2010 DR Mission - Day 4

Link To Video Of Day 4

Tuesday morning the team made it's way back to the church worksite. Now on top of illness the other constant problem was rain. The summer is the rainy season in the DR so it rains for at least some portion of every day. It had rained so bad on Monday that the worksite was a muddy mess. As you can see in the video the mud sticks to your shoes and starts to weight you down. We tried to spread gravel so that we could work.


Pat Checking For Mud


The first load of cinder block was delivered that morning so we had to start moving and staging the block to where it needed to be used. Unfortunately the rain just kept getting worse to the point that at around 11 am it became a torrential downpour. The teams only choice was to flee inside the roofed over part of the church and wait it out.

Block


Some of the younger members of the team who did not mind the water took the opportunity to play with and/or entertain the local children. By noontime it was clear that work would be impossible for the remainder of the day so back to the house we went.


DR Waterboarding

Chad was also starting to feel better by afternoon. The rain continued all afternoon so we worked on our children's bible school lesson and our worship service preparation.



Better


You know you've been trapped inside by the rain too long when the women start to dance with each other.


Getting Your Groove On


That night we attended a home worship service where the team led the service and Jeff gave the message.

Link To Video Of Day 4

2010 DR Mission - Day 3

Link To Video Of Day 3

Black Monday - So named because this was the day that the dreaded 24 hour stomach virus struck it's first victim (Chad). He became ill early Monday morning.



Painting Rebar

It was also the team's first day at the church worksite. There was much preparation to be done. Some of the money we raised for the trip was spent to purchase 75,000 cinder blocks that would be used to build the walls of the sanctuary. A milestone in owr relations with our Dominican hosts occured at this point. Ed, Jeff, and Pat were asked to accompany Nardo and the church's contractor to participate in this major purchase. They wanted us to be a part of this decision as well as demonstrate that they were using the donated money wisely. After visiting three block dealers, they got a great deal on the block of about two cents US per block.


Worksite Prep

 The main effort Monday was painting rebar with Rustolium primer and moving plywood in anticipation of the block delivery. As you can see our activity at the worksite attracts many of the local children.



Hello

We plan for this by bringing with us a number of inexpensive but entertaining toys which we give out over the week. The primer paint we used was quite nasty and cleaning up became a community project.


Cleaning Up


We returned back to the house for lunch and got to see how Dominican rural electrification self-help works. This was a particularly bad year for electricity with the power being off about 40% of the time.

You Will Not Believe This

That afternoon we made the decision to take Chad to the hospital in San Cristobal. We were there most of the afternoon and early evening. After two IV's and anti-nausea medication we finally got him back home. From this point on it seemed like new people got sick every day for the rest of the week. The only people who did not get ill were Debra and Jeff Taylor. In spite of this the team managed to get a lot of work done as well as take care of each other.



Play On Babe


Link To Day 3 Video

2010 DR Mission - Day 2

Link to Video of Day 2

Link to Video of Worship on Day 2

Dawn comes at around 6 am in the DR. In that time before breakfast many of us write in our journals, look over video or pictures from the previous day, or just hang out on the porch.


Morning Activity

Our second day in the DR was Sunday so no work was planned at the church worksite; however, we did travel there in the morning to see the progress that was made over the past year. We traveled to the worksite in the back of an open truck.


Missionary Transport



Church Worksite

 All on the team were surprised by the progress made. The back room was roofed off and finished to the degree that it could be used for bible study groups. In the previous year much of our work at the site was digging out the area walled off behind the chancel area. this area is now a usable storage area.


Electrical Junction Box the DR Way

After several hours at the church site, we had a tour of the town of Yaguate and visited the school where Rev. Nieves works at her day job when she is not being a pastor.


Local School

That afternoon, since it was fathers day in the US, Nardo took all the fathers in the team on a long ride up into the moutons to a small town. We were met by a large man with a two foot machete who took us on a walk to a small palm grove. There he climbed a palm tree and cut down several coconuts. with considerable skill he cut the tops off the coconuts for us to eat. Coconut milk tastes a lot like water and the fresh coconut itself tastes a lot like a peanut. I suppose that this is what you do in the Caribbean on a Sunday when you don't have NFL football to watch on TV.


Praise


That night we once again attended a worship service. It was clear that Nieves and Nardo expected us to contribute to their worship.



DR Praise Band - They Start Them Young

 After a couple of songs, Ed got up to say a few words for the team and introduce all the members to the congregation.



Ed's Introduction of the Team

 Later in the service the entire team made a presentation of a memorial plaque in honor of our late friend Israel. It was a very emotional moment for the team as Chad, in his first role of formal translator, read the plaque and presented it to Israel's family. Israel was a young local man who helped us at the worksite. He was killed in tragic car accident while riding on one of the commonly used motor scooters.


Chad Presents Israel's Memorial



Israel's Family


All in all a very exhausting day.

Link to Video of Day 2

Link to Video of Worship on Day 2

2010 DR Mission - Day 1

 

Link to Video of Day 1

The day started early as we had to be at the church around 5 am to catch our ride to Dulles airport. We arrived at Dulles at daybreak. As you will see in the video, Chad Byrd was sporting a cane and had to be wheeled around the airport in a wheelchair due to a track and field hip injury at school. The injury occurred only a week before the trip and it came right down to the wire as to whether Chad would get to go. We had a 7 am flight from Dulles to Orlando, Florida and from there a flight to Santo Domingo in the DR.



Dulles Airport



In Orlando everyone got their “last meal” in the US. The flight from Orlando to the DR was uneventful.



Last USA Meal

In Santo Domingo airport we were met by Nardo and numerous friends and were then driven by borrowed bus to Yaguate (about a 90 minute drive).



Pat With "brother" on Bus



At the house we were greeted with songs and much excitement. After many “hellos” was the annual moving of the suitcases up the spiral staircase to our rooms on the second floor. Over half of our suitcases were filled with toiletries, health products, clothing, and eyeglasses for distribution to the poor in the town.

Bags Up the Spiral Staircase

One of the more important items the mission team brought was a new laptop computer. This will be a vital organizational tool for the church efforts in Yaguate. Jeff shot a lot of video of Calvary's buildings, worship services, and numerous members of the staff and congregation saying hello. Before supper Chad sat down with Nardo and Nieves to show them the computer as well as the videos from Calvary church.



Chad Translates Laptop Videos



After supper the mission team attended the first of the many worship services we would be a part of that week. There was a lot of singing, shouting, and happiness for our return. There was even a special program put on by a group of young dancers to welcome us back.

First Worship Service

As you can see, the Yaguate congregation worships in the streets. This is because their church building was demolished in 2006 to make way for a major road. Part of Calvary's mission efforts for the past several years has been to raise money so we can help with the new church building project.

Special Hello


Link to Video of Day 1