Fifth Year Anniv and the Future.......

Celebrating our FIFTH year in the Dominican Republic with Makarios.

Yes, we took our initial one year commitment and blew it up. It has been an amazing ride. This overseas living stuff has been quite an experience for our family. When we moved here Sarah was 6 months old and Levi had JUST turned 3 and Samuel was 4! Incredible where five years have gone.

Here's a pic of our Makarios school staff and kids for 2017-2018.  So many stories behind each of the faces in this picture.  Your prayers and your gifts directly bless the lives of all the people in this picture and well beyond!  

Psalm 40:5 Many, O LORD my God, are they wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which are to us-ward: they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered.

This verse is so true for our lives in general, but so specifically in these past five years. One of the significant ways that God has shown His wonderful works to us is the generosity of His people as they support us financially to do this work. The faithfulness, the commitment, the prayer, the sending in extra since 'we just had a it laying around and didn't need it'. The timeliness of gifts has stopped us in our tracks as times. Truly amazing. We are so thankful for everyone who gives, prays, comes down, takes interest, lets us crash, lends us vehicles, lends us snow pants, etc, and encourages us. You are truly one of His wonderful works in our lives.

Si Dios quiere.....

One of the best things I have learned from the Dominican culture is to hold the future very loosely. Anything spoken of in the future is met with a Si Dios quiere. If the Lord wants. So, I will speak of our future plans and hold those plans very loosely so that God has space to actually determine our steps.

Since our plans to stay forever have never been the plan, the job of Principal has always been on the Makarios website. A couple of years ago a principal approached Makarios expressing interest. He was interviewed (by me) and hired. He's been learning the language this past year and is starting this 1 August officially as the Principal of Makarios. This will be the first year in over twenty years that I am not preparing in August for school to start. Ryan is going to be a wonderful leader for the Makarios School; I have no doubt! That does not negate the strangeness I will feel in August. Prayers are very much appreciated.

So, here's where the si Dios quiere comes in. Makarios has generously given our family a sabbatical and their blessing to take time to refresh and get renewed. As Makarios grows the need for missionary care has been evident and Makarios is proactively working on that. Our sabbatical is part of that wisdom.  

This past year, in particular, has been quite challenging on a few different levels.  Ex-pat/missionary life is full of 'good to meet you's' and 'goodbye's'.  One way this past year was so challenging as we had a to say goodbye to two American Makarios families, the Young's and the Albright's,  that were very close to us.  Here is a picture of Ashly Albright and I in Haiti when our Married w/Kids Moms group zipped over to Haiti for a couple of days.  

August will be time as a family and resting as my duties as principal will officially be over. In September we will travel to Michigan where we will attend a missionary care camp called Alongside. It is an almost three week time to reflect, heal, grow and refresh. The end of September will take us to Indiana where we will visit with our family and friends before heading to Austin, TX in October. We will be in Austin until 15 October. The rest of October and November will be spent in prayer and reflection about what God has for our next steps and a decision will be made in December.

Just a little update about the rest of the Majcher Fam:

Sam, who is 9, loves school, Legos and math. So much so he decided to participate in the Math Summer School with kids in middle school even though he is in 4^th grade. Who is this kid? :) He is kind to his friends and has a soft heart. He was baptized in June and participates in communion which he very much enjoys.

Levi, who turns 8 in August and in 3^rd grade, is very excited about having his classmates from Chichigua over to celebrate his birthday. Levi also loves Legos, which means we are forever stepping on those little pieces! Levi enjoys school. The two American families who left have kids Levi's age and he (and the rest of us) misses them terribly. Levi was also baptized in June and participates in communion which he also very much enjoys.

Sarah, who is 5 and in 1^st grade, is the spitfire of the family. Most people say she takes after me. (??!!??) Sarah loves school. She loves to sing and play with her friends and our neighbors. She loves going barefoot and getting dirty. She wore high heels to one of our communities and then realized it was a terrible idea, so she took them off and went barefoot. Anyone who has been in Chichigua is cringing right now! :)

Joe, who is in his 40's :), has started taking Spanish class and is doing well. He continues to work with the boys in growing their English reading skills as the Makarios School is all in Spanish. He is also working on teaching Sarah to read in English. He continues to read through and discuss the Bible with the kids. Joe is a pretty intense Bible teacher, so these kids are getting quite a Biblical education. They are almost through the Old Testament.

