Dominican Republic mission 09 Sunday

Most of the day consisted of color coordinating the school and painting. As the kids were cheering us on through the windows one of the girls started to sing and we all sang along and danced as we painted, this made is it so much fun! As the day progressed the electricity went out and the girl offered us her house for us to cook. It was a “fogon de carbon” (a metal drum with wood charcoal) and the food came out exquisite.

Dominican Republic mission 09 Saturday

As our driver picked us up we noticed he had glasses on which he had forgotten to wear the night before, no wonder the almost close call accident! Our first stop was the school, we needed to figure out how much paint and material to buy, thank God that Luis came on the trip his expertise is invaluable. We felt very welcomed by the kids in the neighborhood; the all recognized us from last year. Some of us went to the paint store and the Soares’ family ventured out to shop for food and buy supplies to cook for the group. As most of the team was applying primer to the walls the Soares were figuring out how to cook since electricity comes in and out most of the day, they borrowed a gas burner. WOW can they cook! Can you imagine traveling on a mission trip with your personal cooks!!!! The day was great since we finished the primer, had an excellent meal and shared lots of time with the kids in the area.

Dominican Republic mission 09 Friday

The group left Miami on Friday with a surprised 40 minutes delay, our flight was very good. Milagros, Director of Alfali was waiting for us at the airport with a mini bus named “Arca De Noe III”, we certainly were not expecting a flood! Anna has important family in Santo Domingo that was able to get $6,000 exchanged for us in the middle of the highway, we felt a deal was going down especially with all the black bags piled up in the back of the bus. We stopped to pick up lunch, friend chicken of course it seems to be very popular around here since there are “Pollo something” signs everywhere. We ate on the run because it was late and we had a long road ahead, except for a stop at a road side fruit stand where a little boy was the sales person. The weather was rainy and the road was treacherous and dark, and our driver one of the many bright colored conspicuous road blocks that Luis was diligently watching for and let out a scream that pierced the night. Close call!!! Finally we arrived safely five hours later.

DR Day 3

After much study of the current construction state, we all came together as one and decided that even thought we had not planned this, we came up with an alternative plan to buy construction materials and continue to push forward. We found ourselves at the local “ferreteria”, buying these materials, which God provided us with the money for these supplies. Later that morning, we visited the Alfalit pre-school program and future members of the new school. There were 120 students in total, and we all split up in pairs (one Spanish and one English speaker) and we shared the love of God with them through conversation, candy, and gifts.

In the afternoon, as we got together as a team and sorted through the clothing donations we had brought, we realized that God had provided us with more than we had ever realized. From the 12 pieces of luggage that we brought with us, we ended up with over 60 donation bags of attire. Milagros had arranged for families in an extremely impoverished neighborhood to wait for us in order to receive our donations. We could have had thousands of bags and we would have never met the need. The group was very impacted by the immense desperation in the faces of the children and parents. Many of us have never experienced this. God has moved in the short time that we have been here, mightily. We have seen the true meaning of the verse “God shall supply all of our needs according to His riches in Christ Jesus”. We are small, but our God is great.

DR Day 2

While our team leaders took the initiative to handle some loose ends regarding our construction plans, the rest of the team convened to prepare for the upcoming evening event with the children at the local neighborhood. Although we had set a schedule for our trip, God has continually reminded us that we are on His timing and not ours. We were a tad late for the church event with the children in the evening, but their joyful anticipation of seeing us broke the boundaries of time. We had clowns, we had charismatic puppets, we told Bible stories and we sang with the children who eagerly chimed in with us. We even had a chance to hand out Noah’s Ark masks and stickers that were received with love and appreciation. Over three hundred kids joined us to have their picture taken in front of the new school site we are constructing! We were overwhelmed with their joy and satisfaction that they humbly received what little we were able to offer.

DR Day 1

The group arrived at the airport on time and checked everything in without any hassles. Even though the airplane was full, the flight was great, without any delays… with an airline like AA, can you believe it?! Praise the Lord! The Director of Alfalit, Milagros Bello, was waiting for us at the airport, with transportation that took us on a 4 hour drive to San Juan de la Maguana. The group immediately jelled, as on the trip we laughed, we sang, and we had lots of fun. We have several jokers in the group… more details about that when we come back! Our prayers have been answered: it had been raining consistently for the past two weeks until we got here… not a drop of rain and surrounded by morning and evening breezes… perfect weather for construction. We have been furnished with a simple yet comfortable and clean hotel. The locals here are excited to see us and very welcoming.