots and stumps so that the cement floor could be poured.

When we ran out of paint we decided to take a break to eat lunch but as we ate the clouds grew dark and we had a heavy downpour so we had to call it a day earlier than we planned. At least we were able to play with the children, paint and dig up stumps. We tell every team that the key word for a trip to the DR is “flexibility”! That came into play that day.

Thursday we packed a lunch and headed for Bani to paint at Restoration Ranch! The BCS Team that came last year went to the Ranch just after the land was purchased and they learned about prayer walking. It was an awesome testimony for them to return for a day this year and to see God at work and prayers coming to fruition. Several walked the land and prayed for 2 hours while others painted the front gate, gazebos, and benches. We then walked over to the site were the houses are being built and prayed together. You could tangibly feel the presence of the Lord. Several of us were in tears and we all look forward to seeing what God does at the Ranch not only in the here and now but in the future. Jenny and Mr. J (Jonathan) were on the same page when they had the idea of giving each team member a small stone to take back to the U.S. as a way to remember their time here and as a reminder to continue to pray for Restoration Ranch and the country of the Dominican Republic. How beautiful is that?!

They were able to relax and enjoy Friday as we drove to Jarabacoa – a mountainous area of the country where it always seems to be about 10 degrees cooler. After hanging out at the recreational center playing ping pong, swimming in the cold pool and eating Dominican style food we headed out on the hike to the waterfall. It was a beautiful hike and Mr. Greg (the Science teacher) was in his element. =) He was thoroughly enjoying himself with all of the plants and so forth. When we arrived at the waterfall we were in awe of the wonder of God and His creativity. To top it all off two of the girls from the team and Isaiah were baptized in the pool below the waterfall. Yeah, did you catch that… "and Isaiah…”, that’s my Isaiah. He had told us he wanted to be baptized and we told him that we would do that the next time we were in the States but when Jonathan talked about it with some of the team members Isaiah talked to Jonathan and Isaiah decided he wanted to do it then too! I was balling of course! =) Tears of joy running down my face as my husband bent down in the ice cold water to speak to my youngest son about his fairly new relationship with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I think that they were both a little numb by the time it was over. lol =)

Needless to say it was a very successful and life changing trip for all of us but it didn’t stop there… After we said our sorrowful farewells at the airport on Saturday the team had a long lay over in Puerto Rico. They ran into another team from Florida who had also spent their Spring break on a mission trip here to the Dominican Republic so they were able to spend some of the time exchanging stories. Jesse, who plays guitar, and Cody felt like they should play some Praise & Worship music and sing. As they were doing so quietly they felt like the Lord was telling them to do so but to do it louder. So…unashamed they did just that. Others from the BCS team and the other team began to join them and before they knew it the Lord’s presence was in the airport and though they had several people walk by and stare or walk by and laugh they also had those who stopped to listen. There were even several who the team members began to pray for as the Lord moved. In fact, there were a couple of them who said that they weren’t sure what to pray as they did not know a lot of Spanish but that when they decided to be obedient and pray anyway the Holy Spirit gave them the words and they were praying in other tongues and in Spanish (Spanish that they did not know before!)!!! God is so awesome! He even shows up and shows out in the middle of a waiting area of the airport in a foreign country!

Now you probably think that the story is over now huh? Wrong again! Several of the youth/students have put their faith in action and they are meeting and taking meals to the homeless in the mornings, meeting and praying before school, and looking for ways to reach out to their communities. Talk about being impacted for God…their lives are changed...forever! You know what? Yours can be too! Why don’t you ask God to show you how to impact your community? Or plan to go on a mission trip and see how other people around the world live. I have said this for about 12 years now…” I believe every American should take at least one trip to the mission field in his/her life. It will change you, impact you, and help you to see with new eyes.” Ask God how He wants to use you and then open yourself up to be used and be obedient even if it sounds crazy, like singing out loud in an airport, God will use you for His glory!

What's New?

2008-03-20T09:48:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! Just going to give you a quick update on what we have been up to for the last 2 weeks.

