Hoy es Jueves 14 de Agosto:
Sorry again that I haven't written in a couple weeks. There has been a lot going on with Hero Holiday, Josh and Ranita leaving, plus Kyle and I moving out of the apartment! Life is definitely different without everyone being around but I think Kyle and I have been doing alright.
We have for the most part been working with Momma D and P Daddy out in Nazaret, with school registration starting at the beginning of August, as well as the Monday, Tuesday Clinic Days they run! There is always something to be doing around here, except for today. Right now (ahora mismo) I am laying at Momma D's, bored out of my mind because I got sick from something yesterday and haven't been able to leave the house; and as most of you know, I am not very good at sitting still. But it has given me a chance to check my email...? Anyways, if anyone is still reading this please continue to pray that we will be following God's will and be involved in the right projects and have the energy for our last Hero Holiday team, which is returning again tomorrow for a 10 day Medical trip. Kyle is leaving me on the Saturday the 16th and then I will be flying out Saturday the 30th with P Daddy and his son Scott. I am so excited to see you all as much as I don't want to come home... But I shall talk to you again soon!
Love always, kike!
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Monday, July 28, 2008
the holiday of heroes
hola. i'm not sure if anyone still actually checks our blogs since we haven't had time to update them lately, but just incase i wanted to tell everyone we are still alive and still loving our lives in the dominican. we just had an intensely fun month of hero holiday '08 down with us, which meant we worked from around 7:30am to 11ish pm everyday, which may explain our lack of posting. also our friend kyle or carlos is down now. he arrived on june 12th and is staying until august 16th.
for the first trip, rana and josh were team leaders, meaning they had about 20-25 participants they were responsible for at the hotel and worksites. we had 5 different projects this year; one was finishing the school out at arroyo seco, which hero holiday has been working on for 3 years now, also working at the school/church in cangrejo, which has been a project since last summer. we also starting building a house for a friend and translator of hero holiday, bernard! two other
things we did with the teams was take them to the local dump for a day to see what it is like to be "in their shoes." there are quite a few haitian refugees living and working in dumps in the dominican republic because the conditions are better than they were in haiti; which is mind blowing in itself. they often work collecting bottles to sell for a couple pesos a bag, food to feed their families and the little drops of backwash water you and i throw out in our water bottles all the time, so they don't pass out in the heat. in the past we have gone out their to play with the kids and hand out food and clothing and shoes but this year we decided to take it a step further and get everybody in there with the workers to help increase their wages for that day. it was an intense but worthwhile experience that changed a lot of lives and perspectives. in addition, we took teams to an orphanage in santiago (a two hour busride from sosua where we live) for mentally and physically handicapped children. hero holiday has been going there for 3 years now but just in the last year or so the government has taken over funding for them and has made incredible changes. they used to have 38 children living in a tiny warehouse, sleeping on broken beds or mattresses on the floor, but they have now expanded to have an additional two story building, 
a new kitchen and bathroom facility, a washing machine area as well as a little courtyard for the 74 kids to move around and play in. the first time i walked in this year i couldn't believe my eyes. one of the students said it looks like it should be featured on 'extreme makeover.' to meet the demands of additional kids, they have expanded their staff as well, with now 5 kids to one worker, and they have two nurses on each shift, a doctor that visits every day, and an on-call doctor, plus all the people in charge of preparing meals, cleaning up and washing clothes etc etc. for the first trip it was my job to take groups out everyday and get them going around, feeding and interacting with the kids. it was an awesome experience for me to see how they change from when they first step off the bus to the time i have to drag everyone back on. you could definitely see a change in the kids in the orphanage as well because they don't often get that much attention because the workers are constantly changing diapers, feeding or cleaning up, so for us to be able to come and sit and just hold their hands really lights up their day/life. after everyone experiences everything out at the worksites and villages, as well as at the dump and orphanage you can really see a change in how they are and will continue thinking about things.
with the second trip, josh was moved to photography and filming, rana was going on the orphanage runs and kyle and i were team leaders. i had an awesome group that loved everything we did and it was cool to get to see the impact that all of the other experiences had on them. we finished up the school in arroyo seco, made the foundation for a parking lot and bricked walls for bathrooms at the cangrejo church/school and almost finished laying bricks for the walls at bernard's. this year was definitely very successful in those physcal aspects but also with the participants. it is a life changing experience, and you can tell that the people we met this month are going to be people that change out generation and our nation.
please pray that as we are still here God will continue blessing us
as He has been and leading us in the right directions. also that as josh and rana prepare to leave (josh this thursday and rana this saturday) they will be able to get 'back in the groove' at home and won't miss me too much. (just kidding, i think i might be more worried about what i will do without them). this has been an incredible, life changing past three months and it will definitely shape what we do in the future. we just really need God's guidance and favour as we try to figure out which direction to go in. and for my last month please pray i will have more incredible experience and be as helpful and useful to people around here as i can... and also pray for safety because it seems that just as we get comfortable again something happens. thanks for all your love, prayer and support!!
