It's a little lonelier in the RD

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!

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

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?

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."

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.

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.

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 opportunities 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

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!

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!

Love always, krissie

Dream Giver

Hey Rana here!!

We've had a pretty busy week with the opening of the clinic getting closer and closer!! For me this week has flown by! Thursday we headed to Puerto Plata for my first time ever! We had to go pick up supplies for the doctors office and the pharmacy. We left early in the morning but by the time we picked up all the supplies and ordered a seal/stamp for the clinic it was lunch time. Josie (another missionary here in the DR that we've become really close to; she is the director of the school in Nazaret) brought us to one of her favorite lunch places in Puerto Plata. It was real Dominican food! We were given a big bowl of rice, two pieces of chicken, a bowl of beans and a bowl of macaroni salad and free bottled water... ALL for 70 pesos (aka $2)!!!!! Not bad eh? She then brought us to her favorite ice-cream place! MMmmmMM coconut ice-cream! Puerto Plata was completly different from what we are used to! It was defently a "city"!

Friday we began to move all the donated supplies into the clinic. Donna and Krissie had to go to Cabarete to meet a team that wanted to sponsor some of the kids in Nazaret and Josh went with Phil to get more supplies. Therefore, I was left at the clinic to unpack all the bags. I swear I've never seen so many gauzes in my life! When Krissie and Donna came back we quickly unpacked all the bags with help from our little friends from the village. As the kids were helping us unpack the bags I began to think about these kids' futures. Every child has a moment in their life that somehow shapes what they "want to be when they grow up". For me it was going to sea world. For years I wanted to be a marine biologist so I could swim with the dolphins. And as the kids held up different medical supplies and they asked where to put it in their new clinic I wondered if this was their moment. The moment where they decide that when they grow up they want to be a nurse, doctor or pharmacist. Not only will this clinic change the health of those that live in the village now, but it will change the futures of the children there, opening their eyes to new dreams!

Saturday we had plans to head out with a friend to try surfing again. We were told that morning waves are the best and we were offered a deal on rentals. However we woke up to rain so we closed all the windows and went back to sleep. Little did we know the rain was only going to last for about ten minutes! So instead Donna came and picked us up and we went to photocopy pages for the sponsorship program and then headed up to Nazaret. As we were waiting for the pages to be photocopied I looked out the door where a small playground was. There I saw a little boy maybe eight years old sitting down on his little box that held tools he uses to shoe shine. And as he opened the lid and took out a piece of fruit the reality and ironicness of his life hit me. Here he was, so little, in a place where children are suppose to be playing and having fun; and instead he was taking a break from his "workday" to have his "lunch". The innocence of his childhood is lost in the reality of having to work in order to survive. Once the pages were photocopied we headed to Nazaret in order to continue organizing the donated items as well as to obtain information on children that are awaiting sponsorship. We went and visited the homes of the children and with our broken spanish and help from other children we asked them their favorite color, food, activity and school subject. It was cute to find out that some of their favorite foods included the normal favorite "cake" but also "mangos" and "salami" were mentioned! In the evening we attended a dinner party for Josie's husband, Kim, who just obtained his Doctorate degree. It was nice to sit, eat and chat with other missionaries in the area. The food was good and the place was pretty nice as we only saw one rat in the ceiling!

This morning we went to the english church in a nearby town that is done by Dominicans and then after lunch we hungout with a couple of college students from the U.S. that are working with prostitutes in the area. It was nice to hear about their project and organization. It is an organization that usually works with micro-loaning but has now branched out into helping women that have found themselmes stuck in the cycle of prostitution. Then this evening Krissie and I attended a spanish service and the same church we attend the english service. Boy do they put our english services to shame! They sure have energy and praise and worship with every bit that they have!

It feels like my time here is already flying by but with each day I find a new reason to love the Dominican more and more! This is truely an amazing place with even more amazing people. I'm doing more than just living a dream down here that's for sure!

Please continue to pray for us and that God will protect us, give us guidance and wisdom. Please remember to pray for Krissie's back and alsothat we will continue to learn more and more spanish!

Take care, love and miss you all!

Rana

Catch some Chinese; Catch a Wave...

