Day Two: And it Rained!

Day two started out with much more progress than the day before. We arrived at the work site and began the task of setting out our materials and tools. It didn't take too long before our Haitian friends started to show up as well.

Our progress was interrupted by a number of rain showers throughout the day. We would no more get going and getting into the rhythm of our tasks and the heavy clouds would start to roll in. Soon after, the skies would open up with torrents. They wouldn't typically last very long, but there were a few times that it was impossible to return to work for quite some time.  Never the less, we were able to get a long way with the progress. Our rafters are over the half way mark.

One of the fun aspects of today’s work was the teamwork with our partners in faith. Even the children were getting involved with the work. They were hammering nails and carrying fill dirt (or fill clay) with excitement and enthusiasm.

A little piece of humor that I will relate today was regarding one of our team members who kept saying Grenada. It turned out he thought that he was saying de nada, a Spanish term used in response to a thank you. By the end of the day, Jason was culturally educated. There were a number of other humorous events, one that included a toilet seat and an outhouse, but those tales will need to wait for another time.

Our ride home turned out to be the biggest adventure of the day. With all of the rain, the dirt road in front of the church was transformed into a lake of mud and muck. We loaded up during one of the more intense torrential downpours and off we went. We just didn't get very far. We soon ran across a dump truck that was stuck in the mud to the bumper. There was just no way around the obstacle. So we turned around to try to find another path back to the mission center. With perseverance and prayer we finally made it through and back onto hard surface roads. What an adventure!

In the evening, we all gather for devotions after our dinner. I will leave you all with these two questions that Ken posed to us at last night’s devotions. Why are people poor? Why would God in His sovereignty chose to make some people poor and some not?

Tomorrow we are looking forward to a church service at San Miguel, one of the congregations that Shalom helped with construction two years ago. In the afternoon we might look around some of the other areas of the city.

Thank you for your prayers and for the support you give. Just by following our progress, we are blessed. 

Arrival and Day One

We are so grateful! After an exhausting day of travel, we finally arrived in the Dominican Republic safe and sound last night. The only casualty of travel was one of Jason's bags; the one with all of the tools. It will likely catch up to us soon. After driving to the ministry center, we all managed to fall asleep in short order, despite the rooster that mistook our 1:00 AM arrival as a signal for his morning alarm clock routine.

After breakfast we packed into vans for our first day of work. All of the cinder block walls were standing tall. Progress was slow on the construction side of things, but we did begin to form some relationships with some of the members of the congregation that we are supporting. Communication was a bit challenging with a lack of translators, but more often than not, we were able to make our points clear. Our first task was to put on the top plate for the trusses. As part of the team worked on that process, others began making calculations and measurements for the trusses. We did have some work that will need to be redone, but we have the resources to make short work of it. We are hopeful for a much more productive day two.

Al had a chance to hold a baby for a while and it was quite obvious that he was in the grandpa zone.

A couple of us were inspecting the lumber and wondering as to where it was from. One of the team members said, "Oh. We got it from behind that building over there." We did have a chuckle at his expense.

One of young local boys suggested that Jim looked like John Cena of WWF fame. That also gave a few of us a chuckles.

I'll start our prayer request off with a call for prayers for Shelley Postma. She has been having some significant health issues and medical attention has been very challenging. Please keep our whole team in prayer for building on the relationship seeds that have been planted. Pray for our construction efforts and safety on the job site. Pray for the congregation that we are partnering with.

Go!

You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you. Isaiah 26:3

The day has finally arrived. After months of planning and preparation, we are all gathered for the first leg of our three leg journey to the Dominican Republic. But not without some bumps along the way. We got word yesterday that our flight out of Sioux Falls had been cancelled, so our plans were changed. We ended up flying out of Sioux City at 6:20 which meant that we needed to meet at Shalom at 3:30 in the morning. Then we took the snowy, icy road to Sioux City. There were some vehicles in the ditch along the way, but we made it safely there. After a rough flight to Chicago, we arrived with plenty of time before our next flight. We are all in good spirits and looking forward to our arrival.

A friend recently shared the verse above at devotions. He reflected how it was such a powerful message for him as he was considering that there are potholes, even in paradise. The message wasn't because it was his assurance that nothing would go wrong or that there would not be any potholes along the way. It was more a reassurance that no matter what the potholes, God would grant 'perfect peace' throughout. 

While this caught my attention considering our planned travels and the work assignment ahead of us, but the 'perfect peace' was a real aha moment. The original Hebrew called it Shalom Shalom. For me, this was a wonderful reflection that the Shalom DR Team could have that same promise of Shalom Shalom.

So after a few changes and deviations from our plan, the verse and my friend's message are even more timely and appropriate. (Thanks Greg)

Pray for our team as we travel and pray that we would keep our minds steadfast and our trust would be in the Lord.

Get Set!

Today the DR Team was commissioned. The congregation of Shalom CRC showed their support through a litany of support, verses and prayer. The eight members of the team are eagerly anticipating departure on Thursday.

All of us covet your prayers as we make our final preparations for our mission trip. We also want to encourage you to pray for us and the congregation in the Dominican Republic that we will be partnering with to build a sanctuary.

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On Your Mark!

The team roster is complete. The tickets are purchased. All of the funds have been raised. Completed forms have all been submitted. The Shalom Christian Reformed Church team to the Dominican Republic is one week away from departure.

On Sunday, January 27, we will be commissioned at the Sunday morning service. Our flight leave on Thursday, January 30. Once there, we will be working with a Christian Reformed congregation to build a sanctuary. The foundation has been poured and awaiting our support.

We covet your prayers for us as we make our final preparations and while we are gone. Please stop back for updates and more details on our mission trip.