love kike
for the first trip, rana and josh were team leaders, meaning they had about 20-25 participants they were responsible for at the hotel and worksites. we had 5 different projects this year; one was finishing the school out at arroyo seco, which hero holiday has been working on for 3 years now, also working at the school/church in cangrejo, which has been a project since last summer. we also starting building a house for a friend and translator of hero holiday, bernard! two other
things we did with the teams was take them to the local dump for a day to see what it is like to be "in their shoes." there are quite a few haitian refugees living and working in dumps in the dominican republic because the conditions are better than they were in haiti; which is mind blowing in itself. they often work collecting bottles to sell for a couple pesos a bag, food to feed their families and the little drops of backwash water you and i throw out in our water bottles all the time, so they don't pass out in the heat. in the past we have gone out their to play with the kids and hand out food and clothing and shoes but this year we decided to take it a step further and get everybody in there with the workers to help increase their wages for that day. it was an intense but worthwhile experience that changed a lot of lives and perspectives. in addition, we took teams to an orphanage in santiago (a two hour busride from sosua where we live) for mentally and physically handicapped children. hero holiday has been going there for 3 years now but just in the last year or so the government has taken over funding for them and has made incredible changes. they used to have 38 children living in a tiny warehouse, sleeping on broken beds or mattresses on the floor, but they have now expanded to have an additional two story building, 
a new kitchen and bathroom facility, a washing machine area as well as a little courtyard for the 74 kids to move around and play in. the first time i walked in this year i couldn't believe my eyes. one of the students said it looks like it should be featured on 'extreme makeover.' to meet the demands of additional kids, they have expanded their staff as well, with now 5 kids to one worker, and they have two nurses on each shift, a doctor that visits every day, and an on-call doctor, plus all the people in charge of preparing meals, cleaning up and washing clothes etc etc. for the first trip it was my job to take groups out everyday and get them going around, feeding and interacting with the kids. it was an awesome experience for me to see how they change from when they first step off the bus to the time i have to drag everyone back on. you could definitely see a change in the kids in the orphanage as well because they don't often get that much attention because the workers are constantly changing diapers, feeding or cleaning up, so for us to be able to come and sit and just hold their hands really lights up their day/life. after everyone experiences everything out at the worksites and villages, as well as at the dump and orphanage you can really see a change in how they are and will continue thinking about things.with the second trip, josh was moved to photography and filming, rana was going on the orphanage runs and kyle and i were team leaders. i had an awesome group that loved everything we did and it was cool to get to see the impact that all of the other experiences had on them. we finished up the school in arroyo seco, made the foundation for a parking lot and bricked walls for bathrooms at the cangrejo church/school and almost finished laying bricks for the walls at bernard's. this year was definitely very successful in those physcal aspects but also with the participants. it is a life changing experience, and you can tell that the people we met this month are going to be people that change out generation and our nation.
please pray that as we are still here God will continue blessing us
as He has been and leading us in the right directions. also that as josh and rana prepare to leave (josh this thursday and rana this saturday) they will be able to get 'back in the groove' at home and won't miss me too much. (just kidding, i think i might be more worried about what i will do without them). this has been an incredible, life changing past three months and it will definitely shape what we do in the future. we just really need God's guidance and favour as we try to figure out which direction to go in. and for my last month please pray i will have more incredible experience and be as helpful and useful to people around here as i can... and also pray for safety because it seems that just as we get comfortable again something happens. thanks for all your love, prayer and support!!love kike
Monday, July 7, 2008
July 2, 2008
Rana: We decided to name this past Wednesday “random acts of kindness” day. Little did we know that not only would the day be filled with spreading kindness but also the day was filled with hope. The day began with us doing all those little things that we’ve been dreaming up for the past couple months. We just began to bless those all around us. We made brownies for the staff of Sosua by the Sea, gave ice-cream to the police man that helps us cross the highway to the Supermercado and made lunch for a man that lives in a shack in a deserted lot in the middle of town.
Krissie: After we did fun little things for our Sosua homies, Bernard, one of the translators and friends we have worked with for 3 years, came with me to find Wideline (Snotball). We went to their village with her picture and when he asked around, the neighbours and ex-boyfriend told us that her mother had died of Blood-Pressure problems (as far as they knew) and that the kids had been moved to a different village with their aunts. I was still not sure if I should believe this story since everyone else had tried to tell me that both of them died but I was pretty excited to hear that it could have been a communication problem. So we went on a little adventure to another village and just asked neighbours where to go. After we wandered up and down hills and through back-alley pathways, there she was! She immediately ran up to us and sat on my lap playing with my hair and talking away. Wideline is now five years old and living with her mom’s sisters because her dad wouldn’t take care of them anymore. Her 11 year old sister was there too and when Bernard asked if they remembered us they had a huge smile and said “siiiii.” I had brought down pictures of us from last year so I was able to give those to them. Soon Bernard and I are going back out there so I can bless their familia, since I hadn’t expected to find them this time. I am so thankful that they are doing so well out there but she kept saying to me in Spanish “mommy is dead,” which is a sad reality for a number of children around the world. Please continue to pray for children and families like Wideline because there are countless stories similar to hers and we can’t imagine what life would be like in these conditions.
