Kindness

It has been a couple of weeks since my last post. Amos is adjusting his schedule so my normal writing time is no more. However, Jonathan is on break for a couple of weeks so hopefully I can be more consistent in writing.

There are a lot of things I want to talk about. But they are not related and would make for a very lengthy post, so I will just address them one at a time for now. But first!

Amos is now 3 months old and doing great! He has a doctor’s appointment today and I am anxious to see how much he has grown! His personality is showing now and we really enjoy seeing it.

Now, unto the actual post.

This time of year really seems to bring out the ugly in people. The few days leading up to, and including Christmas, my facebook newsfeed was full of “Merry Christmas!”, Happy Hanukkah!”, “Happy Holidays!” and ugly responses to these greetings. Now, don’t get me wrong; Jonathan and I do not celebrate Christmas, (I celebrate Hanukkah), but we/I am in no way offended if you celebrate Christmas and wish me a Merry Christmas. I will wish you a Happy Hanukkah in return. In fact, Christmas is such a big deal here, that I have said “Feliz Navidad” several times. I think it’s more offensive to refuse to acknowledge an important holiday than to just wish them a good one. Let me explain….

If you don’t celebrate Hanukkah for _____ reasons, that’s fine! It’s your religious right/freedom to do so. However, if you go to someone’s house for dinner and they are celebrating it, and they wish you a happy Hanukkah or a merry Christmas, would it not be rude to not exchange the wish? Ultimately, isn’t it the main point of Scripture to live in unity and love your neighbor as yourself? If you want someone to respect your holiday, shouldn’t you respect theirs? You don’t have to agree with it, but you can still be respectful and loving. There is no need to get all up in arms over this that and the other, just smile and return a greeting. If you feel like X person needs to be told about _____ reason to not (or to) celebrate ____ holiday, trust that the opportunity to share that information will arise. No need to be holier-than-thou and refute/attack a friendly greeting. You catch more flies with honey than vinegar.

All I am trying to say is, it’s an important time of year for many people, and also stressful for many. Instead of giving them something else to be stressed about or offended by, be the calm face that gives a few moments of peace. No need to be ugly.

That is all I have time for now. Gotta go back to being a Mom. Until next time, may Adonai bless and keep you.  

What does 2017 hold?

“But Jesus called for them, saying, “Permit the children to come to Me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” –Luke 18:16 NASB

It’s hard to believe that 2016 is already drawing to a close. It seems to have just flown by. There has been so much change this past year and there is more to come. I want to spend this post talking about what it looks like the Lord wants us to do in regards to ministry in 2017. We have great hopes for the church in coming years, and 2017 is a kick start towards those goals, as well as a time to gather information so we can truly meet the needs of the community.

All of the ministry that we will be doing in 2017 will be free. We do not live in an affluent area, and even if we did, ministry should not cost the people. We provide it from our hearts and do not expect anything in return, financially or otherwise.

The first thing that will be taking place is a weekly training/class for Pastors. Jonathan has been doing a bi-monthly class but starting in January, this will become a weekly, more in depth class for the pastors. Jonathan is currently teaching on spiritual disciplines and formation and will go more in depth with those subjects now that the foundation has been laid.

The next 2 things actually go hand in hand. As you probably know, Jonathan and I teach in English at a bilingual school on the north side of the city. There is a great desire among Dominicans to learn English so we are going to be utilizing our abilities and skills in that area. It has been decided that a community outreach provided by our church, will be started in our area. Sunday mornings there will be a 45 minute bible class for children that will be taught by various teachers. The hope is to teach either bilingually or in English only. This class will be used as a way to teach English to the children of our neighborhood as well as spread the Gospel.

In addition, I will be teaching an hour long worship dance class. The hour will include a short devotional to discuss the importance of worship and/or discuss the song and dance and how it relates to a scriptural concept. Again, this will be taught in English and the songs will be a mix of English and Spanish.

Now, let me take a minute and address a few things about the dance ministry. This can be a point of discord so I want to be completely open and honest about what I will be doing. I teach Davidic dance with a ballet influence (can’t help it, it is who I am). However, every dance I choreograph and teach for the means of worship is prayed about and studied thoroughly. The dance is a visual interpretation of the lyrics of the song. So the lyrics are carefully considered and studied as well. A common learning strategy is to set things to music like the ABCs for example. Since the children will hear the song over and over again, I do not want any unkosher things stuck in their heads, and because of the language difference I need to be doubly careful.

In addition, all dance movements are kept appropriate and modest, as is the attire. My hope is to have a co-ed dance class and we will certainly have a co-ed audience so the pastor and elder are my authority and they will check and make sure everything is kosher.

However, it’s not just dance that will be taught. Worship comes in many forms. Flags, tambourines and such will most likely also be used in the dances. The point of the dance class and presentations are to help bring others into a state of worship. For some people it’s a visual thing and an interpretation of the lyrics, through clean and pure dance, may help them.

The dance ministry will present twice a year (that’s the plan right now anyway) and will learn dances based on the church’s theme for the year. For 2017 the theme is “Worship”. This includes “what is worship”, “how do we worship”, etc.

             

            These 3 things are just the start of things to come. I am excited and anxious to see where the Lord takes this. Prayers for us in as we plunge headlong into this would be greatly appreciated.

            Until next time, may Adonai bless and keep you.  

What does "Life" mean?

Why when things get tough do we say “that’s life”

But not when things are good?

How does one describe life?

With each breath we breathe

With each movement we make that’s life….

But isn’t there more?

Is “life” just the heartbeat and breath?

Or is it something more in depth?

Is “life” just physical or is it also spiritual?

Can you be emotionally dead but still be “alive”?

What defines life?

sound, smell, feeling, taste, and sight?

Maybe it’s each cell in our bodies

or the bark of a tree.

