Barrio Kidz

Some of My Favorite Pictures of the Dominican Republic!

2011-03-09T21:55:00.001-04:00

Here’s a few of my favorite photos from my time in the Dominican Republic. I took most of them but labeled the ones taken by other people. The Dominican Presidential Palace.

Plantains at the market, taken by Darin Dueck.

The young and the elderly.

A beautiful 15th birthday party, taken by Darin Dueck.

Dominican’s love to laugh.

On their way to church.

My neighbor Maria, taken by Darin Dueck. Everybody’s dad, the avocado vendor.

A little bit of gambling taken by Darin Dueck.

My favorite place to buy fruit.

Guy time.

My best friend Minerva and another friend getting her nails done (very popular thing to do, and it’s cheap too).

Girl time.

They “helped” paint the blue building.

The mountain village called El Travesia.

Fresh coffee berries and dried ones too.

Fresh roasted coffee mountain style.

Haitian school in La Vega.

The lovely Ocean!

Who’s paying for electricity?

2010-11-02T14:43:00.001-04:00

In an attempt to stay connected to life in the D.R. I have been checking in with my friends there whenever I have a little extra cash, listening to Spanish music all the time and trying to stay up to date on D.R. news. Something that surprised me in one of the past news updates is that Dominicans pay taxes that go towards electricity. The paper reported that Dominicans are paying for electricity, which is calculated in the 16% ITBIS tax. "When people say they do not pay for electricity, it is only that they think they are not paying for it," as reported in Hoy. "But they pay for the service when they buy beer, milk or rice. A third of the tax that they pay everyday covers the electricity that they steal."
So I guess I’ll no longer say that Dominicans living in barrios are “stealing” electricity. Actually, in the barrio where they seemingly pay a very minimal amount for electricity, they probably pay a lot in the taxes being that they consume a huge amount of rice, beer and milk.

Haitians in the D.R.

2010-11-01T15:55:00.000-04:00

DR1 Daily News -- Wednesday, 27 October 2010
http://www.dr1.com

57,000 more illegal Haitians
Statistics released by the Department of Migration show that after the 12 January 2010 earthquake in Haiti, some 57,119 Haitians who crossed the border to the DR on market days have stayed on in the country illegally. A spokesman for the department told Diario Libre that the figure probably does not even account for 50% of those who have entered illegally. The Migration Department says that 83 inspectors have been dismissed in the past 14 months for complicity with people smuggling, serious faults on the job, allowing the departure of people with legal exit restrictions, administrative corruption, forgery of documents or links to drug trafficking networks.

I even miss the lizards

2010-10-26T21:19:00.001-04:00

Every once in a while I’ll see something on the floor or the wall which slightly resembles a lizard or a gecko. It’s strange, but each time I’ve taken a closer look I feel disappointed to find out that it was merely a fuzz ball or a smear. So basically what I want to say is that I miss everything about the D.R. I miss the people, the warm weather, the noise and even the lizards.

Hard Homework

2010-10-04T18:07:00.001-04:00

I’m officially a student again! I didn’t really know what to expect but I am realizing that I expected it to be a little easier than it is. Being able to read all the information, come up with a view, and write about it is something that seems to come naturally for me concerning the bible and religious things, but incredibly hard on other subjects. I laughed the other day when I read Johann Herbart’s definition of “interest”: a person’s ability to focus on and retain an idea in consciousness. According to that definition I must not not interested in many things, because I’m having the hardest time focusing on and retaining anything right now. Thankfully though, I’m told that it get’s easier as time goes on. Eventually I should get used to all the reading and writing. But for now I am really missing the freedom I experienced in the D.R. of only studying things that applied to the present situation I was in. I’m also really missing my little neighbor friends.

Getting around in the D.R.

2010-09-20T11:53:00.001-04:00

It might surprise you, but lots of people returning from the mission field have trouble adjusting to their home culture. Feelings of loneliness, depression, and disorientation are all common. Thankfully I have a number of good resources, like a book called Re-Entry by Peter Jordan, and people I can talk to if things get difficult.
One thing I have noticed is that I feel sad whenever I have to drive somewhere by myself. Though the picture above is not very common, it was common for me to travel around on the back of a motorcycle taxi while in the D.R.. Every time I went to town I had the driver to talk to. Or even if I walked to town I would never make it all the way there without being stopped by one or two friends who were also walking somewhere. So yes, getting around in the states is a bit lonely for me. Hopefully I’ll be able to find someone to carpool with soon!

Allergic Reactions

2010-09-15T00:32:00.001-04:00

I went to visit my dad in the recovery area after his successful back surgery when I suddenly felt a bit dizzy. I tried to stay focused as the nurse gave me care instructions but when everything went fuzzy and black I interrupted her and found a place to sit down. After a few minutes I felt fine again yet I was a little disturbed as to why I got dizzy.
The nurse laughed at me when I told her I might have an allergic reaction to hospitals, and yes I know it sounds a bit bazaar. Yet the only times I can remember getting dizzy or sick like that during the past three years have been when I was with someone else in a hospital. Once I was with a team leader who had kidney stones, as the nurses were caring for her I suddenly felt sick and quickly occupied the other bed in the room. Another time, a few months ago, I was caring from my friend at the hospital, but about midnight I got sick and spent the night emptying out my stomach as well as trying to be a help to her. And then once again yesterday, while getting instructions on how to help my dad. Is there any connection here? Could I be allergic to hospitals???

First Impressions

2010-09-15T00:25:00.001-04:00

I’m back in the U.S.A. now, slowly getting rested up and attempting to transition into the American culture. Here’s a few of the the things that have stuck out to me so far……

So many paper towels: Lots of my friends who have returned from overseas get overwhelmed in grocery stores, by the vast variety, especially on the cereal isle. I’ve never really had this problem. However, during my first trip to the closest Fred Meyers I was a little shocked that half of a very long isle was full of paper towels options. Why would anyone need so many different paper towel choices!?!

Seat belts!?!: My dad was speeding in a construction zone so it made since to me why the police officer pulled him over and asked for his license, but why did she ask for mine? She informed that I didn’t have my seatbelt on right and could give me a $200+ ticket. I couldn’t believe it! I didn’t realize there was a wrong way to wear a seatbelt. I thought as long as it was buckled in it was the right way. Well now I know, a new law was passed a few years ago and it’s highly against the law to put the seatbelt under you arm!

Bathrooms and faucet water: A little thing that makes me happy every time I leave the D.R. are the bathrooms. Even the bathrooms on airplanes are great; warm water to wash your hands with, clean water to brush you teeth with, and decent tubing which allows you to flush t.p.!

Noise Please: The peace and quiet is almost annoying. I’ve been at my dad’s house for a few days now and haven’t seen any of his neighbors, their pets, or moving vehicles. It’s almost hard to sleep without dogs barking, music playing, or motorcycles buzzing by!

Good Eats: One thing that I definitely love about the states are all the great food options. I’ve already had Korean barbeque, fish and chips, an espresso milkshake, and some tasty salads. I look forward to Thai food, Indian, Moroccan, and so much more!

Lots of Goodbyes

2010-09-14T21:40:00.001-04:00

The official goodbyes started Saturday morning when my little friends put their money together and prepared a little breakfast for our last meeting. Together we enjoyed a variety of salami, cheese, crackers, potato chips, suckers, and soda pop. (I guess that doesn’t really count as breakfast).

Then in the afternoon, Aneudy surprised me with a gift and small presentation while leading kids church.

On Sunday a bunch of friends came over and together we made all kinds of desserts and treats. I made Chocolate Cheese Cake and Chocolate Crinkle Cookies, tall Aneudy made Tres Leches Cake, short Aneudy made a creamed filled Roll-up Cake, Adriana made Deviled Eggs, Yuneris made a Pasta Salad, and the twins made Platano Spiders. It was quite a feast! Unfortunately I was so busy eating that I forgot to take pictures.

On Tuesday night Michel’s cell group made popcorn and played some games in my honor, as well as said lots of nice things about me.
Afterwards my little neighbor friend, Gabbi, informed me she had asked her mom for permission to come over because I’d be leaving soon. We made smoothies and played a few games.
On Wednesday the T.E.A.R.S. School staff made me my favorite Dominican meal, Locrio (Chicken with rice) with pasta salad and potato salad!

Then on Wednesday night the TEARS team threw me my final goodbye party. Together we watched slideshows from the past ten years and ate cake. They also gave me a few presents, prayed for me, and said lots of nice things about me. I tried to say nice things about all of them as well, but besides the fact that I’m not good with words I also think it’s impossible to express how much of an impact each of them have made on my life. I’ll miss all of them so much!

Quick Travesia Trip

2010-09-01T11:48:00.001-04:00

Even though I’d already said goodbyes to all my friends in the Travesia a few weeks ago I couldn’t pass up getting a ride up there to say goodbyes one more time. Bau had to check on a work project up there, so nine of us headed up in the giant red ministry truck for a quick day trip. I visited as many people as I could, drank lots of coffee, ate lots of bananas, took some pictures, and enjoyed a great rice and beans lunch. It was a beautiful day up there (cloudy but no rain)…. so glad I got to go up there one more time.

Stepping outside my comfort zone

2010-08-31T23:36:00.001-04:00

I’ve been having trouble sleeping, crying at any mention of my departure, and feel very overwhelmed with the idea of packing up my messy house. I’ve become very comfortable here. Despite the the loud barrio noises and all the other negative things I’ve complained about in the past, this is my home now. And I love it here. This is my comfort zone. The USA is no longer familiar and comfortable to me. Why then am I leaving? It’s hard to explain, but just like when I first moved down here, I feel like I’m doing what God wants me to do. I’m not excited at all right now about leaving, but somewhere deep inside, underneath all the sadness I am looking forward to seeing what God has in store for my future. I will miss all my Dominican friends and family tremendously though. Here’s just a few of the people I’ll miss……

The Most Beautiful Beach Ever

2010-08-26T11:25:00.001-04:00

While Bau was working hard with the team from NY I got to join the TEARS school teachers on an overnight camping trip to northeast corner of the island. We hiked to beautiful waterfall –El Salto de Limon, camped on the beach, and spent the day at one of the most beautiful beaches in the world- Playa Rincon. Our guides made the long hours on the road fun by teaching us what makes the provinces we were passing through unique, teaching us fun games and songs the teachers can do with their students, and by stopping to buy specialty foods in each city – breads, cheeses, and sweets. So much fun!

NY Team

2010-08-23T12:49:00.001-04:00

We just had a team of 15 here from Utica, NY who helped us bless a few pastor friends with work projects as well as some great afternoon kids activities and evening outreaches.
The time had come for me to hand over my team leadership responsibilities, so I didn’t get all that involved, which was a bit strange. I didn’t lead orientation, I got paid as a translator to help at a few events, and didn’t have to make any decisions about what the team would or wouldn’t do. It was a bit surreal, a bit freeing, and a little bit sad all at the same time. I am happy to say that Bautista Valerio is doing a great job taking on all the responsibilities, and I look forward to seeing him improve how T.E.A.R.S. works with short term mission teams to bless local communities.