Greg and I are grandparents...well sort of...our Miniature Schnauzer, Gracie, had her first litter of puppies a few weeks ago. She had 7 but only 3 survived. Mom and puppies are doing very well. We did not even know that she was pregnant until about 3 weeks before she had them. Up until 3 days before she gave birth Greg remained in denial. We were sitting on the back porch playing Chicken Foot, a Dominoes game, when Brittany was rubbing Gracie's belly and felt movement. Once Greg felt them move he was a little stunned. =) We figured out when it happened...it was while we were visiting in the States. We had left Gracie with another missionary family, actually we had house sat for them for a year and taken care of their female dog Poppet. What we didn't know is that their daughter came from Florida and brought a male Yorkie. Needless to say he found Gracie irresistible and now we have 3 puppies that we call Yauzers (mix of Yorkie and Schnauzer). They are so cute! The kids are trying to talk us into keeping them all but that is highly unlikely. =) We will keep one...they have already picked him out. His name will be Zachi (short for Zachheus), he is the wee little one. =) They are starting to walk...well, its more like wobbling, really.

All is well and busy here in the D.R. We are making the last few preparations for the Team we have coming March 29th - April 5th from Bradenton Christian School in Bradenton, Florida. We will be going around to different parts of the country evangelizing, painting and church, working at a girls' home in La Romana, painting at Restoration Ranch, etc.

Here is a quick update on each of the kids...

~Many of you know that Brittany is on the Worship Team for the Youth group but recently she auditioned to be on the Adult Praise & Worship Team at Palabras de Vida and made the cut! She is now part of the Worship Team for every service...and totally in Spanish! We are so proud of her!!! Go Brittany! Go Brittany! *smiles*

~Matthew recently learned that he will be getting his braces off as early as June of this year which is almost a year early! He is pretty excited about that. So are we because his braces cost about one-third the cost in America. He is growing taller and taller and has just passed me by half an inch. I will soon be the shortest in the family...again. =) He is ramping up his basketball skills since he plays everyday with the guys from the neighborhood while also having a chance to be a witness to them.

~Isaiah has a birthday coming up at the end of March (31st). He will be 12 years old. It is just not fair that they are growing up so fast! He is loving Science more and more and is really into Geology. He recently developed his own blog site where he posts devotions and other things that God is laying on his heart.

~We are really enjoying the new way we are doing devotions each morning. I, Melynda, read a little from a devotional book then each person in our family shares about the scriptures that they read the day before on their own and what they felt God was telling them through His Word and how they can apply it to their own lives. Then Greg finishes it out by reading a little from a book, currently we are reading Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller, and we discuss what he read. We try to pick a book that makes you "think outside the box" and to see from different perspectives so that when we come across those who think differently we are able to respond with God's love, understanding, and His Word. God is moving in each of our lives on a new level and it is AWESOME! It is more "awe"some to see what God is doing in the lives and thought processes of our children. Watching them get excited about God's Word and about them developing a deeper relationship with Him in their personal time.

Please pray for the upcoming Team...for safe travel, that we be lead by the Holy Spirit in everywhere that we go and all that we do, pray that lives would be touched and changed for God's glory!

The Car...

2008-03-10T08:07:00.000-07:00

Oh my goodness...

We are in a state of shock and awe...

This is bigger than we even imagined! But then, that is just like God to do something so BIG!

Have I got your attention? Are you sitting down? Can I keep you in suspense any longer???

NO? Okay, okay...I let you in on what God is doing.

We just received a call from very close friends of ours who said that they are ready to send out a challenge to all of our reading audience...yeah, that's you! =) They are willing to MATCH up to $6,000 for the car. Yes, that's right...$6,000 (six thousand). Your eyes are not decieving you. That means that whatever amount you give (up to $6,000) is automatically doubled because they are matching dollar for dollar! Wow! Can anybody say WOW!?

Well, what are you waiting for? Get back to praying about how much God is laying on your heart. Are you scared? I know, I would be too! He might ask you to do something you hadn't thought of either. We stepped out in faith and sent off a deposit for the car not knowing how God was going to provide it back and look what happened. It's a challenge! We DARE you to believe that God can do something BIG in you and through you!

Now stop avoiding it and take a few minutes to pray.

God will provide whatever He asks of you! He will prove Himself Faithful to you also!

~Melynda

Could it be TRUE???

2008-02-21T06:51:00.000-08:00

Could it be...? Is it possible that after 2 and a half years on the missionfield that the Burge Family could be getting a car? While we are thankful that God has provided a means - actually it has been several different means - of transportation for us over the 2 1/2 years it may finally be the timing for a vehicle of our own!