Maybe life is in the wind

Maybe it’s more than we can see.

When somebody says “you need to get your life back”….

What does that really mean?

Did we really lose our “life” or maybe just take a different one?

Maybe our “life” is each moment and not our plans.

If we take a different trail when we walk, do we die?

Not usually.

life….such a small word with many different meanings…

What is life to you?

One year on

Last week was Jonathan and my anniversary; and boy! what a year it has been! We have grown and matured a lot over the last year as we have tackled so many challenges. We joke and say if we could get through this past year, we can do anything!

After our wedding we applied ourselves and finished our last semester strong (it was only 3 weeks so not terribly hard to do). We continued to work for an additional week before we moved out of the house. Jonathan was ordained on Dec. 30^th and at 6:00am on Dec. 31^st, we boarded our first flight to head to the Dominican Republic. That was hard. I was tough throughout the whole moving and saying goodbye process, but on the train to the terminal it hit me. But I kept myself together because let’s face it, I don’t cry in public. Sure, I buried my head in Jonathan’s shoulder for a few minutes, but that is all I would allow myself to do. By 1:15pm we had landed in the DR and we started the process of entering this country that I would now call home.

The first 2 weeks we stayed in housing because our home was a garage with no electricity or plumbing. A mission team came in and put in windows, an entryway, created a doorway and closed off 2 others. Jonathan then installed electricity and plumbing for our kitchen and laundry. Without their help, I have no idea how far along our house would actually be!

We came with a some money thanks to savings and wedding gifts, but even as cheap as things are here, it took a lot of money to get our home livable. We started applying for jobs and within a week I had an interview. I got hired to be a teacher and would start the following Monday.

My first day as a teacher was hard! Language barrier, new students, first year teacher stress, trying to figure out the system, meeting teachers and students, trying to learn the schedule, on and on it goes. I came home absolutely exhausted but I had something weighing on my mind even more than my first day of teaching. That night I finally took the pregnancy test that I had been too scared to take earlier….it came back positive!

I will admit. Joy and excitement were not the first reactions I had. More like a burst of tears from being overwhelmed. This was not our plan, I was a newlywed in a new country. Shoot, I don’t even speak Spanish, our house isn’t finished and now a baby is on the way??? Oy vey!

I spent the next 24 hours just trying to process this new information. I approached one of the other teachers who was also pregnant, but more importantly, was an English speaker. She helped me with basic stuff and then I had to tell my new boss that I was pregnant, but I did nopt know it at the time I was hired. She understood and so I began to adjust to this new course God had put me on. Fortunately, I had a trip to the States plan for residency paperwork 10 days later.

After arriving in NYC I found out that day that residency wasn’t going to happen. The DR has new procedures about it and I received conflicting information. However, I was unable to return to the DR for 2 weeks because I had a non-refundable, Non-moveable flight. I called Mom and headed to Nashville the next day.

After returning to the DR the routine of work, house reno and such began. Not having a car meant I had to do public transportation adding 3 hours to my day. Jonathan soon got a job though and he could at least travel a good part of the way with me. However, the Lord smiled and 3 weeks after getting a job, Jonathan resigned and began teaching at the same school as me. He could now be with me the whole way! However, we both soon found a need for a car and so we decided to go ahead and invest in a used car being sold by a co-worker of ours. Morning sickness and the extra-long commute was very hard for me physically and emotionally. In May we acquired Jarvis and he has been a lifeline several times.

Summer was full of heat, heat and more heat. I went home for 5 days in June because I had slipped back into horrible depression and being pregnant, I refused to even inquire about medication. The short but sweet trip home was like a breath of air to a drowning person. Although I was physically fine, it was a mental and emotional emergency that I get home.

Between my return to the DR and Amos’ delivery, life was fairly routine. The normal power outages, heat, doctor’s appointments and ministry; but the heat was just terrible. I finally agreed to finance an air conditioner and in August, I could finally have a house that was cool and did not make me sick when I was home. Up to this point the AC I had was in the car or at some of the stores we shopped at. Our school does not have AC and other than big stores and some doctors’ offices, it is not common here.

September came and I was within a month of delivery so doctor’s appointments increased to weekly. I had some medical difficulties the previous 2 months so the doctor was being extra cautious about everything. I went for a routine sonogram and discovered the umbilical cord was around Amos’ neck. The doctor ordered a special sonogram to double check and make sure he was not in distress (he wasn’t, happy as a clam he was) and decided I needed a c-section. I got this verdict on Thursday and was scheduled for a c-section the following Monday at 39 weeks. Fortunately, my Mom arrived in the DR on Sunday, the day before Amos’ arrival.

The c-section itself was traumatic as no one was allowed in and so I had to do it by myself without understanding what was going on or being said. However, Amos was born strong and healthy and has only thrived since his birth (Praise God).

Now, a year after getting married I find myself not only adjusting to married life, but motherhood, ministry life and living in a construction zone. Although our house is very livable and as homey as I can make it; it is in no way finished. However, baby man doesn’t seem to mind, it’s more me trying to clean and such that minds.   

But, the Lord is good and faithful! We have overcome it and can put one notch on our belt, with hopefully many more to come. We are now getting Amos’ papers so that he can be a dual citizen which has proven to be a nightmare, as most governmental things are. Our deadline with the DR is Friday, after that there is a penalty, however, Jonathan should be on the 2^nd to last or last step today…after that it’s off to the embassy with a prayer that they rush papers without us having to pay a rush fee. I would love to visit my family before my maternity leave expires at the end of December so they can all meet Amos. Adonai has been faithful and if he wants, I will go home, it is just looking impossible currently. But, I have a strong healthy baby and a relationship that has withstood wind, fire and rain (literally and figuratively), so daynu.

