Reece's First Team Recap

Week one is at its end.

I have been on trips before as part of a team, but now I am here helping to lead the teams during their one week trip.

This is my first team:

They are a great group from Nashville Tennessee.

Here's Team Crosspoint's construction project. This is the future site of the new Medical Center. Pretty, isn't it?

We had to take this rock and spread it evenly over the water to give a base for the basement floor to be poured.

We also went to different communities to do VBS. This is the Hole, a community that has developed around an old land fill.

This is a water purification system that was set up a few years ago. it provides clean water to the community. It's open twice a week for the community to bring buckets to fill.

Crosspoint had a great VBS. Puppets and crafts are always a hit with kids.

 This is where we eat all of our meals. Yours truly does the set up and clean up. But a lovely bunch of Dominican ladies do the cooking.

Meet my new friend Moses (or Mois in Creole). He is a Haitian Pastor with a great passion and vision for what God has called him to. He has a church and feeding center that feeds the local kids in the community. He also has plans for training up future pastors and leaders by starting his own seminary. I will keep him and his ministry in my prayers.

 It was a great week. I made a lot of new friends, received encouragement, and hopefully was an encouragement to the team while we served God side by side.

Can't wait to meet the next team.

A Dominican Homecoming

As i write this quick blog, my kids are enjoying siesta and rain is pouring down on our tin roof. It has been a crazy few days. Let's see the highlight reel.

We destroyed our American Home in the packing process. 

Disaster area!

We packed as lightly as people headed to a third world country with four kids could.

Everything a family of 6 needs for 4 weeks on Mission in the Dominican?

To the Airport!

Thanks for the prayers. The plan ride went well. And I know that was all God.

We arrived at our Dominican home Safe and sound. They affectionately call it Dirty Thirty.

These are the After photos. We will post a before video via You tube. 

The living room

Follow me down the hall.

Kid's Room is the first right.

These are our dressers.

I forgot to  take photos of my room and the bath. But here's the kitchen.

 

Learning Curve. 

So, thankful for the tools that Dad sent. Reece  used them immediately.

 So that I could cook dinner.

The First Supper.

We were all a bit.....

 But we've made it!

I'll be trying to up-date as often as internet access allows. Subscribe to our blog to receive our link in your email.

We would like to thank you all for your prayers and support. We never could have done this with out you. We are settling in and getting right to work. 

Reece is leading a construction team that is working on a medical center, and I have already met my neighbors. I'm looking for those Gospel sharing opportunities everywhere.

Keep those prayers coming, and stay tuned.

What the Karge Kids Eat

It's summer time, and the produce is fresh! And luckily, it's cheap too. Because there's not a whole lot of fresh foods that the Karge kids won't eat.

Exhibit A: Use-up-the-produce Experiment Smoothie

Reece II and I were in the kitchen with the Ninja, (Best Food Processor Ever) when we decided to make a green smoothie.

ME: You know, I was reading, and we can pretty much put anything into a smoothie.

RII:  Really?

2 cups of spinach, one cup of peach herbal tea, some watermelon, carrots, a banana, an avocado, and some frozen strawberries later, we had ourselves a pitcher of the unattractive brown stuff that you see pictured on the left.

It lasted ten minutes. Smoothies are the most awesome way to sneak in fruits and veggies. If you start your kids young enough, they will believe that anything served with a straw is a treat.




My smoothie success made me want to try other summery snacks. The Ninja and I, whipped up some Chocolate-Banana Yogurt Pops. It's nice when you can get a complete  list of the ingredients in the name.

We made them in those Tupperware Popsicle makers. (Thanks Aunt Becky.) 

The kids loved them....

...A lot.

Even our pickiest eater enjoyed them.

It was sad when they were gone.

Now, I'm on the lookout for other clean and tasty snacks. They are cheaper and healthier than store bought snacks. They weren't that difficult to make. Five minutes plus freeze time. 

Yard Sale

It seemed like an easy way to raise money for our up coming mission trip. 

It was both symbolic and practical- very "Sell everything you own and follow me..." and an excellent way to turn unnecessary stuff into funding. Yard sale. 



















