bright orange extension cords & the Advent season

luz - [looz]
spanish for "light".

The bright orange extension cord strung between Sara's house and ours.

So, our good friend Sara moved in next door last week, and we love it. Pictured above, you can see our house (on the left) and her house (on the right); there's about six feet between the two. There has already been a number of conversations between our guest bedroom and Sara's kitchen windows, and talk of a tin-can phone.

As you can also see pictured above, we lent Sara a bit of electricity last week. The electric company was being a bit slow and difficult (not that surprising), and so, we threw an extension cord from one window to another, and there was light in Sara's apartment.

Here in the DR, light- electricity- isn't one of those 'for-sure' things that you can count on. It can go out at any moment, with no warning, and with no clue as to when it will come back. You can flip a switch, open the refrigerator, turn on your water heater (you have to turn them on and wait 20 minutes to take a hot shower), and not know if the light will go on, the food will be cooling or the water will start to warm. It's just one of those things that happens when you live in a developing country.

The common Dominican thing to say when the electricity goes out is “se fue la luz” which literally translates to “the light left”. And when it comes back on Dominicans exclaim “llegó la luz” or “the light arrived”. I’ve been in Dominican neighborhoods that erupt into applause when the electricity comes back on.

Light. It’s something so simple and yet it has the power to change so much. I never realized how much I depend on electricity until one night about 6 months into living in the DR, the lights went out in my apartment at 7:00pm. My computer was dead so I couldn’t work or watch a movie. It was so dark that the candle I lit didn’t even give enough light to read by. I didn’t know what to do, so I simply climbed in bed and waited in anticipation for the electricity to come back on. It wasn’t until the middle of the night, when I was fast asleep, that every single light in my apartment turned back on. You never know when those lights are going to show up.

The apostle John writes in his gospel:
    “The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the
      world.” (John 1.9)

The advent season is the beginning of the Church's calendar year. It begins the fourth Sunday before December 25 and ends on Christmas day. Advent is a time about waiting, hoping, preparing, coming. It's about an excitement building in anticipation of the Word becoming flesh; of a baby being born; of the arrival of the Messiah, the Christ; of what we've all been waiting for.

During this season we wait for this Light, the Light that is going to show up soon. We wait in anticipation and hope for the lights to come back on. We hope that we won't need that extension cord draped between our houses anymore. We prepare for the day when the true Light will come into this world again. We wait and we hope.

We wait to say in excitement and with applause:
¡Llegó la luz!
The electricity has been turned on so we can take down the bright orange extension cord.
The true Light has come into this world!

This post is based on a blog post from my advent series two years ago. With a few additions.
(Written by Emily)

being revolutionary: servant leadership.

doulos - δοῦλος - [doo'-los]
Greek for "servant".
in spanish:
sirviente - [seer-ve-en’-tay]

Part of Doulos' beautiful campus. Brad's classroom is in the building on the left.

A little over a week ago Brad and I were at a gathering of parents, students, teachers, administrators, and community members at Doulos Discovery School (where Brad is the high school math teacher and where part of our Young Life ministry is), and these are some things we overheard:

"Cuando entramos la puerta de Doulos, 

no importa la raza, ni color, ni idioma, ni estatus social; somos una familia."

"When we enter the gate at Doulos, 

it doesn't matter our race, color, language, social status; we are family."

 - a mother of 4 Doulos students

"We are the only school where we have to beg the children to go home; 

to tell them: vayan a su casa." 

- the principal of Doulos

"It's not just a school; it's a counter-cultural movement."

"The effects of what happens here will ripple through eternity."

This place is truly special. It has its faults- of course- but I believe that Doulos really is doing incredible things to change this community. Their vision is to "educate and equip servant leaders through Christian discipleship and expeditionary learning to impact the Dominican Republic". This is where "doulos" comes in: servant leaders; leaders who serve others instead of themselves: what a revolutionary thought. It's such a blessing to witness and to be a part of.

Check out the video below to hear about the educational systems, government and culture of the Dominican Republic and how Doulos is working to make a difference in this country. (It's beautifully illustrated by one of Doulos' students!)

(written by Emily)

motorcycle diaries: denzel the moto

moto - [mo’-to]
spanish for "motorcycle".

A few months ago, Emily and I moved into our new place; an awesome little house called a "casita". Our new place is about a 10-15 minute walk from school so naturally I was left with 2 options: get up extra early and make the walk or get to work in STYLE.

For much of the summer I had talked to Emily about getting a moto, which is the most common form of transportation in our city of Jarabacoa, but had never really totally decided. 

That was until our good friend Keith came over to hang out one day. Keith said he had decided to buy a moto for this year and was going to look tomorrow. That was all the catalyst I needed. The next day Keith and I were riding around town on our new shiny motos "Denzel" my beautiful Zongshen moto (shown below) and "Will Smith" Keith's Krypton moto.

Since that day, relaxing weekend moto rides have become one of Emily and my favorite activities. It is a great way to "get away" for an hour and explore our beautiful surroundings.

