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!!
Can't wait for you guys to come home to tell the stories. Have a safe trip back to Canada.
ReplyDeleteI'll see you then!