In the City

From DR1…

DR spared new US baggage rules
The new baggage restrictions will not affect the Dominican Republic - for the time being, anyway. The US$25 surcharge on a second item of luggage so far only applies to US domestic flights starting 5 May 2008. Luggage allowances for several major airlines flying non-stop to the DR remains the same:
American Airlines: two items 50lb/23kg max per item (within USA and international).
Continental Airlines: two items 50lb/23kg max per item. For departures of US-domestic flights on or after 5th May 2008, the baggage allowance will change to 1 x 50lb/23kg. A second bag up to 50lb/23kg is permitted but a charge of $25 will apply (payable to airline at airport). However, please note that if your US-domestic flight is on the same date and connects with a transatlantic flight, the baggage allowance will remain at 2 bags 50lb/23kg max.
Delta Airlines: two items 50lb/23kg max per item (within USA) except EYW, which is one item 50lb/23kg max per item. The allowance is two items 50lb/23kg max per item for international flights.
US Airways: two items 50lb/23kg max per item. For departures on or after 5th May 2008, baggage allowance will change to one 50lb/23kg bag. A second bag up to 50lb/23kg is permitted, but a charge of $25 will apply (payable to airline at airport).
JetBlue: two checked bags with max weight of 50lb/23kg.
For full details see: www.ustoa.com/consumernews/airlinebaggage.cfm

The things that happen when I am away! I shared with you that there were some tornadoes in the area of Villa Gonzalez last Sunday- I didn’t know it but the wind damaged the big warehouse that INVI (housing authority) maintains there. People were looting, taking advantage of the situation. INVI sent in the troops (literally) yesterday to take down what was left of the warehouse and remove all that was there which provoked the people into a violent protest.  From what I saw and heard today, it was quite a scene! Tempers were still at a high today when I was out there.

It really pains me to see such injustice- people struggle to make a decent living, and can’t, and then begin to do whatever it takes to get by. Sometimes the things they do seem very immoral to me.  As I reflect on these things, and try to process my feelings and what position I should take as a spiritual leader there, I come back to the same theme: God’s plan is for all people to be able to earn their living in a dignified manner.  Giving out resources isn’t the answer because it really doesn’t solve their problem long term nor does it contribute to their dignity.  This economic system is messed up to use a very non-technical term. Please pray for justice, for dignified employment and spiritual as well as economic well being.  Pray for our Dominican team that is serving on the Barnabas Foundation, that we will have wisdom and fortitude in trying to rectify the injustice all around us.

We did get the 1 Horse power pump to them today and are making plans to fence in the basketball court. I have yet to be there when it isn’t full of kids playing! Now that the warehouse is gone, according to my folks, the “tigeres” will be looking for something else to keep them occupied at night- we don’t want it to be our court or the water project SO we are trying to move quickly to get our area secured by fencing.

There is never a dull moment here in the DR- or when there is, I treasure it! I think (hope) I had shared with you that I was going to be out of town for 2 days/nights. I made a trip out to New Roses again (near the Haitian border). From home it is a 7 hour drive so I drove down Tuesday evening to leave early Wednesday. Rick from Edge Ministries went with us to help us determine the feasability of putting in a well.  We also had 2 Dominican pastors with us. It was a GREAT day- I love meeting new people, hearing their stories of how God has touched their lives and the different ways He uses us all to serve and share God’s love.

We had Rudy with us, the young Dominican man who started the ministry out there. He has such a sweet spirit, obviously filled with God’s spirit. I was moved bu his sincerity and genuineness.  We got to eat with his family and then 5 men piled in the back of my SUV with Rick and I in front to head out to explore the site. As we arrived the Haitian folks were gathering for church- it was cool to hear them singing as we were checking out the not functioning well. To make a long story short, we know we can sink a 500 ft well, and have plenty of water.  (We actually may be able to repair the well that is there. Apparently, they weren’t done properly.) We met the Cuba man who owns a great deal of land and employs most of the community folks. He gracious GAVE us a house and plot of land to house the church and well!! Imagine that! We left our two Dominican pastors to stay and get the paper work done. When I spoke with them last night, they had it all set and the Cuban man was to go this morning to sign the paper- pray that will happen as scheduled. What a blessing!