Until next time, may Adonai bless you.

Election Day

I delayed until today to write this post because I wanted to see the results of this Presidential election. I deliberately don’t post anything political, so may choice will not be discussed. However, there are a few things I want to talk about in regards to this election.

            This is the most divided election I have seen. I have been genuinely surprised by the choice of some of my friends as to who they voted for. My facebook feed for the last month or more has been very heavy with political posts as people practiced their freedom of speech on social media. The last 24 hours though have been a real eye opener. Neither candidate was a good choice but we had to choose the “lesser of two evils”; which makes me ask two questions:

1)      What decides the lesser evil? And 2) why did we get to that position in the first place?

Let me start with the second question first.  Considering how many candidates there were at the beginning, how did we get it down to Trump and Hillary? In all honesty, I am not surprised at Hillary getting the Democratic nomination. She is the wife of a former president, has run before, and is of course, a woman. Combine that with her experience, I am sure the democrats thought she had a fighting chance to win where as their other candidates did not. However, Trump winning the Republican nomination continues to amaze me. How did he beat Carson, Cruz and others? My guess is money has a lot to do with it. However, Trump is also of the generation that has the most active voters. He talks like them and has the same values (minus the degrading of women) as them. Maybe that is why he won the nomination.

            Now for the second question. This one is tough. What defines the lesser of two evils? Everyone has their own criteria. It depends on what is os most importance to you. Some would say gun control, others abortion, still others say gay rights, a few say their political stance with foreign countries like Iraq, Iran etc. So is there really a way to define the “lesser” of two evils? Not really. We all view and interpret scripture differently so what you would say are scriptural issues, others might disagree with. For example, I found out that more people from my belief system voted for a candidate more than the other because of abortion. To them, that was the most important thing. So, they decided the candidate against abortion, was the lesser of two evils. However, I have many friends, that that think racism and degrading of women should not be allowed and they voted for the other candidate because to them, that was the lesser of two evils. It’s all in your viewpoint and interpretation of scripture,

            Let me just clarify something. Due to my surprise pregnancy and all the hassle and things associated with it, I forgot to sign-up for absentee voting so I did not vote. (Baby first!) And I also did not closely follow the candidates throughout their campaigning. Everything I know has come from family or friends.

            That being said, Trump has been elected President. So, regardless of who you voted for, America decided Trump was the better choice. As believers, we have a duty to pray for him because he will be in leadership over us. We need to pray for him to have wisdom above all else. Trump will now re[present one of the most powerful countries in the world. We must pray for him.

            And that is that. Until next week. May Adonai bless and keep you.  

Breaking Superstition

I know it’s common in the States as well, but here in the DR, everyone (particularly women) feel the need to give you advice on how to care for your baby. The advice comes from not only people you know, but also perfect strangers that just feel you are doing something wrong. It might also be particularly bad with me as an American and Jonathan because Dads need all the help they can get right? Jonathan is learning some things still yes, but he is doing great so the advice is really not needed.

Anyway, there are several big things done here in regards to baby and mama care that I did not do. This triggered a good amount of the advice and some concern from both strangers and Jonathan’s family so I thought it would be interesting to address some of these superstitions that I broke and/or did not know about.

First the pregnancy superstitions I broke:

Do not eat pineapple: This one has a couple of reasons I can find. The first is one that was confirmed by a Dominican friend of mine. Eating pineapple is said to burn the skin of the baby. An online source says that it is also believed that it causes miscarriage. I ate a TON of pineapple during pregnancy, in fact I still eat a lot!

  

Do not go in the ocean: I am not sure how common this belief is anymore. I went into the ocean with another very pregnant Dominican lady so it may be a superstition that is dying out. Anyway, it is said going into the ocean will cause you to lose the baby.

Do not look at a dead body: This one I can see being rooted in common sense. Sometime in the beginning of my 2^nd trimester there was an electrical fire at a neighbor and former church members house. Sadly, she died in the fire. Jonathan went over to be with the family and I went with him. I did not realize the body was still on scene (she was covered though). It is said looking at a dead body will cause you to lose the baby. However, I can see it being rooted in the fact that touching a dead body with all the bacteria and such can cause that, so they may have expanded it to looking at a corpse over the years.

Always give a pregnant lady what she craves: this superstition says that if a pregnant lady does not get the food she craves, the baby will have a mark on their butt in the shape of that item. So if the mother wants eggplant for example, and does not get it, the baby will have an eggplant shaped birthmark on its butt for the duration of their life. My question is: what if the pregnant woman craves pineapple like I did?? Now Jonathan usually got me what I craved because he is sweet, not because of the super superstition. And the few things I did crave and did not get, have not shown themselves as a mark on Amos anywhere.

            Now the postpartum superstitions I am not adhering too:

Do not wash your hair for 40 days: This one is interesting and has been confirmed by multiple Dominicans. It is believed by not washing your hair your actually protecting your baby from getting sick, and having gases. I guess because washing your hair makes your head cold and opens you up to get sick and therefore the baby. The 40 days is to keep the woman at home to recuperate and help her heal so not washing her hair helps with that? Anyway, I confirmed this with a friend of mine and her Mom-in-law said yes, but this is not followed much anymore which is why “children are not as strong as they used to be”. When I got home from the hospital the first thing I did was shower and wash my hair (I was unaware of this superstition, not that it would have changed anything though). My Mother-in-law was concerned about me when she saw I had washed my hair and questioned my Mom about my well-being. The truth is, when my hair is clean I feel better, I cannot stand dirty hair. However, Amos is super strong and healthy so my Mom-in-law is no longer concerned.

