Moberg Musings has MOVED!

Friends! 

Moberg Musings has taken on a new twist and has MOVED! I hope you will continue to follow our blog at our new place:

www.themobergs.com

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See you on the flip side!

With love,

The Author of Moberg Musings :)

Meet the Staff!

MEET THE STAFF!

Malcolm

Malcolm is the leader of this base and is originally from England. He has been serving in missions for over 18 years!! Talk about perseverance and faithfulness! He is a genius when it comes to strategy and logistical details. 

Danny & Danae

Danny and Danae were the first two staff members we met because they picked us up from the airport! Danae is originally from Olympia, which is a cool connection, and Danny is originally from Mexico. Danae has an incredible gift with kids (Elliott LIGHTS UP as soon as Danae walks into the room) and Danny is our amazing cook!

Johally, Mitch & Keira (Kiki)

Johally and Mitch have beautiful Kiki who lights up the base with her hilarious faces and super adorable personality. Johally and Mitch have been extremely influential here already, and have made some incredible connections with families and churches here in the Dominican Republic. They have a passion to do counseling type work with married couples. Kiki loves Elliott so much--so much so that she calls both Brian and me "Elliott." I have to get a recording of the way she says Elliott because there may not be anything cuter in the entire world...

Adrienne & Joe

Adrienne and Joe are dating, and this is their dog Tormenta. She got lost during a bad storm and they found her when she was just 2 weeks old. Adrienne is an incredibly talented woman of God who is passionate about discipling and walking with women, teaching kickboxing classes, and empowering others with vision to run into their callings. Joe is an extremely loyal and faithful friend who powerfully encourages others and gleans awesome revelations from the Word of God. And, they are pretty darn cute together, aren't they? :)

Estafani & Rafaelito

Estafani feeds Elliott his dinner every night :).

Rafaelito & Estafani live on this property with us. Their dad Rafael is the property caretaker (I don't have a picture of him). They L-O-V-E Elliott! They come running when they see him and scoop him out of my arms. He loves the attention and having "a brother and sister" to play with him all the time. Estafani feeds him his dinner every night, and is eager to help with him in every way she can. They don't speak English, so I get to practice my Spanish with them all the time! They teach me lots of new words every day.

Jose Luis

Jose Luis is not officially staff here, but he volunteers here every so often. He is Dominican, and another fun person to practice speaking Spanish with. He was here the entire first week that we were here, so we all got to know him well. I have rarely seen Elliott laugh as hard as he does when he plays with Jose Luis. Jose Luis is a kind, tender, caring guy who serves and loves everyone around him all the time. 

It Could Be a lot Worse...

Preface: This post is not for the faint of heart.

***

Thank you for joining me for today's episode of "It Could Be a Lot Worse."

Whenever I'm miserable, I always try to think of a way I could be more miserable, and it usually helps me take off my grumpy pants pretty quickly and move into gratitude. (As evidenced in a post I wrote over a year ago: The Journey to Mazatlan.)

My mosquito bites are making me miserable*.

If you're ever in the mood to practice self control, fly yourself on over to the DR and shake hands with a few mosquitoes. And then after they have venomously sucked your blood and left dozen of marks on their new-found territory (aka, your epidermis), try not to scratch the bites. In fact, cut your fingernails so you can't scratch the bites. So there you have it--the world's most challenging lesson in self control.

I know you're going to think this must be an exaggeration, but I literally have WELL over 100 mosquito bites. I counted about a two weeks ago and I was at 79. By mid-morning of the next day I had at least 30 more. I'm sure I'm nearing 200, but I figured I'd estimate low for my sanity (and yours).

So as miserable as I've been having all of these mosquitoes CONSTANTLY swarming around my body, the moment I start to get so annoyed that I'm tempted to cuss, (yes, I am actually that aggravated with them) I just think to myself, "This could be a lot worse. I could be warding off poisonous spiders at every turn...ugh....now that would be a lot worse."

And suddenly the sting of the mosquito itch bothers me a lot less. The buzzing of the mosquito wings makes me much less batty. And...here it comes: the the nuisance of my mosquito companions actually drives me toward gratitude. I mean, if I have to pick a battle, I would pick it with almost anything that has any number of legs OTHER than 8.

So that brings us to the other night when we were all sitting around in the common area and Joe looks at me and says, "So have you seen a tarantula yet?"

I'm pretty sure time came to a screeching halt, the earth quit rotating, and the moon quit illuminating light. I stared back at Joe blankly, "Excuse me?"

"Have you seen a tarantula yet?"

"I'm sorry...WHAT? You're kidding me, right?"

"No, not at all." Joe says quite bluntly with his usual matter-of-fact way of communicating.

I glanced at Adrienne, Joe's girlfriend, to confirm whether or not he was pulling one of my mosquito-laden legs. "He's right..." she said with an apologetic smile.

