DR Day 2 - Community Day, VBS in Rio San Juan

Wednesday, June 11, 2015

With our groups, we had community day in Bobita, where we ate and hung out at the home of one of the students who attends Manna Christian School (high school). Then, we had a scavenger hunt in Rio San Juan, and finally we did VBS in Rio San Juan.

I'm not sure where to even start. This was a challenging day. The work we do here is not easy. It's not easy to show grace when you're very uncomfortable or out of your element. It's also not easy when fellow brothers and sisters in Christ let you down. I'm battling with both right now. I thought I was somehow adapting better this time to the outlandish heat and humidity, but truth is I'm still struggling.

Community day in Bobita

With our group and a few interns, we each went to the home of a different Manna student for lunch and we got to go to Nene's (Renecito)! He lives with his grandparents just on the other side of the bridge we helped reinforce last year. He has a small house with a flush toilet that works when the street electricity works, but otherwise there is a pit toilet in the newer addition. His uncle's motorcycle is parked in the living room (somewhat common around here), even though he doesn't live in Bobita. The newer addition has a kitchen with a tiny gas stove, sink, cages of chickens, a dining room, kitchen area. They had to build a bunch of reinforcements and a wall due to the river flooding. His grandfather was pretty difficult to understand, but I had some good conversation with him. He had me running all over the place, telling me of a son who had passed away, a bishop who was a good friend, another son who lives in Switzerland with his wife, another who lives in Rio San Juan with Renecito's brother, pointing out how his septic system is put together, where it runs, another son who does cock fighting and keeps his chickens there (I said I thought that was illegal and he said not here!), pointing out different kinds of trees, fruits and nuts, my head was spinning. I was so hot, I had to just sit, so I made my way back to the kitchen and rested a while in a nice rocking chair while the other kids played dominoes, the national sport. Nene and the other kids played and were very leisurely about it, but many of the kids from the other houses later commented that the people played like it was life or death, slamming down dominoes when it was their turn. We get that way about UNO and some card games, but it struck us pretty funny that they take dominoes so seriously. To each his own!

Also, Nene taught us how to make tostones (which I pretty much already knew since that's how they do them in Puerto Rico too) and even Clayton and Trisha got to help!

Nene shows Clayton how it's done

Trisha smashes the once-fried plantain in the majador

Clayton gives it a try

Before...

and after!

Lunch was so amazing- Dominican chicken, moro and fried plantains. I never drink sugar pop, but I couldn't say no to that ice cold Coke they brought out. We all ate a lot but it just wasn't enough! Dominicans want to you eat and eat - it's a source of pride!

We had a group photo and then headed back to Manna to get our supplies, hop the Daihatsu and head to Rio San Juan for a scavenger hunt and VBS.

Back: Renecito's uncle who showed up for the picture, Renecito, me, Clayton, grandpa
Front: Garrett, Emily, Trisha, grandma

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Scavenger hunt in Rio San Juan

I include a few pictures Kailey took from the scavenger hunt (I did not go). I'm so proud, it turns out in spite of his pitiful high school Spanish, Jeff was the go-to person for his group for Spanish! Go Jeff!

At the Gri Gri Lagoon

This is a neat story that Logan would use for the Lord's Supper during worship on Sunday. (more later!)

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VBS in Rio San Juan

When they presented the scavenger hunt to us, they made clear that Monica (Puerto Rican intern), Joan (Dominican intern) and I would not be allowed to help our groups. Honestly after the Daihatsu ride, I needed a break.