Do not walk outside after dark: I had to walk to the end of the block shortly after getting home from the hospital to go get an antibiotic shot at my aunt’s pharmacy. It was around 7:30 so it was dark. My aunt was very concerned and told me not to do that again and she would come to me to give the shot because of the “dew of the night” whatever that means. From what I can gather, it is cooler at night and therefore I am more prone to get sick and so is the baby. I think…but even at night it is not below 70 degrees so I am not concerned about that.

Do not take the baby out after dark: okay, so this one makes sense to some extent. I don’t want to take a newborn out much anyway but after dark adds complications with just seein bumps and things. However, the superstition says taking a baby out after dark makes them have green poop. This is believed by Jonathan’s family so they were amazed when I did indeed take Amos out after dark at one point. Amos is fine and does not poop green for those of you who were concerned about that.

Do not touch a newborn: I am still amazed at how people don’t touch babies! I can’t help it but no one touches Amos because they are dirty. It makes sense but the extreme to which they take it is surprising. I don’t mind people touching my baby with just normal everyday activity “dirt”. Now if you are covered in dirt that’s different but just daily stuff I am fine with.

Always cover up the baby: Okay, this makes sense in the States but here? Not so much. I am montoring the babies temp, but he does not need to be bundled up all the time. However, people are convinced unless they are they will get cold and sick. So far one month with Amos and no issues, but I also am blessed to have a very strong and healthy baby.

I am sure there are more superstitions I am breaking but these are all I am aware of. I think it’s interesting to learn these things about the culture. However, I realized by breaking the superstitions I am also proving two things. 1) Superstitions are just that, superstitions. And 2) My God is bigger and in control.

Until next week, may Adonai bless you and keep you. 

Encouragement

     This week has been so busy that I had no time to write anything. Instead, I want to share with you some of my favorite (and encouraging) quotes from my pinterest boards. I hope to have a full post next week. Blessings and Chag Sameach!

Espacio Hardin family update

       It's been two weeks since Amos was born. It's hard to believe. My pregnancy went so slow, and know my baby is already 2 weeks old? What? He is thriving and is already doing things that a 2 week old should not be able to do. He can roll from his side to his back, and his back to his side. He has a lot of head control (not 100% but probably 85-90%) and eats 4 oz of formula at a time. He is not a whinny baby and really only cries when he is hungry, his tummy hurts or if we put cold wipes on his fanny to clean up his diaper mess. The rest of the time, he is pretty content little guy.

       Amos does recognize our voices and has even smiled at us a few times. He knows both his grandmas too, Jonathan and I spent a lot of time talking to Amos while he was in the womb and it seems to have paid off, He will turn his head or follow us with his eyes when he hears us talk. He also responds to music. He doesn't respond to the music the colmado plays, but if we sing or have music on in the house he will listen to it very intently. I think we might have a future worship leader on our hands, but at the very least a musician.

     My Mom returns to the States on Saturday which is sad. I have enjoyed having her here and her help has been invaluable. However, we are starting to gather the paperwork to declare Amos and get his US citizenship and passport, I am hoping to get it by the end of the year so we can travel back to the States whenever we want. I have a list of the required documentation and pictures so hopefully, it won't be a long, drawn out process. 

    

      My recovery is going pretty well. Slower than I want, but well overall I think. I am having trouble sleeping but I can't tell if that's because Amos does not have a schedule or if it's something else. We are working to get little bit on a schedule but some days we are more successful than others. But, I am able to bend over now which is nice (still can't lift but that will come) and although my incision still hurts with certain movements, or after an abnormally active day, it is not an all the time pain. I no longer need help laying down or sitting up and it does not talk me a while to move around. So, I am grateful for the little advances in my healing. And a bonus is I am able to wear my pre-pregnancy clothes which makes me happy, I have some pretty things that I have missed wearing!

      Jonathan has returned to work and the threat of hurricanes has passed for now. He is trying to play catch-up with his teaching but I know he will do fine. He is disappointed that his team did not make the world series but he did enjoying watching them play in the playoffs. He also is going to be a chaplain for one of the Dominican baseball teams and their season starts up soon. I think he will be excellent at that.

      Well, I guess that's it for now. Until next week: may Adonai grant you blessings and peace in your homes.

Amos' birth

As you have probably heard, the baby is here! He was born on Monday, September 26, 2016. He weighed 7 lbs, 10 oz. at birth and was 21 inches long. Not a large baby by American standards (or even for my family, we normally have 8.5 and up pound babies), but that is large for down here. Amos is strong and healthy and packs food away like there is no tomorrow. He doesn’t spit up, and is now drinking 3 ounces of formula at a time! There is certainly no failure to thrive praise Adonai!

My Mom arrived in Santo Domingo on Sept. 25^th in the afternoon. Her flights went well and smoothly and we had a good evening getting some baby stuff and eating mofongo for dinner, because that is what I wanted. Monday came and I was prepared for my c-section. I had been told all this time that and exception to the no people in the room policy would be allowed because of me needing a translator. Obviously, Jonathan was the person that would be allowed in. However, as soon as they wheeled me in they slammed the doors and would not let Jonathan or my Mom into the room even though I speak little Spanish. I did ask for Jonathan but my request was refused, by my doctor who had told me he could be there. Needless to say, I was very upset.

After I was in the room, it took them 15-20 minutes to administer the epidural because I required 3-4 shots. Apparently, I need a higher dosage to not feel anything. This does not surprise me as it has happened in the past with numbing medicine and such that I needed more than just one shot. However, they did finally succeed in getting my completely numb and the procedure continued.

I am not going to lie; I was fighting back tears at this point. I was scared stiff, I could not understand what they were saying, they kept sticking me with needles and my family wasn’t around. Both grandparents and Jonathan were in the waiting room and I had to go through this alone. I have never needed Adonai more, and he comforted me as I walked through it.

