Home at last! After another day of begin rerouted by American Airlines (I would like to say that they did a good job making sure I got where I need to go ;) I am home, safe and sound! Thank you all for your thoughts, prayers, and encouraging words! It means so much to me that so many of you were part of this experience. I wanted to post one more blog entry to sum up and give some stats about my trip! I can't wait to share more experiences and photos with you all! I hope you enjoy!
*Trip length: 30 days (10 de junio a 10 de julio)
*Number of flights: 6
*Number of flights flown as originally purchased: 0
*Number of sandwiches de jamón y queso (ham and cheese sandwiches) eaten: 18 (I think)
*Number of times saying "espera afuera" (wait outside) to kids in Cercadillo: 1,345 (just a guess :)
*Number of publico/taxi rides: 12 (each leg of the trip counts separately because each leg was very unique)
*Number of days I said "Tengo machete" (the Dominican way to say "I smell"): at least 20
*Number of times I said "sientate" (sit down) or "venga aquí" (come here): 34, 568
*Cost of a gallon of diesel: 194 pesos o $5.94
*Number of mangos given as gifts from Cercadillans: it felt like 314 when I was peeling them
*Cost of a 5-gallon bottle of drinking water: 25 pesos
*Cost of a bag of ice at the colmado (corner store): 45 pesos
*Number of feet of lamination used: 210
*Number of times "utilizing the facilities" in the great outdoors: 9
*Cost of filling the cistern under Ina's house: 600 pesos
*Number of bug bites officially on record: 74
*Number of kids taught in Cercadillo (they didn't all come every day): 70 más o menos
*Number of smiles and Hola's from the people of Cercadillo: Countless!
Friday, July 11, 2008
Last few days!
What a last few days! We packed so much in my last few days in the DR
that I'm having a hard time keeping it all straight! We celebrated the 4th of July on the 5th. Since we weren't in the US, we had to be a little flexible :) Ina's missionary friend Kirsten took us to a hotel near her house where we could pay a little fee to use the pool for the afternoon. This picture is of Kirsten and Rich's three gorgeous children, Josiah, Faith, and little Esther. We had a lot of fun splashing around the pool with them and then enjoyed the hottest showers ever. They were awesome! We rounded out our Saturday by going to a birthday party for our friend Claudia. Claudia lives downtown near the Colonial City with her mom and sisters. Their home was complete with an indoor courtyard (a little area surrounded by walls but without a ceiling) and a balcony overlooking a busy shopping street.
On Sunday, God gave us amazing weather so we were able to go do a service in Cercadillo.
God also brought two new faces to our team, Claudia's sister Maribel and her husband Alejandro. Ina has been praying for a husband and wife team to work with her in Cercadillo for a number of reasons, so this is very exciting! The lesson we worked on this week was about the consequences of Adam and Eve's sin. The children in this picture are coloring two pages; one shows Adam and Eve enjoying Eden before their sin, and the other shows them banished from the garden. It's exciting to see the basis for the Gospel being laid down step by step!
My last two days in Cercadillo (Monday and
Tuesday) were bittersweet. I had a lot of fun teaching reading and English lessons, and the kids were really great. I was sad to know I was leaving soon and wouldn't be seeing these kids for a while. They were very gracious on my last day with lots of hugs, and one boy turned his reading assignment into a picture for me that will most assuredly be hanging in my kitchen! This picture shows some boys running to school ahead of us. This was a daily occurrence. I will miss the kids smiles and complete excitement over the littlest things! I could stand to learn a lesson from them about how to use what you have and enjoy the small things.
My last full day in the DR was a Wednesday so we had a day off. I began by packing so I wouldn't leave that until the last minute. Then Ina and I were off for another cultural adventure to the car
wash! Fortunately we were one of the few people out getting their car washed in the torrential downpour so it only took an hour and a half :) Wednesday night the Dominicans and summer interns from TIME picked us up and brought us to Esteban and Marta's house for supper and the best batidos in town. The word "batido" means milkshake, but Esteban made them with fresh tropical fruit, milk, and ice. They were awesome, and I got to try several combinations of pineapple, mango, melon, banana (guineo), sapote, and papaya. We think Esteban could open his own batido shop and do quite well. We got home quite late to find out that both city power and Ina's inverter were down so we went to bed by candlelight. I was so thankful I had packed in the morning! I also got to arise at 4:30 and get ready for the airport in the dark...one last adventure :)
that I'm having a hard time keeping it all straight! We celebrated the 4th of July on the 5th. Since we weren't in the US, we had to be a little flexible :) Ina's missionary friend Kirsten took us to a hotel near her house where we could pay a little fee to use the pool for the afternoon. This picture is of Kirsten and Rich's three gorgeous children, Josiah, Faith, and little Esther. We had a lot of fun splashing around the pool with them and then enjoyed the hottest showers ever. They were awesome! We rounded out our Saturday by going to a birthday party for our friend Claudia. Claudia lives downtown near the Colonial City with her mom and sisters. Their home was complete with an indoor courtyard (a little area surrounded by walls but without a ceiling) and a balcony overlooking a busy shopping street.On Sunday, God gave us amazing weather so we were able to go do a service in Cercadillo.
