Top 12 Things I'll miss this Christmas

As I sit listening to Christmas music, my heart is filled with mixed emotions.   Christmas day is coming close and for the first time in 26 years, I won’t be spending this one with my family.  I’ve been doing a lot of traveling over the past 6 months and I just felt like I wanted to take a break and stay “home” this year.  The DR has become my new home and I am truly excited to spend time with my girls and my Dominican community here.   I’ll leave details of my Dominican Christmas for a later post because today's blog is tribute to my AMERICAN family. So, with no further ado, the top 12 things I will miss this Christmas of 2012.

1.     Opening stockings with my siblings (getting the my yearly dosage of socks and underwear)

2.     Eating a great big Christmas day breakfast (which is always topped off with candy that we got in our stockings)

3.     Listening to dad read the Christmas story in the living room

4.     Watching tv with my sister for hours while mom, dad and Josh golf (because mom isn’t a fan of us watching tv all day).  So the second they leave, Heather and I become couch potatoes. 

5.     We normally spend Christmas in the pan-handle of Florida in a condo. Normally weather is in the 60’s- lower 70s. Every day, dad tries to convince us it is hot outside.  So, in efforts to catch some rays, Heather and I always try to lay-out.  Our efforts normally end with us getting wrapped up in our towel because it’s too cold to actually lay-out. But at least our faces get some vitamin D.

6.     Seeing family.  Most years we see our Florida Gator family.  This pic is from one year that even the Wyoming Gates family came down to Florida to join us.

7.     Acting like I don’t really like playing games (but I really do) so that my mom feels extra special when I do decide to play. I really do love playing games with my mom and siblings (ticket-to-ride and a monopoly card game  have been recent favorites)

8.     Any day that I beat Josh in a game J

9.     Sharing a room with my favorite sister

10. Playing “up the river, down the river” with the whole family. Especially if the Woodard family is there, our family has such a great time!

11. Going to the movie theatre and eating LOTS of popcorn

12. Just being with my family. I love you Dad, Mom, Heather and Josh!  I miss you guys already! 

Spicy Christmas in the DR

“Coach, can you put one of those songs on that we sang at your church?”  Stephanie asked.  Even though the trip to the states was four months ago, there are still many things that have stayed with our girls (in addition to belting the songs they learned at church).   Since they were stretched out of their comfort zone, their self-confidence has grown, making them better leaders here.  Before the trip, two girls consistently went to church. Now, eight of them have been attending regularly.  In addition, on Friday mornings at 6:30 am, we do a breakfast prayer meeting and 10 of them have been coming. Last week at bible study, Esther, in tears, asked if I would be willing to go with her when she breaks the news to her devout catholic parents that she wants to become a Christian. These may seem like little things, but they have been big steps for these girls. 

We just had our Christmas party with our varsity and JV teams.  Check out one of our competitions.  Kinda the same idea with marshmallows in the game "Chubby Bunny", yet we did it with Jalepenos. Hehe. 

Each team had to dress up for their dance competition.  Check out the varsity team! 

Some of our JV girls before their dance! 

The "Nana" after the cake eating competition! 

Overall, a super fun day with the girls.  For the first time in 3 years, I'll be spending Christmas here this year.  I will definitely miss my family, but I really wanted to have a restful time where I wasn't traveling. Plus, I really want to see what a Dominican Christmas is like!

In other VC Revolution News... 

In February of 2013, another American woman will be joining me on staff, which I am super excited for! She played volleyball in college and has the same passion for working with young girls.  This will allow us to start even more teams and be able to disciple more girls at a more intimate level.  Four of our varsity girls will be graduating high school this year and will no longer be able to play with the varsity team.  We hope that some of them will continue to stayed involved in our VC Revolution volleyball program as coaches, but we want to push them out of the nest so that they can pursue a college education.  We’ve also been brainstorming ideas to figure out how these girls can financially support themselves to go to college.  Please pray for these girls that they will all be able continue to take the next step and go to college.

Burning Down the House

So I want to brag on my parents a bit and show the power of what can happen when wives submit to their husbands.  It has a great funny ending. Get ready.

