A Couple Thousand Words from the Microfinance Site

Thanks to Audrey Williams, a student from Taylor University who spent two weeks with the Microfinance Site, we finally have some good pictures of the Microfinance Site.  Hope you enjoy them and they give you a glimpse of what life is like here!

A time of worship at our annual Mother's Day Celebration.

Playing team games in order to decide which women get to buy first
at the mini flea market we had.

FUN FUN FUN FUN GAMES!

Putting the puzzle pieces together as fast as they can!

A random home from Los Higos, one of the many communities
the MF site is working in.

Jesse, one of our students, and I flexing after peeling
a whole bunch of yucca at Lero's business.

Lero's husband peels yucca,
a root vegetable similar to a potato.

Ramon, Lero's son, filters some grated yucca
to get out the large chunks.

Lero grills the peeled, grated, dried, and filtered yucca into a bread/cracker called casabe.  She goes to town every morning and sells her product by simply walking door to door.

MiBanco El Tesoro

Explaining to Judy, one of our bank coordinators, some important information
about our new receipt system.

Miriam and I with Ramona at her small restaurant.

One of our associates granddaughters.

Washing the pigs at one of our associate's businesses.  

I think this sums our working relationship quite well! :)

Not even going to try and explain!

MiBanco Quarterly - Growth

Growth!  As Americans, the word growth in relation to business generally conjures up images of an increase in sales, increase in clients, or an increase in products or services that are offered.  Within the aspect of ministry or church, it is often not much different.  Increase in converts, increase in church members, or an increase in the number of ministry sites. 

I studied accounting in college and God wired me to think in numbers so naturally I like measuring growth this way.  Numbers are black and white; they are neat and organized.  Here at the MF site, it is easy to look on paper and say that we have 11 more associates than we had at the beginning of the year.  Growth!

Yet while quantitative data is definitely an important aspect of growth (especially in relation to Microfinance), it is often not the ultimate measure of success here at the MF site.  How do we quantitatively measure whether the communities we work in are being transformed into the likeness of Christ?  When a woman thanks you because she has learned the power of saving, do we rate the associates growth on a scale of 1 to 10?  When an American student working in the site realizes that the business world is often an overlooked mission field, do we somehow give that a number and throw it onto our income statement?

Over the past several years, the MF site has grown slowly and steadily in the number of associates that we have had.  We are proud to say that we will be serving over 100 associates by the end of the year.  However, as the number of associates increase, we don’t want to lose sight of our qualitative goals.  We continually want to see that men and women within our site are being transformed into the likeness of Christ in all areas of their lives, that the American students on short term missions trips are being stretched and encountering God in a new way, and above all, that God would be glorified in every aspect of our lives.  Continue to pray that God would give the MF Site growth in all aspects of the site.

Microfinance...What's That Mean Again?

What do you think we will be doing here at the Microfinance (MF) Site  in the next two weeks?  I often pose this question the first day to the American students who work in my site and almost always the answer goes something like this,  “I’m not really sure,  probably work with money?”  While that answer is technically correct, I don’t generally spend much of my time sitting around counting stacks of $20s and making coin rolls.  It’s often funny to me that students give this answer, but I also can’t fault them for it.  In fact, I remember sitting as a student at the MF Site wondering the same thing.  Here at Students International, it is easy to guess what a person might do at the Education Site, Health Site, or Dental Site and most people would be able to give you a good idea of how each of those sites improve a person’s quality of life.  But Microfinance, a site that provides financial services?  How are they helping and why is it necessary?

While most of us hear the word finance and our minds wander off to 401k’s, large bank buildings, and rich guys in suits walking down Wall Street, the word finance in a majority of the world will drum up more down to earth images with often tough, life implications.

They drum up images of a single mother of four, overwhelmed, undereducated, and having no idea how she is going to make ends meet for the month.  Someone desperately starting their own business in hopes to put food on the table, working extremely hard and only failing because they didn’t really know what they were doing.  Living life without any savings, without anybody to catch you when you fall and without somebody to help you get back.  Having a child that gets sick and having no money to afford the medication.  Either the child dies or borrow money from a loan shark who charges over 100% interest annually.  Having no place to save money because there is simply no place to put it.  Living in a dysfunctional family and having nobody to teach you the importance of managing your money well. 

