Friday Finale

Good evening all. Sorry for the late night post but we have had a late night impromptu worship session when a guitar appeared. Here is how today went: 

This morning we went back to Batey 106 for the final time. We split again into a construction team and a children team. The children’s team told the story of Jesus walking on water and had the kids color pictures and think about how to trust God in all things. The construction team continued helping on the foundation of the duplex that we were building. At the end of the work time we paused for a minute to take a picture with our team and the local construction team that has been helping us. After lunch we said our goodbyes and loaded the bus to return to La Romana. Waves and smiles were plentiful and there were even some tears that flowed as we left a place that we had learned to love. 

After a quick change we went to the beach for a short time of relaxing, which at the end of that time was met with a rain shower. After another wonderful dinner we met together as a team to debrief the week. It was a special time of sharing. I will share the God sightings from today but the take aways from the week are complex to catch in words. I encourage you to talk to any and/or all of the trip participants to hear what this trip has meant to them. 

So, here are today’s God sightings:

Tim saw God at work in a man who appeared from the sugar cane fields as we finished our work handing out mangoes that he had just harvested while thanking us.

Shelby saw God at work as the children gave her coloring pages that they had done and giving her hugs.

Sami saw God at work as she helped to find the right dress for her closest friend from the batey and in a boy who saw our bus coming this morning and ran to tell his friends.

Mary Helen saw God at work in the friend that she gave her hat to who seemed to be extremely happy to have something to remember her by.

Meara saw God at work in the kindness from the kids in giving the group the bracelets that they were making and offering to paint their nails and during a special time with her best bud Christian before leaving. She reminded him that he was special and strong and could do anything.

Georgia saw God at work as a little boy appeared to help her wash the concrete off of her hands.

Caleb saw God at work as a little girl who had fallen and skinned her knee calmed down and stopped crying when he picked her up to console her.

Gretchen saw God at work today as the telling of the Bible story went well.

Jenn saw God at work as our rapport with the local workers was strengthened, as her best friend (Joe) came running up today in a UK shirt not knowing how special that is to her as a UK fan, and in a conversation with an older boy who she was able to tell that our group was there because of church.

Annalise saw God at work through Heidi who made her a bracelet and in the children who told her that she was beautiful.

Stephanie saw God at work as she saw how far the work for the week had come and the progress of the batey. (We were told that 10 years ago this batey that we worked in was the worst and was filled with families who had no place to live)

We look forward to sharing more stories with you and returning home. Pray for us as we travel and we hope to be on the ground in Louisville around 7:30 tomorrow evening. Thank you for following our journey. We invite you to come to this wonderful place to be part of the work that God is doing here.

Thursday Thoughts

Good evening all. Today has been a fabulous day. Here are the highlights… 

Our morning lasted from arrival at the batey until 1:00 p.m. when we broke for lunch. The construction crew for the morning finished pouring the foundation and began building the foundation walls. Over half of the foundation walls were built and tomorrow we should be able to complete that work. We know that another team is coming in two weeks to continue work on this home for the families who will receive it. Steve and I (Brian) have both been asked for our work shoes by 2 of the construction workers. Tomorrow we will take our sandals to change into after working so that we can honor those requests.

The group that worked with children again were able to see many smiles. Coloring, nail painting, and bubbles brought many smiles, much laughter, and one fight (amongst the locals not our group). The group was able to hand out juice and crackers provided by our hosts. 

After work we toured the El Buen Samiritano Hospital. The hospital is technically our host and was planted by the Maranatha Haitian Mission Church. The facility is impressive and we were able to let our hosts be proud of what they have built (as they should be). 

We knew that our dinner was not going to be here at Casa Pastoral. I learned that we would have dinner at Casa de Campo. One of our previous groups was blessed with the ability to be in the resort before so I knew what to expect. We walked into a spectacular house with amazing furnishings and a pristine backyard featuring a beautiful pool and palm trees. In addition to the pizza we had brought along, the hosts had made lasagna, salad, chips and salsa, and guacamole spread on bread. There were many jaws hanging wide as the group explored our surroundings. It was an amazing respite in the midst of a week of hard work. The laughter and smiles were priceless as we spend a couple of hours in Dominican luxury. 

