Listen Up!

from now on, all our blog posts will be on the main page of our new website, not on this site. check it out: www.makariosinternational.org

méxico!

here's a video from our time with the kids in mexico city. more on that later...

toothbrushing!

Isaiah. Or as my dad would say, "I-zi-uh"

I have found these verses to be encouraging and wanted to share the encouragement.

Isaiah 58:10-11

If you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday.

And the Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places, and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.

Construction!

it's really exciting to see the house go up. it will be even more exciting to see how God provides the money that we'll need to finish the house! prices on construction materials have more than tripled since we began the project. i think God just wants to show how nothing can slow Him down, so i look forward to seeing His provision unfold. here are some pictures of the house.


side view of the house from the road


the men and the container


front carport view


you gotta buy it all before the prices go up again!


the back staff area


view from the back


looks like a living room, right?


this is where you'll sleep

roller blades and the start of a new school year

here ronni is wearing pink roller blades. let's discuss. where did he get roller blades? i hadn't seen them in this country until recently, and i'm seeing them in poorer areas. so this makes me wonder if a big shipment of used roller blades came down from the US. also, he's wearing these in chichigua. if you have ever been to chichigua, you might remember that there is no flat, paved surface. all dirt and rock. ronni was just walking around awkwardly in them. it didn't seem fun. but what i do i know about fun in chichigua? maybe it was a fashion statement.

on a different note, this week is what one might call "the calm before the storm." although now that i say that, it's not all that fitting because hurricane hannah has been raining on us since sunday. but from a school perspective, it is quiet - the summer program has ended and monday is the first day of the new school year. i think it's gonna be great! stay tuned for pictures and posts.

graduation

There will not be students over the age of twelve in the upcoming school year, so we had our first graduation ceremony and party for all of the older students in our program. It was really special planning the event for my students, and having them and their parents come all dressed up and participate. We showed a quick slide show and then had the ceremony. Preparing for the graduation.

William

Yunior

Ernesto

Jonatan

Luis

Natanael

Rubén

Francesa

Francia

Lissi

Yoslena

Albertico

Ronni (who at first hid under the table after hearing his name called)

The whole graduating class
plus Weston, Robin, me, Kate, and Cristina

Ernesto and Ronni, the two from Chichigua, were wearing new clothes (that were matching). They both also got haircuts. It was really precious!

Ronal was one of my former students. He moved to Haiti and was gone for a majority of the year. This graduation was the first time for me to see him since coming back, it was really exciting.

some pictures i like

we're in the process of redoing our website, so i've been going through lots of new pics. here are some of my favs.

Interns - Session Dos!

Four new interns arrived at the beginning of July to join Emily and Paul and have hit the ground running (Picture L-R: Catie Houser, Jennifer Domingue, Sarah Haugh, Sarah Penn)! After some orientation, community building, 27 Waterfalls and a retreat, they were in charge of developing and leading school. Sarah H. and Jennifer (both UT students) proposed a co-project with art, and therefore the theme of school was discovering the beauty of God's creation through art. Each day of school, two or three days of creation were discussed and portrayed through various art projects such as watercolors, vegetable stamping, chalk, and other mediums. Now, Jenn and Sarah are going to do follow-up "workshops" with the older kids that have showed the most potential/interest in art.

Catie is our UT pre-nursing intern and is assisting Cara at the school with tending to minor injuries, taking kids to the local clinic and a couple of more serious cases to the hospital. She is also observing/researching ways to better Makarios' knowledge and treatment of minor injuries at the school.

Sarah P. is one of our Pennsylvania Biblical University interns and is developing curriculum for school to teach some basic business and entrepreneurship concepts to the oldest class. Our other PBU intern, Paul Weitzel, with the continued participation of the interns, is continuing the development of relationships through summer Kids Clubs at the Wharf (downtown barrio of Puerto Plata) and a village behind the Mak house that we so affectionately call Poopie's Place due to one of the little boys named being Poopie.

