furlough 101

Furlough is a word that is going out of style. It's no longer a missionary buzz word. Instead we use words like "home assignment" or "deputation." But I like it. It reminds me that this next year, my furlough, is a time that was granted to me by Kids Alive. They have chosen to value my work here in Caraballo enough to grant me a leave of absence. I want to break it down as simply as I can, though, so that everyone (especially my supporters) understands the logistics of what happens when I go on furlough. So here are some facts:

1. I leave the Dominican Republic on June 11th and begin my Masters of Science in Elementary Education program at University of Pennsylvania on July 2nd. The program ends May 11th, 2013.
2. While I am at Penn, I will still be a Kids Alive employee. This means I will still receive my monthly salary. The money to pay my salary, as always, will come from my supporters (you, right??), even though I am not serving on the field during that year.
3. After I graduate from Penn, I will spend at least one more year serving Kids Alive. Right now the plan is for me to do that here in Caraballo, but if the Lord reveals a different plan, I will follow Him.

I know that some of you hesitate to continue supporting me during furlough - do you feel like you're paying for me to go to grad school? The truth is, though, that the degree I will earn from Penn will directly improve my ability to serve with Kids Alive and will better equip me to teach and lead other teachers. It's common for missionaries to go on an education furlough like I am doing so that they are more effective in their ministry.

I hope this makes sense... please do not hesitate to email me (eajamison87@gmail.com) if you have any questions about what I'm doing next year, about furlough, about my finances/budget. My finances are open to my supporters because I know that I am accountable to both you and God for responsible stewardship of the gifts you have entrusted to me. It is my prayer and hope that God will continue to use you to provide for my physical needs as I prepare to serve more effectively here in the DR.

what i want to be when i grow up (big news!!!)

This week in first grade we made a class book called "Yo Quiero Ser" (I Want to Be) and talked about what we want to be when we grow up. Here's a sample:

Yessica, Emy, and Rosmina want to be chefs.
Wadson wants to be a prince!
Jerson, Rendy, Jose Miguel, and Edwin all want to be soccer players.
Mariel wants to be a teacher.
Dudo wants to be a policeman so he can arrest bad people.
Angelica wants to be a policewoman, a pilot, a chef, a baseball player, and in the army!
Wascar wants to be a pirate (because they fight and kill people) and a policeman (for a reason I couldn't understand after he told me 4 times). I think he'll make a wonderful pirate someday.

I feel like we spend most of our lives talking about what we want to be when we grow up. Maybe that's just because I'm 24 and most of my friends are still trying to figure that out. I'm beginning to realize, however, that the journey of "figuring out" what I want to be is actually what I am. Does that make sense? I am right where God wants me to be, and I am walking forward in what I believe to be His will, to a destination that He knows but I do not. Every step I take, which some people think of as figuring it out, is actually what I'm supposed to be. As far as I can tell, there's no magical moment when I will be able to declare "now I'm grown up and I know exactly what I'm supposed to do with my life."

That being said, God does reveal callings to us. Four years ago, He called me to apply to be a missionary with Kids Alive here in the DR. Last year, He called me to stay a 3rd year. And this past fall, He called me to apply to grad school. (This is where the big news comes in.) In June, I will return to los estados to begin a 10-month Master's of Science in Elementary Education program at the University of Pennsylvania. I will live in Philadelphia for a year and finally study teaching! This is something to which I cannot deny God's calling. He put the desire to go to grad school in my heart, he made it possible for me to get accepted to a highly competitive program, and he is graciously giving me signs along the way so that I can clearly see that all this is His work and that He goes before me to Philadelphia. I have felt called to education for two years now, and I'm excited to see how God can use my year of learning to better equip me for ministry and teaching.

More will come as details unfold, but now you know my big news. Please pray for my final four months here in the DR and for my transition to living in the US, which has already begun. I am experiencing an enormous paradox: excited to go to school, but not excited to leave my home here. Pray that I will trust God and that He will fill me with truth as I walk forward in this transition.

Enough Light for the Next Step

Some wise words from Henri Nouwen that have been on my heart lately. Hopefully they are an encouragement to you.


Often we want to be able to see into the future. We say, "How will next year be for me? Where will I be five or ten years from now?" There are no answers to these questions. Mostly we have just enough light to see the next step: what we have to do in the coming hour or the following day. The art of living is to enjoy what we can see and not complain about what remains in the dark. When we are able to take the next step with the trust that we will have enough light for the step that follows, we can walk through life with joy and be surprised at how far we go. Let's rejoice in the little light we carry and not ask for the great beam that would take all shadows away.

Sunshine, por fin!

