We're Home

We're home now, and I can't stop thinking about this scripture passage
from John:

And Jesus said, Simon son of John, do you truly love me?
He answered, "Yes Lord, you know that I love you."
And Jesus said, "Take care of my sheep."

Here are a few closing thoughts about the trip which come quickly to
my mind:

A good night's sleep, and a hot shower have a new meaning for all of
us I'm sure
Pastor Pedro - A man called by God to serve all his children - I'm so
thankful he has entered our lives
We have a new family that we just discovered - what a joy!
Everyday is a gift from God
A smile is so contagious
You can't hide God's peace, even in the face of extreme poverty
I appreciate material things, but they will never, ever control me
I have a responsibility to tell the story of what we've just seen
I'll never use the expression "those people" again - they are my
brothers and sisters in Christ
Christians must always speak out about the injustice in the world and
work for change
Pray for Missionaries EVERY DAY
Everyone should participate in a Mission project yearly - regardless
of the size, scope, location or duration
Our faith must rise above politics
I am thankful to be an American
We are the mouth, hands and feet of Jesus Christ. It is up to you and
I to make a difference in the world
Never stop caring, never stop believing that you can make a difference
Realize that God has a plan for you, and through prayer that will be
revealed to all of us
Follow Jesus - wherever he might lead you

Peace to you all!

Frank Wood

Enforced Sabbath

You really know who your friends are when you get sick miles and miles from home. Eight of our crew came down with a little bug forcing us to take a break today. This is Zach's first mission trip and I invited him here to blog about our experience.

Beth "so Zach hows it going"
Zach "its going better now that ive got most of the sickness out of me but i still feel a little under the weather im looking forward to sleeping in my own bed"
Beth "im glad your through the worst of it tell me what has been your favorite thing on this trip"
Zach "interacting with the locals even tho i didnt always understand what they were saying what was yours"
Beth "the feeling that your realy helping and how generous the people are and this country is beutiful, is there one memory that will stand out from the rest"
Zach "i think i will always remember getting my hair braided, and i dont think i will ever forget how to mix concrete"
Beth "hahaha im so glad your here Zach"

Thanks for keeping us in your prayers

Beth and Zach

Tuesday - Day 4

After a hearty breakfast, we were off to another day of work. I can't wait to show the new picture of the women of Christ Church at work, this will not be cleaning the kitchen I can assure you¡¡¡¡¡ This mornings prayer was very touching. It began with a pretty traditional prayer for any US Christian group, and then a young DR boy, no more than 14 gave an incredible heartfelt prayer in Spanish, followed by a Creole prayer by one of the Haitian workers. I thought for a second that we were at Pentecost, not only from the varied languages, but the real presence of the Holy Spirit that came upon us as we worked our tails off and enjoyed every minute of it. I know what they were saying in Spanish and Creole it was praising God and thankfulness to work with brothers and sisters from the US who cared enough to come and help. That may not qualify for interpreting tongues in a pentecostal congregation, but we all knew....

The manual labor continues. I can´t begin to imagine how many wheelbarrow loads of heavy rock and gravel we moved to fill in the foundation. We took a vote and decided not to count¡ George and his boys had a wonderful opportunity to help a man who performs all the maintenance at the local health clinic, as they replaced a thatch roof with tin sheets to keep the rain from pouring in, and keep the sun out. Sam told me that 12 people lived in the house, and we guessed it was no more than 600 sq ft. This was certainly an eye opener for what 3rd world conditions are like, and how we are truly blessed as Americans.

Tomorrow, is only a half day of labor as we will do some site seeing and visit a Batay, which is where the Haitians live, and they are what you expect, incredible poverty. For those Haitians that worked the sugar cane fields, they have nothing now, since most of the work is mechanized, but these living conditions are better than Haiti... Haitians have no rights in the DR, even if born here.

A few of us are down with a bug, and some physical exhaustion, and a couple will be on mandatory bed rest tomorrow, but we are really finding this to be a rewarding experience. I passed out the baseball gear this morning which was greatly appreciated, and got to teach several youngsters a new cheer, that they must perform every time they get a big hit, and it went like this. Two chest pumps, say SOLI. Raise right arm to shoulder height and say DEO, and extend right arm to the sky, as you round second place and say GLORIA¡¡¡ now that was a thrill for me...

Soli Deo Gloria,

Your brother in Christ.

Frank

Monday - Day 3

Wow, what a day! After an incredible nights sleep from our crazy journey we treked out to the tiny village of LaHoya not far from the Mission facility. We slept on the third floor to gain the ocean breeze, and I´m certain it was really ´´lights out´´ quite naturally by 10pm. We split the groups, with Liz and I, the Simmons & Prescott families, along with Andrew, Nathan & Alec to build a church from cinder block. The footers were completed by another mission team some time ago, and we made excellent progress with getting up several walls, and manually spreading rocks as filler for the floor. We made the cement to join the blocks by hand and generally worked as manual laborers. At lunch, we went to the local school for the village children which is 100% Mission sponsored, The Director is an American from Tampa, and Connie has been here for seven consecutive years now and we were really impressed with the work she has done. We were joined by groups from Mississippi and Georgia, and it was a joy to work with so many others for this important project.

We´ve seen everything here, wealth and poverty. Families living in shacks, but everyone had a smile on their face, and the children are very playful and sincere. It was a very long day, but extremly rewarding, and we finished off the late afternoon with a nice dip in the Caribbean. It was a big community dinner, which we all enjoyed and the food was excellent. Pastor Pedro is a marvelous person, and we are supporting a wonderful cause. It is back to the mission house for another nice sleep in the open air. As tired as we are - we don't even hear the constant honking of horns any more.

We will lift you all up in prayer every night.

Much Love, Frank and Liz

We're here

We are here! Tomorrow promises to be a fun day building a church.
Looking forward to sleeping.

Please continue to pray for us

Grace and Peace
Beth

Leg Five

We are now in San Juan. Two hours here and then hopefully on our way to Santo Domingo. Then a mere 3 hour bus ride to Barhona (sp). Thankfully we are not missing any work days.

On a personal note, George was 46 when this trip began and now he's 47. The group sang happy birthday to him as he got off the plane at 2am. Hopefully we'll have a chance to blog when we get in.

Day 1?

So it's 3:25 am and we are in NY. Yes, we all understand that geography says that this is moving in the wrong direction. Sometimes that's just how things work out. There are wonderful theological implications here, but I'm really a little sleepy to ponder them right now. Rain delays and a faulty door kept us from making our connection in Miami. Thankfully the agent booked us to Kennedy airport. Otherwise the next flight that we could all get on would be Tuesday. The flight from JFK to Santo Domingo was to leave at 11:15, but two of our party would not make it. So, the agent booked is all to San Juan and then Santo Domingo. Everyone is doing fine, a little tired, but facing the delays as an adventure.

Please continue to keep us in your prayers.

Peace be with you
Beth <><

Mission Team is on the way

Our Christ Church Mission Team has begun their trip to the Dominican Republic. Please pray for the team’s safety and success. Beth will hopefully be updating the blog each day.