Adelyn's Big Day!

Adelyn Caroline Gillen is officially 2 years old! We enjoyed celebrating her birthday with a princess tea party, gifts from the grandparents, an ice cream cake, and homemade chocolate chip cookies.  Oh, we can’t forget the chocolate and strawberry milk.

Please join us in the celebration and view the slideshow in the lower right hand column.

Thanksgiving!

The smells of pumpkin pie, turkey, homemade bread, sweet potatoes, dressing, green beans, and homemade cinnamon rolls filled our home (it was a nice break from the smells of the local trash dump) on Thanksgiving Day. It was a day of reflecting, eating tons of food, fellowship, and enjoying football (it was muted in the background). Go Cowboys!

As I reflected this Thanksgiving, I was truly reminded of the volatility of life.  Addi will be two years old on November 27^th.  Many of you shared in our journey back to the States with our little preemie. She has defied many odds and continues to excel in all aspects. I have heard many people say, “She was a fighter!” Sometimes our response is that of a gentle smile, a chuckle, or even the shedding of a tear as it brings back the flood of emotions. However, as we truly reflect on that which sustained Addi, we quickly realize that Addi had nothing to do with it. Addi had no inherent ability to say to her little heart, “close the hole that is causing problems” or to say to her lungs, “expand on the count of three.” or  to command her lower digestive track, “function as I designed you to function.” There were several families that their little ones never made it out of ICU. Was their death due to an inborn desire not to fight?  I heard the parent’s cries and we felt their pain and we wondered, “Will we leave the ICU with or without Addi?”  We prayed, “Lord, if it be your will allow Addi to live and if not grant us the grace to endure the pain.” So, did Addi really fight? Did the preemies that died really die because of a lack of fighting? NO. God sustained Addi and God chose for her to live and he chose the other preemies to be with him.

It’s amazing that none of us are any different than Addi.  Each and every day we too are in the ICU. The absence of God’s sustaining touch in our lives would result in death.  When was the last time you thanked God for your life? Thanked him for allowing your lungs to grant you your next life sustaining breath? Have you considered that at any moment your heart could stop beating?  After all, three-thousand people die every day from a heart attack and roughly 155,000 people die every day in the world.  Why are you still living? Why have you been chosen to live this very day?

This is what I am thankful for; I am thankful for every day that the Lord in His sovereignty allows me to experience life. I am thankful that today my family is alive and well.  We have been granted the joy of experiencing another day with our creator, another day with each other, and another day to be lavished with the grace of God.

I hope that whoever reads this letter will truly realize that we are all in the ICU of this world and we will not escape except through death.  The final destination will vary. For some, that which remains is a place of rest and worship with the creator, a place beyond comprehension.  For others, that which lingers is a place of despair and torment, which too is beyond comprehension.  Thus, I close with this.  Do you know what awaits you? Will it be a place of rest or despair beyond comprehension? Either way, whether you are filled with security or uncertainty I would encourage you to ask the Lord to draw you unto him, to make you aware of your sin, and to prepare you for life outside of the ICU.

Psalm 139, John 6, John 17, Acts 2-3; 13, Romans 1-10,

I DO!

Today is a special day. I have been married to DeNiel N. Gillen for thirteen years. It has most definitely been a journey to behold and one to anticipate as our lives continue to unfold. I can promise you that thirteen years ago at South Gate Baptist Church in Springfield, MO I was scared to death and yet filled with excitement. 

As we left the church, our first adventure was Florida for our honeymoon. Being a young rural Missouri boy I thought Al-Qaida was all around us before Al-Qaida was a house hold name; everyone one was suspect. I walked around Sea World in fear of being abducted and was in need of a psychiatric evaluation during the whole trip. It was at that time that I promised to myself that I would never leave the USA or MO. 

A year went by and we felt ourselves being called to Seminary. We spent three days in Texas looking at the Seminary and the night of our one year anniversary (our return from visiting Southwestern) we discovered we were with CHILD! Kylie was born and what a surprise being a parent was.  DeNiel in her infinite wisdom got herself pregnant again within three months of Kylie’s arrival with Brooklin. Wow! I was excited, depressed, and nervous and in need of yet another psychiatric evaluation! It was during this news that we were in the process of transferring to FBC St. James, MO.  The Lord certainly blessed us in our move to St. James.  It was a little nerve racking at first because we were so close to St. Louis a “Big City!”

We made St. James our home. It was during our time in St. James that the Lord would provide us with the man child, Jacob. What a difference between boys and girls! No EMOTIONS!  Seven years into our ministry there we felt the Lord leading us to serve overseas! Oh how the Lord has a way of changing people and their perspectives. I was never going to leave neither the USA nor Missouri and here we were contemplating being foreign missionaries.  Eventually, we would join the IMB and find ourselves in Costa Rica learning Spanish. What a treat this was. DeNiel excelled and I struggled because of my roots in Southern Missouri. The accent was just a little much and the lack of grammar where I am from would come back to haunt me. Nonetheless, we made it through and once again, DeNiel would be pregnant with our fourth and final child, Adelyn. What a journey she was and is! She is a hoot!