For those of you who are not familiar with this whole issue here is a quick summary... We arrived in June of 2006 and we were totally relient on public transportation. Usually we took buses, some with air some without which gets pretty hot when the space is shared with up to 100+ other bodies in the heat of the Dominican Republic. =) We occasionally took a "publico" otherwise known as a public car. Some of you have been able to see these in person and were shocked that we rode in them. LOL Anywho, they are usually cars that are pretty badly beaten up but they carry passengers up and down a certain route (usually one particular street), they are pretty cheap but you may have to change to a few different "publicos" to get to your final destination. They are usually pretty crowded with 7 people sitting in a 5 seater. =) I will tell you that one time we were in one that the floorboard was rotting out of and I said to Greg, who's lap I was sitting on with my head partially out of the window and holding on tightly, I said," You know, a little more out of that floorboard and we could be like the Flintstones and use our feet to move the car along! Ha! Ha!" We have also been in a few where the front seats were being held up by a rope tied from one side of the car to the other. All of them run on a propane tank which is chained to the car in the trunk. Sounds like fun and adventure doesn't it?! Well, this was our transportation for a lot of the time.

God also brought us vehicles to use. We have several missionary friends here in the capital who have leant us their vehicles when they were going to be out of the country to travel elsewhere. A few of those we have been able to use more than once. There is also a family, who has been so wonderful in allowing us to use their van most anytime we have needed it. A special "thank you" to each of them. I will keep their names anonymous but they know and God knows who they are! =)

Okay...now for more about the car...
There is a 1999 Isuzu Trooper for sale that is in great shape, has had one owner (a missionary who has had to leave the field for a while to take care of family back in the US) who kept it up and kept the paperwork. It has 67,188 miles on it. It has good tires with pretty thick treads still on them. Now for the price...we need to raise $13,000. This amount will cover the total cost of purchasing the Trooper, pay for the Taxes (They are so much higher here than in the US), the Revista (which is our inspection and sticker), an oil & filter change, a year of Car Insurance, and it will give us a little to put into savings for future maintainence. I know that may sound like a lot for a 1999 that is in great shape, but you must understand that it would be more costly for us to buy one in the US and have it shipped here and pay Customs. We plan to keep it for as long as the Lord keeps it running. We hope it will be like the clothes and sandals that the Isrealites wore in the desert for 40 years without them ever wearing out! =)

Needless to say, we have both thought hard about it and prayed about it and we both have a real Peace about this being the right car. We have decided to step out in Faith once again and believe God to bring in the money neccessary to purchase and maintain the car. Afterall, He IS Jehovah Jireh - Our Provider! =) He has never let us down before!

Now is where you come in...we are asking each of you to pray about this with us and to consider being a part of getting a car for us, The Burge Family. If you wish to contribute to this an account is set up through Bethel Worship Center in Camden, S.C. You will receive a tax-deductible reciept for your donations. You may mail your checks to:
Bethel Worship Center
814 Fair Street
Camden, SC 29020
Please put "Burge" on the Memo Line of your check.

Thank you so much for all that you have already done for us by being part of our "Team" through your faithful prayers, support, and telling others about us. We love you! We can't wait to share with you as we watch God bring this all together. We promise to keep you updated so that you can rejoice with us in God's Blessings and Faithfulness!

The Vid

2008-02-16T17:02:00.000-08:00

Restoration Ranch is Going up, uP, UP!

2008-02-16T16:03:00.000-08:00

Well, the team just left this morning and I know they are tired cause we are tired and they worked more days than we did. They worked so hard and accomplished so much! We were able to join them for several days working right along side experienced carpenters. Besides Brittany being our video and picture taker she and I were able to work together laying block. Britt and I learned a lot of construction lingo during the process. We learned all about "mudding" and "buttering". We learned the difference between "mud" and "soup". We learned the correct way to lay block using the line and a leveler. It was a lot of fun working on the block with Ronnie, Gary, and crew!

