Today was a day of relaxation and celebration, now that we have finished our homes. We got up this morning, gathered all our remaining donations and headed to the local school in San Pedro de Macoris. This school is located in a barrio of (we believe) Haitian immigrants who generally are poorer and have less available work than the Dominicans. The school is run by a wonderful Christian lady who wants to serve the poorest members of the community - those who can't afford regular school. And despite the fact they are off on their Easter Holy week holiday, they kids turned out in full force to see our students.
It was an amazing time with both groups of kids sharing songs, performances, playing games together and having so much fun. The kids from the school generally loved nothing so much as being picked up and held by the bigger kids. From what we witnessed in the rough-and-tumble in the neighbourhood, that type of affection is rare and treasured. Our students also made balloon animals, did face-painting and gave away stuffed animals to the kids at the school. Many hearts were twisted and tugged on as our time went on.
And while the kids played baseball with the locals, some intrepid young ladies accompanied by Mrs. Lowe, Phil Cheung and Mr. Barreth were taken on a short walk to visit some young, single mothers (14-16 yr olds) to be blessed with giving away blankets made specifically as donations for that purpose. They were guided by the leader of the school, and Mrs. Lowe was even able to pray with one of these young moms to accept Christ into her heart. Amen! Gloria a Dios!
Our time quickly ran out (who knew over 2 hours could go so quickly) and we headed back to the base. Some students stayed to do pool time while others boarded another bus after lunch to go visit the Caves of Miracles (Cueva de las Maravillas), which was incredible. The tour was enjoyed by all and then we all headed out for some shopping and beach time with pizza for supper in Juan Dolio.
We are doing some packing up this evening, so we can be on the road at 9am tomorrow (7am your time) to be at the airport and ready for our departure. There won't be post tomorrow, so look for us early in the night (cough, cough) at the airport.
Once again, we covet your prayers for our safe return and thank you for the many prayers up to this day. God Bless (Dios le Bendiga)
Thursday 28 March 2013
Tuesday 26 March 2013
Building Day Two!
Another great day of building today! The students were very excited to have a roof to work under, as all the homes got their's today, and the work continued fast and furious (well, as fast and furious as 30 degree heat with high humidity allows).
It was very exciting to see the homes taking shape, with trim, wiring and dry-wall getting in place. It was just as exciting to see the family members be able to see the shape of their new home and walk inside it once the floors were swept at the end of the day. It is a real privilege to get to experience this.
As mentioned, it was very hot again today, but the students managed themselves well. There is some red skin, but no one is burned badly and everyone is taking wise measures against heat exhaustion. The pool at the end of the day is a tremendous relief for everyone and a great way to unwind before dinner (as always a great selection of food).
Tomorrow will bring to a close the building phase and we are very excited for the completion of the home. Even moreso for the key ceremony. Despite how hot it will be, we are anticipating many tears.
And for now, we are enjoying another picture perfect evening, worshipping and reflecting on the events of the day.
Thank you for your prayers and good night!
It was very exciting to see the homes taking shape, with trim, wiring and dry-wall getting in place. It was just as exciting to see the family members be able to see the shape of their new home and walk inside it once the floors were swept at the end of the day. It is a real privilege to get to experience this.
As mentioned, it was very hot again today, but the students managed themselves well. There is some red skin, but no one is burned badly and everyone is taking wise measures against heat exhaustion. The pool at the end of the day is a tremendous relief for everyone and a great way to unwind before dinner (as always a great selection of food).
Tomorrow will bring to a close the building phase and we are very excited for the completion of the home. Even moreso for the key ceremony. Despite how hot it will be, we are anticipating many tears.
And for now, we are enjoying another picture perfect evening, worshipping and reflecting on the events of the day.
Thank you for your prayers and good night!
Monday 25 March 2013
Building!
Before we begin this evening, there is just a special thought from one of our students:
Birthday wish to Lynn Brake,
I hope you had a great birthday today and the best wishes for the rest of your evening.
