March 8- Dia de Las Mujeres

Apparently it has been a while since I last blogged. Nothing too exciting has happend til now. This weekend Jocelyn came and we spent most of our time hanging out at the house playing games with the boys. Sunday we helped with the children’s Sunday school class upstairs for the first time. I haven’t been to church here the past 2 Sundays because I’ve been away.
Today we met with Children International. I have attempted to contact them many times but finally was able to meet with them. When we decided to do a school, the place that gave us the idea was a Compassion International location in the north. We contacted Compassion but they said that since there is an organization in the area already they would’t start a program. Thats when we contacted Children Internation. They have a building located in El Fumen just before Batey 1. There they have a clinic, a computer lab, and a library. Then they go into the schools of the 7 surrounding communittees and do extra curriculur activites such as art and music. Originally we wanted to see if they would help us start a school but after learning about their program, it doesn’t match up.
The other day as we left Cuesta Arena it was raining and the younger children who go to school in the afternoon were walking the hour treck in the rain. It simply broke the pastor’s heart and it has been on her mind ever since. Though the original plan was to build the missionary house, then a first floor church and second floor school….we need the school much sooner than that. It looks like now we are going to try to finish the first floor of the house and attempt to use the large gathering area as a school and possibly the bedroom when there aren’t missionaries. There is also the possiblitiy of adding half walls on the second floor, just to keep the kids from falling off, and when its not raining use the second floor of the house. Regardless, we need to finish the house asap.
Labor is not the issue it is the money. When we start the school, it has always been our intention to do a child sponsorship program. For those of you that have been here, you have already connected with that one child and their family and desire to keep in contact with them.We haven’t figured out the legistics of it all, but right now we are thinking that we will go ahead and start the sponsorship program. For $25 a month, you sponor a child and correspond through letters that I will translate and send pictures. The money will right now go toward the completion of the missionary house, helping to pay for transportation to church every Sunday, and helping to prepare the teachers for the school.
We aren’t 501c3. We are going to talk to the pastor’s husband to find out if we need to do that here in the Dominican and in the States or if one is suffiencient. If anyone has any knowledge about this please let me know. Also if you are interested in starting the child sponsorship program and know exactly who you want to correspond with, please let me know. I know that just from the people that have been here and connected most of the children can be accounted for. God is in this and present and moving!! It is all in His time how it plays out. We feel that right now, the school is the top priority and God will make it happen.