Currently browsing

Page 25

Inner Glow

This morning I woke up, my first day back in the states after spending 10 glorious days in the Dominican Republic. I opened up my devotion for the morning and read about Mother Teresa’s inspiration to serve. It talked about how her Inspiration lifted her spirits and made her face shine. It gave her an inner glow similar to that of Moses when he came down from the mountain after encountering Christ. The last few sentences sum up the devotion: “Like Moses and Mother Teresa, we may not always feel the glow of God’s presence within us.

Water System Plans

We are leaving tomorrow and I still do not have a cost for the plans for the water system. We have decided the best thing to do is to build a 1000 gallon cistern, purchase water and ship it in, then filter it through our current system. This summer the plan will be to construct the cistern and prepare for bringing in of water so that the rest can be completed with out. I have asked Sairy to work with the filter company to come up with a year plan including the cost to build the cistern, cost of water for year, maintenance the company would do on the system to keep it up, filters, etc.

Our last day

Today is our last day here. It’s always so hard to leave this place. This trip has been so amazing. It’s very different when we don’t have a big group of people because I feel like you really get to experience the culture. We have done so much in a very small amount of time. We have been to Los Cocos, Cien Fuegos, Los Solados, Cuesta Arena, and Santiago. We have been able to help pass out food, experience a funeral, sing, dance, make crafts, and just spend time with each other and with our Dominican friends. Church gave me goosebumps today.

Muchos Besitos

This post is long, but I hope it’s worth it to you to read it. 🙂 I have learned more things than I can count the last couple of days here. However, a couple of them stuck out in particular. So many people in the Dominican are more friendly and more generous than I ever have been.

Cuesta Arena

As most people know and some have experienced, Cuesta Arena is a special place. It is the anchor for my soul and the happiness in my life. This week I read my journal entry for the first time I ventured up that slope of sand:

Food Project

Drew flew in from Trinity UMC in Gainesville, Fl to bring packages of rice with vitamins. Yesterday we took a bag to Estella and had her cook the food and get her opinion. She thought the rice was good but needed to be Dominicanized by adding cilantro, garlic, and other herbs. The food was a hit with Estella so we decided to try it with the people of Los Cocos and Cuesta Arena today. In Los Cocos Estella taught Mariel how to prepare the food. The food was then passed out to a few members of the church and some representatives from the rehab facility the church has been working with.

Gloria a Dios

Today was a very busy and wonderful day. We started the day at Estellas house to try out the food packaged by Trinity UMC Gainesville. The package has rice, protein, vegetables, and daily vitamins. The plan was to make sure they liked them and would use them before shipping a crate down full. We taught Estella how to make it and she will in turn teach Los Cocos and Cuesta Arena tomorrow.

Water System Update

Today we had the water crew out to investigate the water. The guy that came out last year has been researching the area. Apparently there is a salt water line that runs under the area and that is why we have a salt problem. He brought out another investigator specialist and their boss. They are saying the system does not have enough pressure so on top of the reverse osmosis system we need a 1000 gallon tinaca underground to hold the water. We need all new filters and pumps and to top it off….our generator will not power the new system so we will need another generator.

un dia bonita

Today has been such a great day! We woke up and ate some yummy breakfast at pastora’s. Then we headed out to Cuesta Arena. While we were out there a man came to meet us to talk about the water filtration system. He was extremely helpful and was able to tell us a lot about what needs to get done. There is a lot of work to do but we know that God is big and He always provides. We also were able to bring some food for Orileidy and her family. The rest of our time out there was spent playing with the kids. Kristyn and I walked to Pamela’s house to visit with her family for a little while.

Beauty (in a nutshell)

My second full day in the Dominican and I sit frozen in amazement. Everyone here is beautiful. I definitely stick out like a sore thumb as one of the three girls who are “blanca,” and I must say that I’m quite jealous of the perfect tans everyone here seems to have. But that’s not the beauty that stands out to me. What I find so beautiful is that I look around and see nothing in a lot of places except for trash, a couple of stray dogs and children running around with no shoes on; yet they smile. These children are happy and wonderful.