I have some more pictures

posted by will

Well, it's Sunday afternoon and I am going to be right on time getting this blog done. Month #1 has gone by quickly. The group from NY was fun. There were I think 4 different people at church today with NYC t-shirts. I didn't get sunburned either. I got my banana boat 30, so I'm ready for anything. The group got into Santiago early Sat. and so I went up to the N. Coast with them. We spent the week doing educational activities in the villages and working on a baseball field in the village of Severet. Brian probably already told you that in his blog. If you want to see some pictures of the trip, I put the ones that I took on www.msnusers.com/willspictures. They will be right at the end of all the pictures that I have taken. Click on pictures when the page comes up. We drank some coconut water in Severet. It tastes like weed juice to me. Today I played bass at Shelly and Guille's church here in Santiago. There is a picture of it on the picture page, it is called Iglesia Biblica de Dios. Shelly runs the preschool that I have been helping out at. Anyway, this was the first sunday morning service that I have played, and it was fun. Dominicans like a lot of drums and noise makers, and they like everything really loud. And it doesn't really bother them if something is out of tune. It's pretty crazy. After church we all went over to someone's house in Las Palomas to have lunch. I love rice and beans. Almost the entire church rode in the Gua Gua, which is a small 12 passenger van. I think there were 25 of us in it. We stayed there all afternoon and played guitars and dominoes. I was eliminated from dominoes after just a few rounds. I am still trying to figure out why we have to slap the board and mess up the rows when we put the dominoes down. It has been a lot of fun getting to know all the people from the church. I had a great time.
The water was out almost the whole time that the group was here. That makes for some sweet dreams. We were pretty dirty. Dominicans do everything with machetes. The most back breaking job of all that they do with them though is grass mowing. We cleared most of the field with machetes. So Plax is really leaving us. I wonder if we will draft a wide reciever as a high pick. The beachside villa is back from the dead! I am going to make a kitchen table for it this week. If I can get wood with Guille, I am going to get as much stuff as possible done this week and not work at the preschool. Going to the lumberyard down here is extremely time consuming. It usually takes at least 2-3 hours to get something that resembles what you want.

To the NY group, I really had a good time with you guys, enjoy the snow, and don't work too hard with a hoe.

Wilson

Our First Work Team

Posted by Bethany
I know Brian has already written about our first work team but I just want to say what troopers they were. They all had such positive attitudes and did a great job with the kids and building this field. It was so encouraging to see them communicate with the kids despite their lack of Spanish. I just wanted to say again how great they did.

The First Group

Posted by Brian:
Well the first group has come and gone and I feel like it was a success. We didn't have water in the apartment except for the last day, but the group handled it very well. They did a lot better than I would have done at that age. We built a baseball field and even before it was finished the community had scheduled games for the upcoming Saturday and Sunday. The field will be enjoyed, probably daily.
We also did other activities with the children of the areas. The group went to all the villages we work in and even sang a song in the church in chi chi Gua. Later they returned to the same village and planted 2 orange and 4 avocado trees. I could see that they loved the children. I could also see the surprise on their faces when horses, cows and donkeys were running around the field we were working on. They have probably never seen anything like the Dominican Republic before, and they handled it well. I think that they will always remember this experience and, hopefully, strengthen their relationship with the Lord as they learn about and see more of God's love for the world.

a Picture and a Paragraph

www.msnusers.com/willspictures
posted by will

Bad news for the group coming down. The house deal fell through. You wont be staying in the beachside villa. Oh well. The other place is alright I guess. I was able to go to the beach the weekend before last. That was fun. One can never know the pain and torment that the human soul experiences while attempting to sleep through the superbowl until one has endeavored to do so. I hope Bettis comes back. And hey Plax, what do you mean about you not fitting into the offense anymore. Rothlisman was passing to you all the time. Did you know that the stilers signed Matt Farrior as a free agent. He is James' little brother.

Well, the bunkbeds that I have been working on are almost done. Maybe one or 2 more days. Does anyone have any ideas why a school maintenance man might need to spend 2 or more hours per day on the computer? On Mon., Wed., and Fri. , I work over at Shelly and Guille's preschool, which is right next door. I put some pictures of the kids on the internet. Saturday I am to go with the first group up to the north coast. Hi guys. I claim the back room. I'm not sure whether it is for 1 or 2 weeks. My only question is how we are going to move from point A to point B. Brian's jeepeta is really not that big. We shall find out. My email is willhaizlett@yahoo.com if anyone wants to email me. It's creative. I know. Upon the request of my father, I am going to try to put a new post up every Sunday afternoon. I won't have access to the internet this sunday( and maybe next) though. And Sharla thoughtfully put me in the home of a convicted gun smuggler and terrorist from Haiti. Actually he was falsely accused and sent to prison in port-a-prince for 2 mo. and then expelled from the country. The family I am staying with is the Whites. They were missionaries in Haiti for 8 years, and after the terrorist incident, they came here to Santiago to train Hatians to return to Haiti and be missionaries to their own country. The food is good too.

Feliz Navidad, Will

better than ice cream

posted by Sharla

I am so blessed to be working with Brian, Bethany, Christy, JoAnn, and Will. Each one is an incredible asset to Makarios and to our kids. God is providing for us in amazing ways and our programs are growing in ways we never anticipated. God works like that sometimes! His ways are higher than our ways, that's for sure.

I'm excited about the groups and interns coming down, the scores of people in the states and the DR that have gotten behind us and are supporting us with prayer, gifts, clothing and school supply collections, and their time and knowledge. It's been encouraging to see what God can do through His people and to see their/your willingness to be used of Him. This is abundant life!

