Wednesday, July 26, 2006

Batey and Haiti

Just a quick update, Mike is in a place called Batey Nueve this week which is pretty equivalent to being in a desert. He is translating at a medical clinic there and could use your prayers for health and sleep as well.

I will be leaving for Haiti tomorrow as well. I will only be there for a day, but please pray for safe entry into the semi-hostile country (sometimes there are problems at the border).

Thanks so much.

Wednesday, July 19, 2006

Faithfulness To Us








What a week it has been...we had an awesome week of "vacation" and relaxation time. The resort was absolutely beautiful. (For those of you that are worried about Mike and I staying at the hotel, Mike's parents donated some extra money for our anniversary to pay for it.) The top right picture is a picture from our balcony overlooking the resort...AWESOME! The other picture is Audrey and I swinging on the giant swing that is in the G.O. dormitory on our "Gringo (American) food" night. The next picture down on the left is John (missionary), Will and Mike at Gringo night. The picture to the right of that is Mike and I at the resort. The next picture down is Audrey and I at the resort the night that we all dressed up. I've lost about 10 pounds since we got down here, unfortunately the camera doesn't show it :) (I was never very photogenic anyway, I guess that's why I'm always BEHIND the camera) And then the last picture is Mike and I over-looking the ocean at the Christopher Colombus ruins. We visited the site where Christopher Colombus landed on the Island of Hispaniola and saw where the buildings and houses and graveyards used to be. Very cool.

Everything is so great. Our week went fast, but not too fast and Mike and I watched A LOT of episodes of CSI and movies. (if you are ever wondering what to send us besides money, it's movies!) We cleaned the house thouroughly and hung out, played cards and enjoyed each other's company. It was a great time for us to let down and feel like we didn't have any obligations. For those of you who know Mike and I well, there is nothing that we like more than sitting on the couch in sweatpants, vegging and watching movies. Last week we did a lot of that, minus the sweatpants.

Last month we got one new monthly supporter and two new one-time gifts. Thank you so much! We have raised our monthly support to $2000.00/month! Praise Jesus! Brook says that if we get $1000-$1500 more a month we can stay until November! So we challenge all of you guys to talk to at least three key people that you know, about Mike and I. They could be anyone, someone looking to give their tithe somewhere, someone who just wants a tax-deductible donation...ANYONE! And even if they don't want to give right away, tell them that we can set up a meeting time with them to share about our experiences and see where they can fit in with the ministry. We want to get more people involved, and more people down to the Dominican to see what we're about.

And thank you to all of you who have been praying for my Spanish, I am comprehending sooooooo much more. I try and learn 15-20 new words or phrases a day. And today, I had an entire conversation with a guy on the construction site, IN SPANISH. It was so satisfying to be able to communicate.

Thank you again to all of you who are supporting us with your prayers and giving. We feel your presence down here, even though you are in the states. We pray that you and your families will be greatly blessed because of your faithfulness to us.

Monday, July 10, 2006

Thank you for getting us here.

Can't hardly believe it, but it's true...in 5 days it is Mike and I's one-year anniversary. What a strange, crazy, exciting, exhausting, unbelievable, absolutely amazing year it has been. I feel like Mike and I have been married for 5 years and still sometimes I feel like I just met him yesterday. I still get giddy when I see him. I love that.

We have an awesome opportunity to spend our anniversary at a resort. It only costs $65/night at an all-inclusive and G.O. is paying for the first night because we are going as a staff. The second night, Will, Audrey, Mike and I are going to a different resort to spend our "one-year's" together (Audrey and Will got married the weekend after us). Our anniversary "happens" to fall on our staff week off. We don't have a team here at all until a week from tomorrow which will be a great opportunity to get in some rest, relaxation and fun. Then three teams totalling in more than 60 people will be here. Whew...crazy.

Mike and I are just feeling totally blessed to be here...there is absolutely no other place I would rather be (well, except maybe with my family in Maine...jerks!). Thank you for getting us here.