Day 6 Thankfulness

Day is done.  Gone the sun.  

Tasks are done.  Packing has begun.

Our hearts are overloaded with love.

All because of our God above.

We have experienced so much today.  The morning was spent doing VBS and construction.  After lunch we said goodbye to our friends from the worksites and we toured the El Buen Samaritano Hospital and the Orphanage.  Many tears flowed as we walked out.

We then travelled to the beach and spent time decompressing and returned back to town to eat pizza.  During our team time we talked about the story of Jesus healing the 10 lepers and one returning to give thanks.  In that mode, we talked about what we are thankful for because of this trip.  Below are the things that we heard from the team members.  All didn't share, and that's ok, but you will get a good glimpse into what this trip has meant to us.

David- new perspective on life in general - thankful for his life and what he has 

Mendy- bonding with an older lady across from church- showed the lady her picture and she cried - Thankful for Scott, Lindsey and David

Shaun- kids that are willing to help 

Christian- eyes opened to the real world playing with made toys like a tire and old milk carton - not complaining about what they don't have.-having school to go to 

Jeremy- new perspective-makes him think about why God gave them the lives they have and us the ones we have and what God's plan is

Lindsey- sweet smiles- very eye opening and motivational

Zach- seeing how far attention and kindness can go 

Emily C- thankful for being able to see a different side and culture of the world- getting to go on a BCBC trip again

Eathan- seeing how attention and kindness can affect others

Christina- unconditional love for us  

Kim- international love- being able to love different people and cultures- we don't see and take advantage of the opportunities we have at home- new friendships built in our team - We take for granted getting to talk to our family- some hear don't get to talk or see their family because of distance 

Karen- getting closer to learn one another and find new things about our own team 

Traci- relationships with everyone on our team that she didn't have before- blessing she took for granted at home and ways she can use her blessings to help others. Her family 

Andrew- seeing the amazing level of content on the kids even though they have nothing

Fil- working with the group- the hard work they put in to bring the school one step closer to being build

Emily J- the love the kids showed

Cass- has reminded me what is really important-love and relationships

Scott- thankful that he came and came with his family- that God had a completely different idea for what he should be doing here than what he thought

Paige- thankful for the money paid by an unknown person and opportunity to come on the trip 

Bailey- the love that the children shared and the opportunity to play with them- how we treat each other like a family 

Christine- thankful for the chance to go to college, and have her own apartment- technology to show the kids themselves and put a smile on their faces- material things don't make you happy 

As for me, I am thankful that God allowed me to watch the eyes and the hearts of those on this team being opened to a world so different from our own.  I am thankful for all of you who helped us get here.  I am thankful for all those who offered prayers for us.  I am thankful that God gave us opportunities to share love and to be loved.  This has been such a unique experience.  Physically and mentally and emotionally challenging.  We are exhausted.  But multiple conversations tonight about when and how we can get back.

Pray for us as we travel tomorrow.  We leave the place we have been staying at 10:00 for our 1:30 flight.  We land in Atlanta at 5:00 and depending on the time to clear customs, get our bags, get our vehicles, and fight Atlanta traffic, we will be home.  The trip is concluding but the work that God is doing for the 25 of us continues.  

Goodnight for the final time from the Dominican.

Day 5 Stories

Good evening followers.  It has been another great day and it is my priviledge to sit and write just a bit of our experiences from the day.  To start with, most of those who had sad stomachs have recovered for the most part.  The issues aren't that bad they just make life uncomfortable given the facilities that are available.  Now for the stories...

Lindsey's Story - Throughout the day Lindsey (and others) were taking lots of pictures of the kids.  She took pictures of both the older and the younger children.  As she was taking the pictures she would show them the image and tell them they were pretty.  The way they reacted to her telling them that led to the impression that they might not have heard that before.

Jeremy's Story - Jeremy came into the week not liking kids.  He has been the only one to work with me every day on the worksite.  But today the children were sworming and before I knew it, Jeremy became a tree for the little boys and girls.  He posted on picture on facebook and I have more.  One of the children while sitting on his shoulder called him poppie and gave him a kiss on the cheek.  It was a special day for him, and them.

