Update July 25, 2014

Well week 3 of classes is done. Slowly the attendance in my class is starting to increase again. There are several students that were not attending because they were sick that have started to come again. There are still some that are sick but at least we have had some students show up every day. There have also been a few new students that started this week and other people asking if we still have room for more.

 Like last year God has been providing equipment for the class to work on as we have needed it. We were able to diagnose and repair a pressure washer for another ministry here for no cost to them or for us. It was a perfect learning tool for my class to use the diagnostic skills that I have been teaching them. We also had a van that belongs to one of the students that had some electrical issues that fit in perfectly with the electrical diagnostics that I was teaching at that time. God is always faithful and provides what we need as He sees fit. This students van was a double blessing as he did not have the money to get it repaired and we found multiple small issues that were relatively inexpensive to repair. The diagnostic time in a repair shop would have been very costly but there were very few inexpensive parts needed to complete the repairs.

 Here in the Dominican Republic it is hard to find a repair shop that can effectively diagnose mechanical or electrical problems so learning these skills can be very beneficial for the people.

 We had an amazing God moment in our class this week. On Tuesday one of my students explained to me that another one of my students (his neighbor) had not been coming to class due to a major depression that he is going through. He said that he had not eaten for several days and had been caught with a gun to his head three times in that last little while. We always start our class with prayer so this day we spent some time praying for this man. Then on Thursday during a conversation with this same student he told me how he was getting very discouraged and bitter toward another missions organization here as he had applied for a house from this organization a long time ago and he was told that he would have a wait of up to 2 years. He explained to me how great the need is for his family to move into a proper house. I could see his need but I explained to him that this organization gets hundreds of applications every year and they have to evaluate the needs of the applicants and determine where the needs are the greatest. After our break that day I felt lead to talk to my class about how God takes care of our needs as He sees fit. Sometimes we get so caught up in our own needs that we are blinded to the needs of others. I shared part of my testimony with my class and then explained that sometimes God allows us to go through tough times so that we can grow. I also explained that sometimes God puts us in a certain place so that we can be a blessing to others. I suggested to this student that if he had received a new house he would not be living next door to his depressed friend and that he would find it harder to be an encouragement to him if he lived somewhere else. My closing statement at the end of my class was “Maybe God is keeping your family where you are because your neighbors needs are more urgent that your own”.

 After lunch that day this student came to my class to tell me that he had taken some food to his neighbor and sat with him to eat lunch together. This was the first meal this man had eaten in days. He was not eating because of his depression not because of a lack of something to eat. Today we stopped in at their house on our way home to pray with these men. When we were leaving, the man that I talked to in my class came over to me and told me that he knew now that he was living in this house because his neighbor really needed him there right now. We really need to continue to pray for his friend as he is not a Christian and he really needs Christ in his life now.

 This Ministry here is turning out to be so much more than an engine repair class. I am excitedly waiting to see what God has planned for me and my class next week.

Cheryl

I continue to pray that God will fulfill his purposes for us here. It has taken me these three weeks to again feel at home here. This year shopping is easier, preparing food is routine (anything not cooked or boiled needs to be washed twice, once with bottled water and then again with lime water), and, I’m learning that Jennifer’s reoccurring ear infections are from the water from the shower. Ear plugs are necessary for her with any contact with unsterile water.

This week has again been humbling for me. I continue to be grateful for the people here that God has put into our lives; their giving natures even though they have so little. Often Jennifer will come to me and say, “Mom, they gave me a cup of juice!” Or, she will come carrying some little gift that a little friend gave to her, the other day she showed me a small Christmas ornament that a little friend had given her. It touches my heart to think that they have so little, and of what little they have, they give.

As Chris said, we stopped on our way home from the village today to pray with one of his students and his neighbor (also a student).  The look of gratitude in both of their eyes, not to us, but to the God who sent us, was an emotional moment for me. I am sometimes overwhelmed with all the hugs of greeting, and farewell that happen here. They are all heartfelt on both sides.

Saturday’s will be children’s ministry day in the Children’s Church, and although I cannot commit to being there every Saturday, I have been asked to prepare a simple craft for each week. This week the children will be decorating a card that says “Jesus ama _____________. Jesus loves (insert name of child). Next week, paper bag puppets, with glue on faces. Please pray that the children will take these crafts home with them, and be reminded each week of the lessons they learned. I have also been asked to do data entry at the offices of the Technical College as they do not have a secretary at this time.

Jacolyn continues to build relationships with young people her own age. God has blessed her with a few peers from her own age group that know some English, so she does not feel as isolated as she did last year. We are thankful for that blessing.

