Our HANDS Team!
Bernie being mobbed by the kids :)
Typical Classroom
Beautiful Smiles
An Interesting Visitor
The Cool Boys
Cute Ones
Classic Picture
Monday, February 28, 2011
Reflections
Just over a week has gone by since the Fenwick HANDS Team has returned home from their time in the Dominican Republic.
How long does it take before one moves back into the regular routine of everyday life? How long does it take before the muscles, aches and pain that occured because of the hard work recede to the point that the body also returns to 'normal'? How long does it take for one's heart to return to where its supposed to be after being touched so much by the people and culture of the Dominican Republic? How does one explain to someone else what was seen and experienced after the question, "So, how was your trip?" How do we put to words about what God is doing in the DR, explaining his love, his grace, his care, his joy, his comfort and his hope in spite of the difficult circumstances seen in this country?
I have no answers for you. I have no answers for myself. Each team member has had to come to terms with their own questions and thoughts. Perhaps we aren't meant to answer any of these questions but only to understand that God knows the answers to these questions and so many more. All our hearts and bodies have been touched by the eleven days in the Dominican Republic. Only God's leading and time will begin to reveal the impact of our time there.
I am struck by the fact that each time I participate on a HANDS Team I experience God in different ways, often in very tangible ways. My ability to see God is growing. I saw him during the day when we work, when we drove to and from the work-site in a van, when we ate, when we did devotions...often for hours and when we spent our days together serving each other in love. He is everywhere and in everything. Love birds that sing, (yes even the roosters that obey his call to crow :), children who's voices ring out with the shouts of oral learning, people in earnest conversation or playing games together, people who join together to do a common job of building a school, absense of illness, women who graciously serve day after day to provide food and drink for tired Canadians, strength and courage to go out each day again and bless others, humbleness of team members as they are confronted with their lack of trust in our great and powerful God and then awed to silence as they see the provision he makes in personal ways, relationships that form powerfully and quickly and then must be separated.
Most team members will agree that their hearts and emotions are rather raw in the week(s) after a HANDS Team trip. For some of us it will take time to hear what God has placed on our hearts; others may already know but be frightened of what God wants from us. However for all, we are changed, we've been touched. And it is our prayer that God will open up opportunities for us to use what he has taught us in our own families and communities. One opportunity is to continue supporting the schools in the Dominican Republic, like the one we worked on, through the Sponsorship Program of Worldwide Christian Schools. For $34 a month you can help these school provide funding for teacher training, salaries and other operational costs. These schools provide education with a Biblical Worldview and its is transforming the hearts of the children and impacting their families and communities - we have SEEN this first hand. For more information, please go to http://www.wwcs.ca/ .
Thank you for reading our blog over the past few months. It has been a joy sharing with you what we were doing, our thoughts about the trip and keeping our families and church communities up to date while in the DR. Karl and I, as team leaders, have once again been blessed immensely by so many people. Thanks goes to:
*Tim Bootsma - HANDS Co-ordinator at WWCS. Tim has the big task of making sure all the teams that go out will actually get there, are safe, are trained and informed. He has done a great job and we appreicate his coming out to our final meeting.
*Michele Ludwig - former HANDS Co-ordinator now in running the HEARTS, Sponsorhip and Walking Together Programs. Michele joined us last minute and spent her time intereviewing students, teachers, administrators and teachers to find out how Christian Education in the DR is transforming lives and making a difference in the children and people of the DR. Great job, Michele - can't wait to see the results of all your hard work.
*Gord and Nicole VanderLeek - a father and daughter team from Alberta. Gord and I went to school for twelve years together and met once again at a class ruinion last summer. Gord and Nicole also came to our team in the later stages but you'd never have known it! From the start it was like they had always been with us and we loved them dearly. Gord and Nicole documented the interviews and took thousands of high quality photographs to be used in future promotional material for WWCS and perhaps, COCREF.
