Habichuelas con dulce (Sweet creamed beans)

We are currently at the end of Semana Santa (Holy Week) here in the Dominican Republic. Easter week, the Dominican Republic comes to an even slower crawl. Schools are closed, business have reduced hours, and Friday through Sunday you will be hard pressed to find an open business. Traffic laws are stepped up, and the police presence on the street is very noticeable. Because, ironically, because accidents are more likely due to the increased drinking. Another interesting tradition during Holy Week is a traditional dish, Habichuelas con Dulce, or Sweet Creamed Beans, three words that I never imagined together. Here is recipe I got off of Dominicancooking.com, so that you don't think I'm just making this stuff up.

Habichuelas con Dulce is one of Dominican's most cherished traditions. It is prepared in Easter in large quantities and shared with relatives and neighbors.

Time: 60 Mins
Difficulty: Advanced
Serve: 6 people

Before starting to cook: Cut the sweet potatoes into small cubes. Boil with a teaspoon of salt until tender. Put the beans and the water through the blender. Strain the beans to get rid of the skin.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup of raisins
• 2 teaspoons of butter
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 2 cups of boiled red kidney beans
• 2 cup of water from boiling the beans
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 1 cup of coconut milk
• 3 cups of evaporated milk
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• Cassava bread (may be omitted)
• 1/2 lb of sweet potatoes
• 10 cloves
• 1 cup of milk cookies (may be omitted)

Preparation:

1. Put the beans, the coconut milk and half the milk in a pot and bring to a boil. Add the rest of the milk, sugar, raisins and sweet potatoes and let boil medium heat for 10 minutes. Stir regularly to avoid sticking. Add the rest of the ingredients and boil to the desired consistency.
   
2. Spread butter on the cassava bread, sprinkle with salt and put in the oven until it turns golden brown.
   
3. Serve the beans chilled with the cassava on the side. Put cookies on top of the beans.

So, if any of you have would like to whip up a batch, you can experience a taste of the DR. I have to say it is actually surprisingly tasty.

Melissa was introduced to the specialty this time last year, when we were down looking for a house, at a church member's home in Bombita. A visit I missed. Melissa is not what I would call an adventurous eater, but when you are sitting in someone's home and they offer you a glass full, it is very difficult to say no. So, she tried what she thought was a drink, and actually enjoyed. She was a little shocked that a piece of banana was floating in it, but she managed to be polite. However, she really didn't believe that it was a bean drink until the lady went to the kitchen and brought out the dried beans to end any language barrier. This year, we bought a few cups of the beans in front of the house of one of the church kids, that had set up a little Lemonade stand, and she was selling her mom's Habichuelas con Dulce. We have been given a few jars from friends, and are able to enjoy it in small servings.

Una Via - One Way

Imagine that you live in a town that is full of one-way streets. It's a small town you've lived in for about 8 months and you've learned the way around town. You have standard routes you take on a daily basis, and now rarely think twice about how you get from point A to point B. Then, you wake up one morning, drive into town to find that overnight they have changed all the one-way streetsto the opposite direction. Welcome to Sosua!!

Melissa and I have recently found ourselves relearning our little town. The local law enforcement has decided to make unofficial one-way streets official, change the directions of other one-way streets, and turn streets that had been two-way traffic into one-way streets. I've come to a few intersections that seemed to indicate I couldn't turn left, right, or turn around and go backwards. Add the local tradition where the majority consider traffic laws optional and you can understand the local street scene the past few days.

We've come to find out that the seemingly unwarranted sprucing up of our little town may have been prompted by a visit by the president of the Dominican Republic as part of a campaign stop to inaugurate the refurbishment of a local public school. The visit was subsequently postponed and then eventually canceled. However, the potential visit prompted several last minute work projects and the completion of other projects where progress had been stalled.

I was reminded of the attitude some people have, when they think they will wait to spruce up their own life, or their relationship with God only when it seemed there was no other way to avoid a meeting with him. I was also reminded that our eventual meeting Him will not be canceled or postponed. I'm glad to know that Christ has already done all the sprucing up in my life. He and I do a little street maintenance and road improvement from time to time, but it's the work of Christ that has prepared me for the eventual face to face meeting

God's changed a few one way streets in our life, or actually removed some road blocks. Melissa and I have found ourselves singing at one of the Spanish churches. Those of you that may have had the unfortunate experience of hearing us sing will attest that we are not on our way to a recording contract, but more apt to be on the Best of the Worst American Idol auditions. However, we meet in Bombita with a faithful group of believers on Sunday nights, and they enjoy singing and are not concerned with such trivial things as keys, notes, tunes, tones and other bothersome musical norms. We make a joyful noise! Melissa and I continue to speak occasionally...this past week Melissa shared a message at a local Spanish-speaking congregation with the help of an interpreter (this time). I also shared this past Sunday as part of our English-speaking worship service. While this is not our primary role in ministry, and one we would have gladly avoided in the past, we are both learning to enjoy these opportunities that God provides to help us stretch and grow. We are also praying that God is stretching you. We'd love to hear what He's doing in your life.

