Blog, Page 31

Hello from the DR! We are praising God that Brian is coming to terms that he will not be allowed to flush toilet paper wherever there is a toilet. However, when he found out that the village has no toilets new concerns arose.

Pastora emailed me today with some pictures of the well being dug. It isn’t completed yet but should be soon. As soon as I get healthy and back in the office, I will get the pictures up that she sent me!

As we come to the end of our week in Cuesta Arena I look back on a week filled with many emotions. As we arrived and the children all were waiting for us and calling us by name my eyes began to weap for joy to return to this small piece of heaven. Jesus said that we should have faith like a child that joyfully wait for the time we spend with them.

Today we made a phone call and have a people coming out tomorrow to start the process for the well. We have someone coming out tomorrow to see where it needs to be put. The well will then be in and ready by Friday. Unfortunately we won’t be here for when it is ready but the people will have water. Right now, the river is blocked off to fix something so the people have no water for 2 weeks. We felt the need to move quickly on this process. We currently have the $2500 to start the process but need the other $2500 by Friday!!! We are taking a leap of faith and praying hard!!!

Today the Gainesville group got up early with Sarah and Bill and headed to the airport. It was awesome to have them with us and it was sad to say goodbye. The rest of us got up and had devotions. I was able to share a little bit of my recent testimony. I love when I have the opportunity to do this because it reminds me of how blessed I really am and how God truly is a great provider. Once Sarah and Bill arrived back at La Islita we headed to Pastora’s house to scarf down our breakfast and head out to Cuesta Arena.

Today was our last day in the D.R. I think our group had a great day…and an outstanding week. We started off the day a little slow by going to get some construction material from a “Home Depot” type store. There were so many people who checked your receipts! After we left from the store we went up to Cuesta Arena had about an hour to hang out with the kids before lunch. Half of the group was already there and had set up a medical area and were seeing some people of the community. I was able to spend time with the kids and play a “make-shift” game of volleyball.

Today we started off the day with 26 people. All three groups were here and it was the Jacksonville group’s last day. We got up very early, had breakfast, and headed out to Cuesta Arena so we could have as much time with the children as possible. Today was also the first day for the medical clinic and the ladies did a great job of setting it up and Dr. Mary saw 20 to 25 people during the time there. During the morning we pulled out the parachute to play with the kids with and they absolutely loved it. We also played Wiki Wiki Wu which is now a definite favorite.

Today we got up and headed over the mountains to Playa Esmerelda. It is a local beach so we were the only ones on the entire beach. The water was crystal clear blue and the perfect temperature. On the way home we drove by Cabarette, a touristy beach along the northern coast. We stopped there to do some final shopping for the Jacksonville group and then headed home by way of Puerta Plata and then drove south. On the way home we got a flat tire in the pastor’s car. As we pulled over to change the tire it conveniently started to rain. It poured down rain, which caused the streets to flood.