The Amys

Counting Our Blessings

2009-12-13T14:49:00.007-06:00

Today after church service our teammates and the community had a special send off for us. It was truly a blessing. Vicki Graham put together a booklet of photos, scriptures and notes from everyone, we will cherish it always. Thank you for everyone who helped organize and execute, it was a very special morning for us.

In the evening the community got together to have a service for us at the house where we drilled our first well. Many gave kind words of thanks, blessings and some tears. We are emotional as we leave but, are so thankfully that our time in the DR will always be remembered as a highlight in our lives. Dios les bendiga!

Magi Project

2009-12-08T06:55:00.008-06:00

Fairfax Group

Everyone listening to the story of Jesus' birth.

Everyone enjoying the Christmas party.

Cristo Daniel overindulging.

Pigs roasting on an open fire.

This week a group from Fairfax was here to help with the Magi Project. Every year Manna gives out over 1,000 gift boxes to the kids in the DR. Churches from all over the US help put together the boxes and this week we got to hand them out! Saturday we also had a party for the kids in the Children's Home and all the Manna employees. We had a great week! Thanks to everyone that participated in Magi this year. Feliz Navidad!

Precious Moments

2009-12-01T08:29:00.005-06:00

As our time in the DR wraps up we are trying to slow down on our "desk jobs" and really spend time with the people in our community. I've mentioned JB's family in many blogs, they are incredibly dear to us. Saturday we took JB and the girls out for a day at the beach. Rich and JB grilled hot dogs while the girls and I played in the surf. It was a beautiful day in God's creation.

Fafa, Wilmide and I went for a walk hand in hand down the beach. We sang songs from the movie Mary Poppins which, they had just seen for the first time that week. The didn't believe me when I told them it was an old movie. Let me tell you it is extremely difficult to sing Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious in Spanish.

JB and Rich played in the waves until it made them sick. We all made efforts to build sandcastles. In Bible class the next day Ashley was asked if the beach was "rich" and she responded "no, it was salty." We love this family so much and will miss them terribly. What a great day of wonderful memories!

Difficult Decisions

2009-11-30T13:58:00.001-06:00

MannaDR is under a new organization structure which is now called Manna Global Ministries. These organizational changes mean that many things in our work have changed. After many conversations with Manna and our supporting church we have decided that now is a good time to transition out of the program. This decision has been made with much prayer, thought, counsel, study and tears. To say that the decision has been difficult and complicated is an understatement.

Most of you understand how many things don’t turn out as planned. We have faith that God is in control and we continue to pray for His guidance. We are thankful for the peace and clarity He has given us while suffering through this decision. Though the past year and a half has been a roller-coaster ride ending sooner than we anticipated, we are thankful for every moment. We truly believe that God will bless Manna, the Dominican people and us in this decision.

We don’t have many plans yet. We will return to the USA on December 15. We plan to be in Little Rock, Arkansas with our supporting congregation for about a month to rest, recuperate and debrief. After that, only God knows for sure.

We ask for your prayers of peace, comfort and wisdom for us as we transition back into American culture. We also ask prayers for Manna as they continue to seek God’s face and direction in the work to preach the Good News to the lost in the Dominican Republic and all over the world.

We are so thankful for the time we’ve spent here in the DR, the Good Works the Lord allowed us to accomplish and the things that we learned. We’re grateful that God gave us water in two wells that we drilled. We’ll forever treasure the close bonds we’ve made with the community where we lived and our teammates. We are appreciative for the involvement that we had with summer groups and interns. And we hope that we have blessed this place as much as it has blessed us.

To the Dominican people: thank you for your acceptance, patience, love and friendship. It will be hard to say goodbye. To our Manna teammates: thank you for your understanding, compassion and companionship. We love you and we will miss you. To our wonderful support system from back home: thank you for sharing this journey with us, giving Godly counsel and reassurance all the way. We love all of you dearly!

Updates....

2009-11-12T07:13:00.002-06:00

We are finished drilling in Bobita. The well isn't recovering water as fast as we had hoped but, we are in the dry season so hopefully it will only get better with time. We are waiting on a part for the rig and then we'll be able to drop the pump. Everyone in Bobita is very excited to have clean water!

We have our plane tickets for Christmas! Only 33 days until we leave, we can't wait to see all of you! Our tentative plan is to fly into Minneapolis, MN December 15, drive to Little Rock, AR and stay in the area December 20-29, then back to Minnesota until January 12. We want to see as many of you as we can so please let us know if you are available.

Rich and I are off to Haiti tomorrow. We plan to be in Haiti November 13-17. We are going to meet Brian Wallace over there and look at Manna's camp while getting to know the people of Haiti. Rich has been before and is looking forward to another adventure. This will be my first time to Haiti and I must admit that I'm a bundle of mixed emotions, excited and nervous. Please pray for our safety as we travel. Also that we would be protected spiritually, voodoo is the national religion there so, you can imagine how dark a place Haiti can be. I'm going to journal while we are there so we can share some of our experiences with you. We won't be able to be contacted in those five days so, assume no news is good news. Thanks everyone!

Cavamos!

2009-10-30T09:23:00.005-05:00

We are drilling again! Note how shiny and bright the rig is! After a long process of getting the rig fixed and painted we started drilling Wednesday in Bobita. There was an existing well there but, it was only 50 feet deep and wasn't producing enough water for the village. Rich had a large audience and when I was out visiting in Bobita yesterday so many people were thankful that we should be able to fix the problem.

Hopefully in a week or so the people in Bobita will have a clean source for water. All this depends of course on how the rig holds up, what kind of mud we run into and how deep the water table is. Thanks for your prayers everyone!

Where there is no Salon...

2009-10-22T10:02:00.003-05:00

Before Daniel's First Haircut

After! Looking good!

You may have been able to guess that there aren't many beauty salons in our neighborhood. I've cut Rich's hair since before we were married but now, he is cutting mine! I had to help a little but, all in all it turned out pretty well.

We had our teammates, the Cordobas, over the other night and the whole family got their hair cut. Word got out in the neighborhood that I can cut hair and I now have a two o'clock appointment this afternoon. We'll see, maybe I just stumbled on a new career!

Time well spent

2009-09-23T08:55:00.003-05:00

A couple weeks ago we had our fellow teammates the Grahams and the Cordobas up to our house for a day 'o' fun. The day was filled with fishing in our pond, food, a singalong with Rich playing the guitar and our dog making new friends. It was very refreshing to all be together for a time of fellowship, not just "work stuff." We love our teammates and are so thankful God has blessed us with great people to serve with in the DR.

Welcome to Juan's

2009-09-21T14:48:00.007-05:00

Here in the Dominican we have a little different shopping experience than in the States. This is Juan's vegetable store. Every Monday he gets fresh vegetables for the week. So, Monday we come to do the shopping for the Children's Home.

It is kind of crazy and unorganized for what I'm used to but, it somehow always works. Sometimes there are as many as twenty people in this little shop. Thankfully, Juan and his helpers are gracious enough to put what I need together for me otherwise, it would be overwhelming trying to find everything.

Lessons with Uncle Rich

2009-09-17T08:58:00.002-05:00

Usually Rich has an audience while he works on things, yesterday was no exception. He and Wilson are working on repairing and putting back together the rig right now. One of the young men that came to observe started talking about how one day people would call him "Don" because he is going to have lots of money. (Don is a title of respect.)

Rich asked "so you want people to respect you because you have money?" The young man answered "yes." Rich then asked "what will happen if your money is stolen or you spend all of it? Then will the respect people had for you be gone too?" The young man was silent and thought for awhile.

Rich told him that you should be respected because you are honest, hard-working and walk with God not because of money or other things that will perish. The kid just looked at Rich for awhile thinking about this new concept then remarked, "you should be a preacher."