Hoy es miercoles 28 de mayo

Domingo 25 de mayo was a special day in the Dominican… (Feliz dia de la madres) Sunday morning the three of us went to church with Donna and Phil and learned that we are God’s business cards and we need to represent him well. After church we went out for Chinese food in Cabarete, which was surprisingly good. Who knew a restaurant with English and German menus would make great Chinese… Only in the Dominican I guess.

At 3ish Rana y yo went to meet our friend Cristina from the hotel after she finished work, to come over for “lupper”. Josh made us spaghetti and meat sauce and we baked cookies and practiced our spanglish. Later on Cristina helped us take a publicar, getting the residential rate, to church in Charamicos to see Sariel y Sadrak. At the beginning of each service they always welcome new guests by making them stand up and shout out their name. Since we had been there last week and two other times we hoped it wouldn’t happen again, but as we were sitting there not understanding anything I started to hear “Canada…blah blah…Canada” and everyone turned around. So of course we turned around too but all those people were staring at us. After a little while of sitting their completely red in the face someone in the crowd yelled “stand up” so we did but still didn’t know what they were saying (even though this had happened before). After a couple more minutes of embarrassment the service went on, and afterwards we were reunited with some other friends from la año passado (last year).

Lunes 26: Rana y yo went with Donna to Nazaret and did some finishing touches on the clinic, so they could start bringing things in. We finished painting and furniture began to arrive. I also learned some more español with mi amigo and he brought me a picture he had drawn. Around 4:30 we saw hardcore rain clouds moving in over the mountains towards us so we knew it was gonna be a good one. When we got back we went swimming in the sweetest rainstorm with our neighbour and then he came up for supper (tomato soup and grilled cheese; very Dominican of us ahaha). Luego, Sadrak came over and we had a kitchen party (not like the ones in NFLD according to Rana).p.s mom and dad this was the first time it rained since being here so all that “rainy season will ruin your trip” nonsense was really nonsense!

Martes 27: After a yummy breakfast at the German bakery we went out to start moving medical supplies into the clinic. We sorted so much gauze and at least a billion bandaids and then started separating things like parasite and fungal shampoos into smaller containers. Then Rana y yo helped put together a nice desk for the doctors office without any instructions, just a picture of the finished product…fun times. Again that night our vecino (neighbour) came for dinner and stayed to teach us mas español.

Today we decided to fulfill one of our lifelong dreams: surfing! After what seemed like hours to Rana (Thanks to "Dominican Time") we finally made it to the surfing beach. We all had an AMAZING day! Each one of us got up and "rode a few waves"! However, the waves quickly reminded us of our poor arm strength! We look forward to seeing how our body works tomorrow when we get back to real work: getting the clinic up and running!

An Egg-Celent Cupleanos!!!!

FELIZ CUPLEANOS!!

Thursday was my big 20th birthday and I would have to say it was pretty great! The day started by heading out to Nazaret to help get the clinic ready. We spent to whole morning sanding the wooden doors so that they could get painted. Around lunch time we headed back to the apartmento where we got ready to make almost 300 sandwiches and hard boiled eggs. The other two "strays" that are here in the Dominican Republic decided to make "blessing bags" to handout at a village on Friday so we offered up the apartment to make everything. The afternoon was spent cutting salami, boiling eggs and running to the Supermarcado. Around supper time, as the two girls stayed at the apartment to finish the food and make bags of rice, we headed to a nearby town, Cabarete, for supper on the beach. A couple of our Dominican friends as well as two missionary families came with us to celebrate! It was so beautiful eating on the beach as the sun set!! It was pretty amazing! I even had "Happy Birthday" sang to me in Spanish and English by three guys that seranade you as you eat. It was definatly a memorable way to spend my birthday! Even though I was the birthday girl Krissie got a pretty cool gift that night! According to our Dominican friends and the missionaries Joshua and I each have "spanish" names so Krissie was beginning to feel left out. Therefore when a bunch of us took a walk up the beach, the missionaries decided on a spanish name for Krissie. So on May 22, 2008 Krissie was renamed as Kikei (pronounced key-kay)!!!

