Dominican Republic Missions Trip
For more info on missions work in the Dominican Republic click here...
July 25, 2009
We arrived in Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic, at 9:30 pm. The flight went smooth, and some of us met us some locals on the flight. It was interesting to find that according to tradition everyone cheers when they land in the Dominican Republic. And all that time we thought they we're cheering for us! Just kidding. Pastor Bruce Dyke picked us up at the airport and we rode in a "class A" van, complete with a ramming device on the front! 
Driving the streets at night was interesting, but fortunately for us we had an experienced local drive the van. Sometimes there would be this big holes in the streets, which were actually manholes without the cover. People steal them and sell it for scrap metal! People on motorbikes are everywhere, and even late at night, it was pretty crowded.
Soon we arrived at the guest house, and Doug and Nancy who run it, gave us a warm welcome. It's a nice home and we slept upstairs. A little hot, but the fans worked nicely! There is a beautiful terrace connected to the house.
July 26, 2009
We woke up and had a great breakfast prepared for us. Oh yes, I forgot to mention. Water is of short supply here so we all had to take quick showers. Also, you can't flush ANY paper products down the toilet... so...ahem... it's interesting, to say the least! After breakfast, we went to church at Fuente de
Amor and it was a great service. I had the privelage to preach, which was interesting because I had to pause for the interpreter. We were all warmly received. After the service, we had a great lunch at a restaurant. The platanos were excellent! Well, we're off to another church service at a different church. Pray for us for tomorrow as we head off to work!
July 27, 2009
After a great night's rest with multiple fans blasting humid air on us, we woke to the cowbell summoning us for breakfast (as well as some roosters that some guy down the road owns!). We then 
prayed together, posed for a team photo for you all back at home, and headed off to the work site at the church we visited yesterday (Fuente de Amor). Just as a sidenote... we visited another church last night that consisted of upper-class individuals and we had a great time. The music was great (a full worship team with guitars and drums) and it was great to sing "Here I Am To Worship" in Spanish! Look out Atlanta Road, we'll be singing in Espanol!! Just teasing, of course. Jody and Joyce had the opportunity to visit the kids in their Sunday School and had a blast.
Back to going to the worksite... 
Traffic, to say the least, is driving at your own risk. Basically, I don't know how we didn't see people getting killed today the way they drive! And I thought New York City was bad! Motorbikes are everywhere, cars are virtually scraping each other, and people trying to sell things are pressed up against your windshield. It's a great sight to see! We arrived at the church and the ladies painted the inside of the church and the men went up on the roof to lay rebar (concrete will be poured later in the week. Please pray that it doesn't rain on Thursday when they pour.) The sun was very hot and the humidity was 94%... a cool day according to Dominican Republic standards, but I thought we could easily fry an egg on that concrete roof. Some of the ladies were able to check out some of the local stores where you can buy small items. They are called Colmados. 
After we finished up working at the end of the day, we came home, showered up, and then ate a great home-cooked meal with Doug and Nancy, Bruce and Betty Dyke, and John and Colleen Schleh. We also celebrated Erin Van Kampen's 18th birthday here! We told her that she can officially be tried as an adult and not a juvenile, so she better behave! After eating, we took a trip to the store, which was kind of like a super Walmart. I bought some of the great Dominican Republic coffee that they have here. Well, we're all going to bed, and we'll be off to 
work tomorrow.
July 28, 2009
We're ahead of schedule! The men laid the re#ar down and we're ready to pour concrete tomorrow. We'll see if it works out. Sorry to be brief but the letter 'b' is not working well on this computer. It was hot again, and Jody, Mike, and Micah weren't feeling too good today. We prayed for them and they were feeling better as the day went on, praise God! I'm typing this now in the evening and most are a little tired from working in the heat. Pray for their health and strength. We're using 1 Peter 4:11 as our theme verse for the trip. "Whoever serves [let him serve] with the strength that God supplies, so that God may be glorified through Jesus Christ." We also had a helper with us today named Hector from the church. He had two vacation days and he used them to help us in work. I had a chance to talk to him in spanish a little bit (my spanish is not that good at all!) and he is a delightful individual to talk to. Some of the ladies talked to some little girls today too. It was a good day, however, some are tired. Hasta manana!