Emily Falk, our full-summer Harvard intern, is continuing with her sociology research as well as building beautiful relationships with the children at school and the wharf, our neighbors at Poopie's, and of course the staff.

Your prayers are greatly appreciated as the interns have only a couple weeks left in the country and with each other and seek to finish strong for His glory. These are definitely some of the most flexible, joyful and passionate people I've known in quite some time and hope you are as honored as I am o their work with Makarios.

la casa makarios

here are some pictures of the house we're in the process of building. you are welcome to come and stay here any time - the cistern is big enough for guests and we could through a few mattresses down in there for you. Or you could come stay in the house we're renting now and help us build this house!

how long does it take to get from puerto plata to austin?

posted by sharla, who has traveled more than the average osa.

about a week and a half ago i left the DR for austin. I have done this many times - about 50 times, in fact. this was the worst and longest trip i have ever taken. here are the highlights/lowlights:

saturday, 12pm: flight is delayed out of puerto plata. i find this out before i leave for the airport and plan accordingly.

1:30pm: taxi runs out of gas on the way to the puerto plata airport.

2:00pm: i get to the airport an hour and a half before the new scheduled time, but no delta workers are at the desk. other airline workers tell me they have closed the flight.

2:10pm: i track down another worker who tells me that most of the people had already checked in for the flight (they didn't know it had been delayed) so they closed check in.

2:30pm: i finally find someone from delta and get him to allow me to check in. i start composing my letter to delta headquarters in my head.

4:30pm: the flight leaves 2 hours late, giving me less time with my friend kate in altanta. the original itinerary had me arriving into atlanta around 5:30pm on saturday and flying out sunday morning at 10am.

7:00pm: i arrive in atlanta, and go through the weirdest customs set up i've ever seen. i won't bother explaining, but it took forever and involved a non-english speaker telling me to get my luggage from the "sous" terminal. "south?" i said? "no, sous." he said.

8:00pm: after getting my luggage from the south, yes, south terminal, i finally meet up with kate. we go out for dessert in downtown roswell. it was lovely.

sunday, 8:30am: kate drops me off atl.

8:45am: the kiosk computer doesn't recognize me as having been on an international flight and only wants me to check 1 bag (you can check 2 for international fligths). the delta lady instructs me to get in the back of a long line.

9:20am: i get to the front of the line, a little concerned that i'm going to miss the 45 minute cut off. but i get called up just in time. or so i think. the flight is at 10:04 and it's 9:20, so i've missed it by a minute. it's a computer controlled thing so they can't override it. they put me on a flight at 11am.

10:45am: we're boarding the plane and a thunderstorm rolls in. they're still going to try to take off before it gets bad. they need 2 volunteers to take a 1pm flight and get a $200 voucher. i volunteer as i don't think that plane was going anywhere anytime soon.

11:30am: the plane i had been on takes off for austin and makes it there with my luggage.

12:30-3:30pm: i watch the computer screen as my flight keeps getting delayed because of storms. soon all the monitors fill up with "cancelled" and mine follows suit. i am number 13 on standby for a 5:45pm flight and have a seat for sure on a 7:30pm flight.

5:45pm: the flight is delayed until 6:30pm. though i am number 13 on standby, they call 16 names and mine was not among them.

7:30pm: my flight has been delayed for an hour and i am no longer in what one might consider "a good mood."

10pm: after many delays, my flight is cancelled because there are no pilots. all of this because of thunderstorms.

10:15pm: i get on the train to take up to kate's neighborhood. i make two phone calls to delta, and both people tell me there are no seats on flights to austin the next day. i call a third time and get booked on an 11am flight for the next morning.

10:30pm: 30some hours of travel and 14 hours in the airport bring me to the point of tears while i try to listen to some uplifting music on my ipod. people on the train look at me funny and/or pretend they don't see me crying. americans are so nice.

11:15pm: kate and scott pick me up at the train station. i go to their place and go straight to bed. thank God for friends that live nearby.

monday, 9:30am: i arrive at the airport and the computer has no record of me on any flights that day. the nice delta lady let me get in the business class line as it's shorter. they find that i am, in fact, scheduled to fly at 11am. i am on my way.