*HANDS Team Members - you've all been like family - for over a year. We were a small LIFE group, spent time praying, searching scripture, working, sleeping and playing together. Its been a slice! Thank you all for your hard work, your willingness to participate and do what needed to be done in fundraising, for having a spirit of generosity, helpfulness, grace and love to everyone we were in contact with - here and in the DR.
*Families of Team Members - thank you so much for the care gifts you made for your families - you have no idea what its like to see your parents receive something from home and be so touched. Many tears at these little gifts of love. The third day is often the most difficult and these little touches of home from loved ones often continue the softening of our hearts - thank you for taking the time and making the effort to do this, for encouraging your familiy members to go on a HANDS Team and for continuing to keep your families in your prayers.
OUR DOMINICAN BROTHERS AND SISTERS - wow, what can be said - thank you, gracious, mucho gracious! You have blessed us so much. It was a priviledge to be a part of your community and be the receivers of your love and mercy. We have learned so much from you and it is my prayer that we will take what we have learned about love of God and love for others to our own families and communties. Thank you for your generousity, for your care of us, for driving us around, for ignoring our complaints and for continuing to show the love of Christ to us day after day.
OUR CHURCH FAMILIES - thank you for all your prayers, encouragements, care, questions and financial contributions. We cannot express what this has meant to us but even more what it has meant for the people and children of the DR. We hope that in a few weeks we'll be able to show and tell you about our time.
OUR FATHER IN HEAVEN - Lord, God - thank you for this opportunity, thank you for your care, love and provision over the year of prepartion and eleven days away, thank you for softened hearts, for the opportunity to see you everywhere in the midst of hard things, thank you for relationships that grew, for brothers and sisters in lands so very far away, and for your grace throughout our trip.
Well, sorry this is so long. I pray you have been blessed by following our blog. I hope to add a few pictures after this and that will be it. We do have plans to take another HANDS Team in January 2013. A long time away - yes, but we look foward to seeing what God will do with this team...DV. If you are interested, speak to Karl or I and we will keep you informed. In initial meeting will not take place until later in the year or early 2012. To God be the Glory!
Our prayer for our Dominican brothers and sisters:
"The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love,
He will rejoice over you with singing." Zeph 3:17
How long does it take before one moves back into the regular routine of everyday life? How long does it take before the muscles, aches and pain that occured because of the hard work recede to the point that the body also returns to 'normal'? How long does it take for one's heart to return to where its supposed to be after being touched so much by the people and culture of the Dominican Republic? How does one explain to someone else what was seen and experienced after the question, "So, how was your trip?" How do we put to words about what God is doing in the DR, explaining his love, his grace, his care, his joy, his comfort and his hope in spite of the difficult circumstances seen in this country?
I have no answers for you. I have no answers for myself. Each team member has had to come to terms with their own questions and thoughts. Perhaps we aren't meant to answer any of these questions but only to understand that God knows the answers to these questions and so many more. All our hearts and bodies have been touched by the eleven days in the Dominican Republic. Only God's leading and time will begin to reveal the impact of our time there.
I am struck by the fact that each time I participate on a HANDS Team I experience God in different ways, often in very tangible ways. My ability to see God is growing. I saw him during the day when we work, when we drove to and from the work-site in a van, when we ate, when we did devotions...often for hours and when we spent our days together serving each other in love. He is everywhere and in everything. Love birds that sing, (yes even the roosters that obey his call to crow :), children who's voices ring out with the shouts of oral learning, people in earnest conversation or playing games together, people who join together to do a common job of building a school, absense of illness, women who graciously serve day after day to provide food and drink for tired Canadians, strength and courage to go out each day again and bless others, humbleness of team members as they are confronted with their lack of trust in our great and powerful God and then awed to silence as they see the provision he makes in personal ways, relationships that form powerfully and quickly and then must be separated.