July 29, 2009
It's our third day of working today! Jody wasn't feeling well so she stayed behind at the house. I forgot to mention that yesterday we received a great tour of the city before we arrived at the church to work. We saw "old city", which had a lot of historic buildings, and we saw the tomb of Christopher Columbus. When we arrived at the site, all of us went to painting since laying and tying the rebar was finished. We were ready to pour the concrete today and it was supposed to arrive in the morning. Plus, the maestro, or foreman, kept saying, "quince minutos", meaning 15 minutes the cement will arrive. However, 15 minutes in Dominican time is much different here... the cement didn't get there until 2:00 pm! And then when they got there they took a lunch break! Funny stuff. They were a group of Haitians, about 12, that came in a pickup truck with all their gear. They set up a pulley system to pull up the cement that they mixed with rock and sand below. It was a sight to see as they manuevered between telephone lines using sticks with sharp rusty nails to hold the wires back. We agreed it was best if they handled that part. Once they started bringing up the cement we were responsible for jigging (no, not the irish dance!) and using the bullfloat to smooth it out. So yours truly strapped on the rubber boots and used the jigger. Little did I know how much cement would cake on my bare legs! Mike Stein commented that women in NYC would pay top dollar to get that type of mud treatment! All in all, we finished the job ahead of schedule which was satisfying to do. We came home to a nice meal of spaghetti with meat sauce made by Luz, the house maid, and was excellent and filling. Just to let you know about what we've been doing at night... we've been having a time of sharing, reading the Psalms, and praying together at night. Tonight was a great time of sharing how God has been working in our lives since we've arrived. We were all amazed how much God has drawn us all closer together as a group and how everyone was lending help to each other when one was weak or sick. Jody was feeling better and so was Micah. We were also touched by Hector's willingness to serve even on his vacation days, and how we've been able to interact with the different missionaries here and get to know them. Our hearts have truly been touched by God through those we have met here, and I can't write all the stories from different individuals in this small amount of space. God's kingdom is big and His heart for the lost expands across the globe. Dios les bendiga! (God bless you!)
July 30, 2009
I can't write for too long because we're about to have our devotional time together (we've been reading from Psalm 145 and will complete the book of the Psalms together on our last night. It's a great way to have us focus our hearts in praise toward God.) I just want to let you all know that everyone that was sick for the past few days are feeling much better! Praise God! And thank you for those who were praying. Today we finished up painting at the church and we received a local meal cooked for us at lunch called San Choco. It was good! After the meal we prayed together for the church and for the pastor. It was a moving experience. After that, we loaded up into the van (almost got into accident!) and headed to a place called Tres Ojos. It means three eyes, which is named after 3 lakes in these amazing caves that you walked down to. It was really amazing. When we finished there, we headed home, rested up, and had a great dinner. I have to go as devotional time is calling.
P.S. I'll try to post pictures tomorrow if I can! Please continue to pray for us as we go on a prayer walk through a town with some Alliance churches.
July 31, 2009
Today was a truly moving day. We had the opportunity to visit a Haitian church in the eastern part of the Dominican Republic called Experimentale (sp?). This was a very poor area. Sugar cane fields were all around us and it was an hour ride in the van. When we arrived the children came from everywhere wanting to hold your hand. We went into the church there and the pastor along with his two older children led us there. We listened to some music and played with the children. The atmosphere was electric with the kids laughing, giggling, talking, singing, and playing. They loved playing with the girls' hair. After getting to know all the children a bit, we broke into two groups and did a prayer walk through the village that consisted of clapboard houses and tin roofs. We then went into the church and prayed for the church, the pastor, their community and their leaders. When we had to leave, the ladies of our group had a hard time saying goodbye to the many precious children that had touched our hearts. We then went to the pastors house for lunch and received a warm welcome from his family. We also we're privilaged with an amazing story of the pastor's survival of Hurricane George! And I forgot to mention that Hector and his 9 year old daughter came with us as well. We then went back to Santo Domingo and visited the colonial part of the city and Jim and Millie videotaped and interviewed the president of the CMA churches in the Dominican Republic. It was a great day and we feel blessed to have this opportunity to minister to these people. Thank you for all your prayers and we miss you all!
P.S. I was able to post a couple of pictures for your pleasure!
August 1, 2009
Sorry that I will have to be writing quickly, but we have to get up for our plane flight pretty early! Since it was our last day here in the Dominican Republic, it wouldn't be a Caribbean trip if we didn't visit "la playa", the beach! It was beautiful with bright blue water and white sandy beaches. I wish I had time to post some pictures but that will have to be at another time. Palm trees scattered the area and vendors (at time congregating like a flock of pigeons around you) would try and sell things to you. I think it's safe to say that we have graduated from freshman hagglers to sophmores as we had our fair share of negotiating prices for items. For some reason, every vendor had their necklaces, carved statues, or whatever else for "50% off" or "just the right price for you". Who knew that they knew us that well! Ha! Anyway, the water was technically a lagoon in which you could walk out in shallow water about 100 yards out until you had the swim. You had to be careful too because there was coral in some places below as well as sea urchins if you got close to another spot. After the beach, we went to the market to do some shopping and some more haggling with vendors. At night, as a special goodbye, we went to restaurant that had some merengue dancing. A man and a lady danced on a bottle which was quite a site to see! I mentioned breifly before, but I want to give fair credit and appreciation to Doug and Nancy Carlson you run the guest house, and to Bruce and Betty Dyke, who oversee the short-term missions trips and many other things they do here! They have been such a blessing and none of this would have been possible if it weren't for them. We have come to know them very well and they will always be close to hearts and prayers in their missions work. Well, time to go to bed as we head off for home tomorrow. It's hard to believe that the trip is over, and God has spoken so many things to us as a group as we have all truly bonded together like a family. We can't wait to share it with you guys all at home. Buenos Noches!
August 2, 2009
We'll be flying home today! Please pray for safety as we travel!