And just for the record: the snot was still flowing this year…
Rana: The past few days we’ve been exposed to mind-boggling events and have visited mind-blowing places. We’ve been faced with many questions and have received very few answers. What exactly is an orphan? Is it simply a child that has no parents? A simple statement to make… but also a heavy one to comprehend. Do we understand the weight and reality that comes with placing the label “orphan” on a child? I believe that I can not and will not fully understand what it means to be an orphan. To be alone in the world without anyone to guide, support and love me. But after these past few days, I believe I have a better understanding of what it means to be an orphan.
On Thursday Krissie and I rented a car and drove to Santiago to visit an orphanage for both physically and mentally challenged children. We were driving to Santiago on Hero Holiday business. As we drove through the mountains and was surrounded by the beauty of God’s work, we knew in our minds what was laying ahead for us that day. The orphanage in Santiago is the orphanage that Hero Holiday has been bringing its students to for the past couple years. When we first began to visit the orphanage there was around 30 children crammed into a small warehouse. They were sleeping in broken beds and on mattresses on the floor and they had very little materials and even less workers. To simply put it: the conditions were less than desirable. However, this year as they opened the gate and we drove into the orphanage our mouths began to drop open. The orphanage has been completely transformed. Not only was there a new beautiful building built with a new grassy area but the old warehouse had also been transformed. The place seemed so happy and just glowed. Everything looked new, clean and colourful! As we had a meeting with one of the directors of the orphanage we learned that they now cared for 74 children and for every 5 children there was a caretaker. They had two nurses on staff for every shift and a doctor who visited everyday. They were in the process of getting a physical therapist as well as trying to plan fieldtrips for the children. After our meeting, Krissie and I walked around the orphanage to visit with every child. Once we had hugged and played with them for awhile, we got back into the car and began to talk about our experience. Sometimes on trips like Hero Holiday or mission trips one can completely be consumed by how great the need is. No matter how much help is out there, it always seems like the need just keeps getting larger and larger. You can easily begin to wonder if doing your part is changing anything and even if what you are doing is the “correct” way of going about things. As we chatted we were filled with excitement and hope. We saw where the orphanage was and how far it has come. That director had hope, a dream and an even larger work ethic. Her work paid off and the fruits of her labour could easily be seen in their smiles of the children’s faces. We had left Santiago that day with a renewed faith in the power of dreams and hard work and the reality that the impossible could be accomplished.
However, our visit to another orphanage on Saturday was very different. When we first arrived in the D.R., Mamma D (Donna) told us about an orphanage she visited in Haiti a week or so earlier. It was an orphanage built by an American organization about five years ago, however, because of rising violence in Haiti for the past two/three years the orphanage has been abandoned by this organization without any aid. Sadly this not as rare as you think it is. I feel that many times organizations just plan for “band-aid” solutions and forget about long-term solutions. As soon as I heard about the orphanage I had an instant desire to go. Mamma D received a message from the pastor that cares for the orphanage a few days back saying that they had no food and the children were hungry. After many plans fell through, we finally were able to visit them this past Saturday. As we crossed the boarder into Haiti not only did it look and feel like we were in a different country, but a whole different world. The pastor brought us across the boarder and to the orphanage. With a single glance you could see the amount of need this orphanage had. The children were sat together under a small tin roof playing with broken crayons and paper. At first the language barrier seemed impossible to overcome but after a short amount of time we each realized that playing was the same in any language and didn’t need translation. As Joshua, Krissie, Mamma D and James (Momma D and Papa P’s son) played with the children, Papa P, the pastor and I went to a local market to by food for the children. As we drove to the market I was able to see what life in Haiti looked like. For me, it reminded me of visuals I’ve seen of Africa and “bible times” all combined together. There were no finished homes for people to live in, just shacks and unfinished houses. Cars were replaced by motorcycles and donkeys and everything just looked dusty, brown and dry. We walked through the market and thankfully from my church’s donations as well as donations from friends I was able to buy rice, beans, spaghetti noodles, juice, powdered milk and butter for the children. It was enough to feed the whole orphanage for at least a month. When we brought the food back to the orphanage I joined in with some soccer playing and then we were given a “tour” of the orphanage. We were first brought to the kitchen which consisted of a large concrete slab and an area for coals to cook food on. We were told that it was their 5th anniversary since the orphanage opened. However there were no balloons or streamers to celebrate the occasion. When we asked what was cooking for their supper they said “beans and chicken…. But now we have rice!” We were then brought to the “bedrooms” and we saw single sized foam pieces where four children slept, with about four beds to a room. One room only had a bare floor where eight children slept on pieces of foam. As we were walking through the orphanages Papa P said to James “aren’t you glad you have a mom and dad?” When I heard those words the reality of my life and these children’s lives hit me. Not only did I realize how fortunate I was to have parents, but that I had parents that loved me and supported me with trust, faith and finances. These children were more than just parentless… they were alone, poorer than poor, and hungry. All things that I can not even begin to imagine or understand. We each became lost in thought, our minds completely clouded with the reality of the lives of these children. They had nothing. They didn’t have the “necessities” that we westerners have labelled as requirements and “rights”. They didn’t even have the things that we consider to be automatically ours, like parents. They…had…nothing. However, they were no longer invisible in a lost country. They were right there, in front of us. They are alive… hungry… and in need. And now we know, now you know, so what’s going to happen now?
