The Hometown Treasure September 2013 | Page 64

Heart ofMissi ns by Karen Unternahrer O ur family is doing well here in the Dominican Republic. Our girls attend a school comprised of nationals (Dominican children) and missionary kids. Mike and I are enjoying our service assignments; he as site director over a number of ministry sites and myself as director of Centro Especial Genesis which is the special education site. We also enjoy hosting friends and family from the States. Life is good. I have a running joke with our four adult children (who are making lives of their own now) – When the inevitable question comes up, “How’s it going?” My answer is always the same, “Oh! It’s like a vacation! A vacation all the time!” (Insert the use of a bright cheery smile and happy sarcasm in my voice there). “We are on a tropical island after all!” We do love living here where God has called us for a season. We are so glad to be confident in the integrity and vision of our sending agency, Students International, headquartered in Visalia, California. Their mission, our mission, is bringing students and communities together cross-culturally to encounter God, share the Good News, disciple and serve others in occupational ministries. It is amazing to watch God at work in people’s lives. We are seeing students and the poor transformed into the likeness of Christ and discover their true calling. pg 62 · The Hometown Treasure · September ‘13 Life Is Good Students International uses a format somewhat different than many organizations. In the Dominican Republic the agency is based out of Jarabacoa which is the third largest city in the country with a population of approximately 52,000. The mountain cities of Constanza and Jarabacoa are known as the jewels in the crown of the Central Mountain Range, the tallest range in the Caribbean, often referred to as the Dominican Alps. Nestled in among towering mountain peaks at 1750 feet, Jarabacoa is where we call home. Here one and two-week mission teams come alongside long-term missionaries working in 15 different ministry sites in and around Jarabacoa. On the base property mission teams are housed in three cabins, each having showers and beds for twenty people. When they are not on the job with their site leader, team members may be meeting in the chapel/recreation room, at the basketball courts, or in the dining hall. The guest house is also at the base with lodging for ten summer interns. Because we are often asked, the following is what a typical day looks like when there are teams here. 8 am Staff (long-term missionaries) and participants (short-term mission teams) have breakfast together at the base and pack a sack lunch. 9 am-4 pm Everyone is on their designated job site. 6 pm Staff and participants enjoy dinner together at the base. 7-8:30 or 9 pm Participants are led through meaningful activities corresponding with their daily staff-led worship and devotional time. 10 pm Lights out on the base. (Literally! They shut the generator off and because there is no street power coming in due to that area of town and that particular time of day, turning off the generator means there is no electricity). While participants enjoy their evening activities at the base, staff are free to go home for the evening unless they are specifically involved with the intern-led activity on any given evening. For our family, that means returning home to complete homework assignments for school, occasionally SKYPEing with friends and family, and the common family bedtime routine – the stuff of life. It’s a good life. We don’t know what length of time God has called us here but while we remain in the Dominican Republic we have the joy and privilege of watching God at work in our lives and in the lives of those around us. Wait! LaGrange County offers that same opportunity, doesn’t it; to see God at work in your own life and in the lives of those around you. So, I say, keep watching and enjoy the good life.