Most team members will agree that their hearts and emotions are rather raw in the week(s) after a HANDS Team trip. For some of us it will take time to hear what God has placed on our hearts; others may already know but be frightened of what God wants from us. However for all, we are changed, we've been touched. And it is our prayer that God will open up opportunities for us to use what he has taught us in our own families and communities. One opportunity is to continue supporting the schools in the Dominican Republic, like the one we worked on, through the Sponsorship Program of Worldwide Christian Schools. For $34 a month you can help these school provide funding for teacher training, salaries and other operational costs. These schools provide education with a Biblical Worldview and its is transforming the hearts of the children and impacting their families and communities - we have SEEN this first hand. For more information, please go to http://www.wwcs.ca/ .
Thank you for reading our blog over the past few months. It has been a joy sharing with you what we were doing, our thoughts about the trip and keeping our families and church communities up to date while in the DR. Karl and I, as team leaders, have once again been blessed immensely by so many people. Thanks goes to:
*Tim Bootsma - HANDS Co-ordinator at WWCS. Tim has the big task of making sure all the teams that go out will actually get there, are safe, are trained and informed. He has done a great job and we appreicate his coming out to our final meeting.
*Michele Ludwig - former HANDS Co-ordinator now in running the HEARTS, Sponsorhip and Walking Together Programs. Michele joined us last minute and spent her time intereviewing students, teachers, administrators and teachers to find out how Christian Education in the DR is transforming lives and making a difference in the children and people of the DR. Great job, Michele - can't wait to see the results of all your hard work.
*Gord and Nicole VanderLeek - a father and daughter team from Alberta. Gord and I went to school for twelve years together and met once again at a class ruinion last summer. Gord and Nicole also came to our team in the later stages but you'd never have known it! From the start it was like they had always been with us and we loved them dearly. Gord and Nicole documented the interviews and took thousands of high quality photographs to be used in future promotional material for WWCS and perhaps, COCREF.
*HANDS Team Members - you've all been like family - for over a year. We were a small LIFE group, spent time praying, searching scripture, working, sleeping and playing together. Its been a slice! Thank you all for your hard work, your willingness to participate and do what needed to be done in fundraising, for having a spirit of generosity, helpfulness, grace and love to everyone we were in contact with - here and in the DR.
*Families of Team Members - thank you so much for the care gifts you made for your families - you have no idea what its like to see your parents receive something from home and be so touched. Many tears at these little gifts of love. The third day is often the most difficult and these little touches of home from loved ones often continue the softening of our hearts - thank you for taking the time and making the effort to do this, for encouraging your familiy members to go on a HANDS Team and for continuing to keep your families in your prayers.
OUR DOMINICAN BROTHERS AND SISTERS - wow, what can be said - thank you, gracious, mucho gracious! You have blessed us so much. It was a priviledge to be a part of your community and be the receivers of your love and mercy. We have learned so much from you and it is my prayer that we will take what we have learned about love of God and love for others to our own families and communties. Thank you for your generousity, for your care of us, for driving us around, for ignoring our complaints and for continuing to show the love of Christ to us day after day.
OUR CHURCH FAMILIES - thank you for all your prayers, encouragements, care, questions and financial contributions. We cannot express what this has meant to us but even more what it has meant for the people and children of the DR. We hope that in a few weeks we'll be able to show and tell you about our time.
OUR FATHER IN HEAVEN - Lord, God - thank you for this opportunity, thank you for your care, love and provision over the year of prepartion and eleven days away, thank you for softened hearts, for the opportunity to see you everywhere in the midst of hard things, thank you for relationships that grew, for brothers and sisters in lands so very far away, and for your grace throughout our trip.
Well, sorry this is so long. I pray you have been blessed by following our blog. I hope to add a few pictures after this and that will be it. We do have plans to take another HANDS Team in January 2013. A long time away - yes, but we look foward to seeing what God will do with this team...DV. If you are interested, speak to Karl or I and we will keep you informed. In initial meeting will not take place until later in the year or early 2012. To God be the Glory!
