Vonda bending rebar 

Allie and one of the Dominicans Mixing "cemento" for the cocina (kitchen) 

The little girl is sponsored by Laura of High Point Church, through Food for the Hungry 

2005 Dominican Republic Trip: August 15

We were told to be ready for breakfast at 8:15, and to leave shortly thereafter. Our doctors wanted to get everything organized for the medical clinic. Well, here in the Caribbean, “8-ish” sometimes becomes “9-ish”. So, the clinic did not begin at 9 as planned, but at about “10-ish”.

The doctors, along with Dr. Chavez from Food for the Hungry, and another Dominican doctor, examined and treated about 100 people. Thanks to the generous donations of medicines, they were able to send almost everyone home with the prescription they needed. If the patients had been required to pay for the medicine, they would most likely have gone without, as they could not afford it. Only one person had anything that needed another medicine to treat: one woman had an amoeba, which can easily be treated with Metronidazole. Without Metronidazole, the prognosis is not as good.

Part of the team began work on the kitchen. The Dominicans had already dug the trench for the foundation. However, it had rained overnight, so the first task was to empty the trenches of the brown, muddy water. The team formed a bucket brigade, and emptied the water into a holding tank. When the tank filled, they emptied the water into a nearby stream. The crew bent rebar to form the reinforcement towers for the corners, then laid brick and mortar to form a strong foundation.

While they were hard at work, Susan, Roxy, Andres (interpreter), Kelvin (the youth pastor), Luis (FH coordinator) and I walked up the gravel road from the school to visit some homes.

At the first house, we were offered chairs, and I noticed there was something in my chair – the color bracelets that were made in one of the 2003 VBS craft projects. Tom K. had planned that lesson, using the “color book” to explain the story of salvation. I handed the bracelet to the mother, and one of her children put it back on. Three of the children had bracelets! I thought it was so neat that they still had them after two years.

At the second house, one of the children brought out a letter from her sponsor that had a picture – Laura J. from High Point Church! We were happy to be able to share with them that her sponsor is a prayerful, devoted Christian, and a very caring and loving person.

At the fourth house, we introduced ourselves, and the family introduced themselves. One of the children said his name is Rafael. My ears perked up – we began sponsoring a child named Rafael this year! His mother shared that two of her children are sponsored – Rafael and a younger child. We asked them what was the sponsor’s name. They couldn’t remember, but Rafael ran to get the picture. Out he came with the picture we took of our family at Christmas! I was delighted – I thought this was the Rafael we sponsored, but wasn’t absolutely certain until he brought out the picture. Rafael’s mother sent someone outside who came back with a fresh coconut, ready to drink. Susan and Roxy thought it would be too risky to drink it. I drank one in 2003 with no ill effects, so I accepted it enthusiastically. It was very refreshing! Rafael’s mother really wanted to give coconuts to Roxy and Susan, so they were able to communicate through Andres that they would be happy to take a coconut with them for later, but they didn’t want it cut open.

When we rejoined the team, they were bending rebar. I asked if I could give it a try. I used my weight for leverage rather than using muscle and was able to bend the rebar in the right places. Only problem was, during subsequent bends, the first bend has to be held level, and I couldn’t quite do that. The guys on the team had to fix that for me. Since I didn’t want to slow the project down, I decided not to do anymore.

I spent a few minutes chatting with Jesus (Hay-Soos), another of the interpreters, while waiting for everyone to be ready to head to the church for lunch. While we waited, Victor asked if I wanted to eat my coconut. I said, sure! He had someone with a machete prepare it for me – they cut it in half, and sliced off a piece of the hull to use as a scoop. Then, I scooped out the soft insides. Instead of being dry and hard as we are used to, it was soft and sort of like a pudding. There wasn’t much, but it was good!

The truck was stuck in the mud, so we all got back out. Most of the team surrounded the truck and tried to push it out. We prayed for help getting the truck out, and someone put a handful of gravel behind each of the wheels. There was plenty, as it was being used to make concrete for the kitchen. The team and several of the Dominicans were able to rock the truck loose, and back onto the road.

We drove back to the church, and ate lunch at about 1:30. By that time, a combination of the heat and eating so late had me feeling a bit rough. I must’ve looked it, too, as many of the team helped me get back to normal. JB used her necklace fan to cool my face. I put a packet of Spark into my water bottle, and another team member got more water for me. After rehydrating, eating, and resting a while, I felt much better.