We have started to figure out how smart Jesus was with His teachings. Most of His lessons were conversations and problems of everyday life not some issue of doctrine. We are praying and looking for opportunities to teach in this way because lets face it neither of us are going to be in a pulpit any time soon.

We encourage all of you to read in Matthew 6 today. Spend some time examining yourself and where your heart is.

Matthew 6:19-24

¹⁹"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. ²⁰But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

²²"The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. ²³But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

²⁴"No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.

Mourn with those who mourn

2009-09-17T08:34:00.002-05:00

Sunday afternoon Rich and I decided to take a motorbike ride out to visit Carmen and her mother. When we first arrived we went to see her and I wasn't sure she was even in the bed because she was so thin. After sitting with her for awhile we moved out to the porch to talk. While I was chatting with Carmen some of the sisters started yelling. Carmen's mom passed away Sunday afternoon about 4:15.

In the Dominican culture wailing is a huge part of the funeral process. Rich and I were unsure what to do but, Carmen wanted us there. It was difficult to see her in such pain. Monday we spent all day with her and Rich helped with digging the grave. Usually we don't have a very emotional and culturally enlightening day all at once but, this was definitely both.

Carmen will stay at her mom's house until next week. Her family is Catholic so they will pray the rosary for nine days. Please pray for Carmen and her family at this time and that we would be able to help comfort her.

Skin Kaleidoscope

2009-09-13T13:44:00.004-05:00

Sunday before church I was sitting with JB's daughters. Ashleigh, the youngest, was holding my hand and noticed that I had some freckles on my skin. She asked "what's that?" I told her that God is so creative that He made everyone different and that He gave me freckles for decoration. At first she thought it was strange to have dots on your skin but, then started looking for "decorations" on her arms. She was excited to find one! Then she proceeded to pet my arm hair and told me it was soft like a cat.

I love the kids here, especially JB's girls. They have such an inquisitive spirit but, with innocence and never meanness. There is a lot of racial tension here between the Dominicans and Haitians so it was good to have a little impromptu lesson on how we are all made by God to be special.

Where there is no Whirlpool or Maytag...

2009-09-11T14:24:00.004-05:00

Where Rich's work ends... mine begins.

Many of you have asked how we wash our laundry down here. Well, we have a "Dominican" washer and dryer. I fill the washer side with water, put the clothes in and it twirls around for 15 minutes. I take the clothes out and put them in the spinner/dryer that spins the water out of the clothes. Then they go back to the washer part for a rinse cycle, put in the spinner again and hung on the line. I spend at least 16 hours a week doing laundry. As you can imagine Rich's clothes are filthy from drilling and repairing things. I hand scrub his work clothes to get the dirt and grease off before I put them in the machine. It is quite a bit of work but, it keeps me in good shape!

Who are the people in your neighborhood?

2009-09-03T14:59:00.003-05:00

Mama Carmen and Barbara (my mom)

This is Carmen or to many of you that have been here, Mama Carmen! She works at our mission camp as the cook. And has rightfully earned the "mama" title. She takes care of everyone in the community. I had a very close relationship with her when I was an intern and now that we live here and have the ability to speak Spanish we have become even closer. Carmen is extremely generous! She always wants to have us over to cook for us which, is fantastic by us!

I would like to ask special prayers for Carmen's family. Her mother is dying of cancer, there is nothing the doctors can do. Each day Carmen appears more frazzled and tired. She feels really helpless in this situation. Please pray that God will bring peace that passes all understanding.

So Happy Together!

2009-09-01T09:22:00.006-05:00

This summer we had several friends come visit. Jerrad and Ami Powell and Andrew and Julie Dorsey from our supporting congregation in Little Rock, AR came to visit which, was really fun and encouraging. My parents also were here for the last week of the summer program. It was great to be able to show them our work with the summer groups.

A few days after the interns left my friend Annalisa Briggs came to visit! We grew up together in York, NE and then we interned here together the summer of 2005. It was so fun to be together in the DR again and reminisce about all the crazy things that happened that summer. She was also gracious enough to help me put my house back together after our busy summer schedule. Thank the Lord for the amazing support system we have! We are so encouraged by all the visitors, phone calls and e-mails we've had. We love you all very much!

Burrito Anyone?

2009-08-28T09:14:00.005-05:00

Okay, I know this is really dumb but, I love this little donkey! He was born this summer and is super cute. Every time we drive by I ask Rich to slow the car so I can look at him. The owner noticed my love for the donkey and offered to sell him to me for a good price. I tried to think of a reason to justify having a donkey. We don't have to haul our own water so really it would just be a friend for our dog. Also, he won't be a cute little donkey for very long and would just eat everything in our yard. I wanted to capture his cuteness for all of you out there that don't have such a variety of animals in your neighborhood.

Well Drilling Update

2009-08-28T08:58:00.002-05:00

Now that the summer is over and we have recovered from our bout with a bacterial infection we are ready to start drilling again, almost. In May when we took hiatus from drilling Rich noticed that the rig needed to have some parts replaced to keep the machine running safely. Multiple groups throughout the summer brought in a piece here and there. Thank you to all of you couriers!

For the last week Rich has been fixing and replacing parts. Our plan is to fix a well and possibly drill a new one in Bobita then, return to La Caribe to finish the well there. The goal is to do all this before we go back to the States in December.

Summer Time

2009-08-11T23:12:00.008-05:00

Well everyone, the summer has officially come to an end. We had four camp interns, one Rio San Juan intern, one Children's Home intern and eight mission groups come and go. Although we did have a few minor injures and a few bouts of illness all in all, it was a GREAT summer!

Week #1: Park Plaza from Tulsa, OK

Week #2: Men's Work Group from Lake Cities, TX

Week #3: Southside from Milwaukee, WI

Week #4: Northland Missions from Kansas City, MO

Week #5: Northside from Benton, AR

Week #6: Red Bank from Chattanooga, TN

Week #7: Lake Jackson, TX

Week #8: Richfield, MN

Every week we had a similar schedule including the following endeavors: work projects to serve the needy, visiting those that live at the dump and the sick in the hospital, spending a day with a family in the community, VBS, cultural safari, and an afternoon at the beach. (I hope this busy schedule will excuse my lack of blogging, sorry!) Each team brought a different talent with them and all were able to have a big impact here on the north coast. We hope that they were blessed as much as we were to have them here.

The interns were amazing! I can speak from personal experience that the internship is a challenging and rewarding job. As an intern you help lead the group while striving to build relationships with the Dominicans we work with everyday. This year our interns not only survived the summer, they really thrived! We are full of joy when we think of how much they grew and hope they will continue to stay involved with the work here in the DR.

Una Pausa

2009-07-13T08:14:00.004-05:00

We have made it to break! After having five summer mission teams come and go we have made it to our five day break. Friday, after a slight scenic detour, we traveled to Jarabacoa for some rest and fun. Upon arrival Rich and Tim took the interns for a hike to some beautiful waterfalls. We had a nice dinner at our hotel and then everyone was in bed by nine o'clock! None of us ever go to sleep that early during the summer, it was wonderful!

Saturday morning we headed off to go white water rafting. The water was freezing but, the mountains and river were beautiful. Thankfully we had amazing guides that got us through the rapids with ease and no one flipped their raft. I'll try to post photos soon.

Today we are going to take it easy. Hopefully I can get some laundry done and get the house back into order before the crazy schedule picks up again. On Tuesday we begin the final strech of the summer with the last three groups from Chattanooga, TN; Lake Jackson, TX; and finally Richfield, MN.

Como se dice "ouch"

2009-07-08T09:12:00.004-05:00

Friday afternoon while walking through the children's home I fell on my knee. I'm not sure how it happened but, I landed on a sharp rock. I've had surgery on this knee before and so immediately I was worried that I had messed something up. I can walk and the swelling has gone down so, I think I'm okay. Next time we are stateside I'll probably get it checked out.