God also brought two new faces to our team, Claudia's sister Maribel and her husband Alejandro. Ina has been praying for a husband and wife team to work with her in Cercadillo for a number of reasons, so this is very exciting! The lesson we worked on this week was about the consequences of Adam and Eve's sin. The children in this picture are coloring two pages; one shows Adam and Eve enjoying Eden before their sin, and the other shows them banished from the garden. It's exciting to see the basis for the Gospel being laid down step by step!My last two days in Cercadillo (Monday and
Tuesday) were bittersweet. I had a lot of fun teaching reading and English lessons, and the kids were really great. I was sad to know I was leaving soon and wouldn't be seeing these kids for a while. They were very gracious on my last day with lots of hugs, and one boy turned his reading assignment into a picture for me that will most assuredly be hanging in my kitchen! This picture shows some boys running to school ahead of us. This was a daily occurrence. I will miss the kids smiles and complete excitement over the littlest things! I could stand to learn a lesson from them about how to use what you have and enjoy the small things.My last full day in the DR was a Wednesday so we had a day off. I began by packing so I wouldn't leave that until the last minute. Then Ina and I were off for another cultural adventure to the car
wash! Fortunately we were one of the few people out getting their car washed in the torrential downpour so it only took an hour and a half :) Wednesday night the Dominicans and summer interns from TIME picked us up and brought us to Esteban and Marta's house for supper and the best batidos in town. The word "batido" means milkshake, but Esteban made them with fresh tropical fruit, milk, and ice. They were awesome, and I got to try several combinations of pineapple, mango, melon, banana (guineo), sapote, and papaya. We think Esteban could open his own batido shop and do quite well. We got home quite late to find out that both city power and Ina's inverter were down so we went to bed by candlelight. I was so thankful I had packed in the morning! I also got to arise at 4:30 and get ready for the airport in the dark...one last adventure :)
Friday, July 04, 2008
Feliz Cuarto de Julio!!!
What a week! Praise the Lord, everyone has recovered from the illness that seemed to plague our house early this week. We were unable to go to Cercadillo on Monday and Tuesday because of health, but all are restored! We are also experiencing a bit of a problem with some neighborhood pollos (chickens) that keep entering Ina's yard, entryway, and garage to leave us little "presents". In this picture Kasi and I rigged up a temporary wall to keep the chickens out of Ina's house. It seemed to work! On 
Wednesday we were treated to an afternoon at a resort, complete with a swimming pool and the first hot shower in a while! One of the women from Massachusetts was spending some extra time in the DR after serving with us in Cercadillo (one of her daughters lives here), and she was so kind as to invite us to experience a little luxury. It was much appreciated :)Thursday we were back to teaching in Cercadillo! It was quite a crazy day as we had several new
students show up for class. While this is very exciting because new families are being reached, it also created more than a little chaos as we tried to incorporate them in groups without any idea of ability. Having never attended one of Ina's classes, they also didn't know about the "rules". That's always fun! In this picture Ina and I are leading "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes". We had another group of Americans from TIME come and do a program at the end of the day. They had a variety of music selections that shared the message of the gospel, and then we headed to the baseball field for games. The kids loved it!!!
Today we taught reading classes in the morning, and those went much better! Praise the Lord! We actually felt like we accomplished something. In the afternoon we had sewing classes with the women of Cercadillo. We finished the skirts they have been working on for a few weeks. It is so much fun to see them finish a project and see the accomplishment in their eyes. 
They such pride in creating something beautiful! Some of the ladies are becoming quite good and beginning to help other women get started. During sewing class, an opportunity arose for Ina to share about what it means to be like Christ. She was able to talk to the women about extending grace to one another as God has extended His grace to her. It was such a powerful few moments that only God could have provided! Praise the Lord. As we were leaving Cercadillo, another opportunity arose for Ina to share why she is doing what she is doing with a resident of Cercadillo. It was so awesome to see God working in both conversations!Thank you so much for being part of this adventure and for your prayers! I can't believe that a week from today I'll already be home. It has all gone to fast, and it will be very hard to say good-bye, especially to my little Cercadillans! God is moving in mighty ways if we are only in tune with Him enough to stop and take note. Please pray that my remaining days in the DR will be days of good health, good fellowship, and moments where I stand in awe and worship! Thank you!!!
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