I don't want to be a whiner, in fact I didn't even include this in my original journal, but I needed to regroup physically and mentally for VBS. I had purposely left the benches for others because I was too hot to squish closely and was previously told by a missionary we were allowed to stand as long as we were on Bobita road. The interns (not their fault, misinformed) forbade me to do so, so I sat on the floor - hot metal, no breeze, jolting... I thought I would faint a number of times. I truly didn't know how I would be up to the challenge of VBS, which required me to be engaging, animated and mentally coherent. So, when I learned I would not be allowed to help, it seemed an ideal time to skip out and recuperate. Jim and Troy stayed too and sang some lovely songs. I enjoyed that as I reviewed the story, prayed and rehydrated, but decided to check out the space upstairs where I would be telling the story. It was nice, if a little lacking in breeze. The door was open to the left of the stairs, so I walked through and found Norm and a few others chatting in Cafe 25, the one Keely and Bonnie opened to minister to the teens. I greeted them briefly and walked on through to the balcony where a lovely breeze greeted me. It was neat watching people in the street of Rio San Juan almost like a fly on the wall - kids playing, Ranger skateboarding, cars driving by, just peacefully reflecting and knowing it was just me and my thoughts.

Alone time is pretty nonexistent here, and match it with a breeze, it was just what I needed. I prayed, looked over the story cards I had made, and just closed my eyes and thanked God for the brief oasis. I noticed a white lady getting out of her car and knew it must be Sandy, the lady who co-runs the center and I needed to talk to her to get things ready for VBS, so I headed down.

She was exactly what I expected, as I was told an ex-military couple who ran a tight ship was in charge of VBS in Rio San Juan. We discussed how things would be set up, the Dominican teens would lead songs, then we'd do our skit, then the kids would split into 4 groups (not 3- too big). We had the coloring book be one station and the jail craft be another, and had the groups assigned to areas - story upstairs, coloring on the floor where they just installed ceiling fans, jail craft and snack outside, games in the "gym" area. She was very no nonsense and had a strong opinion about everything. She made a big point about the entire reason for being a missionary was to build relationships. Yes, we may do physical labor, feed, teach, provide for needs, but ultimately it's all about building relationships. There is no doubt she has a clear purpose where she is at: she has a relationship with Jesus and she is doing what she is where she is not just to physically help the impoverished but to rescue them and bring them into a relationship with the one who can eternally heal them. This was a strong theme this year both in Bobita and in Rio San Juan.

Ryan and Sandy addressing us right before VBS in Rio San Juan

This morning, Norm gave us a talk about circles of influence. It was very effective and you can tell he is very passionate about Jesus. We may come and talk to strangers about Jesus and minister to them, but only our close friends and family are truly in our circle of influence. We are doing them a disservice if we do not share our faith with them. He was very direct and I know some people thought he was a little out there, but he was right on, even if he wasn't too subtle or gentle in the way he presented his message. I know it really resounded with Jeff too.

Without me realizing it really until afterwards, he influenced my presentation of the story at VBS. At the end I asked kids questions to bring the lesson home. Does God love us when we're good? When we're bad? (we certainly tend to think of His love as conditional, which it NEVER is). Do you have a friend who doesn't know God loves them? Do you have a friend who isn't here today? Can you share with them how much God loves them? I felt like God just carried me through the story-telling, it felt magical. Neat how God puts His words and special messages on our hearts to share and it keeps going!

VBS in Rio San Juan is REAL. We were so not prepared for the number of kids that came, but still feel it was a success. Before the doors opened, the SW teens interacted with the kids through the bars. Most were precious, hugging, fist bumps, etc. although I did find out later that Caleb took a kick where no man wants to be kicked. He took it in stride though, which says a lot about his character!

Once the kids were in, we began to realize this was nothing like the last time with some 40-50 kids. Things got started pretty quickly and the Dominican teens got up in front and led the way. They led songs ably and enthusiastically, controlling the huge crowd of little ones, ages 3 and up.

They really did an amazing job and the kids behaved really well too, despite the fact that many are completely unsupervised, neglected and living on the streets. They are asked to leave if they don't follow the rules, which does happen. They come and have structured fun, a snack and love. Sandy and Ryan have really got an amazing thing going! As Sandy emphasized to me, the kids long for relationship, which is what they (and we) are providing.