Chy's Story - Throughout the days we have been progressively battling the children who were attempting to get our attention and do what they could to help.  Today, Chy and the rest of the construction crew started letting the kids help push the empty wheelbarrows back and forth.  It's amazing to see children work when they don't have to just to get our attention. 

Jenny's Story (and really the whole VBS crew) - Each day after the morning VBS activities, the children would be sent home to eat and so that the team could eat.  Today, when told to go home, the kids sat outside the church and watched the group eat.  Feeling back for the children, they took plates of rice and forks and distributed food for the kids to eat.  The kids made sure everyone, even the smallest ones had something to eat.

Scott's Story - At the VBS site today the crew gave out some dental floss.  It was quite obvious that some of the children did not know what to do with it.  Scott saw Christian and Lindsey teaching the children what to do with the floss.  The smallest acts of kindness matter lots.

If you could watch a video of the work on both sites each day you would be amazed.  I have had the pleasure of watching those doing construction and hearing the stories of the VBS crew.  The 25 people that you have sent to the Dominican Republic have worked so hard to represent Jesus Christ, Ball Camp Baptist Church, their families, and theirselves in a wonderful way.  It is a blessing to be part of this crew.

Just so you know, tomorrow we will work a half day and then go visit the hospital and children's home.  We will then spend some time in the afternoon at the beach to relax.  Most of the team is excited that tomorrow night is pizza night.  Friday we will head to the airport about 10 for a 1:30 flight.  We will be back in Knoxville soon but are praying to continue to see God in the hours that we are still here. 

Goodnight from the D.R.

Day 4 stories

Good evening folks.  It is another night of extreme fatigue.  Tonight's fatigue is just as much emotional as it is physical.  I will jump to a few stories as I am trying to have enough energy to finish before heading to bed.

Christine's Story - At the conclusion of the day of VBS, Christine went looking for a kid she had played with during the day.  She saw his mother and took a translator with her.  The mother told her that she had 10 children and told Christine that she could take one home with her.  Obviously not possible, but the thought of a mother being willing to give her child away just for the chance at a better life is amazing.

Emily J's Story - Emily joined us on the construction crew today.  As we worked and were there, a group of boys and girls congregated to watch and try to help.  After a while, a little girl come to Emily and handed her a piece of candy.  These kids have so little but they want to give to us too.

Christian's story - During VBS the crew played soccer with the children.  When the older boys took their turn to play, one of the boys walked up to Christian and asked him for his name (in English).  When he learned Christian's name he turned to introduce him to the others and introduced him as "friend Christian".  It impacted him that so quickly the folks here call us friends even though they know nothing about us.

Paige and Jenny's Stories - Paige and Jenny both had extensive baby-holding time at VBS.  The parents were quick to hand over their babies for part or all of the days to be held and loved on.  Jenny got more than being loved on as the child she held didn't have a diaper on.  Small difficulties in sharing big time love with little children.

My story - I was able to obtain a guitar to take to the construction site today.  During our lunch break, we sat around with the kids playing and singing.  As we sang Amazing Grace in English, the children were singing the same words in Spanish.  Same words, different languages, but the same God.

There are so many other good stories to share but I am struggling to remember them all.  Tomorrow will be another regular day of work.  Tomorrow is Emily Collin's 18th birthday so please pray that she has a good day.  Pray that we will again have the energy to do the tasks before us.  As we get to the end of the trip, pray for our nerves as they always tend to get short as we get more and more tired.  

Goodnight from the Dominican folks.  

A few pics

Day 3 Stories

We just finished our team time so I am ready to share stories.  First, our team devotion was from Luke 16:19-31, The Rich Man and Lazarus.  We talked about how our faith and our actions need to be pointing folks toward God both here and at home.

Christian's Story - Instead of playing Duck, Duck, Goose, folks here play Cat, Cat, Dog.  While Christian was running around the circle he wiped out.  The whole group had a good laugh.  Afterwards a little girl came up to him and said something that he didn't understand.  Christian asked an interpreter to come tell him what the girl had said.  The girl was checking to see if he was ok.

Fil's Story - After waking up from our lunch time nap, Fil looked out to the front of the church and some of our kids and adults were out front of the church playing, singing, and dancing with the neighborhood kids.  It is amazing to see our folks putting so much effort into the people and the work that we are around.