Matthew and I had the opportunity to work with Pastor Dale Blair of Cornerstone in Greenville, SC in tying on rebar. I never knew there was so much rebar in a building. It helps to give stability to the wall. Everytime we turned around someone somewhere needed more rebar. =) Pastor Dale is now a pro at rebar. Oops! I don't think that I was supposed to tell everyone. Just kidding! Thank the Lord for gloves right Pastor Dale?! =) Matthew was pretty jolted that he had an opportunity to work the Tamper machine. If you know what that is you will know what I mean when I say "jolted".

Isaiah helped to mix mud, carry rebar, bend the hooks needed for tying rebar and he had a shovel in his hands a large percentage of the time.

Greg, well...if he wasn't encouraging those around him and making them laugh then he was pushing wheel barrows full of cement (mud or soup) up the hill, carrying block, shoveling, translating for those around him, or running an errand for more diesel for the generator. He was always moving around somewhere. It was fun to watch the guys in the "assembly line" swinging the cement blocks from one person to the next from the bottom of the hill up to the top and into the building. There were 23 men in the line. They had it going on!

Oh, don't let me forget the cooks! They did an awesome job of feeding over 80+ people everyday. That's a lot of food! Can you imagine making three meals a day for that many people? I saw it and I still can't believe it. They were organized to say the least. Did I mention that the food was delicious? Well, it was delicious! A round of applause to the cooks. *Clap, clap, clap*

I loved the routine the team had of having a short devotional during the lunch break each day. A few people took turns sharing for the devotion and then they led us in a song or to of worship before heading back out to the site to continue building.

They were really working on two different kinds of buildings...a spiritual building in that they were building the body of Christ in faith and action and also building the physical buildings, future homes for children of Restoration Ranch. Children from all over Bani, who have been abused, neglected or abandoned will soon have a place to call home and the spiritual building will continue as God uses us and others to touch their lives and change their hearts.

You want to hear even more good news? The leader of the Team, Mike, was so touched and God moved on his heart to continue to help Restoration Ranch by going back to the States and working to raise more money to help to finish off the buildings that were started! God is so good!

That's not all...just before they left the team took up a collection for the daughter of a Dominican Pastor here who was blind in both eyes. **Notice I said WAS! She needed to have a cornia transplant but the family did not have the money. God moved on the hearts of men and guess what?! They took up an offering that paid for the entire surgery and the medicine needed after the procedure! As we like to say in our family....Aslan is on the move! (that is, of course, taken from the Chronicles of Narinia)

Thank you to all of those who were on the Carpenters for Christ Team!!! We love you guys! May God pour out His blessings on you to a greater measure than all of the cement that you poured during your trip. =)

Building Begins on the Ranch...

2008-02-06T15:50:00.000-08:00

It is so exciting!!! After 3 years of vision, hope and too many prayers to count the buildings are going up! The Carpenter's for Christ Team arrives tomorrow, February 7th. We will work on shooting some video with a little camera and we will make sure to have pictures of the progress too!

Make sure to be praying for the Team...for safe travel, divine health, and no accidents on the job site, etc. Make sure to check back in a few days for the update and pictures.

Back in the D.R.

2008-01-28T18:39:00.000-08:00

We're back! Trying to settle back into the slower routine of the D.R. Paying bills, restocking the pantry, catching up with friends and getting ready for Greg's Mom, Sandy, to visit us for a while. She arrives tomorrow. We are also getting geared up for the Carpenters for Christ Team of 81 people who are coming in February to begin building the first 2 homes on Restoration Ranch. It is so exciting to see things happening that have been a dream and a prayer for a couple of years! We will make sure to take lots of pictures so you can see the progress! Sorry to keep this one short...places to go and people to see.

In the meantime, keep up those New Years' Resolutions, continue to seek God on a daily basis, and make sure that you take time to tell your family how much you love them!

2008-01-12T16:28:00.000-08:00

As I sit here to write this next entry I have mixed emotions. Being both joyful and a little sad. Why would I be sad? We are leaving to head to Florida tomorrow and then on to the Dominican Republic which means that once again we must say so long to family and friends. We are all ready to get back home and get settled back into life in the D.R. (that's the joyful part). Did you just see that? Yes, we called the Dominican Republic "home". God has made us feel at home there and while everything is not as fast or easy as it is here in America we love it and the Dominican people just the same ~ though you may not want to ask us that in the middle of August after running around town ALL day just to get one thing accomplished. lol

We are also joyful because we have seen God at work in our lives and in the lives of so many others on this trip back the the good 'ole USA. I seem to stay amazed at all that God is continually doing around us, in us and through us when we open ourselves up to trust Him to be used by Him for His great purpose! I want to share with you a few of the things that have happened while we have been here the past several weeks...

