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.