Friday we woke up early to bring the blessing bags to the village. When we got there we finished making some of the bags, checked out some of the facilities at the village and then handed the bags out. We made over 100 bags, one bag for one house. We made soooo much but as we began to move down the streets we quickly realized that we would not have enough for every house. It was easy to see that they were desperate for the little bit of food that we had. We had people begging and yelling for us to come to their house. Krissie had an amazing experience when she dropped off a special bag we had set aside for one of the families! When she handed them the bag the mom's face lit up and all the kids came around her and began to scream with excitement and they started to dance! Then as she was walking away she looked back and they all had a hand in the bag, their faces full of excitment as if they were pulling out the worlds greatest gift! On our way home we stopped by one of the worksites for this years Hero Holiday to check on the land clearing process. In the evening we stopped by Sosua by the Sea to visit our friends that work there. Tomorrow Christina, a bartender and the lady that brought us to her house last year, is coming over for supper. We're thinking spaghetti!!! Not really Dominican style but I'm sure she wouldn't mind not having rice, beans and chicken!!

Today was a full day of working at Nazaret. We smoothed out the cement walls of the clinic, then applied primer and then painted it! It took the whole day and we were lucky enough to have rice and chicken for lunch (Joshua had mashed potatos). YUM gotta love the DR! Once we arrived back home we walked up the steps and I spotted a little bird caught by his wings in some string outside the door. So after we freaked out a bit we ran and got some sissors to cut him free. We were all excited when we cut the two strings but unfortuantly instead of flying he just tumbled three floors to the groud and appeared to be dead. So after we overcame the shock we decided to go jump in the pool. However on our way down we noticed the bird was now standing. So Krissie ran and got Joshua's work gloves and the sissors again. After a few unsuccessful attempts by Krissie to catch the bird we switched jobs. With some luck I finally caught him and Krissie cut him free from the string that was around his neck. We then layed him down and he wobbled under a bush. Earlier tonight Krissie saw him fly to another part of the garden so hopefully he is o.k.! lol That was our excitment for the evening. Later this evening we headed for supper at Sosua By The Sea. Some of the workers asked us to come there for supper, their treat! It was nice being back in the restaurant where we've spent so many meals in the past but kinda weird not having 100 other students around.

We just got back from the baseball diamond where we caught a couple innings after supper! From work to food to sports, today was a pretty Dominican day!

P.S. Feliz dia de la madre!! Tomorrow is Mother's Day here in the DR! Happy Mothers Day to all you mom's and moms-to-be!

Three white kids, a 'Gua-gua' and the tourist rate

Hola Everyone!!! Rana and Krissie here huddled in our little internet corner of our apartamento! We've finally found the time to write a blog. It's been a pretty full week!

RANA: Monday we met up with a friend from past years that helps run the sponsorship at Arroyo Seco (a village that Hero Holiday has been building a school in for the past two years). He took us there so that we could meet up with a leader in the community and head of the school and begin to plan some projects. Joshua and I spent the morning colouring with the kids in one of the classrooms as Krissie took pictures of the sponsor children for updates. Around lunch time we headed to Nazaret (the village where Donna and Phil are opening the clinic) to do some quick odds and ends. We were lucky enough to see a 5 day old bambino!! She was sooo cute!

Tuesday we decided to go on our own so we squeezed into a Gua-gua (aka Dominican van that squeezes as many people in as possible = cheap ride!!) and headed towards Puerto Plata. After getting off too early we walked for about 15 minutes on the side of the highway until we finally arrived in La Union! This was the place we left our hearts last year. This is the village where many people who work at the dump live. Last year each of us fell in love as we heard their stories and each found our little amigo(a). Joshua had his littly buddy Carlos, I had my little chica, Rosalind and Krissie had her little snotball! I quickly found Rosalind as her mom recognized me right away and Carlos' mom recognized Joshua from pictures he sent Christmas time.