Here are some videos of the songs :)
Aunque no marche la infanteria... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SuPwgddNxw
Si tu amas a Cristo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDMkkpGbvUs
Tengo paz como el rio: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkG-fJtZba0

The kids did an excellent job with the skit! The little Dominican kids really were engaged and got into it, something that the directors tell us just doesn't happen. I'm so proud of them! Watch them here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=209J0ObTavA

The stations went well, although we ran out of snacks (we had enough granola bars but didn't bring enough- counted number of bars, not number of packs of bars - 2 each, so Hope ran out and bought some more snacks!). Also, we realized quickly that we were going to be out of the books I made and the jail/apostle crafts we bought for VBS in Bobita. By count there were 112 kids for VBS this time!!!

Kids are such a scream, whenever you ask stories to engage kids, you never know what you're going to get. This time was no exception! Once when Paul and Silas were arrested, not having done anything wrong, I asked the kids if Paul and Silas deserved to be arrested and thrown in jail. The chorus of "no!" was interrupted by one who said "si!" I asked why and his response was "porque era fresco!" Which roughly translates to Paul was lipping off, being a punk. LOL! I had to explain the cause of my myrth to my English-speaking counterparts at a later time as not to interrupt the flow, but the Dominican teens who got it were stifling giggles.

I'm also very grateful for my story-station team - the Banisters and Caleb, who sat with the kids and gave me those ever important time clues so I knew how much to stretch or hurry the story to fit. With everyone helping, it went so smoothly! I didn't see them, but I know the kids had fun, learned a lot and were loved in all the other stations too. What a blessing it is to serve with these amazing people!

Story time! Paul, Silas and the Philippian jailer (Acts 16) 

Craft and snack time (foam jail, apostles)

Foam jail and apostles (craft station)

Story, color and activity book, Paul, Silas and the Philippian jailer

Holding the book up (you can see it better :) 

Write your name on your craft so you don't lose it!

more coloring!

Games, including bubbles!

Afterwards in all the hullabaloo, I left my sunglasses. Life down here will be a little hard without them, but perhaps someone can pick them up for me. At least I have a hat :)

Back to before, there have been a number of different relationship issues arise, things were I normally would have gotten bent out of shape, possibly badmouthed someone and/or taken offense, but I did not. I have been trusting God and looking for His approval alone, seeking His will. I feel like Satan is setting out trying to bait me but I'm not biting. My focus is on Jesus and reflecting His love. I don't want to go into any specifics, even to myself, because I feel like I'd be looking for sympathy or validation from someone other than God. I know this may not outwardly seem like much preparation for the dump tomorrow, but what more appropriate than seeking God's love and will above my own?

Here I sit after the long day, finally getting a shower at 11pm. I didn't get a chance to even talk with Jeff until after 10pm, when we sat on the step outside our dorms. It was worth all the crap we got for being a guy and a girl sitting together talking in the dark- ha!, I did my best to prepare him for tomorrow- the hospital and the dump, the most intensely emotional day the last time. He is such a precious heart- I can't wait to talk more leisurely, deeply, reflectively about all we both have experienced.

Perhaps you now understand how exhausted I am having seen all that happens in one day here! Yes, this was all ONE day!

DR Day 2: Coming "home"

Wednesday, June 10, 2015

For some time I've felt regret and a little shame that I've lost that inner calm, I suppose in a way forgotten what I learned here in the DR the last time. With the mad busyness that has been my life lately, where is that gentle patience, that discipline, that renewed sense of purpose I had 2 years ago?

It is the first quiet time and how different it is from the last time (for me)! It seems I have learned what it is to find peace and joy in whatever circumstance, at least I don't have to "relearn" that. Last time I could barely concentrate, as I was so frustrated and distracted by the heat and humidity and especially the bugs. I suppose it's one thing to know that it is possible and to be able to overcome physical distractions and concentrate on God and His word, but it's yet another to discipline myself and do it regularly. I must hush for a while in order to get to this place, and I simply don't quiet down easily or often enough.

I slept pretty well last night even though, unfortunately Dale did not (again). At least he didn't let it get him down, as he even helped Carmen with the dishes :)

Breakfast was delicious as always - boiled eggs, little croissant-like bread, fruit and coffee. Jeff slept pretty well, which surprised me, as he can't sleep on just any mattress and these are pretty rough!