My story - I met Pastor Ramone today.  He is the pastor of Ebenezer Church where we are doing the construction.  When I told him I was a pastor too, he lit up and gave me a great big bear hug.  It was so awesome to have that connection with another pastor even when we can barely communicate with words.

David's Story - During a game, a little boy got pushed down and began to cry.  David scooped him up to comfort him.  Shortly the boy began to color and just leaned back in the safety of David's lap.  It is amazing how kids can be trusting and loving to people that they barely know.

General VBS story - The group told 2 stories today.  They revisited the Good Samaritan again and also told the story of Jesus walking on water.  Some of the group painted girls' fingernails.  While they were doing that, some of the girls tried to grab the polish remover so that they could get theirs done again.  The pastor of the church where they were working lives in the church and was sick so he slept most of the time, but even in the loud times when he was woken up, he smiled large at the children being loved on.  The children taught our group how to sing and dance and be excited to be worshipping God.

General construction story - The group moved and restacked about 2 tons of cinder blocks.  It was back breaking labor but the group worked incredibly hard to get the job accomplished.  After lunch we were tasked with leveling the walkway between the exterior wall of the school and the wall surrounding the school.  Some of the places had to be brought up by 2 feet.  The work was hard and the sun was making it extremely hot, yet we worked hard and steady throughout the day.  

Thank you for following our journey. I have been unable to post pictures because I forgot to bring my SD card adapter for my ipad.  I will borrow Christine's laptop soon to post a few of my pictures so that you can see some of the images we are experiencing.  God is good.  We are tired.  As I mentioned earlier, we do have a few who have been a little ill so please pray for them.  The team is doing good but will be going to bed soon because of our fatigue.   Thanks for the strength that your prayers are bringing us.

Quick Day 3 Post

This post will be followed by a lengthier post but I wanted to drop a quick post before we have our team meeting.  We have had another amazing day.  The VBS crew reported that today was even more awesome than Saturday was.  They told 2 stories, did lots of crafts, games and other fun stuff.  The construction crew worked our butts off.  I am so proud of everyone and the effort that they are putting forth.  Please pray for the health of our team.  We have some who are a little down in the tummy or just feeling worn down.  Others are just plain sore.

Also pray for our supporters back home.  We grieve with Thea Carter in the loss of her father.  We also grieve with the family of Melanie, a child who came to VBS and has attended some of our children's functions including the commissioning service, whose father was killed in a motorcycle accident today. So much hurt all over the world.  

I will update later with specific stories.  Keep commenting.  The team draws strength from your love.

Day 2 Update

We are tired.  It has been a great day but we are worn out.  This morning we went to church.  Not to a church that we expected but instead to a batey.  The bateys are sugar cane villages.  This village was full of people living in tin shacks and very poor conditions.  We took a tour of the batey before church started.  I can't even paint a picture for you of the conditions that we saw.  We do have pictures for when we can get them posted.

Worship was in a small church in the batey.  The church was definitely the nicest building in the batey.  The service was held in Creole with a heavy French bend.  The pastor did quite a bit of going back and forth between English and Creole.  The spirit of the people was incredible.  The only song that we recognized as Amazing Grace.  The pastor read the Beatitudes from Matthew.  On the wall was painted the verse Philippians 4:13.  We worshipped truly today.

After church and lunch, we went to the beach.  A quick shower hit immediately after we got there but it was over before it got started good.  Beautiful water.  Lots of relaxing.  We have moved to the Casa Pastoral.  It is different but with a couple days we will get comfortable here.  

Our Team Devotion tonight was on the Parable of the Rich Fool.  Where do you store your treasure?

Pray for us as we rest tonight and as we return to work tomorrow.

Please post your name even if you don't post a comment so that we know how many folks are keeping up with our story.  Goodnight folks.

Day 1 Stories

Howdy folks.  I gave you the basic breakdown of what happened earlier.  Since then we have learned patience yet again.  Our dinner did not arrive until an hour and a half after it was supposed to.  The food was good but we were definitely glad it was there when it finally arrived.  Now for some specific stories.