This Wasn't In The Job Description

For those of you that have ever had a job description, there was probably a disclaimer at the bottom that says something along the lines of, “and other duties as assigned.” Well, evidently God has a similar disclaimer. Tonight, I found myself on a city planning committee. That's right a committee. We received a notice that there was going to be a meeting at the City Hall regarding paving and repairing the road that runs along the main school campus in Sosua. I attended this meeting along with one of our school teachers, and we learned of a plan to repave the road; however, the question is how it will be paid for. According to the mayor, the city can only cover 20% and the rest will come from the residents of the road. This includes, our school program, a private school, several hundred private homes, a hotel, and several apartments. In this meeting it was decided that the large group was not going to be an effective way to resolve the issue, so they created a road committee, and wanted representation from our school, since there was not a representative from the other school. We got a call this morning that there was going to be a committee meeting. So tonight, Gloria, the school director, and I went to our first committee meeting. We were there with about eight other committee members, the mayor, and two of his staff. Tasks were delegated out, which we fortunately avoided at the mayors directions, because he didn't want to burden us, and we scheduled another meeting, which we offered to host at the school. They have actually moved the meetings up a few weeks so as not to conflict with my families plan to be on furlough. I really am not sure why I am part of the committee, but it is interesting. There are three primary languages, Spanish, German, and English. There are people on the committee that seem to have a different primary language, but one of these three can serve as a common language. The Mayor has two interpreters, one that translates Spanish & German, and another that translates Spanish & English. It is somewhat comical. Many of the committee members speak two of the languages, so the conversation shifts from Spanish to English to German with no warning. At the conclusion of the meeting we talked in small groups, and one of the guys mentioned the fact that it is interesting that with all the problems in the area we are discussing how to get a better road, which allowed me to share the mission and vision of New Missions and specifically the school affected by the road improvements. Again, I'm not sure why I am part of this committee, except that I don't want us the school to shoulder any unfair burden to have the road fixed. Something, that we have not asked for, and aren't sure we want, because it slows down traffic on the road. But, I want the Mayor to know that we want to be of service and be involved in the community. Missionary life is anything but boring, and with that disclaimer on my job description, it doesn't look like it ever will.

Baptism and Body Surfing

Sunday was a very special day. Aeng Jin Lee, had traveled from Canada to be baptized Mrs. Lee's daughter Kim and her husband Gerry have traveled to the Dominican Republic on several occasions, on their second trip they found New Life Church, the English-speaking ministry of New Missions in the DR. They have made New Life Church a regular stop on their trips to the DR. As they were planning this trip, Kim's mother said that she wanted to be baptized in the ocean. Mrs. Lee is turning 90 soon. She has been a Christian for many years. She had been introduced to Christianity as a child, and remembers a Christian missionary in North Korea encouraging her to sing. However, as an adult, she practiced Buddhism, but converted to Christianity before moving to Canada over 20 years ago. However, she had never been baptized Kim and Gerry contacted Pastor George and Jeanne to discuss the possibility of her mother being baptized in the DR. We have been planning for this day for about a month, but Pastor George and Jeanne had to return home sooner than expected and were unable to officiate the baptism, and the honor came to me. Some of the background to the trip, first of all Mrs. Lee made the robe she was baptized in for this occasion. She bathed for three-hours before their trip, because she did not know that she would have access to a bath or shower during the trip. She had thought she would be sleeping on the floor or in a hut. She came any way, and was determined to be baptized in the DR. Her friends cautioned her fearing for her health and safety. She responded to them, "I'd rather die attempting to get there, than to not even attempt it." Wow, what a message of obedience!!! I decided that I wanted to baptize her in her native language, Mrs. Lee speaks very limited English, so I contacted a Korean Church in the States. The person who I spoke with not only sent me a phonetic pronunciation, but attached a sound file. I was able to say "In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit" in Korean. I practiced with Kim several times as well. We had a nice beach side service; however, the waves were a little rougher than normal as the aftermath of Tropical Storm Noel. We got out to the water with some splashes in our face, as we turned around for the baptism, one wave went over our heads. As we went backwards for the baptism, the water became very shallow, a sign to what was coming. We came back up and steadied ourselves for a few seconds, but were suddenly toppled by the next wave. Mrs. Lee went under, and Kim was pushed to the shore. Mrs. Lee came up laughing, and once we quickly got to the beach, she was hugging and laughing, and all smiles. She said, that she hopes to live to be 120, and she will never forget her baptism as long as she lives. Gerry tells me after the baptism that neither Kim nor Mrs. Lee can swim, and that they are actually afraid of the water. You would have never known. It was a great honor to be involved in this event, and I believe this is just the first of many baptisms we will participate in here in the DR.

