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The following was written by Rachel Snider, my dear friend who is serving with Students International in the Dominican Republic. (Read her blog here!) I was able to spend the past week and a half with her as she ran clinics in 5 different communities. I had no idea how to put this time into words, so she did it for me, in a much better way than I ever could have. 
To say this time together was a blessing is a huge understatement. Working alongside each other in her country - finally, finally! - was something I wasn't sure would ever happen. We spent so much time talking about this place and to be part of it with her has been incredible. My heart is still and will always be in Mexico, but I have to say...I love Rachel's home in a way I never thought I would! 

"As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another." Proverbs 27:17
What a verse to start with, you may say. But, as I sit here, in my living room in the hot and sweaty Dominican Republic next to my best friend Hilary, there is no better way to describe our friendship. 
It is absolutely surreal to be serving together in the DR. It was less than three short years ago we were both living in Poughkeepsie, NY dreaming of the places so near and dear to our hearts. She would share her sorrow over being separated from the sweet kids at Gabriel House and I would share my conflicted heart about feeling led to practice medicine in the DR. 
To think that God would provide the opportunity for her to spend Sabbath time volunteering at my clinics while we both are living on a missionary's salary was beyond our expectations. But, as God continues to move within our friendship, He continues to sharpen our faith in Him through each other. 
The past week I have been amazed by how my dear friend loves so fearlessly each and every person she meets. And this love clearly does not just apply to Mexicans. I tangibly see the hands of Christ working in her, as she offers prayer in Spanish, laughs with my patients while taking a history or jumps at the opportunity to evangelize to our non-Christian Dominican hiking tour guide. 
After working together, I can officially say Hilary has entered the world of medicine. She has assisted me in translating for some very difficult to understand Spanish, taking vital signs, fitting people for glasses, removing sutures, taking histories, holding babies but most of all shining that Hilary smile that captures the hearts of many. I would be lying to say I didn't wish she could stay forever. 
In the past, we have often dreamed that God would call us to serve Him together, and even though these 10 days aren't permanent I can't tell you what a breath of fresh air they have been. And so on Friday when I drive Hilary to the airport, broken hearted that once again we will be serving so far from each other, I will bask in the radiant joy these days offered both of us. And that I am so blessed to have such a friend. 

En Cristo!
Rachel Snider

Top 10 differences between the DR and Mexico

1. Nothing in the DR is spicy, and everything in Mexico is picante...even lollipops!

2. Dominicans pronounce "y" and "ll" as a j; Mexicans use the y sound.

3. Everyone in the DR drives a moto and uses it for transportation of both animate and inanimate objects - roosters, propane tanks, children, washing machines, etc.

4. The DR is lush and green with tropical vegetation and Mexico is dry and arid. 

5. In Mexico most residents are Mexican while in the DR there are many people from all over Latin America cohabiting the island. For instance, within Rachel's group of friends there is a Colombian, Venezuelan, Honduran, and Haitian.

6. Coffee is its own language in the DR. People take it very seriously and it's delicious. Mexicans, sadly, only drink instant coffee. It's not delicious.

7. There are many common items that are completely inaccessible in the DR but due to Mexico's proximity to the States these items are more easy to find...like any frozen product. 

8. Some Spanish words are completely different. For example - banana in the DR is enero (yes like January) and in Mexico, it's platano, which is an entirely different fruit in the DR. 

9. Hilary thought her Mexican world was small in the city of Ensenada until she saw the tiny and remote village Rachel lives in that's part of an island in the middle of the ocean. 

10. The DR temporarily ran out of gasoline while Hilary was visiting; that is highly unlikely to ever happen in Mexico. 

This is just a small taste of the countless surprises we encountered while bringing together our adopted cultures...not to mention how often I was told I speak with a Dominican dialect and Hilary with a Mexican!

Lunch with Dr. Fernando and his wife and son

Dinner on top of a mountain in Jarabacoa!

Our guide told us Jurassic Park was filmed here...I'll have to watch the movie again to figure out if that's true or not.

Parts of this country look like they belong on a postcard. 

This is Rachel's clinic in Coracito. No electricity, no tables, plastic stools, and she sewed the curtain herself for privacy for her patients! 