Update July 19 2014

It has been 2 ½ weeks now since we got here. I have taught the classes now for 2 weeks and it is going quite well aside from the poor attendants due to many sick people here. There are also several guys that said they would take the course that have not been coming because they do not have the 300 pesos ($7.50) to pay for their registration. I know that this does not sound like a large sum of money but for a lot of the people here that is a fairly large commitment. It is difficult to say that they can not take the course if they can not pay but past experience has shown that if they do not have to pay for their courses they do not take them seriously. This is not unlike many people in Canada or the USA.

 Up until Wednesday this week we have been blessed with the use of a truck to drive to and from the village every day, but Island Light Ministries has a work team out here this week and the truck is needed to transport them to and from the work sight so we are taking the public transportation for a while. This means we have to get up and out the door an hour earlier every morning to get to the pick up point and we need to wait for the van in the village at the end of the day. This is not a huge inconvenience if the van actually returns to the village in the afternoon. We had to find a different ride home one evening this week because the van did not return to the village and we have only taken public transportation 2 days now. That makes it a 50% chance of having a ride home so far. Welcome to the Dominican Republic!

 On Friday Jacolyn and Jennifer were helping a visiting team paint the church for Island Light Ministries. While they were painting an 18 year old volunteer helper from the village had a mishap with a ladder. The end result was a toe nail torn mostly off his big toe and a badly twisted ankle. Please pray for healing for his ankle and toe and that there will be no infection as a result of this injury.

(Cheryl)

Saturdays are usually my day to be at home and take care of laundry and housework, but not today. Island Light Ministries visiting team from Texas took this morning from 10 – noon as a children’s’ ministry time. This was good, but, I was also asked to participate by providing crafts for a potential of 50 -75 children. I am learning ever more and more that God provides.

When we arrived this year, we found out that there have been some changes to the existing programs that were running when we left here last year. The Children’s Church that ran every Tuesday morning was suspended for a time, and was in the process of being started again. I was asked if I could get together a craft for each week once the program was again up and running. I was given some materials, and had already 2 activities ready to go for 50 children.

Well, yesterday afternoon it was sprung on me that I would be in charge of the crafts for the Children’s Program this morning! I already had 2 activities, there were some face paints available, the team brought colouring pages, and also bought some nail polish at the supermarket, and we were ready to go! I continue to be in awe of how God preps His people. The children sang, heard a Bible Story, and each had some form of a craft to take home with them. God is good, and He provides.

 

Update July 12, 2014

 Hello again from the Dominican Republic. We finished our first full week of ministering here. It has been an interesting week.

 On Monday morning I had only 4 people in my class and in the afternoon I had to cancel my class because only one student showed up. I waited until 1:45 and my class was supposed to start at 1:00. I was told later that the guys in my afternoon class had told my interpretor that most of them could not be there until 2:00 and my interpretor had neglected to tell me. After we left there were several students that showed up between 2:00 and 2:30.  So now we are starting the afternoon class at 2:00 to accommodate the majority of the students. Out here if the instructor is not at the school when the students arrive on the first day of classes it can take up to a week to get the people to start coming back. 

 The classes are going well. We did get an experienced translator for my class. He does not know very much about engines but speaks both English and Spanish fluently. He also has a strong desire to learn all that he can so he will be and excellent fit for what we need. Praise God for an answer to prayer by filling that need for us. 

 There are very many people here that are sick with chikungunya (a viral disease transmitted by the bite of infected mosquitoes.). This virus causes extreme head aches, extremely sore muscles and joints and sometimes fever and rash. It is not usually fatal but it can be if there are other health related issues that have weakened the immune system. As a result all the classes in the technical college are experiencing very low attendance.

 They are predicting that 60-70% of the population here will get chikungunya before the end of this spread. the majority of the people in the village we are working in either have it or have had it. Please pray that we will all remain healthy as we minister to these people.

 On Wednesday evening after church the pastor and his wife asked us to go with them and do some visitations. There are several of the elderly that attend the church that are very sick as a result of this virus and had asked if they would come and see them and pray for them. We visited two homes and prayed over the sick people and were stopped in the street and were asked to pray over one of the leaders in the church who had  been at the evening service but left early as he was not feeling well. 

 On Friday we went to the village to help with the feeding program. There were several of the regular local volunteers that did not come to help because they were at home sick so things got a little hectic for a while. We did manage to serve approx 100 children and 25 adults (mostly elderly) a hot lunch despite the lack of help.

 Please pray for the people in the Dominican Republic as they are fighting this virus and caring for others that are sick. 

Thank you and God Bless

Chris, Cheryl, Jacolyn and Jennifer Peters