Dominican, Part 2

My trip out to Piedra Blanca, where I was staying was pretty much uneventful.  The trip is a distance out of Santo Domingo and the country side is beautiful!   God’s handiwork is so evident and for a country that is so poor, they are rich in beauty!  I was greeted by my beautiful sister, Lisania with a meal of beans and rice with chicken.  She was so excited about me coming to stay with her that it was absolutely evident by the hospitality that she and her family showed me!

That afternoon after her husband came home from work, I went with him to the grocery store.  The grocery store was such a different experience than what we would ever see in America.  If I was not so taken back by the armed guards with machine guns, I would of snapped a few picture, but did NOT want to upset those guys!   I am not sure if there is much theft there because I forgot to ask, but I am assuming there was because of they guys with machine guns!  The amazing thing is I never felt scared or threaten and neither did anyone else, so that must be a common security practice.

The fun thing about the grocery store is seeing some very “American” items.  General Mills, which is where my husband works, has many of their cereals there.  Also, Nabisco and that silly rabbit was there with chocolate syrup and other items…so that was a little bit of home right there in the DR!  Of course there is a lot of the same packing, but also things that I assume they get from local people that were in clear bags.  There were no refrigerated items I am guessing because the electricity and the lack of  a regular schedule of it being on.  Again, I was so immersed with the surroundings that I did not get any pictures, plus I did not want to upset the security!!  :o)

That evening at supper was a very simple meal of toasted ham and cheese sandwiches, with a fruit smoothie, and I will have to say, that fruit smoothie was out of this world yum-o awesomeness!   With every meal there was a different variation of a smoothie.  The first night it was mango, the next we had one with papaya, another night with oranges and on and on.  It was great!

After supper were drove to many different houses to pick up clothes for a clothing sale that the church in La Cumbre was having on Saturday to help raise money for windows for the church.  That was a cool experiences to see so many different types of houses and meet so many new people.  That took up the rest of the evening and upon arriving back at their house, I was pretty much excited about falling into bed!  The difference of sleeping there and at home, home is very quiet…no horns beeping all night, no music coming from the disco’s that are round every corner and no bugs….

More to follow!

Dominican Trip Day One…

Thursday morning was a very early morning and overall whirlwind of a day.  As mentioned in my previous post I do not like flying and the first flight was rather bumping,  As I sat and sat dreading waiting for the second flight, I was pretty much at peace with dying when it was time to board and walked on the plane with the thought that this could be it, I might not make it. 

The  first thing my radar  grabbed onto were the police men in the hallway thingie that connects the plane to the building (not sure what it is called) and they were checking passport information.  The lady that was ahead of me informed me that she has never seen that EVER and she has traveled a lot to the Dominican….great!  I am going to be on the plane with someone with a death wish.  My first thought was maybe I will get a seat all by myself so when we do encounter the mad man mid-flight, I’ll have the seat next to me so I can brace myself for the crash!   Nope, there was a person next to me on this super jumbo flight.

Well all I can say is it’s amazing that God pust the right person in your path at just the right moment…He is just awesome that way!  I met a girl named Nehanda she was flying in from New York and immediately she started up a conversation that lasted the most part of the trip.  She was going to the Dominican because of a documentary she saw on TV and asked her dad to meet her.  They were heading into the community of La Romana to work and observe.  Before the flight ended we shared our story, laughed, connected and prayed!!  I tell you it was awesome.  I can not wait to get home and talk with her to see how her trip went.  Yep, this looks like a long friendship has started!

Once getting there and getting to my destination for the evening, Metchie, the wonderful Dominican “mom” of World Servants took us out for dinner, Dominican style Chinese Food!  I will have to say it would of not been my first choice, but it was awesome!!  Who knew that Chinese food prepared in the Dominican Republic made by Dominican people could actually taste better than homegrown Tennessee Chinese food!   Ha!!  I would of snapped a picture before we started eating, but the smell was so scrumptious that all you get is a peek at the after math…

On our way back to our house, we were hit by a car….great end to a long day…if you have even be on the streets in a third world country you will know what I am saying when, each and every time you have to get on the road, you pray the hardest you’ll ever pray!!   Luckily it was not that bad and in true Dominican style everyone gets upset and then we drove off!