Oh How I Loved Youth Camp 2010

2010-07-27T11:14:00.001-04:00

What did I love about this year’s youth camp?

I loved that we worked together with leaders from other churches.

I loved the focus on cell groups. The end goal of the camp was to start new cell groups and get lots of youth involved in them. With this in mind each leader chose six campers who they wanted to be a part of their cell groups. And each evening “sermon” of the camp was led by the cabin group leader in homes to get everyone used to being part of a cell group. This way of sharing the evening message was a huge success!

I loved that all 22 team members from Trinity Community church of Norwood, Ma read the book When Helping Hurts. They had such a refreshing outlook on missions because of it! I definitely recommend this book to anyone planning to do short or long term missions.

I loved our times of praise and worship, both in the barrio and up in the Travesia.

I loved the camp talent show. It was fun seeing a great mix of dance, dramatized bible lessons, songs, and jokes.

I loved our time in the Travesia. With a group of 110 we more than doubled the population in this small mountain village, but it wasn’t near as overwhelming as I had expected. The youth did a great job at getting firewood, digging up roots and tubers for the meals, and helping in the kitchen. They seemed to enjoy themselves in just about everything, especially during the hike and time at the river!

Please continue to pray for all the camp leaders and youth. Pray that they would grow in their relationship with God, that God would give them a heart to be part of a small group or congregation, and that God would protect them from temptations and harm.

Coconuts

2010-07-25T16:05:00.000-04:00

The other day I found out that the liquid within a young coconut is one of the richest sources of electrolytes known to man. That the water, or milk, as some call it, is nearly identical to blood plasma. And that when you drink fresh coconut water, it’s as if you’ve given yourself an instant blood transfusion.
So, after being in a country full of young coconuts for nearly ten years, I thought it might be good to buy one and try this miracle drink for the first time. I found a guy in the barrio who could get me any amount of coconuts I wanted, so I had him bring me ten. It literally took me an hour to get the liquid out of the first one. For most of the following nine coconuts I was fortunate to find people who know how to use a machete who helped me get the miracle liquid. It is so much work, yet I must say it’s well worth it! I’m giving credit to the young coconuts for my good health these past few weeks. And now I’ve learned that the coconut salesman can peel them a little bit so they’re easier for me to open.
If you haven’t tried a young coconut before I highly recommend it!

garbage

2010-07-24T16:22:00.000-04:00

The new Governor of La Vega will be taking office on August 16th, so as expected here, the present Governor has pretty much stopped doing his old responsibilities. For example, the garbage men only pick up garbage if they are given funds to do so, and supposedly he hasn’t been giving them the money. We went well over a month in the barrio without getting our garbage picked up. It was so bad that it was not uncommon to see up to thirty rice sacks full of garbage stacked up in front of a vacant house. Others even made a small business of carrying people’s garbage off to the nearest garbage bin in the city.
I’m looking forward to seeing if things get better when the new Governor takes office.

Half Way Through Camp

2010-06-30T06:45:00.001-04:00

Sports, work projects, theater classes, hospital visits, team games, cell groups and water games are some of my favorite things about camp so far. This morning we’ll be heading up to the Travesia, about 100 of us, first time we’ve ever had so many people up there. More pictures coming soon!

Youth Camp Prep

2010-06-23T11:48:00.001-04:00

For the past two months twenty Christian leaders from the barrio have been coming together weekly to plan for next weeks youth camp. From planning the camp activities, studying the bible, choosing a t-shirt design, and just having fun together these meetings have been great. There's still a lot of details to figure out before the opening show this Saturday night, yet we’re all excited and praying that God uses this camp to impact the 50+ youth involved.

Marital status in the D.R.

2010-06-23T11:25:00.001-04:00

According to a recent article in DR1 31.4% of the Dominican population "lives together", 18.5% of the population is married (by law or by the Catholic church), 1.5% is divorced, 5.2% is widowed,12% are separated, and 31.4% are single. The statistics show that 2,155,144 people are living as couples without being married and that the percentage of married couples has declined since 2005 (20.9% were married and 30.6% were living together).

“Living together” here is a little different than in the states, in that most everyone refers to the couple as husband and wife not just boyfriend and girlfriend or partners. Also, typically a couple only moves in together once they are planning to stay together forever, they’re not just trying things out to see if one day they’ll “get married for real”. This raises a lot of questions for Christians here in the barrio though. Being in a poor area where roughly only 20% of all couples have been married by the law, it’s sometimes hard to know what’s right and wrong. Some think all Christians must get married by the law or else they have fallen into sin, while others feel certain that they should be devoted to one person their entire life and don’t understand the big fuss about getting married by the law. What do you think the most biblical thing is to do?

A little too late

2010-06-08T17:23:00.001-04:00

"El Dominicano no compra candado hasta que le roban".
”A Dominican doesn’t buy a lock until after they’ve been robbed”.

This very common Dominican expression is a good description of me and my neighbors. It wasn’t until our water pump was stolen last Friday night that we decided we should buy a lock and put it in a more secure spot. Fortunately, three days after our loss, we purchased a new water pump for a good price and our friend The Welder made an almost thief proof place to store it!

The New Man of the House

2010-06-07T10:35:00.001-04:00

It was heartbreaking listening to Idekel yesterday share about how he stood up to his mom’s boyfriend and kicked him out of their house. The boyfriend had been defiantly unfaithful to Idekel’s mom, was no longer helping pay for all the food, and was fighting with everyone in the house. His mom had only stayed with him so long because she couldn’t provide for her family on her own, but Idekel let her know he would support her and his three siblings. The very next day he started working full time.
It’s so hard watching a fifteen year old take on these types of responsibilities and part of me wants to rescue him from this situation. Yet thanks to good books like When Helping Hurts by Corbett & Fikkert I’m reminded that my good intentions of giving out handouts or trying to take Idekel out of the situation could actually do more harm than good. So what should I do? I’m not exactly sure, I haven’t finished the book yet (hahaha), but I do know that being in a relationship with the whole family is very important. I’m praying for wisdom as to how I can best help the entire family long term, that God will give Idekel strength through this tough time and use it to make him stronger in the Lord, and that God would become more real to each family member as they learn to depend on Him more.

John Piper in the D.R.!

2010-06-05T22:35:00.001-04:00

My life has been greatly impacted by books and sermons by John Piper. God used him to give me a great heart for unreached countries as well as helping me enjoy God a lot more. All that to say that it was a privilege to go hear him speak live in the capital together with the T.E.A.R.S. School teachers this past Thursday. After hearing him speak it is so obvious that God has given him a great heart for this country as well as of all Latin America. I’m so thankful for the Spanish children’s materials, books translated to Spanish, and leaders conferences (free of charge) that the Desiring God Ministry has made available.

Eating Raw in the D.R.

2010-05-27T21:46:00.001-04:00

I’d never heard of people only eating raw foods until I met a couple who own a “raw” restaurant in Baja California a few months ago . Intrigued by the idea of “eating raw” I bought a book about it and found out that the raw diet is made up of lots of seeds, nuts, and dehydrated foods as well as fresh fruits and vegetables. Since then I borrowed a dehydrator from a friend and started experimenting. I’ve found it to be a bit challenging here in the D.R. being that some recipes require 36 hours of dehydrating and I’m only likely to get 8 to 13 hours of electricity a day. And a lot of the recipes call for special health food ingredients that don’t exist here. However, it’s fun to experiment!

So here’s what I’ve been eating these past few days.

My first meal after a seven day fresh juice feast: “raw” banana bread, fruit salad, and carrot juice. (Raw Banana Bread: 1 cup ground flax seeds, 1 cup ground sunflower seeds, 3 bananas, and a little honey; mixed in the food processor and then kept in the dehydrator for roughly 18 hours).

My second raw meal: a tomato cheese sandwich on onion bread and a green salad. (Raw Onion Bread: 1/2 cup ground flaxseeds, 1/2 cup raw ground sunflower seeds, 1/8 cup Bragg Liquid Aminos, 1/8 cup olive oil, and three small onions sliced thinly; all ingredients mixed in a bowl and put in the dehydrator for 36 hours). (Sunflower Seed Cheese: 1 cup raw sunflower seeds soaked for 6-8 hours, 1 tbsp lime juice, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 clove garlic, and a few tbsp’s water; blended together until creamy).

My third raw meal: vegetables with hummus and mini veggie & cheese sandwiches on onion bread.
(Raw Hummus: 1 cup sunflower seeds soaked for 1 hour, 2 cups zucchini peeled and chopped, 2 cloves garlic, 1/4 cup lime juice, 1/3 cup water, 1/4 cup olive oil, and 2 teaspoons salt; mixed in the blender until creamy).

Yes it’s actually possible to make raw chips to go with your fresh salsa, and it’s really easy too. (Raw Corn Tortilla Chips: I put 3 cups frozen corn, 1 yellow bell pepper, 1 medium sized onion, 2 tbsp lime juice, 2 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp cayenne powder, and 2 tsp salt in a food processor and mixed it until smooth…. then added 1 cup ground golden flaxseed and 1/2 cup ground sunflower seeds, mixed until smooth, spread the mixture out as thin as possible and then put it into the dehydrator for roughly 12 hours.

(Raw Carrot Cake: 1/2 cup raisins, 3/4 cup shredded carrot, 3 tbsp ground flaxseed, 1/4 cup homemade dried coconut, 1 tsp vanilla, 2 tbsp honey, 1/4 tbsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/8 tsp nutmeg, 1/8 tsp ginger, and 1/4 cup chopped sunflower seeds blended until all ingredients are well combined and then put in the dehydrator for about 4 hours). (Raw Sunflower Seed Frosting:1 cup raw soaked sunflower seeds, 1/4 cup honey, 2 tbsp lime juice, 1 tbsp olive oil, 1/2 tsp vanilla, 1 tbsp water, and a pinch of salt; blended until smooth and creamy).

(Raw corn tortillas -for soft tacos and wraps: 2 cups golden flax seeds soaked for 4 hrs, 1/2 cup ground flax seed, 1 cup corn, 1/4 ripe avocado, 1/2 cup sunflower seeds soaked for 1 hr, 1/8 cup chopped onion, 2 cloves garlic, 1 tsp. paprika, 1 tsp. chili powder, 1/2 tsp. cayenne powder, 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp sea salt, and 1 tbsp lime juice all blended in the food processor, spread into thin circles and dehydrated for roughly 4 hours).

My favorite raw foods treat, chocolate coconut balls. (Raw chocolate coconut balls: 1/2 cup almonds, 1/2 cup cashews, 1 cup pitted dates, 1/4 cup cocoa or carob powder blended well in the food processor, shaped into balls and rolled in dried coconut).

So in conclusion of my raw foods experiment, I think everyone who likes to cook and wants to be healthier should try it for a week or two. I personally feel a bit healthier and have been surprised by how good raw food tastes!