One of Rachel's nicest clinics in, ironically, the most remote place she works in and the area that has the most unbelievable, barely drive able roads. 

Rachel taught me how to take blood pressure! I was ready :)

A Dominican staple - rice, beans, and plantains.  

Yvenor, Rachel's incredible Creole translator, holding a baby as her mom listened to her heartbeat for the first time!

Yvenor is THE MAN. 

Taking patient histories (in Spanish!) - this was my favorite job.

Jugo! An almost daily ritual - the DR knows how to make some delicious juice. Pineapple, orange, mango, cherry, strawberry, lime....mmmm. I will definitely miss this.

This is very normal. 4 people crammed on a moto, flying down the road. I saw SO many infants sandwiched between two people - no helmets, nothing. 

Some pretty impressive craftsmanship in Buenos Aires - a village where Rachel has a clinic. 

Rachel's most adorable patient of the day! Haitian babies win for being the cutest ever. 

This has been a week full of travel! Saturday I was in Tijuana for a brigada - a health fair that Mexican Medical puts on in partnership with a Mexican alliance of churches. We do these three or four times a year and it is the coolest thing. MexMed brings about 50 volunteers from the States including all kinds of medical providers, and the Mexican alliance of churches brings about the same number of volunteers from their network. There is A TON of planning involved for each one, and that happens through many meetings in the months and weeks before each brigada. Everything is free, and there are lots of different services offered based on the providers that come - everything from medical consults to foot washing to nutrition and diabetes education to lab services to a children's area to a fully stocked pharmacy! The Mexican pastors follow up with each person who attended in the weeks after the brigada, which is the part that I love. This isn't a day where we (Americans) swoop in for a day and think we've fixed everything. We realize that we can do very little in a day, and instead rely on the people who live there - the pastors and local congregations - to follow up with the people who attended.
This time I finally got to translate for a nurse practitioner, Tina! I don't have that much medical Spanish (which really is a whole other language), but I have wanted to translate for a doctor/NP/PA so badly. I had been praying that God would somehow give me the words I needed to say and understand, but I was kind of nervous once I really thought about just how badly this could go. It's one thing if I mess up as I tell a story and people think I'm talking about a tree instead of a book. Funny, but not harmful. Messing up when translating for a medical provider can be really dangerous! Anyway, when I met Tina, she told me that about 95% of her patients speak Spanish - she knew all the medical words! But could hardly translate a verb. It was PERFECT. Together, we were a complete Spanish speaking machine! Such a clear answer to prayer...it was super encouraging.

The team - volunteers from both sides of the border - circling up for prayer before the brigada starts. 

L: Tina examining a patient, top R: sign advertising the brigada,
bottom R: Dr. Tamez meeting with the medical providers

Tuesday we brought a dental team to an orphanage we had never been to, a couple hours southeast of Tijuana. It was so different from Gabriel House. I can hardly describe it. The staff take really good care of these children (that's one thing both places have in common!) and their teeth looked great. It was a good experience. Lots more kids needed to be anesthetized than we're used to, though, so that was definitely interesting as we dealt with recovery and the meds wearing off!

Yesterday Amy and I went to Biola for the Missions Conference. We talked to a LOT of students. It was encouraging to be swept up in their saving the world mentality. Ha! It made me feel really old. Some of those freshmen could NOT have been 18. No way. 

Hopefully some teams will come as a result of this or students will be summer interns at some of our sites. We shall see!

I've got a team at Gabriel House the week after next and then am going to visit Rachel in the Dominican Republic in April! I am counting down the days...can't wait to see her life and work alongside her! She came to Gabriel House with me last spring...now it's my turn!

Oh snap. It's been another month, hasn't it?

Well here we go.

Baby Tomas, who I introduced you to a month ago, died after just one week with us. We were not expecting that - we knew he was sick and probably wouldn't live very long, but we thought we'd have more time with him. As sad as it was to see him go, it was also a blessing to realize that he no longer has trouble breathing or eating, and his pain is completely gone. Jesus is the ultimate healer and that's what this baby needed.

