A "Normal" Week

Greetings Brothers and Sisters in Christ!

Our first week in the DR without a group is over and believe it or not, the Lord continues to work!  We're starting to ge some sense of day to day living here.  On Tuesday we needed to get to the grocery store to pick up some supplies.  When groups are here, the TIME Center kitchen is open and we eat with the groups.  Now, we're resposible for our own meals!  We shopped at store known as "La Sirena", which is essentially the equivalent of WalMart.  When it came time to check out, none of our credit cards worked.  Fortunately we had a ministry credit card and were able to get home with all our food.  Turns out that even though we had called our credit card company and notified them of our move, the data didn't make it in the system.  All is well now however.

Once home, Cindy realized how much more time it takes to cook from scratch and without a microwave.  While you can get pre-processed food down here it is a bit pricier.  This week we had a roast (which carried over to some BBQ sandwiches), chicken tacos with Cindy's homemade salsa, and stir fry.  Suffice it to say we're not starving!  Fortunately we have a dishwasher.  He's about 5'11" and is married to Cindy!



Missionary Carlos with Pastor Maximo



This period between groups also allows us to visit other minstries going on here.  On Wednesday we connected with Carlos, a Cuban/American missionary who is working with Haitian immigrants in the Dominican Republic.  He runs a bible institute that helps train and disciple Haitians wanting to become pastors.  Last November, we built a chapel in a community knows as Las Flores for one of these pastors.  This week, we visited a friend of that pastor who has also gone through the progam and has a small congregation of his own.  Their "church" consisted of sticks with a blue tarp for a roof and vinyl banners from the last presidential candidate for walls.  The Holy Spirit was in that place, though, and the sense of God's presence there during worship cannot be described.  TIME is planning to build a chapel for this congregation later in the summer.



On Saturday Cindy and I had an opportunity to assist with a youth ministry that our Site Director and his brother-in-law have been working with.  This was an all day affair that inclued a meal, contemporary worship music and a gospel message.  The youth even went door to door throughout the neighborhood inviting people and handing out tracts.  Cindy and I helped with transportation and packed a Ram 2500 diesel quad cab inside and out with kids and then drove them to the ministry site.  All arrived safely and fortunately there was no rain!

Youth ministry in Hatillo, DR



Today (Sunday) we had all day church, just like at Indianola Heights.  Cindy had made a cake and next thing we knew there was a line of people wanting to try some.  I even gave someone the tinfoil lid with frosting stuck to it and they devoured it.  It was a great time of fellowship and community.

So that's our first week!  If it's any indication, the Lord is going to keep us busy.  I didn't even mention the miscellaneous work projects and VBS activities we've been participating in.  More to come and as always, thanks for your prayers and support!  By the way, our latest newsletter should arrive to you shortly.



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