More information on the fire

posted by Bethany

Today we went to Pancho Mateo to do some classes. I talked to the family that lost their house in the fire and found out that they are staying with some relatives in a room in the village. I literally, mean room. I also found out that there was another family of three that were living in the other room of the house that burnt down. This family consists of a father-Blanco, his wife-Margarita, and their two year old son-Luis Mario. They lost everything as well. We were able to bring some clothes and food to Maria's family today and they were very appreciative. We're also looking for clothes and supplies for Blanco's family. Please continue to be praying for these families.

Fire

posted by Bethany

Last night the home of 4 of the kids who come to our activities in Pancho Mateo burnt down. The fire was caused by an electrical wire. It was so hot that it even melted their cast aluminum pots and pans. They were not able to save anything. All of their personal belongings were lost. They spent the rest of the night in other people's homes and some of the other people in the village gave them clothes to wear today. They did not own the house. It was made of tin and wood. We checked it out this morning and it was just a pile of burnt wood and tin. It was really sad. They didn't have much to begin with and to lose everything they have is just devastating. There are five people that lived there. Maria-20, her two kids Janeli-6, Albertson-3 and her two younger sisters Altagracita-12, and Milovi-8. If you remember from a past blog, Altagracita and Milovi (along with their older sister Maria) are the ones who lost their parents to AIDS. They have had a very rough life. They are in need of anything and everything. We're working on helping them out and if you have anything to donate just let us know. Please keep them in your prayers.

Prizes, Prizes, Prizes

posted by Bethany

It has been about a month since we started our behavior/incentive program in Pancho Mateo and it has been going so well. The kids are behaving really well which is absolutely amazing. The kids are so eager to come to class because they want to earn a sticker and they get pretty upset if they're caught talking or misbehaving. This has been a huge answer to prayer because these kids can get pretty rowdy. There are kids who couldn't sit still before and are doing it now. A bunch of kids have reached eight stickers in which they recieve a decent size prize. We bought some fun little toys for the kids and they get pretty excited about them. It's so much fun to see. We are just so thankful that the kids are behaving better in class, and for the most part outside of class (although there are still some scuffles:). We can do so much more with the kids. For example we told the story of Jonah to the kids and they sat so quietly and really got into the story. If this was last year, we'd have to stop the story every 2 seconds to tell someone to be quiet or calm down. Thank you so much for all your prayers, we have really seen an answer to them and we are just praising God for this. Keep praying for us in this. We want these kids to continue behaving well so they can learn more and grow not only in academics but in Christ.

Los Cocos

Posted by Brian

The church in Los Cocos collasped. For anyone who has seen Will's pictures it is the place of the wedding and the baptism. Also the Sparlings group played the men there in a soccer game. We are talking about some options with Mares to rebuild it. There have been some powerful thunderstorms lately and it was only made from wood and bark from palm trees.

Rainy Season

posted by brian

It is the rainy season here. That means you can expect a rain shower about everday. It is kind of nice because it cools things off but it makes washing clothes hectic. So that is how we spent some of our free time washing clothes and trying to hang them to dry before the rain comes.
Last Friday we had twelve children come over to our house to do crafts and eat lunch. The boys mostly played baseball with the neighbor children, but the girls wanted to see our wedding pictures. So beth showed them to the girls. They all wanted to take one and were completely amazed. I was just thinking to them it must have seemed like a movie. That is the only place they could have seen anything like that.
We bought a sewing machine this week for the children to learn on. Here they sell the pedal driven machines because the lights are out often. We have a lady that is teaching the childen and they are ready for a machine to learn on. Sewing is a very good skill to have here, people rely on "sastres", tailors, for many things. We are always looking for vocational training opportunities for the students.
Continue to pray for all the children in our programs.

A rainy day

Posted by Brian

It has been a rainy Sunday in the Dominican Republic. Those of you that have lived here know the type of day, the type that almost tricks you into thinking fall is coming. It is a nice change from the usual stifling heat.
We had a few of the teachers from Santiago Christian School up on Saturday. They wanted to see what we were up to. So we took them to Chi Chi Gua first and it took all of about 15 minutes for one of them to get peed on by a baby they were holding. After spending some time in Chi Chi Gua we took them to Pancho Mateo and did some activities with the children.
One of the teachers had been there before on a work team this summer. She remembered how many children there were and how crazy it got a few times. After we were done she remarked that the children who took part in the activities we pretty well behaved once they entered the school house. It felt like a victory for Beth and I to know that our behavior program is starting to have an impact.
There are three children who we cannot figure out. Franki, Jeffrey and Salvador are three brothers ages 5 to 10. Yesterday one threw a rock at a girl and cut her lip, the other threw a rock at our jeep and the other started a fight by kicking another child. We really try to love these children but they are really hard. They have no parental guidance being that their mom is an alcoholic prostitute and their fathers are not there. The mom can afford to be an alcoholic because she sends her 16 year old daughter to be a prostitute in the resort near the villages. Please pray for these children.

recruits!

posted by sharla

I just got back from a week in the pleasantly warm midwest. I had a good time talking to Cedarville students at their career fair. There were a handful of students who were interested in internships and jobs with Makarios, so we are praying for wisdom in discerning who to hire and how to fund their positions. We're looking into some grant options for new positions.

I also met with a group from Taylor University, Ft. Wayne, that will be coming down for J-term, which is three weeks in January. They will be our first group to get college credit for working with us in the DR.

We are also in the process of looking for a couple to live in the Makarios house in the DR and host our groups and interns. Don't worry, Brian and Bethany aren't leaving, but this would enable them to keep their normal weekly schedule when groups are down and not get overworked! So if you know of someone who would like to do this, let me know!

We've made quite a bit of progress on the coffee business. The new crop is coming in right now and we'll start shipping in (unroasted) to Austin in either December or January. I am VERY grateful to have Christy working on all the nitty gritty of this process. YAY Christy!

Another Monday

posted by Bethany

Brian and I had a pretty good Monday today. THe classes went well for the most part of course with some exceptions. A couple of the kids got mad at us because they were not behaving so we didn't give them a sticker. They'll get over it I'm sure. Hopefully they'll learn. There are two sisters Altagracita -12 years old, and Milovi-8 years old that need our patience and prayer. They are not the easiest kids and have a hard time following instructions and in general behaving well. They live with an aunt because both of their parents have died of AIDS. Please remember them in prayer as they need a lot of it. Please also continue to pray for patience and love for Brian and I as we work with these kids.
We did not have the parents meeting today but we will be having it this week. We wanted to have it at a time when all the parents could make it so please pray for this. We will keep you posted.

A meeting with the parents

posted by Bethany
Brian and I have had an interesting week this week. If you read Brian's last blog you'd know all that happened. In light of the children's behavior we are going to have a meeting with the parents in Pancho Mateo on Monday. Many of the parents are very young and they have children with different fathers and mothers. Often times, the kids are left to wander around the village, or care for their brothers and sisters while the parents work or just hang out. This is one of the main reasons the kids don't know how to behave. No one really supervises them so they get into trouble like fighting, or disrupting the classes that we are giving in the school house. The purpose of us meeting with the parents is to explain exactly why we are here, and how we need their help. We want them to take responsibility in raising their kids. We want them to know that we not only are here to help their kids but also help them. This is going to be a big undertaking and we greatly need your prayers. Please pray for us in this. Pray that we would clearly communicate ourselves and especially the love of Christ to these adults. Pray that it would make a difference in their families and our classes.