Step one: Trick unsuspecting friends into agreeing to host said yardsale at their perfectly     located home 

Step two: Gather aforementioned "stuff" to sell 

 Step three: Pretend to have a plan concerning pricing and presentation 

 Step four: Expend all energy sorting and setting out "stuff" 

 Step five: Rely on caffeine to power the actual 10 hour long extravaganza

 Step six: Use sheer grit to get through the clean-up/ tear-down 

 Step seven: Thank God for turning the seemingly disastrous event into a monumental   success 

 Step eight: Beg forgiveness from perfectly-located, unsuspecting friends 

 Step nine: Vow to never, ever do anything like this again 

 Yardsale. We raised $500 to put towards our mission in the Dominican Republic. I'm sending a HUGE thank you out to every person who volunteered his or her time, energy, money, and stuff. We could not have done this without you.

Wish I could think of a clever title

Life never seems to happen as fast or as furious as when there is a newborn in the house. Throw in 3 more kids aged 5 and under and it's an up-all-night-tornado of a party.  Fun? Most definitely.

Unfortunately, it is also the reason that I'm busting this blog out in an old t-shirt that smells of sour milk while downing coffee from a mug that I found behind the couch. (It was cleaner than the kitchen alternatives.) I believe in prioritizing. Reading stories and playing at the park are Always more important than laundry and dishes. ;)

Another important thing that ranks really high on the Karge family priority pyramid is our up and coming  internship in the Dominican Republic with G.O. Ministries. Even in our sleep deprived state we are totally excited for this experience. There is nothing as awesome as coming together as a family to meet the needs of others. Some of the things we hope to do while in the D.R. are :

My construction expertise.

• Furthering construction on a nutrition center that we have worked on in the past
• Working with medical teams that will be conducting free clinics
• Repairing the computers that have been donated to the schools
• Translating for other teams that come to work

In order to go on our trip, we need to raise the necessary funds for both travel and the service projects that we hope to do. $6,800 is the amount that we are aiming to raise. We plan to do that by asking anyone who supports what were doing to donate, selling our stuff, and requesting support from area churches.

We figure with the sheer numbers of our Facebook friends we will have no problem meeting our goal. If everyone we know just chips in 5 bucks, we will be working to better the lives of Dominicans and Haitians by July easily. We even installed a donate button right on our blog to make it as convenient as possible. Anyone super pumped about the whole mission can also send checks with our names in the memo line to 

They call him Rebar Reece.

G.O. Ministries

11501 Plantside Drive, Suite 14 

Louisville, KY 40299

G.O. Ministries is a non-profit 501(c)(3) and will send you a receipt for use on your tax forms. For more information visit: http://www.go-ministries.org/give/donate

We will be posting updates on our Facebook page and sharing what kind of progress is being made. Some things to come are getting the kids passports all worked out, the internship training conference at the end of May, and then putting together a yard sale to turn our stuff into money that we will put where our mouths are.

A New Adventure

Dominick Karge Born 2/17/12

It's been an interesting and busy year since the Karge family's last mission trip. We've made some big decisions and had some big additions. Welcome, 9lbs 14oz, Dominick Judah Karge. :)

Back in December we felt led to apply for an internship with GO Ministries. We were unsure if we would be considered for the month long experience because of our large family and our limited availability as far Reece's work schedule was concerned. Fortunately, God doesn't ask for anything to be done that He doesn't enable one to accomplish. We were accepted to serve in the Dominican Republic for the month of July.

It has been really exciting to see how God has worked in the life of our family in order to make this opportunity possible. A few specific examples of His work in the details:

1) Reece and I were planning for a June 2012 baby and were pretty freaked out when we learned that we'd been given a February baby. A summer internship simply would not have been an option with a new born June baby- not even for me.

2) We wondered why God led us to Friends of Fort Liberte and Haiti last April. GO Ministries  works both in the Dominican Republic and Haiti. During our time in Haiti, we learned a lot about Haitian culture and the Creole language.

3) Reece was concerned that he would be unable to be away from work for 4 entire weeks. His job worked with him because the project he works on is due to be completed at that time. 

It has been an amazing ride. It's still a little scary, but it definitely helps to have so many examples of God at work. Another blessing has come in the form of GO Ministries itself. The staff's  willingness to give us an opportunity to serve as a family is awesome.

