Kids from Hato Mayor

Resources

I think about how much of an uproar there has been about the cost of gas in the United States. As gas prices continue to rise above $4.00 people complain and groan. Here in the Dominican Republic gas is running just over $6.00 a gallon. Add to that the this is a developing country and there is not money for food to feed ones family making this high price for gas magnified. Even if someone is blessed enough to have a job, they need to find a way to get there and being able to afford a car, let alone gas is a challenge.

Then add that resources such as electricity, water, and gas are not always available. Electricity everywhere goes out periodically throughout a given day and could be out for hours, public water is not always available and has not worked for several days in a few of the places I have visited while here in the DR. Buckets were filled while there was water hoping it would last until the water returned. Gas also is not always available. The other day here in Hato Mayor word spread that there was no more gas and people scrambled to the last remaining station that had gas to fill up their vehicles not sure when more would arrive.

Things are much different here and complaining about $4.00+ gas prices in first world country seems trivial when compared to the challenges other people face all over the world. How we take for granted a light that turns on when the switch is flipped or being able to drive to work each day. Next time you get in your car or fill up the tank think of the person walking to work in the Caribbean heat of the Dominican Republic because he cannot afford gas let alone a car and taking public transportation is a choice between a ride to work or a meal that day.

Barcelo Orange Distribution Center

Don Livio came by Sofia’s to talk to us about the team we have coming in August. Livio is about 73 years old but doesn’t look or act it. He is full of spunk and a real charmer.  You will get to hear more about him later because he is going to be the driver for the team while they are here. Anyway… Sofia asked Tim and I to go with Livio on an errand to get oranges (Chinas en espanol). What we didn’t know was that we were going to the actual Distribution center where the oranges are brought to be inspected, boxed and bagged up, and shipped out to other places. Turns out this distribution center is the largest center for orange distribution in the Dominican Republic. It is called Barcelo and it is a huge company. Sofia has a relationship with them and Barcelo donates oranges to Sofia’s organization ARRAS. I was impressed by the facility and the amount of oranges being processed. We picked up some oranges and Livio separated a small bag full and put it on the side. He told me that those were for 2 blind men that Sofia always sends oranges to whenever she gets some. How like Sofia to take care of the blind, sick, orphaned, widowed, and all those in need.

Check out the pictures or the orange plant…

Water

A question for you... What would you do if you were given a 5 gal bucket of water and that was all the water you had to take care of any need you have. With this water you need to bathe, wash your hair, brush your teeth, wash the dishes, wash your hands after going to the bathroom, clean, and flush the toilet, which I have found at times has taken half the bucket just to flush the toilet. Then consider that there are 5 people in the house and all of them need to do the same things. This is the reality for many in the Dominican Republic. Water is a precious comodity. I have found a new appreciation for having water and while here in the DR find myself conserving it, and cherishing it and being grateful to God for providing it. What will you do today with 5 gallons of water?

Puerta Plata

English Class... Hato Mayor

Tim and I met a remarkable man named Ovidio Torres. Ovidio is from Ecuador but he lived in the United States for a number of years. Ovidio now finds himself in the Dominican Republic and his heart is to share all he has learned to help the people of the Dominican Republic. He even wrote a grant, which he was awarded, to start a recycling program in the DR. This will help not only clean up the environment but to bring awareness to the people of the community of each of their obligation to do their part to help the community as a whole. Ovidio is also involved in the communities in other ways, for instance three times a week he teaches an English class to anyone in Hato Mayor that is interested in learning. Tim and I were invited to participate and help the students in hearing English being spoken by someone who speaks it as a first language. It was great interacting and talking with the students. All the students had varying reasons for learning English but the main theme was to have more opportunities. One guy, Victor, was trying to get a job at a vacation resort so he was learning not only English but also French, German, and Russian as well. I have a great respect for those working at the resorts. They learn the travel/hotel vocabulary in each of the languages so they can communicate with all of the different resort guests. Take it from someone that is struggling to learn a second language, it is not easy. I cannot image trying to learn 3 or 4, let alone all at the same time. You would think that the resort jobs would pay well but in fact they are just a basic wage. So our hearts go out to all those in Ovidio's English class and we pray many blessings and opportunities come there way! Thanks also to Olvidio for sharing with us and letting us take part in the work he is doing in Hato Mayor and for the people of the Dominican Republic.