First of All...we have had several opportunities to share what God is doing in our lives, at Restoration Ranch and in communities all over the Dominican Republic. We have had several, what we call "divine appointments"! We have made new friends and been able to spend time catching up with old friends. We have had opportunities to hear what God is doing in the lives of others from stories of God's amazing healing power to His faithfulness during financial struggles to His preparing others to go on the mission field. God is always at work! God doesn't just provide...He will bless your socks off! He has done that for us over and over!

He provided a car for us while we have been here, actually he provided 4 different cars while we have been here all in His perfect timing and because we trusted him to provide. It is nothing that we could have done on our own, it was God moving on the hearts of others and then those people were willing. We are going to "toot their horn" for them. Our first car was provided by my sister Angela and her husband Dennis, our second car was provided by Land Rover ~ thanks Doctor Frasher, the 3rd was for our trip to New York and 4th was for the last week we have been here ~ thanks John & Martha Woods!

God provided places for us to stay each night. Some may not think that this is a big deal but try going to another country away from home and see how important this becomes. :-) This list is a little longer... of course our parents, David & Yvonne, and Robert & Kitty and Sandy as well as other family such as Meg & Dave, Angela, and Laura. Others who were kind enough to open their homes us were Charles & Sara Stephenson, Billy & Lisa Ward, and Jason & Cheri Golden, Mr. & Mrs. Don Golden and Gigi and Lynda Crosswell. While we could go on with a list of thank yous we will spare your eyes of having to read it all. :-) So to those of you who know that you have blessed us...THANK YOU!

We were blessed with money to buy Christmas presents, gift cards for Dick's Sporting Goods, and money used to purchase a laptop just after we learned that ours had died. God also blessed us through the willingness and obedience of others to provide us with the money that we needed to purchase 5 airline tickets back to the D.R. after the Agape plane crashed into the ocean just off the coast of the Bahamas a few short weeks ago.

We were also blessed to be able to make a trip to New York for New Year's. Honestly that was our first family vacation since 2004. A great trip which included being able to play in the snow and have a snowball fight with our kids which hasn't happened in about 5 years! We were able to drive down, with Jason & Cheri, from Oxford, NY to New York city to bring in the New Year. We had God's timing all the way! We left Oxford about an hour later than we planned because of the 6 inches of snow that fell overnight. We had a safe and clear drive down and arrived at our hotel at 3:00pm just like we had wanted to do. We checked into our rooms, which we got 2 rooms for less than the price of one room, put on a few more layers and headed out to the train station. Once we arrived in Grand Central Station we walked right up to see the "Ball" rise at 6:00pm.

We then spent time walking around the city to see the sites which included the Empire State Building, Rockfeller Center with it's giant lighted Christmas Tree, Central Park and of course, a trip to a small Pizza place for New York style pizza and a Canolle! Mmmm delicious! We also ran into a Dominican family that we know from our church in Santo Domingo when we were heading back towards Times Square. Can you believe what a small world it is?! To run into Domincans that we know from our church in the D.R. and to see them in New York City on New Years' Eve amoung thousands of other people! After the ball dropped we were able to get through the crowds back to Grand Central and walked right onto a train that departed 2 minutes later! God's timing and favor during the entire trip including clear weather back to Oxford.

Shortly after we made it back to Oxford it snowed again! We were able to spend one day relaxing, and freezing :-) while playing in the snow, riding sleds and tubes, walking across the ice frozen lake and having more snowball fights with our kids.
Thank You, Lord, for such precious memories!

We Made it Two and a Half Years

2007-12-28T16:31:00.000-08:00

Wow! I almost can't believe it...we have made it on the mission field 2 and 1/2 years! It has gone by so quickly at times and other times seemed to drag on and on (those times were usually when we were in Spanish class. LOL!). No, really, it is amazing to look back on the time we have spent in the Dominican and see all that God has done in us and through us to change lives and to glorify Him! We want to share just a few of those with you now.