Jan and I dropped Sonia and Dubi off at Gabriel House - Sonia is a missionary with Mexican Medical and has been serving in Cabo for the last year. She's a nurse who just got accepted to grad school starting in July, and she's spending the next 3 months at Gabriel House. Dubi is the daughter of the missionaries that Sonia worked with and just finished PT school in Mexico. She'll also be at Gabriel House for 3 months, assisting Pati, who currently is the only therapist for our 31 kids. Ha. They are a huge answer to prayer and I'm so happy they're at Gabriel House!

I took Pilar and Marcos on the bus to the grocery store because I needed to get some stuff for the house. It was dark out and Marcos would NOT let us leave without the headlamps, arguing that we needed to see the street that we were walking on. Fair enough. Plus they looked adorable.

Marcos helping us unload - he loved pushing the diapers out the
back door and seeing who they landed on!

I brought down a van full of diapers (and I mean FULL - couldn't even see out the back window). Immigration charged us less than ever and at this rate, the next time I go, I won't have to pay a dime! Here's to hoping...

Guess who's learning how to use the potty?!? Never, ever, in my life, have I been so excited to see someone on the can. This chair was recently donated and it's the perfect thing for Jaime - gives him enough support so he can sit there unassisted for a few minutes after lunch every day. Yeahhhhh!!!

We had a great time with Dana Croxton of Enable Ministries who spent a few days with us at Gabriel House. He taught me how to repair and clean wheelchairs (very important to make them last!), but even more incredible is how well Jose and Alex worked with him. These boys were an integral part of the process and there were a few times where I literally could not figure out what to do next and Jose showed me. Incredible. So cool for those boys to have purposeful work. 

It was fun to have a group from Hydesville, California with us for a week! They played with us inside, helping us beat rainy day boredom, bought the kids fresh fruit and veggies, and helped make cupcakes for Renie's birthday!

I learned how to make empanadas, and Pilar proved to be a valuable asset to the kitchen!

Thanks for your love, prayers, and support! Make sure to follow us on Facebook for more frequent updates and crazy news about our stolen van... www.facebook.com/gabrielhouseofmexico

I forgot to eat lunch on Monday. You don't understand - that never happens. I had to pop over to Mexico quickly to drop off a dental lamp for one of our missionaries to pick up so he could ship it to another one of our missionaries in Loreto, navigate what felt like the entire county of San Diego in a 12 passenger van while looking for preemie nipples for the new 1 month old, 3 pound baby that got dropped off at Gabriel House the day before, scour thrift stores for clothes for him since we had nothing, create and put out a news flash to let the world know about him (and how to pray for him!), buy food for the dental team that I was in charge of the next day, strategically pack the van in a way that allowed me to get as much stuff across as I could without getting in trouble and forced to pay an importation fee for bringing more than we were allowed, and continue planning trips for 3 different teams that are coming to Gabriel House soon. It was the craziest day I've had in the office so far, but when I got home and finally sat down, it felt sooo good. Checking all that stuff off my list was very satisfying!

Yesterday was equally as crazy...

I left the office at 6am with a NICU nurse and her husband in tow. We crossed the border without any problems (even though we had A TON of stuff in the van, including no less than 15 cases of Pediasure) and picked up Dr. Tamez, who oversees the anesthesia during dental days at GH.
We made it to GH by 9 and hit the ground running - the mobile dental unit was already there and set up and kids were waiting to be seen. Drs. David and Erika Cervantes and Dr. Israel saw almost every one of our kids - Sergio missed out because he was at school, Emiliano wouldn't even go outside, let alone to the dentist. I tell you - that kid may be blind but he totally knows what's going on. Tomas didn't make it to the dentist due to his lack of teeth and being a month old :)

Ruben has always needed anesthesia because he absolutely freaks out as soon as he sees the dental unit roll up. He's the first kid seen at 8:30, and by the time the team leaves at 4, he's just awake enough to stumble to his bed. That stuff knocks him out, and it's a little scary, honestly! Last time the dentists came, we tried something new, and made a big show of giving him a "cleaning." The dentist poked around in his mouth a little and didn't really do anything, but we wanted him to start having positive experiences without needed to be anesthetized. This time, he was refusing to go and pretty adamant, but I was just as determined. I'm not proud of it (okay, who am I kidding, I kind of am) but eventually, after much coaxing by each dentist to no avail, I offered him a lollipop if he'd let the dentist clean his teeth. While I realize the irony of sugar on a stick after seeing the dentist, I reasoned that he was going to get one anyway, so I might as well work the dentist into it.
Success, as you can tell from the picture!



