Briana

4 am tomorrow morning will mark the 21st anniversary of a very blessed event in my life. We were the only ones on Blanding Blvd as we made our way to Orange Park Medical Center. 16 hours and a C-Section later we had our first daughter. We brought her home in a Christmas stocking. She was one of only 3 presents under our sparse little tree that year. It has been a blessing to watch her grow up to serve the Lord. She has a precious smile and a sweet spirit. We are so thankful that God blessed our lives with our "Sweet Baby" Briana.

I ran two Half Marathons (HM) in the month of October. I began training in July which, in Florida, is not a fun thing. The heat was unbearable. I plugged along with the hopes that it would be cooler in October and much easier. October arrived, but the cooler weather did not. I finished the race under my goal of 2:30. My time was 2:28:30. I am very proud of this accomplishment.

My second HM came as quite a surprise. We had a trip to Virginia planned to visit Liberty University. It was alumni weekend. We purchased an alumni package which included a 5K race. It was 2 weeks after the HM, but I didn't think that would be a problem. I received a call from the school asking if I still wanted to run the race and which one did I want to run, the 5K or the HM. This was Monday after my first HM, so I said I would run the HM. I was still on a high. I was feeling no pain not really tired, so this on should be no problem right?

To begin with, it was COLD. The high was predicted as only th low 50s. When I got there, I found out it was a trail race. The drive up the mountain should have clued me in. I asked the guys there if they thought I would be okay and showed them my shoes AND told them I was from Florida. They still said I would be okay. I still didn't know what I was getting in to. There were only about 80 people running the race. We all lined up and proceeded down a very narrow trail. I suddenly had a pinching sensation on my legs, then my arms and my face. There were huge black flies biting me. Fortunately there were ladies around my that got them off me. My hand was quite swollen at the end of the race.

Right off the bat we went up 2 very steep inclines, I was almost on all fours. I looked at the elevation chart from the race, during the first 2 miles the climb was 400 feet. That is much taller than any bridge(our mountains) in town. We crossed little bridges, the first was made of branches, a few of which were missing, it was precarious at best. I even crossed a 5 inch wide culvert. Sounds like disaster for a clutz like me. It had rained and the leaves were wet. There were places where I couldn't tell where the trail was, it looked just like the rest of the woods. I was concerned about getting lost, but was told that was no problem. Just follow the pink ribbons. Oviously, they didn't know who they were talking too. At one point in time, I stood in the middle of the woods looking for the pink ribbon. I got off trail twice. One time I looked down the hill to my left and saw a kid walking and a pink tape, fortunately I got back on course fairly easily. We were going down so steeply at times I would slip and fall. I took a pretty good tumble with about 2 miles to go. I was so tired, I guess I wasn't lifting my feet very high and there were rocks, roots, trees everywhere. We had to climb over several huge fallen trees, that was hard at the end. I got of trail again with about a 1/2 mile to go, there was a guy behind me that had done the 5K and was hanging out to cheer the racers on, helped me find my way. I had actually realized I was off trail and was heading back and he saw me. I was able to run around the lake to the finish line.

I was alone in the woods for most of the time. This was very difficult for me. No mile markers and only 3 water stations. There were times I was yelling at myself for getting into something as stupid as this. I was 70 out of 75 finishers. There were only 3 in my age catagory and the other ladies finished ahead of me. My time was 3:21:03. Almost a full hour longer than my first. This was a task more difficult than childbirth, but I have survived both.