So while providing loans and savings opportunities is part of the MF Site here in the Dominican Republic, we don’t just walk around in suits and ties counting and collecting money.  We walk with our associates through the daily grind of everyday life, through the difficulties, whether they be physical, emotional, or spiritual, and we point them to the One who has all the answers, the One who needs no finances, and the One provides out of His own glorious riches.  Jesus Christ.

A Holy Moment

"Arms raised and heart abandoned.  In awe of the one who gave it all.

So I'll stand.  My Soul Lord to You Surrendered.  All I am is Yours."

Last weekend, I stood at our staff retreat and belted out those words several times over the weekend. Overall, the retreat was great.  Great speaker...great community...great food (very important for any great retreat) and great games.  However, the greatest part of the weekend for me was definitely the times of worship through music.  Simply coming before our creator and proclaiming the salvation that comes from Him and the incredible breadth of the God we serve.  It was worship.  A Holy Moment.

Sunday morning as the retreat was winding down, our speaker gave us an extended period of time to spend in solitude.  During this time, I pulled out my journal thinking I was going to write but instead stumbled upon a past journal entry.  It was from last summer and I has recently read a blog post  from a blog called "Kisses from Katie."  (I highly recommend it.)  She had written "Surely I could take off my shoes.  Or fall to my knees.  Or raise up my hands.  Surely this moment is holy."  As I read those words again, I could definitely echo that very sentiment.  In fact, I had felt that very well several times during worship that weekend.  However, what had caught my attention the first time I read it and what had caught it again was that nothing drastically different was going on her life.  She wasn't at a nice hostel, eating great food, with great people, and worshiping to great music.  It was simply another morning for her.  Katie, a young single mother of 14 adopted children, living in Uganda in the midst of extreme poverty, was simply washing the dishes in her pajamas and recognizing that God had been good to her.  Proclaiming the joy of her salvation, the immensity of the God we serve, and recognizing that she deserved none of it.

As I finished reading my journal entry, I was convicted yet inspired at the same time.  It's not often that I recognize holy moments in the middle of the mundane, in the middle of the normal of life.  It's not that holy moments don't happen during these times. In fact, every moment is a gift from God, a holy moment.  I simply fail to recognize the moment for what it is.  So I pause today, a break from busy schedule, and I choose to remember.

I remember my oldest sister going to live in Ecuador for a year.  I watched from afar but noted her example. It is a gift from God.  A Holy Moment.

I remember the frustrating weeks of college when I felt as if my passions pulled me in opposite directions.  It is a gift from God.  A Holy Moment.

I remember the daily grind of fundraising in order to come to the mission field.  Friends and family opened their hands and the Lord provided.  It is a gift from God. A Holy Moment.

I remember sitting with one of my associates, Liliana, tears in her eyes, as she tells me she doesn't know how she is going to provide for her family.  I don't know either.  It is a gift from God.  A Holy Moment.

I remember seeing an associate's eyes light up while I teach a class on business administration.  She understands for the first time.  It is a gift from God.  A Holy Moment.

I remember the awe and joy of the 41 boys who went to a water park for the first time yesterday.  It is a gift from God.  A Holy Moment.

My list could go on forever.  My life is full of holy moments if only I would choose to see them that way.  Yet I know I will forget.  I'll struggle with my Spanish.  Something I own will get stolen again.  I'll be washing the dishes in my sink and run out of water.  I'll sit with an associate who is struggling and I'll have no words to say.  But even though I forget in the moment, I know that one day, I will sit back, I will remember, and I will be able to say.  It is a gift from God.  A Holy Moment.

Micro Connections

“How is your business going, Dania?” I asked standing in fronting of her small fritura. 

“Things are a little slow right now. “ she replied,  “I just wish I had opportunities to sell to more people.”

This was not the first time I had heard an associate utter those very words.  Most of the MF associates live and work  in small communities with a limited market.  In fact, limited and saturated markets are some of the greatest challenges that face many of the small business owners at the MF site.  With only 200 potential clients, it is hard to realistically expect substantial growth from a business.  In essence, our associates work hard but often lack the resources and opportunities to network themselves well with clients or other business in order to expand their business.

