Miscellaneous photos

Here are some photos from the past few months.

The first weekend in May, we were having a yard sale withdrawal. It was the beginning of community yard sales in our home area. We were dreaming of all the bargains that we would miss out on. :-) Just when we were beginning to feel sorry for ourselves, we received an email from a missionary family who was leaving the country and having a moving sale! I called and they said we could come over right away. Since the electric and water was off, we decided there was no better way to spend our day. :-) We were thrilled to carry home some wished-for items such as Legos for Brandon. All of his are stored in the States. Doug and Brandon spent the rest of the afternoon playing with Legos while we waited for the water and electricity.
We also got this stack of books. Perfect timing - just before summer so Brandon can entertain himself.
This is hookie dookie......alias Jonathan Paul. He's ready for the summer heat. :-)
One morning we woke up to water all over our kitchen and dining room floor. It was due to too much water pressure which caused the water to explode out the pipe from underneath our sink. Not to mention the careless Dominican plumbing might have played a part in it. :-) We spent nearly an hour vacuuming with a small wet vac and sopping up with a mop. It was quite a start to our day.
This is an open field behind the community where we live. This is taken from Regina's bedroom window. You can see the razor wire fence that is on top of the wall surrounding our community. We love having this "country" view from one of the windows in our house. You can see some houses that starts the edge of the capital city. We're actually located on the "beltway" around the city.

Goodies

I tried something neither my Gram nor my Mom have ever made - homeade English muffins. I got hungry for them and since they cost about $6.00 a pack, I would try to make my own. It was fun to watch how they began to look like real English muffins on the griddle.

The finished product. They really looked and tasted great!
While we were in PA, my sister took me to a "high" tea for my birthday. They had a yummy strawberries and cream tea that I loved! I was delighted to find this tea here.....and it was even decaf....my preference. It was a real gift from God and I enjoyed every sip!
Maybe you never really know what it's like to crave certain things until you've been in another country where they are not availabe. I LOVE vanilla Coke and have missed being able to have it. The day before my birthday, we stopped at a different grocery store, and I was amazed to find this can! Since it was the day before my birthday, I felt justified to indulge. :-) It was oh so good. If we ever get back to that store again, I just may have to get another can or 2.

I have to think how God gives His children the desires of their hearts. He has dropped so many little blessings on us the past few months. I have concluded that if he cares about strawberry tea and vanilla coke, then He has to be working on the big things we're praying about, too!

Pictures coming......

Pictures will be coming of the baptism we had this past Thursday.

I also would love to post pictures of some of the rest of our house. One reason I haven't is because our living room isn't real "homey". I still do not have the walls decorated and our couch is pretty shaggy. If I get it decorated once school's out, maybe it will be more "homey" and I will post some pictures.

Miscellaneous pictures

This is a typical way Dominicans make a move - stack it up and go. My brother thought we were going to move this way when we moved in December. :-)

Regina is our ice cream queen. She LOVES ice cream. It is very expensive here - about $3.00 a pint - so we don't buy it very often. She was delighted when someone sent us money specifically for ice cream. We bought a 5 quart pail (for about $9.00), made our own, and enjoyed Frostees at Wendy's. Here is a very happy little girl with her prize 5 quart pail and tin of homeade ice cream.
A few weeks ago, we went to hold a service at Chucha's house. Chucha is 75 years old and has been very sick. In fact, she has terminal cancer. She has not been able to make it to church for the past few months, so we loaded up a group of people in our truck and took church to her. She was very grateful for the visit and perked up quite a bit while we were there. Pictured with Chucha and our children is her great-grandson.
Here is a man-made lake. :-) [It's really a mud puddle.] It shows why you need a good, tough vehicle in a country like this.

Beating the Heat

Last night at 10:00 p.m., it was 85 degrees outside and 90 degrees inside! We decided to let the children sleep in our room. We blew up a big air mattress and they camped out for the night. Our room was a little claustrophobic with the air mattress and Jonathan's pack and play, but at least we were all able to get a good night's sleep.

In answer to one of the comments on our blog - No, our house is not air-conditioned. It would be VERY expensive to cool the whole house. Our electricity rate is based on usage. The more you use, the more you pay per KWH. If you use over 700 kwh, you pay twice as much as the base level. We do have an air-conditioner in our bedroom so we can at least sleep at night. The children do not. We would like to be able to get one for them. They wake up smelling like sweat when they went to bed clean.