Still Waiting

2010-05-17T12:06:00.001-04:00

Yesterday people all over the country were going to schools and public buildings from 6am to 6pm to vote.
The two main parties here are the Purple party or PLD (Dominican Liberation Party)
and the white party or PRL (Dominican Revolutionary Party). Most people are very dedicated to one or the other political party, not because they share the same beliefs or think their candidate is the better man for the job. But because they’re more likely to get a government job or financial help if their political party is in power.
Today, the day after the elections, there’s a lot of noise in the streets as people celebrate whenever their political party is announced to be in the lead.

However, all the celebrating is a bit premature as the votes from each community are still being counted. Hopefully by the end of the day we’ll find out who actually won.

The final results:
About four days after the elections some officials finally announced that the Governor for the purple party (the one responsible for paving roads in the barrio) had won by more than 1000 votes. I think they new the final results sooner, but due to fear that riots and fights would break out they decided to wait. The purple party won in almost every province in the country (governor, mayor, etc.) and now holds 31 of the 32 senate seats.

More Road Work

2010-05-16T12:26:00.000-04:00

To my surprise the government continued to work on the streets in the barrio all the way up to two days before the elections. Only four streets got paved with asphalt but all the roads got covered with tar and gravel (even the street I live on!). Supposedly if the PLD political party wins the elections here in La Vega they’ll come back quickly to finish the work they started.

Book Club

2010-05-10T10:26:00.001-04:00

Something that has been so encouraging to me these past few years besides online sermons, has been reading good books together with ex-pat friends. Thanks to my friend and co-worker, Jennifer, I’ve been pushed to read a little bit faster than I would on my own, one book every two weeks, as well as actually finish the books I start. I really enjoyed the past three books we read together….. The Radical Reformission by Mark Driscoll, Back to Jerusalem by Paul Hattaway, and Forgotten God by Francis Chan. I would love to have an online discussion with any of you if you’ve read or end up reading one of these books.

Beautiful Creator

2010-05-09T09:51:00.001-04:00

I was going through some of my photos and just had to take a minute to enjoy this beach scene. When I took these pictures I don’t think it hit me how beautiful the beaches are here, actually, I often take them for granted. Yet for some reason this morning these pictures reminded me how beautiful and amazing our creator must be to have made something (and so many other things) so lovely.

Running for Office

2010-05-03T21:38:00.001-04:00

The “purple” political party has been busy in the barrio. They’ve paved a few roads. They’ve turned popular meringue songs into catchy tunes that boast about how great they are. They’ve made lots of promises to do even more work in the barrio. They’ve handed out cash to people asking for help. And just a few days ago they handed out plates of food right in front of my house. (They gave me a really big plate of rice and chicken!)

Intolerance to milk, not poisoning

2010-05-01T10:21:00.001-04:00

Just a few days ago there was a news report that at least 56 school children in Rio San Juan suffered food poisoning after drinking what is thought to be contaminated milk. The children who were affected were taken to several medical centers with symptoms such as nausea, stomachache, vomiting, diarrhea and general weakness.
I thought it was pretty humorous the following day when the news informed us that actually the children had simply suffered from intolerance to the flavored milk and had not been poisoned by the Ladom milk product.
I’m not sure what to believe but I think I’ll stay away from the milk provided by the government for a while!

All Night Prayer

2010-05-01T10:12:00.001-04:00

I had a desire to have an all night prayer meeting, so I mentioned it at the Sunday church service, told some of my Christian friends, as well as some teenagers. Being that an average of five people tend to show up for these kinds of activities I was a little overwhelmed when more than fifty people showed up, roughly ten church members and the rest teenagers who thought it might be fun to stay up all night. The atmosphere I had hoped for wasn’t achieved, yet we did get a chance to preach to, pray with, teach and encourage a lot of young people who rarely feel comfortable stepping foot in a church building. I have a mix of feelings about last nights event, yet over all I feel a deep sense of hope for the youth of this barrio. Please pray that God will give me the strength and the opportunity to pray with these young people as often as possible, and that God would fill each of them with immense love for Him!

Letting Others Lead

2010-04-27T12:38:00.001-04:00

I was super excited when my neighbor, 16 year old Michel Canela, told me she was going to start a bible study group and asked me if I would be a part of it. And seriously I’ve enjoyed this bible study so much these past two months. Being that Michel has a very humble approach to leading and doesn’t feel like she needs to have all the answers the girls feel a freedom to openly share their thoughts, to teach each other and pray for one another. There have been some struggles for Michel as other girls in the church feel like she’s not qualified to lead a bible study and try to convince others that they shouldn’t go to her study. Yet even in that, Michel has had a positive outlook and is looking forward to seeing what God is going to do in your group. I personally have been challenged by Michel’s example to not do all the teaching myself when I do bible studies, even in the bible study I do with my little 5th grade friends. For the past two weeks on Saturday mornings I’ve had some of the girls prepare a lesson for that day, and really, they have done a much better job than I’ve ever done. All around I’ve been reminded and encouraged to give others opportunities to grow in their gifts, no matter how old they are, instead of doing all the “leader type positions” all by myself.

The First Paved Road!

2010-04-19T12:01:00.001-04:00

After over twenty years of failed promises, all of us in Maria Auxiliadora are extremely happy that Main Street is finally paved! Though it doesn’t look very likely that all the streets in the barrio will get paved, there’s still a lot to be excited about. I’m personally very happy. No more battles with mud as I walk from my house to the city. No more getting dropped off at the entrance of the barrio because a taxi driver refused to go through the muddy streets. No more muscle pains from mountain biking through the bumpy streets. So many little things to be thankful for!

Agua!

2010-04-18T14:42:00.000-04:00

In my opinion, this country is obsessed with cleanliness (in a good way). Women often mop their floors numerous times a day and completely flood their houses with water at least once a week. And unlike me, almost everyone showers at least twice a day and three or four times on a hot day. So after nearly ten days without water people seemed pretty desperate and grumpy. Luckily, we started to get water in the faucets again this morning. People from the back of the barrio who don’t get much water pressure filled the streets today with their gallon jugs and buckets, stocking up on this valuable resource any way they could.

The Money’s in the Bag

2010-04-17T12:12:00.000-04:00

I thought it was a joke when I first came across the 50 pesos in my Cheetos bag. But when I found out that you can win up to 500 pesos in one bag of chips I bought a bunch of chips. Unfortunately, I didn’t come across any more winning bags.

The Day Before Easter

2010-04-14T22:24:00.001-04:00

I’ve known that everyone here likes to make Sweet Beans around Easter, but I didn’t realize how popular it was until I went to town with Idekel to buy the ingredients the day before. The last ingredient on the list was some sweet potatoes, which are extremely common around here. Yet the day before Easter, they’re extremely scarce. After we’d gone to the fresh produce market, three grocery stores, and over ten corner stores I started trying to convince Idekel that Sweet Beans are good without sweet potato. But he was determined to find some, and at our very last stop we found some very lovely batatas.

I on the other hand didn’t bother making Sweet Beans from scratch this year….. instead I tried out a new product here in the D.R., canned Sweet Beans! They turned out to be pretty good. They’re also a good conversation starter as many Dominicans can’t believe their beloved homemade dessert now comes in a can!

Young Life Youth Camp

2010-04-14T22:06:00.001-04:00

Once again I got the opportunity to go with some teenage girls from our barrio to a Young Life camp for a four day get-away. The camp’s focus was to challenge new Christians to become leaders….. and challenging it was. They offered lots of good classes, good food, fun games and lots of free time, awesome worship, a trip to a retirement home, and some thought provoking experiences the girls will never forget. It was a bit tiring for me, but I’m so thankful for the great work Young Life is doing.

Interns!

2010-04-14T21:38:00.001-04:00

You might be surprised to hear that we just had a one month internship. Actually, I was pretty surprised to hear about it too when I got back from North Africa in January. It wasn’t something we’d planned to do, or something do every year but it just kind of happened, and I’m really glad it did.

We had two very sweet girl interns from Canada. Together they were a great team; waking up at 5:30 each morning for prayer, working hard at the school, using all the Spanish they knew to communicate with their house mom and new friends, eating chicken’s feet and other non-Canadian foods, hiking up to the Travesia, killing chickens, and much more. Here’s a few pictures.

Treacherous Travesia Trip

2010-04-06T10:05:00.001-04:00

My trip up to the Travesia two weeks ago just wasn’t long enough so Idekel and I decided Holy Week was the perfect time to make another trip up there. As if the two hour speed walk up the mountain wasn’t enough for me, we decided to join some of our friends to explore a cave about another one and a half hour away.
The cave wasn’t quite as big as any of us had expected. Actually, we’re still not sure if the passageway was closed during an earthquake, or if we somehow over looked the correct passage way.

Either way, we had fun trying to light sticks to see with, crawling on the ground under enormous rocks looking for passageway, and just hanging-out with each other. Fortunately on our long trip back to the Travesia we found an abandoned bunch of ripe bananas, a nice little swimming hole, and lots of beautiful flowers. Back in the Travesia we ate lots of good food……….
Hung out with lots of our lovely campesino friends……..
Stayed up late telling stories and jokes around a small camp fire………Had a small Sunday School class with the Travesia kids…….. Hung out with more lovely people……

Watched our friends work together to dry and store precious organic coffee beans……
And then said our farewells to the simple country life.

My Acting Career

2010-04-04T10:28:00.001-04:00

Since I was a little girl I always dreamed about becoming an actress some day. Well, I finally got that once in a life-time opportunity I was waiting for! Check out The Lost Chicken, a somewhat quirky version of the Parable of the Lost Sheep (Luke 15).

First Trip up the Mountain

2010-03-30T13:09:00.001-04:00

OK, this wasn’t my first trip ever to the Travesia, but it was my first trip in 2010. Once again it was so great to be in such a beautiful place and to see all my lovely campesino friends. Here are a few pictures of my friends up there.

Haiti Trip #8

2010-03-25T23:19:00.001-04:00

My eighth trip to Haiti was the shortest I’ve ever gone on. Early in the morning we headed towards the Northern most border crossing. We parked our car, walked to the border, and filled out all the needed paperwork at both the Dominican and Haitian Customs offices. Then within a five minute walk we made it to our final destination, a lovely School and Orphanage.

Joy and Vidal’s friends help run this school, so we got a great tour of all the classrooms, nurses office, kitchen, and the Sanctuary which is presently housing 52 earthquake victims. (Mostly Orphans who were previously living in an Orphanage in the capital but after the earthquake had no roof over their heads).

After school hours we had the opportunity to go see some of the children in their homes and wander around the surrounding community. With over four hundred students and more than one hundred orphans you can imagine what a great impact this ministry has on the families living in the community!

