Revising The Blog

For nearly the past three years, this blog has been lying dormant.  During this time Norma and I have inundated ourselves in a new work in Las Mariitas, a tiny village in northwestern Nicaragua, only eight miles from the border of Honduras.  Although I kept up with daily journals and the stories of impactful occurrences, keeping up with the blog was pressed to the back ground.  But with the enrichment of these stories, and God at work in our lives, I believe now is
the  time to pull out the diary, dust it off and share with you a little about our lives over these past several months. 

There have been so many unimaginable events that God has led us through that I hardly know where to begin.  So for the next several postings, my plan is to give a rundown of the work in Las Mariitas and the initiation of work in Puerto Rico. These two stories will take front stage in the postings to follow. 

Also, coming in future posts will be accounts of our blessings. I would like to share stories from our personal lives, as God has favored us with his grace over these past 50 years. 

About Las Mariitas.  Our church at Ginger Creek, along with our partner churches in Managua, New Jerusalem and Gran Familia of Pochocuape have teamed up with Food For The Hungry in a working relationship for the past two years.  FH is a mission organization based in Phoenix, Arizona that  labors all over the world, especially when needed for critical situations in relief efforts. This summer we will begin our third year in a relationship to help nurture sustainability in Las Mariitas. 

New school rooms in Las Mariitas

But we want to begin our first series of stories with the most current events around the story of hurricane Maria. This has been in my opinion one of the most incredible phenomenon that has occurred over the past several years, and is a story that is not getting enough factual news and proper attention.  We will share a little of that story of what God is doing in the lives of people in Puerto Rico from our perspective 

destroyed home in Puerto Rico

In 2017 there were so many natural catastrophes in the US, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands and throughout the Dominican Republic that they were almost too numerous to count. Wildfires and unusual storms in the US began in the Pacific coast and ripped their way all across America. Much devastation was experienced and later even much more due to flooding and landslides. Then came hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria to add to the devastation

Harvey and Irma struck our mainland in August, followed by Maria in September, which lambasted Puerto Rico with initial costs of 90 billion dollars. By the time the Island is restored, it is doubtful anyone could put a dollar figure on the total cost. 

The Puerto Rico Story (part 1)

When Maria struck the Island of Puerto Rico on September 19, 2017, I remember vividly hearing and seeing all the devastating reports. I immediately felt a heaviness in my heart that I did not understand.  I began to ask God what there is, above and beyond praying, that I could do?  Would it be possible for our church to do something that would make a mark on that country?

destroyed home in Puerto Rico

I continued to pray about this gnawing in my heart, and on Friday, Sept. 29 I was sitting in McDonalds with our Friday group of men, and out of the clear blue, I told the guys that I would love to go to Puerto Rico to help.  But there was very little response.  I told them to just pray about it, and ask God if it would be possible, to send a delegation for relief effort.  That same night, I spoke with a close friend from PR, whose family still lives there.   I asked her about her family and told her I had been praying for all of the family there.  She said they were fine, but had been cut off by the roads that had been washed out. 

On October sixth, in a meeting with our pastor, I told him of my burden and asked him if he thought we could consider  supporting Puerto Rico in some way.  His response was that he would pray, and that he would take very seriously, any suggestions that I could give him.  

The following Sunday, Oct. 8, I was in a conversation with a friend, who was visiting from Florida. I mentioned Puerto Rico and he said, “You should speak to Toni and Agna, other friends in our church.” At that very moment, I looked up to the front of the Church and saw Norma talking with Agna.  They had been talking about the very same subject, Puerto Rico.  

Right then, I thought I knew  what God was expecting from me, but still there was no full confirmation. On Saturday, October 14th, there was still that abiding conviction that I must do something, so I got up and wrote these words in my journal as a part of my devotional prayer for the day.  

