Philadelphia

My road trip has come to an end and I've landed in the Philadelphia area to visit my parents. Last week I spoke at Calvary Bible Church in Phoenixville, PA and spent some time at Philadelphia Biblical University. I spoke to an international business class, and several of the students are intersted in interning with us. I can't wait to have all these interns down in the DR. I think it will be a great experience for them and for us!

Since I have told you about the weather along the way (and when I say "told" I mean "complained") I will follow up with a comment about the weather on the east coast. It's much nicer! Actually, it's about as cold here now as it was a month or more ago in the midwest. As a former science teacher, I'm tempted to go into an explanation of the effects of the ocean on the temperatures, but I shall refrain. But if you're interested, you know where to find me.

I haven't had any more sightings of things like black squirrels or signs about used cows. I promise to have all manner of excitement to share while I'm down in the DR this winter.

I leave for Austin (by plane) on Saturday and will be there two weeks - and I can't wait to get there. It is more or less "my home" at this point. I guess the DR is too. Two homes are better than none, yes?

Thanks as always for your prayers, encouragement, and support. You are a blessing!

Christmas time

Christmas time is approaching. It is evident in the D.R. as special stands are put up on the main streets to sell apples, grapes and special Christmas candy. Also evident in the Christmas merengue songs on the radio.
The schools and activities are awesome. It is such a blessing to be able to work with Makarios. Mares, the Haitian pastor in Pancho Mateo, and I are working to get a secure location to begin basic computer classes. We are currently working with a donated desktop and a laptop that Sharla got that has a broken monitor. The laptop with a broken monitor is connected to another monitor which makes it usable. Mares is currently giving the students class on manual typewriters.
I am starting a new program in a batey called Chi Chi Gua. It is between monte Llano and Puerto Plata. Also we are organizing sports teams starting with soccer. Hopefully we will get things planned to start right after Christmas.
I appreciate your prayer the following 2 weeks. I am going to be doing Christmas activities. It will also be a time when the children will here the truth about Jesus. Many do not understand what Christmas is and what it really celebrates. This is a great opportunity to share with them.

kids

I want to post a few profiles of kids in our program. Brian recently sent these to me and they will be included in our next newsletter, but you, dear blogreader, get a sneak peek! Here are two of them:

Lilia was born in the Dominican Republic to Haitian parents. She is 8 years old and cannot attend the school because her mother could not get the proper paperwork when she was born. She does not know her father and lives with her mother and another older women who is not related but has helped raise her and does most of the childcare. They live in a tin house that is smaller than most living rooms in the United States. She faithfully attends the educational program that we are running in her village. She is a very hard worker and very intelligent. She excels in math, particularly for someone who has had no formal schooling. This may be the case because she sells avocados in a nearby town with the woman she lives with. She speaks Spanish and Creole.

Felix was born in Port au Prince, Haiti. He has seven siblings and lives in Villa Ascension, a development built by missionaries to improve conditions of Haitians living in the sugar cane villages. The houses are made of cinder block and while small, are very clean and sturdy. He lives with his father and mother. His father works on a farm attending to cattle. The family attends the church in Villa Ascension. He enjoys playing baseball in the field adjacent to the school in Caraballo where he is in 3^rd grade. He is 17 years old.

Please be praying for these kids. Sometimes the need is overwhelming, but God has given us the ability to help address some of them. Who wants to come down and help out?

3,937 miles and counting

I'm writing from Columbus, Ohio, home of the fighting buckeyes. Ohio State University and the University of Texas pass the title of largest university in the U.S. back and forth. Somewhere around 60,000, I think.

My trip is coming to an end! I have several meetings here this week, and then I head for eastern PA for a few more. Things continue to go well and the Lord continues to be my stability, my dwelling place (Ps. 90:1). Despite that, I can't wait until I'm "home" - which I'm calling Austin for the time being.

Please continue to pray - we need it!

The Rainy Season

Yes sharla it is good to be a Steelers fan. I was in Santiago watching the game on saturday, and what made it even better was that I was watching it with an Eagles fan.
Well the rainy season has come upon us or at least the rainy week. It is very rare in this country to not see the sun for a day and I feel like i have not seen it for a week. Unfortunatley all this rain means that school closing. Most students have to walk at least a little ways to school and most of the teachers travel on motortaxis. So I didn't spend my usual time in the public school this week. Beyond Poncho Mateo, the roads were just mudholes and completely covered with water. It kind of stops us here like snow stops things in the U.S. I was able to continue the classes in Poncho Mateo and spent some ime with Mares planning new activities and brainstorming ideas for sports teams and expanding the educational program. We also got his computer up and running so the kids can start using it. We are going to rent a small house that is secure to have computer and typing classes.
For the past few weeks in all the schools we have been doing lessons that involve animals. THings like reading animal books, counting with animals. THe past week after the lesson we played a game were the children had to describe and guess animals. We of course we went though the animals they know quickly, chickens, donkeys, cows, dogs, pigs, and cats. THen i introduced some other animals like bears or lions. THe funny thing was they have seen the animals or pictures of them but have no idea where they live and perhaps the funniest thing they have no idea what they eat. THe only response I get when talking about what these animals eat is grass. They thing all animals eat grass because thats what they see the animals eating.
Continue praying for the children and Makarios.