While there are no easy answers to these problems, the MF site has been hard at work trying to build connections and market opportunities for our associates.   Recently, Miriam connected with a small startup company that sells framed cross-stitch.  Knowing that one of our associates, Rossi, already was selling cross-stitch from her house, Miriam connected Rossi and several other associates with this new company.  Now Rossi is receiving orders on a regular basis and has more consistent work which allows her to be at home with her family.  With the help of a single business relationship, Rossi quickly expanded her market from several hundred clients to thousands of clients.

While the example above may be small, we believe that networks are one of the most powerful business tools and hope that we can continue to use our own networks as well as those of our supporters to benefit associates in the future.

Pray that God would give Miriam and I the creativity to effectively connect and network our associates with viable and sustainable business opportunities.

Life from A Glimpse

Life at Play

The new ride that I got after coming down here.  Unless it is raining hard, I use this bike to go everywhere, including the occasional joy ride through the mountains.

Went on a motorcycle trip with a good group of friends to this beautiful dam!  

Mmmmmm!  Only thing better than the beautiful dam is the fresh fish that come from it.

A Saturday afternoon bike trip!  Thought it would be fun and relaxing trip but turned out we climbed a mountain via a hiking path.  Jumped boulders, went through rivers and managed to flip my bike once!  All in all an adventure filled day.

Bought a new grill and threw a party to try  it out.  Nothing like not having to grill at your own party.

Cheering on my roomate to a victory in the annual city wide volleyball tournament!

Life at Work

Dania, one of our associates, poses for a picture in front of her fritura.  She sells fried foods as well as fruits and vegetables.

Valentine's day party for our bank coordinators and their husbands.   We ate cake , played a lot of games, and had a short devotional.

Eating dinner at Ramona's house with several students from the states.  A great time  for students to be able to connect with the community and the culture.

Working at Juliana's chicken farm where Hannah received the experience of milking a goat for the first time.

Miriam, my coworker at the Microfinance Site, peels yuca.  When students from the states are working along side us, we often take them to serve in women's businesses.

Miriam and I with one of the groups of students that spent their week here in the DR at the Microfinance Site.  The group included a high school student, an accountant, and a youth pastor.  They were different in age and occupation but unified in their desire to serve at the site.

Justice

I pulled out of the airport taking the well lit road towards the highway being careful to slow down for all the random speed bumps that were, for whatever reason, placed in the middle of nowhere. I turned onto the entrance ramp and slowly merged onto the deserted highway.  It was 1:30 a.m. and apparently everyone else had already decided to call it a night.  My friend Mark and I didn't have that luxury as we had dropped Mark's friend off at the airport for his 3 a.m flight.  Mark and I sat silently as we continued along the highway in my green Honda CRV.  In the distance I noticed a man run out into the middle of the road waving a flashlight.  As we got closer, I saw that it was two uniformed police officers so I pulled over as they instructed.  I sat in the car nervously wondering what I did wrong as one of the uniformed officers walked around to the drivers side door carrying a very large shotgun.

I rolled down my window and the officer pleasantly greeted us.  He asked me for my license and the documentation for my car.  I gave him both and he took them not even bothering to look at either.  He began explaining to me that him and his partner were responsible for protecting the people of this area.  I knew full well that he only wanted a bribe but I sat there quietly not moving or saying a word.  Even after he had finished talking, I continued to sit quietly playing dumb.  Unfortunately, I already knew I had given myself away at the beginning as I had been speaking in Spanish with him.  Frustrated with me, the officer looked right at me and simply said, I'm not going to leave until you give me something for protecting the people in this area.  I thought about continuing to pretend I didn't understand but the shotgun in his hands along with the corruption of the justice system here persuaded me otherwise.  I pulled out my wallet and gave him some cash.  He handed my license and documents back and told me to have a good night.  

As I pulled away, anger started churning inside of me like a bad stomach ache.  How the crap do they call that justice? Those guys are not protecting anybody.  They are simply sitting beside the road and robbing the people they claim to protect.  Just thieves in good guy uniforms.  The rest of the 40 minute drive home, I thought about all the things that I would have liked to ask him.  "Are all cops just selfish jerks like you?  Do you have any respect for your country or for any of the people in it?  Did you become a cop just so you could rob people?  Do you have any idea what your uniform symbolizes and stands for?"