"You only see them every once in a while," he calmly explained.

"How big are they?" I probed.

With that, Joe kind of smiled and held his hands together to form a circle with about a 7'' diameter.

"You're kidding me."

"Not at all," Joe laughed.

And that brings us to the next evening. It was a cool night (and what I mean by that is, I only had a thin layer of sweat covering me rather than beads of sweat dripping from every square inch of my body) so Brian decided to take a swim and I dangled my feet in the water beneath the moonlight to try and cool off my itchy legs that were burning as if they had literally been set on fire.

The security guard was walking his normal rounds when suddenly he picked up his speed and was clearly concerned about something. With alarm, he started rushing toward something. His eyes were focused on the ground in an open grassy area so I was never concerned for a moment that there was an intruder or anything like that. I followed his gaze to the ground which is when I saw this large shadow scurrying across the grass. I would recognize that eight-legged trot if I were blind-folded in a dark room--it was totally a spider.

No, wait. It wasn't "a spider".

IT WAS THE WORLD'S LARGEST 8-LEGGED CREATURE THAT I HAD EVER SET MY EYES UPON. 

It was a mammoth. And my conversation with Joe came flooding back to my mind as I realized I was face-to-face with a tarantula.

Well...when I say "face-to-face," I mean from 50 feet away. But do you realize how BIG a spider would have to be for me to see it in the DARK from 50 feet away? So though we were 50 feet away, I was practically face-to-face with him. And it was positively the most disgusting face I have ever seen.

I bet you want to know what happens next, don't you? Well the security guard takes the stock of his gun, lifts it high above his head, and starts slamming it against the monster over and over and over again until he was satisfied that it was dead. I was laughing and cringing with every blow. He then scooped it onto the barrel of the gun and again, from 50 feet away in the dark I could see the silhouette of its EIGHT, GIANT, FURRY, THICK legs dangling over his gun as he carried it off the property.

Whelp, I suppose it's time to play another round of, "It could be a lot worse..." 


* "Miserable" is defined as: "We are loving our time here in the Dominican Republic, but are hating the mosquitoes that pervade every aspect of our lives!" But it was much more satisfying and took up a lot less space to just write, "miserable." :)

Home is Where You Hang Your Mosquito Net

Estamos aqui, afuera de Santo Domingo, La Republica Dominicana!

For all you English speakers, I just said: Here we are, just outside of Santo Domingo, the Dominican Republic!

This is the sign that welcomed us just after we got through customs...Ahhh, we're finally here!!!! 

Still can't picture where we are? Let me help you.

Here is the bottom half of the good ol' US of A and Central America.

Can you see Haiti and the Dominican Republic over there on the right? Just north of Venezuela, and just southeast of Florida?

Here is a close-up of the island. Haiti on the left, the Dominican Republic (or, "the DR") on the right:

Here is a close-up of the DR):

Do you see just east of Santo Domingo, it says, "San Pedro"? Well, that's where we are!!

So...yes, here we are. And WHO are WE, you might ask? We are the Mexican Mobergs. We are the Mexican-two adults, one baby, six bags, one car seat, 50 lbs of baby food, and over 200 mosquito bites between the two of us-Mobergs. 

This is our home for a total of 6 weeks. 

The property is beautiful.

I took this right after a storm...cool, eh?

The people are lovely, the weather is HOT and HUMID, the sky is crystal clear (except when it's not...like in all these photos...haha).

And the mosquitoes are the most awful creatures in the existence of existing. They are the bane of my existence.

How disgusting is this? You can count 13 mosquito bites on my leg and foot JUST from this one view. (It's kind of hard to see but there are 5 on the right side of my foot alone.) Everyone says there's an "initiation" week, and then your blood adjusts or something and it gets better. However, we're on day 11 and they are FO' SURE still biting the heck out of me. All I do all day long is put on mosquito repellent, but still they find me... :/

And now for a little tour. The property is one big rectangle.

Here is the first half of the rectangle, looking at the front gate from our balcony:

The villa to the left of the gate has the office, community room, and kitchen on the first floor, and then it has two bedrooms upstairs. 

Here is a view of the second half, looking at it from the gate:

The Villa on the left is where our room is. The single guys stay in the villa to the right.

A close-up of our villa! Our room is in the upper left part. So the window that's open on the far upper left is our window.  And the balcony that's to the right of the window is our balcony. We share our villa with Danae & Danny and Adrienne. We share a bathroom with Danae & Danny.

Here is a picture of our room, mosquito net and all...

Elliott's pack 'n play is equipped with his very own mosquito net! YEAH!