I spent a little bit of time with Tomas, our new baby who was dropped off on Thursday. He weighs about 3 pounds and is a month old and has some serious physical deformities, like nothing I've ever seen before. He was having so much trouble eating - it would take him over an hour to suck down an ounce of formula. ONE OUNCE! The NICU nurse who just happened to be with us (God's timing is so perfect) spent hours with Renie and Jan, helping them learn how to care for him. Who knew that you have to keep a preemie warm so his body doesn't waste precious calories raising his body temperature?! Same goes for sucking on a bottle - that uses way too many calories. I brought some special preemie nipples that were a total game changer for him - he got 2 ounces down in about 45 minutes.

See the Spiderman cake?!

I picked Sergio up from school - I felt like his mommy! It was so fun. He had a bunch of pictures with him that he was so excited to show me - he had a birthday party a few days ago. It was great to get a glimpse into his life at school! It's so incredible that he's there - it's a special school for kids with disabilities. The teachers are all specialists, class sizes are small, it's a public school (free!), and it's longer than a regular school day. It's just so good for him to be there.







I'll be at Gabriel House a lot this month, which I'm really excited about! Next week I'm headed down with a nurse who will be there for three months - again, perfect timing. Christy, the woman who works in the baby room, already has a ton of work to do. Throw in a very sick and fragile baby who needs to be fed every 3 hours and she's just slammed. I feel so bad for her but it was great to be able to say that in just one short week we'll have a nurse there to help her!
The week after that, I'm bringing a team down from Northern California for a few days, and then the week after that, Jan and I are bringing a....wait for it....you're not going to believe this....PHYSICAL THERAPIST. Oh yeah baby. I tell you - the things I get excited about these days. Preemie nipples! Marshmallow lollipops! Cough assist machines! Physical therapists!
She's the daughter of our missionaries in Cabo and just finished PT school in Mexico. So not only is she a therapist, but she's Mexican and was trained at a Mexican university. Cultural barriers? Nonexistent. She'll be with us for about 3 months too. Yay!

Beautiful views the whole way down to GH...it was hard to focus on the road!

I did it! For the first time ever, I drove to Gabriel House by myself and made it back through Sentri, the fast pass lane at the border that is almost impossible to find. You have to head away from signs that say San Diego and go down these sketchy back roads in the middle of Tijuana...eek.

I was able to bring a bunch of stuff down and see some friends as well as introduce some new friends to the kids! Two of my supporters met me at Gabriel House and we spent the afternoon hanging out with the kids. It was so cool to merge those worlds!

Jaime practicing walking with Pati, his favorite caregiver!

Kim and Pilar making friends with the neighborhood horse.

Just bought this gem of a heater for half off - with Groupon! Ah, the joys of the modern age. A couple of our infrared heaters have broken recently, and last time Jan and I were at Gabriel House, Alex came up to her and signed that their heater had broken and it was really cold at night. The way he signed cold - hugging himself and shivering uncontrollably - was so sad but just priceless! That kid is great at signing because he is ALWAYS so full of expression. 

While I could not do what I do without monthly support, one time gifts are also wonderful because they allow me to make large one time purchases like this. Not sure if you've heard, but it's been cold over here on the West Coast. Like, really cold. I know it's nothing compared to other parts of the country - but you have to watch this to understand just how ridiculous we are.

So - thank you for allowing me to buy this! I'll ask Alex how he's doing next time I see him and hopefully we'll get a better answer.

Sonia's been sick for a long time. A looooong time. There have been ups and downs, but she is a weak girl. She's on a feeding tube, and she got moved to the baby room awhile ago, which doesn't really have any babies in it, but used to. Now it's our medically fragile room.
She always has this nasty cough, but since she has very little control over her body, she can't force a cough to clear her lungs like you and I can. Her body will finally give in to the cough and then her legs and arms shake uncontrollably as she calms down. It was really unnerving at first, but Sonia's a champ and keeps hanging in there.

Renie called me today and was so excited - she found a cough assist machine. It had been in the workroom for reasons that we still have to figure out but the bottom line is it's exactly what Sonia needs to breathe better! She's been in the hospital twice this month for issues that this machine will get rid of.

