Austin Stone

Makarios is blessed to have an amazing group of 13 from the Austin Stone church ministering in the villages over the next week. They arrived on Thursday the 6th and leave on Monday the 17th. While afew made the trip last summer, they all have hearts to serve and hearts to love on these kids. The first picture sums up a lot of what has happened in the village of Chichigua thus far, the group loving on the kids. They've also done some VBS work and played lots of soccer and other games. While driving into the village today, we saw a family walking down the road with empty water jugs. At present, there is no water source in Chichigua (a well project has been started). Families either buy water, or walk miles to get it. Some of the summer staff and group drove back, picked up the family, and took them to the watersource. This took them over an hour round-trip, imagine what it would have been walking the entire trip! Ruben was telling Katie, another of the Austin Stone team members, about how they have a cistern that can be filled for only 400 pesos, and she suggested the group use some of their team money to give the town water. 400 pesos ($12) a week can water a village. We can all spend $12 a week on our morning coffee (unless you are going to be buying it at Dominican Joe!)

Katie has turned into the trip's doctor and has helped to mend many scrapes, bumps, bruises in the kids, and help with some other, more serious issues, helping to get antibiotics and other important medicines to sick kids and adults.

The group has also visited Negro Melo a couple of times, where they did a toothcare program seen in the photo. This village is set pretty far off the main roads and is isolated. The kids who attend school have to walk about an hour each way. The sugar cane around the village has not been cut in the past two years, so money is not to be found in a lot of the village, therefore they do not have much of anything, including food. The team wants to leave a lot of their donated supplies here for the kids and also wants to buy food for the families in need, which we will hopefully do and be able to bring them when we return on Thursday.

I have been amazed at how this group not only jumps into ministry, but tries to find solutions where possible to problems and issues facing the villages or individuals. They have prayed for people, been invited into homes, played lots of games, ridden horses, and otherwise experienced a fullness in life and ministry here.

Kim, their amazing team leader, said that she hopes that they will all move beyond the "Junior High Camp High" and have their lives changed rather than just a temporary high from this experience. I think they will all leave a piece of their heart here and carry a piece with them, and be reminded of this time.