God sightings today include: 

EVERYONE saw God in the oasis that the trip to Casa de Campo was. 

Meara saw God as we explored the hospital and learned the story behind it and get to be part of the ongoing work that is happening. 

Sami and Hayden saw God at work as they were able to teach the older girls in the batey how to make bracelets quickly even with a language barrier.

Gretchen saw God at work during a time of teaching and coloring with a young boy.

Jenn’s eyes were open to the primal instinct of the locals as a fight broke out over something as simple as bubbles.

Sami saw God as we can finally see progress on the house as it comes up from the foundation.

Steve and I are experiencing a humbled feeling in knowing that we will be leaving our worn shoes with the workers who need something to be able to continue the work.

There are many other specific God sightings that were mentioned tonight but I didn’t have a pen with me when they were mentioned. Since my brain is slightly fatigued, I will stop there. 

Pray for us as we rest tonight and prepare for one last day of work. Friendships with children and coworkers will take on a new stage tomorrow as we say goodbye to those in the batey. It will be a day full of emotions. Thank you for those who have offered prayers and continue to support us. It means more than you can know. Tomorrow night I will post a week wrap-up. Until then, adios.

Wednesday Workings

Good evening everyone. Today has been a bit simpler yet just as tiring as previous days. Here is how it went.

Due to other things going on in the Batey, our entire team worked together at the house build site all day. There was much shoveling, concrete mixing, wheel barrowing, block moving, and block laying. The belief amongst some of the workers is the that females in our group (aka most of our group) aren’t able to do much. I’m pretty sure they showed them that that preconception was wrong. We were blessed by a large dark cloud for part of the day and a brief rain. 

Tonight we have cleaned up, napped, and spent time together. It has been a good day. Here are a few God sightings that we heard from the group during our nightly debrief.

Georgia saw God in the rain both at the work site and the compound and in the Haitian worker’s energy, singing, and laugther.

Stephanie saw God at work in the times and ways that the girls and ladies showed that they were fully capable of doing the work.

Steve’s eyes were opened as we saw the line formed with an armed guard simply to get clothes.

Shelby saw God at work through the locals who are our construction team and their ability to work without getting tired.

Meara saw God at work as one of her little buddies found her this morning and just wanted to be near (there was about a 5 minute hug with no talking).

 Jenn saw God at work as the fatigue and soreness set in on the team yet everyone was able to persevere.

 Gretchen saw God at work as the workers began thanking us for the work that we were doing and in the time she was able to spend talking to the neighbor family.

Mary Helen saw God working when Steve told our foreman (Machos) that she was his daughter which brought a large smile to his face.

Tomorrow is more work and we will return to working with the children. We will have a slightly shorter work day and go to the Good Samaritan Hospital for a tour. Only a couple days of work left. We look forward to sharing our experiences more in person when we return. Have a good night followers.

Tuesday Tales

Happy Tuesday evening everyone. It has been another great day here in the Dominican Republic. Lots of great work has been done. It has been a super hot day. Here’s what today brought.

This morning part of our team again returned to the school in Batey 106 to teach English. Today the topic was family and the lesson involved helping the kids know what the English words for different family members are. The construction crew began the process of mixing and then pouring concrete into the foundation. Shoveling, mixing, wheel barrowing, and sweating was the name of the game as we worked on the house. During the afternoon, half of the group taught the kids the story of Jonah and played games, colored, and simply had a good time together. In our pictures you might see a new friend of ours. Kathrine Ann is a student at Clemson University and is spending a few weeks down here. She has been a welcomed addition to our group and you will see her in pictures from the site and you will see mention of her later in the God sightings.