Hartville, Ohio

I have left the joys of Indiana and Illinois behind and have begun my treck across Ohio. I spent a few days in Toledo visiting friends from the DR. Now I'm in Hartville, which is near Akron, which is near Cleveland, where my brother and his family live. I only have a few meetings here and I'm using the rest of the time to catch up on "office work."

I know that many of you are praying for us, so here are some specific requests. Please pray for:

The kids! Pray that many of the kids in our programs will come to know the Lord.
Our next board meeting, which will be held in the DR on December 29-31.
Wisdom for the growth and development of Makarios.
The new marriage of Brian and Bethany and the start of Bethany's ministry with Makarios (Dec 18 wedding).
Safety for me and health for my car on this road trip, which ends at Thanksgiving.

Thank you! We are blessed to have you on board!

it's a great time to be a steelers fan

I became a Steelers fan soon after all of their Superbowl wins (the first one coming when I was six months old and the last when I was five). I was very dedicated to the team as a young girl and the first time my parents ever let me stay up later than them was to watch the Steelers on Monday night football (I was ten). For those of you who follow football, you'll know that the 80s were pretty rough on us, and the 90s weren't much better. But now we have a good, potentially great quarterback and we're the best team in football! Are there any Steelers fans out there in Makariosland?

Daily Life

I am enjoying working for Makarios. Life has been very interesting here lately, especially since my jeep is in need of a carberator. I have been traveling to work on public transportation and on my bike. Traveling in public transportation often means riding in a van with up to 25 people and whatever they can carry, chickens, kids whatever. Then once I head towards the bateys I am working in it means taking a mototaxi. Which is a beautiful way to see the country side and also a great way to get very dirty for the unpaved and often muddy roads. Even through this I feel like the Lord is really blessing our organization. Continue praying for us, the Dominican Republic and Haiti.

The Bateys

Once again I have to say that Makarios is progressing nicely. I am spending 3 days a week working in the public schools around Monte Llano. I am spending one hour with each grade from first to sixth in two differnet school. In Caraballo, one of the bateys, the school has become so overcrowded that the third grade has moved into a church next door. The first grade in this school has about 50 students and they are waiting to find space to split this class. The other school I am working in is in a place called Severet. It is really far in the country and the third and fourth, and fifth and sixth are taught together. The schools each have their own challenges. Caraballo is overcrowded and can be very loud with a mix of creole and spanish speakers. At the earlier grades the language barrier in Caraballo is very large.

"yer from Texas? you must be freezing!"

A friendly trucker noticed my license plate and made the above comment today. It's true, I'm rather cold. But I feel like I've given the rotten weather enough press in this blog. On to the update!

The past week has been busy! I drove from Ft Wayne to Chicago last Thursday. I stayed with Bethany, who is soon to marry our very own Brian, and join our staff! It was great to spend time with her and meet her family. You will soon be able to read her blog posts as well!

I went to Wheaton College and had a great meeting with they guy who coordinates six month long international internships. Things look promising and we may even have someone from Wheaton down this summer!

I was also able to meet up with one of my former roommates from the DR - Lynette. She's super. Met her fiance too - and he seems like a keeper.

After my trip to the Chicago area, I headed to Albion, IN. You haven't heard of it? It is a small town in northern Indiana. It was there that I was able to witness on of the greatest Steelers victories since they stopped winning super bowls. Oh yes, they beat the undefeated Patriots! It was a good day.

That evening I spoke at a church in Albion. The church is pastored by a good friend of my dad's and it was good to see him and his family. On a totally unrelated note, their niece plays basketball for the University of Tennessee. They have a good team, but they've managed to lose to Texas the last three years. Not that that matters or anything. Go horns. Anyway, things went well at the church and I was very encouraged by the response and level of interest. God is so cool, providing for all our needs along the way. One little girl gave $10 of her own money. Awesome!

Last night, I spoke at a missions conference in Elkhart, Indiana. It's a lovely town, don't believe anything different. The service went well and afterwards I was invited to partake in the supplies of the "missonary closet." That was fun - I was able to get some bedding and towels for the Makarios house in the DR. Just another piece of God's provision pie.

Please continue to pray for Makarios!