We are praying about sending out a team (Dominicans and maybe Northamericans) soon to do an evangelistic blitz- inaugurating the new church and beginning work in other communities.  With the exception of this ministry in New Roses (Nuevas Rosas) we have no Baptist presence anywhere out there.  Please pray with us that God will continue to open the doors to share the Good News and that hearts would be open to respond with faith!

Yesterday I headed out early with a missionary friend/colleague to get our water trailers out of customs at the Port- as I had hoped, we were all done and back at his house WITH the trailers by 11:15am.  They are pretty awesome looking. Now we just need to know how to use them!  I brought the instrustion manual home with me BUT I am hopeful that when our Human Needs gurus are here in May, they will give me a lesson. We need to work through a variety of issues: storage, trailer hitches for the car(s), etc. But at least we have them and can get them into condition to respond in emergencies! 

I am home today, hoping to get the new pump for Villa de Yaque so they can get their filter in use, thus purifying more water quickly. I also hope to check on Simon out in La Canela- he has had a variety of issues to deal with and the community has had some problems with their roads and pipes/water supply so it has kept him from getting the purifier in full swing.

Tomorrow night we have a Board of Director’s meeting of the Barnabas Foundation- plans are to get at least 2 microcredit projects underway within the next month. Pray God would grant us His wisdom and guide us as seek to step forward in faith. Loaning money and trying to create jobs/businesses is going to be a TOUGH TOUGH task. I imagine the failure rate will be higher than we will like, BUT I am convinced that despite the hard work, the frustration and difficulties, God’s justice and love requires us to help people find dignified ways to supply the needs of their families. Pray God will open doors and guide this project!

I will be gone this coming week- I will be in Santo Domingo, hosting our Communication Resource Specialist- a wonderful lady who is here to evaluate and help us keep improving with our Spanish speaking skills.  I hope to meet with a variety of pastors, getting to know their needs and working on plans for different projects.

From DR1…

Tornadoes hit three provinces At least one death was reported and several people were wounded as tornadoes struck La Vega, Santiago and San Pedro de Macoris yesterday afternoon. The Dominican Republic does not have a tornado warning system because  they are such a rare occurrence. The only reported fatality, Mercedes Torres, 62, died while being treated for her injuries after being crushed and trapped by a collapsing wall in her home. Four others were slightly injured by the storm that hit La Vega at 2:40 in the afternoon with high winds, hailstones and heavy rain. In Villa Gonzalez, Santiago and San Pedro de Macoris, the strong winds tore roofing materials off several houses. Reports also filtered in from San Francisco de Macoris telling of more dwellings damaged. Luis Luna Paulino, the chief of the Dominican Civil Defense told El Nuevo Diario reporters that, so far, only one fatality has been reported.

Green Alert for much of the DR The National Emergency Commission (CNE) is maintaining a Green Alert for the provinces of Puerto Plata, Santiago, Samana, Maria Trinidad Sanchez, (especially Rio San Juan and Nagua) and Espaillat (Gaspar Hernandez and Moca), Duarte - especially the Lower Yuna River Basin, Hato Mayor  and El Seibo. The Green Alert has been extended to include San Pedro de Macoris. Residents in these provinces, especially people who live in low-lying areas or close to rivers and creeks, should take precautions against landslides and flash floods. The Weather Department (ONAMET)  is forecasting continuing rains, electrical storms and hail over parts of the country today. Through noon, though, at least for Santo Domingo, it was a very sunny day.

Oh it feels so good to have my internet back!  (I must admit that part of me wasn’t complaining about being without service for a while. It was actually sort of freeing!)  Hopefully my communication will get back to normal.