On another note, we only have three summer mission teams to come this summer. The time has flown by. The interns are doing a great job and the teams have been a blessing. Please continue to pray for the summer program, that lives would be changed by God's love and the hope we have in Christ.

Gone but, Not Forgotten

2009-07-03T13:19:00.005-05:00

Last week, with the help of a team from Northland Missions, we were able to go to La Caribe and serve some people. La Caribe is where we were drilling and were unable to find water after drilling 220 feet. We are hoping to be able to go back after the rig gets fixed and we complete our summer program. It was really important to us to let the people know that we haven't forgotten about them and we want to help in any way we can.

The Northland Missions team put on a VBS in the morning. We are pretty sure this was the first time the kids had ever had an activity like that before. They loved it! In the afternoon we painted two house.

The first house we painted was for an elderly woman. I was able to visit with her a little and she told me "I never thought I could have my house painted on my own. I just had to have faith in God that someone could come help, and God was faithful." She was so happy she was wiping away tears most of the time we were there. She flet so blessed that she wanted us to come paint her neighbors house. She told me "I don't want to have a better house than them. I don't ever want to have something that they don't."

The next house we painted was for a family that had been very generous to Rich and Wilson. They cooked food for them everyday and even taught Rich how to play Dominos. Everyone was thrilled to meet "la esposa de Ricardo," that's me. We had a great time working and visiting together. They wanted us to come back soon and visit. Hopefully we will! We have become very close with this little community and will not forget about them! A special thanks to the Northland Mission group for helping us reach out to La Caribe.

Who are the people in your neighborhood?

2009-06-15T06:40:00.003-05:00

This is Dona Paulina. She is an elderly lady in our village that you can always find sitting in her doorway. She has no children and little family at all to take care of her. Paulina needs a cane to walk and can't see more than two feet in front of her. At least once a week I go sit with Dona Paulina. She loves visitors and always wants to know how everyone is doing.

When Rich's parents were here I took them to Paulina's for a visit. We asked what is the most important thing she had learned in her life. Her response "Una vida con Dios," a life with God. Rich and I look for ways to help her out with food or clothes. One of the huge blessings of the youth missionary camp is that we are able to do work projects to help people like Paulina.

Park Plaza was able to help Paulina by painting her house, reinforcing some of her walls, and building a cement walkway to her out-house. She said she had fallen a couple of times when trying to get to the out-house and she was by herself. Paulina was so excited to have these little repairs done and especially about the pink trim on the house!

Technical Difficulties

2009-06-09T09:30:00.002-05:00

In the middle of blogging the other day our computer turned off and hasn't turned on again. Please be patient with us. We are trying a few tricks and are praying that we don't have to send it to the States for repair. We'll try to check our e-mail when we can but, we will be out of touch for a few days more. Sorry!

Surprise!

2009-06-03T14:19:00.005-05:00

Rich and I are both involved with mentoring the older kids in the Children's Home. Rich works with John Carlos, a sixteen year-old, teaching everything from mechanics to well drilling while trying to instill a good work ethic and a love for Christ. Instead of paying him cash we put a little money aside in an account for John Carlos to buy his own tools. In the Children's Home we most certainly want the kids to have a relationship with God and Christ as their savior, and in addition, we also want to give them some life skills.

I work with two of the older girls Yania and Rosmery. Mostly we do fun things because they have a ton of chores to do in their house and they are both very good students. Usually, I try to do something that helps the creative part of their mind. The first time they made jewelry it was overwhelming to have so many choices and didn't know where to start. Now they are always excited to try something new and are becoming less and less timid. We chat about their lives and different questions that they have.

The girls really helped us out getting camp ready this summer and never asked for anything in return. I decided they needed a treat! Yesterday I picked them up around one in the afternoon. They had no idea where we were going or what we were doing. We stopped in Gasper at a clothing store and they got to pick out a shirt for themselves. (I figured they didn't want to buy tools.)

Rarely, if ever, do they get to pick their own clothes. Groups and sponsors are very generous with the kids and they love what they receive but, they were really excited to get to pick something out. After they decided what they wanted, they decided that I also needed a Dominican shirt. Being that they know I like neutral and classic styles, of course they picked out a hot pink t-shirt with rhinestones. Although I felt ridiculous, they assured me that it looked really good. I'm sure we will all be the talk of the town.

Finishing Touches

2009-06-02T06:45:00.005-05:00

This week the interns have been putting the finishing touches on at camp. Yesterday they painted the group dormitories. Today our first group arrives, they are Park Plaza from Tulsa, OK. Park Plaza is the sponsoring congregation of our teammates Kyle and Vicki Graham.

This morning for our devo time we said special prayers of blessings over this summer, the staff, the teams traveling in, and all the activities we will be doing. Please join us in praying for God's work to be done this summer. We are ready and excited to start the summer missionary camp!

Welcome Interns!!!

2009-05-31T19:41:00.005-05:00

On Thursday our summer interns arrived here in the Dominican. We are so excited they are here and are having a great time getting to know them. From the left there is: Hunter Main, Haley Lehman, Richard Parsons, and Audrey Parker.

They have jumped right into the action. Friday Rich and I had breakfast for them at our house, a time of devotion, and orientation. In the afternoon they met the people in the neighborhood and then we took the kids from the Children's Home to Rio San Juan for ice cream as a "end of school" celebration.

Yesterday we went to Puerto Plata to show them where we visit people in the hospital and dump. Today we had church, Richard offered a prayer and Hunter led our thoughts for the Lord's Supper. Audrey and Haley had kids surrounding them within seconds of arriving.

The interns are essential to our summer program. Besides being a HUGE help to the MannaDR staff, they also get to have a ministry of their own. This program is designed to help grow up missionaries whether they become missionaries abroad or in their home town in the US. We are so excited for the summer and so thankful that God sent us these amazing individuals to work alongside of us.

The Things We Find

2009-05-26T14:24:00.003-05:00

The other night Rich and I were eating dinner like every other night. And like every other night we got up to do the dishes. Not like every other night we had this visitor! Of course, I was freaking out. Not screaming just general shock. Rich was right next to it and hadn't even noticed it. This little creature did not get a cute name like some of our other housemates, I do have a limit of tolerance.

Rich tried to get it to move outside by poking at it with a broom. The snake started biting the broom so, it was on to plan B. I got Rich a giant pot and pan. He put the pot over the snake and pulled it along the counter until he could slip the pan underneath of it. Rich threw it out in the yard.

The snake obviously felt threatened and so it put of this rank odor. We had to bleach down the kitchen to get rid of the smell. This is the third snake we've seen but, the first one actually in the house. I guess we will have to keep our windows closed in the evenings from now on.

Look Out World, Here Comes Cristo Daniel!

2009-05-25T12:04:00.006-05:00

He is walking! Just wanted to share with all of you that Cristo is walking. He walked for the first time by himself this week. The video is for your enjoyment! Sorry I can't figure out how to turn it.

Please, have a seat...

2009-05-23T11:41:00.002-05:00

We finally have our couch cushions! We had these made at a place in Puerto Plata and they did an excellent job. We have enjoyed having a comfortable place to sit and relax during siesta. It is nice to have our couch functional, it feels a little more cozy in our home now.

Small Victories

2009-05-22T12:02:00.008-05:00

Today we had a few small victories that were very nice after our rough day yesterday of having to leave La Caribe. To any other, they may seem meaningless but, we take what we can get!

1. I've been trying to outwit a rat that has been sneaking into our house. First there was "evidence" all over our kitchen and living area which, was gross. I had to clean up little pelts every morning. So, I put out some rat poison. The rat countered by chewing holes in our screens. That was frustrating because we had just fixed them. I then put traps in the windows but, only caught lizards in them. Today we had sweet victory! Our dog, Uluru, caught the rat in the garden! Since Rich was gone I had to dispose of the body but, I'm happy to be rat free. I hope that if he had any rat friends or family that they will take care and go away.

