RAMSIER BABY COMING MAY 1ish

Yes, most of you hopefully know but Josh and I are praying for our little baby growing inside me. We found out we are pregnant about 2 months ago. I began going to a local doctor here in Jarabacoa. The medical care isn't exactly as good as the States but it is definitely not bad. I have felt pretty good over all - a little sickness when I ate food in the first trimester but now at week 16 food is very appealing again! I really haven't started showing much and have no idea what I will do when maternity clothes are needed... so ignoring that while I can. The walking of the hill has become a bit more of an issue so today Josh and I (plus some helpful students) move our stuff down the mountain in about a half an hour. Here is our new home:

This house is called "Larimar". It is named after the stone found only here on the island called Larimar. They have the same coloring. It is a large house but I think, at least for now, it is a great opportunity.

I honestly have been struggling the past month especially in finding the ability to thrive here. Due to being under staffed the hours have been long and finally in the past few weeks we have started conversations with the director about the reality of me needing more time off. And as God is, he has provided more staff starting Monday. I look forward to having a bit more time during the days as my energy has been pretty low. Meaning - hopefully a few more blogs too. 

We also have adopted a campus dog, Brea. This is our practice child :). She is definitely not the cutest thing you have ever seen but she kinda grows on you. Her owner moved back to the states so we said we would take her. 

HI BREA!!

She is about as cooperative as a child when it comes to picture taking too! This is about the 10th picture. (yes I know her collar is a little large and she is not looking at the camera, but at least she is not crying!)

Well I think those are mainly the new things for now, just quick recap: new house, new schedule, new dog, new baby and all the experiences and worries that brings. Welp I'm guessing you can guess what a main prayer request is: that the stable God we have had so many beautiful and faithful experiences with will continue to guide our lives in the newness that everyday brings.

Lots of updates so I think I will break them up into 2 separate posts. This one focusing on highlights of the month and special events. The past month and a half has been full of many moments of joy and blessing.

- October we were able to host my mom for a week here on campus. She was a blessing to us and the kids here.

This is a picture of mom and I at a local waterfall. 

At the end of the week the girls house followed mom to her condo on the beach at Puerta Plata. We enjoyed the weekend at the beach with the girls. They were so engulfed in the ocean. A few have never been or only been to the ocean once before. It is so fun to see how the girls truly enjoyed life. Chris, mom's husband, was able to join her Tuesday and then Josh and I spent a few days at the beach. It was beautiful! Here are some pictures from the beach:

This is a picture of the girls at our Sunday sunrise service on the beach

The campus continues to make progress on the house at a local community. I think at this point they have all the "siding" up. Mom got to help a little and realized construction is a BIT different down here.

Last weekend we actually got to visit Josh and his family and friends in Sardis. It was a 5 day trip, 2 of those days were flying but SO worth it. One of our good friends, Mariah Indermuhle, and our first cousins, Phil Maletich, got married.

We had a great trip back to the states. My cousins John and Amy joined us in Sardis and that time was so good to catch up with them too. It was a short but sweet trip. We got to see a bit of the fall weather and get a taste of the 30 degree weather we WON'T be missing terribly.

September Updates

Well I have fallen behind on blogging so I will start with most recent events and try to work backwards,

Recently we were blessed to host our first visitors! Jonathan, Kali, and Eddie (their 9 month old son) Sauder came Friday through Tuesday this past weekend. It was good to have friends here. Josh and I had about 2 of the days off together but one of us were working 3 of the other days. They were such kind guests as Josh and I realized it is much more difficult to host with our current schedule. We enjoyed showing Jonathan and Kali the different sights and our life here in Jarabacoa. The students enjoyed having another baby on campus. The Sauder family brought joy to the staff and students here.

Chichi - one of the other staff members in house helped us take Jonathan, Kali, and Eddie around Santiago and then back to the airport Tuesday!

Weather continues to be beautiful; cool in the mornings and evenings but hot during the afternoons. We have been enjoying some storms and still 90 degree weather most afternoons, perfect for river runs in the afternoons when we can either with students or just a few staff.

The last few weeks we have had a few sicknesses running around campus. I think I had a little stomach bug and Josh got the chikungunya virus followed by, we think, bronchitis. Getting a hold of the right medications and vitamins is a little different, although we are finding in ways it is easier. We are blessed to have Tina as a nurse reference here on campus. I am feeling much better and Josh is starting to feel better, although the cough continues to be pretty rough. We did get to experience a clinic ER experience in Spanish. We went with another couple, and the wife was able to speak some Spanish after she checked out her coughing symptoms. At this ER visit Josh got his chikungunya virus diagnosis and an IV for fluids (as chikungunya includes a fever, achy joints and bones, and exhaustion)

Also this month we faced the challenge of celebrating family birthdays from another country. Shout out to my brother Landon (turned 26 on 9/1), dad Ramsier, my sister Claire turned 21 on 9/29, and my mom. There are ways to get packages and letters out to family but we have still not figured that process out. As I told my grandma, if you want a card to get here possibly mail it about 3 weeks before you want it to arrive here.

Recently found luxuries or gifts. With Jonathan and Kali visiting they brought a care packaged from them and Tom and Jody Klotzle of Thai sauces, Ghardettos, and dark chocolate. We also found cinnamon mentos on the island and I have begun to enjoy ginger tea and cinnamon tea using ginger and cinnamon. We have not done too much exploring this month as it was a pretty busy month with working in the houses. My favorite thing to do is go to the river (about 15-30 minutes walk from campus).