At noon on the dot Amos was born with nice strong healthy lungs. The doctor the got him was Jonathan’s sister (one request that was honored) and she made sure he was healthy, cleaned him up, dressed him, and took him out to meet Jonathan, my Mom and Grecia. After hearing Amos cry, I relaxed and actually fell asleep for a few minutes while the doctors stitched me up. I was met in the hall by Mom and Jonathan who assured me the baby was healthy and the face splitting smile on Jonathan’s face told me he was everything Jonathan wanted.

I was then taken to my room for recovery. I was laying perfectly flat and I was not allowed to talk or move my head to prevent the epidural headache. I did well about not lifting my head but the not talking was hard. I did pretty good though and I was successful in not getting the headache.

I could not eat, drink or nurse until Tuesday but Jonathan’s family came to see the baby and Mom stayed the night to formula feed and care for the baby while I was incapacitated. Mom brought her Spanish dictionary too so that we could somewhat communicate with medical people when Jonathan was not around. We managed but it was hard.

During the night I started bleeding really hard. The nurse (only one on duty) decided to wait until morning to change my sheets. At 7am she came in, told me to stand up, go take a sponge bath then come back to bed. She sat me up for 30 seconds, stood me up and started stripping the sheets. Mom had to help me to the bathroom and help me sponge bathe and change clothes. Now, I had not eaten since about 8am Monday morning and then it was only broth. I also had been lying on my back since noon the day before and other than saline, had no fluids and I had lost a lot of blood. I stood up in the bathroom for about 5 minutes but then passed out. Fortunately, Mom is a former paramedic and was un-phased as she caught me on my way down; preventing a concussion from hitting the sink or tile floor (and the baby was in his bed asleep too so that was good). She called for the nurse who, of course, did not come, but I came too again pretty fast after hitting the floor and was able to get up with her help and hobble back to bed.  Breakfast was brought in a little bit later which helped with my dizziness. When Jonathan arrived later that morning, he told the doctors about it and they were not pleased. My doctor was supposed to get me up and about, not the night nurse. But all is well and that was my only fainting spell.

I was allowed to start nursing Tuesday evening and it went fairly well. Wednesday Jonathan had to return to work but mid-morning I had a muscular cramp that caused a lot of pain and made breathing difficult. I then had an anxiety attack because I felt like I could not breathe. Mom got the doctor and I called Jonathan so he could translate over the phone. Both the doctor on duty and my doctor were talked too and everything was cleared up. However, I was still having my anxiety attack so Jonathan took an emergency personal day and came to the clinic. I was under observation for an hour or so and then released. Wednesday afternoon Amos and I were finally home.

Wednesday night was rough as we had not bought more formula and I had a small milk supply. I nursed literally all night but it just wasn’t enough. At 4:45am Amos finally fell asleep and at 5:00 Jonathan went to the pharmacy and bought formula. He then headed to work. Sadly, Amos had to go get some vaccines that day (Thursday) but he was so exhausted from the night that he hardly cried. However, things began to look up after that and it has been as smooth sailing as can be expected from that point on.

As for my healing, it is going slow. I have been more active then I should have been so I am trying to force myself to slow down. Due to pain and soreness, we still use formula at night so I can have a break from nursing. Jonathan and my Mom are taking turns during the night and I nurse as needed. However, during the day I only nurse and so far Amos is doing very well with that. It is just a short term solution, but it is working for now. Amos and I each see our doctors on tomorrow so we will have an update on both of us then.  

Well, that is pretty much it. It was a difficult delivery, but Praise God, Amos is here safe and sound. And now begins the healing process for me and the growing process for Amos. Until next week; may the Lord bless your homes. 

Preparing for Baby part 2

Hello!!!!

     So it's time for part 2 of baby prep! With news from the doctor that might mean Amos' arrival next week, it's been very stressful trying to get things done. However, with the help of Jonathan's mother, I think we can get it done. My Mom comes in on Sunday and she will be here to help too which is wonderful. But anyway, let's plunge in!
     

     


      We have the changing table set up! I am still waiting on the knobs from the art teacher but as they say "you can't rush art", and they are a fast and easy install when I do get them. I am not worried about it. The diaper bag was a gift from some fellow missionary friends along with the changing pad and some mittens for the baby's hands. We are very grateful for the items and the diaper bag actually matches Jonathan's teaching bag perfectly! Right down to the hunts of red seen in pockets and such. We plan on picking up the crib at some point this week and that will make everything seem super real!

  Over in the corner where the crib will be (away from the breaker box, is my "flag wall". I currently have the Dominican flag, the Oklahoma state flag, and the CCU eagles flag. I still need to hang my USA and Israel flags (trying to find them in our boxes currently) and Jonathan's DR baseball team flag. I will buy and add to the collection (at some point) a Tennessee Flag, an Ohio flag, and maybe even Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay baseball flags....just depends.

 

 

        Over by the couch are our bookshelves. Now, I am not much of a book person (I did not inherit that from my family) but Jonathan is. I do have a few books like cook books, Jane Austen, ministry books and a couple of childhood favorites. But all told, less than a shelf worth. However, between the two of us, we have quite the bible collection! And that's totally fine with me!!! But instead of dividing my books-his books, I just made one side of shelves all books and bibles and the games he uses for our game nights. On the other side, I chose to use the shelves to display some of my things that make me feel more at home. Things like my things from Israel, my star trek glasses, my India doll and B-17 model, etc. (I have odd and unrelated tastes I know!) But these things make me happy to look at, so I put them out for a more "homey" feel. Fortunately, Jonathan does not seem to mind.

   

    Now onto the kitchen. You must excuse the dishes. Every time I get it cleaned up, I need to eat and then there are more dishes. So, yeah. This kitchen is in use....all the time. The kitchen curtain is made from embroidered hand towels, each baring the name of a day of the week, that I folded and draped over the rod. These towels were a wedding gift to my Grandmother who then passed them to Mom at some point, and I then took from her (yes, I am THAT person).