After more than enough rain, we finally had a few sunny days this week. I took advantage of that to enjoy the playground with my kids and amaze them by showing them that yes, indeed, I know how to play tag! Here are a few photos from recess:

rainy days

It's been rather rainy lately. As in all day, every day. (Stay tuned for a post about my rainy Thanksgiving camping adventure!) Rain means flooded roads, flooded rivers, and flooded houses. It means leaky ceilings (in my classroom, not my house) and early dismissals - we have to leave school before the river rises again and becomes impassable. Rain means wading through the river when it's too high to get the trucks across, and rain means screams from the men riding in the back of the truck with an umbrella when the downpour starts! It means low attendance, winter coats and hats, muddy footprints in my classroom, and worrying about getting colds. Rain means sweatpants and hoodies, wearing socks to bed, drinking tea and coffee at all hours of the day/night, soup, baking (favorite!), and wet laundry. It also, sadly, means not going to the beach for a few weeks (horrible, I know...).

But in the midst of the rain, I have found joyful moments. First, watching my coworkers cross the river yesterday. I, the smart gringa, wore Chacos and waded right through. Two of my coworkers, however, had worn socks, leather shoes, and nice pants. They did NOT want to get wet. Check it out:

Also, we finally saw the sun this morning! I rode in the back of the truck to soak up as many rays as I could.

 

Aguiluchooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!

On Saturday I went with some friends to Santiago to watch an Aguilas baseball game - Dominican pro ball, which is sort of like AAA ball in the US - to celebrate a friend's birthday. We had so much fun and yelled "Aguiluchoooooooooooooo" which is their cheer, a LOT! There were all the normal parts of a baseball game (except the 7th inning stretch, which they apparently don’t do here?), but then there were a lot of things that were different from an American baseball game. All the concessions cost around a dollar! You could buy an entire bag of microwave popcorn for a dollar – a real treat for us, who don’t have microwaves! They also sold fried chicken and plantains, pork chops, beef jerky, ice cream, nachos, pizza… all in the stands! Another strange concessions thing: every couple rows, there were trash cans full of bottles of sodas, juice, beer, and rum! Despite that, there weren’t too many drunk people, possibly because the Aguilas won! Here are some pictures from the evening: the stadium, Cakito and Sarah watching a replay, fans, the beer/rum trash cans!, and the congratulatory line of Aguilas after the game.

renaissance.

renaissance: a renewal of life, vigor, interest, etc.; rebirth; revival

Thanks to God hitting me over the head with truth from friends, my devotional book, and my pastor over the past two weeks, I have come to some serious realizations.  The last few months, I have been living life passively.  I was not taking hold of the abundant life God continued to offer me.  I was using my circumstances as an excuse and playing the victim.  Yes, losing my roommate and many friends was hard, but where was my joy?  Was my joy really that wrapped up in those relationships?  What about being completely satisfied in the Lord?  What about "the joy of the Lord is your strength"?  I realized I was sitting around waiting for someone or something else to fill the space and time that the people who moved back to the States had left empty.  I wasn't taking initiative to build new relationships or to do things that were healthy and fulfilling for me.  I was putting unrealistic expectations on the people who are physically present with me.

Wow.  Those were some hard thoughts to come to terms with.

As always, however, God is faithful, and he didn't just convict me.  My mind spun for four entire days - raced at about 10 million words a minute - and then, last Friday morning, spun itself out.  My thoughts stopped, and my mind and heart were overwhelmed with God's presence, joy, and peace.  I felt a surge of energy - not just physical, but emotional energy, too.  God suddenly gave me the desire to initiate new relationships and try new activities.  I claimed my wholeness in Christ and my fulfillment in him.  And, as cliche as it sounds, I have lived differently over the past week.  I've done some things that we don't usually do here (like going to an international food festival), but more than that, I've gone through my normal, day-to-day activities with a new perspective.

The best way I can describe it is to say that I feel like I got my life back in me.  A renewal of life.  A renaissance.  And for that, I am grateful.

I want to share some quotes from my devotional book, Jesus Calling, by Sarah Young.  The daily devotions are written as if God were speaking to us - I often feel like they were written speaking directly and specifically to me!

When your energy fails you, do not look inward and lament the lack you find there.  Look to Me and My sufficiency; rejoice in My radiant riches that are abundantly available to help you.

Your future is in My hands; I release it to you day by day, moment by moment... I want you to live this day abundantly, seeing all there is to see, doing all there is to do... Each day of life is a glorious gift, but so few people know how to live within the confines of today.  Much of their energy for abundant living spills over the time line into tomorrow's worries or past regrets.  Their remaining energy is sufficient only for limping through the day, not for living it to the full.