Today was a work hard day. Lifting bricks. Sifting sand. Laying cement on a roof. Pulling weeds. Getting sunburns on top of sunburns no matter how many layers of sunscreen applied. Today was also a time of laughter and fun. Playing catch with local kids, swimming in the pool, laughter.
Two funnies:
*I thought that the sky was the ocean while peering between trees during the drive --- yep I got made fun of.
*Tyler saw a baby camel.... .... .... only it was a goat. ---- yep he got made fun of.
P.S. I got a couple of people to say that they would post their own stories to share. So hopefully you'll get some more details and more perspective.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Today we got sunburns.
Today was exciting from beginning to end. Woke up before seven and went out to another batey community for a bank meeting and stayed all day doing interviews, painting fingernails, playing volleyball, and coloring pictures. We all had great experiences interacting with different individuals of the community... hopefully I can get someone to post their stories. The day ended with going out for ice cream at a place called Bon and had a lovely walk back to the hotel. Tomorrow we start construction on two houses in a different community. Time for the hard stuff! Let's bring out the work gloves and the sunscreen.
Our friend Jorge, the internet connection we are stealing, is pretty bipolar. So... if you don't hear from us for a couple of days, just blame Jorge. On Saturday morning we are leaving La Romana to relax at a resort, so we will probably have better connection. And for those of you who don't know, we leave the DR on Monday.
Adios!
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| Our group plus Liz, our leader/guide, at Bon - the ice cream shop |
Our friend Jorge, the internet connection we are stealing, is pretty bipolar. So... if you don't hear from us for a couple of days, just blame Jorge. On Saturday morning we are leaving La Romana to relax at a resort, so we will probably have better connection. And for those of you who don't know, we leave the DR on Monday.
Adios!
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| Women singing at church last night. It was the international women's day. |
A letter to Mrs. Z.
Dear Tyler's mother,
Your son ate his dessert first tonight at supper.
Sincerely, DR SSP Team.
Your son ate his dessert first tonight at supper.
Sincerely, DR SSP Team.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Internet Access... what's that?
Hola! It is Tuesday night... and i finally have one bar of internet access!! Hotel wireless likes to do this thing where it connects you to the wireless connection... but won't let you on the internet. Right now I am in another girls' room standing at a counter borrowing some guy names Jorge's unsecured wireless connection. Yep. That's how we do it here in La Romana, Dominican Republic.
The past couple of days have been VERY excited and busy! On Monday we moved to a different hotel in a different down - La Romana. It is more rural. We have also attended our first bank meetings with HOPE International & Esperanza. They have been very informative and have made impacts on all of us. Today we had the opportunity to split into groups and interview a few clients to write down their stories. My group was pretty comfortable asking questions to the clients we were assigned to, and we gathered some pretty amazing stories. After that we got a chance to hang out with children and members of the community. And we sampled some sugar cane. The community that we were in was called a "batey" which is where families who work in the sugar cane fields live.
We just got back from a Pentacostal church service that lasted for 3 hours. Most of us were pretty intrigued and confused about what was going on --- mostly because the man was shouting in Spanish... and also because we had never seen the power of the Holy Spirit work in that way. The singing was exciting and active.
Sorry that there are no photos on this update (they take too long to update)... and that the update it really short. It is almost midnight... and we have to be ready by 7am tomorrow. Hopefully I can find this exact spot tomorrow and update some more (maybe I will assign one of my teammates to share a thought and/or story).
Just know that we are all alive and well (despite our cankles ... yes my ankles are swollen as well).
The past couple of days have been VERY excited and busy! On Monday we moved to a different hotel in a different down - La Romana. It is more rural. We have also attended our first bank meetings with HOPE International & Esperanza. They have been very informative and have made impacts on all of us. Today we had the opportunity to split into groups and interview a few clients to write down their stories. My group was pretty comfortable asking questions to the clients we were assigned to, and we gathered some pretty amazing stories. After that we got a chance to hang out with children and members of the community. And we sampled some sugar cane. The community that we were in was called a "batey" which is where families who work in the sugar cane fields live.
We just got back from a Pentacostal church service that lasted for 3 hours. Most of us were pretty intrigued and confused about what was going on --- mostly because the man was shouting in Spanish... and also because we had never seen the power of the Holy Spirit work in that way. The singing was exciting and active.
Sorry that there are no photos on this update (they take too long to update)... and that the update it really short. It is almost midnight... and we have to be ready by 7am tomorrow. Hopefully I can find this exact spot tomorrow and update some more (maybe I will assign one of my teammates to share a thought and/or story).
Just know that we are all alive and well (despite our cankles ... yes my ankles are swollen as well).
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Goat and Phase 10
For supper tonight we went to a beautiful restaurant and had some more delicious food. We ordered a bunch and set it in the middle of the table to share. Goat, beef, cheesy eggplant (that was my choice), fried plantains, rice and beans. So good! Ask anyone on the trip. We were all pretty excited to eat the goat.
When we got back to our hotel for the night, we played Phase 10 as a big group. That was probably the most people I have every played with. We were loud and silly and had a lot of fun.