An interesting note: we have had some strange weather here- there were 2 tornados that touched down - one in Villa Gonzalez (near Villa de Yaque) and one in La Vega. I had heard that last week while I was in Santo Domingo we had some tornados as well. One person was killed yesterday and several more injured. Electricity is out in most of La Vega.
More good news! Now that my phone is back, I discovered that the paper work for getting the water trailers out of customs is ready- I hope to get them tomorrow!! Wednesday is the trip out to Las Rosas to see about the well so it will be a week of travel.

I am sorry to have been out of communication for a while.  My phone line and thus my internet connection is still somewhere between the two houses. I have been trying to get it functioning but to no avail. They say today they are coming but they have told me that all week and still nothing.   But, things could be much worse so no complaints from me.

Good news: we had the water purified from the well at Villa de Yaque tested at the water company and they say it is good to drink! I haven’t seen the test results BUT I am pleased with what I heard.  We hope now with this verification to get the water cooperative in action and getting water to the people!

Also, Edge Ministries (the folks who introduced me to the Maguire Purifier) is sending a well-digger expert to the country next week and have graciously given me a day with him to go out to that site I shared about a month or so back.  I am praying we can find a way to get a well for those folks and then a purifier! Pray for this ministry and their represetantive as he comes in next week April 22-25th. I don’t know what day he will be with me, but all that he does here will be worth our prayerful support!

Last week I had an opportunity to meet with our regional volunteer strategist and some of my colleagues here in the DR to begin making plans for 2009 and beyond. I am excited about the possibilities. We are seeking summer missionaries (10 weeks) next summer and beginning in the Fall of ‘09 semester missionaries. If you are interested, get in touch with me so I can pass you on to the folks who will handle that process.

One more matter for our prayer: Carlos Llambes shared with me this week that one of the boys in his ministry (new church in Brisas de Este) had an accident and lost his leg. Pray with us that God will provide resources for a prothesis for this young man. Pray for God to guide us to the right people and agencies as we seek to get him help.  Most of all, pray that God would be glorified in this situation.

I will update as best I can until the phone line is in. I am excited with my new office set-up and have everything up and ready to go, just no phone!! It has been an exasperating week- they cut the electricity at my old house (for no reason, the bill was paid with 2 weeks to spare!) and because I wasn’t there to realize it, I lost everything in my freezer, not to mention the awful smell!  It eventually wore out the batteries of the alarm and my neighbors suffered the night with it sounded every 20 mintues. I went down to get the power back on Thursday and they realized their error, said they would be out that day to get it back on and yet last night there was still no power. I didn’t have the heart (nor the telephone!) to call the number they gave me to follow up.  Hopefully by Monday it will be fixed, if not, I will have to go back to the office and go through the process again. Oh please, don’t let that happen! 

Whew, glad that is over with! Thins went well, very few things got broken.  Oreo is adjusting to her new surroundings- she is usually satisfied as long as she has food and is near me.  I wish I could learn to be as content in God’s presence as she is in mine!

The only little glitch in the moving process has been it has taken longer than I had hoped to get my phone/internet transferred. I will eventually have the same number but for now I am a little out of touch. I have my cell phone (809-258-6353) and will go to internet cafe’s when possible to get caught up with email. I am hoping by Tuesday to have the line in and be back on line. 

The water projects are moving along. This weekend we will begin the hard work of getting people signed up and getting things functioning. For now, people are enjoying free samples!

The day I looked forward to/dreaded has come and gone! I got moved yesterday- it felt sort of strange sleeping in a different house but I think I will really enjoy the new place. I had great help yesterday- by 5pm it was pretty much all done. The ladies helped me get my kitchen and beds and all the rest all set up- now I just have to do a little reorganizing.  I am so thankful for their help.  Oreo is doing pretty well with the move- she is NOT liking going up and down stairs but she will adapt and it will be good for her (and me too.)  We have enjoyed two nice walks exploring the new neighborhood.  My phone hasn’t been transferred yet so I will be checking internet from the old house at least once a day, if not twice. Good thing it is not too far away.

