The significance of Passover

It is Good Friday and Passover begins at sundown tonight. As I searched the city of Santo Domingo for lamb to cook for dinner tonight (I was unsuccessful by the way) I began to think about the significance of these two days and that are more intertwined then I believe people realize.

In mainstream Christianity, Good Friday marks the day that Christ was crucified. Easter Sunday is when he was resurrected/the tomb was discovered empty. (For the sake of unity and conciseness, I will leave it at that and discuss the whole timing debate in another post.)

For Jews, Messianic Jews, and Messianic Israelites, (yes, they are different. Again, a subject for a different post) Passover is remembering the events leading up to the Exodus from Egypt.

But are these two events really that different?  Let us look more in depth at each of these, starting with the Christian side of things.

On the Sunday before he was crucified, Christ entered Jerusalem riding a donkey. People through down their cloaks and palm branches in the road for the donkey to walk on. People heralded the arrival of Christ with “Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!” A few days later he partook of a meal with his disciples which we call the Lord’s super, but since Christ was Jewish, was actually a Passover Seder. After the meal he left to pray, was betrayed, and tried. He was beaten and mocked and then lead out to be crucified. The moment Christ died, the curtain in the Temple dividing the holy place from the holy of holies was torn in two, from top to bottom. Impossible to be done by man. There was also an earthquake and darkness... at 3:00 in the afternoon. He was buried in a hurry because the Sabbath was quickly approaching and on the third day he arose/his tomb was found empty.  

Now, the Jewish side.

In the book of Exodus we find the story of Moses leading the Hebrews/Israelites out of Egypt. Before they were allowed to leave there were 10 plagues in the land. The last was the worst one; death of the firstborn. The only way to avoid this plague was to sacrifice a perfect lamb, put the blood on the doorframe of your house and then roast and eat the lamb. The blood was a mark and protection from the angel of death, and it would “Passover” the house….hence the name “Passover”. The Israelites were commanded to remember this day forever, which they do, right around Easter with Passover and the feast of unleavened bread.

Now, these 2 events still do not seem related, but just stay with me.

During the Passover Seder, there are specific elements used that point to Christ. The first is the Matzah. It is like a big cracker with holes in it like a cracker but also has brown lines from where it was baked. You could say it was “pierced and striped” like Christ was. In addition, part of the Seder is the hiding of and searching for the Afikomen. This is a partial piece of matzah that has been blessed, wrapped in a white cloth and hidden. Later in the evening, the children will search for it and the person that finds it usually gets a prize of some kind. Blessed, wrapped in a white cloth and hidden sounds a lot like the burial of Christ. There is also the normal “communion” of partaking of wine and matzah which Messianic believers equate to remembering Christ but Jews do not…obviously. The Seder plate itself is also full of significance. Lamb is served for Jews this is in remembrance of the lamb sacrificed to protect the firstborn, and for Christians/Messianics, this is representative of Christ as our lamb. There are of course traditions and other aspects of the meal that are significant, but I want to really focus on the lamb and matzah.

Beginning with the matzah. As stated above, this is basically a giant cracker. It is unleavened because when the Israelites fled Egypt, they did not have time to let their bread rise and so made this unleavened baked bread called matzah. Now, Matzah is pierced and stripped as I said earlier but think about it being unleavened. Leaven is an agent that helps things rise. Yeast, baking powder, baking soda, etc. In Scripture leaven is used to describe sin. “A little leaven leavens the whole loaf…” So, the matzah being unleavened represents perfection. Guess who was called perfect, without blemish? Christ!

The lamb is a lot more obvious in its significance and link with Good Friday. Christ is often described as the “Lamb of God” and is perfect and without blemish. Just like the Israelites were required to sacrifice back in the book of Exodus. The blood of Christ is the atonement for our sins, the protection from eternal death, the payment for our debt. When the lamb was sacrificed in Exodus, the blood of that perfect lamb was not only a symbol of being in obedience to the commands of Adonai, but also a protection from death. By putting the blood on the door, the Hebrews were claiming that protection, and heralding the future Messiah.

Hopefully, this post makes sense. There is so much more I want to say and point out, but it is already quite lengthy so I will stop here. I will continue this topic in the next couple of posts. Until next time, may Adoani bless your homes.    

           

A change in perspective

I had a completely different blog post in mind but as I was trying to finish typing it, I just could not get the incidents of yesterday out of my head. So I decided to write about that and finish my post up for (hopefully) next week.