2. Fridays I having a mentoring program with four of the girls from the Children's Home. Two girls come in the morning and two in the afternoon. Every time we are together I like to talk with them about school and how things are going. I also like to talk a little about different values. Today, I wanted to talk about sharing with the younger girls. It is nothing scripted or serious I just try to get them thinking a little. We started working on gifts for there mothers. El dia de la madre is next weekend. The girls made bracelets for their moms, the house moms, aunts, grandmas and sisters. Although they really liked some of the beads they were only allowed to make something for someone else. They were so excited to plan a special way to share with these important women. They giggled among themselves and then made me a bracelet. I'm not a mom and they know that but, they wanted to share with me too. They said I would be a mom someday. And when I'm a mom they want the baby to be fat like me, not skinny like Rich. It was very sweet! Note: Being "fat" here is a good thing.

3. Rich had an opportunity to serve today. On his way back from Rio San Juan this morning he saw a cement truck and a cement pump truck badly stuck. It is very unusual to have this kind of machinery around here so he stopped to chat. The people he talked with are trying to build a house but, the truck got stuck. He rushed back to camp to get some shovels, wheelbarrows, and able bodied men. Thankfully he was able to get there in time to save the concrete load before it dried and got it to the correct place.

These may seem silly but, we are learning that though some days you may fell like a failure God blesses you with simple victories to encourage you and to keep on keeping on.

Dios Sabe

2009-05-21T12:39:00.002-05:00

Usually no news is good news. Unfortunately, we have news about the second well. There have been a series of unfortunate events. Tuesday the bailer, the thing that gets the mud out of the hole, got stuck down in the well. When trying to get the bailer free, the cable broke. After many prayers and multiple attempts, Rich was finally able to fish the bailer out.

Yesterday, while Rich was checking over the rig he noticed one of the main drive gears was worn out and about to break. For safety reasons we can't drill until the part is fixed so now we are looking at options on how to repair it.

Regretfully, we had to cover the well yesterday and leave it until after the summer. There is a small chance the government may employ someone to finish it but, the odds of that are very small. The well is 220 feet deep and still no sign of water. We hate to have to make such a depressing blog entry but, that is real life here.

Somethings go better than you could have imagined and some just don't go at all. God knows the purpose in all things and we will continue to pray for answers. Many of our neighbors often say "Dios sabe" when we don't have a human explanation for things, which means "God knows."

Let's Get This Party Started

2009-05-19T09:26:00.015-05:00

MannaDR hosts a youth missionary camp here in the Dominican Republic every summer. We have college students that give up their summer to serve here as interns. Every week we have a different team from all over the United States. Each group helps the people in the local villages by putting on tin roofs, pouring cement floors and painting houses. They also hold a couple of VBS', spend a day in the community, visit the sick in the hospital and those that live in the city dump.

We picked out some groovy new paint colors and have been working diligently to get camp ready. A special thanks to our fellow team members Kyle and Vicki Graham that came out to help us paint. Rich has been fixing things around camp when he gets rained out of drilling. We are excited that our interns will arrive May 28! They will have a few days to get oriented to the DR, meet our team and the people in Bobita and help finish getting camp ready. Our first group arrives June 2. We have a full summer ahead of us and are so excited to get going!

If you are interested in bringing a group here to the DR to work with us check out our website for more information or e-mail Tom Martin at tom@mannadr.org. We would love to have you down here!

Update on Well #2

2009-05-17T15:59:00.002-05:00

Yesterday Rich reached a depth of 195 feet and still no water. We are frustrated but, we can only keep working and praying that there will be a sign of water soon. The government had a professional come out to the site and mark where the best place to drill was and Rich also checked himself. It seems that we are drilling in the correct place but, who knows how deep the water actually is under ground.

Rich has really made some great relationships with the people out in La Caribe and can't imagine leaving them without having water in the well. We won't be able to drill during the summer because we have a youth mission camp here in Bobita. Our interns come into the country in eleven days so, that means we have a week to work with at most. We are asking everyone to please pray that we hit water soon! We want to help give these people the blessing of clean water but, we can't do it alone!

Where there is no bridge...

2009-05-13T16:04:00.004-05:00

Actually, there usually is a bridge here. We have had incredible amounts of rain over the past week. Last night and this morning it rained especially hard. I was kind of glad because today is Rich and my second third anniversary and there is no way Rich can drill with this kind of rain. We got to have breakfast together and then we decided to go to town to run a few errands. The only problem with that was that we got to the bridge and this is what we saw. I won't lie I was pretty nervous. We said a prayer and Rich put the truck into four wheel drive. Thankfully we made it across just fine. Rich said it wasn't that big of a deal but, I thought it was! Just goes to show that if you have ever been here and helped clean out the tunnels in the bridge it makes a huge difference!

Update on Well #2

2009-05-07T09:38:00.002-05:00

Rich and Wilson hit 100 feet yesterday but, still no water. He is hopeful that today they will start to see signs of water. This well has had a grueling drilling schedule, not to mention the travel time to get to the village. Thankfully no parts on the rig have broken and the bit hasn't gotten stuck. I'll keep you updated! Thanks for your prayers!

The Things We Find

2009-05-07T09:32:00.005-05:00

We have been so blessed to be living in the Wallace's home here in the DR. Brian had a beautiful garden around the house and many potted plants in the courtyard. Neither Rich nor I have a green thumb so, our goal has been not to kill anything. I honestly thought I had killed one of our plants in the courtyard. Frankly, I kept watering it because I didn't know what else to do. To may great amazement, the other day I noticed that not only was it alive but, had beautiful flowers. What a nice surprise!

Here we go again... Well #2

2009-05-05T07:12:00.003-05:00

Saturday Rich took the drill rig out to our next drilling site in Caribe and set it up so he would be ready to go first thing Monday morning. Caribe is on the other side of Rio San Juan and is about an hour's drive from our house.

This community is in the mountains and has an unbelievable ocean view but, they have no way to get water. I was out there yesterday and met a view of the people that lived there. I asked where they usually get their water from and it was basically a cesspool. The water was green.

The community has been so gracious to Rich and his crew already. Many were sitting on the hill watching him drill and they are feeding him lunch everyday! Yesterday was the first day of drilling and they reached 52 feet! The goal is to have this well finished before the summer groups arrive. Hopefully today will go as smooth as yesterday and these people will have clean water very soon.

Happy Birthday Audrey

2009-05-03T20:25:00.004-05:00

Today is Audrey's 25th Birthday. I wanted to start her day off right with not one but, three cakes! Pancakes are in the cake family, right? We went to church this morning and then the afternoon was spent at the beach in the sun and waves. After the beach Norm had everyone over to his apartment for birthday dump cake, thanks Norm it was delicious.

Where there is no telephone...

2009-05-01T09:03:00.003-05:00

As you may expect, we don't have a telephone at our house here in the DR. We do have the next best thing, Skype! It is basically a telephone in our computer. We have a telephone number that anyone can call and if you have Skype on your computer we can talk for free! We also have a answering machine service with it so, if we can't answer the computer you can leave a message. Somedays it works better than others. If we have a really good internet connection we can even use the video camera and see who ever we are talking to. It is pretty amazing and makes it a little easier to be so far away when we can see our family and friends every once and awhile.

It's Another Boy, Again!

2009-04-30T08:05:00.003-05:00

On Monday we welcomed Givens into the Children's Home. We heard that to meet his mom was an adventure, check out the Bynum's Blog. We think he is about six months old but, is several months behind in development. He came from the same village as Cristo Daniel.

Last Wednesday we joined Lisa at the hospital to meet Givens. The doctors told us simply that the mother didn't love him. We are so thankful that we have this new little one. We are hopeful that he will do well in Demas and Ada's house. If you are interested in being Givens' sponsor, please e-mail Laura Beth Lamb at laurabethlamb@mannaglobalministries.org.