My Very Long Dominican Post

I attempted to post this in the DR, but it didn't work. Everything was in Spanish and mine was in English and it didn't merge very well. I will post all here, I hope it is not too long to enjoy. It begins with July 9,2009

We landed in the Dominican Republic approximately 1:20 pm on July 9, 2009. Our day actually began at 2 am as we drove to Orlando to catch our flight to the Republica Dominicana via Miami. MIA is not one of my favorite airports. When MIA is the first place we land when returning to the states, it never feels like home, more like you are still in South America. This time we were heading in the other direction and we had a little time to kill. We logged onto facebook to let everyone know our status, did a little texting and set out to find Starbucks. The garbage lady, and I am not being unkind, that was her job told us it was at gate 36, downstairs. I was a little nervous about leaving the area and not getting back in so I asked someone else, who, consequently, did not speak English very well. He said “Don’t have Starbucks here”. Briana really wanted a Starbucks so I checked with the garbage lady again and she didn’t understand why I was asking again, but she told me again. We checked the wall and gate 36 was still in the yellow area so we wouldn’t be leaving the safe area.

Before I left the states, I emailed Andres with the time we would be arriving. I did not receive a reply. Since I am always worried about something, I was slightly concerned that there would be someone there to meet us. He was there with a crowd and that was a blessing.

The area around the airport was different from other places I have been. At one point we actually saw the ocean. There didn’t seem to be as many people. We arrived safely at the Herreras and had a snack, some of the best pineapple I have ever eating. We fellowshipped then took a little nap. Jimmy and Andreas borrowed a van to get us around in. We went for a ride, this is when all the excitement began. Now things were looking like South America….mass chaos. People everywhere walking, riding bikes, mopeds in cars and busses. Andres was driving in all this mess while texting. Jimmy said he was driving his truck, which is standard, while texting. Now that is skill. We went to the supermercado. It was more like Walmart, they sold everything. We stopped for gas. Here gas is $5. They put gas in the tank and there is another tank in the back of the car. It looks like a propane tank, you fill up that tank with cheaper propane like stuff and if I understand correctly, you alternate the two. I am sure that would fit right in with our cap and trade. It would be all cap and no trade.

We made it back to the Herreras and had the best meal. Mercedes made arroz y habechuela y carne. Fue muy bien. Briana even approved.

Tomorrow we will see our friends in La Vega. Andres had set up a visit to Casa de Campo where Sammy Sosa and J Lo have houses.

July 10, 2009

I have coined a new phrase, “When in La Romana, do as the La Romanans”. It was quite an interesting day. We left this morning at 8 am for La Vega to see our friends the Brockells. They are missionaries there. La Vega was about 3 ½ hours away. Almost exactly midway was the capital, Santa Domingo. It is a very large city. One very interesting sight was a Nissan dealership with a huge sign on the building that said “Big Blow Out Sale”. A Japanese dealership with and advertisement in English, go figure. You never can tell what you will see in a third world country. We stopped on the way to use the bathroom and of course we got a snack. It is a wonder that everyone here isn’t obese, food is central to their culture. We had an interesting cheese and crackers which were actually more like garlic toast.

La Romana is on the coast but it is impressive that not very far away are the mountains. They were beautiful.. We met up with our friends and ate at a Dominican restaurant. Afterwards we went for ice cream. Crossing the street is always an adventure for an American. In the United States, the pedestrian has the right of way, well here they are on the bottom of the totem pole. The motorcycle has the right of way. We were crossing the street and one turned the corner and BARELY missed Joanna and actually touched Briana when I reached for Joanna to get her out of the way. The guy on the motorcycle yelled “ te cuidado, mi amor tea mo” as he zoomed by. In English it sounds like this “watch out, my love, I love you”. Steve and Julia showed us their church and then we went back to the house and fellowshipped. They had a friend from the states visiting with her son. It was his birthday and we made a cake for him.

Andres wanted to leave so we could be back in familiar territory by dark. The car wouldn’t start, it was out of gas. Yesterday I explained the gas ordeal. It took some time, but we got the car started and were on our way. He took us home a different way from the way we came. We went through the city in Santa Domingo. We ended up in quite a traffic jam, all due to a stinky garbage truck. Traffic in South America is interesting at best, but when there is a problem, it is really something else. We were completely stopped and this bus was driving towards us and it didn’t appear that it was going to stop. Thankfully it did or I would be smooshed.