   

    The shelves Jonathan hung on the left are offset from the wall slightly so the leak when it rains does not effect them. However, I have placed cans and bottles there that can get wet and be okay. My laundry stuff is then below the shelves since the washer is under the counter. The shelves on the right are my spices, bagged pantry items (flour, sugar, corn meal, oatmeal etc.) and things that cannot get wet or they will be ruined. The basket on the top in the back is our medicine basket. As far away from kids as possible (my niece and nephew visit sometimes so that's the reason its up there). The lanterns are for the power outages and then I keep my mop, broom and dustpan in that corner. This house is not square so that corner was wasted space and I am just trying to utilize it.

 

  My upper cabinets now hold my dishes. I bought some dish dryer racks from Ikea and put them on the bottom shelf to vertically store my dishes to prevent mildew, The second shelf holds all the tea and coffee cups and the top shelf is overflow china and plastic cups/travel cups.

The smaller upper holds my mixing bowls, pitchers, tupperware and things I don't use very often like my grater, and such.

      Under the counter the coffee peculator and my tea kettle are stored. On the counter I keep all my cooking utensils and knives in glass jars. We also keep the blender out because I have been making a lot of smoothies lately.

 

   



Jonathan saved these pieces when he hung the wood sides on the cabinets to make shelves. I am glad he did! The top shelf holds the tea set we used at our bride and groom table and the bottom shelf holds all our tea, coffee and hot chocolate.











 

     And just to finish everything off is the island. There is nothing special about it, just thought I would include it, especially since Kempurr decided it was a good time to sunbathe on it...while I was taking pictures of my kitchen, Jonathan has our drinking water out because I can't bend over and it is normally stored in a lower cabinet. Once the baby is here it will be returned to that location. Our fresh veggie basket (and fruits...not pictured) will be hung from the ceiling over the island....hopefully this will be done Saturday. Where Kempurr is sitting is usually where we eat (when the table is collapsed) but it happened to be in a sunbeam so she took over the spot.

      Well, that's it for the prep for now. There are a lot of doctors appointments this week to see if a C-section is needed but I will hopefully know that answer Thursday evening. I hope to post next week but if not, it's because Amos is on his way! Until next time, may Adoani bless you and give you peace.

The Fall Feasts

            I do not have any new updates on preparing for baby as I am still in the process of redoing the kitchen. Maybe next week! Instead I want to address a couple of things that I have a feeling may be causing some curiosity, and that is the fall feasts.

            The month of Elul is upon us which is the month of repentance and preparation leading into the fall feasts. Great, but what are they and why talk about them? Well, hopefully this post will answer that question.

            The fall feasts are the feasts mentioned in the Torah (the first 5 books of the old Testament) that take place in the fall. There are also spring feasts, the most well-known of which is Passover. It is argued that when Christ came the first time he fulfilled the spring feasts and he will fulfill the fall feasts with his second coming. I am not going to open that whole bag of worms this week, but rather just tell you a little bit about each of the upcoming feasts and their significance.

            The first feast to take place is Feast of Trumpets or Yom Teruah; although, sometimes it is also called Rosh Hashanah. It marks the beginning of the Jewish New Year as well as the beginning of the 10 days leading up to Day of Atonement/Yom Kippur which is the holiest day of the year. Silver trumpets and Shofars are sounded on this day as a call to repentance between you and God and to get right between you and your fellow man.

            The next feast is not actually a feast at all, but rather a day of fasting. It is considered the holiest day of the year to the Jews. It is the Day of Atonement or Yom Kippur. This is the day that the High Priest would enter the Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle, and sprinkle the blood on the altar to ask for forgiveness for all the sins of the people of Israel. It is also the only day of the year where the name of Adonai was spoken aloud and only by the High Priest. The scapegoat and the sacrificial goat where used on this day. The one goat was sacrificed and the scapegoat carried the sins of Israel spoken over it into the desert and died. The people fasted all day, repented and turned back to Adonai. This statue is forever so Jews still fast all day on Yom Kippur (unless pregnant or medically unable too).

********HERE IS WHERE I AM GOING TO INTERJECT SOMETHING*********

            I used to fast on Yom Kippur. I did for years. However the last few years I have not (nor will I this year) and let me explain why. Yom Kippur is the Day of Atonement. Animals were sacrificed on our behalf for the atonement of our sins so we could still be in communion with the heavenly Father. I understand that and agree with it to a certain point. Christ/Jesus/Yeshua/Jehovah/etc. has come down and given his life for us, becoming the atonement and therefore fulfilling the most important of the feasts. The curtain separating the Holy of Holies from the Holy Place was torn completely upon his death. This indicates to me, that there is no longer a division or sacrifice necessary to gain forgiveness or to connect with the Father. If this is the case, why is it necessary to fast and repent and all of that on Yom Kippur. We should do that year round. That day no longer holds the same significance if you are a believer than if you are a Jew. I can repent and seek mercy at from the Father any day, without the need for sacrifice or a High Priest because I have Christ who has done all of those things. No longer does an animal have to carry my sins for me. The sacrifice of Christ and what he has done should be proclaimed all year around, not just on Yom Kippur.

            I am going to get off my soapbox now as I could go on for a long time, but I think I made the point so there is no need to keep saying it.

***********BACK TO THE POST***********

            The last feast is Feast of Tabernacles, Feast of Booths or Sukkot. This is an 8 day celebration in which people live in "Sukkahs" or "Booths" (or tents/temporary dwellings). This is to practice for the wedding when Christ returns. It is during this time that Simchat Torah occurs which is where the final reading in Deuteronomy is read, and the first reading in Genesis is read, to show the ongoing cycle of the Torah. The Torah is read through ever year, beginning and ending during Feast of Tabernacles.

