Dominican Republic Trip 2005: August 16, Tuesday

We were up by 6:30. I decided to put two packets of Spark into my water bottle, so as to handle the heat a little better. Breakfast was at the church: Millie had fixed eggs, and it was served with bread, peanut butter and jelly, and fruit. I think it was papaya, and it really tasted good.

After the construction and clinic teams headed to the school, Jonathan, Susan, Andres and I followed Luis for more home visits. The first home was for a child sponsored by people from HPC whom Jerry knew. We visited for a while, and Susan made sure the children were aware of VBS that afternoon.

We saw two of the wells paid for by donors from HPC and friends. The second well was not yet operational.

The second home was of Cosalario (I may have spelled this wrong), whose wife had a stroke many years ago. The first team met this family in 2000. We visited for a short time, prayed with the family, and then walked on.

At the third home, Felix and Yolanda asked about Tom Jones. Tom and Vivian were FH missionaries to the DR when the first team went down in 2000. Tom had given Felix a Bible, and Felix accepted Christ. Consequently, he refused to sell alcohol in his store.

As we walked up to the fourth home, I whispered to Susan that I should give this home the “home visit kit” that was in my backpack. There was a sewing machine on the porch, and my kit had a few spools of thread. We visited with the mother – Alexandrina – and the children who were home. She has nine children, and the two oldest daughters are attending University in SD. Alexandrina asked about Wanda, from Puerto Rico. We also noticed an “eggplant” near the house. The family had taken eggshells, blown out as we would for decorating, and put them on the tips of the yucca plant. It looked really neat! We left two home visit kits, since there were so many in the family. She was delighted to get the thread!

For lunch, Millie fixed what we were told is known as the “Dominican flag” – meat, rice, and beans. It was, as is everything Millie cooks, very good! Martires made sure I sat in front of the fan in the kitchen to eat, and I was joined by the three younger interpreters. We had a good visit, and I asked about the cost of attending the Institute for English. I had an idea in the back of my head to see if we could get Mary (one of the children we sponsor through FH) to the Institute, as I think it would provide her some opportunities.

In VBS, our story was about the boy with the loaves and fishes, feeding the 5000. For the skit, we recruited an older boy from the children in attendance. In helping him put on the tunic, I asked him to put his “caballo” through the center opening. He looked at me a little funny, but then got the robe on and the skit went well. Our project was to make the boy from the story, using a clothespin, a piece of felt, and a pipe cleaner. One of the children figured out how to make the “arms” as well, using the pipe cleaner that was the belt for the tunic. I was kept very busy after that modifying the other children’s “boy” so that he would have arms.

As VBS was ending, Mary walked in! With help from Andres, we were able to have a nice visit. She told me that she had wanted to study medicine, but the time involvement and the cost were too much, so she was going to study accounting. She said she really likes working with numbers. She has one more year of high school, and asked if we could continue to stay in contact after she is no longer sponsored. I had forgotten that she is the youngest of her family – Andres teased her about being the “Princess”. She is a very beautiful young woman. Mary is an artist, also. She said she would write a letter for my husband, and wanted to know why he did not come. I explained that he could not get the week off from his job.

After that, we all walked to the work site. On the way, a horse and rider met us. I thought it was a nice caballo – then I realized why the boy at VBS looked at me funny. I told him to put his caballo (horse) through the center opening, but I meant cabesa (head)!

We had rain on the way back to camp – a great relief from the heat. Millie had sent chicken noodle soup for supper, and we ate at about 8:00 p.m. The group got into a debate over some music – who recorded “Tie Me Kangaroo Down”. When they asked me, I said, “I don’t know, but if I had an internet connection right now, we’d find out pretty quickly.” So my task upon returning was to find out who recorded “Tie Me Kangaroo Down” (Rolf Harris, 1960) and “The Unicorn Song” (Poem by Shel Silverstein, recorded by The Irish Rovers).

We got to bed around 10, after our meeting, prayers, and organizing for the following day.