11am: the flight is delayed a half an hour and i start getting nervous.

11:30am: the flight leaves and i arrive safe and sound in austin, more than 48 hours after i left the mak house in the DR. i am tired.

moral of the story? don't leave the DR? don't take a voucher? don't fly delta? atlanta is trying to trap me? you tell me.

los tweems

posted by sharla

the twins are getting bigger and bigger and cuter and cuter. I offer proof:

The adoption process is actually moving along. Plenty of hitches in the process, but right now it seems I'm making progress. I'd saying I'm at least another 9-12 months from being able to bring them home. All in God's timing.

Freedom Day, as told by Kate Krone

It truly is Freedom Day here in the DR. An appropriate name as we remember Jamie Lamb's Mom who died a year ago and also the Breaking Free study we have been diving into with the interns. Freedom is our prayer here.It isn't quite the same celebration as in the US but we had watermelon and did grill...we brought some American flags from my folks that helped to get in the spirit of the day. Oh, and we had chocolate cake for dessert to celebrate two of the girls birthdays here. Yum! We were ready for a celebration as it has been a busy week.

Monday, Annalie and I went with two of the interns to The Wharf to visit Dona Linda who lives there. She had invited us for lunch. We sat and talked and Annalie played with some of the girls of the neighborhood. I was very proud of her, out of her comfort zone but willing to go and play and walk around with them. She ended up enjoying it and making some new friends.Dona Linda is a Grandma and as we sat she told us about her bad headache and arthritis that day as she cleaned and made coffee and our lunch. We felt badly that she was working hard but it would have been an insult to try and help her. She made coffee for the interns. I don't drink coffee and Emily just told her it gave me headaches when she questioned why I wouldn't want any so we didn't offend her. She gave us the best chairs in their very, very small home. It is made up of odds and ends of wood, with two bedrooms, a main room and a tiny (the size of a small closet) kitchen. The kitchen consists of a small propane stove on a broken table and a refrigerator on concrete blocks. They have bits of fabric over the few windows to try and provide privacy. She and her husband live there with their daughter and her three children (she is pregnant again).She talked a lot about the village and warned the two unmarried intern girls to stay away from dating the men in the village. She did try to set up Hailey with a fisherman she said knew a word or two of English but Hailey declined. :)Emily ended up going with her daughter to the Colmado (corner grocer) to get food and Hailey (the other intern) and I sat and talked. They brought out a fan without the guard over it to keep us cool and while talking Hailey got her finger caught in it. (Hailey is the one who cut her leg and got stitches before at the Wharf) I looked at it and realized that we needed to go to the hospital and she needed stitches. So, we ended up all riding on Motos (motorcycles-they are a popular way to get around the city ) to the hospital where she ended up getting 5 stitches. Goodness!

The Westlake Youth Group came in that afternoon and it was so good to see them! They have been a real blessing here and have greatly blessed our kids. Helping at the school, helping me pull weeds in the school garden (Kat and TA were great examples in being willing to do it, even in the scorching sun!), helping us clean the Mak house (our cleaning lady can't work anymore due to knee surgery), helping to watch the twins and Adaline so Andy and I can go into villages together...among other things. We have really enjoyed coming along side of them, eating with them, seeing their servants hearts and praying with them.

We spent Tuesday and Wed. at the school. We went around the village as a family to round up some girls to go and play. We ended up with a number of them and all our girls did so well. We played with chalk, bubbles and jumped rope among other things. One little girl ended up spending the day with us so we ended up sharing lunch with her. She had quite an appetite which is usually the case here. Elliana found a sweet little friend named Evie and the two of them walked around the played for hours. Ella spoke English to her and Evie spoke Spanish but somehow they communicated very well. Others commented on how neat it was to see them together.