Life in the extreme heat is different than life in the northern U.S. You wear out much quicker and are not able to get as much done. One of the things that amazed us when we were stateside for several years was how much better we felt and the amount of things we were able to get accomplished in a day. I imagine if the whole house was air-conditioned, we would feel much better and be able to get more done.

To beat the heat, you must drink extra water and juices. It is Dominican custom when you visit someone, to bring you a glass of ice-cold juice or soda.

The Dominicans also take time off between 12:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. - the hottest hours of the day. Most places are closed during this time, except for the big stores. Taking a "siesta" during that time is not that they’re being lazy, it’s their way of handling the heat. Smart! Days when the temperatures are high, we find ourselves with a headache by noon. If possible, we try to rest at least some between 12:00 and 2:00, also. They say only crazy people and "gringos" (white people) work during siesta time. :-)

President re-elected

Leonel Fernandez, the current President, was re-elected yesterday. He has called for 2 days of celebrations - today and tomorrow. The streets will certainly be full again today with loud music, flag-waving, dragging tin cans, and dancing to celebrate the win. We are going to play it safe and not venture out. We'll see what it's like tomorrow when we make our way to church.

We were told by a friend who works for the electric company that we were to have 3 days of solid electricity - Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. So far it has been true. The electric has not gone out since Thursday. This is the best part of elections for us! :-) It was sooooo nice to be able to start my laundry right away yesterday morning instead of waiting till 10:00 a.m. when the electric normally comes back on.

We turned our invertor off expecting not to need it till Monday. They should have elections more often. :-)

A New Nephew!

We are the proud Aunt and Uncle of a new nephew - Riley James Hoffman - born to Paul & Janice Hoffman. He arrived today at 12:11 CST, weighed 8 lbs. and 1/4 oz, and was 20" long. He made it just in time before his Daddy leaves for several weeks of special training.

Brandon beamed with a big smile when he found Riley shares the same middle name with him as with Doug, also.

We haven't had a newphew in 14 years and he's our first nephew on the Hoffman side! So we are very thrilled and can't wait to meet him - whenever that may be - a long while from now. This evens the score for Doug's parents to 4 grandsons and 4 granddaughters.

Elections!

Today is the day the country chooses a President for the next 4 years. The past several months have been very noisy as people campaigned in the streets. It is done a little differently here than in the U.S. They pile on the back of a truck or hang out windows of vehicles, and travel around all over beeping horns, yelling, waving flags, and playing loud music in an attempt to try to persuade the people to vote for their guy. Each candidate has a special song with a catchy phrase to advertise him. They will pile speakers up on trucks or in the streets, playing the song of the favored candidate. Needless to say, there has been a lot of noise and traffic jams in the city. Tomorrow will be a day of celebration for the winning man. Today has pretty much been silent, though, while we wait in anticipation to see who will win.



You can see here how they stand right beside the street yelling at the cars trying to get them to give the sign that they are in favor of their guy.

Maybe you can see the speakers piled behind these flag-wavers.

They are not advertising a human man. Their flags say "Jesus Christ, the President". How wonderful that would be if the country would elect Him!

Happy Mother's Day

We have 2 of the greatest mothers in all the world. My mother, unknowingly, raised me to be a missionary. It is especially real to me today as I see those living merely to rise economically. My mother lived a simple life, yet was always happy and content with what she had. She used the little money she earned wisely, using it first for the needs of her family. She did not teach us to live for wealth or fame, but to have only what is necessary. She gave away all she could to others. She did not hoard, or buy things she really didn't need. She was thrifty in every sense of the word and trusted God to supply the rest. My mother taught me some of the most important lessons in life.

She taught me to live by faith. She has her stories of how God provided when she and Daddy didn't know where the money would come from to make ends meet. That increased my faith which is very helpful today in being a missionary.

She taught me to finish the job. She would often say, "You just have to stick at it." That taught me that even when I didn't feel like doing something or didn't see how I could get it done, perserverance would get me through.

She also taught me patience with others. I would often hear her say, "You just have to look over them" when someone committed an error. She was patient and gracious.

I thank God for a Godly mother who taught us to live for God and not for worldy gain. She has never resisted God's leading in our life, but always been helpful and supporting.

I also thank God for my mother-in-law who has also taught me many lessons from her example. She, like my mother, lives a simple life and is content with what she has. She has always been encouraging to us as a couple, been willing to help in whatever way she could, and never stood in the way of our decisions.