It’s incredible where the Lord has taken us and what he has taught us. In just thirteen years we have been to Arizona, California, Chicago, Florida, Hawaii (twice), Kansas, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Las Vegas, Texas, Tennessee, Virginia, Washington DC, Costa Rica (for 1 year), Columbia (Bogotá), Guatemala, Haiti, Mexico City, Niagara Falls (Canada), Nicaragua, Panama, Peru (Lima), and we now live in the Dominican Republic.  

Besides our wonderful kids, travels, and life as missionaries, that which I truly treasure the most is DeNiel. She is not the same girl that said, “Yes,” thirteen years ago. She inspires me to be a godly man. She is truly my better half. I must close with thank you DeNiel for saying, “I do” and thank you for putting Christ first. The times have not always been easy but the trials have always been welcomed for they themselves have developed within each of us a deeper understanding of our sinful, selfish nature and allowed us to grow in maturity in our walk with the Lord. Thank you DeNiel for growing in godliness and making our home a refuge, sanctuary, and a median for growing future disciples of Christ!

I will sign off the way, in which we started thirteen years ago today,

I DO!

Vacation & Life Back in the DR

The Gillen family has had a busy few months. Let’s catch you all up!  As many of you know, or don’t know, our family and friends provided tickets for us to fly back to Missouri for the month of September. What a blessing! Anthony had the opportunity to preach at a few different churches. We stayed with different family and friends and enjoyed true fellowship- in English! It really was a time of refreshment and renewal for us. Our favorite times were visiting with family, riding go-carts, making smores and drinking coffee around the fire at night, and just smelling fresh, clean air all around us.  I cannot put into words how God used those three to four weeks in Missouri to rejuvenate us and allow us some time of relaxation.

Another of my favorite times during our vacation was my and Anthony’s trip to Mexico. It is official. We are moving to Mexico City (yes, that is the 1^st or 2^nd largest city in the world).  We have heard from many how dangerous and difficult this move will be, but we are following God’s call on our lives. When God is for us, who can be against us?  As Anthony preached, “Can the waves tell their master, ‘No, I will not move today?’ or the sun say to its creator, ‘No, I will not shine?’” So, we too, must obey our Master and Creator. He knows FAR more than we do and we place our lives in His hands.

I will say, we will be living in a very safe neighborhood with another IMB missionary family that has kids our kids’ ages! There is a yard (with grass!), a park, and Anthony’s office within walking distance. We will take on the same role of Logistic Coordinator, only there are more missionaries in Mexico, versus the Island of Hispanolia. We are looking at moving sometime around May, June or July next year. Please pray for our transition regarding: emotions, selling/buying ALL of our belongings, and keeping our focus here these next 6-8 months. I’m sure we will have more prayer requests regarding Mexico as the time nears.

So, you wonder how things are going here in the Dominican Republic? So far, very well. Anthony has still been discipling the young men from the church in Pedro Brand. These guys are hungry for the Word of God and those of you who provided us with ministry funds while we were home, well-you actually bought new study bibles, bible dictionaries, and some nice small tubs to keep them in (remember, it’s VERY humid here and humidity eats books!). We have also been able to share with some of the neighborhood kids. It has been such a blessing to hear our children share truths from God’s Word with other children. I have also been able to share some more with the maids in our apartment complex and I’m teaching a couple of them how to sew/repair clothing. Please remember to pray for the children and maids in our apartment complex that they will have a desire to hear and understand the Word of God.

As for the home front, all three of the older kids are in school full force now! In addition to our basic studies, we have added a new class for the girls…Home Economics! I am officially training my little ladies to be wives, mothers, seamstresses, cooks, and for a little added bonus, bow makers and violinists. (Granted, they do have an official violin teacher, but I’m thankful to be able to help them with their practices.) I think this is the most enjoyable year of schooling that we have had yet! Even little Jake is enjoying making some clothes for his Scruffy Puppy. I would like to take a moment to thank my mom and Jeana for teaching me to sew while we were home! Presently, schooling is going very well in all areas. Thank the Lord! Would you take a moment to praise God for helping us school/train our children? Please ask Him to continue to pour out His wisdom on Anthony and me.

My blog entry is getting too long. I would like to include one photo from our vacation. It was tough to decide which picture to include, but here it is. Our last prayer request is that God would use our family to bring glory to Himself.  This is why we do what we do. It is why we are here. Thank you for your support and prayers! We have been blessed beyond measure. 

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows."  James 1:17