Krissie: After we did fun little things for our Sosua homies, Bernard, one of the translators and friends we have worked with for 3 years, came with me to find Wideline (Snotball). We went to their village with her picture and when he asked around, the neighbours and ex-boyfriend told us that her mother had died of Blood-Pressure problems (as far as they knew) and that the kids had been moved to a different village with their aunts. I was still not sure if I should believe this story since everyone else had tried to tell me that both of them died but I was pretty excited to hear that it could have been a communication problem. So we went on a little adventure to another village and just asked neighbours where to go. After we wandered up and down hills and through back-alley pathways, there she was! She immediately ran up to us and sat on my lap playing with my hair and talking away. Wideline is now five years old and living with her mom’s sisters because her dad wouldn’t take care of them anymore. Her 11 year old sister was there too and when Bernard asked if they remembered us they had a huge smile and said “siiiii.” I had brought down pictures of us from last year so I was able to give those to them. Soon Bernard and I are going back out there so I can bless their familia, since I hadn’t expected to find them this time. I am so thankful that they are doing so well out there but she kept saying to me in Spanish “mommy is dead,” which is a sad reality for a number of children around the world. Please continue to pray for children and families like Wideline because there are countless stories similar to hers and we can’t imagine what life would be like in these conditions.
And just for the record: the snot was still flowing this year…
Rana: The past few days we’ve been exposed to mind-boggling events and have visited mind-blowing places. We’ve been faced with many questions and have received very few answers. What exactly is an orphan? Is it simply a child that has no parents? A simple statement to make… but also a heavy one to comprehend. Do we understand the weight and reality that comes with placing the label “orphan” on a child? I believe that I can not and will not fully understand what it means to be an orphan. To be alone in the world without anyone to guide, support and love me. But after these past few days, I believe I have a better understanding of what it means to be an orphan.
On Thursday Krissie and I rented a car and drove to Santiago to visit an orphanage for both physically and mentally challenged children. We were driving to Santiago on Hero Holiday business. As we drove through the mountains and was surrounded by the beauty of God’s work, we knew in our minds what was laying ahead for us that day. The orphanage in Santiago is the orphanage that Hero Holiday has been bringing its students to for the past couple years. When we first began to visit the orphanage there was around 30 children crammed into a small warehouse. They were sleeping in broken beds and on mattresses on the floor and they had very little materials and even less workers. To simply put it: the conditions were less than desirable. However, this year as they opened the gate and we drove into the orphanage our mouths began to drop open. The orphanage has been completely transformed. Not only was there a new beautiful building built with a new grassy area but the old warehouse had also been transformed. The place seemed so happy and just glowed. Everything looked new, clean and colourful! As we had a meeting with one of the directors of the orphanage we learned that they now cared for 74 children and for every 5 children there was a caretaker. They had two nurses on staff for every shift and a doctor who visited everyday. They were in the process of getting a physical therapist as well as trying to plan fieldtrips for the children. After our meeting, Krissie and I walked around the orphanage to visit with every child. Once we had hugged and played with them for awhile, we got back into the car and began to talk about our experience. Sometimes on trips like Hero Holiday or mission trips one can completely be consumed by how great the need is. No matter how much help is out there, it always seems like the need just keeps getting larger and larger. You can easily begin to wonder if doing your part is changing anything and even if what you are doing is the “correct” way of going about things. As we chatted we were filled with excitement and hope. We saw where the orphanage was and how far it has come. That director had hope, a dream and an even larger work ethic. Her work paid off and the fruits of her labour could easily be seen in their smiles of the children’s faces. We had left Santiago that day with a renewed faith in the power of dreams and hard work and the reality that the impossible could be accomplished.