Sofia y Rafael Delgado

You can't meet Sofia and Rafael without falling in love with them. They are WONDERFUL!! It blows me away how there are people coming and going from there house all day long…. Young and old, community leaders, to children, to those in need. One will come and drop something off for her to give away, then another comes and she gives them something like cloths, toothbrushes, food. One woman came by today saying she sews and wants to hold a class for the women then later a boy came by to sign up for Sofia’s youth program. People come and go all the time and because my Spanish is bad that I don’t even catch all she is doing in the community… but it is a lot and everyone knows her. Tim and I got to be on TV, a local station here, with Sofia last Friday night. They are going to let her talk on TV once a month to help motivate awareness to the community and ask people to get involved. Cool stuff!

Hato Mayor

Tim and I arrived safely in Hato Mayor on Lunes (Monday) and have spent the last few days seting things up for the team we have coming the first week in August. We also have been spening time with Sofia and Rafael The minsitry they are doing with ARRAS spans far more than just the pre-school. They truely minister to the entire community. Their vision includes having a vocational school to help the women earn a wage and learn a skill. Even now they have received donated sewing machines and have a local seamstres that offered to do a training seminar for those wanting to learn to sew. There are many projects to share with you. More pictures and stories of the projects as well as the people are to come.

Blessings,

Cindie

Pictures from Peralta

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One of the ministries we have gotten to see is that of Pastor Francisco Rosso and the town of Peralta. Pastor Rosso has been there since he was 17 years old and that was 22 years ago. Pastor did leave to go to school to get degrees in both theology as well as law but he is devoted to helping the community however he can so he returned to Peralta. There are about 12,000 people in the city center with about 18,000 total including the rest of the city. Peralta is a community that is about 40 miles from the main city. Being this far removed it is difficult for them to find opportunities to earn wages and support their families. Early on the community grew coffee but when crops were bad they needed to turn to something else to earn a wage so they learned to sew. Lack of health care is a primary concern for the community so leaders asked themselves “what can we do to help resolve the issue?” They decided education was the main way to help the community so they started a program to teach the community about things like good hygiene, prevention, etc. They also decided they needed to find ways to bring money into the community to help pay for health care. One solution was to apply for a grant. They beat out everyone else and won the grant which would fund the program for three years, where at that point the community was expected to be in a position to sustain the program themselves. After the three years ended Peralta had not saved enough money to self support. The foundation reviewed the situation and decided to invest one more year into Peralta, so they were funded by the foundation for 4 years total. After the forth year the community had eno0ugh money saved to fund the program for 3 months. After that the people worked another 6 months for free. There were a few months after that that the program had to close before they found other creative ways to support the efforts. One of those ways was to make T-Shirts and Polo shirts which began in January of 2008. The shirts Peralta make are good quality shirts, very well made and comfortable. The colors are great as well. The shirts are often used by organizations and groups for putting logo’s on or other custom designs. The business is fair trade which provides a fair wage to the workers and the business is also providing needed funds for the entire community to get health care. This community is a GREAT example of wholistic community development and IGN hopes we, and our partners, can come along side them to support them and their efforts.

Monti Cristi... Pictures

Monti Cristi… both beautiful and difficult. The mission house is located not too far of a walk from the water. Across the street is the new church that is being built that will also house the teams that come to help. Alberto runs the program there and he has to children a girl (9) and a boy (5) (both were visiting their grandparents so we did not get to meet them when we were there). Across and down the street a little bit lives Fransisca. She is a WONDERFUL lady who comes over to the mission house daily to bring Pastor Alberto food, coffee, and help out in the kitchen. Fransisca taught me how to make several yummy dishes that I hope to share with you all. J Fransisca is the mother of 5 daughters and the Grandmother of 16. She used to be a drunk and was known in the town as being mean. No one wanted to be around her and she was an outcast in the community. When Pastor Alberto and his wife moved to the community they befriended their neighbors and got to know Fransisca. She started going to church and one day accepted Christ as her savior. This changed her entire life and today she is a whole new person, a wonderful and loving person who I feel privileged to have met. Love you Fransisca!

Monti Cristi is located in an area in the North West of the Dominican Republic in the hills and along the ocean front. It is Farley removed from the bustle of the bigger city with Santiago being a 2 hour drive south east. The people in Monti Cristi earn their living fishing and in the salt fields. The salt fields are located next to the church and mission center and stretch nearly as far as to the ocean front. We could see the men working as we stood on the roof of the mission center. At night is when the workers come out to fish. They work all night sleep in the morning and then in the afternoon they clean their fish to sell them. It is hot in Monte Cristi but while we were there there was an incredible breeze that came across that cooled us down which was so wonderful, however with the breeze came the dust. In one day there would be an inch of dirt covering everything.