Our prayer for our Dominican brothers and sisters:
"The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love,
He will rejoice over you with singing." Zeph 3:17
Saturday, February 19, 2011
We're Home
Its a different view that I see as I sit at my laptop here at home. Instead of palm trees, banana trees, sunshine, greengrass and flowers I see leftover snow, grey skies and snow coming down.
Our departure from Santo Domingo was hard....tears and hurting hearts were abundant as we had to leave a country that became home and people we had become attached to. Our flights went very well, although Atlanta is crazy at the best of times. We had two hours but over an hour was spent being processed through US Customs....then pick up our luggage, recheck, go through security, go down to the subway to another terminal and then find our gate....we are gratefull that once we were processed the rest went quite quickly. We had about 15 minutes to grab some dinner and then board for the trip to Buffalo.
While on our way to Buffalo we were told there were strong winds so to be prepared for some rocking on the way down. I think the pilot was being a little underexpressive in his description of the winds....gales were more like it. It was quite the experience fighting those strong winds and we are thankful for the skills of the pilot and co-pilot for bringing us safely to the ground.
We are home....and its good to be here. Brian Doerkson playing in the background reminds me that life consists of many crossroads. We stand at the crossroads recognizing that life is change - "Here we stand, at a crossroads again. Like you said, in time the seasons change. We look back and recall the blessings and the pain, but now we turn our hearts toward what is still to come, we want to dream again. Lead us Lord, into a life of fruitfullness, prepare our hearts to risk again. As we trust, taking simple steps of obedience, we know, you will lead us Lord." These words express how many of us are feeling. Trust of God in each and every moment was a developing theme during our days in the DR.
Over the next few days we will be reflecting and processing what we experienced during our time in the DR. Our bodies and senses were bombarded with sights, sounds, smells, and touches of life in the DR. We all of pictures that have captured moments but they will not do justice to what we have learned and been taught. I hope to add a few more thoughts and pictures next week and then will conclude this blog with some overall reflections.
We are thankful that God has seen fit to bless us with his grace, mercy, beauty and safety over the past two weeks. We have felt his presence in so many ways: we received the gifts of his peace, comfort and health, we were blessed with His wisdom, love, gentleness and humbleness, and we saw with our own eyes how His sacrifice on the cross for the sin of the world can transform lives in very tangible ways - the people we were privileged to meet and be in relationship with were Christ to us - each day, in every moment. We will be forever thankful to God for this time.
Blessings on the weekend..... "How great is our God....sing with me how great is our God....and all will see how great is our God!!"
Our departure from Santo Domingo was hard....tears and hurting hearts were abundant as we had to leave a country that became home and people we had become attached to. Our flights went very well, although Atlanta is crazy at the best of times. We had two hours but over an hour was spent being processed through US Customs....then pick up our luggage, recheck, go through security, go down to the subway to another terminal and then find our gate....we are gratefull that once we were processed the rest went quite quickly. We had about 15 minutes to grab some dinner and then board for the trip to Buffalo.
While on our way to Buffalo we were told there were strong winds so to be prepared for some rocking on the way down. I think the pilot was being a little underexpressive in his description of the winds....gales were more like it. It was quite the experience fighting those strong winds and we are thankful for the skills of the pilot and co-pilot for bringing us safely to the ground.
We are home....and its good to be here. Brian Doerkson playing in the background reminds me that life consists of many crossroads. We stand at the crossroads recognizing that life is change - "Here we stand, at a crossroads again. Like you said, in time the seasons change. We look back and recall the blessings and the pain, but now we turn our hearts toward what is still to come, we want to dream again. Lead us Lord, into a life of fruitfullness, prepare our hearts to risk again. As we trust, taking simple steps of obedience, we know, you will lead us Lord." These words express how many of us are feeling. Trust of God in each and every moment was a developing theme during our days in the DR.
Over the next few days we will be reflecting and processing what we experienced during our time in the DR. Our bodies and senses were bombarded with sights, sounds, smells, and touches of life in the DR. We all of pictures that have captured moments but they will not do justice to what we have learned and been taught. I hope to add a few more thoughts and pictures next week and then will conclude this blog with some overall reflections.