Thanks for reading this far! We value your interest in our family and your prayers. As always, if you are interested in being a monthly supporter or give a one time gift, God always uses the timing of both to be a profound blessing to us. You can give at http://www.makariosinternational.org/donate.html

Until later......si Dios quiere,

Los Majcher

Some pix to enjoy

 

The Makarios School Christmas Program never disappoints.  Cute kids, singing, dancing and the Gospel.  Thank you, Jesus, for humbling Yourself to come to Earth as a Baby.  

                                              Sarah's class sang and dance as burros.  :) 

                                                          Levi is my little Christmas elf.

                The boys' first time rollar skating!  It was fairly success with only minor bruises.  :)

 Levi's class was tasked with honoring the Mirabal Sisters, important ladies in Dominican history,  on                                                                       25 November.

              Sarah and Robin, my goddaughter, in Chichigua being read to by one of our moms, Dido.

                   Can you find two monkeys in tree?  Sam and Levi love climbing this tree at church!

 Samuel was selected to help raise the flag.  Every morning at Colegio Makarios we sing the Dominican national anthem and raise the Dominican flag.  The only flag with an open Bible on it.

                                         Levi was Noah in his class' chapel presentation.

 Sarah's kindergarten class shared about the coming of the Spaniards to the Dominican Republic.                                       Sarah was a Spaniard.  Such a pretty Spaniard...if you ask me! 

                                             Levi was also a Spaniard.  How cute is he?

 Sam had his good friend, Juan Carlos, over to  the house to play with Legos.  This Lego set is from                                                                    Juan Carlos' sponsor. 

I'll end this picture section with Sarah, the fashionista.  Orange pumpkin shirt, pink skirt and                                                           Spiderman boots...yeah, that's about right! :)

Six months in one post. Taaa daaa

Happiest of holidays to you!

What a joy to be able to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior. What humility was demonstrated as He got demoted to BABY!! Why? So that He could find the lost, know us, sacrifice Himself for us and demonstrate His unfailing love. May this Christmas be awe-filled at what the Lord has done for us!

Speaking of being awe-filled by what the Lord has done........let me TRY to catch you up with Makarios and our family.

Let me start with July which took me back to the States to help my Mom as she tended to my Dad who was battling cancer. It has been a bewildering road for my Mom and she's been nothing short of a champ. The treatment was very rough on my Dad, but the report back has been excellent. He is cancer-free and we are praising our Awesome God for such healing.

In August our family celebrated our fourth year anniversary serving with Makarios. I NEVER excepted to ever say those words. As we think about our commitment through Summer 2019 we are prayerfully considering what the Lord may have next for us. Some of you may be skeptical of our leaving date, but this just may be real this time. (But, we'll see! :) ) In August also my replacement arrived with his family. Ryan is in language training now and is progressing nicely.

In August the Makarios School started its first school year of having the recognition by the Dominican Ministry of Education to have our students at our school registered in our official name. This is a huge step and was no small task.

In August Sam started 3^rd grade; Levi started 2^nd grade; and Sarah started Kindergarten. All three kids very much enjoy school, their teachers and their friends. Joe teaches the kids Bible—they have verse-by-verse gone through much of the Old Testament. Joe has taught the boys to read in English and is working with Sarah. He leads a Bible Study on Saturdays through our church. I am still doing my best to run the Makarios School which is so close to my heart.

September marked the 10^th anniversary of giving class at the school's location—as opposed to in the individual communities. This is such a great milestone. Sharla Megilligan, the founder, was present for the celebration which was planned, moved, planned, and moved due to two hurricanes the DR faced this hurricane season. Makarios had much to celebrate this September—minimal damage in our area from those hurricanes and 10 years of class!

September also marked the start of construction that, once completed, will be the rooms needed to complete our whole school-- preschool through graduating seniors. This is big and super exciting. This is an amazing endeavor and God's carried us through the plans, the purchasing of land, the first phase of the drainage and wall. It makes for a noisy classroom environment, but once it is completed it will be truly incredible.

October and November were filled with teacher trainings, the medical team that comes every year, making a promotional video for Makarios, visits from the Austin office and just all the 'normal' (HA HA) days of class at the Mak School, The school where I taught for 9 years comes at Thanksgiving and throws the American staff an amazing spread of all the smells and tastes of Thanksgiving, It is an amazing labor of love.