The kids came for a summer class this morning, even if it was only a few minutes before their class. They have a big exam they have to pass to graduate high school and for college in a week. It was so good to see everyone- Nataniel, Jeffrey, Ranger, Cristopher, Angel, Jailinne, Graisy, Nene y Ariel. Hopefully they come up more often! Also, Cristo and Enyer came from the Children's Home :)

We are split into 4 groups- I'm in the D group with Clayton Whitbeck, Garrett Derengowski, Emily Kaissling and Trisha Mellor. I think it's going to be a great group!

Today I just opened to Jeremiah 31 and read. Wow, it was very touching- God's everlasting love for me never fails (just like Israel) - she strayed and was disciplined and brought back. I long to come back and be disciplined, to experience His love again at a deeper level. He is not angry with me, rather He is compassionate, comforting and longs to draw me near, which is right where I yearn to be.

DR: Day 1 - Arriving in the DR, meet the crew

Tuesday, June 9, 2015

Miami Airport hotel:
Someone's alarm woke me up at 6:40am, so I showered and was ready at 7, even though we didn't need to be in the lobby until 9. I felt very dehydrated, so I went to Subway and drank a few glasses of water and some coffee. I was tempted by their eggwhite sandwiches, but wanted to wait for everyone else and once we were through security and at our gate. I chatted with my mom who was on her way to work, which was really nice since I hadn't had a chance to talk with her the night before.

We all got through security without much ado. The agent was from Kearney but was a native Spanish speaker. She was extremely nice. We got to our gate with time to spare but a bird had hit the plane and damaged the nose, so we switched gates. Imagine my surprise when we walked down to the exact same gate we flew out of in 2013, with Cafe Versailles right there! So of course, I had to get some cafe Cubano and pasteles de queso y guayaba (guava cheese pastries) for everyone to share! Yum!

Now we're on our way to the Dominican and the views from the plane are fabulous! I never take pictures from the plane, but I couldn't help myself.

I cannot believe that so much has already happened and so little time has passed!! We have met a new missionary, Norm, and some of the new interns: Mollee, Lauren and Monica (rode with us) and the rest later: Andrea, Joan (pronounced Jo-ahn, it's a guy), Emma and John. The do EVERYTHING - lay down the rules, organize things, etc. We got to see Chad and Jill, Hope and even "Washy" who no longer goes by that since he's the driver, not "guachiman". He just goes by Darlin, his given name. Later on in the trip we would see Laura Beth, Cory and their children Harrison and Greyson and we would also meet the night watchman, Jorge, Glen, another missionary, Paul and his wife Barbara who are co-directors of the Children's Home and Ryan and Sandra (Sandy) who run the Manna Christian Center in Rio San Juan and are also in charge of Sunday worship services.

Lauren, Monica, Mollee (interns)

Monica (intern), Hope (missionary), Alisa (cook, daughter of head cook, Carmen), Joan (intern), Norm (missionary) and Emma (intern)

Norm (missionary), Porfi (in charge of the Children's Home and our host), Darlin (driver, formerly "Washy" the night watchman - "guachiman")

Jill and Chad (missionaries)

Laura Beth, Cory and their children Greyson and Harrison

Sandy and Ryan, directors of Manna Christian Center in Rio San Juan and Sunday worship services

Porfirio (Porfi), Carla and their children Daniel (Dani) and Abby

Children's Home - staff and children (Paul and Barb, the codirectors, are on the far right)

Our missionaries/hosts are Porfi and Carla who I know well from the last time. They are new at hosting, so this will be good experience for them! We are sad, of course that Jeff Reese and Keely Williams, who were our hosts last time, are both in the States this time. Hopefully Keely will be up for a visit to Southwest in the fall though!

The famous Daihatsu was a bit crowded, as there are 23 instead of 18 of us like last time. It did have a new metal roof so there would be no flapping canvas to hold as we rode. Unfortunately, however, there would be no straps to hold so we mercifully could stand and make space on the benches. Here is a little video of us riding from the airport: https://youtu.be/ECC42BTPPuI

We got to know Norm a bit on the ride. He seems very nice and is pretty funny with a dry sense of humor. He warned we were not allowed to throw/hand out things from the Daihatsu, as he ran over a kid who was trying to get a piece of candy and last week he ran over someone else, but "that's another story." We don't quite know what to believe or think!

