Well, it has been a whirlwind of activity since we arrived in the DR. As you may have guessed internet access has beena problem for us. We have been living with Dominicans and traveling/working every day since we have been here.When the group arrived, Aury (one of our wonderful hosts) and I picked up the team at the airport in Santiago--a little less than a two hour drive from Puerto Plata--because the roads are wet and there is much rain. Our mode of transportation was a small multi-purpose dumptruck with bench seats in the back. I think they are church pews to be honest. We travelled from the airport to Puerto plata and arrived a little after 11 p.m. We ate dinner and stayed up talking at the childrens home. Everyone was excited to finally be in the middle of our project instead of wondering about the details from afar. We enjoyed a good nightys sleep and woke early in the morning to the sounds of roosters crowing, scooters and motoerbikes, and the laughter of children in the street.
There is much to tell about this day. It was a Saturday and the first full day of the trip. Our plan was to go and visit some potential children for the childrens home. It can be said that there were many opologies from our Dominican team because they had not delivered on their promise to have children in the home by March. It is May and there are still no children in the home. It seems like we are playing the same record over and over. Planning, facilitating, hoping, reminding, and still there are no children. Shane is the most frustrated because he has been working for several years to make a sustainable childrens home a part of a Dominican led program, but it has been many trials to change the thinking of Dominicans to take initiative and own their own program with us on the periphery. It is definetly not something Dominicans are accustomed to... To take ownership of projects when foreigners are involved.
To this end, we have been busy outfitting the childrens home with the necessary items to host up to six children by the time we leave, tough the plan is to have no more than four before the end of the year. We hired a local upollsterer/pastor who helped us purchase and cover 7 brand new matresses and pillows. We purchased all new kitchen supplies (plates, bowls, knives, forks, spoons, cups, glasses, serving bowls etc...), cell phones for the home to keep for future groups to use (pay as you go), two twin beds, towels, 125 lbs of rice from the rice factory (on the way back from our trip to visit potential children for the home), and the list goes on. The member of the local Mercy League D.R. donated a small parcel of land for our project. They organized some locals to plant it with plantain and Yuca (similar to a potato), but half of the parcel is home to an underground spring, so we are not sure how to utilize the other half of the property. Lloys, Andrew, Emily and our friend Benson ( a Haitian young man who donated his time and labor) spent the day working on trenching the land, but it seems we may need to purchase soil to create raised beds. Any ideas?
Lonnne and Alex (the childrens home director) spent the day building bunk beds for the home. Steve (the good doctor), Elissa,and Shane split the day between two churches (one Haitian and one a Dominican church) with Aury as the translator. At about 3 p.m. we were hit by a great rainstorm. We were all drenched to the core as we returned from our work. You couldn`t have been more wet if you stepped out of a pool with your clothes on.We have been dealing with the many twists and turns of changing circumstances here in the D.R. That said, I believe that the team is having the time of thier lives, and appreciate the relationships that they are building with our Local Dominican team. They are true examples of selfless workers for their faith. It is a humbling experience.
On another note, on the way to an English spealing church in a nearby town (Sosua) a man stopped to talk to our team. He was the director for GO ministries. He treated us to breakfast at the hotel/resort whre we were attending church, and later to a fish (red snapper) lunch on the beach. We wanted to pay, but he was happy be a contributer to our cause... how could we refuse. He also offered to partner with our organization on many levels in the future.All in all is has been one of our most productive times. Thank you so much for the people who were senders and helped us with donations. Without you, this trip may not have happened. Thank-you.
We will try to get another update before we return, but who knows when we will see the internet again. It may have to wait until we return.
p.s. a quick note... I just heard word of a small Haitian girl living int he mountains (3 hour walk each way) who has lost both parents and has no family here. I believe that we will go and look for her tomorrow.
