mother's day.

Days like today are ones when I wish I didn’t live an ocean away from my family. I wish I could wake up in their house and spend the day celebrating with them and reminiscing on years gone by. I want to go to church with them and stuff my belly full with them, drink endless amounts of coffee and curl up on the couch. I want to tell stories that only make sense to us and go to my Grandma’s big red house that holds a lifetime's worth of memories. Mostly I just wish I could be with them. 

But because I can’t jump in my car and drive across the ocean, today I celebrate my mom from here, thankful as always for who she is and the fact that I am so blessed to have her as my mom.

So, mom, I hope you know how much you inspire me, teach me, and bless me. You show me glimpses of the unconditional love of the Lord and I’m encouraged to love others more because of you. You’ve passed on your love of chocolate, making things with your hands, tea, pretty details, and your desire to make others feel special. I love the way you find joy in the little things, your love of adventure, and your desire to know God more. Thanks for all you’ve done to invest in me. You make me feel special, loved, and known every day.

Happy Mother's Day!

So incredibly thankful for you and love you more than you know!

full.

Today was the best kind of full.

Full of long bus rides and laughter and cake cookies with sprinkles.  Full of walking down dusty roads and seeing a beautiful face I hadn't seen in a year and too many quite a few cups of coffee.  Full of family and mangos and hearing a beautiful story laced with redemption.  Full of pizza and more than enough talk about motorcycles and full of the comfort of sitting around the table with people I've known for years.

Before walking out the door this morning, I threw Cold Tangerines (an incredible book by: Shauna Niequist) in my bag so I could re-read a little on the bus.  Only a couple pages into the book and my heart already felt more alive than when I got out of bed this morning.  My soul just needed the reminder that life is so full and that beauty and things worth celebrating are always surrounding me...

I just have to open my eyes to truly see.

...

{Pedro :: making sure no one even attempted to take food off his plate}

...If you have never read Cold Tangerines or Bittersweet, I highly recommend them both!

jaibon.

Jaibon will always hold this special part of my heart that I know I'm never getting back.  I fell in love in Jaibon.  I fell in love with the people and the kids and the genuine smiles on wrinkled faces.  I fell in love with women's stories around a beat up picnic table and la bandera and coffee from a greca and some special boys who taught me how to do things like hunt for tarantulas.  Mostly, I just fell in love with some incredible hearts and souls.

It's kind of funny actually... because in 2009 when I first found out I was moving to Jaibon (instead of Monte Cristi) I cried.  And I'm not just talking about a few tears.  I'm talking about the kind of crying that leaves you curled up on a couch, surrounded by your friends, convinced that everything you knew about life would soon be changing.

So it's funny to look back on that moment because now I can't imagine life without Jaibon and without knowing all of the amazing people who live(d) there.  Jaibon changed me.  It stretched me, humbled me, and taught me what it meant to truly depend on the Lord.  It was there where I found that I loved leadership and pouring into the lives of young adults... especially when they are outside of their comfort zones and experiencing something for the first time.  It was sitting around that old beat up picnic table where my heart was broken for Dominican women who are oppressed.  It was when I was living there that my eyes were opened to trafficking and prostitution around the world... and where a fire was lit on the inside of me that yearns for restoration and wholeness for those who are enslaved.  It was in Jaibon that I caught a glimpse of the unconditional love of God and it was there that I learned the significance of it being worth it for one.

My life looks quite different now than it did four years ago, but I still enjoy every second that I get to spend in Jaibon.  The people have captured my heart and I'll never forget what the Lord taught me there.  

And so while boys have come and gone and are now scattered around the country, a piece of my heart still remains at the end of that long dusty road...

...

Yesterday...

on writing more y mi hermanita.

"One of the arguments we often use for not writing is this: 'I have nothing original to say. Whatever I might say, someone else has already said it, and better than I will ever be able to.' This, however, is not a good argument for not writing. Each human person is unique and original, and nobody has lived what we have lived...

We have to trust that our stories deserve to be told."

-Henri Nouwen

Those words are an excerpt from some goodness that arrived in my email yesterday morning (I'm so thankful for daily wisdom from Mr. Nouwen!).  I've been thinking a lot about this little blog lately and how I want to write more.  I love capturing life in words and pictures and documenting all the joy and grace that God has woven into my story.  Sometimes I don't even know where to begin, but because of the joy I find in remembering and recording all of the celebrations and special moments in life, I'm choosing to update this a little more often.

So here's to our stories and what God is doing to transform the mess into beauty and to writing more about the grace and gifts that God has given.

...

Today, I'm also celebrating this loca even though I'm not with her in person...

{celebrating her birthday a day early}

Happy Birthday, Carolina!  So thankful for you and proud of the woman you have become!  You have such a heart to serve others well and you have this crazy ability to make others laugh and feel comfortable.  I'm impressed by your wisdom and your drivenness to accomplish what you have put your mind to and your consistent joyful spirit no matter what the circumstance.  Thankful for your 21 years of life!  

tqmmmm manita.

felicidades.

Celebrating this special guy today...

{2007}

{2013}

Happy Birthday Jochi!  So incredibly thankful and proud of him!  His thoughtfulness, his ability to bring laughter, and his drop-everything-to-help/fix-something-for-you-attitude inspire me.  

be still.

"Be still, and know that I am God; 

I will be exalted among the nations.  

I will be exalted in the earth."

Psalm 46:10

...a good piece of truth for this Monday morning.

saying yes.

It's now April and it's hard to believe that Semana Santa (Holy Week) has already come and gone.  Things around here have been the best kind of busy.  Full of friends who came to visit (to plan their Dominican wedding!) and lots of laughter and good coffee and conversations that make you think a little deeper about things and traveling around the country to visit some special ones who used to live at the orphanage with us.  

I simply can't explain how incredibly blessed I am by the people who I get to walk alongside through this one wild and precious life.  I have these friends who are crazy world changers, each of them changing and impacting the lives of others and fighting for the freedom of the ones we've been entrusted with.  They care more about others' needs than their own and they understand the need to trust the Lord and step out in faith even when the unknown can seem overwhelming.  Mostly, they'll stop at nothing to love people with everything they have in them, to bring freedom for the captives, to heal the brokenhearted, and to bring hope to some of the darkest places I've seen.

And the best part is that they live right here with me.  In this country and with these people who have stolen my heart.  

Sometimes I just can't contain my awe at God's faithfulness.  He's so so good.

And recently, I've felt this deep knowing that I'm living through a season where God is about to do something huge through the time spent with these people and the conversations that we are having.  It's this sense that these are holy moments.  And it's all the Lord.  We have done nothing but simply listen to Him and follow where we know He is leading.  

We've just chosen to say yes.

Yes to God and yes to His plans and yes to wherever and whoever He leads me to.  Yes to what He is asking me to give up and yes to more of Him and less of me and yes to what He is asking me to step into.

For it's all so worth it and I'm humbled to say yes to the One who gave me everything.  So my prayer recently has just been that God will show me what to say yes to.

And then I'll do it.  I'll say yes.  

Even if it's hard or uncomfortable.  And even if I need His grace to have a good attitude about it.  Because by no means do I come close to always choosing what He has for me over what I think I need.  It's just a journey in learning how to say yes.

So you should check out this goodness.  It's been changing my heart and filling my soul.

...

And here are a few glimpses at life here...

Pedro!  One of my favorites :)

Coffee factory tour... the process is fascinating!

Visiting Carolina while Elizabeth was in the country.

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I'm attempting to post a photo every day under the photos tab so you should check 'em out :)