(written by Brad)

loving our neighbor?

vecino - [vay-thee’-no]
spanish for "neighbor".

Who is our neighbor? And how are we supposed to love them?

These questions seem easy to answer for any seasoned Christian who has probably heard countless sermons and stories on the parable of the Good Samaritan. Everyone is our neighbor and we are supposed to love them all with all that we've got.
But here's another question: What if one of our neighbors isn't loving our other neighbor? What do we do then? We can keep on loving both neighbors, but how do we reconcile the other two to each other?
And then, what if the one neighbor is a whole nation and the other neighbor is an entire people group?

One island. Two nations. Lots of turmoil.

The Dominican Republic has been in the news lately. If you haven't heard, there has been much talk around a recent Dominican supreme court decision about the status of Haitians in the DR. It's no secret that there is, and has been throughout the island's history, much racism against Haitians here. (For a good article on this, click here.) As I understand it, this new law calls into question the Dominican citizenship of the sons and daughters of Haitian 'migrant' workers- going back to 1929. It means that people who consider the DR to be home are being disowned by the country, affecting their national identity and their access to public education and healthcare:

"The nation’s top court has declared that the children of undocumented Haitian migrants — even those born on Dominican soil decades ago — are no longer entitled to citizenship, throwing into doubt the status of tens of thousands of people here who have never known any other national identity." - from the New York Times

"Last week the country’s Constitutional Court ruled that the children of undocumented migrants who have been in the Dominican Republic and registered as Dominicans as far back as 1929, cannot have Dominican nationality as their parents are considered to be 'in transit.'" - from the United Nations News

It's a complicated situation, I'm sure. Brad and I have spent hours talking about it- what to think, how to react, how to engage others in the conversation- we're at a loss. We know the answer is 'love', but what does that look like? What does it look like to discuss with our Dominican friends about the decisions of their government? How do we talk to our students about all of it? And how do we do all of this in a country and culture where we are guests, also foreigners, and want to be sensitive and not simply impose our own beliefs as the 'know-it-all Americans'?

We're not sure. And we're still searching for, thinking about, praying about, engaging in conversations about the answer. Until then, I've been reading and meditating on the following verses:

"When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the LORD your God." - Leviticus 19.33-34

"'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" - Luke 10.27



(written by Emily)

things I'm thankful for today

1. cool mornings with a mountain view from the balcony, my kindle and a cup of cafe.

2. an inverter at our house which allows us to have power through a back-up battery even when the entire city doesn't have electricity.
3. skype, facetime, google chat, facebook... and all other forms of technology that make it possible for me to love friends and family in all parts of the world. just today I have connected with people in Nigeria, Bolivia, North Carolina, and Chicago. what a blessing.
4. delicious, fresh produce that I buy from my veggie guy at the market. yes, I have a veggie guy.

5. the amazing people we work with who are way more than just coworkers; they are incredibly dear friends.

6. our subscription to NHL gamecenter live so that we can occasionally watch our beloved Chicago Blackhawks all the way from the Caribbean.
7. our spacious front porch (that also doubles as our dining room and triples as my office) where we play games and host friends for dinner and cook on our giant grill.
8. the mountains that preside majestically over our town that remind me of God's beauty every single day.
9. afternoon thunderstorms that cool off Jarabacoa, making it almost feel like a chilly fall night.

10. my trusty green Toyota Rav4 that gets me places safely, even though it likes to drink up the gas that is over $6.50/gallon.
11. barbecue chicken pizza delivered to our front door on a motorcycle in 20 minutes.
12. my sweet, sweet husband who loves me so well and is just so much fun to be around.
13. for the awesome YL staff, volunteer leaders and kids who make my job so, so enjoyable.

14. for the women in my Wednesday night Bible study and our honest conversations.
15. for my every day needs that are met: clean water to drink, food to eat, a roof over my head, and love of friends and family and God.


(written by Emily)

rachael & raquel: parte dos

líder - [lee’-der]
spanish for "leader".

(Rachael- second from the left, her awesome sister Rebekah- second from the right, three amazing Santiago Young Life leaders- Beth, Audrey and Angie, and me at my wedding! The two high school sisters, Rachael and Rebekah, provided the beautiful music at the ceremony.)

I shared Raquel's thoughts on Young Life in the last post. Here is what my friend Rachael wrote:

"Young Life was definitely one of the biggest highlights of my high school years. I would leave club or campaigners every Monday night feeling unexplainably happy. I realized it was because God's joy was present at every gathering. I think the thing I loved most was how each leader was so invested in my life and the lives of my friends. They all went out of their way to be there for me, care for me, listen to me, and most of all be an example to me of how a godly woman lives life serving, praising, and loving her Creator. Looking back now, I am so grateful that my leaders not only loved and poured into me, but they also encouraged me to be a leader and role model for those around me and those younger than me. I not only viewed Young Life club and campaigners as a place to be filled, but also a place to reach out to others. God really used Young Life leaders to draw me closer to him and grow in spiritual maturity, and for that I will always be grateful."