We are thankful that God has seen fit to bless us with his grace, mercy, beauty and safety over the past two weeks. We have felt his presence in so many ways: we received the gifts of his peace, comfort and health, we were blessed with His wisdom, love, gentleness and humbleness, and we saw with our own eyes how His sacrifice on the cross for the sin of the world can transform lives in very tangible ways - the people we were privileged to meet and be in relationship with were Christ to us - each day, in every moment. We will be forever thankful to God for this time.
Blessings on the weekend..... "How great is our God....sing with me how great is our God....and all will see how great is our God!!"
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Our Last Few Days
We can hardly believe it.....after a year of planning, organizing, and fund-raising, its almost over! We've been here for over a week and tomorrow its time to pack up and go back to our homes. There are mixed emotions over this as we have made so many new friends, met so many beautiful people and experienced so much....yet, we are beginning to miss our families and places in our community.
Yesterday was the final work day for the team. They continued working with the locals on the final pouring of smooth concrete for the roof and almost got done. Just a small corner to go but they ran out of concrete. The team spent a good part of the day on the water and sand line - getting buckets of sand and water to the roof so the roof could be poured. In past days they used a re-bar 'hook' to haul the buckets to the top but yesterday tired muscles were not allowing anyone to do this so they found some scaffolding and set that up. It still meant lifting heavy buckets upwards, but they did use different muscles :):) The kids were so excited about their new uniforms that they convinced the teachers they should play another game of soccer!! So out into the streets they went....what fun. It was great for Bernie to see as he missed the presenting of uniforms and the first soccer game as we travelled with Dwayne way up north. Bernie's back was giving him some issues and his going helped him rest and kept Dwayne company!
I spent my day with Michele, Gord and Ezequiel going to a city that lies on the southern coast, San Pedro de Macaris. There is a beautiful school there and Michele was there to interview four students - one who is now in university, a pastor and Sandra, overseer of COCREF. Michele asked each one how being a part of a Christian School has transformed their lives. Each of them gave a moving testimony of God's grace and love and how they would not be who they are or where they were if it had not been for this school and the biblical worldview it taught. The pastor was asked about the connection between the school and the church and how each influenced the other. We also interviewed the principal, a lovely, intelligent woman who was respected and loved.
For dinner we were invited back to the school for a typical Dominican meal and fellowship with the principal, teachers and some students. As we were travelling to the school, dark thunder clouds began to gather and by the time we arrived big drops of rain were starting to fall. We first hoped it would pass but a sudden cloud burst told us we would not be eating outside under the stars! We all rushed into the prinicipals office with our chairs...a very close fit. The principal told us about the school, its students and teachers. She thanked us for coming all the way from Canada and being willing to leave our families behind to work at this school. The gratitude was all over their faces. A few students sang and gave expression to a few songs and then presented all of us with a beautiful hand-made gift of a tray or vase hand-painted with butterflies and sparkles. We will treasure these expressions of love and every time we see them we will be reminded of our brothers and sisters in the DR.
After this little presentation, we had to get to a classroom - though rain that was coming down so hard we were absolutely soaked. We all ran, again with chairs through a heavy rain and had to duck through the doorway with all the rain coming off the roof. You have never heard so much shrieking and laughter. The ladies who were cooking also had to bring all the food into this room and even though there was still a language barrier, the smiles, laughter, and screaming all made sense to us!!! And.....then.....the electricity went out....LOL We sat there, wet, laughing and in the pitch black. Thankfully, they were quite prepared and the generator took care of things. For those of us who enjoy camping, we were certainly not out of our element :)
Last night after supper we went into devotions - something we all look forward to. The topic was on Trust - trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. We talked at length about what it means to trust our Lord - now, in this moment, when its not what we expected, when we're tempted to rely on our ideas, opinions and truths. Many of our devotions encouraged us to bring God's truths for our lives into the present - today, in this moment, while we are here in the DR. The bonds and fellowship we have experienced will always be a special moment and though we will go back to our normal lives and routines, it is our prayer that we will take what we have learned in the past 10 days back to our communities.