Unfortunately, that same day Annalie (and others) witnessed a Haitian man beating his wife. We weren't there at the time but Robin the principal told us about it and we talked Annalie about it. Evidently the Haittian man thought she had cheated on him and had her in a headlock punching her head. The people of the village eventually calmed him down but it was the talk of the day throughout the village.Thursday we went back to the wharf with some of the high school kids. I prayed protection for our group before leaving! We all did well and Emily went back to Dona Linda's house to let her know all was well and to apologize for us leaving so quickly. One of the sweet little girls at the wharf had quite nasty moto burn on her leg (a too common injury here). We tried to clean it out the best we could, but she was in a lot of pain. We hope to go back soon with better meds to put on it.

Friday has been a day to spend with my girls. Emma went to one of the villages with the groups in the morning. Annalie, Elliana and I were able to do Bible studies together and play. I did get a good quiet time in too which is such a blessing. Of course Adaline was crawling on me the whole time but I think it still counts. :) Andy was at the beach with some of the guys, playing with them and feeding them lunch. The evening was spent laughing with some people of the house and sitting in on devotions the WBC group. It ended with a late night discussion about God with two of the youth group girls, great way to end the evening!

Today we went to the beach with a bunch of the kids from the Mak school. There were 40 kids and the high school group did a really good job of keeping track of all of them. Our girls always love hanging out at the beach so it was a good day for them too. One of the boys did get a fish hook in his foot but Andy was eventually able to pull it out.Yes, such a busy week but also so very good. God continues to work in us and hopefully through us for His glory. Please continue to pray and thank you so much for those prayers!

27 Charcos & Retreating with the Interns

After getting oriented to the villages, school, and Puerto Plata, the interns, along with Anne, Garrett, myself, Andy, Annalie, & Emma Krone, & friends Ritchie & Brittany Sparling headed on a team-building adventure trip to 27 Charcos (27 Waterfalls). None of us had driven to the waterfalls before, so after finally spotting the TINY washed-out sign, turning around, driving through a cane field, and guessing at the fork in the road, we discovered our destination! One of the best (coolest/well-kept) tourists spots I've seen thus far, we paid our pesos, requested our guide - La Machina (The Machine), got suited up in life vests, helmets, and for those without water-type shoes, classy Dominican water shoes (yes, they are rubber and look like 1980's loafers), and were off through the jungle of the DR!

We swam/hiked/climbed/were lifted up a series of pools, waterfalls, and hills in order to get to the "top", where we proceeded to jump/swim/climb/slide down. Our guide would go before us and somehow LIFT/THROW us up from the water to the next pool or hill, then tell us exactly how and where to jump or slide down into the next pool. The natural beauty of the area was amazing, and we had so much fun that some of us are already planning on returning! We also were able to bond in the approx. 5 hours spent hiking, being magically lifted up the side of a mountain, and supporting each other as we jumped from up to 20 foot drops.

The end of the week ended with a retreat at Cabarete to further introduce the staff and their experiences thus far, discuss the roles of the interns and their projects for the summer, as well as mandatory fun and "icebreaker-vegas"...I think they might like us...and we LOVE them! It is so evident that the Lord is working and has answered prayers already.

Highs and Lows

Fifteen things I will miss...
1) Having a little hand in mine at all times
2) Conversations in Spanish and actually getting the jokes
3) Taking time one on one to care for a child and calling them by name
4) Walking miles a day between public, school, pharmacy, hospitals and exercise
5) God honoring times in prayer and study with each other
6) Talking and walking all over the DR with Kara
7) Laughing, dancing, singing at any given point in time with the staff
8) Being needed...even for little simple things
9) Rice, beans and chicken
10 Taking kids with their parents to the doctor and good conversations along the way
11)Friendly people along the walks
12)Cows, horses, chickens, dogs, and cats in every street
13)The people I share life with
14)Seeing the cycle of poverty slowly but surely change due to believers being faithful
15)Children running to me down the street with arms wide open yelling "Laura!"
Bonus thing: Spending time at Cabarete, eating great food and making friends with the locals