Here's a shout out to all of the incredible Young Life volunteer leaders in the Dominican Republic who I have the privilege of working with, and who share life with middle school and high school students every day. They are truly a wonderful group of people with an amazing love for teenagers and for God. And they are seriously making a difference in the lives of the kids they serve. Just ask Rachael.


Fun Facts
- There are currently 9 adult volunteer leaders, 5 student volunteer leaders, and 1 part-time staff person for Young Life and WyldLife in Jarabacoa, Dominican Republic.
- There are over 200 volunteer leaders for Young Life (English-speaking ministry) and Vida Joven (Spanish-speaking ministry) in the Dominican Republic.
- There are over 45,500 Young Life volunteer leaders and over 3,000 full-time Young Life staff worldwide.

(written by Emily)

rachael & raquel: parte uno

familia - [fah-mee'-le-ah]
spanish for "family".

Last week I got to spend two whole days with these awesome chicas. When I met Rachael and Raquel, only a few days after moving here three years ago, they were high school girls beginning their sophomore year here in the DR. Now, they are young women, high school graduates with plans of attending colleges in the States.

(Raquel, Rachael and me hiking a waterfall last week.)

I recently asked them if they'd be willing to write a little something about what Young Life meant to them during their high school career so that I could share it with all of you. Here is my friend Raquel's response:

"I remember always looking forward to attend Young Life. It was a place where I was taught to always love others and be obvious about my faith in Christ. In fact, Young Life wasn’t a place. It was family. It IS family. It is only with family that I will be myself to a point where I am positive that no matter what I do or say I will always be loved. This is how I felt with the Young Life crew.

At Young Life I could always count on anyone for anything which taught me to always put others before myself, just like our leaders had done with me.

Just thinking about Young Life makes me feel an incomparable joy. It was only at Young Life where it was proven that being a Christian isn’t boring, where our leaders not only taught us, but encouraged us to be leaders everywhere we went to, where our leaders would come up with the craziest, coolest and most fun activities with the pursuit of getting other teens to come to Young Life and hear about Jesus.

If one of our leaders' purposes was to have those who were Christian keep developing a more intimate relationship with Christ, then they can be sure that they accomplished their goal with me."

I've had the opportunity over the past three years to spend lots of time with these two and others. To be with them in the ups and downs of all of our lives. We have shared an incredible amount of laughter, and also our fair share of tears. Like Raquel wrote so beautifully, we have become a family. Young Life kids and Young Life leaders; friends; sisters in Christ.

(written by Emily)

our new life together

vida - [vee’-dah]

spanish for "life".

It's been almost two months since the wedding day, and I'd say that we're both loving married life. We make dinner together every night, play lots of Monopoly Deal, read Harry Potter out loud to each other, decorate our new apartment, and now are starting up a blog together. We have game nights with friends, go on moto rides together, hang out and just talk. Being married is lots of fun if you ask me.

(on a hot air balloon ride on our honeymoon!)

Of course, there are some challenges. After all, two becoming one isn't the easiest thing to do. There have been a few disagreements and learning moments in the past seven weeks. All those little details of your life, all of a sudden, have to combine with someone else's details. It gets a little messy sometimes.

Frederick Buechner has a few things to say about this. Buechner is my favorite author, hands down. He is a theologian who writes beautifully about God and the every day world. He writes the following about marriage:

"They say they will love, comfort, honor each other to the end of their days. They say they will cherish each other and be faithful to each other always. They say they will do these things not just when they feel like it, but even- for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health- when they don't feel like it at all. In other words, the vows they make at a marriage could hardly be more extravagant. They give away their freedom. They take on themselves each other's burdens. They bind their lives together in ways that are even more painful to unbind emotionally, humanly, than they are to unbind legally.... They both still have their lives apart as well as a life together. They both still have their separate ways to find. But a marriage made in heaven is one where a man and a woman become more richly themselves together than the chances are either of them could ever have managed to become alone. When Jesus changed the water into wine at the wedding in Cana, perhaps it was a way of saying more or less the same thing." 

- Frederick Buechner in Beyond Words, "Marriage"

Life together. Every day I am learning more and more what this looks like. Two months ago I made these promises to this incredible man; I gave him my life, my freedom; I vowed to take on his burdens. But I love that, through it all, I am becoming more myself. I can feel it. I am a better person because of Brad. I feel more confident, more beautiful, better at my job, and so much more.

In the same way, years ago, both Brad and I gave our life to another Someone. And our lives haven't been the same since. While we love our jobs and where we live, we wouldn't be here unless we had given up our lives, our freedoms, and traded them in for something better: Jesus. Because of Him, we are becoming more and more ourselves every day. It's this amazing process of life and love. It can get messy, but it's worth it. Like He says, "Whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for Me will find it" (Matthew 16.25). 

Keep checking back to this blog for more stories about our life and about our love for each other, for the country of the Dominican Republic, for the students we serve, for our friends and family, but mostly for our great God who is at the center of all life and who is Love.

(written by Emily)