-Justin
Which took just about all the energy he had - Justin, like all our students worked very hard all day long. And it was a scorcher too. We never heard what the temperature was, but a few of the workers said it was their hottest day in the DR.
Not that it held our kids up at all. They worked hard all day, with all four sites getting all the walls up and even some of the roofs well started. Meanwhile the students played games with the local kids, smiled lots and really enjoyed their day.
It was exciting to see all that was accomplished and there is a real energy in the group to get back tomorrow and continue what we started.
The pool was especially enjoyable tonight and we are about to head to another great session to reflect on what we accomplished today.
We continue to be well and thank you for your prayers.
Sunday 24 March 2013
Sunday
This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it!
And it was a day of rejoicing too.
We started another picture perfect morning getting ready for church, including getting our materials together for ministry in the afternoon. We split into two different groups because as you can imagine it is hard to fit nearly 80 visitors into any one church. The group heading to the Baptist church left a little earlier to arrive at the 9:30 service and the group headed to YWAM's lead co-ordinator Mitch's church left for the service starting at 10am.
It was an amazing morning of worship for both groups, definitely more lively than what North Americans normally experience (though our Nigerian kids said it felt just like being at their home churches). The group at the Baptist church was there with another visiting group, so there wasn't an opportunity to share, but the other group was able to put on their mime, the drama done to music and have 3 kids give their testimony.
Then after the services we headed to the beach to have our lunch (no swimming though). It was beautiful sitting by the Caribbean Sea, cooled off by the breeze, to enjoy our food. Plus there was sugarcane and coconuts to enjoy!
In the afternoon the two groups headed to different sites to present their ministries. One group went to a local neighbourhood, where the families came out to see the kids doing balloon animals, face-painting and playing with the kids, before they put on their dramas and puppet show. The other group did the same, but met a local pastora (female church leader) who brought a few of her congregations to the YWAM base. It was an amazing afternoon of ministry and our students enjoyed the interaction with the local kids immensely.
We ended the evening off with a swim, some supper and another chance for us to worship together and to witness a passion play written and performed by students for their peers. Another powerful and moving night.
We are having a few bites and the occasional scrape, but everyone is in good health and great spirits. Good night and God Bless (Dios te Bendiga)!
And it was a day of rejoicing too.
We started another picture perfect morning getting ready for church, including getting our materials together for ministry in the afternoon. We split into two different groups because as you can imagine it is hard to fit nearly 80 visitors into any one church. The group heading to the Baptist church left a little earlier to arrive at the 9:30 service and the group headed to YWAM's lead co-ordinator Mitch's church left for the service starting at 10am.
It was an amazing morning of worship for both groups, definitely more lively than what North Americans normally experience (though our Nigerian kids said it felt just like being at their home churches). The group at the Baptist church was there with another visiting group, so there wasn't an opportunity to share, but the other group was able to put on their mime, the drama done to music and have 3 kids give their testimony.
Then after the services we headed to the beach to have our lunch (no swimming though). It was beautiful sitting by the Caribbean Sea, cooled off by the breeze, to enjoy our food. Plus there was sugarcane and coconuts to enjoy!
In the afternoon the two groups headed to different sites to present their ministries. One group went to a local neighbourhood, where the families came out to see the kids doing balloon animals, face-painting and playing with the kids, before they put on their dramas and puppet show. The other group did the same, but met a local pastora (female church leader) who brought a few of her congregations to the YWAM base. It was an amazing afternoon of ministry and our students enjoyed the interaction with the local kids immensely.
We ended the evening off with a swim, some supper and another chance for us to worship together and to witness a passion play written and performed by students for their peers. Another powerful and moving night.
We are having a few bites and the occasional scrape, but everyone is in good health and great spirits. Good night and God Bless (Dios te Bendiga)!
Saturday 23 March 2013
Day Two
Good news!