The only problem with sleeping in the same room as Elliott is that now I want to take pictures of him even when he's sleeping!! So here are a couple of my favorite sleeping shots, through his mosquito net:

Elliott rarely falls asleep on his back, so when he does I just think it's the cutest! And, seriously now--could his outfit possibly be any cuter?!

Stay tuned for a "Meet the Staff" post!!

Dreams

"Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life." Proverbs 13:12

I grew up with dreams.

And I am convinced, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that my dreams are from God. That He, the Author and Perfecter of my faith, planted these dreams in my heart long before I knew what the word "dream" meant, and He--and only He--is the One in charge of fulfilling them.
There are so many "itty bitty" dreams that my Creator has knowingly crafted and accomplished in my life, but here I want to reflect on four of the "big" ones. (Note: I must put the size of these dreams in quotes because really, is anything "big" or "small" for our God?! With a spoken word, every part of creation was crafted into being...I can't think of a more simple "act" on God's part and yet with that, he created the greatest of all complexities!)

Ever since I can remember remembering, I've always dreamed of being a teacher. Not sure where that came from...neither of my parents were teachers by trade, although they are both quite gifted in teaching. I remember sitting in school (as early as first grade) thinking, "Wow, my teacher is doing a great job of teaching me...I should write down everything she is doing so I can teach this well when I grow up." Every grade I attended became my new favorite and thus the grade that I wanted to teach when I grew up.

Somewhere along the line, I became passionate about Mexico. And little Mexican children. Definitely not sure where that came from... But I knew I had to learn Spanish, and it wasn't until my freshmen year of high school that I was finally able to take a course. And I immediately fell in love with the language that I apparently had a natural knack for. And meanwhile I dreamed of living in Mexico one day, doing mission work and teaching little kids how to speak English.

I went to college to pursue my teaching degree and finished with a bachelors in Education, endorsements in Spanish and Elementary Education and a minor in Teaching English as a Second Language. Perfect set up to pursue my dream. Not long after graduating, I was offered a job teaching at a Language Immersion School in Tacoma...and I remember blinking several times as the job fell into my lap...Really? Really? Could this really be happening? So many parts of my dream are coming true...

Ever since I was a little girl, I have dreamed of marrying a prince who would adore me and cherish me and love me forever. I remember when Brian led me by my hand to the boat that was supposed to take us to a job site he was called to in the middle of a date we were on, and saw the gorgeous pink flowers and the perfectly wrapped presents inside and suddenly there I was again...in my dream. I was floating through a dream, watching Brian lead me across the dock and down the steps into the boat. And I heard myself say, "Wait, was is this?" And I saw my brain ticking...It's not quite my birthday yet, so this can't be a birthday surprise...and we haven't picked out a ring yet, so he can't be proposing...and wait a minute, we're supposed to be heading to his job site...What is this? And I watched the tender and knowing smile spread across Brian's face as he told me to sit down while he started the engine... And the dream went on, as a ring was slipped on my finger, as my brother and sister-in-law (who live thousands of miles away) suddenly appeared on the dock of the restaurant where we were to eat lunch, as the woman gave me a beautiful french manicure, as we ate dinner with both sets of our parents, as we drove to Brian's home where our closest friends were waiting for us and as every day after that passed and my ring was in constant view, secured in a permanent place on my left hand. Really? Really? Could this really be happening? My dream, my prince has finally come? The reality of this dream becoming a reality was almost too much for me to handle...I couldn't even filter and sort the gazillion thoughts flooding through my head during our engagement season, the night before our wedding day, and as I walked down that aisle towards my prince.

Ever since I was a little girl, I have dreamed of being a mom. I have just loved "little ones" ever since as I realized that there were "little ones" littler than me. I volunteered in our church's nursery, read every book in The Babysitter's Club series, and enrolled in courses to be a certified baby sitter while still in elementary school. I ordered books on fun craft projects with kids and I'd bring them with me when I landed babysitting jobs. About 5 seconds into my teaching career I was ready to apply for my foster care license because I just couldn't handle the injustice that so many of my students lived under. I wanted to be their mom. I knew I could do a good job, by the grace of God, and I wanted to take them home with me... When Elliott was, after a long hard labor, placed in my arms that Sunday evening, I just wept and couldn't believe this dream was being realized. Really? Really? Could this really be happening? I have a son...a most perfect son... And not a day has gone by since that I have not been overwhelmed by the goodness of the Lord to give us this perfect baby boy.
Ever since about 2001, I have dreamed of being called and sent out by God. I have dreamed of being a missionary. I have dreamed of working in an orphanage or working with children and families who are in need. I would read about times when the Lord would call his people in Scripture, and I would beg Him to call me. "The Lord spoke to Joshua...saying, '...Now therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them--the children of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you...No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your lives; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you. Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them..." (Joshua 1). I would read things like that and pray, "Oh God! Would you call me in the same way? Would you give me the land for your Name? Would you be with me, not leave me, not forsake me?" I would read about the destitute in Scripture and the ways that the Lord asks us to take care of them. "Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy" (Proverbs 31:8-9). And I would long to defend the rights of those who cannot speak up for themselves. I longed to be with the broken and the hurting. I longed to bring the love of Jesus to those who were suffering. The words in Isaiah 6 were the cry of my heart: "Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, 'Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?' And I said, 'Here am I. Send me!'" I told the Lord over and over that I promised I would go if He would call. And He has called me various places over the last 10 years. I have been called to my students, I have been called to my colleagues, I have been called to my friends, I have been called "to the least of these," I have been called to Africa, I have been called to the Eastside of Tacoma, I have been called to my husband, and I have been called to my son.