Getting Ready for Elections

2010-03-25T22:35:00.001-04:00

You may find this hard to believe but the barrio roads might just be paved during the next few weeks! As elections draw near, lots of candidates are trying to impress as many people as possible by paving roads in various communities all over the country. Last week a number of large trucks started smoothing out our barrio’s dirt roads. Then they covered the roads with gravel, sprayed them with tar, and then covered them with a finer gravel. Supposedly they will come back within ten days to finish the job. I can’t wait!

Ask and You Will Receive

2010-03-25T21:00:00.001-04:00

Everyone around here knows that the months leading up to political elections is when individuals and communities are most likely to receive help from the government. So, with an election coming up on May 16th, it’s a good time to make requests!

El Camino Church and the Neighborhood Committee requested three computers and books to be used in the El Camino Community Library. Thanks to the Senator running for re-election we received one Dell computer and a number of books. (Two other computers were donated to others in the Barrio). We’re looking forward to getting our library up and running!

Bau also took the opportunity while the Senator was in our church building to present a need that our friends Wanda and Cheo had. The house they were renting was being sold and they were doing everything they could to finish constructing their own house, but were lacking a lot of construction materials.

The whole audience applauded when the Senator promised them 70 tin roof sheets.

Though they received ten less than promised, they were thankful for the blessing and quickly got to work finishing their new home!

A Four Year Olds Observations

2010-03-25T13:20:00.001-04:00

My little four year old neighbor friend, Gabby, loves coming over to my house and helping me in the kitchen. If she comes to my front door and can see that I’m in the kitchen she’ll come into my house, move a chair from the living room into the kitchen, stand next to me and start helping me with whatever I’m doing. She’ll do dishes, wash vegetables, help stir stuff, etc.She also likes observing other things I do and have. The other day she was really intrigued by two two-pound pink weights I have. She asked me what they were. (weights). Asked me if they were heavy. (Yes… for a four year old). Asked me what they’re used for. (exercise). Asked me if I use them. (yes, sometimes). Then she came really close, pointed to my bicep, and asked me why my arms were so skinny then. (I laughed out loud). She’s so observant!

Easter Ice Cream

2010-03-16T07:54:00.001-04:00

DR1 Daily News -- Friday, 12 March 2010

Helados Bon's Easter treat
Eating a sweet with red beans is a Dominican Easter tradition, comparable to chocolate Easter Eggs in the US and the UK. But for those who don't have the time or talent to make the sweet themselves, or a neighbor or friend who will share some of theirs, there is Helados Bon. The leading Dominican ice cream company produces the ice cream version of the sweet every Easter. It is now for sale through April at Bon Ice Cream shops nationwide. The sweet is made from red beans, milk, sweet potatoes, cookies, raisins, sugar and coconut. It goes well combined with Organic Chocolate, Organic Coffee, Macadamia or Vainilla Imperial flavors. It also makes a delicious milk shake.

Haiti Trip #7

2010-03-12T08:27:00.001-04:00

As we were driving across the Haitian border it occurred to me how long it had been since my last trip to Haiti. Five years to be exact. I’d forgotten how different it was on the other side of the border. The roads are much better than five years ago, but people are still living in deep poverty, much worse than the poverty I see in the D.R. And now due to the devastating earthquake, many of the wealthier people are even living in tents with nearly no possessions left. New tent communities have sprouted up everywhere, both in the city and on the countryside, and I do mean everywhere! Even people whose homes were not terribly damaged are choosing to sleep outside in tents due to fear.

Figuring out how to fit all the tent frames into the back of the red truck.

After roughly two hours we managed to fit sixty tents (made by missionary friends in Santiago) into the truck!

The first evening of our road trip.

Spent the first night on the Dominican side of the border at some missionary friends home new Elias Piña.

Hanging out at the border…. waiting for all our paperwork to get approved.

Hanging out with the peanut vendors.

Finally, on our way into Haiti!

The first 20 kilometers of road is how I remember all roads in Haiti being; incredibly bumpy and extremely dusty. Yet after about an hour of driving on bad roads we came onto very good new roads!

Hanging out at a small orphanage waiting for our friends to arrive.

Even though this orphanage has a pretty large building that is still in tact, everyone has decided to sleep outside under tarps and sheets.

As we got closer to the capital there was at least one house completely destroyed like this one on each city block.

People are still going through the rubble of their homes and businesses, trying to salvage anything they possibly can (cement blocks, rebar, etc).

Tent communities are everywhere. Seems like every plot of land in the city has become a new tent neighborhood.

This trip was really humbling for me. Though I spent most of the trip in the truck looking out the window (roughly 24 hours of driving), I was reminded of how much I have. I was impressed by the joy I saw on peoples faces even though they’ve suffered so much loss and have so little. They’re a strong and beautiful people, who seem able to make the best out of the hardest situations.

Juice Cleanse

2010-03-11T22:11:00.001-04:00

A friend of mine is doing a juice feast for an extended amount of time, so I decided to join them by doing a week long juice cleanse. I borrowed a Juice Man Juicer, stocked up on veggies you can get in the barrio (mostly cucumbers and carrots), and started juicing! However, I didn’t realize my low watt juicing machine was too strong for my back-up battery system, so I’ve had a improvise a little bit each time the power goes out. So when I’m unable to juice carrots, beets, cucumbers and other vegetables, I drink herbal teas, lemon water or hand squeezed orange juice. I’m on day seven today and it hasn’t been too terribly hard, just a little time consuming finding and preparing all the vegetables. Also I miss certain foods…. but I look forward to all the physical benefits it’s supposed to do for me!

Discovery

2010-03-01T12:02:00.001-04:00

While I was in North Africa last fall it seemed like there was something new to discover every day. Basically everything was exciting; local food, traditions, beliefs, phrases, etc. An excitement I realized I no longer have for the Dominican Republic. However, I hope to regain some of that excitement of discovery for this country, because though I sometimes feel like a pro on Dominican culture I have so much more to learn….. I just have to become a learner again!

Pinky swear or Enemy swear
A friend and I decided to hold each other accountable for something the other day, so I ended our conversation with suggesting that we pinky swear (if you not sure what that is you can look it up on Wikipedia). To my surprise my friend told me that was bad here….. actually here it’s a way for two people to agree that they’ll be enemies forever. (I wonder how many times I’ve offended these past 9 years by shaking little fingers with them?)

Grieving the Dead
The other night Rod and I drove a dying man to the hospital only to find out that he’d died before we arrived, and there was nothing the doctors could do. Just over an hour after we left the hospital an ambulance brought the body back to his house in the barrio. As a few men carried the coffin inside the family members of the deceased began to wail and scream. One of his sisters screamed loudly, went into convulsions, and passed out for a few minutes. From the response of the large crowd outside the house, these kind of reactions are completely normal, and actually are expected from someone who really loved the deceased. These kind of wails, screams, and expressions of grief can often last through the night and even into the morning until the coffin is carried to the graveyard and buried.

Sweet Beans
A special dessert made of red beans, milk, sugar, cinnamon, and raisins isn’t just supposed to be made on Good Friday as I had thought, but actually all throughout lent. So yes, I’ve already received my first cup from the neighbors.
Why do they make sweet beans during lent… or at all? I’m still trying to figure that one out.

Needs in Haiti

2010-02-25T09:45:00.001-04:00

As you all have heard the capital in Haiti was devastated by a earthquake on January 12th 2010. On this side of the island we felt the quake but never imagined so many people had died and buildings destroyed on the other side of the border. Though I’m on the same island the effects of the earthquake still seem very far removed from me. Yet little by little it seems as though more and more refugees are crossing the border, and more and more of the local churches I’m in relationship with are trying to get more involved in the long term problems Haitians are facing.

I just wanted to write this short blog to encourage you not to forget about your brothers and sisters in Haiti. They will continue to need your prayers and your help for a long period of time, possibly ten years.

(Here’s a few articles I found helpful).
Special Giving to Haiti: Not All Relief is Created Equal http://www.disciplemagazine.com/www/articles/105.67

Haïti: blessed or cursed?
http://www.worldevangelicals.org/pdf/Haiti_-_Cursed_or_Blessed.pdf

Kids Camp

2010-02-18T09:32:00.001-04:00

Cowboy hats, thick Mexican accents, lots of games, rock climbing, crafts, and good food are just a few of the things that made this years’ T.E.A.R.S. School Kids Camp so much fun! “Wanted by God” was this years’ theme and I was one of the four cowboys who acted out the parables in Luke 15 in our own goofy way. Here’s a few pics.

Matutino- Morning Prayer

2010-02-18T07:58:00.001-04:00

When I first came to the D.R. as an intern one of my duties was to get up at 4am for prayer along with 20 to 40 others from the local church who prayed in the field behind my house. Through the years less and less people got up for Matutino, dwindling down to just two people, two days a week, at 5:30am. These past few months I’ve felt like God was putting Matutino on my heart, so I’ve been praying that God would put that on others hearts as well. To my surprise a guy that rarely seems to make it to church activities has taken the initiative to wake me and others up at 5am five days a week. Though just about three people have been getting up each day, it’s been great to seek God and pray for our community together. Also, three days a week after prayer a few ladies in the church and I have been jogging and walking together in the field. Great ways to begin each day!

A Little of This and That

2010-02-02T22:01:00.001-04:00

As many of you probably know I’m no longer stuck in Texas. Actually I was only there one extra night and have now been in the D.R. for nearly a month, it’s just taken me a while to sit down and blog.

During these past few weeks I’ve gone on a El Camino Church retreat, got a root canal, went on a TEARS School Kids Camp Planning Retreat, done a lot of home visits, eaten a lot of good Dominican food, and have had a lot of fun being home! Here’s a few pictures!

Just a few of the lovely faces I was greeted by upon arrival.

First night of the El Camino Church retreat.

Trying to keep warm in the early morning up in Jarabacoa.

Lots of fun and games with the El Camino church members!

Goofy games and rock climbing at the Kids Camp Training!

Cowboy and Cowgirl skits!

The Kids Camp Team

Stuck in Texas

2010-01-06T18:59:00.001-04:00

I’ve done a lot of stupid things in my life that were a little embarrassing to say the least. Like the time I chewed on a vitamin C tablet that was supposed to be added to water to make a fizzy drink. And the time I missed my airplane because I didn’t know the English set their clocks ahead for daylight savings. But today’s little incident was by far the worst.

The morning started off well as I got to the PDX airport right at 4am. I enjoyed a nice mocha with my dad and then had a pretty uneventful flight to Dallas. It wasn’t until I was getting money out to by some Texas sized ribs that I noticed my passport wasn't where it should be. After thoroughly searching I went back to the airplane..... but it wasn't there either. After a few phone calls I was relieved to know it was in the hands of a nice man named Randy (security check guy) ...... in Portland ..... that's when I started crying a little bit. Randy told me he would take it to the lost and found office in PDX by midnight, so I could call the lost and found tomorrow and figure out how to get it from them. ...... that's when i started crying lots.