After arriving to Santo Domingo, D.R. in June 2005 we enrolled in Spanish classes at the Dominica Americano. While Greg caught back up with the basics pretty quickly I struggled. I am the type of person who needs to know "why?" something is the way that it is...there has to be a reason that you use a certain word here and you don't use it there. My husband, I love him, does not need to know "why" he just absorbs it as "that is just the way it is". Needless to say I was quite frustrated at times. When I felt like my brain could not absorb any more I literally felt like giving up and BOOM I wake up and I was able to form short sentneces in Spanish! Did that mean that I went around talking all of the time? NO! I let my wonderful husband, Greg, do all of the talking and I helped him with words that I knew when he could not think of them. *smiles* Many of you know that Greg is a laid back, fun-loving, people kind of guy who is willing to put himself out there even if it means he could be embarrassed and I am just the opposite - hence, opposites attract. lol. Anywho, when God provided the funds we were able to have a private tutor for about 6 weeks and that is when I grew in the use and understanding of the Spanish language because I got my "why" questions answered! Thank you LORD! Understand that we are not fluent by any means (that will probably take a few more years - God willing) but we are able to lead teams and do a little bit (un chin -pronounced oon cheen) of translating.

After being here for about 6 months, learning Spanish was just not enough for us to do. I am involved in a Ladies' Bible study and I asked that they pray with us that we would know where we could be used by Him until land was purchased for Restoration Ranch. Well...the floodgates opened with opportunities to help different ministries. We began working with several different missionaries in the ministries that they were doing here in Santo Domingo. After another 6 months of working with different missionaries we answered an email for Agape Flights who was seeking a Field Director for Santo Domingo. After several emails and an in person interview we learned that they wanted someone who would be "a missionary to the missionaries".

After praying we accepted the position with Agape Flights.

Our first trip to the US came after being here for 16 months. It was an awesome time of catching up with family and friends, eating American food and visiting Wal-Mart (since we don't have one here). The most enjoyable part of it all was sharing what God has done in us and in the Dominican Republic. We were able to share about how God has grown us in our faith journey with Him. How He has been faithful to provide for our every need! He continued to show His faithfulness as He opened doors and moved on the hearts of many to join in supporting us and enabling us to stay here in the Dominican Republic.

In January 2007, after a year and a half of house-sitting, God blessed us with a place of our own...I say that loosely as we rent it and a portion of the first floor of the house is used for housing Mission Teams which we LOVE to do! It is a beautiful house and we have had many people stay here in the last year. We have taken them out to help several different missionaries in everything from building projects to painitng a school to evangelistic outreachs to short VBS programs with other orphanages, etc. The list goes on and on!

Amazingly, just a few weeks after we got into this house Danny and Denise were able to find and purchase land for Restoration Ranch. YEAH GOD!!! We can't wait to get to work on it! We have already taken a team out to "prayer walk" the entire farm (Ranch). Another team went out for a day to pray and clean up all of the trash. That was a big job since it is about 20 acres of land with 4 types of Mango trees, avacado trees, banana trees, beans, orange trees, grapefruit trees, etc. It is surrounded on the sides with mountains. Gorgeous! God is so creative! It is amazing what He has created and all that beauty is contained in just a speck in comparison to the whole earth! Wow! I'm continually in AWE of Him!

Here we are in December of 2007 and having just spent Christmas back in S.C. for the first time in 3 years I can't even scratch the surface on telling you how God has blessed us. He has given us so many opportunities to share His love, grace, mercy and blessings! Too numerous to even count! Before we left the D.R. to travel to the States for the holidays my prayer was that God would keep me in "awe" of Him each day. He has answered that prayer and He answered in so many different ways. I have tried to keep a journal and I will share some of the entries with you throughout the coming year.
In the meantime...Dios les Bendiga Ricamente!! That means...May God Bless You Richly!

We love you all and pray that God will truly bless you in this coming year as you step out and follow Him and seek to know Him on a greater level! Happy New Year!
Be sure to check back with us soon!