Planting Seeds

2009-04-29T07:10:00.003-05:00

Monday night we were invited over to Eli and Ana's house, where we drilled our first well. They wanted to have us over for a time of worship. We, along with Rich's parents, and the Bynums got together with many people in the neighborhood that normally don't come to church. One after another we picked songs and we sang in English and Spanish. A couple of men led prayers. Everyone was very encouraged and hoped that we would to this again. Yes, the purpose of drilling water wells is to help the people here physically but, more importantly it is to plant a seed. We want to plant a seed of God's love and that Christ can give the water of life. Please pray that these seeds will continue to grow.

Oh So Shiny!

2009-04-26T18:32:00.004-05:00

Above is a picture of some of the doors in our house. Rich's dad, Graham, was able to refinish two sets of doors while they were here visiting. It really made a difference! He also helped Rich fix the gate at camp, put in the plumbing for the intern dorm and set the pump at the well. We really appreciate Graham helping with all these little projects!

Cosas Artísticas con Mama Fannie

2009-04-24T12:39:00.003-05:00

For those of you that haven't met Fannie Amy before, you should be aware of her crafting skills. She can craft just about anything! Her speciality is cross-stitching and has received many awards for various pieces. She came to the DR prepared to teach, and teach she did! Yesterday while Rich was setting the pump at the well, we were across the street having a cross-stitching class. The ladies young and old loved it! It was such a fun afternoon. The ladies were very proud of their achievements.

He Gave Us Water

2009-04-23T19:47:00.004-05:00

We are so excited to announce that our first well is complete! Rich, with the help of many, dropped and set the pump today. The water coming out was beautiful! We had a great time with the community as we sat around several said prayers and sang songs of praise to God for giving them this blessing. One woman, Ana, who lives closest to the well was moved to tears.

What a blessing to be in a community with these tremendous people. As a thank you, Eli and Ana bought us cokes and put it on ice. Another lady, Carmen, made us fresh orange juice. We hope to be able to share this gift of physical and spiritual water with many more. Thank you to everyone that helped make this happen!

Progress...

2009-04-23T09:23:00.002-05:00

Just wanted all of you go know that Cristo Daniel is doing very well! He has gained weight, is crawling and is starting to walk with some assistance. He is talking more and more everyday. The older boys in the home love him and play with him whenever they can.

Rich and I were walking by the other day and we heard a little voice say "hola." We turned around and it was Cristo sitting on Ariel's lap. He kind of looks like a little Buddha statue now that he has his head shaved, his little tummy sticks out and is usually sitting with his legs crossed. He put out his hand and made a waving motion and said "ven, ven" which means "come here." He wanted to give us high-fives. He is so precious!

Cristo's personality comes out more and more everyday. Rich's parents, Graham and Fannie Amy, are here visiting for a couple of weeks. Cristo is getting extra TLC while Mama Fannie is here!

Hasta Luego Lambs

2009-04-21T15:26:00.002-05:00

Today we said a sad see you later to Cory, Laura Beth and Harrison Lamb. They have been part of the MannaDR team for the past two years. The Lambs started the tutoring program at the Children's Home. They made a huge differences not only in the lives of the kids at the Children's Home but, to the whole community and in our lives as well. Friday we had a going away party for them with just the MannaDR staff. Sunday we had a special program for them at church. Today was the real goodbye and it was harder than we thought. The Lambs have been such a huge support for us and even though we know they will still continue to encourage us from the States we will desperately miss seeing them every day.

Dear Cory, Laura Beth and Harrison,

Although we have only know each other less than a year we truly consider you to be close friends. You have made such a huge impact on our lives and the peoples lives here in the Dominican, and we know that you will continue to do this as you go back to the States.

God put you in our lives not only to be our friends but, also for us to have a great example. You genuinely live out your faith in Christ with passion in your marriage, work and love for Harrison. You undertook so much with the kids in the Children’s Home and Bobita, and did it well and with grace. These kids lives and this place are forever changed because of the work you allowed God to do through you.

Your faith was challenged here and you grew stronger. You enabled the Spirit of God working in you with humility and joy. You are a model of courage under fire.

Cory we respect your work ethic and new found zeal for God’s truth. It is so refreshing to have someone to work beside you that is never lazy or full of excuses but, always ready to help in any way possible. Your excitement for a relationship with God is inspiring and we pray that you will be able to share that with the youth back in the States whether through teaching or full time ministry.

Laura Beth we admire the strength and determination that you have and at the same time how gracious and gentle you are. You are patient and kind. You are the wife of noble character talked about in Proverbs 31. “She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. She speaks with wisdom and faithful instruction is on her tongue.” You are more precious than rubies!

Harrison, we love your little face! It has been so much fun to play with you and watch you learn new things. Your parents are wonderful people and we can’t wait to see what else they teach you. We pray and have faith that you will grow up knowing God’s amazing love and hope that you will be blessed with the same tremendous qualities of both of your parents.

In our self-pity and greediness we will miss you horribly and wish you were here but, we are so excited for this new chapter in your life. We really hope that we will always share our lives together somehow whether through work or just keeping in touch. We love you very much!

Blessings,

Rich and Audrey Amy

Drumroll Please...

2009-04-20T07:09:00.002-05:00

After many excellent suggestions we have picked a name for our bat. He will be called Bruce Wayne or BW for short, because he is a bat after all and conveniently my dad's name is Bruce Wayne Goodwin. Somehow naming these little creatures that live with us makes them seem less creepy. A special thanks to my brother Dan for this clever idea.

The Things We Find

2009-04-19T13:59:00.002-05:00

We now have a bat that lives with us. He is kind of cute, when he doesn't fly at your head and he eats lots of mosquitoes! Never thought I would say this but, I don't really mind having a bat living in our house. We are trying to come up with a good name for him. Any suggestions?

A Tribute to Tax Accountants

2009-04-16T09:17:00.002-05:00

Before we moved to the Dominican, I used to work at an accounting firm as an executive assistant. One of my primary responsibilities was to process tax returns. As you all know, yesterday was April 15, the biggest tax deadline of the year. After six tax seasons I'm well aware of how diligently tax accountants work. I would just like to say "well done, you made it!" Though I couldn't be with you at the office, I did think of you all often and the late hours you were working. You should take a vacation! Just remember that we do live on a tropical island if you are looking for somewhere to go!

Se Rompió

2009-04-16T08:32:00.003-05:00

Translation... it broke. What you may ask? Answer... our car! Rich and I were driving down to camp to meet up with Dallas Christian and our car just broke! If you want all the "technical" terms you'll have to talk to Rich but, he said something about a ball-joint. Translation for me... the wheel pretty much just fell off!

Honestly it couldn't have happened at a better time or in a better place. It broke in our little village so we just left it on the side of the road without any worry of something happening to it. Rich and I took the Dallas Christian team to the airport in Santiago where we have to go buy car parts. And the most important, no one was hurt!

Rich is trying to repair the car right now, I'm sure with the help of the whole neighborhood. I hope he doesn't have any problems since we need our car to pick up Rich's parents from the airport this afternoon! Never a dull moment!

Who are the people in your neighborhood?

2009-04-08T10:41:00.003-05:00

Today we would like to introduce you to Eli and Ana. They live in our little village of Caraquena. They are both in the sixties and are very sweet people. Eli and Ana are both faithful Christians. It seems like every time I visit they want to sing the song "El Amor de Dios es Maravilloso" which means the love of God is marvelous! Just the other night Rich and I were walking through the neighborhood and heard them inside their house singing a hymn.

Eli and Ana have two daughters that live at home because they are not able to live on their own. They take very good care of their family. I never hear them complain about anything and they rarely ask for help.