"Lord, My heart is still heavy, and it seems I am doing so little to help Puerto Rico in any way. Give me wisdom and discernment as to what you want me to do and say about Puerto Rico.  I ask you to send helpers to assist in some of these devastated areas. Lord I am willing to go anywhere you want me, but for the moment after seeing all this destruction in Puerto Rico, it seems as there is very little that I can do. I am willing to go there to work in disaster relief, but I need your confirmation. What ever it is that is keeping my heart so heavy today, just make it clear to me."  

I sat back and waited and listened, hoping for an answer.  All I got was. “Dock, you are in my hands.”  “I love you and ask that you simply remain faithful and willing, and I will take care of the rest.  For today just walk patiently and in peace." 

destroyed home in PR

The following Sunday, Oct. 15^th, Toni came to me again and said that I should talk more with his wife about PR She had been gathering information, about her homeland in Yauco.  As I looked on the map, I found this was only a short distance from where my friends live. The whole following week Agna spent a long time with Norma talking and texting over the phone and my heart just got heavier and heavier.  I wrote down notes, and listened to news accounts I copied down all the information Agna was receiving from her family. 


The following Sunday, Oct. 15^th, Toni came to me again and said that I should talk more with his wife about PR.  She had been gathering information, about her homeland in Yauco.  As I looked on the map, I found this was only a short distance from where my friends live. The whole following week Agna spent a long time with Norma talking and texting over the phone and my heart just got heavier and heavier.  I wrote down notes, and listened to news accounts I copied down all the information Agna was receiving from her family. 

Agna told us about the food-packing ministry she was doing, and on Tuesday, Norma went down and gathered food and some boxes from the post office.  We started packing a box just like Agna had been doing.  On Wednesday night, Oct. 18th, our small group decided to purchase provisions to pack and send as well.  At our following group meeting, we completed the task of packing and that seemed to release a little bit of the heaviness on my heart.  So, I. told the Lord, that if that all he wanted from me, then I had it covered.  But that was just the beginning of the story.  It was at that very same time that Norma had received word of her father's imminent death and she had to make an emergency trip to Oklahoma to check on him.  She learned that he had at the most two or three months to live.  

On Friday Oct. 20th   As I was talking to our gang of men again at McDonalds after our Friday morning meeting, it seemed like there was a huge breakthrough.  My friend, Jeff Hutchinson (the Hutch) was there with a friend.  He came by our table and was asking questions of what our men could do to enhance our ministry.  He asked each one of us for input.  Each man gave an opinion but when it came to me I said,  “I don’t really have a lot to add.”   But then, out of the clear blue without really thinking, I said, “Jeff, if you would really like to do something with the men, you should get a group to go down to PR as a work team.”  I told him I was ready to go, if I could find two or three willing to go with me. He didn’t even respond, but only listened as some of the men discussed how difficult it would be to get into the area. Finally Jeff said, "well guys, sorry, I have to go."  That was the end of that conversation. 

But unbeknownst to me, God had been working in Jeff as well about Puerto Rico.  No more than 2 hours later, I received a call from him, and he said, Dock, ever since I left you guys this morning my heart has been so heavy I can hardly breathe. I just got on the phone and called a friend of mine who has a house in PR.  I told her what you had said earlier this morning, about trying to get people to go with you, and that what you really needed was to find a contact in PR who might offer a Church or school, or any place to lay their heads and stretch out on a sleeping bag for a few days while working there.  Immediately she told me that I was welcome to use her home there.  She said she could take in up to 12 people with comfortable beds and they even had a generator and functioning AC.  She said by some miracle, their home had nearly no damage, and with the generator we would be fine.  

When I heard this news, I almost went through the roof, and immediately, with much more passion and zeal began laying out plans, and research on how to make this the trip happen,  and what kind of work we would do in Puerto Rico.  I knew immediately what God wanted of me, and I asked Him again to show me clearly His will in how to carry out the task. Whatever happens from this point on is in His hands. 

Stay tuned for the follow-up on how we got there, and a documentary of events that took place in the process.  It is a story you don’t want to miss.  It is undetermined at this point how many stories will be coming on Puerto Rico, but best estimates at this time are at least three or four.  Please follow this blog and offer any comments or questions you may have about our ministry.