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. 30th and at
6:00am on Dec. 31st, 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 2nd 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.
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