            Hanukkah occurs in December (usually) but is not a commanded feast so I did not include it here.

            Although, I do plan on decorating for and acknowledge these feasts, I want to caution (?) those that observe these feasts intently. I have no problem if you do that and firmly believe you are supposed to. But at the same time, remember those that are watching and interact with you. I chose to not make a big deal about it down here for several reasons. 1) Its unknown in the culture here. There are very, VERY few Jews and they kind of keep to themselves so the Dominican Culture is not familiar with Jewish laws and customs. So, even though I do not hide my beliefs, I do not flaunt them either. 2) The most important thing is to spread the Gospel. If you get all wrapped up in the Feasts and their customs, you might miss a chance to witness and ultimately, these feasts are all about Christ. Not how well we can fulfill the traditions, customs and laws associated with them. I would rather stand before the Father and answer for not adhering to the feasts than to stand before Him and explain why the Feasts prevented me from sharing the Gospel or encouraging someone in need. To me, the Salvation of souls surpasses even the most important Highest of Holy days. Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying blow off the feasts or that they are not important. I am just saying, don’t let them blind you. And that goes for everything, not just the feasts. It could be everyday life or Christmas or something else. I don’t know what distracts you, but whatever it is, don’t let it be something that causes you to miss someone that God has put in your path to minister too; even if it is nothing more than paying for a coffee for them.

            Until next week; May Adonai bless you and grant peace to your homes.

Preparing for baby part 1

Greetings!

            So, the doctor has said our little one can come any time after Sept. 23^rd. I am hoping and praying he waits until my Mom gets down here on the 25^th. I am personally hoping for the 27^th but we shall see. His original due date was/is October 9^th, so that is quite a big window for possible delivery. However, it will happen in Adonai’s perfect timing.

            That being said, I am starting some serious nesting. I was on bed rest for 10 days, and this is my last week of work until I go on maternity leave, which will give me two weeks to finish everything. 2 weeks!!!!! That is no time at all, especially since I am moving so slow now. But, we have gotten some stuff done and will get more done in the next few weeks.

We went to Ikea on Sunday to get a timer for Jonathan and to check the price on something….yeah. Anyway, we did get some baby stuff there! I have needed some bins to store stuff like baby powder, lotion, diapers (when we buy some) etc. Everything I had found though has been super expensive so I haven’t bought anything. But at Ikea we came across this boxes that I think are for pictures but are sturdy and super cute! They are blue and tan and look like vintage trunks. I love them!

We also got some knobs for the changing table. The art teacher at our work said he would paint some owls on them for us! I am excited, the knobs I was going to buy were $3.50 each on amazon and not exactly what I wanted. These knobs were 100 pesos (about $2 for 2 knobs) and they will be custom painted to go with our colors and theme. Yay! 

 During all our re-arranging of things to make room for baby stuff we did discover a problem. Due to the rain and constant humidity, rust, mold and mildew is a problem. My main cabinet for dishes has really bad mildew (I hope mildew and not mold), so we had to take it off the wall, clean it and move it away from that spot due to a leak. This means I need a new solution for my dishes storage. However, thanks to Ikea, we have some ideas! My dishes cabinet is kind of off by itself so it looks a little strange to the eye. We are going to re-purpose and relocate it (probably for the baby once it’s cleaned up) and replace that cabinet with shelves. The shelves will become my pantry for cans and things like that can get a little wet and not be a problem. Then the cabinet(s) that I am using as a pantry right now will be re-purposed for dishes storage. I will store the dishes spaced apart for air flow and hopefully that will solve the issue. We just have to take measurements and finalize how we/I want to do that. However, due to the salt air, I do have to replace some of my silverware and knives that have rusted as well. But! Ikea had purple handled silverware on sale so we took advantage of that and grabbed a box. Super excited!

    Jonathan also grabbed two little wicker tray things to make beds for our cats, one of whom is for sure prego and the other could very possibly be prego as well. He is going to suspend them off the ground so Jefe can’t reach them. As long as he knows what he is doing that is fine by me! So our trip for his timer (which we did get) turned into a bit more than the one item!

            I am hoping to get more baby stuff this week and then will have a more detailed post about what we got, as our list is still fairly long of needed items. However, the boy has clothes! He won’t be naked, that’s for sure!

            As for the rest of the house and prepping for baby, I have a kitchen curtain to hang, couch cushions to be covered and some pictures to hang. But other than fixing the issue in our kitchen, we are doing pretty well. Our island still needs to be painted, but I doubt that will happen before Amos’ arrival. We shall see. I will be working when on maternity leave but only a little as I really need to slow down and take it easy. I had contractions again on Monday; I think from the heat (love power outages) and activity most of the day Sunday, and not a lot of sleep that night. So health first, then nesting; but hopefully I can do both.

            Until next week, may Adonai bless and keep you.

Why are we here?

         These last couple of weeks have been extremely challenging with all the science lesson planning (typing A LOT) I’ve been doing at work for 5 different grades in middle school. If you know me, you can tell writing is not necessarily my strongest suit, mostly because I’m a perfectionist and I’m always looking for little details (mistakes) in my writing which causes me to take longer in any task that I perform (like the two paragraphs that I just deleted from this post because I didn’t like them). On top of that, my best half is at home resting due to medical license. She provides mental stability to my world when she is around (when I’m at work of course, like right now). Oh well, the thing is that I’ve been seriously focused trying to meet all the deadlines I was given before the classes begin. However, a few days ago something happened to me at work that prompted this post and I want to share some of that.