Fortunately the American Airlines lady that helped me look up and down the airplane isles was very nice and helpful.......... and together with her friend at PDX and another lady my passport is supposed to be on an airplane at this very moment and should arrive at 6:10pm tonight. After I pick that up I’ll head off to an inexpensive hotel where I’ve been given a distressed passenger rate. Then if all goes as planned I'll head to Miami at 9am tomorrow and then on another airplane that should get me to the Dominican Republic by 9:35pm.

So the past few hours have been a bit stressful, but it wasn’t so completely horrible. I mean, I did have time to get a nice plate of Texas sized ribs and meet a few nice people! And now I have something to blog about. :)

Goodbyes- No more blogs until January

2009-08-30T23:13:00.001-04:00

I had a little goodbye party for myself tonight……. I know that sounds pretty pitiful, but I had a bunch of cake mixes in my cupboards and thought a little party would be a good excuse to use them up before I leave the country for four months. As is common at most of the parties I host, people played Farkle (a dice game), dominos, listened to music, and ate lots of food.
I’m going to miss this country and all my friends a lot. I never thought it would happen those first years I was here, but now after nine years this place has really become my home. It feels a bit scary and unsettling to leave this place of comfort, yet I’m excited for all that awaits me.
Not only am I saying goodbye to my Dominican friends, but I’m also saying goodbye to this blog… at least until the new year. Thank you to all you who check it out from time to time. May God bless each of you with many spiritual blessings.

Visitors, Visitors, Visitors

2009-08-26T20:12:00.001-04:00

After a day trip to the Travesia, a quick chicken dinner, and Youth Group I found out there was a big birthday party taking place at the community center right next to my house. I wasn’t sure how to break the news to the tired visitors staying in the barrio guest house (the third floor of the building I live in) that the incredibly loud music probably wouldn’t stop until 1 or 2 am. Luckily, this small group from Boston liked the idea of joining me for fresh baked cookies and games, what I usually do while I wait for these late night parties to end. And actually the next night they joined me again for cookies and a few games of Farkle after a long day of visiting with pastors and seeing the sights of La Vega. We’re all looking forward to having them join us next summer with a larger short term team.

It’s also been fun to have my old Internship leader and family here this past week. I haven’t spent loads of time with them as they’re staying out at the TEARS center, yet it’s been fun reminiscing a little bit about the internship, finding out what old friends are up to these days, and talking about how the Gospel has and is impacting our lives.
On top of those visitors we also have a few dear friends from Varsity Church of Calgary, Alberta here right now. I love it how they really are seen like family at El Camino Church and in the barrio. They’ve been coming down the past 5+ years once or twice a year not only blessing the community with kids camps, a water purification system, medical clinics, and teaching training but with real lasting friendships. So fun to have them here!

Saturday Youth Group

2009-08-26T19:12:00.001-04:00

Last Saturday was the first El Camino Youth Group meeting held in years. We played games, sang some worship songs as well as some rap songs, and studied the bible together. Mostly young guys showed up because a lot of the girls went to a big birthday party that same night, yet I’m looking forward to seeing what God does in the lives of both the teenage guys and girls of this barrio through these meetings and cell groups some of the leaders are starting.

The First Ever El Camino Youth Camp

2009-08-17T12:11:00.001-04:00

Thank you so much for praying for this event! It was a great success! Here’s a few pictures to give you an idea of some of the things we did.

Learned how to play basketball (girls don’t get to do that very often), soccer, dance, and also did a few work projects. Had fun getting wet on a very hot day, thanks to the local firemen. Did a lot of fun games and team challenges; like human pyramids, relays, human knots, and more.And had some great times of bible study and prayer.

Taking a Cat to the Vet in the D.R.

2009-08-17T11:35:00.001-04:00

I laughed at the idea of taking my cat to the vet in a pillow case, but after my cat broke the only cardboard box I had I was left with no other option. Nube (my cat) almost managed to get out of the pillowcase halfway there, but luckily the motorcycle taxi driver stopped just in time to help me get him back in.
I don’t know what it’s like taking a cat to the vet in the states but it took four of us to hold my cat down as the vet inspected his ears and face (he had ear mites and scratched all around his ears and face). And after the vet put a cone on his head he acted like the Tasmanian Devil and scared the little girls in the waiting room, luckily Nube was on a leash. I think Nube is the only cat in the Barrio that’s ever had a cone on his head, so he gets stared at a lot, but at least he’s getting better. Unfortunately I’m supposed to take him back to the vet this week, so another motorcycle trip for Nube inside a pillow case. I’m not sure what you guys are thinking as you read this, but even the posh vet I took Nube to said a pillowcase is the best way to take him to the vet.

The Next Two Weeks

2009-08-17T11:34:00.001-04:00

I’ve been having a hard time getting much of anything done lately. I have so much on my mind that it’s hard to stop thinking and actually do all the things I need do. When I bought my tickets to head back to North Africa this fall it seemed so far away and exciting. Now that I only have two weeks before I take off I’m a little bit overwhelmed with all I have to do and a little bit nervous about leaving for so long (4 months). I need to do some work on my house before I go, put everything in boxes, find a home for my cat who presently has a cone on his head, find someone to look after all my plants, catch up on all the work I didn’t do while the last team was here, get ready for the visitors coming this week, visit friends around the barrio and say goodbyes, and get my heart and head ready for North Africa. Not to mention language learning (French and Arabic) and jewelry making I had hoped to do (in order to get a bit extra cash). And above all I long to make prayer and worship a priority of each day. All that to say, I really cherish your prayers during this busy time.

A Little Reading and Relaxation

2009-08-17T11:20:00.001-04:00

Ok, so not too much relaxation, but I have been enjoying a few good books lately. I want to share a short section from The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical by Shane Claiborne. I’m only about a third of the way through so far, but it’s about a guy who’s passion to meet real Christians (people living as Christ called us to live) and desire to live as a true follower of Christ took him all over the world; to the streets of Philadelphia, Calcutta working with Mother Teresa, Wheaton College, Willow Creek Church, and as I read on I’m assuming there will be other places as well.

Here’s a section that stuck out to me…….

After Mother Teresa died, I was in an interview with some reporter who asked me if Mother Teresa’s spirit will live on. I said, “To be honest, Mother Teresa died a long time ago, when she gave her life to Jesus. The joy and compassion and love that the world finds so magnetic are only Jesus, and that is eternal.” I saw that eternal love all over Calcutta. I did indeed see Christ in Mother Teresa, but I also found Christ in the lepers, the children, the destitute, the workers. I even began to recognize that Christ lives in me.

I don’t know about you guys but I often desire to do something in this life that will inspire others and will make my name known to this generation and to the next. I know this is a wrong desire and it’s a struggle for me. How silly it is of me to long to make my name known when the good things I do are only because Christ lives in me. How freeing it would be if I could really recognize and live as though He truly lives in me.

(Claiborne, Shane. The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical. The Simple Way, 2006. Pp. 89)

El Camino Youth Weekend

2009-08-10T15:44:00.001-04:00

From Friday night till Sunday evening we ran a youth camp at El Camino Church for roughly 100 teenagers. We had games and team challenges, sports activities, dance, community work projects, cooking classes, computer classes, photography classes, dramas, and a good gospel message each day. I got to lead the photography classes, in which I explained a few basic things about taking good pictures, sent the youth out in groups with small digital cameras, and then together we reviewed their work. Over half of the youth had never used a camera before so it was fun to see them enjoying themselves and a lot of their pictures were really impressive too. Here’s a few of my favorites.

Fun at Youth Camp

2009-08-04T17:48:00.001-04:00

Four hours of sleep a night, goofy skits, challenge course, teenagers flirting, girls spending hours on their hair & makeup, swimming, rock climbing, card games, talent shows, fancy last night dinner, camp fires, and so much more. Oh, the joys of summer camp!Thanks to some of Joy’s friends a group of 11 girls from the barrio (Mujercitas members) were able to go to a Young Life camp in Jarabacoa for four nights. I just joined them for the last two nights, and really I don’t know if I could have made it the whole time as I no longer have much youthful energy, yet I enjoyed every minute of the camp. What did I like? Well, the beautiful mountainous scenery, the cool breeze, funny Dominican skits, warm showers, really nice staff, fun getting to know the girls, doing makeup with the girls…………………….. ………………. laughing as we watched the camp video (one of our cabin leaders got caught on film as we dropped her during the trust fall, fortunately she didn’t get hurt), worshiping together, late night hot chocolate around the campfire, and seeing the girls excited about their new bibles.

One man’s garbage, another man’s treasure

2009-07-27T11:13:00.001-04:00

With the help of the most recent team we were able to clean out the TEARS storage space and go through what we use, what we don’t use, and what is beyond repair. We put all the “beyond repair” items out in the front area letting friends and neighbors take whatever they could put to use. Fun outfits were found, wood and metal scraps to be used by construction workers, random craft supplies to be used for home decorations, school supplies and more. Practically everything was gone by the next morning.

Getting into Missions

2009-07-27T10:50:00.001-04:00

Once when I was sharing how God used Matthew 9:35-36 to bring me to the D.R. a lady commented that she thought it was weird that God’s response to my request for more compassion was to bring me to the mission field. She’d heard of people being led to the mission field after praying for direction, clarity on what they should do for God, what country he wanted them to go to, etc., but not when praying for a characteristic. That was probably about five years ago, but it just hit me this week how much sense it makes that God would guide me in the way he did. Being the hard working, task focused American that I am it’s taken me a long time to stop thinking about missions/ my Christian walk in terms of doing things for God. Just as any follower of Christ, the goal of a missionary should simply be loving and living like their great Lord, savior and friend. If that’s the focus and not doing things, than it makes perfect since that as we (followers of Christ) simply aim to love him and be more like him that he would lead us to various parts of the world to do as he did. So to all my friends who are desiring clearer direction from God, I want to encourage you to stop stressing about what you do and where you go so much. I just want to encourage you to really seek to know and love Jesus more, let His amazing love and life turn your life upside down!

One of the Hardest Working Teams Ever

2009-07-23T17:49:00.001-04:00

It’s always hard to judge how much work we should have ready for a short term team to do. Sometimes we prepare a few different work projects but by the end of two days the team is bored because there wasn’t enough work to do, they leave feeling like they didn’t accomplish much. But with other teams, like our most recent team, we sometimes give them too much work, more than is physically possible for them to finish before their departure date. Yet Zion Lutheran met the challenge! They worked till it was dark, got to the work site hours before planned, and even worked in the pouring down rain. All their hard work really paid off too. I’ll post some photos soon of the finished work projects!

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More Team Fun

2009-07-23T16:39:00.001-04:00

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Team Fun

2009-07-22T23:11:00.001-04:00

This past week with Zion Lutheran was really busy, a tiny bit stressful at times, but a lot of fun. Here’s a few pictures that make me smile.

The Californians

2009-07-17T13:21:00.001-04:00

With less than half of their luggage a team of 27 arrived in the Capital on Monday from Anaheim, California.