VBS was scheduled to start at 1:00. Fortunately, the children hadn’t arrived yet, because we didn’t finish lunch until around 2! Roxy, Susan, Kelvin, Andres and I started getting the day’s materials together. Susan is an excellent organizer, so when the children started arriving at 3, we were ready. One of the teachers from the school started the children with some Christian songs. There were about 20 children when we started, and they continued to arrive throughout the afternoon, until there were about 40 children.

I started teaching them to sing the Spanish version of “Every Move I Make”. Andres was a teach in the English Academy for a few years, so he worked with them on learning the words. Then he read the lesson for the day in Spanish, and explained to the children that there was going to be a drama next. Rupa – who was on the team last year, had prepared a terrific lesson plan for the week, emphasizing the love of Jesus for us. Monday’s lesson was “Let the Children Come”. Our church loaned costumes to the team. Kelvin played Jesus on Monday, wearing a white robe with a twisted cord sash, and was quite convincing! Susan and Roxy represented the disciples, and we had the children sit on the floor in front of “Jesus”. Then I started reading the story in English so that the “disciples” would recognize their cues. Kelvin played Jesus so well that I stopped reading, because I could see that he had already gotten the message to the children. After the disciples tried to shoo the children off, he opened his arms wide, and the children all rushed to him. It was a beautiful experience – and not one of us were ready with a camera! We showed them the craft for the day, and the rest of the lesson was spent doing the craft.

One of the toddlers in attendance had fallen asleep, and the Dominican teacher who was holding him signaled that her arms were getting tired! (He was a bit plump, especially as compared to the other children, who are typically quite slender.) I took him, and sat in the doorway of the church. It had started raining, so I just sat there for a while, enjoying the opportunity to cuddle a baby, and praising God for the cooling rain. (I felt the song “Healing Rain” going through my mind.) He eventually woke up, and I was glad that he did not seem frightened to be with a stranger. After he joined the other children, I helped put away the rest of the VBS materials.

After VBS, we had a very nice visit with Juanita, a woman who lives near the church and helps Millie with the meal preparation and cleanup. We enjoyed that very much. She showed us the mops she makes and sells, and demonstrated how she uses her machete to trim the bark off of the wood to make the mop handle. We also discussed politics in the DR, both under Trujillo who was a cruel dictator, and under the current system.

The rest of the team arrived from the worksite, and we piled into the truck, for the ride back to the camp. Juanita came over, and tried to talk me into going into the church to get out of the rain. When that didn’t work, she indicated I should at least cover my head. So, until we were out of sight, I did. Truth is that I was very grateful for the rain!

Supper was at about 8 p.m. Some took showers, and we all got to bed by about 11. A few hours later, I woke up to visit the bano, and then could not get back to sleep. I finally gave up, and decided to go out and enjoy the night air. Susan asked the time – it was 4:22 a.m. I went to sleep again a little later. I think I got between four and six hours of sleep.

2005 Dominican Republic Trip: August 14

8/14/05 Sunday
I didn’t shower, as there were no shower curtains. We had breakfast, our team meeting, and piled into the van for a visit to “el Mercado” in SD. We were surprised to learn it was closed. Turns out Monday is a national holiday (Constitution Day), so the market was closed Sunday and Monday. We stopped at the FH headquarters and delivered some items and picked up other items, and then it was time for lunch. We ate at a chicken place that the team visits almost every trip. The food is good. The seating area is open, with a roof. The mustard containers didn’t seem to have mustard – it was too liquid to be mustard, so we asked what was in them. We were told it was yucca oil (they pronounce it as “yoo-kah”) and I tried some on the root vegetable on my plate. The vegetable (similar to a potato, but not a potato) was very dry, and the yucca oil was just what it needed!

Since we needed shower curtains and light bulbs, we went to a place called Ole’ – the area Wal-Mart equivalent. I found an umbrella to use for shade at the annual baseball game. It’s “Winnie the Pooh”. Then we went back to camp. We had about an hour to nap, shower, and get ready for the welcoming ceremony and evening church service.

I figured we wouldn’t be eating supper until after everything else, so I grabbed a snack bag of Fred’s Chex mix. I offered a bag to Martires, but he declined. I gave one to Andres, who is one of our interpreters. After he took a taste, his eyes lit up, and he said it was really good. He convinced Martires to eat some, too. Martires liked it so well, he asked for a bag for himself.

