Back From the DR

We are back. Yes we have finally arrived back in the USA and had a wonderful time down in the DR. I am not sure where to start, so I guess I will just start at the beginning. When we arrived down in the DR we were greeted by Gary and Pam Van Veen (the missionaries that our church supports). We went to the beach to meet up with the rest of the group as it was Sunday and a day off. The next day was a work day and so we headed off to the site. The cement was already mixed for us and we were ready to go...except the fact that we did not have "permission". It seems as though our property that we were working on had not been privatized yet and the inspector came by and did not like what he saw. It is interesting to note that when the first floor of the building went up they did not even notice and no permission was needed, but when the second story goes up it is a big problem. So we waited for it all to get situated out and played games with the kids in the area. It was getting late and did not look like things were going to be resolved that day so the word was given that the locals could take the cement if they wanted it. A frenzy ensued and the cement was gone in less than two minutes.

Here is a picture of the building and cement before we began work...or standing around on the first day.

The building after we had finished. the roof and bars for the windows will be added later.


Since this project was going to need some work in the capitol to get off of the ground we spent the next day at the beach (one day away was planned later in the week, but we moved it up in order to give us time to get permission to build). The beach was fun, but we were ready to get to work. The next day we began work on the Medical Clinic. Hauling bricks up two flights of very sketchy stairs was an all day affair and a lot of work.
The second work day we were able to work at another site as well as Cangreo which was Pastor Delisme’s house. He is a CRC pastor and needed two rooms added on to his house. In the DR it is very evident that they do not measure or even sight things properly. The footing they had set for the front wall was supposed to be laid so the walls would meet up when the addition was built. Well the 1.5' wide footing was 6" off, and when we showed them and told them to fix it they put the new footing 6" the other direction. That is when we started to do everything ourselves. Of course we had no plans and all of the decisions on door and window placement were done seemingly on a whim. What a weird and inefficient way to work. We did finish both projects (we did not put the structural columns or roof on, that was going to be done later), and were very happy with our progress considering we only initially planned on one.


A picture of our other project. This is when we were about 1/2 way done (obviously).

We also had a chance to do Garbage Dump, Hospital, and Milk ministry. At the hospital we met with the patients and handed out stuffed animals to the kids and hygiene kits to the adults. One of the patients was a Haitian man who had been shot six times and was chained to his bed. The DR police seemingly can do what they like(especially to the Haitians). The garbage dump is just like a US garbage dump except there are people living there and some who commute to work there. When I say work, I am talking about sifting through all of the new garbage to find glass, plastic, or metals that can be sold for money. There is very little money to be made, but the people were happy and sang us a few songs. We also were able to sing for them and then food and hygiene kits were handed out. Finally we got to go to one of the villages and give milk, a hard boiled egg, and a small cookie type thing to the kids. We got all of the kids together in the local CRC church and sang some songs and them handed the stuff out. What happy children, but many had noticeable health problems and it tore at our heartstrings.

Good times at the Dump.


There is so much more we did, but I am unable to put into words all that we had seen and done. The Lord is at work in the DR and I pray that everyone can have a chance to go there and experience what we experienced.

Here is one of the many secluded spots around the "compound" we stayed at. There were so many great views and beautiful areas that the picture does not do it justice.

The CRC Church that we went to on Easter Sunday . Not the typical CRC because women and men sat on opposite sides and the mens side had fans, while the women got nothing. I am putting forth a proposal for San Jose CRC to institute this type of order.
We also went to visit our child that we sponsor through Compassion International. This is the project center and we got to play wiffle ball with him as well as basketball.
Here is Brenda, me, and Jonathan Britto. He was very shy, but I probably would be the same way if I was 9 and two people that do not speak my language, are way taller than anyone else in my entire country, and have weird colored skin came to visit me.

This picture is of our showers at Crossroads where we stayed. Great view and the shower head came out of the trunk of the tree.

Give us a call if you want to hear more about it, or just want to say hi.
408-377-6253