Have you ever had those “woe is me” type days…or weeks? It has been one of those for me the past few days. I have been under a lot of stress this last week and as a result, in a lot of pain. In addition, on Sunday, I was bitten by some mosquitoes and had an abnormal reaction to it which I am still getting over. My ankle became very red, hot, swollen and painful and if I rested it for a period of time, it would hurt to walk on it. Because of this and some other things, Monday was a pity party day. Jonathan was at a pastors meeting and I was alone with a painful ankle, chasing a baby who would not nap around our small, moldy, crowded house. Can you hear the pitiful violin playing in the background?

Jonathan called me on his way home saying that he was going to stop at the hospital to visit his brother who had been there all day, (2^nd time in 24 hours) because of a bad asthma attack. I told him I wanted to come so he came and picked me, Amos and Grecia up first. It was almost 9pm by the time we made it to the hospital but we did see Jovanny and he was released while we were there. Since no one in the group (Jovanny’s wife and sister were there too) had eaten, we then did an impromptu dinner at a Chinese place. Those of you who know me, know how thrilling that was for me! (yes, sarcasm). But it was good to visit and watch Jovanny’s color return to his face. We said our good-byes and started our journey home at about 10:15. We are almost never out this late as both Amos and I like to be in bed by 10, but it was an exception that I was happy to make.

On the way home, we took a route we take on a daily basis. However, we could not figure out where this cloud of dust was coming from. Jonathan was focusing on driving (as he should) and his science teacher brain was trying to come up with some logical explanation. All of a sudden I see a wrecked car and tell Jonathan. He had not seen it and so immediately reversed to check. The same time we arrived another man was running up to the car to check on the driver. Within about 45 seconds there were six adults trying to help. I was the only one with any first aid training so through Jonathan’s translation we were finally able to convince the victim (and the helpers) to stop moving. The first reaction is to remove the person from the accident, which I get, except there was a strong chance of neck and back injuries and little chance of danger. But it got sorted out and 911 called…which took a while to arrive (I tell you, speed is not something Dominicans will ever master I think). EMS assessed the driver and moved her to the ambulance. Jonathan gave a statement to the police and we went on our way. (Amos was fantastic and well behaved the whole time, bless his heart!)

Although I will most likely never know the outcome, I have good reason to believe the driver will be okay (she was the only one in the car). It really got me thinking about my pity party over the last few days. Yes, my stomach hurts…a lot, yes my ankle hurts but I can still accomplish what I need too. I have a functioning car, a job, a healthy and happy family, and a husband who usually drives very carefully. We were going down the same road as this driver, passed the same car that blinded her causing the wreck, and we were fine. Does a swollen ankle compare with a car wreck or all day hospitalization for asthma? Uh, no. Not even close. Although I do have a lot of things to be stressed about, we have a lot of blessings that I forget about and take for granted.  

I hear stories from neighbors and neighbors of church members regularly that make me realize just how blessed I am. I still struggle with entitlement, I was raised in a more affluent culture. Even though I was raised poor, I was still better off than the poor people I live among. Yes, I would like 24 hour power, but if it is between that and having a healthy family, I will take the healthy family.

I remember telling someone once; happiness is not promised. Not being hungry is not promised. The only thing promised, is Adonai’s unconditional love and salvation to those who ask.  

After seeing Jovanny and helping with the wreck, I realize more now than ever that life is precious, and we do not know how long we have. It is a miracle that the driver did not have serious injuries when we found her. It is a miracle that medicine has advanced as much as it has, and now, bad asthma attacks are not nearly as fatal.  

Sometimes it takes these drastic events to change my perspective. At the end of the day as I fell into bed nursing my sore and swollen ankle, I just told myself to “suck it up buttercup”. I have it pretty good and a few irritations should not cause me to forget about my enormous blessings.

Until next time, may Adonai bless your homes. 

Update

So, I am finally sitting down and writing another post. Another long expanse of time between posts. I hope life will settle down soon but I am not holding my breath!

This has been a good week in ministry. The new baptistery built for us has already held two baptisms! It is such an amazing thing to witness someone giving themselves to Christ. I don’t think it will ever get old or routine for me! The Lord is so good!

The Dominican Independence day is next week so we have a short school week. I am glad for the rest but also a little frazzled about losing two days of instruction next week and two days this week due to all day field trips and the school celebration.

The weather has been cold and rainy. I have worn sweaters and leggings for over a week. The bright side is the fact we have not run the AC which has substantially lowered our electrical bill. This is a help because we now have car repairs for both cars thanks to an issue with the wheel on our old car.

