we love the austin stone

posted by alexia, who is enjoying texas steak and cold weather

it has already been mentioned a few times that the austin stone pastors came to visit the DR a few weeks ago. they certainly were a blessing to the haitian pastors here. but what hasn't been mentioned is how much of a blessing they were to the MAKARiOS team.

the pastors first visited Chichigua and left Heather with me to so she could see how Camille and I spend our days. they then arrived at the house while camille and i were still teaching, and they were still in session when we returned to the house. so camille, heather and i slipped in the back and went up stairs so we wouldn't disturb them. since there were no other dinner preparations to be done until after the session was over, heather decided to go ahead and show us a few things they had brought along with them. but it turned out to be more than just a few things.

i really don't know how they packed so many things and were actually allowed to check it all. we received boxes and bags full of books (both english and spanish), dictionaries, crayons, dry erase markers, pens & pencils, notebooks, bibles and even chocolate and a goodies for ourselves! it was like christmas 3 weeks early. i can't even explain to you how exciting it is to have all of these new resources. i don't think i've ever been more excited about dictionaries before in my life! this is my personal thanks to all at the austin stone who donated items and/or went out and shopped for many of these things. it is truly a blessing to us and our students.

on top of this, they also treated us to a wonderful weekend at the beach. now of course we can hop on a guagua and go to the beach just about any weekend that we want to. but what was so special about this weekend is that these guys made it possible for us to stay in a nice hotel (with a/c!), and they were a huge encouragement to us throughout their time in the DR. as we shared our high's and low's each night, and our greatest joys and greatest burdens on the final night, they were never lacking in support through sincere encouragement and prayer. they really sought to learn about what we are doing and how they can support us better (as if they hadn't already done so much). it was such a blessing to have some much needed fellowship with other american believers who are so supportive of our mission.

i don't know if i can really expressed how much of a blessing the austin stone has been to us, so i guess i'll just end with a big ol' texas THANK YA to the austin stone. we love you!