They’re a really hard working team and were a lot of fun to take around town and the barrio for orientation. We’ve been keeping busy with two work projects, one, a complete renovation of a church on 8th Street in the barrio, and the other, putting in a cement floor and shelves in the TEARS storage space. Luckily all 33 of their missing suitcases are now here and they’re going full force on both work projects as well as starting a sports camp today!

A short jaunt up the mountain

2009-07-07T16:33:00.001-04:00

With a very heavy backpack, a motorcycle, and butterflies in my stomach, a friend and I headed up to the Travesia. The trip up was a bit scary, as Dani had never gone up such a rough terrain before on his motorbike, but beauty of the mountain village instantly relaxed me. It was great to see everyone as well as hearing about all they’ve been up to these past few months. They’ve been busy experimenting with new ways of growing vegetables which have been successful, building new types of “stoves”, and building a concrete pit that will be used for making some kind of natural gas (which is presently being used as a pool).

This is the first year anyone in the Travesia has tried growing anything in a greenhouse, and they’re all excited about how well the tomatoes have grown.
The original stove (or fogón) in the Travesia.The new type of stove…… with this style the smoke now goes up and out the chimney instead of all throughout the kitchen and house.Just hanging out with friends by the village store, telling stories and talking about the weather.

A good reason to cry

2009-07-03T18:34:00.001-04:00

I held back my tears at the El Camino Church women’s gathering as the ladies shared all the different things they’re struggling with right now. A few are struggling to feed their families for $3 or less each day as their husbands are out of work. About two are dealing with the pain of being cheated on and accepting their husbands new babies in their homes. Another just found out her husband was doing a lot of illegal things and is wondering how she’s going to provide for their baby now that he’s in prison. The list goes on and on. It’s kind of overwhelming, and though I didn’t cry in front of all my friends, I’ve shed a lot tears for them. It’s heartbreaking to see them going through such difficult things. Please be praying for these beautiful, godly women …. and feel free to cry.

Big store, small town

2009-06-30T17:40:00.001-04:00

With a large grocery section, clothing area, home decorations, pharmacy, restaurant, frozen yogurt shop and more; La Sirena (the Mermaid), is now the largest store in town. Thousands of people, including two friends and myself, headed over to the new store this past weekend to take advantage of all their sales and their large selection. Though it was hard to see everything through the masses of people crowding the isles I was happy to find that I can now purchase frozen green peas, cottage cheese, couscous, nice wheat bread and jasmine rice here in La Vega!

Lessons in Running

2009-06-30T16:49:00.001-04:00

At the beginning of 2009 I started jogging in the mornings thanks to Nicole Davis. She got me going on a Learn to Run schedule in which we did each of the following 3 times per week.
1. run 1min walk 2min * 7 times
2. run 1min walk 1min *10 times
3. run 2min walk 1min *6 times
4. run 3min walk 1min *5 times
5. run 4min walk 1min*4 times
6. run 5min walk 1min *4 times
7. run 6min walk 1min *3 times
8. run 8min walk 1min *3 times
9. run 10min walk 1min *2 times
10. run 5km with 10min run and 1min walk

I’m still working on #10 though, as I often give up sooner than I really need to, and settle for #9 or sometimes even #7. It’s hard to endure, especially when I focus on myself too much (my aches and pains, etc.). My spiritual life is like this too. When I focus on myself too much; my sacrifices, my successes, my loneliness, my needs, my wants, etc; I get so discouraged and ultimately settle for less. The following verse has been a good reminder when I’m struggling to keep going joyfully….
….. And let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:1b-2)

Summer Youth Camp

2009-06-22T15:48:00.001-04:00

I just got back from a Youth Camp Planning Meeting and though I’m excited about the church’s plans to reach out to the young people in this barrio, I also feel overwhelmed when I see the kinds of problems youth here face. Thirteen and fourteen year olds getting married and having babies, adultery and domestic abuse almost expected, people suffering divorce and separation before turning twenty, young guys so messed up on drugs they can’t even talk, very few jobs, almost no motivation, and so many other shocking things that I don’t think are appropriate to write here. It seems like everyday I find out about someone new facing one of the things I listed. It’s heart breaking.

When I look at the problems or how little fruit I’ve seen these past years it’s discouraging. Really discouraging. And already the team of youth leaders is dwindling, so if I look to them there’s absolutely no hope.
Please pray with me that the youth leaders (including myself) would set their eyes on Christ, that they would beseech the Lord of the Harvest to send workers, that His Spirit would come and set the young people of this barrio free from the bondage they’re in. And please pray specifically for me that I would make a habit of praying more than I plan.

Check out this video if you’d like to see Bautista sharing his heart this this Summer Youth Camp. (In Spanish)

Everybody wants to sell Jewelry

2009-06-18T18:12:00.001-04:00

About two months ago I started experimenting with some new Fimo Jewelry designs but they didn’t exactly turn out like I wanted. Instead of just storing them away like I’ve done in the past I decided to make earrings and necklaces out of them using imitation silver.

When my buddy Ydekel (he’s so grown up now isn’t he!) asked if he could sell them for me I wasn’t sure how he’d do but to my surprise he’s a natural! He’s really good at convincing people they should buy twice as much as they originally picked out. He’s also really good at making sure people pay. (Almost everyone here buys things on credit, I don’t mean using a credit card, but taking the item and paying later. Often when people don’t come through on their payments the seller ends up loosing money instead of making money). But Idekel always asks the person what day they can pay on, he writes it down, and shows up at their door on that very day. It makes me laugh.

After seeing how well Ydekel did at selling jewelry one of my friends approached me to see if she could sell some stuff too. She and her husband are saving up to buy a small plot of land to build a house on so they’re willing to do just about anything to make a little extra money. She came over yesterday, picked out 100 bracelets, talked her twin nieces into selling them for her, and sold a bunch that very same day. She also talked me into helping her make and sell her own jewelry. I’m not really much of a business person, but it is fun trying and seeing other people make a profit too.

Visitors

2009-06-18T17:14:00.001-04:00

On Friday we got word that some friends of some friends were in the capital and wanted to come stay with us for a few nights. One of my ministry responsibilities is overseeing the barrio guest house, so with the help of a few friends we quickly got the guest house cleaned up (this was quite a task being that it hadn’t been cleaned at all since March), as well as washed all the sheets and towels they’d need. I sometimes feel like I’ve taken on too many different ministry responsibilities, but at the same time the variety keeps things interesting!

Our visitors, Dad and two daughters from South Carolina, explored the barrio, went to the beach, ate in homes and led a kids service full with songs, puppets and a good message. With little announcement we were able to get a crowd of roughly 100 kids. You only need to invite one kid, and quickly all the kids in the barrio will know and be on their way to the church!

Boring Missionaries

2009-06-10T20:58:00.001-04:00

The following paragraph is from an email update I get written by Doug Nicholas the Founder and Director of Action International Ministries . I thought it was both humorous and true. I sometimes wish I was a better public speaker so I could motivate people more, but this is a funny reminder that God can use all of us just as we are.

Many missionaries on furlough (home assignment) are not asked to speak or report on their ministry in churches except in small groups. Why? Answer: because most are average speakers, no up-to-date with the latest lingo or style of dress, and maybe even boring. However, these are exactly the ones who should speak and report. Why? Answer, because most people in the audience are the same, just average people who love Christ and want to be used of God. They are discouraged with hearing missionaries who have an excellent platform style and the latest Power Point. So, at least interview and let all your church-sponsored missionaries speak in the main service to the encouragement of God’s people – people who may say after hearing a boring missionary, “Perhaps God could and would also use the likes of me.”

Summer

2009-06-10T10:10:00.001-04:00

Summer is here! Hot sunny days that end with thunder storms, hurricane warnings, kids playing all day now that they’re out of school, and lots of team preparations. Actually we only have two teams this summer, one in July and one in August, but we’re so excited about them we can’t help but start getting everything ready for them!

Here’s a few photos from this past week. The TEARS school Kindergarteners had a fun graduation last week. A number of them are already quite good at reading and writing!

I started working with Fey just about two weeks ago on the TEARS website. So far we’re just learning together how to post blog entries, short videos and more. We’re slowly working on getting an awesome collection of photos as well. Check out the T.E.A.R.S. web page.

I had fun teaching my Saturday morning visitors how to take pictures with a little point and shoot camera. They got really into it and decided we should hike up to the to the top of the hill behind the barrio to take pictures of the view. They took a lot of fun pictures!

I just thought this was a fun shot of some of my little friends playing a game. There’s about 20 different verses to the song they were singing each with different actions….. I only ever learned the first verse.

Everybody loves making earrings

2009-06-01T21:45:00.001-04:00

During the past few months I’ve been able to teach a number of people how to make earrings; some of the school teachers, teenage girls, women from the church, and just recently the 5th graders that visit me every Saturday morning. And seriously, every single person reacted the same way after they made their first pair. They would look at their new earrings for a few seconds, gasp, and then excitedly exclaim how beautiful they were in a sort of high pitched tone. So fun!
Here’s a few pictures of my Saturday morning visitors and the earrings they made for their moms for Mothers Day.

Mothers Day, last Sunday in May

2009-06-01T18:02:00.004-04:00

This past weekend was full of mothers day activities; activities at the TEARS school, activities for the moms from El Camino church, and everywhere you went on Sunday you could hear people congratulating all the moms by saying “Felicidades”.

The activity for the El Camino moms was held on Friday night at my house. Roughly 16 ladies and 8 kids crowded into my house and everyone who could brought snacks; cheese, crackers, salami, soda pop, and a very nice pink cake. We had planned to watch a movie together but no one could find the dvd so at the last minute I pulled out some card making materials, and we spent well over an hour making cards for each other. We showed off our cards, ate together and then Flora handed out presents.

With a small donation she was able to buy a small plate, fruity soap, hair clips, lip stick and earrings (made by Flora and me) for each lady. Everyone was happy with their gift and quickly took off as is common in this country. If you want a party to last a long time, don’t hand out the cake or gifts very early, it’s your sign as the host that the party is over.

Beseech the Lord of the Harvest

2009-05-25T12:06:00.002-04:00

When I first came down to the Dominican Republic I had a great plan for establishing a children’s ministry in two years and I pretty much managed to execute all my plans. Now though, I can see that I failed to “beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.” (Matthew 9:38). I chose people who I thought would be good children’s ministry leaders, I trained them, and I put all the tools I thought they needed in their hands. But little by little all the leaders I’d chosen left the area, and for the past few years a couple very busy people have done their best to run a Saturday kids church about twice a month.

I’ve longed to see El Camino Church offer more to the kids of this barrio and I’m happy to say that God has too, and he’s heard my prayers. Just about three months ago I heard that three of the ladies in the church were offering a Sunday school training seminar. When I asked one of the woman, Wanda, why she’d decided to get involved in children’s ministry she told me that God told her to. She’d been praying about what ministry she should get involved in, and He made it very clear to her that she should start from the beginning, that is, work with children like she did when she first became a Christian.
Since then roughly 30 teenage girls have been trained to work in Sunday school, they’ve been having weekly kids church services for 100 to 150 kids, and they’ve just started offering Sunday school classes for the kids that come with their parents to the Sunday church services. The past few Sunday services have been so peaceful as the little kids have been upstairs in classes just for them, instead of playing and running around in the back of the church building. Thank you God for raising up all these children’s ministry workers!