Tomorrow there is another group that will be coming to the Batey to hand out food and clothing and other fun things so we will all be working on the construction site all day. We hope to begin laying block tomorrow as well as finish pouring the foundation. The house is a duplex that will be enjoyed by 2 families once completed. 

 Here are the God sightings that the group shared tonight:

Sami saw God working as Kathrine Ann was able to communicate with the bus driver when the translator went to the store with Brian, Gretchen, and Jenn and in not falling into the cement mixer when she lost her footing. Her shovel was not as lucky and got a quick spin. She also saw God when 2 children assumed that she and Meara were lost and showed them the way to the work site.

Elyse saw God working when we were able to give water to the children of the batey. 

Hayden saw God working during the handing out of juice and crackers to the children and the smiles that they brought.

Meara saw God working during the English lessons as the kids learned the English words for their family members and then drew them. She also saw God as even though trash, dirt, and dust are prevalent in the batey, so are butterflies and other beautiful sights.

Mary Helen saw God working when a load of concrete was spilled and God provided the patience and problem solving ability to deal with the situation.

 Gretchen saw God at work as the children heard the story of Jonah as presented by Caleb and in Mary Helen’s prayer offered in Spanish.

Shelby saw God working when a girl gave her a big hug and said “I love you” in English.

Katherine Ann saw God working in Meara and Sami as they refilled our water bottles.

Caleb saw God when a boy gave him a huge and said “You are good” in Spanish.

Jenn saw God in a little boy who has become her best friend. She had been looking for him and when finally seeing him they both smiled huge and ran to hug one another. Jenn also saw God as the children wanted to help pick up trash around the church after their snacks without even being asked.

I (Brian) see God at work in each of the participants in our trip. They are doing a great job of being the hands and feet of Christ.

Thank you for your continued prayers. Pray for sore muscles and slight sunburns (none bad). Pray for strength and endurance.

And, leave a message in the comments. We read them each night and love to hear from you. Bedtime has crept earlier and earlier each night, so for tonight, rest well our friends.

The work begins

Good evening followers. Tonight our team is tired. It is a good tired because we worked hard today. Before getting into the what, I just want to tell you that you should be proud of this team because I am. Everyone did a great job of working together to make it a great day. So, here’s what we did:

This morning after a good breakfast, we loaded the bus and headed to Batey #106. Bateys are the sugar cane villages. The batey we were in has been adopted by the hospital who runs the projects. We helped begin the 25th house in the community. In the morning, half of the team worked twisting wire around rebar in order to build the forms for the foundation for the house. We did not know what we were doing but became experts quickly under the watchful eye of our construction supervisor. The other half of the team went into the school and taught some English lessons to the children. 

After the first few minutes of getting to know each other, the children of the batey and our group became great friends. Hands being held. Piggy-back rides being given. Smiles being exchanged. 

Lunch was a great respite from the heat and the sun and the children. We loved our lunch of empanadas and rice. 

After lunch we returned to work on the foundation with the other group of students tagging in to the work. The other half of the group did a VBS-style afternoon with the children. There were approximately 80 children. By the end of the day, the foundation forms were complete and the children (ours and theirs) were exhausted.   

Tonight has been lots of relaxing, card playing, and rehydrating. Here are the God sightings for the day:

Elyse saw God in the wind and the cloud cover that periodically graced us and in the immediate progress that we were able to make on the project.

Tim saw God at work in our host Emilio as he gave our leftover water to the children at the end of the day.

Georgia saw God at work in the kids of the batey readily interacting with our group.

Shelby saw God at work through interactions with children over music, another universal language.

Hayden saw God at work in the children being happy to learn what our group was attempting to teach.

Mary Helen saw God at work when she complimented a kid singing softly and that kid then began to sing louder.

Jenn saw God at work as one of the children became a helper to our group as they organized the group of children. This child also ran to get pants for a 2 yr old who came in without pants. He patiently helped the child to put the pants on and then put his shoes back on.