On this Mother's day, I thank God for the 2 mothers in life that helped mold us into who we are. To both, we say "Happy Mother's Day" and we love you!

Summer's coming - or is it here?

It's already a humid 87 degrees at 10:00 a.m. Not much let up now till November. We really enjoyed the very pleasant winter this year. It looks like we'll be sweating from here on out. I don't know if I'm ready for the 6-month stretch. I guess ready or not, here it comes!

pictures of the kitchen/laundry room

I've been wanting to post these for a while and keep forgetting.

Wow! Having a laundry room has been wonderful! Sure beats having the washer in our bedroom as it was in the mission house this time we came back. I've almost gone into shock not to have to fill it with hoses and buckets. The washer is actually hooked up so it can fill automatically! Shew! The laundry room is off of the kitchen. The iron gate goes outside.


This is taken from the door of the living room into the kitchen. The laundry room is through the open doorway.

This is my favorite room of the house. It's a good thing, because I spend a lot of time in here. These pictures are taken as if I were turning to my right. I have loved having all the counterspace to make cookies, rolls, and lots of other goodies.

I apologize for the drainfull of dishes, but I like to let mine drip dry. Sorry if it offends you. :-)

Now I'm standing in the doorway of the laundry room and looking through the kitchen. The doorway you see is in to the living room.

Doug's been tagged

Since Bro. Hight said Doug was tagged, I asked him the questions and these were his answers.

1)What I was doing ten years ago

Traveling on deputation for our first term in the Dominican Republic

2) Five things to do today

I don’t know. Life changes too much on the field. Here’s what’s planned.

Have devotions
Meet our pastor for prayer & discipling
Meet with the planning committee for this summer’s VBS
Recover from meeting with the pastor and VBS committee
Play a game with the kids

3) Snacks I enjoy

pretzels
chips
cookies
cake
pie
chocolate...........

4) If I were a billionaire

After I paid tithe and taxes, I wouldn’t be a billionaire anymore.

5) Three bad habits I have

Not responding to questions. :-)

6) Five places I’ve lived

state of contentment
state of confusion
state of shock
the same state in the U.S. for all my life
Dominican Republic

7) Five jobs I’ve had

painting
equipment rental
redworm dealer
missionary/pastor
pouring concrete

8) Five people I’d like to know more about

I’m playing freeze tag, not regular tag. :-)

Birthday surprise

Yesterday was my birthday and my sweetie outdid himself this year.

I had thought about going to a ladies' Bible study in the morning. I tossed the idea over and over trying to decide between lady fellowship and duties at the house that should be attended to since this week is our spring break from school. I told Doug the night before last, "I don't think I'm going to go to Bible study. If I go, it will take one more day away from getting things done here."

I awoke early yesterday and the electricity was off. I knew I wouldn't get laundry or much of anything done till it came back on, so I decided to go to the Bible study.

Doug picked me up at the Bible study and when I went to the truck, the kids weren't in there! I said, "What did you do with the kids?" He said, "Okay, kids come out now." I said, "Yeah, right. Like Jonathan would be quiet all that time."

He told me that the kids were at some friends of ours and he was taking me out for lunch and shopping! Wow! I love to shop, but rarely pleasure shop here. Since the city is so busy, we only purchase the necessary things and don't take the time to browse much.

He asked me where I wanted to go and my choice was Wendy's. I got a chicken club sandwich combo. Mmmmm! I haven't had one of those sandwiches since we left the States 7 months ago! Yes, they have Wendy's here, but we don't eat there very often because we try to be very frugal. I also had a vanilla Frosty. That was the best in the world! You have to understand we don't get ice cream here very much either because of the high price. It was so yummy! I had been planning to go home and make ice cream for my birthday, but this was better!

From there he took me to a big department store where we bought the children some needed play shoes.

When we got home, they had a cake waiting for me - not decorated. It was vanilla with chocolate frosting. Doug said the children helped him make it.

Doug said I about ruined his plans when I said I wasn't going to the Bible study. He said he prayed that I would change my mind. God answered His prayer! I wonder how long he lay awake praying. :-)

It was a very special day and fun to be spoiled by my husband. :-)

You got it!

The other day we were in the grocery store and Ryan asked, "Mom, are we rich?" I said, "We have more than some people do." Regina said, "Yeah because some people don't have a family." Smile. She's starting to realize the value of what being "rich" is. Yes, we are very rich - not monetarily, but with blessings money can't buy - 4 healthy children, a happy home, salvation, and the investment in souls for the Kingdom. Rich indeed.