We decide to drill our first well next to their house for multiple reasons but one is that it would just be so much easier on them to not have to haul water from the river. Every time Rich was drilling they would sit outside and watch, encouraging him and thanking him for helping them with this well. And usually they have a cold glass of fresh squeezed orange juice.

We are so thankful to have such wonderful neighbors and faithful Christians in our little community!

It's Another Boy!

2009-04-04T16:47:00.003-05:00

Last night we had a new addition to the boys' house at the Children's Home here in Bobita. Welcome Cristopher Daniel! Some of you in the FHU and Central groups may remember Cristopher from the hospital in Puerto Plata. We first saw him in the hospital a few weeks ago when the Freed team was here. Bill and Maxine Crofton, some very friendly Canadians and fellow Christians, found him and brought him to the hospital. His mother is dying of TB and has been unable to feed him. He is two years old but, looks more like a nine month old.

When the Central team was here Maxine and I exchanged information to see if there was a place for him here in Bobita. Bill and Maxine came out to meet with Lisa about all of the logistics last week. And now here he is! The Lambs helped him get settled in last night. The house parents and boys are giving him lots of needed T.L.C. If you are interested in helping sponsor Cristopher or another child at the Hogar de Ninos please e-mail Laura Beth Lamb at laurabeth@mannadr.org.

Where there is no microwave...

2009-04-04T07:34:00.002-05:00

Last night the Grahams came over to our house for a wonderful meal of chili, cornbread, salad and peanut butter cookies. It all tasted so good! We had some cornbread left over that we wanted to eat for breakfast this morning. Cornbread is always better warm but, we don't have a microwave because it uses too much electricity. We put the cornbread in a pot with a lid for a few minutes and it warmed up nicely! Not as convenient as a microwave but, it worked!

It's a Boy!

2009-04-01T15:29:00.006-05:00

This week JB and Martini had a son. His name is Jean Kolenx. He was a few weeks early so he is just a little guy. Mother and baby are doing fine. Everyone is home and resting. Congratulations!

Poco a Poco

2009-04-01T15:25:00.006-05:00

We are done with the drilling on our first well! The well is now 70 feet deep. The next step is to put in the casing and drop the pump. We are so thankful that the first well is a success and everyone was safe! Rich has been looking at possible sites for the next well. Thanks to everyone who had a hand in making this possible by praying, donations, getting parts, and bringing parts in! We couldn't have done it without you!

An Adventure to the Dentist

2009-04-01T14:54:00.003-05:00

Our exciting day of going to the dentist started with me picking up three of the kids from the Children's Home: Ariel, Yudelka and Yargenis. Nine year olds Ariel and Yargenis had never been to the dentist before so, I wasn't sure how the day would go. Since we were going to drive on the "highway" I wanted them to put on their seat belts. I was surprised when this was a foreign concept, they had no idea how to do it. Ariel wrapped himself in it and said with pride "mira" which means "look." I stopped the car and got everyone situated and we were off to Gasper Hernandez. We made it to the dentist office on time, filled out some paper work, and each kid saw the dentist. There were only four cavities and three teeth pulled, all in all not bad. With a quick stop at the grocery store we made it back to Bobita before lunch. It was a very successful day and I enjoyed spending time with the kids. They were very brave!

Would we really be Rich and Audrey if...

2009-03-30T07:16:00.003-05:00

Would we really be Rich and Audrey if we weren't doing a home improvement project? I honestly can't think of a time when we haven't been in the middle of something! Our house has a cement sofa built into one of the walls, wood doesn't do very well here so it is a great idea. We extended the couch a little to make it deeper so someone could sleep, we'll get cushions made of course. Also, we remade the gate to our yard. JB, a Haitian man, made the concrete posts and Rich put our old gate on a steel pipe frame. Last of all we extended our side walk from our house to go all the way to the generator. It is nice not to have to step in the mud when we need electricity from the generator. I'll update you with pictures after we finish painting and get cushions made.

A Little Bit of Home

2009-03-27T06:34:00.008-05:00

Working on the well.

Extreme home makeover - Dominican Edition.

VBS in Bobita.

Community Day.

Mixing cement for the playground at the Children's Home.

Cleaning out the river and under the bridge.

Saturday after we took the FHU team to the airport we picked up a team from Little Rock, AR. Central is our sponsoring church so we were extremely excited to see familiar faces! This was the first time to the DR for this group. They had a busy week of mixing cement, cleaning out debris under the bridge, putting on a tin roof and painting a house, fixing a well, two VBS', a day in the community, visiting the sick in the hospital and people at the city dump, and of course a half day at the beach. It was such a blessing to have old friends here and to make stronger ties with them. The week went by very quickly and we wish they didn't have to leave. Hopefully they will all be back again very soon!

A Great Week with Freed-Hardeman

2009-03-20T07:23:00.012-05:00

Saturday, March 14, our first spring break group arrived. They are from Freed-Hardmen University. We had a terrific week together. The group put on a VBS in three locations, painted a house, laid the foundation for a new playground at the Children's Home, mixed and poured cement to pave an entire courtyard for a struggling school in Rio San Juan, visited the people in the hospital and those that live in the dump, played lots of soccer and spent a day with a Dominican family. We were very impressed by this group's work ethic, ability to love the Dominicans, and encouragement that they brought to us. We hate to see them go today but, are so thankful they came!

Working with concrete at the school in RSJ.

Everyone playing soccer.

Rachel and Hannah painting one of the MannaDR homes.

Welcome Back!

2009-03-16T11:21:00.002-05:00

Wednesday Brian Wallace returned to the DR! Brian and Tammie started the work here in the Dominican and we are thrilled to have him here for the next couple of weeks. It will be so nice to have a seasoned veteran around for the spring break groups. Our time with him is truly precious!

The Things We Find

2009-03-16T11:12:00.002-05:00

Sunday we had our missionary team over for lunch after church. Rich was grilling up some burgers when he found a delightful treat. Shown above is a snake skin we estimate to be about six feet long. We have not seen the actual snake yet. It would be nice to know where it is living so that we won't be surprised by it. We'll let you know what other fun things we find. Life in the Dominican is never dull.

Happy First Third Anniversary

2009-03-16T09:31:00.003-05:00

Tuesday, March 10, was our first three year anniversary. For those of you that don't know our complicated story let me fill you in a little. Rich and I met here in the Dominican in May 2005. Rich lived here for six months being Brian's sidekick and general handy-man. I was an intern for the summer. We became good friends and feel in love over the summer. When we left in August we were pretty sure we would get married. We got engaged in September and started the long grueling process of immigration.

We received our fiance visa but, found out that it was better to get married right away, so we could file the paper work, than to wait for our original wedding day. Unfortunately, our wedding was already paid for and the invitations had been sent out.

So, over my spring break we got married in Arkansas. We weren't able to get everyone together in time so, it was just us and our parents. My dad preformed the wedding. After we got legally married at Camp Wyldwood I had to finish school. While I left for Nebraska with my parents, Rich stayed in Arkansas to look for housing and jobs. Two months later we got "married" again in our church wedding.

People have all sorts of questions about our weird path to marriage. One of the most popular is which anniversary to you celebrate? And of course the answer is: BOTH!

Rich surprised me on Tuesday by taking me to a nice restaurant. We both had steak, which was wonderful! Three years have flown by. We feel very blessed to be where we are today.

A Couple of Updates

2009-03-09T08:39:00.004-05:00

First of all, the rig was running again. We got the part last Saturday and Rich fixed the truck. Unfortunately, another part broke last Tuesday. Rich went to Santiago on Wednesday to have the part remade. While trying to put the new part on Thursday something else broke. The rig is a great machine but, has been sitting for the last decade. This is one of the reasons we wanted to drill the first well close to home. We are able to keep an eye on the truck while we try to work out all the kinks. We have a group here from Freed this week and next week is CENTRAL, our supporting congregation! After the groups leave hopefully we will be up and running again.