However, our visit to another orphanage on Saturday was very different. When we first arrived in the D.R., Mamma D (Donna) told us about an orphanage she visited in Haiti a week or so earlier. It was an orphanage built by an American organization about five years ago, however, because of rising violence in Haiti for the past two/three years the orphanage has been abandoned by this organization without any aid. Sadly this not as rare as you think it is. I feel that many times organizations just plan for “band-aid” solutions and forget about long-term solutions. As soon as I heard about the orphanage I had an instant desire to go. Mamma D received a message from the pastor that cares for the orphanage a few days back saying that they had no food and the children were hungry. After many plans fell through, we finally were able to visit them this past Saturday. As we crossed the boarder into Haiti not only did it look and feel like we were in a different country, but a whole different world. The pastor brought us across the boarder and to the orphanage. With a single glance you could see the amount of need this orphanage had. The children were sat together under a small tin roof playing with broken crayons and paper. At first the language barrier seemed impossible to overcome but after a short amount of time we each realized that playing was the same in any language and didn’t need translation. As Joshua, Krissie, Mamma D and James (Momma D and Papa P’s son) played with the children, Papa P, the pastor and I went to a local market to by food for the children. As we drove to the market I was able to see what life in Haiti looked like. For me, it reminded me of visuals I’ve seen of Africa and “bible times” all combined together. There were no finished homes for people to live in, just shacks and unfinished houses. Cars were replaced by motorcycles and donkeys and everything just looked dusty, brown and dry. We walked through the market and thankfully from my church’s donations as well as donations from friends I was able to buy rice, beans, spaghetti noodles, juice, powdered milk and butter for the children. It was enough to feed the whole orphanage for at least a month. When we brought the food back to the orphanage I joined in with some soccer playing and then we were given a “tour” of the orphanage. We were first brought to the kitchen which consisted of a large concrete slab and an area for coals to cook food on. We were told that it was their 5th anniversary since the orphanage opened. However there were no balloons or streamers to celebrate the occasion. When we asked what was cooking for their supper they said “beans and chicken…. But now we have rice!” We were then brought to the “bedrooms” and we saw single sized foam pieces where four children slept, with about four beds to a room. One room only had a bare floor where eight children slept on pieces of foam. As we were walking through the orphanages Papa P said to James “aren’t you glad you have a mom and dad?” When I heard those words the reality of my life and these children’s lives hit me. Not only did I realize how fortunate I was to have parents, but that I had parents that loved me and supported me with trust, faith and finances. These children were more than just parentless… they were alone, poorer than poor, and hungry. All things that I can not even begin to imagine or understand. We each became lost in thought, our minds completely clouded with the reality of the lives of these children. They had nothing. They didn’t have the “necessities” that we westerners have labelled as requirements and “rights”. They didn’t even have the things that we consider to be automatically ours, like parents. They…had…nothing. However, they were no longer invisible in a lost country. They were right there, in front of us. They are alive… hungry… and in need. And now we know, now you know, so what’s going to happen now?
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Computer cords and gaining weight
Sabado 21 de Junio (the day after we last wrote): Rana and I decided that we wanted to go check on Rutch again because if we just pop in every couple days maybe Mika, their mom, 
would be more inclined to take care of the kids... We decided this time to bring some 'gaining weight baby formula' suggested to us by people "in the know" and we picked up some buns and peanut butter for the older kids and parents. When we first arrived the neighbours seemed to be looking out for Mika's family but I walked to the infamous tree infront of their house and found one of the boys sitting in his own poop, which somehow noone had noticed or cared to remove him from. After a short time their mom showed up and we gave her the food trying to convince her that if she or the other kids had Rutch's milk it would be unhealthy... I am really trying to step out in faith with this because there are few people confident in the mother's abilities to care for her children anymore; I pray this time will be different. Something we also find hard is that there are millions of families that need and deserve help but because this mom is being care-less, she is noticed and recieves the help. As Josh says "the squeaky wheel gets the grease."
When Josh got home though, there was a huge rainstorm on his parade. He discovered that someone broke into our apartamento and stole his MacBookPro. When we got there we all searched making sure it wasn't just hidden but not only did they take the laptop, we couldn't figure out how they got in. Nothing was broken, the locks weren't picked, but we then came to the conclusion that 'our little friend' had a key because there are a couple different ways to lock the door and it wasn't the same as when we left. But for some comedic relief listen to this: Rana's laptop, which I am typing on now, was sitting right beside Josh's; they were practically touching. Josh and Rana both had an assortment of camera's, iPOD's and wallets sitting on the shelf nearby, our 
TV was sitting behind the laptop, but maybe it was too small for their liking, AND they left the Power Cord!!! Josh is thinking of just hanging the cord out on the gate saying "I think you forgot this you idiot." Anyways, don't be too scared, we got a new security system on top of the three gates that are supposed to be protecting us ...
would be more inclined to take care of the kids... We decided this time to bring some 'gaining weight baby formula' suggested to us by people "in the know" and we picked up some buns and peanut butter for the older kids and parents. When we first arrived the neighbours seemed to be looking out for Mika's family but I walked to the infamous tree infront of their house and found one of the boys sitting in his own poop, which somehow noone had noticed or cared to remove him from. After a short time their mom showed up and we gave her the food trying to convince her that if she or the other kids had Rutch's milk it would be unhealthy... I am really trying to step out in faith with this because there are few people confident in the mother's abilities to care for her children anymore; I pray this time will be different. Something we also find hard is that there are millions of families that need and deserve help but because this mom is being care-less, she is noticed and recieves the help. As Josh says "the squeaky wheel gets the grease."Domingo 22 de Junio: After church the three of us went to Momma D's (Phil and Donna's house) because it was their housekeeper/friend's daughter's 7th birthday and she was coming over for a pool party! Few of the kids that showed up could actually swim, well actually I think only the ones that could reach the bottom would go past the steps, but we took them on little rides around the pool and had an awesome time playing with them and pretending to understand all the things they were saying.