We were almost home and I thought we were lost. I had just seen the La Romana sign. We turned in the other direction and drove through a town. Andres asked directions a few times and we ended up at Amable in San Pedro, Sammy Sosa’s hometown. We ate pastele en hoja. When Mercedes told me the name I thought she said “pastele enojada” which means mad.. It is made with platanos and chicken; it was pretty good with ketchup on it. After a few interesting encounters with the locals, we made it back to the road to La Romana. I am glad we had Andres and Mercedes today, we would have really stood out by ourselves. I have been forced to speak my horrendous Spanish, hopefully it will improve. I am also learning to roll with the punches just a little more.

July 13, 2009

I skipped a couple of days on the blog, not because they were uneventful, but just not as many events and I was very tired when we got home. Here things get going a little later, consequently, things end later. This is almost opposite of how our days go at home, but….when in La Romana…..

Saturday, we went to La Playa. It is very beautiful. Different from ours in that it is in the Caribbean and the water is green. The water is also much warmer than our Atlantic. It is very interesting; there is only a small area that is available for the Dominicanos. Most of the beach is owned by the wealthy or hotels. We did walk in that area to take pictures. We were stopped by a couple that asked us in English to take their picture. They were not Gringos, but they knew to speak to us in English. We came home and ate and fellowshipped again. Mercedes made the best fish and potato salad. Jimmy ate at least 5 pounds of it.

Sunday morning we were at Iglesia Biblica Cristiano. Jimmy preached in the main service. That evening we were at there mission church. I have never in my life, heard music so loud. I thing young man in charge had the same solution for all problems, turn it up louder. Afterwards, we ate more authentic Dominican food, Keepers ( I am spelling it like it sounds because I don’t know how it is spelled), and empanadas. The restaurant we ate at was owned by a couple, the husband was Arabic and the wife was Dominican. The wife spoke to us, her name was Yolanda.

Today, we were at Compassion International. Jimmy taught the older kids, the age range was 13-19. This group was very helpful with his Spanish. It was a lot of fun for him. Briana and I were on the internet finally, and the teacher of the young ones came to us and said we were teaching that class, here is the lesson. She handed it to Briana. It was about Joseph, only I didn’t understand exactly where in the story they were. I saw the word esclava and thought it was the word for imprisoned which is encarsa. (I am sure I did not spell that word correctly) Well, Joseph was imprisoned and enslaved. I was supposed to tell about being a slave and I told about Joseph in prison. No problem, the kids told the story because it was basically a review anyway. Briana was translating but I was able to tell some in Spanish, it was humorous, the parts I did know in Spanish I still paused for Briana to speak so she just repeated what I had said in Spanish.

Finally, we went to the park and played games with the kids. Jimmy made a ton of balloons for them. There were even adults that hung around to watch. I am not sure what the rest of the day will be like but we will see.

July 14, 2009

Today was a day of opposites. I will explain later but I must tell a story from Sunday that I forgot to tell. After the morning service, we took church to one of the ladies in the church that could not attend the service. Her name was Rosa. She had ice on her leg and it was wrapped. I thought that was the problem. In actuality, she had cancer of the spine and had received treatments but the cancer was still there. Rosa was so happy to see us. Joyful would definitely be an adjective to describe her, albeit, not adequate enough. Andres had Jimmy share words of comfort and Mercedes sang for her. It was such a blessing to see the happiness of this family in a not so happy situation.

Now to today. Briana and I had a little better idea of what was expected of us. We actually had a written lesson, in Spanish of course. The plan was for me to teach in English and Briana translate in Spanish. They thought it would be good for the kids to hear English. These kids were the rowdiest kids I have ever dealt with before. I don’t think they have any discipline in their lives. I think they are much more comfortable with chaos than I am. The ministry the Herreras work with is Compassion International. It is really a very good program. They reach out into the poor community and evangelize. I received a lot of hugs.