            Jonathan and I have been discussing the next major investment in our house. We have agreed that the porch will take the next priority as we find ourselves regular needing and wanting to sit outside but having no furniture to do that. We cannot invest in furniture until we have some kind of wall or bars up to prevent things from getting stolen. We have several ideas in mind for how to secure the porch but also make it inviting. Hopefully over our long weekend we can concrete the plan and begin the work on it.

            Grad school has recommenced for me this week. This class I am currently taking is about special education so I am really looking forward to that. I will take another class after this one to complete my FAFSA requirements, but then I look forward to having a break over the summer and trying to make some progress on our home.

            I know this is a short post this time. I hope to have a philosophical one next time! Until then, may Adonai bless you and your homes

Reflection

            It’s been 2 years since I moved here. I have adjusted far better than I thought. I am no longer tense when we are on the road, and for the most part, I am not tense when we are running “late”. I am adjusting to Dominican time! It actually relieves a lot of stress to be more carefree with time, and nobody gets offended because everyone is like that. Life just moves at a slower pace here…mostly.

            Some things have happened that signal my acceptance by the locals. They are no longer guarded in what they say and treat me as a fellow Dominican. I guess I have passed the test and they realize I am here to stay. My Spanish is still very basic but I can hold some simple conversations and some people even try to communicate with me in English. They have come to realize that I am not as scary as they originally thought! Amos is of course, still the most popular one, but that is fine. He has a whole block of people watching out for his well-being.

            I have developed a relationship with a couple of venders at the farmers market. They recognize us and know exactly what I am going to buy (give or take a veggie or two) and even sometimes what I am looking for in a veggie (i.e. bell pepper ripeness and color). It is nice to have some routine like that. Sadly, we do not go to the market as much as I wish we did, but when we do, I always get a ton of food for not a lot of money. Teachers out there know how important that is! So, I am able to feed my family really healthy for as inexpensively as possible when I buy there. However, I refuse to buy my meat from anywhere but the grocery store or the local chicken butcher. I just don’t trust how the meat at the market is prepared and I don’t know, it just weirds me out.

            Although the driving here is still as terrible as ever, one thing is for sure. Being teachers has been a blessing. Whenever we are stopped at a police checkpoint they see our school parking sticker, our uniform shirts and our annual taxes sticker (basically a car tag but it is on the windshield) and just wave us on. Very rarely do they go ahead and ask for proof of insurance and such. I guess teachers are not a big threat or huge law breakers. Probably because we don’t have time to break the law!

            Another thing I appreciate about this culture that ours seems to have last is the porch. It does not seem like we spend much time, if any sitting on the porch. We are always busy, constantly moving, never taking the time to slow down and enjoy a cup of coffee (or tea in my case). People here are very minimalistic. They do not own much so cleaning does not take long and they can enjoy down time. They have hours of free time (I wish I had hours of free time!) everyday where they can just sit and chat or enjoy the breeze or go to a baseball game. It seems to be something the American culture has lost.

            A final thought is about how the church is treated here. Church activities and meetings are treated with great importance and respect. It is not considered mundane here. If you have a church activity or are involved in the church it is important. It trumps everything else. It does not appear t me that church is valued like that anymore in the States. Attending services is like a chore to many, and it is not viewed that way here. I am very grateful for that.

            Well, that is all for this week. Until next time, may Adoani bless you and your homes.

Eats with Sinners

            Wow, has it really been over a month since my last post? I guess there is o need to explain that my life has been crazy! But, the holiday season is almost over and my first round of grad school classes are complete. I am taking a breather from classes and will resume Feb. 19th.

              There has been a lot of ministry going on. A lot of it subtle little things but piled up create big things! I know I have posted about this before, but ministry comes in many forms, not just the traditional ones we think of.

              The people here crave relationships and fellowship. They want people to come visit and stay and talk with them. They get offended if you just run by to drop something off or say hi. Unless you have a legit excuse they get upset if you don't stay. And even if you have an excuse you must plan 10-15 minutes to spend with the person before you can leave. It can be bothersome sometimes but that is just how this culture works.

            When you do stay and visit with people they insist on serving you a drink at the very least (normally juice, coco-cola or coffee) but usually a small snack as well. Anything from crackers, to rice or whatever they have on hand. Refusing this is also offensive unless you have a medical reason to refuse it.

          This brought to mind a saying I saw on pinterest (love pinterest!):

    This is such a biblical concept. Christ was ridiculed for eating with the sinners and tax collectors. No respectable person would do that! A rabbi would eat with people of his same caliber! There is just one problem....those are not the people that need the teaching.