After our time of devotions, Ezequiel spent some time with us asking about how we like our time here, what we learned, what we thought of the schools and COCREF and what difference this time here would make when we arrived back home. We spent much time talking and sharing about these things. We've been so blessed to have Ezequiel, Emilio, Dwayne and sometimes Billy participate in our times of fellowship - they are a part of our team!
Today, Daniel (our faithful driver), Ezequiel and Billy took us to three schools in the area and we were able to chat with the principals, teachers and students. Once again the importance of these schools, strategically placed in these small communities was understood. They are a light in the dark, they bring truth to where there is confusion, they bring the love of Jesus to places where sometimes there is no love. The students are learning that having Christ in their hearts makes a difference and that difference is being taken to their relationships at home, with friends and family and to their communities. God IS at work here in the Dominican Republic .
As I write sitting here on our little patio just outside our rooms I can hear the children of Emmanuel Christian School next door. The kids are singing, reciting their lessons (they do a large amount of their studies orally) and just being kids. In the other building on this property are the organizations that work together to bring Jesus to this country - COCREF, CRWM, and others. This little pocket of people and buildings is doing amazing work -so much more that one would ever realize! We have met many people who willingly sacrifice their time, energy, comfort and own ideas to bring the Light of the world to people who are so hungry for it.
Later this afternoon, we will be going to the big Mercado (market) in the downtown to buy those last minute souvenirs and also to just be immersed one more time in the beautiful culture that is of the Dominican People. They are warm, welcoming, loving, caring and relationship oriented - in a way that we could very well learn from. People ARE first....always. We are also being treated with a Pizza night for dinner. Tomorrow is a fairly leisurely morning.....after breakfast we will be packing, saying our good-byes and driving to the airport - our flight leaves about 3:30pm.
How does one conclude? There are no words to describe what we have seen, learned, experienced and felt. It will take a few days or weeks to work through and process it all. We will be meeting again in a few weeks to share those two or three things that really touched our hearts but right now there it is hard to even remember what happened a few days ago. Our hearts are a bit raw and weak and I pray that we don't try and push the discomfort of that away but will embrace it and allow God to do his work in softened and malleable hearts...as uncomfortable as that may be. And I pray that those hearts may then be used by God to spread his Good News to those in our families and communities - the news that God is King, He is Sovereign, He has died so that we may go free, He is everywhere...always, and we can trust in this great God wherever we are and in whatever we are doing.
Thank you to all who read this blog regularly - it was great to get your comments and know that you were thinking and praying for us. See you at home!!
Yesterday was the final work day for the team. They continued working with the locals on the final pouring of smooth concrete for the roof and almost got done. Just a small corner to go but they ran out of concrete. The team spent a good part of the day on the water and sand line - getting buckets of sand and water to the roof so the roof could be poured. In past days they used a re-bar 'hook' to haul the buckets to the top but yesterday tired muscles were not allowing anyone to do this so they found some scaffolding and set that up. It still meant lifting heavy buckets upwards, but they did use different muscles :):) The kids were so excited about their new uniforms that they convinced the teachers they should play another game of soccer!! So out into the streets they went....what fun. It was great for Bernie to see as he missed the presenting of uniforms and the first soccer game as we travelled with Dwayne way up north. Bernie's back was giving him some issues and his going helped him rest and kept Dwayne company!
I spent my day with Michele, Gord and Ezequiel going to a city that lies on the southern coast, San Pedro de Macaris. There is a beautiful school there and Michele was there to interview four students - one who is now in university, a pastor and Sandra, overseer of COCREF. Michele asked each one how being a part of a Christian School has transformed their lives. Each of them gave a moving testimony of God's grace and love and how they would not be who they are or where they were if it had not been for this school and the biblical worldview it taught. The pastor was asked about the connection between the school and the church and how each influenced the other. We also interviewed the principal, a lovely, intelligent woman who was respected and loved.