KRISSIE: Unfortunately my search for Wideline (aka snotball) was not quite so successful! I had brought a picture of the two of us from last year to give to her; and I also figured it would be easier to find her and explain who I was. I went straight to her house but a man didn't really understand what I was saying so he just pointed in different directions. We walked up to find Rosalind and Carlos' moms so I asked them where she and her mom were but they awkwardly tried to tell me "no mas" as in "no more" and made some actions to show her mom had died. It also eventually came out that the two of them were "finito" but I am not completely sure if that was just a mix-up in our communiation since they speak a combo of french, creiolle and spanish (I am obviously praying that is all it was). Hopefully soon we will be heading back out to La Union with a translator that can find out the real story for me... Either way it just breaks my heart to think that every day people all over the world are dying at such a young age; usually from completely preventable problems and just for being born in a less developed country. We should definitely have the resources by now to stop this from happening but we are often too busy thinking about ourselves and our own circumstances. Last year it was with Wideline that I realized that our only difference is geography; that this could be my life. This year, whether what they told me was true or not, I am even more inspired to spread her story; to inform people of the terrible realities of our world. So sadly, as it stands, my snotball became another number to add to the ridiculous statistics but I wont let her story go untold...**Hopefully I will have some exciting news from the next time we get out there!

On a lighter note, after playing soccer for a couple hours, getting my hair braided by one of the moms (I accidently said "si, me gusta" as in "yes, I like your daughters hair") and being picked up by some private tour bus on the side of the highway we made it back and headed over to Donna and Phil's to hang out and help Donna with spanish homework.

Wednesday we went with Donna to Nazaret to help organize their new additions for the school's library; finally some spanish books!!! In the afternoon the UEFA manchester united vs chelsea game was on so Rana and Josh loved the short day in the village. Just around supper time, a local friend Rana and I have known for the past two years dropped by, and we invited him to stay but he did not love our selection of chicken and lettuce attempting to be a salad. Afterwards we went to watch the baseball game at the diamond just around the block from our house and since one of the teams forfeit, Josh got to go in and play in his flip-flops (he was definitely our MVP haha). Then we grabbed some ice cream and just came back and hung out...

p.s sorry this one is so long; its been an eventful week!

Bulldozers and Hurricane Helga

Last night after church we were taken on a short little tour of the area and given some insider information (I was just too tired to continue writing). We were taken past Tablone, which was an area full of squatters that created their own houses out of tin and whatever else they could find. Now it was completely flattened so only rocks and garbage remains. It was right on the ocean so it obviously had an incredible view. Apparently a private investor came and snatched it up so the government decided to build apartmentos for the people. This was all supposed to happen 7 or 8 years ago but after problems with the politics of it, money was stolen or just disappeared, many people were out of luck. Now they have finally built new apartments for the people and just about 3 or 4 weeks ago the people moved in. This all seems like it would be incredible since the old area they lived in was contaminated and continuously making the people sick, however the new apartments meant that families of 5 or 6 were living in tiny rooms with maybe 1 or 2 beds and according to our sources "they were built very cheap, so we will see if they continue to stand"...
We were also informed about the hurricane that hit the coast of the Dominican last year. It wasn't very well publicized so people are still dealing with the aftermath. We have a connection down in the area that was affected so the three of us are hoping to maybe go check it out and see what we can do.

Please continue to pray for doors to open as we are still very much in the planning stages of what we will be doing these next few months. Gracias!!

Also check out Josh's blog at http://www.joshdueck.blogspot.com/ for different perspectives!

"God bless you...baby!"

Hoy es Domingo 18 de Mayo.
We haven't written in a couple days because the presidential elections were going on and we were warned to "lay low" just in case riots broke out. Not very surprisingly, Leonel was re-elected, and lucky for us nobody was too upset. While we waited for everything to play out we hung with Donna and Phil and went into Cabarete where we enjoyed some live Bachata a la playa (at the beach)... This was in fact Josh's reason of the day for loving the Dominican.
This morning we went to church for the english morning service, which allowed the Dominicans to practice their english on us. We met a lot of cool people there with great connections for projects in the next couple months. Afterwards we went to the beach with some other girls from Canada and some missionary kids from around here. Josh enjoyed "Banana Hammock Sunday"... Most of the locals go to the beach on Sunday's and there is standing room only, but we clearly snuck into the foreigner's beach where the European men showed us their stuff (Oh boy, I know). In the evening Rana y yo went to another church service in a Dominican community where we helped build houses in the past. We were able to surprise a couple of our friends that we keep in contact with throughout the year and luckily since we had visited before and met the pastor we didn't have to stand up and shout our names out like last time!