After a ride that seemed much longer than we remembered, we arrived at the Manna compound in Bobita. We gratefully piled off, helping to get all our luggage down of course, then headed to the dorms to stake out a bed and set up. A fitted sheet was all that was needed, but it was a little tricky to put on with the mosquito net.

After getting set up, it was dinner time and the food was just as amazing as we remembered from last time. Dinner was moro (rice and pidgeon peas), yuca frita (fried yucca root, like potatoes) and salad. We didn't even have to do dishes/chores yet! After dinner, we played volleyball. It was pretty terrible with guys vs. girls and we got stomped. Then, we had a meeting to go over the rules, we presented our skit to the interns and discussed VBS. They were very impressed and think it will go well. However, there are going to be WAY more kids than we expected in Rio San Juan (RSJ) - 100, and 50 in Bobita. Well, we'll make it work. It turns out the couple in charge of the center in RSJ, Ryan and Sandy, are ex-military and run a real tight ship. That will certainly help us out!

I was a little disappointed not to see Luisauny (the girl we sponsor) yet, nor many other Dominican teens. I suppose there will be time for that though. I just remember them being up playing with us the whole time last time and they're pretty scarce! We later would find out that Manna cracked down on them last year as they were hanging out and "mixing too much" with the kids (I think it was a guy/girl thing) so this year the kids are a bit shy about coming around.

Trying to get some sleep and thank God for this fan, as there is no breeze at all! However, although I may not be physically comfortable, I'm completely at peace and just feel full spiritually.

Using my language skills- NOT Spanish!! (en route part 2)

Traveling day one continued (Miami)

It is now almost midnight and I'm in bed (sharing with Emily), Lauren and Morgan have the other bed and the door is open to another room of girls (ReNay, Goldie, Kylie and Keelia). Sports are on TV and some girls are giggly having fun, others sleepy.Our hotel in the Miami airport is not terrible, but nothing special and certainly convenient. Getting everyone onto the free shuttle last time was stressful and with this many people (over twice as many) it would be likely impossible.

It is hard to believe it's the same day as this morning! For lunch in Chicago I had Chicago style pizza (so yummy) and Jeff had a Chicago style hot dog (we believe in eating according to wherever we're at when possible!) and the layover was just right. We had time for lunch, but not too much down time. Unfortunately once we were on the Miami flight, it was one thing after another: a broken seat they had to fix, our plane had hit a bird and broken the plane's nose, weather... so we finally took off a full hour behind schedule. We didn't mind the delay so much, as we didn't have a connecting flight, but stress ran high for those who did.

I have never been on such a large plane before- 40+ rows of 7 seats across, 2 aisles. I was seat 38b and Jeff was 38c, but the rows were staggered so we weren't even next to each other.

I was sitting by a guy from Italy! When I tried to make conversation, I realized his English was rough and he didn't quite sound Spanish-speaking. I was going to guess Italian before he told me! His name was Mario and he was originally from Messina, Sicily but is a chef in Manchester. His girlfriend is a native of Jamaica, where she lives, in fact that is where he was headed. I sure hope he made his connection, as it was going to be tight, but I don't suppose I'll ever know.

As you may know, I dabbled in learning Italian online a while back but it's been a good year since I've even thought about it. I have never actually conversed in Italian with anyone unless you could once via texting with Judith, and I had the benefit of lag as well as spell check/dictionary. Not so this time! My only hope was rephrasing, asking and hoping he knew the English or just letting it go. Words I forgot started coming back and rough though it was, we talked for hours! (we sat for 1 hour then the flight was 3+ hours) I translated flight directions (updates about the delays, etc) and helped explain to the flight attendants for him. I was very glad to have this language opportunity and was very proud of how I did, even though I know my Italian must be very pathetic. It's communication that matters, though!