Christine's story - The bus pulled into the batey with the VBS crew after having gotten lost on the way. The crew was always hanging out the windows seeing what they could see.  As soon as the kids caught sight of Christine, they started yelling "Chino, Chino".  They were quick to notice that she was Asian and apparently they hadn't seen that before.  She quickly gained quite an audience.

Zach's story - Shortly after the construction crew began our work, a little boy started asking Zach what his name was.  From then on, he had friends.  The boys that hung around us were always calling to him and wanting to talk to or play with him.  The most entertaining moment came when the little boys started playing with Zach's hair and he didn't kill them.  Mendy has a video to prove that he actually let them do it.

Traci's story - A little girl's hand found Traci's hand.  She looked intently at the paleness of her skin but held closely to her hand.  It was a special moment for them both.

Mckenzie's story - Upon arriving at the construction site, we were told to put our stuff inside the church.  A lady was mopping the floor and her young daughter was standing around.  Mckenzie wanted to take her picture with the girl so I asked and she smiled large and nodded.  The picture is adorable and I will post it later when I can.

General VBS story - The group had a tough time communicating but thanks to the translators, they had a great time.  They handed out toothbrushes and toothpaste, played fun games, did some crafts, and had the children sing songs for them.  I believe lots of eyes were opened.  There are pictures of children with clothes literally hanging off because they were so worn.  Bailey said that he had never had more fun.  All the others were very moved too.

General construction story - The group spend most of the day working to move a rock/dirt pile from one place to another.  It was hot and backbreaking work but everyone cheerfully pitched in.  We had an audience of young boys who wanted to play with our guys and take pictures with our girls.  We moved quite a bit of block as the masons were laying them into the wall.  We had stopped work and were waiting for the bus to return when a truck load of cinder blocks came in.  With no complaints, gloves went back on and we unloaded and stacked well over 1000 blocks.

Life is different here but God is the same.  Tomorrow we will worship in places that we will not understand the language but in a place that we have already seen God.

Tonights group time focused on Matthew 9:27-31.  We talked about the fact that Jesus told the blind man that he would be healed according to his faith.  May we have faith this week to continue to have our eyes opened to God.

Goodnight.

A brief afternoon update

We are tired but I think we are all pleased with our days.  I will tell some stories later tonight but just in brief, this is how our day went...

7:00 we were ALL at breakfast and enjoyed fried eggs, some type of sausage, and toast

8:00 we were ALL ready to get on the bus.

10:00 our bus finally arrive at the hotel to take us to our work sites

Lesson #1 in being flexible.

The construction crew today was Zach, Kim, Paige, Andrew, Cheyenne, Lindsey, Jeremy, Mckenzie, Christian, Fil, Brian and Mendy.

The VBS crew was Karen, Jenny, Scott, Traci, Christine, Bailey, David, Eathan, Cassidy, Christina, Emily J, Emily C, and Shaun.

Tonight is going to be a night sitting around the pool and relaxing.  I will get some stories gathered to share tonight.  As for now, it is time to relax and not move more than I have to.  Comments are welcome and encouraged

Another night 1 Post

I probably won't be posting so much after we start working but I want to paint pictures of what we are doing and what we have going on.  There is another team staying here at the hotel with us.  They are leaving tomorrow but have been a great wealth of knowledge for us.  They are from Rome, Georgia so please pray for them tomorrow as they travel home.  They gave us their left over craft gear since we weren't exactly prepared for what they have painted as our experience at the bateys for VBS.  Pray that the VBS crew will be open to the opportunities that God is providing.  Hopefully tomorrow we will get to the Jambo to purchase some stuff for the rest of the days.  The work crew will be continuing the construction of the walls of the school.  There are 15 going to the VBS site and 10 going to the construction site.

Tonight's team focus was on Mark 8:22-26.  Jesus healed the blind man but the blind man initially only saw people that seemed like trees.  I reminded the team that they might not see exactly how they hope to see tomorrow but that clearness will come with time.

The rooms are air conditioned.  We aren't at a resort but it is definitely a comfortable place to be.  Pray for rest and a great day of ministry tomorrow.  Share this blog with anyone you can.  We share comments that you leave when we meet nightly.