So one day, my dad was watching some special on TV that homes should have their fire extinguishers visible and handy in case of fire.  First of all, I think all of kids were not even aware that we had one.  Being the responsible caring dad that my dad is, he asked my mom where ours was located.  She said in the closet by the kitchen.  Great, we have an extinguisher and its in a central location easily accessible.  Good enough?  Not for Big Ray.  He decided to put it in the kitchen on top of the shelf.  Super tacky.  Right when you walk in our front dour, your attention is immediately drawn to the big red  fire extinguisher.

Now, my mom is not a nagger by any means.  But this was so not attractive and even in my limited homemaking decorative skills, I would agree with her.  However, she decided it was not a fight worth picked at decided to let it go. (I think secretely hoping he would realize how tacky it was).  Well a week later, after a long record of 0 fires in our house... guess what happened?  This is my sister Heather and her friends. :)

And think... all because my mom kept her mouth shut and respected my dad! Way to go parents! P.S.  When someone's house is on fire, who thinks... lets film it!!! But hey, would not of had this good laugh if it wasn't for Kelly Baker.

Christmas... Journeys Beginnings and Ending

I was told today of a poem.  It is a epic poem that tells the story of Christmas.   As I say the word Christmas, I get excited to jam out to Christmas music, but it is much to early to talk of Christmas music (at least according to some of my roommates).   Today, I am actually going to talk about a part of this poem and how it applies to my life now.  In addition, it also applies to all of our lives and the beginning and ending of chapters, as well as our inability to go on to the next chapter. 

In this poem, the author describes the lives of the shepherds.  They are men who care for their sheep, an overall mindless task and gaze at the stars.  There is very little purpose or meaning beyond looking at the stars, but more out of a way to pass the time.  They acknowledge that the stars are there and that they are good, but very little thought is put into the meaning of the stars. 

The wise men on the other hand, devote their lives to studying the stars.  They try to predict the future through the stars and have developed their own philosophies based on the stars.

One day, the shepherds are called out of their mundane task of being “lil bo-peep”  and see a starry host of angels.  Really, can you imagine what that would be like?  As they follow the star to see the messiah, their journey begins. 

On that same day, the wise men know they have an important task of following this star.  They are not exactly sure of their steps, but they know there is great meaning to finding where this start leads.  When they follow this star and see the messiah, descover that they have found the a true meaning of life, and their journey ended.

Now, I am no poet, nor really a famous story teller like my good friend, Eric Miller.  However, I hope you were able to understand the story and have it impact you like it did me.  I find myself at the manger ending one journey and starting another.  I find that the past three and half years, I have served in the Dominican Republic with purpose.  I was clear of my call there and felt real direction in all that I have done there.  My vision was clear as I trained girls in volleyball, discipline and responsibility.  They were taught about Christ and how they can be leaders in their communities.  To “end” this chapter, it seemed that everything was mounting up to a final goal of our trip to the states.  English. Following the rules (so as to not get kicked off the team).  Practicing hard to beat the tough states teams.  Fundraising for the trip.  Using all my free time to organize and plan every single detail of the trip.  Everything seemed to be leading up to the trip. 

And then we came to the states.  Our team bonded together in an incredible way.  The girls grew in so many ways.  I have even seen fruit in this as many of them and am thankful that we had the opportunity to go on the trip.  However, I find that a new journey is beginning.  Now what God?  I find myself going back to the beginning and remembering why God has called me to the DR.  What are some new things that I need to focus on that I may have lost sight of in my intense efforts to plan for the trip. 

If you have made it this far in this long blog, I encourage you to examine where you are in your journey.  Have you just gotten complacent and now just look at the stars and say, “Oh, those are pretty”  ? Are are you like the wisemen and continue to examine things and search out the deeper meanings of things?  As a teacher, remember back to the beginning of your journey and remember that you entered teaching to to make an impact on kids lives, to inspire.  As a husband, remember why you love your wife and remember what it was like to win her heart.  As we reflect on our past journeys, we also have to continue start new journeys.  What kind of coach do I want to be a year from now?  How can I better love my husband better like I used to when I was his girlfriend? (I’m speaking for those married ladies, that is). My prayer is that we can all continue to remember our past and use them to actively begin new journeys that bring us closer to Jesus.  So yeah… Merry Christmas!!! Never to early to start celebrating right? 