There was my first day in a not shell and can’t wait to share more in the next couple of days!!

Finally, More About Goats!!

 

God is good, He is amazing and His works are incredible so basically I could stop there but then what fun would that be??  My last goat post was here if you wanted to catch up, but so much has happened since then, that it just blows my mind!! 

When we left the DR we left the community with a list of goals that would need to be accomplished before we could move on.  It is so important that they take ownership of this project for it to be successful.  So we left them with the task of locating land for the project and to locate and identify forage that would be used to feed the goats. 

Before I go any further, let me explain Dominican time to you because their time is not like ours.  Here in America we rush with everything,  I think we are a hurry up and get-r-done kind of a nation!  In the Dominican their time is much slower.  If they say we are leaving at 8am, we would hurry up and be on the bus at 7:55am and then wait to finally leave at 8:30am.  So when we talk about time, their time table can be much slower than what we  would consider normal.

With that being said, when we left we did not know how long it would take them to be ready for their next set of goals.  We were really hoping that January would give them plenty of time to be ready for the “next” phase.  I am very please to say that last Monday I got a message from the pastor saying that they found land and were waiting for the next set of goals.  I WAS FLOORED!!  They moved so much more quickly that I ever thought they would.  Not only did they find land, but apparently there has been many meetings discussing the goat project.  Very encouraging.

So what does this mean?  What is this goat project all about??

This goat project will feed hungry children in their community.  Some of the  children that reside there that are being fed sugar water because there is nothing else for them.  Their hair has began to turn orange because they are not getting enough nutrients to sustain their hair color.

The leadership of this community know the great need and  the importance of having dairy goats and daily fresh milk that would provide the very thing that could literally mean life or death to some children.  Trust me, I am speechless when it comes to this.  I have found myself, more quiet and reserved, in awe of the magnitude of this project and the way it is coming together.  God is moving in a mighty way and I have a front row seat watching Him work.  It is so much more than I can explain in a few words on a blog on how big this is.  I guess that is one reason that I struggle with writing this post, because my words can not do this goat project justice. 

The biggest thing I can say right now, is God is good!  I will share more on this as the goat project moves forward and as it is now, could be changing daily.  I do appreciate your prayers more than I can express.  Right now, we wait and are ready to go back at a moments notice to get the goats in the community!

Goats…Goats…Goats

Finally, I have a minute to sit down and talk about the goat ministry that is coming alive in the community of La Cumbre.  I will be honest, I have tried to stay calm about this ministry and not talk and get too wild about it, but honestly, I just can’t keep quiet any longer!!  I am so excited at how God is moving with this ministry and I can not wait to see it continue and come alive!! 

Here is where I first talked about the vision for a goat ministry.  If you are interested in going back and reading, click here.

There has been lots of research this year on how to get quality goats in the Dominican.  Many dead ends, lots of calls and no answers and a couple of calls with a Spanish speaking person answering the phone with me having no way to communicate with them.  But finally, I made contact with someone in the DR that could answer my questions and help me!  Paul & Linda are missionaries that moved from the states and began a goat farm near Santo Domingo in 1986.   Not only do they have a very successful goat farm, but also have started a school there in their community.  

   

We took eight members from the community of La Cumbre along with five members from our mission group and Daniel who is over World Servants, whom we partner with and his daughter to a day of “goat schooling”.  Linda laid out the importance of beginning a goat project for the right reasons, the hard work of making it successful and the importance of a co-op mentality.  

After some class room time, we hit the farm to learn about the forage and amounts needed to sustain the goats during lactation and also get up-close and personal with these very friendly and curious creatures!  I was so encouraged by the photos above and the interaction that was happening, all the way down to some note taking…very promising! 