We have internet Slow and dependent on the power supply, but still there - though as such we will not be able to upload pictures until we get back (sad face emoticon).
Day two has been great! We have spent the day training and getting some understanding of local customs. The staff has been extremely friendly and helpful, making sure all our needs are met. The food has been plentiful, the sun hot and an occasional shower to cool things off and wash away any dust we have swept out (can you believe they are sweeping!).
There were some excellent team building games the staff put on for us and the kids really demonstrated some excellent teamwork. We are already feeling very confident about how the building process will go. There was further good news for us in that the building sites are very close to us (5 min drive) and located very close together (all within a block or so). Though we don't wish our time away, there is a great eagerness to get through the weekend so we can begin building.
We are about to sit down to dinner and maybe have a chance for a swim to cool off before bed after our evening mission adventure session.
Please continue to keep us in prayer, as we are continuing to watch God work in the lives of our students. With the acclimitization to the heat we hope the kids are going to be judicious in their water intake, but good health remains something we covet prayer for. And as always, we hope to make a strong impact in the community for the kingdom of God, which will start tomorrow.
Good night and God bless!
We have internet Slow and dependent on the power supply, but still there - though as such we will not be able to upload pictures until we get back (sad face emoticon).
Day two has been great! We have spent the day training and getting some understanding of local customs. The staff has been extremely friendly and helpful, making sure all our needs are met. The food has been plentiful, the sun hot and an occasional shower to cool things off and wash away any dust we have swept out (can you believe they are sweeping!).
There were some excellent team building games the staff put on for us and the kids really demonstrated some excellent teamwork. We are already feeling very confident about how the building process will go. There was further good news for us in that the building sites are very close to us (5 min drive) and located very close together (all within a block or so). Though we don't wish our time away, there is a great eagerness to get through the weekend so we can begin building.
We are about to sit down to dinner and maybe have a chance for a swim to cool off before bed after our evening mission adventure session.
Please continue to keep us in prayer, as we are continuing to watch God work in the lives of our students. With the acclimitization to the heat we hope the kids are going to be judicious in their water intake, but good health remains something we covet prayer for. And as always, we hope to make a strong impact in the community for the kingdom of God, which will start tomorrow.
Good night and God bless!
Arrival
Arrival!
We have arrived Praise God!
It was a long trip, but comfortable. The students bore up under the long day extremely well and in good spirits. Collecting ourselves and moving relatively quickly through customs we met our host Mitch at the airport and boarded the bus for our compound. The DR has some amazing scenery and a few unusual sights along the way, but too many of us missed them to catch some sleep on the bus.
Soon enough we arrived and carried our things into our rooms. And what a facility! Plenty of space to sleep, walled in compound so we can wander freely, a huge open area dining hall and best of all, the pool!
We have started in on our training, practising what we are going to present tomorrow and in the school on Thursday. We also met Kay Charlotte who is our speaker and is already doing a great job of fleshing out the gospel and reaching the kids.
Internet is a bit of an issue, which we are trying to sort out. But for the time being we just have this short post. There will be more posts as we get our connection figured out.
Thanks for your prayers, we are already seeing the answers happening.
Friday 22 March 2013
Stop 0.5 (Pearson Airport, TO)
With great excitement and boundless energy(?) our intrepid group arrived at the Calgary International Airport. Making it through check-in and security with relative ease, we were able to enjoy the sights and sounds of the airport waiting area for a little while. There was a great deal of energy in the group, as evidenced by the exploration of the 'move-ators' (moving sidewalks) and the line-up which formed as soon as the plane pulled up to the gate.
Shortly thereafter we were able to enjoy our overnight flight to Toronto. The kids were great on the plane, most of them conking out almost immediately. Unfortunately it was only a three hour flight, so many more needed to catch a few Z's when we arrived. Of course, the teachers all remained in fighting trim.
We are eagerly awaiting our next flight so we can arrive in sunny Punta Cana.
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