At the welcoming ceremony, there were many people who introduced themselves and said how happy they were to see our team once more. Most of the speeches and names I cannot remember, but Pastor Miguel had something very memorable to say: He welcomed us as members of his family, and said we were always in their hearts. There was plenty of room for the new members of the team. Then he spoke of looking around for familiar faces of old friends. He mentioned all by name, and ended with how said he was to not see his brother in Christ, Fred (my husband).

Our team also had a chance to speak, and Rick said how happy he was to see Francisco standing and walking on his own! Francisco had lost a leg in a motorcycle accident. Last year, Dr. James (an orthopedic surgeon from Madison) took measurements, and had a prosthesis made for Francisco. Francisco learned to use it without any physical therapy, and was doing great.

After the ceremony, there was a time to visit before the evening worship service. I spoke with Pastor Miguel for several minutes, and he emphasized how much he had hoped to see my husband. He also shared that he will soon be attending the Institute for English, and plans to be speaking English with next year’s team!

I also visited with a couple of young men (Eduardo and Wilfredo) who asked me NOT to try to speak Spanish, as they needed to practice their English. I was only too happy to oblige!

Pastor’s sermon was taken from Luke, and he very clearly and effectively communicated God’s immense love for us, demonstrated by taking our penalty for sin and dying on the cross. He also emphasized the responsibility of that gift, and encouraged the men of the church to join us at the school to help with construction of the kitchen, and the women to be helping with Vacation Bible School.

After the service, we took pictures, and headed back to the camp. It was easier to get on the truck, because Dr. James had gotten the inspired idea to bring along a two-shelf unit from the camp. We used it as a stepping stool, and it made it MUCH easier for me to get up and down.

We ate supper between 9:30 and 10 p.m., and headed for bed. We were all pretty well bushed. I slept quite soundly, even though our tenting neighbors were having a party. Once our lights were turned out, they were very quiet. We thought that was very considerate of them. I had forgotten my earplugs, but Jenny brought enough that I borrowed a pair from her. Made a BIG difference with the roosters! I could still hear them, but it was as if they were far away.

2005 DR Trip: August 13

Our flight was mostly uneventful. We flew American Airlines from Madison (MSN) to Santo Domingo, changing planes in Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) and Miami (MIA). We were late getting out of DFW, but our pilot made up time by flying directly across the Gulf of Mexico. He explained that it isn’t always possible to do that, because there are sometimes military maneuvers being carried out.

In MIA, we all took a wrong turn, and ended up having to go back through security. It took a long time. I was the last one through, and Vonda waited for me to see if I needed help. I had taken my shoes off to go through security, and didn’t have time to put them back on. Vonda took the heavier of my carry-ons, and we took off running. I found it easier to run in my socks than when I wear shoes. I also used the “fox run” technique my daughter learned at the Wilderness Academy in New Jersey. It helped.

In Santo Domingo, we zoomed through customs: one our Food for the Hungry (FH) friends in the Dominican Republic is friends with someone in the government. She called her friend, and said we were coming with medical supplies and other necessities for the people of Los Botadas, and she didn’t want us to have any difficulties getting through customs. The official sent a document with the FH person that, apparently, authorized her to take us right past the customs checkpoints.

We joined Martires, Almonte, Victor and Maximo, and loaded up the truck. Several men from the airport helped. Then they dunned Dr. Bill for $20, to be shared with all the men. Then they went around and asked each individual member for $1 each. We thought this odd, as we knew Dr. Bill had given them $20, so we flagged Martires. He sent them away. One of them came back and tried again. Jonathan admired his persistence, and said if his company ever expanded to the Dominican Republic (DR), that guy would make a good salesman!

We ate at a pizza place, and it was quite good. It was about 10 p.m. by the time we ate. It was about 11:30 when we got to the camp, and there was no power. The camp is a federally-owned facility, and is a training center for agriculture and industry.

Martires got the main in charge of the camp to come and start up the generator. We were very surprised to see several people camped out in tents. Martires checked with them, and learned they would be gone on Monday.

By the time we’d gotten our room assignments, settled in, and gotten to sleep, it was 2:00 a.m. Susan is my roommate. We were assigned the same room that my husband and I used in 2003.

Between 2 and 6 am, we heard two roosters fighting. The other campers were up and about at 6:00. I got up about 6:15.

Dominican Republic Team 2005 from HPC