Saturday evening we got to attend the youth service at the church. The children come from an area of town called Buenos Aires. Tim and I went along to help pick the children up to bring them to the church. As we drove through town the closer we came to Buenos Aires the roads became narrower and less drivable and the houses tin and wood slats. It was evident we had entered a poorer area of town. There seemed to be children everywhere and it surprised me to see so many. As we continued to drive through I noticed many of the children did not have shoes and some did not have cloths on at all. Life would be hard in here and opportunities few. As we worshiped with the youth at their service I prayed for them and was glad that the mission was there to help. I pray for the people of Monti Cristi, especially those in Buenos Aires. May God provide for them in all their needs and may they find joy in life through our Lord Jesus Christ who is the hope of the world.

Monti Cristi

Monti Cristi… both beautiful and difficult. The mission house is located not too far of a walk from the water. Across the street is the new church that is being built that will also house the teams that come to help. Alberto runs the program there and he has to children a girl (9) and a boy (5) (both were visiting their grandparents so we did not get to meet them when we were there). Across and down the street a little bit lives Fransisca. She is a WONDERFUL lady who comes over to the mission house daily to bring Pastor Alberto food, coffee, and help out in the kitchen. Fransisca taught me how to make several yummy dishes that I hope to share with you all. J Fransisca is the mother of 5 daughters and the Grandmother of 16. She used to be a drunk and was known in the town as being mean. No one wanted to be around her and she was an outcast in the community. When Pastor Alberto and his wife moved to the community they befriended their neighbors and got to know Fransisca. She started going to church and one day accepted Christ as her savior. This changed her entire life and today she is a whole new person, a wonderful and loving person who I feel privileged to have met. Love you Fransisca!

Monti Cristi is located in an area in the North West of the Dominican Republic in the hills and along the ocean front. It is Farley removed from the bustle of the bigger city with Santiago being a 2 hour drive south east. The people in Monti Cristi earn their living fishing and in the salt fields. The salt fields are located next to the church and mission center and stretch nearly as far as to the ocean front. We could see the men working as we stood on the roof of the mission center. At night is when the workers come out to fish. They work all night sleep in the morning and then in the afternoon they clean their fish to sell them. It is hot in Monte Cristi but while we were there there was an incredible breeze that came across that cooled us down which was so wonderful, however with the breeze came the dust. In one day there would be an inch of dirt covering everything.

Saturday evening we got to attend the youth service at the church. The children come from an area of town called Buenos Aires. Tim and I went along to help pick the children up to bring them to the church. As we drove through town the closer we came to Buenos Aires the roads became narrower and less drivable and the houses tin and wood slats. It was evident we had entered a poorer area of town. There seemed to be children everywhere and it surprised me to see so many. As we continued to drive through I noticed many of the children did not have shoes and some did not have cloths on at all. Life would be hard in here and opportunities few. As we worshiped with the youth at their service I prayed for them and was glad that the mission was there to help. I pray for the people of Monti Cristi, especially those in Buenos Aires. May God provide for them in all their needs and may they find joy in life through our Lord Jesus Christ who is the hope of the world.

Playing Around in Monti Cristi

Yesterday I watched a group of young boys playing basketball in the yard at the mission house in Monti Cristi. I noticed that the hoop was crocked on the backboard and as they played it would continue to move until ti was at a 45 degree angle and they could no longer manage to get the ball in the hoop. Then one of the boys would get a broom with a long handle and push the hoop back in place and they would again begin to play ball and the process would repeat as once again the hoop would begin to slide to the side. Later that evening Pastor Alberto, our friend Sandy (a missionary in Monti Cristi) and Tim from IGN got some tools and wood and properly attached the hoop back onto the backboard. I look forward to seeing the faces of the boys when they return next time to play some hoops and they do not need to stop every 2 minutes to push the hoop back into place. I also will take away how 3 men, all from different places, all living their lives to serve God and people, came together to do a little thing that will make someone else’s day just a little brighter. Not a hard thing, not an overly significant thing, but something and in it they also grew just a little closer to one another and became just a little more like Jesus.