So why was this day so important??  Because there were certain criteria that we felt would need to be met before we could move on.  The concern was when the goats were not lactating that they would be eaten. These alpines are massive, much bigger than many goats that they are used to seeing.  So we were so encouraged to have two men that wanted this project to succeed, so the goats would have the protection they needed from others in the community that might not understand the nutritional  importance of the milk these goats will provide.

    

For now I am going to leave this post at this.  There is so much for me to tell you, so stayed tuned for more!!

Also, I am asking for prayer for our family and some decisions that we are seeking.  I want to share more, but for now, I need to wait.  Thanks so much my wonderful blogging friends!

Some Of The Children Of La Cumbre

 

Each year God has a plan for me when we embark on our mission trip to the Dominican Republic and this year was no different, with God placing on my heart a calling of beginning a goat project on the community of La Cumbre.  Of course in my doubting I felt that in no way could this ever work.  The big guns were pulled out and time after time during last week and children were placed before me with various needs.

Just a little back ground about La Cumbre.  This community is basically an outcast community that is between a major road.  It consist of about 275 families with an average of 7 children per family.  When I say family, most are single moms that are forced into prostitution to feed their children.   Most of these families has no jobs and will do anything to feed their children. 

I think the hardest thing to see is that quite a few of these children are suffering from lack of nutrition, have distended stomachs, green running noses and their hair is turning orange because they are not eating enough to sustain their black hair.

This is were it gets tough…how old do you think the little girl is in the above picture?  Of course sometimes it is hard to tell by pictures, but she weighs a fraction of what she should,  picking her up I would of guessed she was about 9 months old.  I knew she was not 9 months old, so I assumed maybe  there years old.  Three years old…..see her orange hair?  This poor baby girl not getting the food she needs.

This is her family.

This is her 15 day old baby sister, that is also very hungry.  It broke my heart to be holding a 2 week old baby that was desperately trying to eat when I had nothing for her and neither did her mother.  Here in La Cumbre it is not uncommon for a child not to get milk but once a day or every other day.  Most bottles consist of sugar water.

God did not waste anytime getting my attention this week with the importance of starting this goat project that he laid on my heart more than a year ago.  I am excited to say, the goat project is on it’s way.

More to follow…

La Cumbre 2010

My flight made it in last night at 11pm and I was so happy to be home knowing that my hubby was meeting me at the airport with our youngest son so happy and full of joy to see me.  After dropping off the luggage for our group at church, we made our way to McDonald’s for something cold to drink.  All the way home we caught up about the prior week, oh how blessed I am to have such a loving and supporting husband and family that was so excited that one, I went where God was calling me, doing what God called me to do, and secondly I was home.  Upon walking in the door the first thing I saw was a dozen roses welcoming me.  This morning getting ready for church my in-laws called to welcoming me home and to see how the week went.  Again, I am so blessed  to have such a supporting family.

Coming home is so bitter  sweet and as I try to settle back into my privileged life, air conditioned home with electricity and a refrigerator and pantry full of food, Fresh, clean running water, hot water to bathe with and a closet full of clothing, clean clothing is a little overwhelming.  

I just left a community full of outcasts,  scratching out a living where women are forced into prostitution because they are desperate for any income so they can feed their children.

I am overwhelmed.  

Tonight as I sit here typing this post out I can not put into words yet of what God is revealing about this trip to me.  I want to share a few pictures from this week and tomorrow I will go into more detail of each.  Thanks for praying for me this week.  It was amazing seeing God work in so many ways.

     

I Am On My Way!!

Right now, well at the time of this posting, I am on my way to the Dominican Republic along with 23 other members from my church!  I can not believe that this is my third year going. 

This year we will be embarking on a new ministry in the village of La Cumbre and if you have followed my blog you’ll know that we are so excited to be beginning a Goat Ministry where they can have fresh milk for their children.  We will also be working on the second story of the church that was began a few years before, four different children Bible times with crafts and dramas and working with the women of this community teaching them embroidery.