Coming to you from La Romana

The travel today has been so amazingly smooth.  From beginning to end everything was great.  Flight was on time and non-eventful.  We have arrived at our hotel and are out sitting around the pool right now waiting on dinner.  The hotel rooms are nice.  We even got to let those married folks room together for the next couple of nights.  Attitudes are amazing so far.  The bus ride from Punta Cana to La Romana was through beautiful countryside.  Tomorrow we will be working both at the construction site and in the bateys (sugar cane villages) doing VBS.  Tonight will be spent prepping VBS and hanging out in the pool.  We have a team mascot at the hotel.  It seems fitting that we have a chihuahua (sp?) hanging out with us by the pool.  Pray for us as we start to figure out what we are doing.  Peace out folks.

At the airport and one change

We have arrived at the gate.  It has been a fairly easy journey so far.  We left the hotel at 7:15 to take the majority of the crew to the airport.  Scott and I took the vehicles back to the hotel and grabbed the shuttle back to the airport.  Check-in was great and easy and everyone cleared security with no problems.  Christine and Mckenzie were asked multiple times if they were 12 or under.  

We have one change to our plans.  There is another team staying at the mission house where our ultimate destination is so we will be spending the first 2 nights in a hotel that the group helping us has used before.  We will move to the mission house on Sunday.  Small change but no big deal.  Pray for our flight crew and the ground crew that will be receiving us once we hit the ground.  I am so proud of this group and we have done nothing yet.  Attitudes are wonderful and we are excited to see what is ahead.

Peace out and we will reconnect as soon as we can from the island.

At the airport and one change

We have arrived at the gate.  It has been a fairly easy journey so far.  We left the hotel at 7:15 to take the majority of the crew to the airport.  Scott and I took the vehicles back to the hotel and grabbed the shuttle back to the airport.  Check-in was great and easy and everyone cleared security with no problems.  Christine and Mckenzie were asked multiple times if they were 12 or under.  

We have one change to our plans.  There is another team staying at the mission house where our ultimate destination is so we will be spending the first 2 nights in a hotel that the group helping us has used before.  We will move to the mission house on Sunday.  Small change but no big deal.  Pray for our flight crew and the ground crew that will be receiving us once we hit the ground.  I am so proud of this group and we have done nothing yet.  Attitudes are wonderful and we are excited to see what is ahead.

Peace out and we will reconnect as soon as we can from the island.

In Atlanta Safely

We have arrived at our hotel for the night safely.  The trek from Knoxville to Atlanta went as smoothly as  it could have.  We stopped in Cartersville for dinner and arrived at the hotel a few minutes before 10.  We have had our team meeting that they allowed us to have in the breakfast area instead of cramming into one of our rooms.  After the meeting Scott and I did a dry run to check on the route to the airport. We will leave our vehicles at the hotel but first we will take the team and drop them at the terminal.  The shuttle only seats 10 so that would take forever.  The morning will come early as the crew has to be on the bus at 7:15 so that Scott and I can be back at the hotel for the 8:00 shuttle to the airport followed by a tram ride to the international side to meet up with the group.  We will post as we get a chance tomorrow.  Our flight is out at 10:48 am.  

Tonight's team devotion was from Luke 18:35-43.   Jesus asked the blind man what he wanted.  The blind man replied with "I want to see."  I challenged the team to think about what they want from Jesus in the next week and truly focus on seeing people as Christ does.

Goodnight from Atlanta.  Praying that all rest well tonight and will have the energy for the tasks ahead.

Twas the night before departure

The Commissioning Service tonight was great.  It was awesome to see the support of so many.  The image of the team sitting with so many hands placed on them in prayer was powerful.  Seeing people committing to pray for individual team members was special as well.  Tomorrow's schedule includes loading the vehicles and leaving the church around 5:00.  We will stay at the Country Inn and Suites in College Park, Georgia just south of the airport.  It will be an exciting trip.  We are so grateful for all that people have done to help make this trip possible.  Pray for us as we travel.  Pray for those in the Dominican who we will come into contact with.  Pray that God will open our eyes to see people as God sees them.  Join us at 5:00 if you would like to pray with us one last time as we leave.  Feel free to leave messages on this blog and I will share them with the team each night as we meet together.