For dinner we were invited back to the school for a typical Dominican meal and fellowship with the principal, teachers and some students. As we were travelling to the school, dark thunder clouds began to gather and by the time we arrived big drops of rain were starting to fall. We first hoped it would pass but a sudden cloud burst told us we would not be eating outside under the stars! We all rushed into the prinicipals office with our chairs...a very close fit. The principal told us about the school, its students and teachers. She thanked us for coming all the way from Canada and being willing to leave our families behind to work at this school. The gratitude was all over their faces. A few students sang and gave expression to a few songs and then presented all of us with a beautiful hand-made gift of a tray or vase hand-painted with butterflies and sparkles. We will treasure these expressions of love and every time we see them we will be reminded of our brothers and sisters in the DR.
After this little presentation, we had to get to a classroom - though rain that was coming down so hard we were absolutely soaked. We all ran, again with chairs through a heavy rain and had to duck through the doorway with all the rain coming off the roof. You have never heard so much shrieking and laughter. The ladies who were cooking also had to bring all the food into this room and even though there was still a language barrier, the smiles, laughter, and screaming all made sense to us!!! And.....then.....the electricity went out....LOL We sat there, wet, laughing and in the pitch black. Thankfully, they were quite prepared and the generator took care of things. For those of us who enjoy camping, we were certainly not out of our element :)
Last night after supper we went into devotions - something we all look forward to. The topic was on Trust - trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. We talked at length about what it means to trust our Lord - now, in this moment, when its not what we expected, when we're tempted to rely on our ideas, opinions and truths. Many of our devotions encouraged us to bring God's truths for our lives into the present - today, in this moment, while we are here in the DR. The bonds and fellowship we have experienced will always be a special moment and though we will go back to our normal lives and routines, it is our prayer that we will take what we have learned in the past 10 days back to our communities.
After our time of devotions, Ezequiel spent some time with us asking about how we like our time here, what we learned, what we thought of the schools and COCREF and what difference this time here would make when we arrived back home. We spent much time talking and sharing about these things. We've been so blessed to have Ezequiel, Emilio, Dwayne and sometimes Billy participate in our times of fellowship - they are a part of our team!
Today, Daniel (our faithful driver), Ezequiel and Billy took us to three schools in the area and we were able to chat with the principals, teachers and students. Once again the importance of these schools, strategically placed in these small communities was understood. They are a light in the dark, they bring truth to where there is confusion, they bring the love of Jesus to places where sometimes there is no love. The students are learning that having Christ in their hearts makes a difference and that difference is being taken to their relationships at home, with friends and family and to their communities. God IS at work here in the Dominican Republic .
Later this afternoon, we will be going to the big Mercado (market) in the downtown to buy those last minute souvenirs and also to just be immersed one more time in the beautiful culture that is of the Dominican People. They are warm, welcoming, loving, caring and relationship oriented - in a way that we could very well learn from. People ARE first....always. We are also being treated with a Pizza night for dinner. Tomorrow is a fairly leisurely morning.....after breakfast we will be packing, saying our good-byes and driving to the airport - our flight leaves about 3:30pm.
How does one conclude? There are no words to describe what we have seen, learned, experienced and felt. It will take a few days or weeks to work through and process it all. We will be meeting again in a few weeks to share those two or three things that really touched our hearts but right now there it is hard to even remember what happened a few days ago. Our hearts are a bit raw and weak and I pray that we don't try and push the discomfort of that away but will embrace it and allow God to do his work in softened and malleable hearts...as uncomfortable as that may be. And I pray that those hearts may then be used by God to spread his Good News to those in our families and communities - the news that God is King, He is Sovereign, He has died so that we may go free, He is everywhere...always, and we can trust in this great God wherever we are and in whatever we are doing.
Thank you to all who read this blog regularly - it was great to get your comments and know that you were thinking and praying for us. See you at home!!