Funniest Video YET!!! Olympics 2012!

Okay well, I am currently in recovery mode from a great trip, but I wanted to post our final video of our own olympics.  Probably the funniest one yet.

Watch it on youtube at the link below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PT6CbLqIe0A&feature=youtu.be

Until I post another entry, I wanted to tell you some of the highlights and outcomes of the trip.
1. Great bonding of the team.  We really became a lot more united.
2.  A lot of girls really stepped up to share testimonies and be leaders.
3.  Shakira and Loreidy accepted Christ.
4.  We all learned a lot of how to love each other better.

Homestay Video

To see it bigger on youtube visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0J1PD6sBns&feature=youtu.be

This past week the girls had the opportunity to stay with 6 families from my home church.  It was a neat thing for the girls to get to know the family dynamics of families here.  One girl was asked by a waiter the other day, "so what have you been doing this week?"  She said, "Swim, eat. Swim, swim, eat eat." So yeah, they've done a lot of swimming and a lot of eating! In addition to these activities, we had a shopping day, tubing with some of the youth from my home church, and tonight they played against my alma mater, Rockford High School.   We have had a blast.  Enjoy the video of some of the highlights of this past week.

Site-seeing, Service and Salty Water!

Our time in the Windy City truly was a whirlwind.  After we got of the plane, we went and visited the Lincoln Park Zoo and other touristy type places in the city.  The girls were in awe of the bigness of the city.  However, after multiple days of getting up early, they were eager to get home and crash.  

Thursday consisted of serving at a homeless shelter during the day and then a play at night.  Friday we served at a kids outreach event for over 1000 inner city kids.  The girls did a great job helping in both activities.  It was a neat thing for them to see that poverty not only exists in the DR but also here in the US.  A pastor in Chicago named Tito helped facilitate our serving experiences in Chicago.  He was a man on fire for God and many of the girls were very much impacted by his teachings throughout the two days.  One highlight that left all of us speachless was when we were closing out our time in prayer Thursday night.  I shared with the group that my dad had just been taken into the hospital because he had been having internal bleeeding.  He offered to pray and in the middle of the prayer, he prayed for Carol (by name) and that God would help her through this.  Well, the crazy part of all this was that in all of my time (one day) with Chicago, I had never told Tito my mom's name! Folks, the Holy Spirit is real.  I'm not sure how one could explain that one without involving GOD!   GLORIA A DIOS!!! Tito was a light to all of us showing us what a man on fire with the Holy Spirit looks like.  He even came out to support the girls on Saturday when they played an EVP beach tournament.  Super fun time, but our time is Chicago left us physically drained, but very much spiritually filled.

Prayer Request: Please continue to be in prayer for my dad.  He has been having internal bleeding.  It has now stopped and just came home after being in the hospital for a week. Please also pray for my mom.  This has been really hard on both of them as they deal with this as well as feeling sad because they can't spend this time with my girls. It's been tough on all of us. However, I know God has had a plan in this and has allowed me to be here during this time to support my family in whatever way I can.
What have we been up to since Chicago?   The girls got to share in my home church on Sunday.  Sunday night, they played some ice-breaker games and then moved into their homestay homes.  We all went to Grand Haven beach and they got to experience agua dulce (translates to sweet water) instead of salt water! Today they spent the day with their host families.  I'll try to get maybe one or two more updates before we head back Monday. 

This week.... Thursday- Shopping and volleyball game against my high school. Friday- Buggy rides and dinner at Amish Restuarant Essenhaus. Saturday- Tubing with family for FFM  Sunday-Church at FFM, picnic, bowling with Bethel Pilot vball girls  Monday- FLY HOME!

Video to come! We've been trying to work on it... we are just so busy!!!