Tuesday

Tuesday, February 26

It was an early morning with breakfast served at 7am so the team could get to 7:45 flag raisings at 2 schools. The team split with one group going classroom to classroom in the primary school (elementary), and the other half to a high school where they talked to the entire assembly of secondary students (high school) for about an hour. 

To complete the morning the next stop was the school for the disabled where the team performed a skit, gave messages and left cross necklaces.

The entire afternoon was spent at a church to minister to the disabled (adults). Sheila and Crystal used their talents in therapy to massage hands and limbs with warm water and oils. Not only is this an essential medical need but something these individuals would never otherwise get; loving human contact from a complete stranger. Their own spa day, so to speak. Sandwiches and juice were served, the Jesus Film was shown, a message about prayer given along with personal prayer journals, and packaged food and Bibles were left to take home. This is always a rewarding stop as the handicapped are doubly (triply) in need as common medical issues are easily taken care of in the U.S. but not so much here. It's heart-wrenching to hold a child living in this place who has only one limb.

We enjoyed Pablo's meatballs and eggplant for supper prior to leaving to show the Jesus Film and attend a church service by Pastor Anderson's where the team gave the sermon titled "Walking in the Spirit - in Light of American Culture".

An earlier start to the evening allowed time for ice-cream to celebrate Dan's birthday and a tired bunch of missionaries found their way back to the hotel by 11pm.

The team is in good spirits but tired and not without some health hiccups. Please continue to pray for us so we may finish the week strong! 

Monday

Monday, February 25

After breakfast and devotions the team made a perennial favorite stop to pass out tracts; the marketplace. It's packed streets of vendors selling produce, meat, housewares and clothing. Scooters trying to drive through, noise, various odors (pleasant and not-so-pleasant), heat, but beautiful produce and beautiful image bearers of our Creator. 

Another perennial stop is Pastor Wilfrido's. The children performed a well-rehearsed performance of skits and singing which was preceded by a parade. We are always impressed. More time spent with holding babies and playing with kids before serving them food (this is one of the feeding programs we sponsor throughout the year. Wilfrido took us to his new home (still under construction) where the team enjoyed lunch served by Miguelina, Wilfrido's wife.

In the afternoon the team were invited to talk to one of the local schools. They split into two groups and went room to room sharing age-appropriate messages, taking questions, and enjoying songs. Another great way for the Azua children to get to know Americanos who want to share Jesus.

Supper was hosted by Pastor Anderson and his wife at their house. We can't get enough of authentic DR cooking. The movie was shown just down the street where messages were shared and music danced to.

The team was back to the hotel by 11:30.

Sunday

Sunday, February 24

We can't say how blessed we are having Ruth and Pablo cook for us. They are true servants of the team and our Lord. They stay at the Casa and have breakfast prepared every morning with lunches and suppers as required (about half the time). They also prepare the food needed for many of our visits throughout the week. 

Breakfast is basically a DR buffet. Coffee, orange juice, oatmeal, eggs, bacon, yucca, bananas, mango, pineapple, and pancakes is standard. Of course the fruit is the best imaginable as it's local and ripe (much different than what we can buy at home).

A morning devotion was led titled "One Spirit, One Body, Many Members. The ladies stayed at the Casa to bag food for the week. This was 625# of rice, 200# of beans and 250 bottles of cooking oil packaged into family sized bags to be distributed throughout the week. The men went to the prison where they were warmly received and gave messages of encouragement of the fact that all sins can be forgiven with repentance and faith in Jesus. They left gospel tracts, Bibles, and soap. One of our first time members exclaimed: "I have toured Alcatraz and it's a hotel compared to this place".

The next stop was the Compassion School where Dan, Paul, Shawn, and Duane are able to connect with their sponsored children. It's a yearly stop filled with face painting, playing games, serving lunch, ice cream treats and most importantly showing the love of Christ by Americans interacting with the Azua children.

The afternoon was spent at AMI (our mission compound Azua Mission International). Beside playing with the hundreds of children, the main focus of the stop was medical checkups and treatments as 4 local doctors were a part. It was both satisfying but sad how the local doctors needed the medical supplies we brought with us as they had very limited resources.

Pablo served supper back at the house of beans, rice, fish, vegetables, and fruit. The team split for the night showing the Jesus Film in a local community and attending a church service. Messages were shared, music was played, relationships made, and hugs given. 

After debrief at the Casa the team was back to the hotel by 11pm.

Saturday

Saturday, February 23

The rest of the team joined Dan, Paul, and the Fickau's in Santo Domingo. Flights were on time and thankfully uneventful the second round. The Tuesday flight out of Appleton had mechanical issues so those 5 would have missed their connecting flight in Atlanta so instead piled into a minivan to drive to Chicago to catch a flight to New York and then Santo Domingo. They arrived about 9 hours later than originally planned but I'm sure God had a reason. 

They stopped for sandwiches and jugos (fruit milk shakes) in the Capitol before the hour and a half drive west to Azua. They reunited with Pablo and Ruth and unloaded at the Casa before heading to the hotel. They found out they were a couple of rooms short but this was a temporary problem as Duane and Shawn didn't mind staying at the house. This is the largest group to date at 14; 8 ladies and 6 men.