The flight attendant must have overheard a little, so he addressed him in Portuguese. I guessed that's what he was speaking and informed him Mario spoke Italian, not Portuguese. However, I had heard a lady speaking to her kids behind me and thought she spoke Portuguese - so I suggested he may speak to her in Portuguese, and off they went! The guy in front of Jeff was reading a German magazine, so it was a pretty multi-lingual section to say the least! I love it!

We finally got to Miami around 6:30 and got settled in our hotel. Half of us were getting Subway and half wanted an adventure. Guess which I was? You know it! We went to La Carreta Cuban restaurant, which was pretty good, but suffered from the same issues "La Rosa" did - service was slow and the salad was pretty gross. The mango was canned and the under side of the table was caked with abc gum and the floor covered with food. The rice and beans were great, though! We did have our adventure, although with cabs, it was expensive, but I don't regret it. We talked to Hannah and hung out in the lobby a while chatting too. The girls are pretty silly but are settling down. It's midnight, but we just have to be in the lobby at 9. I love how no one has seemed clique-y. It's looking like a great trip so far!

En route, part 1

This time I was much less disciplined about journaling. Sometimes I wrote in Spanish, others in English. Last time I always did in Spanish, and this time I just went with whatever felt easier which was about half and half. Also, I jotted down bits here and there. I will need to fill in the gaps with my memory (this could be trouble, folks!).

Here we go!

Monday, July 8, 2015
This time the whole group arrived and left at almost the exact same time and we would land in Miami at 5:30pm. Our group would connect in Chicago and the other in Dallas.

We saw Nigel, another kid from Southwest who was on his way to Peru and it turns out Emily Kaissling's dad was flying to Malaysia on the same flight as the Dallas group. What a coincidence!

This time I thought I wasn't worrying and that I was so much more calm, but I'm not so sure.True, last time you may recall I was freaking out and had a rash all over my body. This time I was fine, then yesterday I just started feeling panicky. I prayed and breathed deeply, which helped, but it comes back when I stop.

Tonight I brought dinner (roast pork, strawberry shortcake) to Jeff's folks' house and we all shared a meal. We thought we'd drop off the fish and Hannah and be on our way, but ended up staying a few hours. Hannah who's all grown up at 13 and too cool for such things, actually asked for a group hug with Jeff and me and was as clingy as a teen can be with her parents and still maintain her dignity. This of course made it much harder for her guilt ridden parents who were dumping their one and only for a week and a half. The ride home was hard and we felt a little empty. We knew she was in good hands, though.

Thanks again to all of our amazing family (and friends) who cared for Hannah: Harley and Kathy, Lloyd and Mary, Jillian, Maddie Lou ;), Laurie, Caryn and Cory. You're the best!

Jeff and I both slept well, getting up at 5 and arriving at the airport check in just before 7. We parked in long term parking and rode the shuttle which ended up costing us almost $60. Now I know why I always get a ride to the airport!

Goldie was the first one there with everyone else arriving shortly after, the parents with small kids being the last ones just before 7:30. It must be so difficult to leave your small children so long!

Our plane was tiny and we were in the very last seats, right in front of the bathroom (row 18). We must have been right on top of the engines because we couldn't even carry on a conversation, it was so loud!

When the airplane took off, I just felt so light, it was as if all my worries just fell away and I was free. The panic was gone.

That will be all for today. Hard to believe I need a whole other day just to get past the first few hours of the day, but you'll see!

Mission to the DR 2015: It's time!

Well, I can't believe it's almost time. I don't feel like I'll ever be ready for the mission (supplies, preparing materials, packing), I'll just be done preparing when it's time to go!

It's just hitting me we leave in a few days and it just seems unreal. I'm panicking maybe more than a little, but there are just too many emotions, I can't even... seeing my goddaughter Luisauny, being reunited with all our friends, the kids at the children's home, and just seeing what God does to and through us.

My next update will likely be after we return. Thank you for your prayers for our missionary team and the beautiful Dominican people we plan to serve. Blessings to you!