And then the Lord called us to Mexico. To do all of the above. All my dreams, colliding into one.

As is the reality of dreaming--dreams feel so surreal. So real, yet so unreal at the same time. You pinch yourself over and over, blink until there are tears streaming down your face, but again and again you wake up and realize that the dream is, indeed, reality. And so here we are, selling most everything that we own, because we've heard him say, "Whom shall I send? Who will go?"
And we, two children of God on our knees, have blinked and pinched ourselves to the point of realizing that yes, He is asking us to go. And though I think we've known in our hearts that this was our call since the moment we heard of the opportunity, we are finally able to audibly say, "Us, Lord! Yes, send us! We will go!"
And so we strap our little one our back, and we go...We go with the faith that "He who's promised is faithful," with the faith that "a longing fulfilled will bring life," with the faith that, "God reigns over the nations; God sits on His holy throne."

Here am I, Lord. Awake, alert, and ready to be sent out into this dream that You have fostered in my heart. Send me, God!

7 Months!

There are so many milestones that happen between 6 and 7 months! Elliott started eating solids and has become a super confident mover! He can make his way anywhere he wants to--and quickly at that!

I've been telling new moms the secret to getting their child to crawl: put them in a room where they're not supposed to touch anything...and they will start crawling!! Elliott's been up on all fours and moving around since the 6 month mark, but one day I was packing up a room filled with candles, glass vases, sharp objects (things like that) and I set Elliott down and he TOOK OFF! I've never seen anything like it! I told Brian he was like a ravenous beast. He was even making these "beast-like" sounds!! It was my first real glimpse of the true BOY in him, and I just loved it. I had never seen him move that fast, and he hasn't slowed down since...

I tried to keep the pictures to a minimum this month :). But here are a few of my favorites from October...

seriously now, could he possible be any cuter?

favorite faces of the month

precious face

sippy cup drama

We tried the whole sippy cup thing for about 2 days because I read in a book that you're supposed to (?!) and was so frustrated because all he wanted to do was chew on it, not drink out of it. Thankful for wise mamas who have gone before me to tell me he doesn't need to be drinking out of a cup yet :). 

my confident, suave mover of a boy...

napping game

Elliott and I play this little game every time I put him down. I lay him on his back in his crib, and he instantly gets this HUGE smile on his face because he knows it's time for our little game...He flips over on his stomach as fast as he can and I run to the door and peek through it and say, "Goodnight!!" or "Rest well!!" and all kinds of other sweet nothings and he just laughs and laughs for about fifteen seconds and then all of a sudden he'll throw his head down and start sucking his thumb. That's when I know he's really ready for a nap :). So I decided to document it one day...this is as I'm peeking through the door at him...

"crawling" (ish)

Here's a little video to show you a little sampling of how he moves:

crawling for REALS!

So, the truth is, I had this post completely written and almost ready to post on the NIGHT of Elliott's 7 month birthday. I was so impressed with myself. But I needed Brian's help to upload the last video and, well, it never happened. So now that I'm ready to post it, I'm adding an update!

When Elliott was exactly 7 months, 3 days old, the little man decided it was time to REALLY start crawling. The awesome thing about that day in particular is that it happens to be the EXACT day that BRIAN started to crawl when HE was a baby! Isn't that awesome?!

I caught a quick video of him on my phone the next day.

Happy 7 month birthday, my little love!!!

Adios, Amigos

Leaving our family and friends is for sure the hardest part about leaving... We're going to miss everyone so, so much...

Adios, familia

A "Hello, Elliott," and "Goodbye, Mobergs, etc." party :)

Adios, amigos

Lots of friends gathered to say goodbye, Mexican fiesta style.

Elliott wore this AWESOME hand-me-down from the Hippes! It's a Mexican soccer jersey!!!

Elliott's buddy Tony had on a matching jersey jacket!!

AND...there was a photo booth at our goodbye party...does it get much cooler than that?

Adios, mejores amigos

A few of our friends came together to have a last supper with us. Not the best quality picture ever, but at least we got Duke the surf boarder in the background!