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Our Second Week
It is Tuesday today. Yesterday morning most of us were ready to go back to work. Two days off - one at the beach and going to worship on Sunday was just what was needed.
Sunday afternoon we enjoyed one more amazing lunch and then had a few hours to 'siesta'. Some visited, some caught up on emails to family, I did the blog and we all enjoyed an hour snooze. Sunday evening we were invited to Guido's home for coffee and to see his lovely home - just down the road from the Ministry Center. We enjoyed visiting with the family and seeing where Ezequiel and Emilio live. We watched Ezequiel play his electric bass guitar and just loved the little ones that were there. We have been shown such love and grace from all the people that surround us. The love of Christ is being shown to us at every moment and we are experiencing this love over and over again
Monday morning we went back to the school to continue working on the roof. It is all done and we began putting two layers of block around the perimeter. Some of the ladies sifted sand, others ran a bucket brigade for sending sand and water to the roof. The local workers also began pouring a finishing cement over the concrete roof, sloping it so that water will run off. After today, it is about a quarter of the way. It is a lot of work sending the sand and water to the roof and we took turns doing the hand off to the next person. Those on the roof had a long piece of re-bar that was bent at the ends to make hooks and they lifted the buckets up one at a time.
Today we continued with the bucket brigade and the work on the roof. After our coffee break, Ezequiel and Michele brought two full sets of soccer uniforms to the school. The kids were called into the office and they changed into uniforms. What craziness!! They immediately began to kick a ball around and eventually the whole school went up the street to have a soccer game. What fun. The older girls cheered their favourite team, Michele joined in for a bit and the community also came to watch as the noise made everyone curious as to what was going on.
After lunch, Ezequiel took us for a walk about Hato Nuevo. The children followed us with their toy cars and their desire to have their picture taken. We saw much and our hearts were touched by the obvious poverty but richness in culture, life, relationship and love for one another. There are so many things that they have and so many things we can learn from.
Tonight we had our devotions and we once again experienced such fellowship and sharing. We will be back at the job site for one more day and will probably continue on the roof.
Sunday afternoon we enjoyed one more amazing lunch and then had a few hours to 'siesta'. Some visited, some caught up on emails to family, I did the blog and we all enjoyed an hour snooze. Sunday evening we were invited to Guido's home for coffee and to see his lovely home - just down the road from the Ministry Center. We enjoyed visiting with the family and seeing where Ezequiel and Emilio live. We watched Ezequiel play his electric bass guitar and just loved the little ones that were there. We have been shown such love and grace from all the people that surround us. The love of Christ is being shown to us at every moment and we are experiencing this love over and over again
Monday morning we went back to the school to continue working on the roof. It is all done and we began putting two layers of block around the perimeter. Some of the ladies sifted sand, others ran a bucket brigade for sending sand and water to the roof. The local workers also began pouring a finishing cement over the concrete roof, sloping it so that water will run off. After today, it is about a quarter of the way. It is a lot of work sending the sand and water to the roof and we took turns doing the hand off to the next person. Those on the roof had a long piece of re-bar that was bent at the ends to make hooks and they lifted the buckets up one at a time.
Today we continued with the bucket brigade and the work on the roof. After our coffee break, Ezequiel and Michele brought two full sets of soccer uniforms to the school. The kids were called into the office and they changed into uniforms. What craziness!! They immediately began to kick a ball around and eventually the whole school went up the street to have a soccer game. What fun. The older girls cheered their favourite team, Michele joined in for a bit and the community also came to watch as the noise made everyone curious as to what was going on.
After lunch, Ezequiel took us for a walk about Hato Nuevo. The children followed us with their toy cars and their desire to have their picture taken. We saw much and our hearts were touched by the obvious poverty but richness in culture, life, relationship and love for one another. There are so many things that they have and so many things we can learn from.
Tonight we had our devotions and we once again experienced such fellowship and sharing. We will be back at the job site for one more day and will probably continue on the roof.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
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