points for prayer.

• Jennie's Dominican residency finalized
• Praise for continued good health and good pregnancy for Jennie
• Blady is doing well in school and is receiving good marks..pray for his salvation and continued change of heart.
• That the rain would be tempered and allow for the ground breaking to take place on the property where the Makarios team house will be built...this will also make for a contented Miguel with physical work to do!
• Continued prayer for salvation and change of heart in Blady's mom, Susa. She professed to be a Christian a few months back, but it has obviously not taken root in her life and she continues with her old vices and has been found stealing from 2 other family members as well as from our house.
• We are encouraged with the hope that Miguel's residency papers will come through by late spring or summer. However, with those papers, we'll need to make some pretty huge decisions in the coming months. We might have to return to the States for a specific time period which may be as little as 6 months but as long as 2 years. If that comes to pass, we'll be needing to think about jobs, a place to live, etc. We originally decided to apply for Miguel's residency for a few reasons. One was so that if we ever had to return to the States for any extended period of time, he would be able to work legally. The other reason was so that he would be able to travel freely back and forth. However, our hearts remain in the DR. Our dream is to be able to build or buy a place of our own down here and continue to serve here, yet admist these dreams we know we need to get our feet on the ground a little bit better. On another note, in the event that we need to go back to the States for a time period by this summer, we would be leaving behind a big Makarios project in which a key player like Miguel is needed. So we ask that you pray with us for God's perfect timing and direction in all of this as papers are pursued, interviews are done, and decisions need to be made.

it pays to be pregnant in this country.

For years, I've noticed that in bank and super market parking lots there are special parking spaces marked off specifically for pregnant women. In fact, there doesn't even seem to exist parking spots marked off for the handicapped. Perhaps its because there are few handicaps in this country that drive, or own cars, or that get out and about. But one thing is for sure, I've been taking advantage of those special parking spots these days and its been great!

I had another funny experience the other day when I was in migracion in Santo Domingo trying to get my residency papers finalized. It was turning out to be another futile morning down there, until I mentioned that I was pregnant and making the 4.5 hour trip back down to the capital the next day was out of the question. As soon as I mentioned the word pregnant, you should have seen the people jump to their feet. I was ushered to a private office to get free fotocopies of my paperwork. I was allowed to pay the fees without having an authorized signature. (Which by the way, has always been the hang up as the one man who can authorize with his signature never shows up for work)! And in another 20 working days, I should have my residency ID card in hand....Si Dios quiere.

calendars still available.

June's calendar picture

Just a reminder before the new year gets rolling along....there are still calendars left for sale to support Jennie and Miguel's ministry in the Dominican Republic. They are 15 US and you can mail a check to Jennie's parents and they'll get them right out to you!

Their address is:

Jay and Pat Fisher
504 Dairy Way
Buellton, CA 93427