Dominicans and Witches

2009-05-25T10:11:00.003-04:00

This little girl Jennifer scared all the other 5th graders as she told us about the witch that tried to attack her. She explained that the witch came by at night, jumping on her tin roof and sneaking into the house in the shape of a small animal (that’s what witches do in this country). Her father reassured her that the witch couldn’t hurt her being that she had already been baptized in the Catholic Church. (Lots of people here believe that witches try to suck blood from babies and small children, but if the child has been baptized or dedicated in the Christian church then they’ll be safe). Then she continued to tell us how one night her dad got tired of the witch scaring her so he played a trick on the witch. He put a broom by the door with the bristles up and sprinkled salt on it, this made it so the witch couldn’t leave the house. Then he turned the broom around so the witch could leave, but before she left he put the broom up again. He did this over and over again but finally let her leave the house and she never came back again.

I found this story quite humorous, but all the other listeners reassured me that it was true and how they’d all seen witches as well. It surprises me how many of their parents believe in these blood sucking witches as well. I found an interesting website that shares more on witches and others folktales in the Dominican Republic. Check it out!

Hospitality

2009-05-18T10:19:00.005-04:00

Even after eight years here it still takes a bit of mental effort for me to be hospitable in a Dominican way. In her book, Foreign to Familiar, Sarah a. Lanier shows some major differences between hot- and cold-climate cultures (Most North Americans would be put in the box of cold-climate culture while Dominicans would generally be in the hot-climate culture box). When sharing about the differences in hospitality she shares that for hot-climate culture “There is little concept of it being a formal occasion that requires a special menu or cleaning the house first. Spontaneity is part of hospitality.” She also goes on to explain that in a place like the Dominican Republic visiting someone unexpectedly will never be taken as an interruption nor would people ever forfeit hospitality for time alone.

This is still hard for me at times. For example, three nights ago some friends were over and I suggested that we make dinner together…. It was about 7pm and I was really hungry and a little tired, we ended up eating rice & eggs with onions on top by 9pm and then everyone wanted to watch a movie. By then I really wanted to go to bed but I ate a little bit of chocolate and enjoyed a fun Dominican movie.

The next day I had young girls in and out of my all day, some practicing a dance for Sunday School, others wanting to draw, and others just wanting to say hi. And then in the evening the same group of friends that I made dinner with the previous night came over wanting to make dinner again. I really didn’t want to as time alone seemed really appealing, yet at the same time hanging out with friends is really appealing as well. So we made a nice pasta dish and had a lot of fun. Last night it rained really hard so I had an excuse to close my door and stay hidden in my house for a little bit of alone time. All that to say that I’m still learning and growing in hospitality.

SUSPIRO

2009-05-13T18:13:00.006-04:00

There's this one little girl on tenth street who if she sees me will call my name and then run up to me and give me a really big hug. I don't even know her name or her family very well, but I feel quite a bond with her now, being that I've gotten hugs from her at least once a day for the past 2 or 3 months. Well yesterday she came up to me and told me she wants to make a dessert with me, and today she showed up at my door as I was taking a nap wondering if we could make something. I agreed and together we decided to make suspiro. What is suspiro? Well, it's the most popular Dominican cake frosting made from egg whites and sugar. I used to think it seemed a bit strange to eat raw eggs so I used to scrape it off before enjoying a piece of cake. But I've now learned that the egg whites actually get cooked through the process of making it. It's really quite nice and not as sweet as other frostings. If you look it up on line you'll find a whole bunch of recipes both in English and Spanish.

As we were making our little dessert another little helper showed up too, none of us had ever made it on our own before but it turned out quite good. We colored it pink and got it all over ourselves as we ate it. I'll try to perfect my suspiro skills so I can make it for you all next time I'm home.

The Past Few Days…..

2009-05-12T21:24:00.011-04:00

Last Friday I had a chance to visit some friends in Los Pomos. I don't get over there often anymore yet I have a great time whenever I do. We played Farkle together (a game that involves 6 dice and a lot of luck), drank coffee and chatted a bit. As always it was fun to see them and catch up a bit.

On Saturday morning I made some chocolate crinkle cookies with my little fifth grade friends. It was a little crazier than normal as little arguments, put downs and disagreements about where each girl could sit led to a few girls crying and others wanting to leave. Yet, all ended well as we came to the agreement that it was best if we all sat on the floor without cushions and enjoyed our warm chocolate cookies together.

After a fun church service/ photo show on Sunday night I had a fairly traditional American meal (chicken, mashed potatoes & gravy, corn, and cranberry sauce) with Darin and a few of his neighbor friends. Two of the boys wouldn’t try the cranberry sauce but the other was very excited when he tasted it and realized it was sweet. All around it a fun last meal to have with Darin before he returned Canada (He's been down here for just over a year taking care of T.E.A.R.S. communications, teaching photo classes, working with the drama team, and a lot more).

Yesterday my neighbor’s dog and five puppies almost died from some kind of poison. (People often put poison on food in the garbage cans so the rats die, but sometimes dogs find the food instead). Luckily Claritza looked on-line and found a recipe that saved their lives; a milkshake made with charcoal, milk, olive oil and salt.

Well that’s about all for now. Here’s a picture of my cat. He’s as crazy and violent as ever. He attacks people’s feet who come over when he wants peace and quiet, he attacks my legs when we wants attention, and has just figured out how to get on my book shelf (a shelf about 7 ft off the ground) and push the books off.

2009-05-06T11:17:00.007-04:00

I've been trying to take more pictures lately for a photo show we're going to have this Sunday at an evening church service........... so I thought I'd share some pictures I've taken of a few cute barrio kids .

The Blue Tarp

2009-05-03T23:37:00.004-04:00

Here in the barrio a blue tarp is hung up immediately after someone dies..... this way people who come to pay their respects can take cover from the rain and from the hot sun. It also serves as a way of letting everyone around the victims house know that someone passed away.

The photo below is of a "vela" (more details below) of a man named Ciba on 11th street, the owner of a small store that I buy stuff from often and one of my favorite a motorcycle taxi drivers. He died from a heart condition he was unaware of until the day before he passed away.

Funeral Traditions
http://www.colonialzone-dr.com/important_stuff-traditions.html

The wake continues until 12 noon the next day, followed by burial at the cemetery. It is the family’s choice to retire at midnight and return the next day around 7 am.

Many families follow on with a series of memorial masses held for nine (9) consecutive days. This is known as los nueves dias, novenario, or la vela. When and where they will be held will be announced. It is not necessary to go to these masses unless you were a close friend of the person or family, especially if you attended the funeral. One is never expected to attend all the masses unless you want to do so. If you were not able to attend the funeral you should go to one of the masses. You might choose to go to the last one that usually will be announced in the press. This marks the end of the mourning period ceremonies.

The nine days of mourning usually consist of three days of grieving (crying and reminiscing). 3 days of silence (thinking and reverence). The last 3 days are for release (accepting and separating).

To "cumplir" is to act in accordance with the standard social procedures. A person will go to a funeral whether or not it is his desire; it is his duty. To "cumplir" is important in this society. It signifies respect and caring.

Many of the poorer people are only laid out for 1 day in the home. This is because of the heat and fast decomposition of the body. Also, the caskets usually have a window for viewing. Maybe this is to keep the smell in and bugs out.

Flowers are not expected.

Only good friends and family are expected at the burial.

Dominicans show much respect for their dead. A funeral is an event that will gather people together, including family members, who may not have seen each other for a number of years. Inside the chapel it is sedated but outside, there will be a lot more liveliness almost reminiscent of a normal social occasion.

Beauty all around me!

2009-04-20T10:55:00.011-04:00

Here are a few pictures I’ve taken lately. Sometimes I forget how much life and beauty there is all around me…… yet when I take time to appreciate it I feel so refreshed!

My little neighbor Emiley...... she still doesn't have teeth but is already saying a few words!

My friends told me that there's a superstition that when the clouds look like this it means that an old person is going to pass away. (I find out new superstitions practically every day).

This is my friend Maria's mom, she loves her grand kids!

Even at 7:30 am it feels quite hot and humid, so the cool afternoons once the sun starts setting are much appreciated.

A little bit of finger paint?

Just chillin out wathcing the girls jump rope.

Jumping rope..... kids here are so much better at it than I ever was.

Sweet Beans!

2009-04-20T10:25:00.006-04:00

The first time I tried them I gagged them down, the second time I tried them I ended up flushing them down the toilet, but about the fifteenth time around I decided they weren’t so bad.

What are they you ask? Well, Habichuelas con Dulce (Sweet beans) are a dessert made with red beans, coconut milk, evaporated milk, sugar, sweet potatoes, raisons, cinnamon, and cloves. This year I made them for the first time with a few fifth grade helpers and surprisingly they turned out very good.
Before attempting to make them I sampled five of my friends’ sweet beans (people tend to make a lot of this dish and send it to all their neighbors and friends) and then tried to copy my favorite one. Of course my young helpers had lots of input on how their moms make it and how not to make it. It was great fun; cooking together, dancing together, and studying the bible together.

Razor Blades and Clay

2009-04-16T09:21:00.010-04:00

My ceramic teacher back in High School taught me how to make a basic Fimo clay cane design on the last day of school, and now many years later I get to teach it to others! During the past few weeks I’ve taught about 5 different groups of girls how to make fimo clay beads. Most of the girls I’ve been teaching are part of a young girl’s ministry called Mujercitas, they’re going to sell the earrings they’ve made in order to raise funds for upcoming activities and retreats. I haven’t heard how many they’ve sold yet but I’m sure they’re not having a problem selling them…. The earrings they made look awesome!

(If you have no idea what Fimo or polymer clay is then check out the following website http://www.leeleeko.com/millefiore.htm).

Celebrating the new office in green!

2009-04-15T12:02:00.006-04:00

I’ve never owned my own house, yet I imagine the feeling of walking into your very own house for the first time is similar to what I feel walking into our new office. That’s right, the TEARS team is now working in the TEARS office on TEARS land! Thank you to our friends in Calgary, Alberta we were able to put in electricity, plumbing, and a very nice blue cement floor. It’s now functional, nice and spacious, and an awesome place to meet and work!

Our team inaugurated the office on St. Patrick’s day, so we wore green clothes, ate green food, kids played with green play dough and we played a number of Irish games. A fun way to celebrate this great gift!