Secondly, we've had lots of people asking the status of the horse we doctored a few weeks ago. I'm happy to report that the horse is alive and well. You can barley tell he had an accident. I will try to get a photo of him so you can see how well he is doing.

Slight Glitch

2009-03-05T06:50:00.002-06:00

While drilling on Monday a small part on the rig broke. I would go into all the technical details but, honestly I have no idea what they are. If you want to know you'll have to ask Rich. He assures me that it isn't a big deal and we just need a new part. Thankfully Rich's parents, Graham and Fannie Amy, are on the case. They have found what we need Stateside and are sending it in with the Bynums daughter. Hopefully we will only be setback about a week. Our goal is to get this first well completed before our supporting church, Central of Little Rock, comes to visit in 16 days. (not like we are counting down) I'll let you know when we are up and running again. A special thanks to Dad and Mom Amy for getting the part and to Lindsey for bringing it in. This ministry truly is a group effort!

Who are the people in your neighborhood?

2009-02-28T13:29:00.005-06:00

As we meet our neighbors in the community we would like to take you with us. Since you weren't with us today, let me introduce you to Belqui. Belqui has lived in Bobita for about ten years. Her husband runs the local "grocery" store in town. The last three years she has been the caretaker for the boys home at the orphanage. Needless to say she is one of the strongest women I've every known. She was able to handle all the roughhousing and discipline issues by herself while still keeping a graceful smile. She has resigned her position with the Children's Home so she can spend more time with her husband and work at the store. This is sad for us and for the kids but, thankfully she is just down the road. She invited us to lunch today and it was wonderful!

Man's Best Friend or Security System?

2009-02-26T07:57:00.002-06:00

How about both! Introducing our dog Uluru. He isn't technically our dog. The Wallaces were watching him for their daughter Shawnean and she agreed to let us have him while we are here in the Dominican!

He is an Australian Blue Heeler, I think he tries to herd us into the house sometimes. We have already become great friends with him and he is a great security system. Everywhere I go he follows me and guards the door, ready to let me know if someone is coming up to the house. A special thank you to the Wallaces and Shawnean for letting Ulu be a part of our family too!

Well Number One

2009-02-26T07:33:00.005-06:00

Yesterday we started drilling our first well. Since this is the first time for the rig to be used here we wanted to drill somewhere close to home just incase we forgot something or something went awry. Thankfully everything went smoothly and everyone stayed safe. The people that we are drilling by are extremely excited to have clean water close to their home. Please continue to keep safety for us in your prayers.

Where there is no veterinarian....

2009-02-23T07:32:00.002-06:00

On the way home from church yesterday I came upon one of our neighbors horses. For any of you that have seen our video, the horse belongs to Christopher's family. He was bleeding from the head, apparently there was an accident with a machete. I went home and called my dad, who was formally a veterinarian. We got the horse in between two trucks so it couldn't kick us and I started to clean out the wound. Thankfully, Tim knew a guy up the road that is a vet-tech. He was able to come down to the camp and put in a few stitches. He was still alive this morning so, hopefully he'll make it. You can image what a huge burden it would be for this family to lose their horse.

Fridays with Yania & Rosmery

2009-02-22T12:33:00.002-06:00

This Friday I got to hang-out with Yania and Rosmery, they are the oldest girls at the children's home. They are both thirteen years old and a lot of fun. I'm hoping to make this a weekly tradition. This week I showed them how to make jewelry. I think it went over well. They learned very quickly, each made three pairs or earrings and two bracelets. Please e-mail me if you have any fun craft ideas or would like to send some supplies, believe it or not we don't have a Hobby Lobby around here.

Snickers Candy Bar + Beach = Perfect Valentine's Day

2009-02-19T18:50:00.002-06:00

To celebrate Valentine's weekend we were able to visit our beautiful local beach. Rich also went to the grocery store that is about an hour away from our house and bought me a Snickers! Before, I may not have thought much of a candy bar for a gift... it was better than I remembered! We had a great weekend and hope all of you enjoyed your Valentine's Day.

Thank you!

2009-02-13T07:02:00.005-06:00

Bruce and Barbara Goodwin, my parents, were able to come in last week for a few days to help us with our staff retreat. Mom was able to help us look at each of our strengths and then see how we can work together as a team. Dad helped us learn how to stay healthy spiritually and looked at some conflict management techniques. It was a great weekend with a lot of helpful information.

On a personal note, it was so nice to have family come in to the DR so early! It was such a blessing to have them here! It was also nice that they were able to bring in two suitcases of things we hadn't thought to bring or forgotten. This was priceless considering we don't have a mail system here. It was like Christmas all over! Who knew getting paper towels and allergy medicine could be so exciting! We hated to see them go but, were so thankful they could come! We love you guys! Thanks again and again!

Breakfast Anyone?

2009-01-30T07:21:00.004-06:00

While answering a few e-mails this morning I heard a rustle in the kitchen. Of course, I'm always a little fearful of what I may find when there is a rustle in the kitchen. Thankfully today it was not a rat but, a lizard! The noise I heard was him leaping to catch a wolf spider. And that is why we let giant geckos live in our house. I tried to get a good picture for you but, I didn't want to get too close!

Let the fixing begin

2009-01-29T10:07:00.003-06:00

This week Rich fixed the well here in our little village. It hadn't been working for a couple of months. We've decide the best thing to do when we repair a well to switch the aluminium rods to a cable system. This should make a stronger well and be easier to fix in the future. Rich has also been focusing on getting the rig ready to drill.

More bitter than sweet

2009-01-26T16:03:00.003-06:00

On Wednesday we took Brian and Tammie Wallace to the airport. For those that don't know Brian and Tammie are the ones that started the program here in the Dominican and have poured their hearts into this ministry for years. For the time being they have decided to return to the States to be with family. We had a great week spending time with them learning everything we could before their departure. They have been such a blessing to so many people's lives, including ours. We love them and will miss them tremendously. We hope that our paths will continue to cross.

Estamos aqui!

2009-01-14T21:51:00.003-06:00

Sorry it has been so long. As you can imagine the last month of our lives has been crazy! I'll try to blog about our Christmas soon. Yesterday January 13, we made it to the Dominican Republic. Our luggage made it in today. We are so glad to finally be here! This week we will be concentrating on getting our lives here setup. Thank you to all of you for your prayers and encouraging words. The best way to contact us is by e-mail. We'll try to keep the blog updated as best we can.

Adios Antigua

2008-12-09T11:21:00.007-06:00

Early this morning about 2:00 am we arrived in Minneapolis, MN. We had a wonderful time in Antigua, Guatemala learning Spanish and making new friends. We are so grateful to our teachers and everyone at La Union for helping us learn Spanish... your job was not easy. We never imagined how precious our time in Guatemala would be. Thanks to everyone!

We will be here in Minnesota until Christmas. After that we are off to Tennessee to visit with the Amy Family and finally to Arkansas for a few days. We are so excited to be home for a while and hope that we will get to see all of you soon!

Mayan Ruins of Copan

2008-12-01T16:35:00.009-06:00

This weekend we were able to go to Copan, Honduras with our school to see the Mayan Ruins. It was really incredible! This is our attempt at a mini-tour for you.

This is where the royal or rich people lived.

This was an altar for sacrificing jaguars.

This is where they played games. Whoever was voted the best player had the honor of being sacrificed to the gods.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas... Everywhere we go

2008-12-01T16:17:00.005-06:00

Everywhere we go is a reminder that Christmas is near which means we are coming back to the States in ONE WEEK!!!! Needless to say we are extremely excited. We even helped decorate the guest house where we live. Here are a couple photos of Guatemala's version of Christmas.

