Wonderings and Wanderings » Uncategorized

Melissa Hatfield — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 14:57:05 +0000

: Dr. Feeler outside the Lory Feeler Health Clinic.

Lory Feeler and I arrived in the Dominican Republic on Thursday afternoon to spend some time with our partners, Phil and Donna Williams. It was great to see them and to jump right into updates. We left the airport and went straight to Dr. Feeler clinic which was excited since the last time we saw it was the the trip where we began the construction. We left that a year ago with the basic outside concrete frame built up. Today, it is a fully functioning medical clinic in the community of Liberation – a compact housing area with hundreds of apartments.

: Kristina provides some teacher training.

On Friday, we divided our day between the clinic and the Cangrejo school – the first school built by Servant’s Heart. They have 150 students in grades maternal (ages 3) through grade 3. The kids are on break until Tuesday but the teachers were present for a day of training. They were led by a teacher from Canada who did an excellent job training the teachers in some new methods and techniques to make learning fun for the children yet successful! The teachers appeared to be very thankful and engaged during the training so hopefully it will transfer to the classrooms when school begins next week.

We also spent time at the Feeler clinic, bringing donated medicines for their pharmacy. They were very busy with patients throughout the day.

Today (Saturday) we will be spending most of the day at Phil and Donna’s home to talk about future trips and future ideas.

: A child at the clinic passes the time with his truck.

Pray for Phil and Donna. Pray specifically for:

1. God’s presence to be evident and real to them.

2. For their personal health – physical and emotional. 24/7 ministry is draining. They live it every day, their house is a hub of activity and people, there never seems to be a break. Pray that they can develop healthy boundaries and that they can tend to one another.

3. Pray for their ministries – for the clinics and the school. Pray for healthy volunteers and co-laborers. Pray for financial support from churches and individuals in the States and Canada.

Thank you for your continued prayers for all of us! Enjoy these pictures below.

Melissa and Lory

Thanksgiving Prayers

Melissa Hatfield — Thu, 25 Nov 2010 05:38:28 +0000

Best wishes to each of you on this day of thanksgiving.

May we feast on satisfying time with family and friends and remember those who no longer sit at the table.

May we taste the love, mercy, and presence of our Triune God and remember those who are starving for the Bread of Life.

May we gather around the table in spirit with the family of God around the world and remember those whose tables are empty.

Morgan’s Singing Debut

Melissa Hatfield — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 04:40:52 +0000

The Fifth Face on Mt. Rushmore

Melissa Hatfield — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 02:35:04 +0000

The Fifth Face on Mt. Rushmore

When I went to Mount Rushmore this summer, I took a lot of pictures. It is an amazing place and truly fascinating how these guys managed to carve out these massive monuments to four presidents.

Or, wait. Maybe there were five.

I think they gave us four definite faces – Washington, Roosevelt, Jefferson and Lincoln. But then they carved a fifth one and left it optional. Or maybe the crew was just monkeying around.

So, who would you tag as the president on the far right of the monument?

Thoughts on Dominican

Melissa Hatfield — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 19:51:09 +0000

The true team - Dominicans, Haitians, and Americans (and a couple of Canadians thrown in.)

I returned Saturday evening after eight days in the Dominican Republic working with Servant’s Heart Ministries. I led a team of six others from our church. It was an amazing week of ministry, of relationship-building, of warmth! (literally since it is snowy here and sunny there).

I love to travel, to immerse myself in other cultures, to meet the large family of God. I find joy in bringing a team along – especially newbies who remind me of the first-time awe and joy of a mission trip.

I’m grateful for the physical reminders of what daily life is like for the majority of the world. Did you know that if you make $35,000/year, you are in the top 5% of the wealthiest individuals in the world? Rich is relative. Riches are relative. I’ve met more joyous and grateful individuals in my travels around the world then I do in my community here. I’m not romanticizing third-world nations or pretending that everyone in these communities are just simply happy folks and pure of heart. They are human and there are individuals in every community that are negative, opportunistic, greedy, and self-centered. Every community has them.

But there are so many who demonstrate joy, hope, and peace regardless of their wealth or possessions (or lack thereof.)

One of the things that continually impressed us during our week of service were the volunteers. They came from the community (not all from the church) and they gave their time and their strength to the construction project. We were amazed at their hard work. We were humbled by the shoes they wore that were literally held together by threads. We were challenged by their since of community – sharing what little they had with one another. If someone brought a bowl of rice and beans for lunch, one would take a bite then pass the bowl to the next person. No one took more than their share. The same with water and with tasks on the site.

In our culture of individualism and self-reliance, we have much to learn from those cultures, who often out of necessity, developed a value for community and continue to protect and nurture that value. Working together, we accomplished an amazing week of work. Working independently, we would have nothing to show for it.