        On one of my breaks, some co-workers asked about Mary and her condition. After I answered some of their concerns, the same question everyone asks us came back again: “is she going to have the baby here (in the DR they mean)?” My answer while I smile is “yes, we are”. Interestingly, the following question has been a trend since February when we found out about the pregnancy: “Why?” Now, that question normally comes with a great emphasis of disappointment in the voice tone, like when you don’t understand the irrationality of a situation, and you ask “But WHYYYY?” Initially, this kind of interrogation hacked me off. I would get upset for being questioned about a personal decision Mary and I made. I often thought people were being disrespectful about our ability to decide what to do for our family. But later on I started putting myself in most Dominicans shoes to understand the way they look at us. Something must be triggering these questions implying that we are making a mistake by having the baby in the DR – or even the fact we decided to live our lives here. When I looked at the situation from their perspective, I realized they have reasons to believe we are making the wrong choices.

        First, a great number of Dominicans look at the United States as a pinnacle of a civilization. We tend to import so many things from the States that even our culture and identity is molded after the U.S. Second, the economic system in the U.S. make most Dominicans feel attracted to the culture of having more. For most Dominicans, U.S. citizens have a lot of money and although this is a misconception due to the equivalency between both economies, you need to know that minimum wage in the DR equals 215 US$ A MONTH. Third, the organization, education level, services, opportunities, technology, health assistance, and other “good” things are more accessible in the U.S. if compared to the “chaotic” life style of the DR. Fourth, the comfort of the U.S. overshadows any comfort found in the DR. Most Dominican’s perception is that as soon as you step into U.S. territory, your life will be changed and improved immediately. I can keep going multiple paragraphs about things that are “good” in the States and “horrible” in the Dominican, but I will start hitting common trends related to those four categories I just listed here.

        That brings us back to the question, why are we here? Do the Dominicans’ question to us make sense now? Hmmm, maybe a little. If you have been involved in short term mission trips before, you can have an idea why many Dominicans would have such a mindset. However, it’s only when you immerse yourself in the culture of everyday life situations and conditions (like public transportation, traffic, noise, heat, short funds) when you understand why Dominicans look up to U.S. citizens (or anyone from around the world with a stronger economy) as someone of higher value. Now, a warning on this. I was hesitant to write this post because it could make us (Mary and I) look like we are doing this huge sacrifice in coming to the DR, or just as a way to receive some pity on us. The purpose of this writing is just to state clearly why we are here.

      In spite of most Dominican’s perception, we have a stronger reason to disagree with their thoughts. We are learning to respect their thoughts and at the same time we are searching for ways to convey that our reasons to be here are stronger. We are looking for opportunities to share with them the other side of the story they don’t know.

      A little more than 3 years ago, I (Jonathan) left the DR with the purpose of attending to Seminary at Cincinnati Christian University. This time has been one of the most transforming experiences in my life after my conversion when I was 9 years old and meeting the second love of my life, Mary (Christ is my first by the way). I left with the mentality “I will go to get trained and then will return to train leaders and pastors.” The case is that my heart found the spiritual transformation I needed to love like Christ those potential leaders and pastors. That is the reason why we are here. Every day we are falling in love with people around us. Christ is teaching us to love them the way He loves them. Still, we have a long way to go in this learning process. But the important thing is that we feel called to this land, to this holy place, to learn how to love like Christ did.

       We pray that our presence here in the DR will be a sign of Christ’s story being told. My DR fellows need to know Him as that side of our story and our stronger reason to be here.

With that note I will stop here and let Mary take over her space again. God bless!

Living for Him,

The Espacio-Hardin Tribe

The Aaronic Blessing

          Jonathan and I listen to CDs on the way to and from work and the most recent CD we have listened too, is one by John Waller. The very last track on the CD is called “Lord bless us and keep us” and the song is based on the Aaronic blessing. It is a very short, but calming song and Monday morning Jonathan and I got into a discussion about it. So, I thought I would turn that discussion into this week’s blog post.

            The blessing can be found in the book of Numbers, chapter 6:24-26. It says:

The Lord bless you, and keep you;

The Lord make His face shine on you,
And be gracious to you;

The Lord lift up His countenance on you,
And give you peace. (NASB)

            This blessing was said by the Priest over the Sons of Israel and is still recited in most Jewish and Messianic Jewish services. (**Fun fact: this is where Star Trek’s Spock got his “Live Long and Prosper” phrase and hand gesture as Nimoy was raised Jewish**) Honestly, this is one thing I really miss. But this sparks a question; who are the “Sons of Israel”? Is it just the Jews? I don’t think so.

            In Galatians 3:23-29 Scripture says:

For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.  For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise. (NASB)

To me, this means any baptized believer in the Messiah is counted as a child/son if Israel. This does not mean you are “Jewish” although if you want to say that I suppose you could, but rather like an adopted child or “grafted in” is the terminology I have heard used. As a descendant of Abraham, and an “heir according to the promise” this blessing applies to you.

      I think most people view Jews as the “chosen people/children/sons of God/Israel” and Christians as Christians. Yes, Jews are still his chosen people, but Jesus/Yeshua was Jewish and he came to save everyone regardless of heritage, faith, or imperfections. And as Scripture states, we are all one in Christ and part of “Israel” in the Spiritual sense.Does this mean you need to become "Jewish" in the sense of keeping 613 commandments and such? In short, no. But that is a post for another day.

      I could go into more detail, but that would make this post far too long. So I will leave it for another day. Instead, I will end it here. Below I have included links to the Aaronic (Priestly) blessing on YouTube in case you would like to hear it. There are several different tunes (and languages) so I have included several links.

Until next week: May the Lord bless you.

Aaronic Blessing; Hebrew & English:    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xN8K96twMQo

                                                                https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqKujgIBWwg

Aaronic Blessing; Hebrew & Spanish    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTHcpF3Io6Y