A Tour of Antigua

2008-11-24T16:53:00.007-06:00

Since our days in Antigua, Guatemala are coming to an end we have been visiting a lot of the tourist attractions in the afternoon. Most of these are Catholic Churches or ruins of Catholic Churches. It has been a blessing to learn Spanish while being immersed in the culture. We have learned a lot of Spanish while we have been here but, also have learned so much about Latin culture.

Un Dia con Mama Estela

2008-11-17T16:45:00.006-06:00

Yesterday we went to a nearby pueblo to spend the day with Estela and her family. Estela is our mom here in Guatemala. Everyday she cooks for us and helps us practice our spanish. First she took us to her mother's fruit planation and then we went back to her house for a wonderful lunch. We had a wonderful time with the family.

The Fruits of Our Labor

2008-11-09T16:59:00.006-06:00

As mentioned before we won a trip to the beach for our participation in the Halloween costume contest. On Saturday morning we left for Monterrico, a black sand beach about two hours away from Antigua. We were able to see lots of beautiful things and even release baby turtles into the wild. These all maybe communicated better with pictures than words. Enjoy..... we did!

Dia de los Muertos

2008-11-03T15:35:00.006-06:00

Sunday was the day of the dead here in Guatemala. The people here celebrate the lives of their relatives by decorating and painting their graves and spending all day in the cemetery. I know it sounds a little creepy but, it wasn't at all. We were able to go visit a cemetery and everyone was enjoying the day with their family.

In the evening we saw a "float" being carried through town to celebrate the anniversary of one of the Catholic schools. The float was about 50 feet long and was carried by 80 men. They carried the float all through town for eight hours. It was really interesting!

Lets Go Fly A Kite

2008-11-03T15:18:00.006-06:00

Saturday we went to a nearby town for a kite festival. The kites were very detailed and had to be handled by ten people.

Una Niña y Su Piñata

2008-11-03T15:05:00.003-06:00

For Halloween our school had a party for all of the students, teachers and their families. We had traditional local food and a costume contest. Per suggestion of our good friends Jerrad and Ami Powell, we went as a piñata and girl-with-stick. Rich had a bag of candy inside the piñata with him and everytime I hit him he would drop candy out of the bottom. Needless to say we had a crowd of kids following us around. We won a trip to the beach for our efforts! Happy Halloween!

Yuck!

2008-10-28T15:38:00.005-05:00

Monday afternoon we went to help clean out a house that was flooded from the river overflow. It was a mess! The people were very grateful and we were glad to help!

6 Weeks Down - 6 To Go!

2008-10-28T15:29:00.002-05:00

Last week we reached the halfway point in our studies. To celebrate we took our teachers out for lunch! We are improving in our Spanish and are hopeful that in six weeks we will be even better! Thanks for all your support!

Buena Vista

2008-10-23T16:17:00.003-05:00

On Saturday we hiked up one of the mountains in Antigua that over looks the city. It has a beautiful view. Here are some pictures from the top of the mountain.

Three weeks down... Nine more to go

2008-10-03T16:11:00.002-05:00

As of today we have completed three weeks of intense language school in Antigua, Guatemala. The time has gone by really fast. In some ways we feel overwhelmed with the amount of information we have spinning in our heads but, at the same time we know we have some much more to learn. We have really enjoyed being at school, learning about the culture and spending time with our fellow teammates Kyle and Vicki Graham. Thanks for all of your prayers!

Yup, that´s lava!

2008-09-26T14:57:00.006-05:00

On Wednesday we were able to go on a school outing to a nearby valcano. We hiked up the mountain through the forest for about two hours. Then we reached the active part of the valcano, hiked another hour and were able to see a river of lava. As you can imagine it was extremely hot. The soles of our shoes started to melt. It was awesome to be so close to such a powerful thing.

Feeling Hot Hot Hot!

2008-09-19T16:26:00.008-05:00

The good news is we have hot water for our shower. The bad news is the waterheater is on the shower head. Of course the first day we arrived Rich was inspecting this new gadget and sparks started shooting out of it. Standing water + water falling on you + lots of wires = bad idea. Thankfully neither of us has been hurt yet. We´ve learned to respect the wires and enjoy hot showers.

We are here!

2008-09-19T16:26:00.002-05:00

We arrived in Antigua, Guatemala a week ago today. We have been busy with four hours of one-on-one classes in the morning. The Spanish classes are intense and we are a little overwhelmed right now but, we are confident that we are learning a lot. In the afternoon we study and explore the city. This picture was taken from the roof of our house. We live in the guest house with four other people. A lady named Estella cooks and cleans for us, which is awesome!

No News is Good News

2008-09-11T13:14:00.002-05:00

After a brief stop in Nebraska to visit Audrey's brother and family we are back in Minneapolis packing for language school, we leave early Friday morning. Our phone has been turned off so please e-mail us if you want to get a hold of us. We aren't sure what access to phone and computer we will have in Guatemala. We get back from language school December 8. Just remember that no news is good news and we will be back in touch as soon as possible.

On the Road Again

2008-09-11T12:50:00.005-05:00

After the unfortunate death of our car in Canada we flew back to Minneapolis to pick up a car and then we headed south to Arkansas.

We had a great weekend with our friends and family. Sunday was our commissioning day with Central. We have been so blessed to be apart of this church family and will hopeful still be considered long distance members. Thank you for all of your support, prayers and encouragement. We couldn't do it without you!

Oh Canada!

2008-09-11T12:45:00.007-05:00

Last week we went to Canada to visit Rich's parents and brother's family. We had an eventful time getting there. About two hours from Rich's parents house our car made a horrible noise and started smoking! Basically our motor blew-up. We had to push the car into a parking lot and thankfully Graham and Fannie were able to pick us up. Other than that we had a nice time with family riding in the boat, eating and chatting.

Beginning of the Long Goodbye

2008-08-14T08:51:00.003-05:00

We packed up our belongings on Saturday and left for Minnesota. Reality is hitting that we are leaving and it is exciting and sad at the same time. We are so grateful for the wonderful friends we have made over the last two years while living in Little Rock. We will miss all of you more than you know! Thank you for all of your help!

At the same time we are extremely excited for language school and what the next couple of years has in store for us. We truly believe this is where God is calling us and we can't wait to start our adventure! Thank you all for your prayers, encouragement and support. We would not be where we are today without all of you! Over the next few weeks we will be traveling to see our families before we leave, and so the long goodbye begins.

Passing the Torch

2008-07-30T10:20:00.003-05:00

This weekend we spent some time with Rich's grandparents SF and Maxine Timmerman. They have been missionaries in Belgium and Canada and still are doing good work today. It was such a joy to spend time with them and is a blessing to have their support as we start our adventures on the mission field.

Moving On Up!

2008-07-08T11:26:00.004-05:00

This weekend we started moving our stuff up to Minnesota to store at the Goodwin's house. Mo, our cat, could barely fit in the van. We also made our reservations for language school September 15-December 5. We are so excited that things are moving forward and God is blessing us during this stressful time.

FOR SALE

2008-06-27T07:39:00.002-05:00

Last night we put our for sale sign out in the yard! We've had one offer already so; hopefully we will be able to sell our house quickly! We've put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into this house and now we want to get rid of it. Thanks to all our supportive family and friends that helped us get the house ready, we could not have done it without you!

Happy Birthday!

2008-06-04T11:09:00.004-05:00

Happy Birthday Rich! Today is Rich's 26th birthday! I'm so thankful that he is my husband and that we are starting in a new adventure together. Who knows what will happen during this next year.

Working for the Weekend

2008-06-02T12:33:00.004-05:00

This weekend we got a lot done on our house. Rich got the frame of our balcony put up with the assistance of some friends and we finished painting the upstairs bedroom. Now we only need to put on the trim and install the carpet upstairs, finish the balcony, replace all of the windows, reset the electric to the house, pretty-up the yard a little and maybe a couple of things in the kitchen. It's a lot to do in three months! Thank you to Cade, Micah and Amanda for your help!