Okay, now for the more important stuff- ministry! I have a meeting tonight in Los Santos to begin the process of formalizing a water committee, getting inscriptions for the water co-op. We will need to establish a bank account for them.  They have been using water, giving it away to folks to try.  I am excited to see what happens tonight!

I am on my way to Villa right now to help them purify their first two tanks. We had to work to activate the well so that the mud subsided- now it is crystal clear water!  Yesterday our two water technicians had to do something for me in Santo Domingo so we are a little behind but things should roll quickly now. We decided to run an analysis of the water before signing up “socios” (co-op members) to help fight off any psychological ideas that you can’t drink water from a well.  We hope to get a sample today and have it tested tomorrow and have an official statement saying the water is potable and then we will launch our inscription campaign. I learned my lesson with some minor problems in La Canela that it is best to work out the inevitable “problemitas” before advertising too heavily.

How can you pray? First, pray for me to recover from all the activities and the stress of moving. I have been sort of frazzled of late. Second, pray for the water projects (La Canela, Los Santos and Villa) to be a great tool for physical and spiritual health in the communities. Third, for upcoming projects: we have a Disaster Relief training event in May with our Dominican brothers- pray for a healthy foundation to be laid for an effective ministry when disasters strike our nation.  Fourth, I am still waiting to hear about how we can get a well dug in Perdanales where there is a small community of people with no water!

And one last thing: I have been working to get some water trailers that purify water out of customs. My time has been limited because I have to do all the errands in Santo Domingo and I have not had days where I could get away. I spent one whole day there just before Mill Creek arrived and I am hoping to get an exoneration so we won’t have to pay $1800 in taxes this week so i can go back and get them. Please pray for this to go smoothly, for the exoneration to come through quickly and for the trailers to be released to us!

It always amazes me how much we attempt to do in a week long volunteer project and how well it all comes out! This past week with Mill Creek we had so many different projects going on, and EVERY THING went so smoothly and got done well! Despit the rain and mud!  We enjoyed our last 24 hours at a nice hotel near the airport in Santo Domingo- I especially enjoyed being able to visit with folks without my mind being preocupied with “tasks” yet to be done!

The well is pumping clear water now in Villa de Yaque- we are ready to purify our first tanks- hopefully tomorrow. We had a great turnout today for worship despite several folks being sick.  We also had a great crowd in Los Santos- it was nice to see the church basically full!  This coming week will be very key in getting our water projects functioning well- please pray for the comunities, for the people who will be involved in leadership and for the potential of these community projects to be realized to their fullest!

And finally, despite being completely worn out, I started the move today. I have my new kitchen set up and my clothes in the new closet- I am in the midst of packing my books up. Tomorrow I will be working on getting the phone transferred to the new house. For some reason, there is no electricity in the house so I will have to figure that out tomorrow as well.  We should get the former missionary’s stuff out tomorrow, get it cleaned and ready for the big move on Tuesday. I hope to be sleeping there Tuesday night! I must tell you that while I welcome the chance to get rid of a lot of “stuff” that has accumulated, the whole process of moving wears me out before I even do anything! I will be glad when Tuesday comes and goes! After getting my place set up, I will feel better about tackling the inevitable mess. Pray I will have patience this week during all this chaos.

I was exhausted but thrilled yesterday afternoon to see both water units functioning and the high level of interest at both communities.  We had LOTS of help from our church folks as well as community people. It was also a blessing to see our children being loved and hearing about Jesus’ plan for their lives.  We have yet to arrive in Villa without seeing the basketball court full of kids of all ages!

The folks from Mill Creek worked so hard this week and were so flexible- the last two days they had to contend with mud and rain and a pile of kids with no place to go out of the rain, but they hung in there with smiles!  It has been a real encouragement for me to have them here, sharing themselves with our ministry.

Please be in prayer for them today as they travel back to Santo Domingo for their flight out tomorrow. Safety on the roads is always an important matter of prayer! 

Also, keep this Sunday services in your prayers as we build on all that has happened this week and work to get the community water projects moving forward.