When Josh got home though, there was a huge rainstorm on his parade. He discovered that someone broke into our apartamento and stole his MacBookPro. When we got there we all searched making sure it wasn't just hidden but not only did they take the laptop, we couldn't figure out how they got in. Nothing was broken, the locks weren't picked, but we then came to the conclusion that 'our little friend' had a key because there are a couple different ways to lock the door and it wasn't the same as when we left. But for some comedic relief listen to this: Rana's laptop, which I am typing on now, was sitting right beside Josh's; they were practically touching. Josh and Rana both had an assortment of camera's, iPOD's and wallets sitting on the shelf nearby, our 
TV was sitting behind the laptop, but maybe it was too small for their liking, AND they left the Power Cord!!! Josh is thinking of just hanging the cord out on the gate saying "I think you forgot this you idiot." Anyways, don't be too scared, we got a new security system on top of the three gates that are supposed to be protecting us ...And a little update, Josh has had a heck of time these past couple days trying to get a police report but finally after hours of waiting and small Dominican fee he got the papers to show his insurance company.
Lunes 23 de Junio: Rana, 'JimmyJames' (Phil and Donna's son) and I checked on Rutch again and this time I got Mika to make her bottle while I was there so I could feed it to her. The kids seemed to be doing really well today and when I was in their house I noticed some rice sitting in the corner, which is a good sign. We stayed for quite awhile and I just held the kids and talked to their mom because I am trying hard to not judge her but to love her even in this terrible circumstance. She is only 24 with 4 kids and the father doesn't have steady work so I can't even pretend to understand what life is like for them. I hope we can just show them that we care and God will provide.
Martes 24 de Junio: Our friend Cristina brought her 5 year old son over for the day and while she taught Rana to make amazing Dominincan dishes, Josh and I coloured, played soccer and 
swam with Oscarlin. I love the relationships we are able to persue more this year than before. Being on our own schedule is a struggle sometimes because we aren't always sure where to go or what to do but on days like this I definitely appreciate that we could take the time to bless and be blessed by such an amazing family.
swam with Oscarlin. I love the relationships we are able to persue more this year than before. Being on our own schedule is a struggle sometimes because we aren't always sure where to go or what to do but on days like this I definitely appreciate that we could take the time to bless and be blessed by such an amazing family.Thank you all for your prayers and supports. We can really see God working a lot around us and in us while we are here. We can also definitely tell that he has his angels looking out for us. If one of us were at the apartment when the 'boogyman' broke in things could have been really bad. Please continue to pray that we will learn and understand more about the things we are witnessing and won't be quick to judge because we can't truly know what life is like for these people.
Friday, June 20, 2008
PBandJ meets RiceandBeans
Like Rana said, sorry that we took so long to give an update, but after these two blogs you will probably need a little break again. We have been going like crazy lately and with the brief and 
unexpected loss of our internet corner we kind of used that as an excuse. But here are some of the main events…
Last Friday mi amiga Elise came down for a visit to figure out why I love the Dominican so much! We took her around to a lot of different villages and worksites, introduced her to our friends and Dominican familia and pretty much packed everyday full of adventures, “just because we can” and because “we can sleep in Canada”… One of her first days here, we walked around a village asking the kids questions, like Rana said, to send to their sponsors. I always love doing that because you get to see so many different people and lifestyles coming together in one very small community. Everybody knows everyone else’s business and by just seeing a picture can take you through the back alleys and fields to their house. Some of our questions were “what is your favourite colour?”, “what is your favourite food?”, “how many animals do you have?”… (this one always made me laugh because they would count all the baby chickens and anything else that wandered around). The next day we went and finished up the sponsorship forms for Nazaret and checked on Rutch’s family. Sadly we found the four kids sitting under a tree across from the house, mother-less for most of the day, according to neighbours. The oldest son is 4 years old and I suppose he was left in charge, but he also dominated the little amount of rice and beans set out for the kids.
It is so sad because there are so many stories like this one and these kids are right in front of me
and I just don’t know how to help. I also took Elise out to Arroro Seco, one of Hero Holiday’s school building projects we’ve worked at for three years, to introduce her to all my friends and show her that we really do work down here! Sadly school was out the day before so not as many people were around and we couldn’t make it inside but we snuck upstairs anyways (don’t tell Pastor Garcia).
Yesterday we were definitely on the go more than before. First we started out in Nazaret to see the kids and check on the clinic, then we went and checked on Rutch’s familia and her mom was there this time. She told me that 8 month old Rutch hadn’t had milk or anything in 2 weeks and that the rest of her family didn’t have food either. It is so difficult to know what to do though, because from what we have known, the mom would normally take the milk or food given to her kids for herself. Please pray that I will know what to do because I really want to do something to help the family out but I don’t want her to neglect the kids and take advantage of me. Around supper time we went to Mustard Seed, an orphanage for mentally and physically handicapped children, and helped feed them and stayed for a little while after to play with them. When I looked around the room it broke my heart to think of how many different parents had decided to give up their children. Some of these kids might have been healthier with the proper care and the right oppor
tunities but they seem pretty lucky to be living there. After around an hour I was tired from being jumped on and dragged back and forth but the women feeding and caring for these kids were so joyful and caring. The kids called them “Momma ______” and lit up when one of them came into the room! I really admire them for taking care of so many kids with special needs 24/7. I am not sure I would have it in me as much as I wish I would.