       Now, don't get me wrong. You absolutely should spend time with other strong believers because Iron sharpens iron. However, that works both ways. In order for something to get sharper, the material sharpening it must be stronger than the object being sharpened. So, just like strong believers can sharpen you, you must sharpen others. 

        One of the best ways to do this is around a table over some food. That environment is a non-threatening one and because people relax around a table it is easier to talk. That being said, using a meal to pulpit-pound the scripture to someone is not appropriate. Use the relaxed environment to get them to open up, to feel comfortable talking etc. There will be a time and place for pulpit pounding later on. 

       Now, to clarify, there is absolutely nothing wrong with projects and ministries. They can have a very positive influence or impact depending on what it is. I am in no way trying to downplay or invalidate those, but I want to draw your attention to the importance of eating a meal with someone. There is nothing like a belly full of warm food and good conversation to make someone question what makes that person different. Why would that person who hardly knows me take the time to eat with me. Usually people only eat with friends and family. Or if you share your food with someone, it makes them question then as well. No one gives up their own food for someone else, especially not someone they do not have a relationship with. This makes them come back, and after a period of time, a relationship is built and the gospel can be shared. 

      Where I live most women do not know how to use or do not use their ovens. It is strictly storage and everything is cooked on the stovetop or in a rice maker. Now, these women make some fantastic food! I love it! However, one thing I can make is baked goods. Bread, muffins, pie etc. By sharing these items with people in the community and Jonathan talking to them (let's face it, my Spanish is still very limited) we have built relationships and a few have even come asking for help or advice and even a couple of church services. This had nothing to do with preaching the Gospel. We just talked and shared food. That is it. Showing Christ's love and sharing food...it is not a tree that brings forth fruit quickly, but when it does, the fruit is well worth the effort. 

         So, I just want to encourage you. Maybe the mission field is not your calling. However, everyone can do something to spread the Gospel and further the Kingdom of God. Next time that new employee comes to work and looks overwhelmed, invite them to join you for a snack during break time. Just talk with them. Build a relationship with them. Don't rush and share the Gospel, share food with them, be their friend. When they are ready they will ask questions. You must first prepare the soil before planting the seed. Oftentimes eating together does just that.

     Until next time. Blessings to you and your homes.

        

 

The power of a muffin

It is no secret that I like to bake. I have been baking for as long as I can remember. It started with box cake mixes and just went from there. Now, I just prefer to bake from scratch. There is also something about a food made from scratch; so much more time and effort is put into it, you really have to invest to produce it.

When I moved to the Dominican it took a while to adjust and gain my confidence in baking again. Switching to a propane non-convection oven was hard. I had to learn all over again and figure out when to rotate food that I previously did not need to rotate, figure out temperatures, because all I have is a dial that says 1, 2, 3 and 4, and so on. But, as I practiced, I got better and now I bake at least once a week, sometimes more.

“Okay, cool. So you like to bake. What does that have to do with anything? Is this another blog post about you?” To answer the last question first, no…and yes. I started making muffins at night so that Jonathan and I would have something for breakfast the next day. Trying to cook and get my husband and baby out the door in the morning was impossible (I also make bread or coffee cake but muffins are a good go too for me). I would make about a dozen and Jonathan and I would only eat a total of 4-6 of those. So, I would pack one for Amos, include one for Grecia and then give the rest to the people who we give rides too in the morning.

One thing about the Dominican, people do not bake here. Often they don’t even know how to use their ovens and they are used for storage rather than baking. So homemade baked goodies are not a thing. If you want muffins or bread or anything you go to a bakery or the grocery store.

Well, one day I decided to make a double batch and bring muffins to school for the teachers there. They were well received so, ever since, I try to bring in muffins as often as possible.

Now, at our school there are also maintenance and security people. The students usually ignore them and most teachers just have a very short, artificial, conversations with them. However, when they learned that the muffins were not only for teachers, but for them as well, they got excited (normally, if there is food at the school the rule is teachers first and they can have whatever is leftover). Now, the teachers talk to each other and the maintenance people more.

Now, driving into the school there is this older man that is at the gate to help with pulling in and out because it is very hard to see around the column supporting the gate. Jonathan and I always wave at him when coming and going and he waves back. A few weeks back I had some leftover muffins and unsure if he got any earlier in the day, I asked Jonathan to offer him some. He accepted and I thought that was that. We continued with our normal morning and afternoon waving, and if he was in the building, talking with him.

