las águilas y un board meeting

posted by sharla

our board of directors are either here or on their way to austin as I write. kate, who is from new york, has been reminding me that austin is doing a good job of keeping it weird, which is the goal around here. good to know we're keeping our reputation intact. my 7 year old nephew is named austin, so i send him and his sister "keep austin weird" shirts a few years ago. i thought it was funny.

please pray for our board meeting that will begin tomorrow morning. we have a lot to cover and would really appreciate your prayers for wisdom. estamos aquí para la gloria de Dios.

last month in santiago, i was able to take a the taylor group to game one of the dominican baseball championship. we had front row seats a little past first base, which is where the pitchers warmed up (no bull pen), so we were able to meet a few of the players. one of them pitched for UT (oh texas, my texas) and is now with arizona, i think. his name is ryan hubele. we also saw santiago ramirez, a friend of mine who used to play for the round rock express, just north of austin. I met him here, but he also happened to play for the aguilas - my best dominican team! let's all sing "it's a small world after all..."

so friend Laurie starting calling him "Jim." his name is Santiago. where did this come from? Santiago means James in English, and sometimes guys named James go by Jim. So she calls him Jim. So here we are chatting before the baseball game.

bernito: everyone's favorite

we're hiring!

posted by sharla

please be praying for us as we look to fill several new positions this summer. we are looking for a couple to live in our house in Puerto Plata and host groups and interns. we are also looking to fill an administrative position and a teaching spot or two. thanks for your prayers! and for any and all recruiting efforts!

coffee coffee everywhere

posted by sharla

we have coffee! it's really cool to be at the point of exporting and importing coffee - officially! we were warned that it would be difficult, even impossible, but God is good and we give him the credit for making it all go so smoothly (well, for the most part). I also have to give credit to Christy, who did a lot of the legwork. the coffee supports poor farmers and our children's programs. the farmers were only able to get about $3 for 40 pounds, so it wasn't even worth their time to pick it. we are paying fair trade prices and now people are coming out of the woodwork to sell it to us. if you'd like to read more about it, go to http://makariosinternational.org/coffee.asp. and I promise, it's yummy!

haiti's elections

Posted by Brian:

Please remember for Haiti today. They are having presidential elections. Pray for safety and peace for the people and also pray for a democratically elected government that will begin promoting progress for its population.

too good to be true

those of you who know me know that I love football and I have two teams to which I am very loyal: the longhorns and the steelers. first the rose bowl and now the super bowl! this is my year! well, mine and casey hampton's.

yay steelers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!