unexpected loss of our internet corner we kind of used that as an excuse. But here are some of the main events…Last Friday mi amiga Elise came down for a visit to figure out why I love the Dominican so much! We took her around to a lot of different villages and worksites, introduced her to our friends and Dominican familia and pretty much packed everyday full of adventures, “just because we can” and because “we can sleep in Canada”… One of her first days here, we walked around a village asking the kids questions, like Rana said, to send to their sponsors. I always love doing that because you get to see so many different people and lifestyles coming together in one very small community. Everybody knows everyone else’s business and by just seeing a picture can take you through the back alleys and fields to their house. Some of our questions were “what is your favourite colour?”, “what is your favourite food?”, “how many animals do you have?”… (this one always made me laugh because they would count all the baby chickens and anything else that wandered around). The next day we went and finished up the sponsorship forms for Nazaret and checked on Rutch’s family. Sadly we found the four kids sitting under a tree across from the house, mother-less for most of the day, according to neighbours. The oldest son is 4 years old and I suppose he was left in charge, but he also dominated the little amount of rice and beans set out for the kids.
It is so sad because there are so many stories like this one and these kids are right in front of me
and I just don’t know how to help. I also took Elise out to Arroro Seco, one of Hero Holiday’s school building projects we’ve worked at for three years, to introduce her to all my friends and show her that we really do work down here! Sadly school was out the day before so not as many people were around and we couldn’t make it inside but we snuck upstairs anyways (don’t tell Pastor Garcia).Yesterday we were definitely on the go more than before. First we started out in Nazaret to see the kids and check on the clinic, then we went and checked on Rutch’s familia and her mom was there this time. She told me that 8 month old Rutch hadn’t had milk or anything in 2 weeks and that the rest of her family didn’t have food either. It is so difficult to know what to do though, because from what we have known, the mom would normally take the milk or food given to her kids for herself. Please pray that I will know what to do because I really want to do something to help the family out but I don’t want her to neglect the kids and take advantage of me. Around supper time we went to Mustard Seed, an orphanage for mentally and physically handicapped children, and helped feed them and stayed for a little while after to play with them. When I looked around the room it broke my heart to think of how many different parents had decided to give up their children. Some of these kids might have been healthier with the proper care and the right oppor
tunities but they seem pretty lucky to be living there. After around an hour I was tired from being jumped on and dragged back and forth but the women feeding and caring for these kids were so joyful and caring. The kids called them “Momma ______” and lit up when one of them came into the room! I really admire them for taking care of so many kids with special needs 24/7. I am not sure I would have it in me as much as I wish I would. 
At one point in the week we also took Elise to "snotball's" village but were again translator-less so this week we will be going back to find out details. It was nice for her to meet Carlos y Rosalind, Josh and Rana's friends though!
So today was sad as we dropped Elise off at the airport, but I think we had a pretty successful week and she definitely went home understanding my need to be here as much as possible.
Please continue to pray for our health and safety and ability to learn Spanish, as well as the people we are meeting and projects we are getting involved with. We really need God’s guidance with who to help and where to serve.
P.S we like comments to know what you guys are thinking of our projects.
love always,
kike
So today was sad as we dropped Elise off at the airport, but I think we had a pretty successful week and she definitely went home understanding my need to be here as much as possible.
Please continue to pray for our health and safety and ability to learn Spanish, as well as the people we are meeting and projects we are getting involved with. We really need God’s guidance with who to help and where to serve.
P.S we like comments to know what you guys are thinking of our projects.
love always,
kike
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Me tinks we're on Dominican Time
Time sure flies when you’re having fun! A lot of things have happened since the last time we wrote! We’ve had a lot of memorable and exciting moments as well as some sad ones. Since we wrote last we’ve made a lot of new friends with different young people from the church that we attend here. Some are missionary kids; some are here on internships while others are Dominican. The times we’ve spent working
together and playing together at the beach will always be favourite memories, that’s for sure! One of our friends from the hotel we stayed at the past couple of years had us over for a real Dominican meal! Her house was really cute and the food tasted amazing! It was nice to just sit and chat, her with her little English and us with our little Spanish. It was like hanging out with one of our friends from home! Dominican’s hospitality amazes me more and more everyday… I think Newfoundlanders have some competition! lol
We spent a lot of our time working at the clinic getting things ready for the opening. When the day finally came for the dedication and opening you could sense the excitement not only from the missionaries but also from the people there at the village. This clinic will change the future of this village. There will no longer be stories of little Danica’s ( http://heroholiday.absolute.org/2007/08/02/danica-how-we-all-fell-in-love/#more-148) from the village of Nazaret and surrounding area.