From there we went to have lunch at one of the deacon’s homes. I always get a little nervous eating and drinking in the city, but we have done so much of this here that I just received it with thanksgiving. They were so excited to fellowship with us. The one thing that stands out here is the conveniences we have in America that are not here. Andres and Mercedes house is nice for here but things like flushing toilets, water pressure, washing dishes, electricity, they aren’t the same. We Americans are very spoiled. These people that shared with us today live in a home that is very poor by American standards. They had no electricity; there were lights that were powered by batteries. Even in the home we are staying in, they loose electricity, but fortunately they have the batteries for those times too.

After lunch we went to Casa de Campa. This is the place where Sammy Sosa and J Lo have a house. We did not go to that part, we went to a very scenic area, walked hundreds of stairs down a mountain to a lake and back up again. This area was built in the 70’s but looks ancient. Sammy Sosa and Michael Jackson both had weddings here. There was a huge ampitheatre.

I believe this evening is prayer meeting. I have just found out that I need to share a devotional tomorrow evening. I guess Briana will be translating once again. She asked me not to use any words she didn’t know so that will limit me a little.

July 16, 2009

When we leave a country, I always wonder if we will be remembered. As we left the Herreras, I think we were remembered BEFORE we arrived. This is a very special family and we were treated royally. They were genuinely sad to see us leave and even though I miss my girls in Los Estados Unidos, I will truly miss the Dominican Republic. Andres and Mercedes are a family serving the Lord in the same manner we are. We gave Andres the nickname El Presidente. Everywhere we went he knew several people. Often we would stop while driving down the road to talk to people. Mercedes gift is definitely serving. She cared for us like we were her own children. Manuel, the serious one, practiced his English with us. He is a caring intelligent young man, pasturing a small flock and leading his family to serve the Lord. Erika is a gifted lady, using her skills to guide the less fortunate through Compassion International. She misses her brothers a lot. Andresito is a much loved little boy who I am certain will grow to know Jesus Christ. What a blessing this family has been. As I sit 38,000 feet in the air, it doesn’t matter if I will be remembered; I have been blessed by a family who I will always remember. In total, we spoke and shared seven times, Jimmy 4 and Briana and I 3 times. It was a short week packed with activity.

Life moves right along

It has been a while since I have posted. I really need to keep this up, not that anyone reads this, but I think it is good for my soul. I think I am having a difficult time with the little birds leaving the nest. Now, my oldest flew (literally) a long way from home, but she returned. It is the second child that may kill me. She seems to want to stay as far away from us as she can get. I don't know where she has gone most of the time. I have to give thanks for texting, but still...... I am sure this is something that happens when kids grow up but I am still not happy about it. I do still have Briana who will always be close by just so she can tell how to run things...like I listen to her at all. This doesn't stop her and we still love her. Krista and Joanna still have a lot of growing up to do so my job isn't completely finished. God's hand in creation is evident in my house. All my children were created in His image but with diversity. In the mean time, I am working on finding things to do with my partially empty life. I have taken up running. I will begin training for a half marathon that I will run in October. Before then I will run a 5K on July 4. Running is getting very difficult due to the weather. I ran Monday, it was 99 degrees. I only got 2 miles in. Well, now that that is off my chest, I feel much better. I can now get on with my midlife crisis.

Running

At the beginning of the year I set out to train for the river run. I am a little late posting it, but I was successful. I ran the 15K in 1:41:17. I am very pleased with that. I only began running in November of last year, and training for the run in January. It was really cool. I plan to run a 1/2 marathon in October. I am currently trying to find what is comfortable for me to run consistently. Due to travels and rain, I have only run once, 7 miles.