The blur of this fall has transitioned to winter which brought a trip to Santo Domingo so Joe could take Sarah to Disney on Ice. Sarah, obviously, LOVED it. The boys and I stayed back at the hotel and swam in the pool, which we LOVED as well. All the craziness of December has quieted now. The exams are completed, turned in, graded, put into extremely detailed grade books. The Christmas presentation has been presented, all the classroom parties are completed and now we are on Christmas break. Ahhhhhh.

Christmas break for the Majcher Family will consist of traveling to Indiana where we will spend time with family while freezing our hindquarters off. :) It really will be a wonderful time. The kids and Joe haven't left the Dominican Republic in almost three years. Sarah turned two the last time she was there! I anticipate a lot of questions from the kids. I've tried to prep them on the fact that everyone speaks English so everyone will understand what they are saying, so, please, don't say anything weird!! :)

God's sweetness and goodness are ever present. They've been most apparent in this past year. As I hear my boys speak so conversationally about the Bible it brings me such joy they have such deep knowledge of the Word. They are memorizing The Romans Road so they can share the Gospel with Scripture easily. Such richness in those Scriptures about God's amazing gift to us in His Son. I am memorizing Psalm 40 with good friend, Robin Inks. I'm so thankful for His listening, lifting us up from where we are and the fact that His blessings to us are without number. What an amazing God we serve.

Grace and much peace this holiday season,

Joe, Laurie, Sam, Levi and Sarah

PS  If you are interested in supporting Makarios by supporting our family, please visit https://www.aplos.com/aws/give/Makarios/missionaries.  We would love to have you join our team!  :)

An Update on the Majcher Fam

As many of you may have noticed, I am terrible at writing blogs. Turns out that all the best intentions and plans still doesn't create blogs. It's weird. But, I have had a little more time lately as I sit in an Indiana hospital room with my Dad. He is battling a survivable cancer, but is struggling with the radiation/chemo cocktail that has landed him in the hospital for dangerously low white blood cell count levels. So, as I update and pray about his condition and try to be encouraging to my sweet Mama, I also have had some quiet moments to update y'all on what cool stuff we get to be a part of in the Dominican Republic with Makarios.

Some big things have been happening at Makarios School. The Makarios School received a very important number—a code—that makes us officially recognized by the Dominican Ministry of Education. WE ARE A REAL SCHOOL. The most beautiful number to me now is: 15757!! :) This effort has been years in the making as we tried to follow all the steps required in order to gain this recognition. Obtaining our Dominican recognition become quickly one of the top priorities upon my arrival almost four years ago. That number is the result of sweat and tears, for sure! This news was the best birthday present as we found out one day before my 45^th birthday in February! (YES, I AM that old!)

God is certainly working in Makarios. As we strive for excellence, we know that the battle is real, but we know our God is stronger and has already won! Makarios strives to make an impact for Christ here in the DR and we are growing throughout the ministry which this is extremely exciting to see. Our Hosting Ministry is branching out and we have a Family Empowerment branch of Makarios now which serves the families of our students. The Family Empowerment Ministry is a wonderful addition to the work Makarios is already doing.

Jeremiah 17:7-8 New King James Version (NKJV)

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,
And whose hope is the Lord. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters,
Which spreads out its roots by the river,
And will not fear[a] when heat comes;
But its leaf will be green,
And will not be anxious in the year of drought,
Nor will cease from yielding fruit.

These verses have come up a couple different times this year. One in a book that my friend and I were studying. Kikina struggles daily to bear fruit in a joy drought and a flood of tears. These verses have also been chosen to go along with Makarios' mission and vision. This is what we want for our students. This is what I want for Makarios. This is what I want for the Majcher Family.

Here are some highlights ministry-wise and specific to the Majcher Family--

--The rising fifth grade class had been studying Romans and the class had been touched by the Holy Spirit and have made commitments to follow Christ! Pray for Tomy and Sarah, their teachers next year, as they lead these students in their new walk with the Lord !!!!