Placas y Revistas

I've had a Dominican week. We were told several times before moving here that things take longer to accomplish, and if you accomplish one thing in a day, it has been a great day. With all the warnings it really has not been as bad as it seemed, but this week made up for it. The National Government announced early October that vehicle stickers would be available throughout October. Well, October was full of two short-term teams and several events which prevented following up on the vehicle stickers. This week, I finally had some time to devote to the stickers, and we started the process of renewing our Revistas. Well, come to find out, revistas are like vehicle inspections stickers. Heather and Lisselotte purchased the necessary paperwork to renew the stickers. You have to have a Dominican cedula (residency) to purchase the form to get a revista. Ponder the fact that a cedula is not required to purchase a car, and that might shed some light on the week. This took several trips to the bank (yes the bank, not just any bank, one specific bank) because you can only purchase two at a time. We were renewing seven vehicles including both personal and ministry vehicles. Fortunately, Lisselotte knew the person (a phrase I will be using often in the story, so let's call this #1) and we were able to purchase all of them in two trips. So, the next day, Lisselotte and I head to the tax collectors office in Sosua where Lisselotte knows the person (#2) and were told we had to go to Puerto Plata, twenty minutes away for the stickers. We head to Puerto Plata, turn into a very DMV looking building and are stopped by a man at the front desk. He follows us out to my personal truck, and then asks where the other vehicles are, because he needs to check them, by the way, this is when I found out revistas are inspection stickers, I thought I was just paying a tax. Did I say this is October 30th and we have been informed that all the stickers expire on October 31st, and you can be fined our have your vehicle impounded. There is no way that I can get all seven vehicles to Puerta Plata before the office closes. The guy informs us that for a special handling fee (read that however you would like) he will process all of the paperwork. Lisellotte handles the details, we go back to the table, the paperwork starts being processed. So, my assumption is that after the paperwork is finished I will go in the office and pay the per vehicle tax, but they hand us the Revistas, and we head to the car with our new friend, and pay the special handling fee. We don't have to pay the tax? Wow, that saved a significant amount of money, WRONG!! We head back to Sosua thinking we have accomplished our task with great success, and go about our day. The next morning Heather calls and she had learned this morning, that the tax is paid at a second bank, and we need to get that taken care of. So, keep in mind, this is the last day we can pay the tax. The line in Sosua is out of the bank on to the street, so we head to Puerto Plata, again, where we have been told the lines are shorter. We got to Puerto Plata, and the line is no longer shorter. It is know about 12:00, and the bank closes at 3. This line will not be gone by three. I call Heather, she goes to the bank in Sosua to wait in line until we get there. We stand and wait, and they close off the line, because they are out of forms. WHAT???? They tell us there has been a fifteen day extension, whew. Lisellotte talks to someone that she knows that is standing outside (#3), and is informed that this process is only for personal vehicles, that vehicles owned by an organization have a simpler process, they just go straight to the tax office. Great!!! We head to the tax office, and are informed it can only be handled at the regional office in . . . Puerto Plata!!! Well, the adventure is going to have to wait until the next day, and so will the story. More to Come!!

I forgot I've got avocadoes in my purse

We were getting ready for bed last night, and when Melissa finished brushing her teeth she said, "I forgot, I've got avocoadoes in my purse." She heads out of the room, to put the avocadoes in a place they will ripen. Now, why am I writting about avocadoes, it is just another part of our life here I wanted to share. Most every week we are given gifts from members of the Spanish-speaking church. Mainly fruit, often avocadoes, chinola (passion fruit), or mangoes when they were in season. These are great gifts from people that have very little to give. It reminds me of the widow's mite. Many of the ladies in the church that give us these gifts are caring for their children, and their children's children. I don't see how they have enough for themsevles, let alone to think to share with us. Melissa and I have been touched by the giving-spirit of many of the people here. We are blessed each time we receive these precious gifts.

Using Your Gifts on the Mission Field

When Elizabeth Vasquez signed up to go on a short-term mission trip to the Dominican Republic, she asked her friends coordinating the trip, what she should put down as skills, since she did not feel she had any skills appropriate for the mission field. Elizabeth is an Epidemiologist with a Master Degree in Public Health working in New York, completing her dissertation for her PhD.. Little did she know that she had the exact skills we have been looking for to start an outreach to local doctors on the North Coast, providing them access to professionals able to provide seminars on their field of expertise. We were able to invite the local doctors to hear Elizabeth, a Dominican-born, Spanish-speaking, health professional present information pertinent to their local practices. The physicians enjoyed a wonderful evening of professional camaraderie. While I was talking to one of the physicians, he stated, you never see even five physicians in one room together. He shared that they are rarely able to meet together and share information with one another. He said that a lot of good information was provided during the evening and he was grateful for the opportunity to meet with his colleagues. Not only, did they receive som3 great information, they had a wonderful Italian dinner to top off the evening. All of the doctors that attended are looking forward to our next gathering.