We made our first college visit this week with Andrea. We went to Palm Beach Atlantic University. West Palm Beach is a beautiful place. The college is really nice. The tennis coach had a great concept about tennis. His tennis team has a missions project in Costa Rica. They have been there 2 summers and plan to keep returning to work with the kids there. She would like to go into the field of Sports Medicine, so we talked with the head professor in that field. He was also a very neat guy. She was very encouraged with this as if she chooses this college, the two people she would work with the most, she was very comfortable with.
Briana is finishing her semester at FCCJ. She has been very active with the singles group. She is on the leadership team and helps plan the activities and their Ignite service. She plans to spend a few weeks this summer in the Dominican Republic.

Joanna is still quite the hacker. By this, we mean that she can fix anything. She is working very hard on her school.

Krista is still playing tennis. She is not competing this year but hopes to next year.

Our dogs are fine, thanks for asking. I will post pictures later.

It is raining here, it has been since Tuesday. We may need to start building an ark.

Update

A few months ago, I had 4 teenagers in my house. The oldest turned 20 in December, leaving 3. Life can often be rough for teens. Adjusting to grown-up like schedules can be difficult. Briana is working and going to college and managing things well, but Andrea struggles. Each week, she works 20 hours, plays tennis almost that many hours and is taking college classes, while still a junior in High School. Tennis season has started and has added to her schedule. Joanna is doing well as a freshman. Krista is moving at her own pace in 7th grade.


Kids hate it, but we try to help them learn from life's lessons. This weekend, Andrea was the student. Her team was playing in a tournament in Georgia. Typically, there isn't much competition so she really didn't want to play. Friday night her first match was very lifeless. She won easily, but played sloppily because she really didn't want to be there. Saturday morning was a different story, the girl she played was very good, but cheated. She wasn't mentally prepared to play a difficult match, much less one that was less than ethical. She lost by a small margin. I won the battle with my tongue (somewhat). It was all I could do not the throttle the girl and her coach. It did help that they both out weighed me. I am grateful that I didn't loose my testimony. Her dad and I are hoping she realized that she was not prepared for that giant. While we are not competing, we still have giants of a different nature to fight. We too enter those battles unprepared. We are a little prideful in our thinking that it is an easy battle. Satan wants us to think that way, then he can have the victory. Don't underestimate your opponent.

I currently am training to run in the Gate River Run. It is challenging, in that part of the race is up the Hart Bridge. We don't have hills in our city, so this is the mountain at the end of the race.
I ran 7 miles last week and plan to run 8 tomorrow. The race is 9 so I hope I can survive. I don't plan to run down the bridge due to my difficulties with gravity.

Lord willing, our family will be on 3 different continents this summer. Andrea is planning to go to Africa. Briana wants to spend a few weeks in the Dominican Republic and we are planning a trip to Guatemala. I guess that is technically not 3 continents but you get the picture.

Life is moving very quickly and we are enjoying it to the fullest.

Now that we are well into the new year....

...how are we all doing with our resolutions? I had a few this year. One, I am not doing to badly with. I wanted to run the River Run this year. My husband scoffed and said that nearly 50 year old women shouldn't run the River Run. I can partially understand where he is coming from. He does pay the Chiropractor bills. I was insulted none the less. As for the progress, it is going well. I should be running 4 miles by Saturday, I am currently running 3.5 of them, I should be there by Saturday. I have a very encouraging friend to spur me on. I think I will accomplish this resolution.

Another resolution was to improve my interpersonal relationships. This is not going as well. I am not very much of a people person and this takes work on my part.

A few goals we have are to go to Guatemala and I would like to finish my quilt. We will see how I do with those.

Tennis season is almost underway, conditioning started last week. This will be another struggle for me as I am not always pleased with the philosophy of the coach but I have tried elsewhere and right now this is the best we can do team wise. It will be a test of my interpersonal skills that I lack. Andrea should do well. This is Krista's first year, she is the one I am concerned with, I do want her to have a profitable year.

I am still working on learning spanish, I am not sure that will ever be resolved.

I guess that, overall, my list is still intact.