Thankfully when I got home I was exhausted enough from the day to fall asleep.  However, even to this day, a full two weeks later, I feel the anger that rises up inside of me when I remember the situation.  I don't feel angry about the money he stole but mostly about the fact that he was an incredibly unjust man in a uniform that represented justice.  However, over the past two weeks I've wondered often if I'm that different from the police officer I encountered. I tell people I am a Christian and it is a uniform that represents justice.  I may not have intentions to use my uniform to steal from people or deliberately treat people unjustly but sometimes I simply forgot what my uniform symbolizes or that I'm wearing my uniform at all.  I think God must be fairly angry when I wear his uniform yet my actions don't line up with that uniform or when I simply haven't spent the time to know what it represents.  

May God help me to remember:

That God's justice is showing grace and mercy to those who don't deserve it.  (even the police officer who robs from the people.)  Zechariah 7:9-10

That God's justice is doing to others as you would have them do to you. Matthew 7:12

That God's justice is not being partial to the poor or deferring to the great, but judging with justice.  Leviticus 19:15

That God'd justice is loosing the chains of injustice and untying the cords of the yoke, setting the oppressed free and breaking every yoke, sharing your food with the hungry and providing the poor wanderer with shelter---when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood. Isaiah 58:6-7

That God's justice is leaving a position of authority, becoming humble and making yourself nothing, becoming a servant, and dying a painful and undeserved death.  Phillipians 2:5-8

Alive and Kicking

 It is officially Day 58 for me in the DR and that seems crazy to say.  In some ways, it feels like it was just yesterday that I anxiously sat on a plane wondering what the next several months would hold yet in other ways, it seems like I have been down here for much longer.

I have officially settled in to my apartment down here.  It was an incredible blessing to move into an apartment with all my furniture and appliances ready to use.  Ryan Holloway, the previous Microfinance Director lived with me for the first three weeks, followed by several weeks of living alone before my friend Mark arrived a few weeks ago to be my new roommate.   My apartment is much too big for just me so thankfully through Super Bowl parties, a weekly Guacomole and TV night, new roommates, and friends, God has sent people to fill the empty spaces.  Another gift that God has given me so far is a fun group of Dominican guys to spend time with.  They enjoy doing things outdoors and we especially enjoy driving dirt bikes through the mountains.  It has been incredible to drive through the dirt roads of the mountains and simply the beauty of God’s creation.

Overall, while adjusting to living down here has gone smoothly, it has not been without its challenges and frustrations as well.  Many times, simple tasks become long drawn out tests of my patience.  About a month ago, I went to a communication services company called Claro in search of internet service for my apartment.  Since this is a large company here in the DR, I figured that it would be a quick and painless process.  I’ve never been more wrong.  3 trips to the service center in Jarabacoa, 3 round trips to the service center in La Vega (35 minute drive), 5 ½ hours of waiting, 3 hours of working with service reps, leaving in the middle of a meeting to meet a service technician and 3 phone calls later I finally had internet.  Other unfortunate events have been my car breaking down 45 minutes away at the airport, hitting a guy on a motorcycle with my car and killing a dog on my dirt bike within 4 hours of each other, and being stopped by a cop for doing nothing wrong yet not being allowed to leave until I gave him a bribe.

The first several months of working at the MF (Microfinance) site have been excellent.  While language barriers and a lack of technical and cultural knowledge have definitely made the site challenging at times, I have greatly enjoyed my work.  Over the past two months, Miriam, the Dominican lady I work with, and I have planned for the vision of the site, implemented a new accounting system, created a new banking group with Student’s International national staff, and hosted two teams of students.  While all that work has been fun for me personally, the most rewarding parts have been the personal contact that I have made within the banks.  Whether it has been helping Ramona begin her dream of building her own house, business coaching with Liliana as she starts a new restaurant, or simply spending an afternoon chatting with Frankely, the 22 year old son of one of our associates who was paralyzed in a motorcycle accident last summer, it has been neat for me to see the way that the site is able to not only care for people’s financial needs but also address their emotional and spiritual needs as well. 

There is much more that could be said but I think I will save it for another letter as my computer is going die soon and I currently don’t have electricity at my house.  Thank you for all of you that have updated me on what has been going on in your life and for those of you that have been praying for me.  Continue to pray for the MF site that we would continue to become more like Jesus in both the personal connections and administrative tasks.  Continue to ask that the Holy Spirit would lead me and guide me as I lead and guide this site.  May God’s glory be made evident in the actions of our lives as we continue to rest in the joy our salvation.  I love you all.