Prayers:

Working with the students requires a great deal of patience and wisdom. We are learning a lot and desiring to be a support to other staff and the students.

Currently there is a great need for more in-house staff. We are praying for people interested in living with the students or just working with them during the day with activities or at school, whether it be full-time staff or even just interns or individuals that can only commit a few months at a time.

Looking forward to mom and Cris coming this month and Josh and I will have about 9 days off together this month.

Newsletter

Here is our September newsletter:
http://crosswindsyouth.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Ramsier_September-2014.pdf

The past month has been busy. We have had a few staff members visiting home for a longer period but we are adjusting well. We have both been working long days but loving on the students.

Please join us in praying for:
*More staff
*and God's energy and love in our lives.

Jeff and Tina and Josiah are here. Olivia is coming Wednesday. We are connecting well with staff and love the Dominican culture - personally my favorite activity is ice cream from the local plaza (chinola (passion fruit) and coconut ice cream)

We have had some busier weeks the last few weeks. We have had 2 girls leave. 1 girl come. The boys have had 1 boy leave; 1 boy come. We are getting use to the ants everywhere and trying to mop and sweep our tile floors weekly at best. We do our laundry at the bottom of the hill and right now have decided a suitcase is best suited for the path up and down the hill with the laundry. We have been working a lot, as Josh is filling in for a full-time staff member. We are doing well for now but full weekends can wear us out quickly. Josh and I have been enjoying the river with some of our friends during the day when the students are at school or doing other activities. We had a fun adventure yesterday as we traveled to Monte Cristi. It is about 3-4 hours away from campus. It was a long day but a lot of fun. It is more desert like on that part of the North coast. We started the day by looking for artifacts and people were excited to find pottery and small conch shells. Some of the students and staff were also on the hunt for tarantulas and found them. After the artifact digging, we went to look for coins but everyone was starting to get pretty hot so we just ate lunch at this site. About 1 o'clock we headed to the beach! This was the most beautiful beach I had ever seen. There were no other people and it was enclosed on both sides with very large cliffs. Apparently there is a great deal of history tied to this town but I kind of forget most of that part. The waves were perfect. Large enough to hit you with some good force and drive the boggy boards hard into the shore, but a person could easily clear the waves and enjoy floating and swimming in the blue waters.

"That your joy may be Full" 1 John 1:4

I was reading in 1 John this morning and could not shake this verse. Also this mornings devotion focused on 2 Samuel 6 when David danced with immense joy before the Lord despite the disapproval of his wife. It made me ask the question, "When is a time in my life when I have felt or witnessed immense joy?"

Recently I traveled with a student to pick up her mother. This student had not seen her mother in person in a few months. As we waited at the airport, the student was very antsy, she was checking the monitor to see when the plane landed. After a time, we were aware the plane had landed so we stepped to the line where the travelers exit the airport. Now let me take a moment to describe the scene at this Santiago airport. The travelers step outside into a cleared path. This path is about 40 feet long and on both sides are family and friends watching. When your family member or friend appears you are able to enter the cleared area and greet them. At one point, we watched a young women come through the doors and start down this long corral. Her mother intercepted her and the women dropped her bags, began to weep and hugging her mother with much joy. As my student continued to watch for her mother, her mother finally came out, she first yelled, "mom" but the mother was not aware her daughter would be at the airport (she thought it was just staff picking her up since her daughter was in school during the time she arrived). When her daughter got to the mother they both began to cry and embrace one another. When the Prodigal son returns home there is immense joy and running and crying. Again when the Lord's arc of the covenant returns to the city, David weeps and dances with immense joy. When my brother surprised me at Josh and I's rehearsal (because I was informed he would not be able to be at the wedding due to his service in the Navy) there was weeping and hugging.

What do all these examples have in common? "HOME" There is something inside of us that desires a "home". Here on earth that place typically is better represented by people and emotions for me than a specific location. I reflect on this as again I find a new place in Jarabacoa, Dominican Republic to call "Home". Someone commented about a week or so again how quickly I was able to call this place "Home". This is due especially to the consistency of the Trinity I serve. As I change locations, relationships become more difficult, He is always consistent. I also was recently informed a good friend and grandparent to many of my friends is on his way to see the Lord soon. I can only image the joy that will be witnessed when this man, Bill Hodel, is welcomed to our eternal Home by our gracious, righteous, loving Savior.

Our week

We have been doing well. We are getting more time in the houses and more familiar with rules, expectations, and other logistics. This week a staff member in the boy's house will be leaving to visit home for 2 weeks so Josh will be in the house more and taking on more responsibilities. I have been scheduled on the official schedule and will be working all weekend plus a few days this week. We had a great weekend. Rather laid back. I helped with musical worship on Sunday and then headed to the beach at Pourta Plata. We went with Jeff, Josiah, Jeremy, Heidy, and their daughter Taylor. Jeremy is a house staff and Heidy is quickly becoming a friend as we are both working on our language skills together (she is Dominican working on her English).

Random fact about the DR- cereal is expensive and they don't have corn chex cereals- I went to make puppy chow for a girls night tomorrow and I had to use oat squares and corn flakes. I mean it is still chocolate, peanut butter, and powdered sugar so I'm sure it tastes good!

Saturday we were around the house, did some cleaning and enjoyed a game and pizza night up at "the Schumachers/el Jefe".

Pray Requests:
We got a new boy in the house - pray for adjustment
Josh and I will start to be working more- pray for our relationship with fellow staff, students, and eachother as we start up the learning curve
prayers for knowledge in teachable moments with the students

Sorry no pictures this time. I will work on getting some this week...