2007-12-08T10:43:00.000-08:00

Hello and welcome to the Burge family blog. For those of you who are just learning about us I am going to give you a little background and for those of you who are familiar with us or know us well...you may just want to skip ahead an entry or two. =)

My husband Greg and I, Melynda, have 3 children, Brittany, Matthew, and Isaiah. We have been serving the Lord as missionaries in the Dominican Republic for 2 and 1/2 years now. We arrived here in June of 2005. Time has flown by! Greg and I have felt God's calling for us as missionaries since 1993 when we took a youth group on a mission trip to Mexico. The desire grew when we brought a youth team to the missionfield of Dominican Republic in 1995. For the next 10 years God took us through many changes and trials which we now know were all to prepare us and our children for the mission field.

During the years between the mission trips with youth groups and us actually moving to the D.R. we were keeping in touch with friends of ours, Danny & Denise Stone whom we knew from Cornerstone in S.C. They had moved to the D.R. in 1997 and had asked us on several occasions to come and join them in the work they were doing. We continued to put it off saying that we didn't think it was time for us to go yet. Well, in 2003 they told us about the vision God had given them for what is now called Restoration Ranch. What is Restoration Ranch you ask? It is an orphange...a place where abused, neglected, or abandoned children will find a home and people to love and nurture them while teaching them to know and follow after God.

In 2004 we brought our children down to the D.R. for a kind of "trial run". We wanted them to experience life in the Dominican Republic just as they would if we lived here. Our prayer was that if it was truly God's timing that He would not only be calling us and giving us the desire and grace to live here but that He would also do the same for our children. Well, He did that and then some. They were not ready to leave at the end of the 10 day trip! They asked if they could stay and start school and live with Danny & Denise Stone (who I will talk about more in a minute) while we went back to the U.S. and packed up and moved back here to the D.R. WOW! God is so good! Amazing that our 14 yr. old, 12 yr. old and 9 yr. old were ready and willing to give up the comforts of home in America to go on an adventure with God into the mission field of the Dominican Republic!

We finally dragged the kids back to the airport and on the plane back to the U.S. Just kidding, though we did promise that we would begin preparations to move here...in God's timing of course! =)

With a lot of help, support, and prayers from our church family of Bethel Worship Center in Camden, S.C. we left S.C. and moved to the Dominican Republic in June 2005. It was an exciting AND scary time. We arrived with only my husband knowing Spanish - and his was pretty rusty since he learned it in high school some 20 years before. It was on...time to lean on God and trust Him to meet our every need. Oh, how comforting was Matthew 6:25-34 for us many times since we arrived. If He takes care of the birds of the air and the beasts of the field how much more will He do for us. We can honestly say that even in the tough times when we could not see a way God has brought us through TRIUMPHANTLY! He truly is a God of abundance! He may not bring it in the way you think it should come but He provides for your every need and even some of the things you desire as well!

That brings me to a quick little story that we so often share with others. You must understand that the Dominican Republic is a third world country and with that comes some adjustment. We don't have electricity 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We don't have air conditioning. The sseasons here are hot and hotter. There are new and different foods and after a while you miss a few things from home. Well after a few months here I, Melynda, missed peanut buttter. Yes, penut butter! We could only find the small trail size jars here...you know the size that makes about 5 sandwiches and it is gone?! Well, that size jar is about $6 US dollars. I just could not bring myself to pay that for peanut butter so...I asked God for a jar of peanut butter. Your going to laugh but God brought me that peanut butter through a family who is now in Costa Rica in language school learning Spanish to come to the DR and work with us and the Stones at Restoration Ranch. Who ever said that God doesn't work in mysterious ways has not been working with God for very long. Anywho, they asked us what we missed about America and I blurted out, "Peanut butter!" After a few minutes Gwyn walked over to me with a HUGE jar of peanut butter. She explained that she was just going to buy one jar for her kids to eat while they were visiting the DR but she just knew she was supposed to buy a twin pack and when she heard me say that I missed peanut butter she knew why she had bought the extra jar. I cried when she handed it to me. I know, it sounds stupid to cry over a jar of peanut butter but when God is willing to put it on someone else's heart, whom you have never met, to bring you something that you asked Him in secret well, you just know that He is paying attention and that He is sending you a message that He loves you and He cares about the things that you care about!

I will end this with this passage Matthew 7:7-11

"Ask and it shall be given unto you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door shall be opened unto you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks the door will be opened. Which of you, if if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how MUCH MORE will your FATHER in heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him! So in everything, do unto others as you would have them do unto you..."