Process

The candle lit the small outdoor shack which housed the fugon, a small cement stove that many Dominicans use to cook.  The room was small but my friends and I crowded in hoping to make ourselves a pot of coffee.  My friend Moreno grabbed some firewood and began stoking the small fire that must of been started earlier in the evening.  Soon smoke filled the room and flames started leaping through the wood.  A pot of water was put over the fire.  While we waited we sat and listened to my friend Melvin's dad share stories from his life.  Once the water had boiled, coffee was added to the hot water and we waited some more.  Melvin's dad shared another story.  The coffee finished boiling and was poured from the pot through a small filter into each cup individually.  Finally, an hour after initially deciding to have coffee, we sat in the shed and enjoyed the warm black liquid together.

As I sat there enjoying my warm coffee and listening to Melvin's dad start into another story, I couldn't help but think about the process of making coffee.  Back at my house, I could have simply put some grounds into a filter, thrown some water into the machine, and flicked on a button.  Five minutes later, a pot of black coffee would be waiting for me.  Here, the process had taken over an hour and had required more work and attention, yet nobody seemed to be bothered by the length of time we waited.  Somehow, it was as if everybody simply knew that making coffee was about more than just the end product, it was about enjoying the process.  It was about sharing time with people, sharing stories, and enjoying the smell of the coffee brewing on the open fire.  

While waiting for a cup of coffee seems like such an insignificant event, it was a personal reminder for me that God works through the processes of life. That he is refining me, molding me, and shaping me through the process of life.  That finished products don't happen overnight but are fashioned over time.  That God is forming me perfectly and that I am to take joy in that.  He desires that I would be joyful as I hang out with friends, enjoy the beauty of this country, and watch as women's businesses grow and provide abudantly.  He desires that I would be joyful as I spend 20 hours trying to get internet at my house (doesn't mean you can't get upset), take a man to the hospital after a motorcycle accident, and as I struggle to clearly communicate important details during a bank meeting.  May each of you continue to find joy in the processes of life, whether good or bad, as God continues to form us into his likeness.

Rain

As I sit here in my apartment, I once again listen to the rain pounding the pavement on the road outside. While I love listening to the rain from inside my comfortable apartment, the rain here is continually causing inconveniences for life outside.  I almost always ride my motorcycle to places when the sun is showing its beautiful face only to have it start pouring down rain an hour later leaving me stranded wherever I am.  Sometimes the rain catches me in the middle of a drive soaking my clothes, my backpack and me.  The dirt roads become nothing more than a sea of mud puddles which if you are not careful leave your shoes and jeans looking like a puddle as well.  It negatively impacts businesses; it changes my plans; and overall it makes things messy.

As it poured down rain one morning this week, I sat in my office and God brought to my mind Isaiah 55.  "As the rain and snow come down from heaven and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth:  It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for what I sent it."  I always liked this verse because it always reminded me of fresh buds which would bring spring flowers and new green vegetation.  Yet somehow I never really thought about the entire process.  I never focused on the muddy process of the melting snow and pouring rain that made it possible for those things to grow.

Liliana has 4 kids, a husband who drinks way too much and doesn't help enough, and recently just started a second business in order to further provide for her family.  She starts her work day at 5:00 AM and ends it at 8:00 PM.  She finishes her day, falls into bed only to wake up and do it all over again, not just 5 days a week but 7.  She desperately wants a better life for her and her kids and that dream drives her to move forward.

Sila has 8 grandchildren that live around her house.  She works at an orphanage making a small amount of money in order to provide for her family.  She saves when she can but rarely has any money left over.  Recently, she got very sick and spent three weeks in the ICU at the local hospital.  Not only where the medical bills expensive but it cost her three weeks of work as well.  Her grandkids roam the streets during the day with almost no parental support and sometimes just skip school all together. 

I could continue to fill these pages with similar stories of woman with messy lives.  However, as I have been here, as I have see the rain come in many of the woman's lives, I can see God working through the muddy mess that the rain has caused. Sometimes a small flower is beginning to bloom.  Sometimes a plant is just beginning to poke its head at the ground and sometimes I still only see the muddy puddles.  Yet in all these situations I continue to cling to His promise; for the rain and the messes of life "will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for what I sent it."