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.