HdY - Hato del Yaque

For the last almost two weeks I've been in Hato del Yaque. It's been really great. Getting some time with Greenville was awesome. We got a lot of work done and also had a good time visiting. To sum up that week rather quickly, we did construction for three days in HdY and for one in Saint Mark on a church there. Pastor Gumercindo, the pastor that Greenville supports, lives in Saint Mark. We were also able to do a VBS there - including a very animated puppet show/skit that the kids LOVED! and some evangelism. Here are a few photos from that week:

Picture #1 & #2 is of the worksite. Greenville helped move and cement most of the block work in these pictures.
Picture #3 & #4 show a part of the baseball clinic that Evan, Nate, Andrea, Angelique and Dad all helped with.

Picture #5 is of the house we stayed at while in Saint Mark. All of the ladies stayed here...I think there were around 15 of us. The picture shows half of the house. We also ate all of our meals out of that little bitty kitchen you can see in the back of the picture.

Picture #6 is of Adam, Kerlyn, and Evan playing cards with the group. It was a very popular evening activity.


During week two in HdY, and no, the week is not yet over, we've done more construction on the same building that Greenville worked on, and we've built a brick fence. We've also done some major clearing of weeds behind the church to start making progress toward a basketball and volleyball court area. Yesterday we got to evangelize in Pastor Fabio's mountain village and do a VBS program. I haven't taken many photos but do have a few to share.


This first photo is of the view from Pastor Fabio's house. The picture does not do it justice. It was gorgeous.
This photo is of the group I got to evangelize with. Isabella, the Dominican lady, was our group leader. She did the main evangelizing because she speaks Spanish. However, she doesn't speak English, I was able to translate a little bit so that the rest of our group had some idea of what was going on. We spent the most of our time visiting at the assistant pastor and his wife's home. They were thrilled to see us. It also just so happened that they remember the two guys in our group from previous years. We prayed specifically for the wife's health (she's been struggling to eat because she has stomach ulcers) and her ministry with the children of the church.
These next couple photos are of the "kitchen" we used for lunch and dinner. This is underneath Fabio's mountainside home. It was an awesome setting. I got to help smash plantanes and transfer spaghetti. I didn't help much because Nena had things under control, but I enjoyed being there to help out a little.


At this point, you could be wondering, "how does Rachel have internet since she's in HdY?" Actually...currently I'm in Hoya del Caimito in the ministry house. My group is spending the night at a resort, so I get the day/evening off. It's been really nice to have some alone time, get a bit of needed sleep, and catch up some online. I do have more to write about, but I think this post is long enough, so maybe I'll get to write more later.

Team Tuesday!

Today our first teams for the summer arrive. I am especially excited about this because Greenville, my home church will be arriving tonight! This means that I will be moving to Hato del Yaque. (The town is rural; I won't have internet.)

Last night we had a(n) staff/intern meeting. It was very informative. It feels good to have an idea of the schedule that teams will be following - even if that schedule changes. :)

Other than that, we've been doing random things like washing vans, cleaning dorms, doing laundry, organizing storage, and playing wiffle ball with the kids on the street. Wiffle ball was a lot of fun. We were outside playing for about 3 hours! Unfortunately, I have no photos to share because I was playing.


I guess this post is pretty short...cause that's about all that I have to say.

A-MAZING DAY!

First and foremost, before the hour passes, I must wish my readers Happy Donkey Day. Yes, you read correctly. Today is Donkey Day in the DR, a national, Catholic holiday. People get the day off work and school for this holiday. The holiday is in remembrance of Balaam and the talking donkey (Numbers 22) and honors donkeys in general, as the national animal.

Well, now that that bit of a greeting is out of the way, I'd like to say, I've had a great Donkey Day. This morning, we cleaned the two dorms here in Hoya del Caimito. Teams arrive NEXT WEEK! I'm really looking forward to that. Cleaning wasn't too bad. Mostly things were just dusty - except for the trash containers, which required being bleach-soaked.

Later in the afternoon, Jen, one of the full time missionaries, asked me if I'd like to go out to Hato del Yaque. This is the neighborhood I stayed at two years ago when I came with GO. We went out there and visited with different people. It was great to see those that I met before. While visiting with the Monton family, who have several daughters my age, I got to help Kirsy and her friend Masseils with their English homework. At one point they asked me about my braces and what the person who puts them on is called. I said it was an orthodontist. They were like, no, no, wasn't it a dentist? I was like, no, a dentist cleans the teeth, but an orthodontist puts the braces on. The word orthodontist was so confusing and difficult for them. We all laughed a lot as they tried saying it, had me repeat it, had me write it, and wanted a Spanish pronunciation guide next to the word. They spent like almost 10 minutes trying to figure the word out. Needless to say, I am so looking forward to returning there next week. As far as I know, I will be living out there for 6 of my remaining 7 1/2 weeks here.

When I got back to Hoya del Caimito, I went to a game night. Willby and Lisa hosted the Haitian girls we interns worked with at the construction site. Lisa had Twister and Spoons. We also played a random question game so that we could get to know each other better. We laughed so much. Their antics are hilarious and our mis-communication (because again, we were dealing with English, Spanish, and Creole, oh and I can't forget charades, that's a language in itself, right?) kept conversation lively. Here's a photo of the game night group:



I do not have any updates on Lucner. I suppose no news is good news.

Please pray for my flexibility. Not having a clear and direct plan in advance is hard for me. I love to be able to know what's going on and what to expect, but it's impossible to get that here. I knew that going into this trip, and knew that it would be a struggle for me not to get impatient. I'm just praying that I will not get frustrated with changing plans, unknown schedules, or whatever else comes my way.