Please be in prayer  for our group this next week.  I can’t wait to see what God has in store for us this week and for these sweet people that we will be ministering to.  I can’t wait to share with you about our  trip when I get back!!

It’s A Give-A-Way!! Yay!

I am slowing coming out of my mission haze…it was been a hard adjustment back to life after our mission trip, but I think I am finally getting there.  Our week in the Dominican was a challenging, rewarding and life changing event in our lives and my heart leaps with joy being able to share this experience with my hubby!

We did have a hard start to the trip with our luggage not arriving.  I can not explain the feeling of stomach dropping realization that you are in a third world country on a mission trip with nothing but the clothes on your back.  We were told that our luggage would not make it in until Friday, the day before we left, but we only had to spend two days without it.  I would say, that was a rough two days, but when we finally did get our luggage, there were some things I could of lived without.  I don’t think i would of truly come to that conclusion if I did not spend two days without it.  Next year, I will pack accordantly and also I will pack a carry on with all the essentials!!

Life is good, our hearts are forever changed and we are catching up on much needed rest.  I think even the teenagers were glad that we were home!

I will share more as the weeks progress but I wanted to show you what I got in the Dominican for a give-a-way!!  The pictures are bad, and I tried to take several but they just would not turn out.  This cross is truly beautiful!

   

It is a cross that is made out of Blue Larimar.  This stone is only found in the Dominican, and I love the way it looks!  I am giving this away to one lucky person! 

Also, in honor of our luggage being lost, I am also giving away a $10 Wal-mart gift card!  On most days it’s not a far stretch to say I loath Wow-mart, but when you are in a third world country with no luggage for two days, I would of been one happy camper to see that big ‘ol blue Wal-mart sign!  Yeah, enough said.

If you would like to be in the drawing for either one of these, leave a comment and I will draw for a winner in a day or so!  Good luck!

Dominican Mission Trip 2009

I have thought about this post since Sunday and I so wanted to share with you about our trip as soon as I walked through the door on Sunday evening.  It has taken me some time to put a few things into perspective before I was able to share with you. 

We had a great trip, a trip that was full of wonder, awe, work, sweat, tears, heartbreak, happiness, the unknown, refueling….I guess, I could go on with so many emotions that we have experienced, but we would be here for days.  

I will be honest, there were days I felt totally energized and there were days that I was checked out with overcoming emotions.  The sight, sounds and my thoughts sometimes becoming overwhelming.  There were times on this trip that God shown His presence so abundantly and other times where I was forced to rely on Him with all that I had. 

The picture above was one that I took when I was having a low point in the trip, where I was having to come to the reality that God had put me there for a reason, a reason that was beyond my scope of understanding.  This verse, Be still and know that I am God, was my verse for this trip and the above picture captures the full realm of my feelings. 

This picture represents the work that God sent us to do in the Dominican this year.

We worked on a community center in the community of Los Annones.  This community center will have a clinic, a kitchen and will serve as a place of safety for storms.  We also held a women’s ministry while I was there teaching women of the surrounding communities how to embroider and a kids time each afternoon.

 

This picture represents the refueling of our trip. 

The community that we worked in was a farming community and the ones from that community that helped us, needed a break to tend to their farms, as we needed a day to rest as well.  We went to a beach that was off the beaten path, for the most part it was just our group and a few fishermen.  It was an amazing day of relaxation.  I have never seen a beach that had rocks washing ashore instead of shells and as the rocks rolled with the waves it made the most tranquil and amazing sounds.

This picture represents the awe struck wonder of God’s perfectness. 

We worked in the mountains and everywhere you looked reminded you that God is awesome. From the scenery to the precious people that we spent time with, the presence of God was felt. 

I am going to leave you with several pictures from our trip.  I have so many more things to share from our trip and will do in the next several days.