Wednesday – April 4, 2007

We have a few days of down-time right now as our last team left on Tuesday morning and we do not have another one coming until Friday, and since it is Holy Week, the school is closed and things are generally quiet in Hoya del Caimito. So, I thought I would take advantage of the time and do a quick update!

During the last two weeks we have had two groups here doing construction on the church at Hato del Yaque (tying rebar for the second floor – more on that later) and children’s ministry in the churches at Guandules and Los Perez. The first group, from Northeast Christian Church in Rockford, IL, also painted and helped with electrical work in the new church at Guandules and offered a dental clinic for the children there. This is the church and partnership I mentioned in my last blog. Ever since I joined G.O., I have heard wonderful stories about the results of this partnership and how involved Northeast in IL is in the lives of the people of Guandules in Santiago, and during the team’s time here I was able to witness this first hand. Many of the children remembered team members who had been here in the past, and every day we were in the church there were smiles and warm hugs shared by the members of both churches.

The church at Guandules is the model for all the churches we are building here in the DR – there are currently five in process – with a feeding center on the first floor and a sanctuary on the second floor. The building at Guandules in nearly complete now that the painting and electrical work are done, and the first service in the new sanctuary was held during the week the group from IL was here! It is a beautiful building, but what is even more beautiful is seeing the hearts of these people from the US and the DR as they work together to reach out to this community. One thing that strikes me every time I go to Guandules is that this community of dirt roads and ramshackle houses sits on a fully-paved, busy street in Santiago, yet it seems to have been forgotten – or simply overlooked – by the majority of people in Santiago because it is a place that has been overrun by crime, and the land is not worth much as the river that runs through the community floods (over the tops of many houses) on a regular basis. As a result, only the desperately poor live there, and each day is a struggle just to survive. However, these people have not been forgotten by God who sent their pastor – Rafelito – and his family to live and work there, or by the family of Northeast Christian in IL, as they work together to bring help and hope to His children there.

The second group that came was a special treat as they are from St. John’s United Methodist church in Louisville, KY! It is always fun when groups come from KY, and it was especially fun to have a group of basketball fans here during the NCAA Tournament – there was a lot of discussion through the week about the recent events in KY and what the future may hold for my beloved Wildcats! As many Dominicans like to say, “Vamos a ver!” which means, “We will see!” Additionally, the team watched the final game of a basketball tournament here that was sponsored by our Sports Ministry, and we all also watched the final game of the NCAA Tournament together. On a side note, I would be remiss in not telling you that yours truly happened to win our G.O. staff NCAA Tournament pool (no money was involved – just a free lunch and bragging rights until next year)!

We did more than talk about and watch basketball, though! This team continued tying rebar for the church in Hato del Yaque, finishing up that task so that next week we can begin pouring the concrete for the second floor. One of my favorite things about this week was that the group loved to sing while they worked! We sang a little bit of everything – worship, tv theme songs, country, and classic rock (and yes, we showed our ages in the songs we chose!) This made the work go quickly, and almost before we knew it, all the rebar had been tied! For those who may not know how to tie rebar – which included me prior to the beginning of this round of construction at the church – it involves using a goncho to secure two pieces of iron bar together with a thin wire. This creates a lattice of sorts that will reinforce the concrete for the floors and walls once it is poured. It is wonderful to be able to be a part of building this church and seeing each piece that the teams complete. The first time I went to Hato del Yaque, the walls of the first floor were only half way up, and now, the first floor is complete, and starting next week, we will begin to build the walls of the second floor! This is a true example of how doing God’s work is a relay race, not a sprint, and we are all called to different tasks. When it is completed, the building will serve as another hub for the ministry, and it will house a feeding center, church, and dormitories for teams, and I can only imagine the work God will do in this rural community through this church!

During the last two weeks, I have also continued doing observations at the school and teaching my English and Drama classes, and everything continues to go well with them. One area I need to get worked out is getting my observation reports translated in a timely fashion. Currently, I am using an on-line site to translate the reports, but as anyone who has used these types of sites knows, the translations are not always dependable, and it is very important that the teachers understand what I have written out for them, so they have to be checked over carefully. There is a young woman in our office here helping me, but she has other duties, and as a result, the reports are not getting to the teachers very quickly. Ideally, in the future, I will be able to translate them completely on my own, but for now I need the help. Please pray that all the reports are completed in the next week so that I will have time to meet with any teachers who may have questions for me before I leave for the states on the 28th.

My schedule when I return to the US will be a busy one! Right now it is as follows (but is subject to change!):

Virginia from April 28th through May 2nd
Louisville from May 2nd to May 9th
Virginia from May 9th to May 16th
Louisville from May 16th to May 23rd
Virginia from May 25th to June 1st
North Carolina from June 1st to June 4th
Return to Santiago June 5th/6th

I would love to see as many of you as possible, so please let me know as soon as possible if you would like to get together while I am home for this trip! This is also a time for me to continue fund raising, so please let me know if you are part of a small group or organization that may be interested in hearing more about my ministry and I will be happy to schedule a time to meet with you!

Thank you for your prayers and your support of my ministry – I thank God each time I think of you!

Con amor de Jesucristo,
Catherine