Family has nothing to do with appearances.

GO Ministries consists of a unified body of believers that values Jesus above all else. The Gospel goes forth as needs are met, and God receives the glory. It is a very special ministry in that it not only serves the people of the island of Hispaniola, (made up of the Dominican Republic and Haiti) but it equips its citizens to do the same. Relationships are facilitated between American short-term missionaries and Dominican Churches. Cultural gaps are bridged, everyone involved is blessed, and God is honored. 


GO is multifaceted in its ministry. It is involved in many different areas of service including:

• the construction of churches, nutrition centers, and a medical clinic
• sport camps designed to reach out to children and teenagers 
• facilitating short term mission trips of teams from the United States
• child sponsorship programs

For more information, check out their website. http://www.go-ministries.org/ You'll see a photo of the last team I went with on the home page. :) Caden was so small!

We can't wait to return to the place that has changed our lives. While there, our family will be serving in every and any capacity-from sharing the Gospel to cleaning out garbage cans. (Is it crazy that we are so excited about it?) The goal is to put our family in every ministry position possible in order to learn where we would fit best as long term missionaries. This is sure to be a learning and growing experience for all of us. 

Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we begin to start raising the necessary funds for our trip.

Re-entry: Who we are after Haiti

It was two weeks ago that we arrived home to Worley Ave from our ten day mission to Haiti.

The view from our Haiti home in Fort Liberte.

We have been editing photos, building slide shows, reading trip journal entries, and processing. I am still struggling with how to convey our experience. 


The effects of a short-term mission trip are far reaching. They are ripples that touch areas of one's life unexpectedly. They are inexplicable cravings for chicken, beans, and rice covered in red sauce, tears of thankfulness that appear when handing a child a cold bottle of clean water, and a despondency that sets in while aimlessly pushing a cart through the local super store. 


As short-termers we have asked:
Why doesn't anyone else care about this great need?  Why were we called to go? 
We have wondered: What are we doing with or American Life? 
And stressed: How can we make  a difference?

First, I would like to say thank you to all of our supporters. Whether financially, prayerfully, or both, your continued encouragement makes coming home a hundred times easier. We don't have to wonder why other people don't care. You all show that you do. Having people who care about where we have been and how we have been serving is balm for hearts that have been broken for people in need.

This photo taken by Kris Woodrum.

As for what we are doing with our "American Life" ...this is a really plaguing  question. Reece and I are Go-ers. We love the adventure and the purpose that comes with serving the Lord full-time and out of our comfort zones. We enjoy seeing the Big things that God is doing.  

The joy of the Lord is my strength and all that kept me going.

In our missionary life, we are brave, sacrificial, and persistent. We help build feeding centers and orphanages. We evangelize the saving power of a real relationship with Jesus Christ. We give away our money, our food, and our clothes. In our missionary life, we are bold warriors for Christ. 

NERD!

In our American Life, we are Reece and Angila Karge. Reece is a software engineer. He is a devoted husband, and wonderful father. He likes comic book movies and pocket watches. Angila is a stay-at-home-mom. She cloth-diapers, home-schools, and evangelizes the evils of processed foods. In our American Life, we google how to speak with a Scottish accent. In our American Life, we are nerds.

For the Karge family, it is so much more difficult to fiercely pursue God, when we are Peter Parker. The small details are what ultimately snowball and run us down. Over the past few years, God has been teaching us to be obedient in the mundane seemingly insignificant details of daily life: what we eat, what we watch, how we parent, how we spend our money. The nerd in is us understands that time is the greatest variable. We can see that long-term obedience will yield great benefits. Every dollar we save can go toward one more brick in a wall of a feeding center. Every second we spend instructing our children in the ways of the Lord will go toward the salvation of another generation of missionary Karges. This is what we are making the purpose our American Life: To glorify God and enjoy Him forever. 

I wondered why she was born into strife, while my daughter was born to me.
This photo taken by Cherra Taylor.

Finally, we have come to accept that we can not make a difference. We can only be the instruments that God uses to make a difference. This has been simultaneously humbling and uplifting. It can be tough to realize that its not all about you, but it is also freeing. I am not going to save the world, but the world isn't depending on me to save it either.

This is how Fort Liberte, Haiti has impacted the Karges.