Submission and Banana bread

The Lord helped me this past week as I prepared for ladies’ meeting. I’m sorry I didn’t get any pictures. I don’t think to do so since I’m not accustomed to taking my camera with me everywhere I go.

For weeks I felt like I should talk about "Submission to God". As I looked up verses and tried to put something together by way of a Bible study, I realized it was going to require way more time than what I had to study properly.

As I sought the Lord more and more earnestly as the day came closer, still nothing was coming together. Finally the day of the meeting, I came up with the idea to make soft pretzels. The dough would be a symbol of our being "yielded" to God for Him to make us into what shape He wants.

The more I prayed and thought about it, I realized this probably wasn’t going to "click" with them the same way it would us. They really don’t even know what pretzels are and how would they even know if they were in the right shape.

Then the idea came to mind to teach them to make banana bread. They had asked me a while ago to show them. I got my ingredients together and as I shared on being submissive to God, I added ingredients. What about the baking soda and salt anyway? Are they REALLY important? Why can’t we let them out? I pretended to gripe about why they should be in there when I didn’t think they were necessary. The ladies were starting to get the idea of what banana bread had to do with submission to God’s will.

Finally when I had the batter mixed, I said, "Okay, it’s ready. Who wants to be the first to try it?" They answered that it was not baked and I had to put it in the oven. I said "The oven! It’s hot in there. I’ll die." Then I said, "Okay, but just for 5 minutes." They said "No, a half hour." "A HALF HOUR? I don't want to stay in there that long," I responded.

They seemed to apply the Biblical concept of questioning God when we want to let out ingredients, and skipping the oven He has prepared for us. If we let anything out, or don’t stay in the oven for the full amount of time, we won’t be as flavorful or beautiful to others, spiritually.
I thanked the Lord over and over for how He led me to do this object lesson. It was killing 2 birds with 1 stone - teaching them how to make something they love, and applying a Biblical truth the Lord wanted me to share.

I think it will be something they will remember for a long time and hopefully they can make the banana bread and sell it to get some income.

Real faith

Sunday evening in church, our pastor's wife gave a wonderful testimony of God's provision. She said they awoke Sunday morning with nothing to eat. She told Euddy, "We're going to get ready and go about our day as normal, expecting God to provide." God did indeed provide. He miraculously supplied enough food for their lunch and supper on Sunday. Her face glowed as we sang the hymn "I know whom I have believed". It is a joy to watch the faith of our people grow.

In America, it is rare for us to have to pray for our next meal. But in a country such as this, it is common. I had a lady recently told me that when she left for work, she left her children at home with no food and no milk for the baby. We Americans really don't know what it's like to live that way. But in other countries, your faith is challenged daily.

Brandon's birthday

Last Saturday was Brandon's birthday. We made a cake and a pinata, and invited some American friends to go out for pizza with us. It was a really nice time. Brandon wants to be a pilot when he grows up, so he has a love for airplanes. He wanted an airplane cake this year. This was a relatively easy cake once Doug sketched the outline for me. We can hardly believe our boy is 9 already.


Pictured with Brandon and Ryan is Cody, one of Brandon's American buddies.

After pizza, we all went to a park where we had a pinata and the children played soccer.

Easter drama continued

I'm sorry it took so long to get the rest of the pictures posted from the Easter skit. I'm glad it didn't take Jesus that long to come back to life. :-)



Jesus appears to Mary.

Easter drama

Easter was a bit different for us this year. No special events. No new Easter outfits. The kids didn't get Easter baskets, or any sort of Easter candy. Maybe it was a bit too drab. On the other hand, we don't want our children to get caught up with all the "extras" of Easter that really have nothing to do with the real meaning. There is no awakening of spring. We've been in spring/summer since November. :-) It just gets hotter from here on out. So, while away from all the bunnies and chicks, we had fun and did an Easter skit on Good Friday. The children had a blast and hopefully will remember it for a long time.

Here Easter week is called "Holy week". All of the schools are closed and many have vacation from jobs the whole week. Everyone flocks to the beaches. There is no special Easter candy or such as we have in the States. They do have an Easter dessert that they make out of kidney beans called "sweet beans". It is tasty, but not necessarily our favorite cuisine. The city is pretty much shut down and there is little traffic on the weekend. Definitely different than Easter in the States.