Happy Birthday Wyman! You are 7....WOW!!

So our boy turned 7 today!!  Wow!  Seven years ago today in Virginia Wyman was born.  At the time we were completely unaware that he was to be our son three and a half years later.  We were praying for a child but didn't know that God already had His perfect plan in place and already had him on his way to us.  I am sad sometimes that I only have one picture of Wyman as a baby (the 1st picture in the video) and that I didn't get to see him as a baby.  I am amazed that in three and a half years all that has happened.  Today I listened to him speak in Spanish while a Dominican pointed out....wow your son speaks Spanish really well.  That makes me happy and so proud of my boy!  My boy pointed out one day on the way to school that when he is 21 that he wants to come back to the Dominican and build houses for people.  I tear up when I think of what a sensitive little guy he is.  I love him to the back of the moon!!

We must remember so we don't forget

Some of you may have seen this video before.  Some of you may have even been lucky enough to have known Holt Rowland.  I met Holt Rowland in the Dominican Republic the summer of 2010 on a FCA Mission Trip with SCORE International.  I made this video for his family on the anniversary of his death this past fall.  Holt passed away in a car accident just a few months after his trip to the DR.  I often need reminders of how to walk with the Lord, and Holt's example of living a life pleasing to God was amazing....and he was 16 years old.

Holt's memory is alive here in the DR.  FCA shirts carry a HR10 on the sleeve.  Our wrist bands for our ministry also have the HR10.  I tell as many groups as I can about the amazing young man named Holt Rowland and how he truly lived a life filled with LOVE!! Love for other's and most importantly a love for Jesus played out with lots of time building his relationship by reading His Word and journaling about where he saw God each day.  His treasure was Jesus....his heart was where his treasure was and it was in reading the Word and building a relationship with Jesus.

I am still in contact with Holt's family and our new friends in Blackshear, GA.  Pierce County was once a place of competition and two teams trying to beat each other in baseball.  Now our relationship with the people of Pierce County is one of love!!

I hope I can lead my life as Holt and show God's love to all those I meet.

Click here for the video

https://vimeo.com/31874568

My Friend Ramon

Here is my friend Ramon.  He lives in a pretty remote barrio called San Jose, Dominican Republic.  In November Ramon made a commitment to start a relationship with Jesus Christ.

Here he is in November at our medical clinic when he made a commitment to begin a relationship with the Lord

Here he is on Friday March 9th getting a solar device where he can listen to sermons by Charles Stanley and the New Testament in Spanish

Here he gets an explanation on how it works

His face was priceless

Here he is getting a hair cut


We left right after this picture was taken and Ramon collapsed.  He was limp and lifeless.  They grabbed a motorcycle and took him to the nearest hospital in Boca Chica about 20-30 minutes away.  I just picture their faces as they feared Ramon had passed away.  The ride is dirt road through cow pastures and sugar cane fields.  Good news is there will not be a traffic jam of any sort.  After they got him to medical treatment his pulse was really low and he slowly came back.  


It was all the buzz in the community that Ramon had almost died....again.  This was about the 3rd time this had happened.  His sugar drops.  I forgot to tell you Ramon is 100 years old.  He has 21 children and 53 grandchildren.


It is never too late to learn about Jesus.  But it is important.  A relationship with Him is important.  Spending time in the Word is important.  We never know when it will be our time "to go limp and lifeless".  Jesus commands us to love Him with all our heart and mind.  When you really love someone don't you want to know all about them?  Think back to the beginning of a new relationship and you spend countless hours just talking, listening and getting to know everything you can about them.  That is what Jesus wants from us.  He wants us to read His Word and to spend intimate time with Him.


One day we will all be before God at the end of our time on earth.  I can just imagine what that will be like.  Some may argue, well I did this good thing and doesn't that outweigh the little bad I did?  I did much better than that guy I thought.  I believe it matters more how much we knew Jesus and have filled ourselves up with His Holy Spirit so that we can go through life with Him living inside us and our actions are a reflection of his amazing light.  He will already know us since we have an intimate relationship with Him.  All of this I don't know for sure, but I feel like even if I am wrong, it is a pretty good way to live!


I don't know Ramon's heart before I met it back in November.  I don't know what God knows about him, but I love to see the excitement in his face when he hears stories about Jesus in his ear.  I loved hearing the story when my friend Craig went to check on him after he returned from the hospital and he and his family were in the front yard all listening to his new solar powered device.  This is SO powerful here because MANY are illiterate and a third world country does not have the access to iPod sermons, books and even churches sometimes.  I am SO glad that Ramon is still here, although one would think at 100 years old that it could be any day.  Ramon lives in one of the furthest houses away from the center of town.  He walks along a rocky path that winds through hilly terrain.  My friend Craig thinks this may be why he is still in such good shape.  I just hope I can be that with it and mobile at 100 years old.