Stephanie saw God at work in the Joy of the little children who got so excited to be able to color.

Sami saw God at work in the kids who gifted her with their artwork and in the appreciation that the construction workers showed for our team.

Gretchen saw God at work in the VBS that came together quickly and those who worked together to make it happen.

Meara saw God at work in being able to appreciate the beauty of the surrounding nature, even in less than what we would see as ideal conditions.

Steve saw God at work in the contentment of the children and residents with their situations.

Annalise saw God at work in the simple pleasures that the children found in things such as throwing rocks.

Thank you for following along and for sharing your prayers and comments with us. 

From the land of humidity, good night followers.

Sunday in the DR

Good evening followers.  It has been a good day here in the DR.  This morning after a good breakfast we went to Ebenezer Baptist Church for worship.  Our previous teams to this lovely city have worked in and around this church.  I met a special friend of Grace Galyon and got an updated picture for her.  Before worship we toured the school next to the church.  Both teams who have been here before worked on the school.  We saw artwork from the team that came in 2018 still on the wall of the school.

Worship in a place that uses a language different than you speak is different and special.  The Bible study classes began the worship by reciting their memory verse for the day.  Their praise band began to play and sing.  We quickly recognized the song Waymaker and joined along singing in English as they sang in Spanish.  After Brian delivered a brief greeting to the congregation, Meara, Mary Helen, Elyse, and Brian sang What a Beautiful Name.  The band began to play along with us making it special.

After lunch we were able to spend time at the beach.  It was a beautiful place to relax and play before getting to work tomorrow.  We did take a walk to the Jumbo, a super store, to pick up things that we needed and wanted 

Tomorrow we expect to start work on constructing a house and working with some kids in the afternoon.  Pray for strength and endurance for the day.  

Our group time each night includes reading comments on this blog so please leave encouraging notes and we will share them with the team. 

Here are God sightings reported today:

Mary Helen saw God as the band began playing along with the song we were singing.

Meara saw God in knowing the song that the congregation was singing and being able to join and in a young boy that is around playing with our group.

Gretchen saw God in her morning devotion and in the relationships that are developing.

Tim saw God when our girls decided that they were willing to sing in worship and in seeing a piece of art that his daughter, Abby, had helped create on a previous trip.

Stephanie saw God in the 2 yr old little girl who speaks the universal language of toddler.

Jenn saw God in the joy of boys she saw doing cartwheels at the beach.

Steve saw God in the midst of worship that he could experience without having to worry about what tech is working.

That's it for tonight.  Thanks for reading along

We have arrived

It didn't happen in 2020 and it didn't happen in 2021.  But we have finally made it to Casa Pastoral in La Romana, Dominican Republic.  Travel started with a slight hiccup as we checked in but we got there early enough that it didn't cause any problems.  All flights took off and landed as planned and all luggage made it to the DR with us.

Tonight we settled into our housing and had our first amazing meal.  We have also had a chance to catch up as a team.  Tomorrow we will eat breakfast and then go to church.  The church is one that we have been in on previous trips and across the road from the school that we have worked on before. after worship and lunch we will head to the beach for a brief moment of relaxing before we begin working on the home that we will help build.

Each night we will report some of our God sightings.  Here are some of them for today:

Shelby saw God in the flights being safe and uneventful and in our hosts being willing givers.

Meara saw God in the meal that was lovingly prepared for us when we arrived and in the generosity of our hosts.

Gretchen saw God at work as we worked through check in issues.

Mary Helen saw God at work as all luggage appeared as it was supposed to.

Sami saw God at work through the hospitality of all of those who work here at Casa Pastoral.

Brian saw God in all those church members who were willing to partner with our trip attenders though writing cards and lifting prayers.

Other God sightings will be shared throughout the week.  As you pray tonight, pray for rest for the team and for the team to have a great experience with worship tomorrow.  

From the much anticipated Mission Trip, have a great night.