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Dominican Republic 2009
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Created by: Brian Christiansen on 7/1/2009 2:56:17 PM |
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Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Sorry it’s been a few days since we’ve been able to write; we’ve been really busy working and having fun. Sunday morning we led Sunday school classes at the local church. We taught them Bible stories (Noah and the Ark, David and Goliath, the Cross, and Zacchaeus the tax collector) and gave them little crafts to color to illustrate the story. In the evening, we went to the adult’s church service and performed our dramas and shared a testimony. After church, we went out for ice cream!!! It’s hard to eat ice cream in the hot Dominican nights – it melts really quickly—thankfully, it still tastes amazing.
On Monday, we did some more work on getting the foundation ready for the orphanage as well as continuing to pour concrete for the floor of that church. It’s been a lot of work and we do that for most of the morning and part of the afternoons. We really appreciate the nice cool water showers we get to have in the afternoons. Monday night we watched The Incredibles! After a hard day of work, it was nice to relax and hang out for a few hours watching a great movie.
Tuesday morning and afternoon we worked on digging out the foundations for the orphanage. This was very hard work because it was so hot out. We had to make sure we drank enough water, took some shade breaks, and rested a bit so we wouldn’t get heat exhaustion. It is a blessing, however, to know that some day, kids with no families or homes will be living where we’ve been working.
At night we were surprised and got to go to the BEAUTIFUL beach and had a personal reflection time with the Lord. It was amazing to be in the midst of such a beautiful place, contemplating and worshipping God – it was a night that we will always remember.
Our trip is coming to an end quickly and we’re sad to leave the Dominican Republic and each other. We’ve made great friendships and memories on this trip and we’ve been so blessed to do the work we’ve been doing. Thanks to all family and friends that have been supporting and praying for us as we’ve been here. We’ll see you soon! |
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Created by: Brian Christiansen on 7/1/2009 2:51:40 PM |
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Created by: Angela Gideons on 6/30/2009 4:56:35 PM |
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Friday was our first visit to the Haitian Batey´s(bah-tays). Bateys are small slums/neighborhoods of Haitian residents in the DR. On Friday, we visited Batey number 7. Upon arriving (it was about 45 minutes away on very bumpy roads), we divided into 4 groups. Each group walked down one street of the Batey and invited people to come to the church for our drama presentation. Conditions in teh Batey are pretty rought but this one had filtered water for use as well as a free medical clinic(run by a former YWAMer, now a doctor). About 130 people showed up to watch our two dramas and to hear 2 people´s testimonies. After our presentation, we hung out with the kids - each of us had at least 3 kids hanging off of us and at all times! They were adorable and it was hard to see them live in such bad conditions. In the evening, we had a special prayer time for each individual student/participant and it was a huge blessings to everyone on the team.
On Saturday we visited Batey number 9. This one was much further away so we had time ot emotionally prepare ourselves for our ministry. Right away, the kids all welcomed us by yelling "AMERICANOS!!", running and running out to greet us. These kids were actually much more friendly and joyful than the other kids. We had a tickle war with them, threw frisbees around, had a dance party and hugged these kids for hours. We also shared the dramas and 2 testimonies. It was exhausting but totally worth it! We were all pretty glad to have the opportunity we got to minister today. We also shared at the local church´s youth service. It was great to worship oru God with our Dominican brothers and sisters.
The End. |
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Created by: Grace Mckinney on 6/29/2009 10:30:52 AM |
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Created by: Brian Christiansen on 6/26/2009 10:08:27 AM |
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Thursday, June 25, 2009
As mentioned on Tuesday, we’ve arrived safely in Barahona and have gotten all settled in. After arriving late at night, we ate a delicious meal, took showers, and finally got to sleep! On Wednesday, we prepared for ministry by learning Bible stories with crafts that we’ll get to teach Dominican kids, we had a long intercessory prayer time for specific needs in the D.R., and continued to enjoy spending time with one another. It’s amazing how well everyone is getting along despite not knowing each other for very long; what an answer to prayer!
Today (Thursday), we woke up early and prepared for a long day of manual labor. Most of the group went to a local church to move a pile of rocks to become the foundation of a new classroom. We used wheelbarrows and buckets, shovels and picks, sweat and determination to make the base on which we will later pour concrete to finish the floor. This group also met a lot of kids and enjoyed playing musical instruments with them
The other few of us stayed at our housing complex to begin work on the footing/foundation of the orphanage that will eventually be built on the property. We spent hours in the hot sun breaking through an old concrete basketball court that was in the way.
It will definitely take us some time to get used to the extreme heat in the middle of the day and we are trying to remember to drink a lot of water so we don’t get dehydrated. Some of us have also been able to use our Spanish skills with some of the locals so that’s been pretty exciting. Local Dominican guys picked fresh coconuts for us and we had fun watching them try to chop them open with small kitchen knives. Our Auntie Cherry has being making us the most incredible meals: curry chicken, chicken and dumplings, etc., so we have been eating very well!
Thanks for all of your prayers and support! We love you and miss you!
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Created by: Brian Christiansen on 6/26/2009 10:07:18 AM |
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Hello from the Dominican Republic!!! We arrived safely last night and are spending the day preparing for ministry that will begin in full force tomorrow. We appreciate all your prayers and will be posting more details and pictures as soon as possible!!! |
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Created by: Grace Mckinney on 6/24/2009 2:50:36 PM |
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Created by: Brian Christiansen on 6/22/2009 9:35:12 PM |
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EQ D.R. Blog
Monday June 22, 2009
Everyone arrived safe and sound, if not
a little travel-tired, yesterday in Orlando and immediately spent
most of the afternoon and evening getting to know everyone else going
on the trip. We´ve been doing our training (and sleeping) at a local
church´s youth building. So far, we´ve played “getting to know
you” games, had teachings on worship, community responsibilities
and quiet times, learned the dramas we´ll get to perform in the
Dominican Republic, covered our trip journals, had rap battles, did
team building games, and had worship times. As you can tell, it´s
been a packed time already! We are getting things in order for
tomorrow when we head out early to make our way to Barahona. We will
update the blog when we arrive so you all know we made it safely!
Thank you so much for your prayers for our team – God is already
answering them! |
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Created by: Brian Christiansen on 6/22/2009 9:32:59 PM |
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