Where you wouldn’t want to spend the night

2009-04-15T11:31:00.004-04:00

Around 11pm the lady to the far left starting singing to Mother Mary, the lady to our right was coughing and making ferocious sounds, and minutes later another lady started cussing out the air around her. Luckily the two of were small enough to fit into the single bed side by side unlike many others, yet we couldn’t even attempt to sleep because the doctors still hadn’t come by to do their evening checkups. They did finally come and go by nearly 1am. The random noises from all the other 18 ladies in the room continued through the night which everyone seemed to enjoy joking about after the nurses forced us to wake up at 6am. (I still don’t know why they insisted on waking us up so early being that they didn’t actually do their morning check-ups until nearly 8am).

(Just a little picture of the hospital to give you an idea of the size of bed the two of slept in. Each hospital room has 10 beds for the patients, while their caretakers either try to fit on the bed with them or they find a chair somewhere to sleep in).

You might wonder why I spent the night at the public hospital. Well, my friend Maria was sick with gallbladder stones. And in this country someone always spends the night with the patient to tend to their needs, bring them good food to eat, and bring them fresh sheets. That particular night her family was busy and couldn’t tend to her needs, so I got to.

I stayed with her just one night during her second stay at the hospital. She was checked into the hospital four times during two months before they actually operated on her. Fortunately they operated on her just over a week ago, and she’s doing very well now.

Pirates, burying treasure at mid-night, and chubby bunnies!

2009-04-14T19:01:00.003-04:00

This year’s kids camp was definetly my favorite camp we’ve ever held for our TEARS school kids. Maybe it was the mountainous setting, wearing a pirates wig and saying “aaarrrrrr” a lot, or watching kids hunt for treasure. The list of fun things could go on and on! This year’s theme Cazadores de Tesoro (Treasure Hunters) made for lots of fun treasure hunting activities as well as great bible studies on seeking true treasure. Thanks to Varsity Bible Church of Calgary, Alberta we were able to make this year’s kids camp possible.
Fey, Bau and I got to dress up like pirates and act like really dumb treasure hunters, while Rod helped teach us and the kids what true treasure really is.

After a full day of games, swimming, and more, we got to finished the night with smores and camp songs!

During the two days of camp kids got to make beautifully decorated treasure boxes and treasure picture frames with a picture of their cabin in it.

I got to lead one of my favorite camp games back from when I was kid (surprised I can remember back that far??), chubby bunny…… the game where a few contestants get to show off how big their mouth is by cramming marshmellows in it and saying “chubby bunny”. … or in this case, “cheverisimo” (super cool).

Joy and I decided it would be fun to bury treasure in the mud pit at one in the morning……. It was a lot harder to bury the treasure than I thought it would be. It took us nearly an hour, but it was well worth it to watch the counselors did through the mud with their bare hands to win points for their cabins.

There was a surprise carnival the last night of camp this year, where the kids could have fun playing games in which they could win points to buy food with and win points to pour water or throw food at their counselors. I had the privilege of getting a whole bunch of sticky oatmeal on my face.

Kids Camp Is Almost Here!!!

2009-02-04T17:32:00.006-04:00

This past weekend was a great time of planning and preparation for Campamento de Niños 2009 (Kids Camp 2009). Early Saturday morning we took a bus up to Jarabacoa where we rock climbed, studied the bible, did a mini Amazing Race competition, discussed how to be the best counselors possible, worshiped around a camp fire, ate smore’s, prepared some of the camp crafts, and more. It was so much fun! We came down the mountain more unified, more prepared, and very excited for this upcoming kid’s camp. Be praying for us and the Varsity Bible Church team, they’ll be arriving on February 11th, and the kids camp will start on the 13th.

The boys won the mini Amazing Race competition.

We all had a chance to go up the climbing wall.... it was a lot harder than we imagined.

Doing our best to learn a dance routine!

The Chicken Dance is a great way to wake up and get moving after a few hours of teaching sessions!

Trying to put it into words…….. (things I learned in North Africa)

2009-02-03T11:11:00.000-04:00

In my most recent ministry update I attempted to share some of things I learned while I was in North Africa. As I wrote in the title I was “trying to put it into words” but I’m afraid I probably left some people wondering what I was trying to say. Well, here’s my attempt to explain a little more…… so here’s a similar paragraph to what was in my newsletter with a few changes and a lot of add-ins.

The Need!
The need for more laborers in North Africa totally gripped me when I was there this past fall. There is an estimated 500 Christians out of 10 million people, and not very many workers sharing the gospel. Some statistics say that Americans get an average of 24,000 opportunities to hear the gospel in their lifetime, Mexicans get an average 36,000, yet Muslims get an average of 1 to 7 opportunities. There are so many great preachers and bible teachers in the states I can’t even imagine only having a few opportunities to hear the gospel in my whole life!

Some people have discouraged me from going. They tell me it’s ok to share the gospel in the D.R. because it’s a predominately Catholic culture which already believes in the bible, but it wouldn’t be good to go to a predominately Muslim country. They say that making people “Christians” would totally change the culture for the worse. I totally agree. And this is where you might get confused but please keep reading. The problem is a lot of people in the world think of Christianity as a religion and not as a relationship. They see the Christian religion as a very divided religion with lots of different denominations, expensive church buildings, worship and preaching on Sunday’s, very individualistic, supportive of Republican politics, and full of people who don’t really live what they preach. All these things and a lot more are part of what is perceived to be Christian by a lot of people, things not encouraged or taught in the bible. But Christianity as a relationship is a life of following Christ, living in unity and in community, knowing that you and other believers are the body of Christ, and being guided by the spirit and the Word of God. Now with all that clarified, I agree that if I take Christianity as a religion to a Muslim country I will be encouraging people to reject their culture and become more Western and will probably be rejected as well. But if I share the gospel, without all that extra unbiblical stuff, then I in no way think their culture will be changed or ruined, but enhanced.

This is something I love about the team of workers I met, they long to see a Tunisian gospel-centered church evolve that has its own look and style. Probably much different than what most Americans picture church being. Here’s an excerpt from an update from one of the workers there.
The kingdom is what Jesus preached and taught - Jesus used this word 117 times! He used the word "church" twice, and never used the word "Christian." Instead Jesus really emphasized the kingdom, which includes "church" and "Christian," but goes much further and deeper. After more than two years of prayerful study, seeking for more wisdom and more insight into how to use the kingdom of heaven as a more effective approach to bringing Muslims to follow Jesus as Lord, we are sensing that we are at the beginning of a huge wave of new believers coming into the kingdom of God through Jesus here in the North Africa in the coming years.
I’m looking forward to seeing what God does there!

Famous Baseball Players

2009-01-22T09:18:00.007-04:00

A few major league baseball players visited the barrio yesterday teaching the kids a few skills and sharing the gospel. Just thought I'd share a few photos.

On the Other Side of Town

2009-01-21T23:11:00.006-04:00

I spent last weekend with Hector Julio's family, the Haitian pastor who works with TEARS ministry. As soon as I walked in their doors I was immersed into Creole (the primary language spoken in Haiti), by the end of the first night I wasn’t sure what language I was speaking anymore.
Something that really stuck out me during my time was how Hector’s family and members of the church made a point to express how much it meant to them that I had come to visit them and take pictures of them. I thought that was a little strange at first. But Hector explained to me that Haitians don’t feel very accepted in the D.R. and most don’t feel like the people in this country value them as human beings. So when someone wants to spend time with them, come into their homes and eat with them they feel honored.
Oh Lord, please help me remember the poor and seek to honor those who are in lowly positions.

Moi, Je m’appelle Tracy

2009-01-15T10:39:00.001-04:00

So, I just starting taking a French class last Saturday. It’s a bit nerve racking being a student again, yet exciting at the same time. The main reason I’m taking the class is because I’m hoping to return to North Africa next fall for four months, and though French is not spoken by everyone there it will help me communicate more than I was able to this past fall. Once I’m there I’ll tackle Arabic! Please be praying for me as I continue to seek God’s guidance for my future. As it stands now I feel good about spending eight months here in the D.R. each year and four months in N.A., yet I’m open to anything God has for me.

Here's a few photos from my time sightseeing in N.A.

Ruins of an old Roman Coliseum.

A very nice local lady who showed us how locals used to live and make food in caves.

Ruins from over 1,500 years ago.

Christmas and New Year's

2009-01-15T10:35:00.001-04:00

If you haven’t heard, my dad came to visit me for the holiday’s. He didn’t make it on Christmas day because of the crazy weather in Portland, Ore., but was here for New Years and my 31st B-day. We did a bit of exploring; went up to Constanza (a beautiful city up in the mountains), spent a week at a beach town called Cabarete, and visited another beach town called Samana, famous for whale watching. Besides the adventures we visited people in the barrio, had a little New Year’s party at my house, and ate lots of good food. Other than hanging out with me dad during the holiday’s I did a lot of holiday baking, lots of relaxing, received lots of great Christmas and b-day presents, and lots of eating!

My New Kitten

2009-01-15T10:22:00.003-04:00

Just before Christmas I went up to the Travesia for a few days and besides being gifted with good food and coffee, I was also given a kitten from my friend Mari. Her neighbor kids referred to the kitten as “El Mas Feo” (The Ugliest), but I think he’s cute. He’s quite a handful though. He wakes me up a few times in the night trying to get on the bed, cries when the sun comes up because he’s hungry, and cries whenever he’s not eating, sleeping or playing because he wants me to hold him. I never know a little kitten would require so much attention.…. I can’t imagine how much attention a baby requires. I know this sounds silly but I have a lot more respect for moms.

Memories - North Africa Reflections

2008-12-08T16:37:00.004-04:00

One afternoon I had the opportunity to babysit for one of the families working in N.A. while they had a small gathering with some of the more contextualized believers. (By contextualized believers I mean people who have chosen to follow Jesus but have not taken on western styles or western ideals. They still use their head coverings and use traditional clothing. They still celebrate during the Muslim holidays though their new faith gives these holidays deeper meaning. And many still own a copy of the Qur’an which they use to point Muslims to believing in the bible and in Jesus as their Savior. Because they are contextualized they can more easily share their faith with their friends and family without being rejected as someone who looked like a western Christian would be.)

I was a little overwhelmed as many of the visiting children tried to talk to me in Arabic, though I’d felt good about my progress in the language, the 30 words+ that I knew couldn’t get me very far in any conversation, not even with a 4 year old. Fortunately, 6 year old Deborah, who now speaks 3 languages and is working on her fourth helped translate a little and taught me a few words as well. It’s amazing how small children can learn so much without all the difficulty and strain us “old people” go through! I loved being at that gathering, seeing how the God was using this whole family to be a light in that community. I especially admire the parents, a hip young couple who were willing to start a family on the mission field, working full time to be the best parents they can be as well as working full time to share the gospel with those who haven’t yet heard the good news. Thanks to them many people have come to follow Jesus in a country that has less than 500 believers!

So what was my point in writing this little blog? Mostly, this family and the other great families I met were on my mind and I wanted to mention them and thank them for being so faithful in the work God has given them to do. And I want to thank God as well for blessing these families and for keeping them safe.

That's me sharing at El Camino Church about my time in North Africa.