This is a journal made by those who work for or work with Makarios. We invite anyone who has been involved with our work to post thoughts and stories. For more information on our organization, please visit our website at www.makariosinternational.org

Tuesday, December 27, 2005

Christmas

Posted by Brian:

It is great to be back in the states to celebrate Christmas. Beth and I are able to spend a week with our families in the West Virginia and Chicago and the back to the Dominican.
Before we returned to the states we had a few activities that we had been planning for the villages. First we had were able to give the children a small Christmas gift. The boys got hackey sacks and matchbox cars and and the girls got fun pencils and notebooks. They also received a bag of candy and some school supplies. Each child in the older classes also made a Christmas tree craft to put in their houses.
To culminate the Christmas season we put on a program with the children. The little children sang "Jingle Bells" and recited a memory verse. The middle age children sang "Away in a Manger" and the older children sang "Silent night" and "The First Noel" . The children also performed a play of the nativity scene. We had practiced this for about a month and they did great.
The program was supposed to be in a basketball court in Pancho Mateo but it had rained and we did not want to chance putting the electric equipment in the rain. So we moved indoors to the church which is about a 30' by 20' building. To accommodate everyone we borrowed a TV and hook it to a video camera and put the TV outside so the children could watch while they waited for their parts. The parents were able to sit inside. To top all this off the truck delivering the chairs and generator got stuck in a mud hole. We were able to unload the chairs but couldn't get the generator. This was a problem because the electricity is never on for long in Pancho Mateo and we had no back up generator. However with lots of prayer the lights stayed on continuously through out the program. It was the longest I have ever seen the lights stay on in Pancho Mateo.
After the program a preacher from our church shared a message with the parents. It was a great evening and the children enjoyed it. At the end of the night Beth and I were so proud of the children. I think we had over 100 people who came to see the program.
We will try to post pictures later.

Friday, December 23, 2005

Merry Christmas!

Wednesday, December 14, 2005

Christmas presents

Posted by Brian

Today we finished handing out christmas presents in Pancho Mateo and in Chi Chi Gua. Bethany and I spent the last couple days preparing Chirstmas bags for the children. We packed about 170 bags for the students in our programs with fun things like matchbox cars, hackey sacks, candy, school supplies, and hair accessories for the girls. The children were so excited that when the first group recieved their gifts some children ran around the village telling the people that we were giving out toys. That was yesterday in our preschool class, however the rest of the students didn't have class until today.
When we arrived today there were already a line of children waiting for class. It was also pouring rain but nonetheless they were still waiting. Some didn't even have class with us until the afternoon. As each class would enter we read them the Christmas story and explained the signifigance of God's gift to us at Christmas. Then we practiced for the upcoming Christmas program and finally we gave them their Christmas gifts. They were so excited and as we were leaving a few children told us they ate all their candy already.
Please pray for us tomorrow as we are putting on the Christmas program. It will be outdoors so pray for no rain.

Monday, December 12, 2005

Christmas Program in Pancho Mateo

posted by Bethany

This Thursday night at 6:30 the kids in Pancho Mateo are going to put on a Christmas program for their parents. Brian and I have been teaching the kids Christmas carols to sing for the past month and the older kids will put on a play. It should be fun. They have never done anything like this so it should be interesting. We have never really organized anything like this either. We're still trying to figure out exactly how to make angel and shepherd costumes. A pastor from the church we go to down here will also be sharing the gospel with the parents at the end of the program. THis may be the first time some of the people in the village have ever heard the true story of Christmas. Please pray for this as there is still a lot of preparation to do this week. Also pray for the weather because we would like to do it in the basketball court.

Thursday, December 08, 2005

Apparently there was one Aggie in the group.


Tuesday, December 06, 2005

a good education

Monday, December 05, 2005

disclaimer

while makarios' board of directors has not voted on (or even talked about) an official stance concerning collegiate or professional sports, many who have been involved with makarios are fans of the longhorns and the steelers. we do not, however, discriminate based on sports following, and have even welcomed aggies into our home and organization.

you may think that this has nothing to do with the central theme of our organization, and you would be right if you did. but we like sports and have been known to teach our kids in the DR to hold their hand in the "hook 'em" fashion.

the management

fine print: we reserve the right to discriminate against usc fans.

Sunday, December 04, 2005


hook 'em!