Getting Ready for Groups

posted by Brian

THe first group is just about to arrive. Bethany and I have been making preparations for them and we think we are ready. We are looking forward to showing people what our life is like and the people that we have come to know and work with. I am excited and worried at the same time. I have never hostd a group before and who knows what I will forget or what could go wrong. I am sure thngs will not go exactly as planned but i am just praying that this work team will look back on this trip as a growing experience in their relationship with God, and also to have fun and work in a way that will help this community.

I ask that you will continue praying for Bethany and I, the work group and the villages that we are working in.

Kids in the Villages

Posted by Bethany
Things have been going fairly well here. The children in the villages that we work in are so precious. They want attention so badly and always come running up to Brian or me wanting to hold our hands or carry something for them. I have been enjoying helping Brian out with the activities. It is astonishing to me how little these kids know. We've been going over counting and adding with most of them and they're seem to be getting it little by little. They always love playing Math games and using other manipulatives. Most of what they do at school is just copying from the board word for word what the teacher writes. Not very exciting and it's not very beneficial for learning. We've also been going over the first part of John 3:16 with the students, having them learn it for memory. They're doing pretty well but it will take them awhile to get the whole verse. Many have heard the Gospel of Christ and can tell us what He did for us but I'm not sure of how many have made it their own. We've been able to use this verse to talk with the kids about Christ's love for them. I love these kids and look forward to going and seeing them each day. It has been frustrating however because I've been sick often with different infections. Please pray for Makarios and for Brain and I we try to figure out what has been wrong with me health.

activities

Beth and I are enjoying working here. We have had a few medical setbacks and one late night taxi ride over the mountain road to Santiago, which is dangerous in the day. That aside our programs are going well and we are phasing out one area and about to begin focusing more on a variety of programs in Pancho Mateo as well as expnading to on or two more areas. The kids are great, but they are very much at risk. Beth and i often come and just talk about the funny things kids these kids say or do. they are great. While playing bingo, a girl in negro Melo won and proceded to yell Pinguino, thinking that was the name of the game. which is the spanish word for penguin. We are in the process of moving to a new apartment, so pray for that situation. also pray for the children in the villages.

Ok.. I added some pictures

posted by will

www.msnusers.com/willspictures

click on the pictures button to the left

Married and Makarios Life

Many things are happeneing at makarios. We are currently looking for a new house to rent that will be big enough to house the groups that are planning on coming. We were about to sign a lease on a house when it mysteriously went off the market. Please continue to pray for this situation. Beth and I have been working in the villages and are working on scheduling some new activities. Beth is looking to mentor some of the teenage girls and we are looking to begin work in some new areas. Being in the D.R. is great and we are enjoying starting our life together here.

back to preschool

posted by Will

Well, my first two days of preschool have gone quite well. The first day I worked on my farm animals, ( what is that darn goat called?!?) and today I practiced the alphabet. The toughest letters to remember are deffinitely G,J, and V. The kid's there are really cute and hard to understand. Every morning when I go to preschool there are cows grazing outside.
I went up to the Rea's over the weekend and barely got out of bed the whole time. I don't know if Sharla gave it to me, or I gave it to her, but we must of had the same thing. I also had probably the worst sore throat of my entire life for about 5 days . I feel fine now though.
Tommorow Guille, the husband of the lady that runs the preschool, is going to take me to get wood to make 5 bunkbeds for the new Makarios place. Speaking of which, I am going to have to post some pictures of this place when Brian and Bethany move in. I mean, it's right on the beach, the mountains are right on the other side, it's got two hot tubs, a suana, raquetball court, indoor pool, billiards, a three car garage, and it's in the rich missionary neighborhood. I better not tell you any more or I will start to make Brian feel guilty again. Anyway, if anyone is interested in coming down, you want to do it after feb. 15 because the other place isn't quite as nice.
I took a walk yesterday down some road here for a few miles to some road to Licey. The shock that these people had from seeing a real live grinko in their neighborhood was really funny. My family will tell you, I can not help laughing some times, and it was all I could do not to break down under the stares I was getting. Also, for the more seasoned DR people, is it common for old ladies to smoke cigars? It seemed like there were grandmas everywhere with big ol' stogies hanging out of their mouths. I also discovered that, in case you run out of money while building a wall around your house, fear not, just stick a whole bunch of broken beer bottles in some cement on top of the wall. Hey, I wouldn't want to cross it.
If anyone has been wondering about writing me, I will let you know when I have an address for you to send the letters to. Right now it looks like that will be Brian and Bethany's address at the new place. I was also in an internet cafe on the side of the road near the current Makarios shack that was selling toilet paper on the side. I guess that's normal.

Will

Back in the US of A

posted by Sharla

I was a bit delayed by the flu, but I'm back in the states. I was so sick on the night I was supposed to come back, that I couldn't fly. I left the next day, spent a day resting in New York, and now I've begun my trip back to Texas. My car has been up here since my trip this fall.

We are the process of developing our programs, which includes feeding our kids and getting them underwear. For most of them, the clothes that they have were donated, and people don't usually donate underwear. So we're working on that. We're also developing our curriculum and adding new components.

The coffee business is also in the developemental stage. We are able to purchase the coffee from a local farmer who will hire people in his town to help him harvest and roas the beans. We are paying him higher than market prices for the coffee so that he can pay fair wages to those who work on the farm. Normal pay isn't much more than about $2 a day, and we want to contribute to a cause that will provide a better source of income. Proceeds from the coffee will benefit our educational programs. Who wants some coffee? This is really good stuff, by the way.

Thanks for your prayers for my time in the DR! I now have a lot to do in the next few weeks and I'm excited to get back to Austin.