--The Lord has blessed the Makarios School with a woman who is passionate about literacy. Adrienne Christian has been able to lead Makarios teachers in obtaining tools in order to achieve higher levels of literacy and we are seeing the benefits! Our school will continue to flourish as we become more skilled in working with varied kinds of learning as our students, who come from poverty, arrive at school with significant developmental challenges. An exciting step in becoming more skilled is that we anticipate a team of teachers from Logos Prep located in Sugar Land, TX in October to partner with us in training.

--A praise is that the Lord has blessed our efforts in fundraising where we are not in the critical spot as we were before. We do lack a few monthly donors which means that we are reliant on one time gifts. God has always been faithful to provide, but it is ideal to have our salary fully covered in monthly commitments. Please pray that we would be able to close that gap. If anyone is inspired this moment—here is the giving link. :) https://www.aplos.com/aws/give/Makarios/missionaries

--Our kids continue to do well in school and very much enjoy school. They adore their teachers and (generally) strive to do their best. :) Sam will be entering 3rd grade. Levi will be entering 2^nd grade and Sarah is entering Kindergarten. They enjoy riding bikes, playing with the neighborhood kids, hanging out with their friends in the communities and other Makarios missionary kids. Sam and Levi have tried their hand at surfing with pretty decent success. All three kids are soaring in Spanish and feel very comfortable using it.

So, how long are we staying in the Dominican Republic? That's what everyone wants to know. Well, we are a bit off from our one year commitment. :) The 19^th of August 2017 will be our 4^th year anniversary of arriving on Dominican soil. We have made a commitment to stay for another two school years to help be a part of securing that the Makarios School has leadership in place. This would take us to Somewhere in the summer of 2019. As of right now, there isn't a leading or a plan or a this-is-what-we-will-do-next, but we will rely on the Lord to lead our family as He SO faithfully to do. Who knows? We could move by YOU....some of you are in Russia (Highly doubt we are going there!!), Bangkok (maybe), China (hmmmm), Texas (perhaps), Indiana (oh, goodness, that winter!!!!). Some of you are right here in the DR.....so, we will just have to patiently wait on the Lord.

It is a wonderful blessing to have the world made a little smaller by way of Facebook. It is fun to know so many people are able to be more connected to our family and our work through social media. We so highly value your prayers for Makarios' work and for my Dad. The outpouring has been so encouraging. Also, it is a fact that we simply can't stay doing what we are doing without our faithful financial support team!! Y'all are incredible and we are so thankful for each of you!

Grace and much peace,

Joe, Laurie, Sam, Levi and Sarah

P.S. I'll post some pictures in a bit.  :)

Catching you up on the Majcher's in the DR

This is taken on the day off from school for Hurricane Matthew. No crazy weather for us yet.   3 October

On the roof of co-workers Benja and Vierka to celebrate Kikina and Ronal's birthdays and completion of a marriage class.  Chris Buster, our boss is also here from Austin.

School uniforms on the line in Chichigua.  Levi is also in the cherry tree in the background, but I can't find him.

The American Makarios community had a 30/40 Bash.  We all dressed up as families as a different movie.  We were the Avengers.  It was actually Joe who turned 40 on 6 September and he isn't in the picture!!  The '30' part came from Cory Albright who turned 30 in late August. 

First day of school year 2016-2017.  Sam has a swollen face from wasp stings and Sarah took a spill on her tricycle.  Amazingly, the only one with no injuries is Levi--our complete wild man.  :)

The Makarios School staff 2016-2017

Papa and Sarah Bug

My bro, Chris, came to visit alllllll the way from China.  Well, he was in the States and zipped down because that is what you do when you live in China and are in the States.  You go the DR for a long weekend.  :)

I had a chance to zip back to the States in July to take care of our storage unit since we sold our house.  I got to see Kelly Walker, Rachel Lanouette,  Imani Folkes, who came over from Houston and Robin who was back visiting from Russia.  Such sweet timing!!!

Grammy came to visit us in May.  It was her first time out of the country!

All three kids were in a neighbor's wedding.  They looked fantastic.

Joe and the kids!  :)

The fruit of the Spirit are.....

Hola from the DR. I wanted to give a bit of an update in the form of this verse that we have had as our theme for the year at the Makarios School.

Galatians 5:22 'But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, self control. Against such things there is no law.'