Never a dull moment around here, people. I am constantly blown away by how things happen. It's this kind of stuff that get me through the darker times because let me tell you, we are so blessed to constantly have stories like these.

Just the frame alone is well over $1000. Then you have to buy the pelvic supports, arm, chest, thigh, and ankle prompts, the hand loops, and the hip positioners, each around $300 (and you need to buy two of everything!)

We've had 2 small pacers donated in the past - a HUGE blessing. The only terribly painful thing is we don't have kids that size who need to practice walking. That certainly doesn't mean they won't come to us, so we are faithfully waiting!

We tried to make the small pacer fit Jaime back in November, but it just wasn't going to work.

You see, we have been waiting and praying for this exact pacer for YEARS. One of my favorite GH stories has to do with this pacer. It was right after I moved to GH in the summer of 2009. I was playing with Jaime and Tonio, and Martin, our jack of all trades whose back is to the camera in the picture above, started telling me about Jaime. I had almost no Spanish back then, but I remember very clearly understanding him say "This boy can walk. He just needs a really expensive and fancy walker. We have to pray for God to bless us." I was like, oh yeah, sure, that would be awesome, I'll definitely pray for that. Tonio, on the other hand, heard that, put his hand on Jaime's legs, and started praying. Can it get any simpler?? This kid knows what's up.

Fast forward to December 2012 -  a woman whose son had recently passed away donated us a lot of his things - a wheelchair, a carseat, Pediasure, diapers, medical supplies, and A MEDIUM PACER.
Exactly what we need for Jaime. I had to see it to believe it, and I almost started crying when I did! We got him in it last weekend and it's a great fit. He was excited and definitely knew what was going on - this went a lot better than when we tried to stuff the poor kid into the smaller pacer.

But. The work is not done. And we need your prayers. Half the battle is getting the equipment, yes. But the other half is finding the time to use it. Our therapist is stretched so thin and honestly, the fact that we even have a therapist is amazing. It's just that, of the 31 kids living at Gabriel House right now, each of them could use about 4 hours of therapy each day (at the very least!). So to have kids getting about 15 minutes a week, when you factor in all of the things that get in the way of Pati doing 8 hours of therapy a day, it's just...hard. And frustrating. And discouraging.
Knowing that Javier, our 16 month old, could walk but might not if we don't put in the major therapy he needs right now, is terrifying.

And then I have to remember. I have to go back to the one who brought me here in the first place. Who hasn't asked me to fix every problem or to make every kid walk. Whose to do list looks soooo much different from mine.

He's called me to live the gospel - to love his children unconditionally. Not to give up on therapy and the things our kids need. But rather to see it in a different way.

And that is what I will do.

The Gabriel House Christmas trip was SO great. We had an incredible team of about 25 people from all over Southern California, most of whom had been to GH before. They LOVE those kids. 

Martin doing his happy dance in front of the tree as it was being decorated. (Thank you Odyssey for the beautiful ornaments!) 

Putting together a "dispensa" - gift bags for the staff. 

Ely helping us decorate! 

Marcos showed us his own version of the Stanford marshmallow experiment, asking if he could decorate two cookies - eat one right now and put the other one in the fridge for after dinner. This boy is muy intelligente. 

Story time with Ely! 

All decorated for Christmas. 

Chely coloring. 

Marcos helping Martin turn his head lamp on (his favorite present).

Jose's reaction when I asked him to put 2 batteries in 40 different mini flashlights. Love him! 

We are blessed. A month ago this shelf was empty - we have 7 kids who use feeding tubes and go through at least 3 cans of nutritional drink a day (each!). Gabriel House can never have enough of this! 

Dana, founder of Enable Ministries, using his expertise to fix Sonia's chair. This former car mechanic has transferred those skills to wheelchairs and is amazing! 

We had a wonderful Christmas, celebrating the birth of Jesus. It's always such a special time for our kids, staff, and the group that's there. Regardless of how hard and challenging the year has been, this is such a good time to recenter ourselves - to remember who has called us to this, who loves these children more than we ever could, and who will one day bring us home as he waits for us with open arms. 

Thank you to everyone who was a part of this beautiful celebration!