Ten things I will not miss...
1) Never, ever looking like I care about myself...hair a hot mess and heat edema
2) Feeling dirty all the time
3) Sweating the second you wake up to the second you fall asleep
4) Taking a shower and 2 minutes later having black feet
5) Not having a microwave
6) Not being able to drive, although I'd be scared to drive here anyway
7) Flying cockroaches that attack
8) Ginormous spiders that stare at you and then run faster than anything you've ever seen
9) Waking up with new bites every morning from who knows what
10)Not being able to put toilet paper in the toilet...and never flushing until truly needed

My time here has been one of the best things I have ever experienced. No regrets. Even the things that I won't miss, I would gladly put up with for another month if I were able. Those things were actually hard to come up with...until I remembered all the insects. You learn to adapt, but it doesn't make it easy.

It's so hard to leave, but I take comfort in the fact that there is a strong staff that God has put in place, He is working, and I am planning to return for a bit in November in between nursing assignments if I do this whole travel nursing thing. Who knows, maybe I'll end up in Austin for a while.

los interns estan aqui!

the first round of interns arrived on sunday and after several days of orientation, team building, and jumping off of waterfalls, they were ready for their first day of school. here's a picture of them as they headed off in their new school clothes...

from left to right, interns Hayley, Emily, Paul, and Tepera, with Laurin and Kate. They are all awesome. cream of the crop!

Fire, fire, the guagua's on fire

I am sure that many of you have already heard the story by now but for those who haven’t sit back and here a tale of how the guagua caught on fire. Although it has been a little over a month since our van caught on fire the wreckage that still sits outside on the street makes it feel like it happened yesterday. After a productive day in Montellano the women’s group from Westlake Bible Church were ready to return home to the comforts of cold showers and oscillating fans. When we arrived to the house I noticed that Anne had parked the truck in front of the carport which meant I needed to leave the guagua on the street. After the group unloaded I went inside to say hi to Anne and grab the truck keys so I could move it and the guagua under covered parking. When I stepped outside I noticed smoke coming from under the driver seat in the guagua. After casually telling Anne the van is on fire and asking for a fire extinquisher I returned outside. We didn’t have a fire extinguisher so Anne brought out some flour to throw on the flames. When she met me outside and saw the amount of flames accumulating under the van she simply noted “I don’t think flour will put this one out.” If you haven’t been to the Makarios house then you must know that we are located at the top of a hill. To make things more interesting, the emergency brake on the guagua doesn’t work so we always park it in gear. Apparently the fire produced enough heat to start turning over the engine and the van began jumping forward. It finally succeeded and began making its way down the hill. Luckily we also have a broken down Nissan Pathfinder that has never been removed from the street. The van stuck the front end of the Pathfinder allowing us enough time to steer the guagua to the vacant lot across the street. It is not hard to draw up a crowd in the DR so when 12 American women begin screaming and running into the street and flames engulf a van people stop to look. Within minutes every neighbor, construction worker, taxi driver, dog, cat and chicken began showing up. After 10 minutes and two stops at the wrong address the fire department finally arrived. They immediately try to break out the windows but there tiny hatchets just wouldn’t do the trick. So the logical solution became for each member of the fire department to pick up rocks and throw them at the car windows. Needless to say they succeed, more oxygen enters the van and the flames double in size. After another 10 minutes of attempting to put the flames out Miguel and I are questioned about registration papers and insurance. We tell them that everything was in the glove box. Seeing as this was not an acceptable answer Miguel worked his way between two firemen and began kicking the glove box. After 3 powerful blows the box opens up and he salvaged what was left of the paperwork. The police got all of our information, the fire department thought they put out the flames so everyone began to leave. Before the fire department made it down the street the battery in the van caught on fire again and Miguel flagged down help. After a few more gallons of water the fire was out Everything was finally over...I wonder when the clean up crew will come? Oh yeah, there isn’t one...so Miguel and I swept up the broken glass, pushed the guagua out of the street (using the truck), hosed down the car fluids that were all over the ground and finished just in time to start up the grill, it was burger night and everyone was hungry.