Please continue to pray that we will be given incredible opportunities and know what God wants us to be doing. There is such a ridiculous need here; it's hard to decide where our time and money is best spent. I think we would all also appreciate some prayer for learning spanish because our communication is kind of embarrassing.

P.S: The quotation "God bless you ... baby" comes from a fun friend we met on the street. We thought it was kind of awesome that he tried to use God to pick up girls... I hope that line doesn't work!

Everybody Do The Wave!

Hola from the Dominican! Ranita here with a little update for you!
Yesterday while Donna had spanish lessons we headed to the beach. To our surprise the beach had in Krissie's words "Tsunami sized waves"! Which for all you Newfies means the ocean had a bit of a swell on! I guess she had a nice bit of tide on, eh b'y? We spent the whole morning riding the waves and getting thrown into the beach. After a quick lunch we headed to a village called Nazareth, to visit with the children and for Krissie and another girl to see the place. We played games with the children such as pato, pato, ganso (aka duck duck goose). Krissie also had her first official DR nursing experience as a little boy badly scraped his knee and needed some first-aid. After supper at the apartamento we decided to become more Dominican and go watch baseball at the local diamond. After MY team won (Krissie and Joshua chose to cheer for the underdogs) we went to visit Sosua By The Sea again (our hotel from Hero Holiday) and bumped into an old friend that gave us some connections for projects for the next while. He also showed us the "beach" at the hotel where we always went swimming last year. Because of a storm a few months ago that wiped out all the sand the whole beach is now a three foot wall of rocks. The power of nature continues to amaze!
We started today off with a new experience! On today's breakfast menu was Frosted Flakes and Dominican milk. Milk here has always been one of my fears but I have to admit it wasn't so bad...I guess Krissie wins again. We then piled into Phil's and Donna's jeep and headed back to Nazareth. When we arrived we checked on progress in the clinics pharmacy and then got to work on painting the school floor. With oil paint from our hands to our feet we finished the floor at the school and then decided we had enough paint to do the pharmacy floor. When we were done around mid afternoon we drove home to have a snack and to rest. Krissie y yo estudiamos espanol para una hora. Impressivo, no?!!! After we cooked a fancy dancy supper consisting of fajitas we went to visit Phil and Donna at their house and learn a little more about the Dominican/Haitian culture!
Well, I'm off to defend my Newfie sayings! Come on now, who has never heard of a bedtime "lunch"!!!

Please continue to pray for our safety, health and guidance! Take care and God bless!

Dominican Sun and Leftover Pizza

Hola Amigos.
It's krissie here; and after a year of planning I have finally made it back to the Dominican.
Josh and Rana have been here since Saturday helping local missionaries in small villages and they got to work with kids at an orphanage while they anxiously awaited my arrival... Rana says "its hotter than I remembered..."
When I arrived today we just unpacked and tried to make some sort of a system to organize all 3 of our things in our cozy one bedroom apartment; and then of course we went for a swim because it was indeed very hot.
We went out for dinner to Bailey's or "Bacardi's" as Rana likes to call it and Josh made a little friend; so we shared our pizza with him. After dinner we walked to Sosua by the Sea to see our old amigos that remembered us from the past three years of Hero Holiday; and "dont tell the people" but Daneela gave us free Banana Mama's. (dont worry mom...they were extra virgin)
At 8ish (Dominican time) we met our other "stray" friends at their hotel and just walked around town. We ended up at Jolly Rogers so Joshski could watch the hockey game (yay Pittsburgh) and we were met by Julio who talked for hours and sold Josh a nice "Bachata Mania" CD.
Now we are back at el apartmento and Rana and I are having lisp wars with our retainers. Fun times! (classy, we know!)
So we are off to bed with the fan's a hummin and the motorcycles a cyclin.
Buenas noches y te amo todos!
(Good night and we love you all!)

p.s we will try to keep you all posted every couple days but we get pretty good internet on thefront corner of our porch, so we LOVE emails!

Love Rana, Krissie and Josh!