But the fruit of the Spirit is LOVE—A while ago I blogged about a little girl who lived in Pancho Mateo. Imani, former Mak staff, introduced me to Luigina after her caregiver at the time told us that she had been abandoned by her parents. Luigina suffered from a condition that made her arm extremely swollen to the point she needed a sling. The condition would eventually take her life and this was the case a few weeks ago. Her caregiver had told us she wanted Luigina in Colegio Makarios because 'it is a place that really loves the students'. May they know we are His by our love.

JOY—Makarios is exploding with new folks committing to serve with Makarios. In the past few months we have welcomed such wonderful additions and continue to add more. We welcomed Adrienne Christian who was already living in the DR until the Lord brought her to Mak. Two fantastic families came in December, the Lehrs and the Albrights. We recently received India Rucker and we will soon be welcoming Kaylee Howard and Christen Jernigan along with Apriel Westermoreland in the near future. It is a joy to serve along such great people.

PEACE—Do we sell our house in Cedar Park? (I think so.) Do we sell our car? (Yes!) Do we get rid of the stuff in our storage? (UGH, what a task!) Will we need these things whenever it is that Lord calls us back to the States? Will that happen? Mercy, Lord, we need your peace. I am having a heart attack just writing all that. (No, seriously, I am. It could also be the Doritos...see SELF CONTROL.) Father, may our hearts not be troubled as we rely on and seek You for peace in these answers.

PATIENCE—The Mak School has needed to gain the recognition by the Dominican Department of Education its entire existence. Two years ago we sat defeated with the superintendent who now has signed all the necessary papers for us to have this recognition. Up until now our students have had to attend the public school as well as the Makarios School in order to be in an accredited school. This is big news for our school. God has given us the patience needed to see this important milestone in the progress of The Makarios School.

KINDNESS—This Dominican recognition becoming a reality at this point has been just something that has happened in the last month. During this time we had two groups—Cedarville University in Ohio and Sagemont Church from Houston ,TX sent a group of youth. Both of these teams stopped me when I was giving the tour of our school and told them about the important meetings. They stopped me to ask if we could pray right then and there for these things. What sweet and simple kindness that encouraged me amazingly! Thank you, groups, your kindness means so much.

GOODNESS—God in His goodness has seen fit to allow our little family to serve here in this country, this corner of the Earth. We are so thankful and love what He is able to take bumpkins like us and bring glory to Himself. Making decisions for the Mak School constantly keeps me in pursuit of what is good. I am thankful that He is a good, good Father and may His goodness follow us all the days of our lives and the lives of our students.

GENTLENESS—As I get older and I learn more about myself I have learned that I do not possess, like, at all, the gift of mercy. If it comes to me at all it does not come naturally. 'Let your gentleness by evident to all. The Lord is near.' This was a verse that the students memorized this year. It is such a great reminder as I deal with students, staff, my family, etc. May I strive to demonstrate the sweet gentleness that the sweet Savior shows to me.

FAITH—A very present reminder of faith is when our students place their faith in Jesus Christ and that is extremely exciting. Another example of faith to us is the faith steps taken by each of our supporters to commit to giving to our family. This is an incredible sacrifice on their part and we are humbled, encouraged, refreshed, blessed, and spurred on by it. We couldn't be here without our beautifully faithful supporters. If you are interested in joining our team we would be incredibly appreciative. https://www.aplos.com/aws/give/Makarios/missionaries

SELF CONTROL—Well, if you have read this far then you should get a prize. This, like mercy, this isn't my strong suit as I munch Doritos at 3:15AM. Honestly, God is working here, too. I have learned much about not saying every thought that comes to my head and letting it pass through a filter of Christ first. (Sometimes. I said it was a work-in-progress!)

Being reminded of what we can be through Christ is always good and how He calls us into community to live these things is out is good as well. Thank you for your very faithful support of prayer and finances. We are blessed.

Much grace and peace to you, Joe, Laurie, Sam, Levi and Sarah

 Sam was Moses in his class' chapel

 Levi's class with their 'bubbles' in their mouths as they pass from lunch back to class.

 I wish our teachers loved our kids!  Especially mine. :)  Profe Yomo showing her love for the kids!

 Sam, Levi and Sarah doing our daily routine--riding to bikes and saying HOLA to our friends.

Sarah, Levi, Ollie Albright, Henry Albright and Sam taking in the view on the mountain road to Santiago.