I love this picture because it shows today's youth juxtaposed against a man who has about 97 more years life experience than he has.  This young boy can't probably read yet, but he has his whole life in front of him to know Jesus and work on his relationship.  Either way....YOU ARE NEVER TO OLD (OR YOUNG) TO START LEARNING ABOUT JESUS!


In His Grip,
Jodi

Sorry for being among the missing!

I have been among the missing and I apologize!  My Mom was just here from the day after my birthday (22nd) until this past Friday so I didn't want to take any time away from our time together.  I also found out recently that I am anemic.  Not to get into too much medical detail but I have had out of control periods over the last couple of months and they took their toll on me physically!  I had horrible headaches, super tired, and just didn't feel like doing much.  Thankfully our local Doc gave me a blood test in his clinic then sent me for more thorough blood work (CBC - complete blood count and a renal panel).  The results came back worse than he expected but I am on iron medication and had a shot of iron.  This weekend and today I just want to sleep the day away.  I know I need to rest, but I am wrestling with resting too much and not doing life!  Pray for me to find balance and to snap out of this funk!

Mom and I in La Romana, DR at Casa de Campo

                    View of the golf course in La Romana, DR at Casa de Campo


I am finding that daily postings may be too much for me right now, so I am also trying to find out the best way to handle my blog going forward.  I am thinking of maybe just posting a couple of days a week so I can plan ahead and keep up with it without being overwhelmed.


In His Grip,
Jodi

Read your Bible!!

 

Why is this such a hard thing for me?  This and quiet time!  Every day I get up in intending to start my day this way.  So I am going to stop doing this and go do that.

I know for sure that a relationship with God is the best thing that you can do...why is it that I can't do it?  I am really good at learning about God from others.  I love listening to Joyce Meyer when I walk in the mornings.  I read bible study books.  But I know that there is huge rewards with time spent in the Word, being still and quiet just listening and journaling.

Happy Friday!  Hope y'all have a great Friday and weekend.  We have a group from FCA coming tomorrow along with Mike's boss so things will be a little crazy around here, so I will post as much as I can.  Then next Wednesday my Mom is coming, can't wait!!  Next Tuesday I officially turn the BIG 4-0!!

In His Grip (and His Word),
Jodi

This is how we do it...in the DR {entrepreneurs}

There are a lot of entrepreneurs in the DR.  If you define an entrepreneur as someone who works for themselves then this is what you will find.  As I watch this all unfold in my daily life I often think that this is the Dominican version of an infomercial.


The men and boys who wash your windshield when you stop at the traffic light.  


The ladies who sell you a cold bottle of water or a snack while you wait for the light to turn green.  


The ladies on the beach who want to braid your hair, give you a massage, or mani/pedi.


The beach vendors that want to sell you sunglasses, wood carvings, jewelry, blow up beach toys, or paintings.


The butcher whose shop is attached to the front of his house.  


The hairdresser who has a salon in front of her house.  


The phone charger salesman who walks up to your car while you wait at the light.  


The motorcycle taxi drivers that congregate in the neighborhoods to give someone a lift. 


The guy who takes off your windshield wipers and replaces them for you when you have no time to tell him to stop or take them back off because you don't even know if they are new or used and don't have time to reject them because the light is now green and then you pull over to argue with him that you don't need or want them or that they are too expensive and then just give up and pay him for them just to have them break the very next day.  

See what I mean in this video

After working in corporate America I know that my heart is made to be an entrepreneur.  I want to work for myself.  I understand the feeling of being in control of your own destiny.  For these people they will do whatever it takes to bring home money to feed their families.  It is survival.

In His Grip,

Jodi

I am back!!

So I flew to Atlanta last Wednesday night and got to spend time with friends eating and laughing and talking and crying and just having a blast!


5 of us went to Blue Ridge, GA and spent Friday night until Sunday afternoon in an amazing house on top of a mountain.  Here was our view......

It is important to sometimes get away, recharge your batteries, refill your teacup so you can be a better person.  Change of perspective is usually a good thing.  I do know as fun as it was, as much yummy Mexican food as I ate, as easy as it was to find anything I needed, and as good as it was to visit the familiar of my old life.  I love it here!  I came home to my dogs and they happily pranced over to tell me they missed me.  My kids faces when they got off the bus and the hugs were great.  My husband's hug as we dashed through the raindrops and busyness of the crowded airport was comforting.  I was home!  I missed this place, and that is a good thing.


In His Grip,
Jodi