The day after the clinic opened a medical team from the US arrived. We all traveled around the 
country to pick them up at different airports and then spent the week leading them around to different villages. The teams focus was mainly clinics but we also did pre-natal checks, house visits and school health sessions. The week was full of amazing experiences. On one of the first days we traveled with them to a village where some set up a clinic and others went to the school. After doing a tooth-brush demonstration and skit the team began to pray for a little boy that has been in a wheelchair for years. He was in an accident when he was younger and hasn’t walked since. As we prayed over him we could feel God’s presence. God was definitely doing work. We then began to pray for his mother who has back pains most likely caused by lifting and taking care of her son. After we had prayed with her she began to jump and bend, things that she could not earlier do! God had healed her back pain. Our thoughts are still with the little boy as we continue 
to pray for him. We all believe that one day God will send him the miracle of walking or perhaps a blessing of a different form; no matter what it will be incredible... While the team was here, each clinic ran very smoothly and we were able to see hundreds of people. It was great to be part of something so needed by the people here in the DR… During the clinics that week we also met a little girl that was very malnourished, from the village jus below Nazaret. As we talked to a missionary that works in the area and the team assessed the little girl it came to our attention that the mother was very nourished along with her other kids. From past experiences with the mother we were told that she was neglecting the younger children because they are not her current husband’s children. This little girl was not receiving any milk and as a result she was very fragile and lethargic. We gave her some milk and we have been going back to the village every couple days to check on her family and to make sure they are being fed and taking care of. Please begin to pray for this little girl named ‘Rutch’ and her brothers. (I think its Ruth with a Creole accent) 
During the week of the team Josh celebrated his 23rd birthday!! We had supper on the beach and then camped out on the beach with some missionary friends. It was definitely an awesome way to spend your birthday with the waves crashing, lightning in the distance, the Milky Way over head and a bonfire burning nearby! (P.S Kikĕ had her first banana boat and loved every minute of it)
On the teams last day we were invited to go to the kindergarten graduation of the school in Nazaret. It was so cute seeing them in their little cap and gown! We all enjoyed being part of the schools first ever graduation. As you looked around at the parents and missionaries that run the school you could see the pride glowing on their faces. 
Now that the clinic is opened and running and school is closed for summer all our time was put into finishing up the child sponsorship. We go from house to house visiting the children asking them different questions that will be sent to a sponsor once the child is sponsored for school (see http://www.dominicanadvance.org/home.htm if you are interested. If you have any thoughts or questions, email one of us!)
Another exciting thing that has happened over these past couple weeks is that I was able to share some of my “newfieness” with my roommates and some of the missionaries we work with (Williams’ and Pensinger’s). Krissie’s friend Elise came down and has been visiting with us for the past week and she was able to bring down some Newfoundland berries and other things for me. I was able to make a Newfoundland scoff for them all complete with cook dinner and cheesecake! I would have to say it was my first time ever eating bread pudding and peas pudding while looking at palm trees!
As we sit and talk about these past couple weeks we are amazed of how much has taken place! They have held some of our favourite memories thus far on our trip!
God is amazing! He sends us friendships, allows us to experience new beginnings with the school and clinic, helps us give medical treatments to various ‘forgotten’ villages and helps give children the opportunity to be sponsored.
Saunders Out!
Thursday, June 5, 2008
No Pennies for My Thoughts
Hola amigos y amigas en Canada.
Hoy es jueves 5 de junio
So before I get started I just wanted to warn you all that this is kind of a random blog but I woke up this morning thinking I should share it with you; p.s its krissie/kike!
Well first of all I want to thank everyone who has supported the three of us in coming down, whether with money or prayers you have all been a huge blessing. This is definitely a dream come true and we are so thankful to know and have you all behind us.
So here goes my ramble... I have just been thinking a lot lately (yes I do use my brain even when I'm not in school) about all the things we are doing down here, and sometimes I find myself comparing this trip to Hero Holiday (which is all I have known in the Dominican before this). In Hero Holiday each day is planned out and packed with activities whether it's working at the schools, at a travel medical clinic, feeding people in the dump, playing with the kids of workers from the dump, visiting an orphanage for mentally and physically handicap children etc etc; and even at night they have something for us... This past month has had a lot of similarities, with the kind of work we are doing and will be doing more of, but at the same time it is really opening my eyes to what a 'long-term missionaries life' might be like. We have for the most part been 'shadowing' Donna and Phil down here and they have taught us a lot about the planning and politics that hide behind working here. Basically the most important thing I have been learning is that real life isn't always full of big events every single day. We are getting more into the culture now and building better relationships with the people but this year we are learning to appreciat down time a little bit more (for those of you who know me that is way out of character). As Rana says, "we are putting a story to the faces" and although at times it may appear less eventful (especially on the blog), I hope that none of you are regretting the support you have offered us.
So again we are So Thanful for all of you and definitely wouldn't be having our live's 
changed in this amazing way if it weren't for you. We love you all and appreciate prayers, so please continue to pray that we will know what God's plans are for us, that spanish will become easier and easier, and also the clinic in Nazaret is planning to officially open this Monday but we are having an Open House tomorrow so please pray that today we will get all the finishing touches...finished!
changed in this amazing way if it weren't for you. We love you all and appreciate prayers, so please continue to pray that we will know what God's plans are for us, that spanish will become easier and easier, and also the clinic in Nazaret is planning to officially open this Monday but we are having an Open House tomorrow so please pray that today we will get all the finishing touches...finished! Love always, krissie
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