Well, earlier this week there was a school event that required us to be on campus past dark. We were pulling out of school and were doing our normal waving when the older man asked us to stop and roll down the window. He just wanted to thank us for always showing him respect and sharing the muffins with him. He was very appreciative since most parents and students do not acknowledge him and we make an effort too. It was a truly humbling moment.

After the conversation Jonathan and I talked about the “power of the muffin”. Not only was this sweet older man blessed by a few minutes of baking, but there is also a stronger community amongst the teachers and even with the maintenance people. But what is of even more importance, is that now the students see teachers engaging with each other, and people that are “not as important”, but treating everyone with the same respect. The students are watching and learning and are starting to value what these people do.

All because of some effort and time shown in the form of a muffin. Truly, ministry comes in many forms. And often times the most effective, is around a table over some food.

Until next time, may Adonai bless you and your homes. 

A handicap or a blessing?

I am sorry this blog post is so late. Grad school started last week and my family got sick with this awful virus that is going around. Plus there have been a few huge changes in ministry that we have been adjusting too.

I am doing another post talking about me, I realize there have been a lot of those lately. However, I have come to a realization that something about me called "creepy" by some people, is actually a blessing on the mission field. And, I wanted to tell a little bit about this "handicap" because it isn't well known and I think I know a few people with it that don't realize they have it.  

Many times people use "handicaps" as reasons to not do something (Moses and stuttering for instance), especially if it is hard. Our personal issues can often affect how we view ourselves and our capability to accomplish the tasks before us. I have been struggling lately with these very feelings. I could not figure out why I was having so much trouble, then I stumbled across a youtube video. 

Now, I am not a person that trusts the credibility of just one source, and especially not youtube, facebook or wikipedia. However, after finding this video, I did more research and talked with people, and honestly, it makes a lot of sense. I even had someone evaluate me and they agree, I am an HSP.

What in the world is an HSP? It stands for "Highly Sensitive Person" and is basically a form of sensory processing. This is not a disorder, but just another way of dealing with information. HSPs are very sensitive to sensory input: sight, sounds, smells, it can be very overwhelming. But we are also very empathetic and can usually feel people's needs by looking at them. We can notice subtle things that often slip past people and are easily rattled when there is a lot to do and not a lot of time. We live in our heads a lot,are good listeners and often avoid situations that are overwhelming to us. There is a lot more but I will stop here for now.

Being on the mission field in a country that has a lot of sensory stimuli has been very difficult for me. I have often found myself question why I was called to this. I avoid crowds and noisy places and get very upset and have panic attacks if in a place like that for too long. I cannot handle the baby crying for more than a minute or two, and I feel bad if I can't accomplish everything I need to. There is always loud music going on and loud Spanish on top of that. Many times I have sat in the dark bedroom and just went into my head to find some kind of silence. I question why I was sent here to be a missionary? Why when I have these handicaps am I here? How can I be effective? But then I realized something. Yes, there are parts of being an HSP that are very difficult to deal with on the mission field, but there are parts that are a huge blessing, and those outweigh the others.

I will begin with listening. As many of you know, sometimes all you need is someone to listen to you. However, it can be very difficult to find a listener, someone who does not offer advice or make suggestions, but just listens. This is a critical skill needed on the mission field and although Jonathan was blessed with that, sometimes women need a woman to talk to. I have found that being an HSP has made people comfortable talking with me.

Another blessing in disguise as an HSP is the ability to pick up on people's feelings and subtleties in people's behavior. While in college I noticed that I could read people's eyes very well. Sometimes when I am trying to get to know someone, I will look at their eyes. I will also watch the way the walk, how they interact with people and so on. This ability has come in handy on more than one occasion on the mission field as most Dominicans are unaware that I am doing this. I will sometimes then pull my husband aside and point out something that I have seen and he will go speak to that person. Usually, they just need a listening ear and they are fine. However, sometimes this weird reading of people that I can do, has revealed much more information and I have formed character analysis that has proven to be true. Sometimes that was good, and other times not so much. 

I have to admit, church services are very hard for me to sit through. The loud music in a language I am not fluent in, a wiggly baby who just wants to move, motorcycles roaring by, its a lot to handle. But it is during this time that I can also notice things about the members of the congregation. Oh, her eyes look like she is carrying a huge burden. He looks tired, but there is a sparkle in his eye, he must be encouraged, etc. 

So, all of this to say, as an HSP I do struggle with things that would not normally bother people. However, I chose to see it as a blessings as well, because sometimes that is what the Lord uses to help others. I am choosing to see my handicap as a blessing and to be grateful for it. 

Until next time, may Adoani bless you.