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| Darren and Tyler are behind the wall. |
Here are some prayer requests that we have:
*Tommy left his Kindle on the flight from Omaha to Newark. The airport told him to contact the airline when he reached his destination and he was able to fill out a form today. Please pray that the Kindle gets back to him safely.
*Tina has cankles. And despite the amount of fun that we all have laughing at them... the swelling of her ankles is a little bit worrisome. Pray that the edema decreases. Here is a picture to aid you in your praying... (... and it is OK to laugh as well.)
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| Tina's is on the left. The ankles on the right are for comparison. |
*Tomorrow we are going out to a more rural setting and will be there for a few days. Please pray for our safe travels and also that God may use us in that location.
We are here!
Hola familia y amigos!
Sorry we haven't been able to update you all that we have made it. I tried last night, but could not get fully connected to the internet. The man at the front desk even helped, but alas... nothing. Just now Will did a little thing and now it works perfectly... beginner's luck.
We arrived last night at about 6:30. We had not flight problems, so that was a blessing. We ate pizza at the airport. Then drove in a bus for about 30 minutes to our hotel, the Hotel Carey, in Santa Domingo. For two nights we are staying in this hotel, 2-3 people per room. Each equipped with toilet, shower, and most importanly - A/C. (It is very hot and humid --- not like we're complaining much. ). Upon arrival to the hotel, we all went right to bed (after first trying to access the internet.
This morning we met for breakfast at 8:45. Breakfast consisted of fresh fruit (bananas, papaya, pineapple, and melon), delicious scrambled eggs, toast, and orange or pineapple juice. A breakfast like that makes it easy to wake up on time!
After breakfast, we took taxis to church. In one of the taxi's we fit 10 people into a 7 passenger van. Yikes! Church was amazing. It was a pretty Western services, but the singing was way more upbeat and fun. There were 2 other American groups there, so a man translated the service to us and we listened through headphones. A pretty awesome service offered to those of us who do not understand Spanish.
Then we walked through town for a bit, taking pictures and enjoying the nice weather. Lunch was had at a little cafe where we were served beef or chicken with rice, veggies, and beans. Coffee was served afterwards. We walked back to the church to have a session on poverty and on microfinancing. It was very educational, and I think we all know a lot more about the mission of HOPE International and about our purpose for being here in the Dominican Republic.
We are about to leave to go to supper at a restaurant.
Supposedly the whole country is celebrating "Festival" right now as part of the Dominican Independence celebration. And it can get pretty crazy -- especially since it is the last night, I think. So it will be an interesting cultural experience for us.
Sorry we haven't been able to update you all that we have made it. I tried last night, but could not get fully connected to the internet. The man at the front desk even helped, but alas... nothing. Just now Will did a little thing and now it works perfectly... beginner's luck.
We arrived last night at about 6:30. We had not flight problems, so that was a blessing. We ate pizza at the airport. Then drove in a bus for about 30 minutes to our hotel, the Hotel Carey, in Santa Domingo. For two nights we are staying in this hotel, 2-3 people per room. Each equipped with toilet, shower, and most importanly - A/C. (It is very hot and humid --- not like we're complaining much. ). Upon arrival to the hotel, we all went right to bed (after first trying to access the internet.
This morning we met for breakfast at 8:45. Breakfast consisted of fresh fruit (bananas, papaya, pineapple, and melon), delicious scrambled eggs, toast, and orange or pineapple juice. A breakfast like that makes it easy to wake up on time!
After breakfast, we took taxis to church. In one of the taxi's we fit 10 people into a 7 passenger van. Yikes! Church was amazing. It was a pretty Western services, but the singing was way more upbeat and fun. There were 2 other American groups there, so a man translated the service to us and we listened through headphones. A pretty awesome service offered to those of us who do not understand Spanish.
Then we walked through town for a bit, taking pictures and enjoying the nice weather. Lunch was had at a little cafe where we were served beef or chicken with rice, veggies, and beans. Coffee was served afterwards. We walked back to the church to have a session on poverty and on microfinancing. It was very educational, and I think we all know a lot more about the mission of HOPE International and about our purpose for being here in the Dominican Republic.
We are about to leave to go to supper at a restaurant.
Supposedly the whole country is celebrating "Festival" right now as part of the Dominican Independence celebration. And it can get pretty crazy -- especially since it is the last night, I think. So it will be an interesting cultural experience for us.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Flight Itinery
March 5, 2011
Continental Airlines
Omaha #3128 to New York; depart 7:45 am, arrive 11:29 am
New York #707 to Santo Domingo; depart 1:40 pm, arrive 6:20 pm
March 14, 2011
Continental Airlines
Santo Domingo #751 to New York; depart 12:15 pm, arrive 4:15 pm
New York #2666 to Omaha; depart 7:50 pm, arrive 9:59 pm
Continental Airlines
Omaha #3128 to New York; depart 7:45 am, arrive 11:29 am
New York #707 to Santo Domingo; depart 1:40 pm, arrive 6:20 pm
March 14, 2011
Continental Airlines
Santo Domingo #751 to New York; depart 12:15 pm, arrive 4:15 pm
New York #2666 to Omaha; depart 7:50 pm, arrive 9:59 pm
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