Oh, Sandy

As you may have seen (or may be experiencing yourself!) Hurricane Sandy has been causing problems everywhere she goes.  Many of you have been praying for us, and have asked how we’re doing, so we wanted to give you an update.

On Thursday morning, power to the entire nation was lost.  It was hard to fathom that not just some areas, but all areas were without electricity!  In El Callejon the power came back in the afternoon.

Sandy hit hardest down south, including the capital of Santo Domingo.  Streets flooded, bridges washed out, communities were cut off.  We have been fortunate here in Jarabacoa, where the rains have been heavy, but the overall damage has been light. 

According to dominicantoday.com as many as 625,000 people have been displaced by the storm.  This would significant no matter the population, but when you consider that the population of the DR is only around 10 million, well, it is huge. 

El Callejon began after such a storm wiped out people’s homes.  The new president has declared a state of emergency, and we pray that unlike 15 years ago, there is more help available. 

We didn’t have great attendance for our Thursday activities, which is understandable.  Our Young Moms don’t want to take their babies and toddlers out in the weather, and several of our Pre-teens live a 15-minute walk away. 

The roads in and around El Callejon were filled with red mud.  The feet and legs of the little ones who stopped by the site were caked with the stuff.  In most parts of the US, a parent could throw all the wet, dirty clothes into the washer and get a nice, hot shower going. 

Here, that’s not possible.  Even for those with washing machines, there are no dryers, and so the clothes hang inside from every surface.  They won’t completely dry until the sun returns. 

The schools were closed on Thursday and Friday, so the kids in El Callejon were a bit stir-crazy.  They don’t mind getting wet (or dirty!), but even for them, the rain was too much. 

On Friday we let as many of them as wanted to come sit in the site and watch VeggieTales: Jonah (in Spanish).  We were all slightly damp and dirty, but sitting with 10+ kids, enjoying the silliness of Bob el Tomate y Larry el Pepino was so much fun!  Thankfully, the power stayed on, so we could watch all the way through to the end.  

The storm has passed us by, but many Dominicans are still worried.  New York City is considered the second largest Dominican city in the world because of the number of Dominicans who live there.  So, plenty of families down here are concerned about relatives up there. 

Please continue to pray for all those impacted by the storm.

A Week

What happens at the Social Work site?  It’s a question we get asked a lot, and sometimes it’s hard to answer.  Every week is a bit different.  We try to have a schedule, but it’s really just a guideline. 

It can be frustrating to plan things and then have them changed at the last minute, but sometimes (a lot of times!) it's those unplanned moments where the Spirit does the most amazing things. 

This week was no different.  Here are just a few of our adventures:

Praising God together

Praise & Worship with the Women.  Using our new projector and speakers we invited our Adult and Young Women’s groups to an afternoon of prayer, Bible readings and singing praise to God.  As we get closer to the end of the year, we want to remember all the ways God has been with us.

Bible Lesson & Craft with the Chiquitas.  The age range was from 4 all the way up to 10, and so it was a bit crazy, but fun to share the story of Elijah and the priest of Baal, and then to make a cute foam frame.

Conversation and Crafts with some of our teens

Dominican Spanish Lessons.  Our Adolescents and Treces (13 year olds) taught the ladies some words unique to the DR.  It helped them see how frustrating it can be when we want to share the truth of God with someone who just cannot understand.  But, if we ask God for His Spirit, He is patient with us and helps us understand.

Sewing quilt squares with the Treces and Pre-teens.  When we started this project, we weren’t sure if the girls would finish it, but with the help last week and this week from outreach participants, they are getting close!

Visiting Annie and enjoying her twin baby boys

Home Visits.  We visited Francia and Annie to learn more about their lives and struggles.  It gives the outreach participants and opportunity to see a bit more of how the women here live... and more importantly, an opportunity to lift them up in prayer. 

Francia shared problems she is having with her youngest son (age 14).  Annie has 4-month old twin boys.  She is not with their father, and lives with her grandparents.  We prayed for all of them, particularly for work for Annie, as jobs are very hard to find and there are plenty of costs.  She is a loving mom, and her boys are adorable.

Taking a look (and a sniff!)
at Annie delicious cooking

Amelie enjoying a new friend

Dominican Cooking Lesson.  Another Annie invited us into her small but clean and pretty home to show us how to cook Moro (rice with beans) and Pollo Guisado (stewed chicken).  We also spent time on her front porch enjoying conversation and playing with her adorable daughter, Amelie.

Dinner in the Community.  Alicia had us over for a wonderful dinner of rice, beans, chicken and tostones.  We were able to pray for her and her family, which includes two sons, one with special needs (age 8) and one who is 13 months.

Bible Lesson with the Young Women.  A lesson focused on our separation from God through our sin, and the hope we have in Jesus.  They were reminded that without Him we can never reach God, but that through His free grace we have eternal life.

Our work truly is a partnership.  The projector and speakers were brought down by friends from Virginia, and made possible by a donation from VBS kids in a church in Florida.  The materials we used came from even more donations.  The four ladies who served with us this week were from California, Nebraska and Virginia. 

And, of course, our perfect Partner is the God we serve together.  We love seeing how He brings people from various places, with a variety of experiences, passions, education, to share His love in El Callejon. 

This week has been another great one.  We've got plans for next week, but we know that God does, too.  We pray we'll always be open to His leading, confident that He is at work.

Babies and Sisters in Christ

It’s team time again!  In the next five weeks we will have three teams visiting us.  Two one-week teams, and then a two-week team at the end of October/beginning of November. 

This week JoAnn and Amy are serving with us.  Both have been to El Callejon (JoAnn on an outreach, Amy as a part of the SI staff) and it’s so great to have them back!  Even though it’s been three years, lots of the women and girls recognized one, or both, of them.  That’s one way to know for sure what an impact they made! 

Solani and her 3 month old son

Solanji and her two week old daughter

Yesterday we started off the day in prayer and sharing before heading out to see the community… and babies!  Two of Coco’s daughters have had babies within the past few months.  Her grandson is now three months old, her granddaughter just two weeks.  Both moms (as well as another sister) live with Coco, which makes for a full house. 

Before leaving, we prayed for the family.  And, we will continue to pray that God will provide for these precious little ones, and that their moms (and dads!) would recognize the need for Jesus in their lives.

Sisters Denis and Luz with their gorgeous trees!

In the afternoon, JoAnn shared some of her testimony with our women.  And, our women shared their beautiful Arboles de Navidad (Christmas Trees) made with fabric and beads.  Each one was a work of art, and the women were justifiably proud.

Today JoAnn brought a wonderful craft for our Little Girls (ages 4-10), decorating a cute plastic purse with stickers and glitter glue.  As we’re written before, the girls just love glitter! 

The Treces hard at work drawing

Amy taught the Teens and Treces (13-year olds) an art lesson about focal points, and then had them draw some ideas for an El Callejon ‘logo’.  We have a dream that we can develop it and then put it onto the various things that the women make and sell.  They did some great drawings!

Some of the best parts of the past two days have been sitting together sharing our hearts.  We look forward to even more of this wonderful fellowship as the week continues. 

What a blessing to pray with and for each other, and for the people of El Callejon!  We praise God for these sisters in Christ and the opportunity to minister together.