Up-date pictures and report.

We received the pictures and the following up-date from Steve today.


Hi all! I wanted to send you all a quick update on Pastor Durand, his house
and all.
I was in Esperanza yesterday holding a workshop on Project Phillip (Bible
League cell group ministry), which had very good turnout and response. I
also got to attend the Esperanza church for part of Sunday School and it was
packed as usual; I saw and greeted lots of people and many sent greetings;
same at the house. It was a quick stop at the house due to a heavy schedule
and although I saw quite a few neighbors, there were a number that I didn't
see. It was great to see so many people.

Anyway, I am including some photos of the house as of yesterday: note that
the roof is on, and that they added another row of block above the bond beam
for additional height. Also, they stripped the stucco off the original
walls due to its deterioration, and even broke up the old floor. They also
filled and poured new floors in the two back rooms; put finished edges on
all door and window openings, and stuccoed the porch roof, beams and column.
So they are making a lot of progress. Obviously they have not moved in but
I attribute that to the fact that they are trying to do a lot of details,
extras, finishing touches, etc, and doing things right even if it means more
money and delaying moving in. Probably a wise choice in the long run.
Also, they apparently have a Canadian contact that has offered to help pay
for finishing the house, so no doubt they are counting on that and
therefore, working on the quality instead of rushing to move in.

We trust that all are well!

Blessings in Christ.

Steve

A few traveling home pictures.

We made it safely home this evening. "Thank You!" everyone for your prayers and support.

Worshiping at the 2nd CRC of Esperanza.

The beginning of the end.

Where to begin? Today was wonderful, amazing, long, hard and so many more things all in one. We started the day by packing all of our luggage, the tools and other supplies into a van that headed right away back to Santo Domingo. The team, Steve and driver Manuel, 16 total, packed into the other van, a very tight fit. We first dropped off a few extras at pastor Duran's home then headed to the church. The building is more than twice the size of the buildings we have helped to build. Steve told us that they had started with a smaller building, built with the help of a team like ours. The congregation has been growing to over 200 members. They more then doubled the size of their building without any outside money. When we arrived, Sunday school was in progress, 7 classes all meeting at once in the sanctuary. Every class was learning bible verses, studying a lesson and singing songs all at once. Very different from our idea of Sunday school. We, of course, were ushered to the front of the church to sit behind the pulpit. Very uncomfortable, like being on display, but the honored guest seats. We soon discovered that four of the Dominican kids we had meet and played with this past week were there. We gave and received a large number of hugs and kisses. This was a big deal, the church is completely Haitian, the service is in Creole. They had come because we had invited them and they wanted to see us one more time before we left. As some members of the church setup for the service, we mostly watched as Sunday school finished. With everyone already in the sanctuary, the end of Sunday school seemed to flow into the start of the church service.

It is now after 11:00 pm here, we have to be at breakfast at 5:00 am and ready to leave the ministry center at 5:30. The rest of this post will have to wait until later.

A few site seeing pictures from behind the pastor's house.

Pictures from Esperanza, last work day

Pictures from Esperanza, day four

Report from Flora

Today brought some rain and some cool weather that we are so grateful to God for. My experiences are a little bit different because I have the privilege of knowing one of the languages that is spoken here. I was asked to visit a home of one of the neighbors of the Pastor today after lunch. I don't know her name but she was willing to invite me into her home and to meet her Great- Great grandmother who is 100 years old. She was happy to see me and I talked with her a little bit. I asked her if she knew Jesus and she said that she did and I told her that she did not need to fear death. She smiled at me and then we sang together. What a joy to see God's people caring for each other and sharing the concerns that they have with me.

The family that I spent time with consists of a Great-Great- Grandmother, a grand mother, two grandchildren and various other sons and daughters. The mother of the small children left and the great grandmother is living in New York. Part of the devotion for today is John 10:27-29. It says "Your sheep hear your voice and You know them and they follow you. You give them eternal life and they shall never perish: no one can snatch them out of Your hand. The Father who has given them to you, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of the Father's hand." I am so thankful about that today.

Pictures from our trip to Monte Cristi.

We have returned.

The group had a good day. We missed Kristin who was not feeling well today. While we were looking around Monte Cristi for a beach to spend the day at, a lady with a boat tour company approached us with an alternative. We took a boat ride to a small island off the coast after we had ordered food for lunch. We spent a couple of hours swimming and exploring the island before they brought our lunch to the island. We spent another couple of hours after we ate lunch lounging on the beach, exploring and swimming. The boat picked us up and we headed back to Moa, we safely arrived around 6:30. Kristin is feeling a little better than this morning but still not close to 100%. We thank you for your prayer for health and safety, God is good. Pictures will be posted soon.

We are off to explore a little today.

The block that we laid the last two days needs time to setup before we build forms and pour the lintel beam. The local workers are also working to finish up the rebar cages for the lintel beam. So we are off the explore Monte Cristi on the north west coast. We have been informed that with our trip to Higuey on Saturday, we will be the first CRC mission team to essentially cross the entire country in the span of one trip. We are looking forward to a little R&R before the heavy work of the last two days. The heat and the long days are taking a physical toll on everyone, but we are in good spirits and really enjoying the whole experience. Please pray that we have safe travels today and that everyone is refreshed and ready to go Friday and Saturday. Thank You!

Today is Wally's birthday.

A few pictures from the ride back to the hotel tonight.

Pictures from Esperanza, day three

Report from Brenda

Hello from the DR! Notice my American greeting since I am kinda lost in the language here. I have however, made many friends already. Jenny, especially comes to me numerous times throughout the day and taps me on the shoulder and rattles off something....pleasantries I'm sure. The kids are great, they come home from school around 1:00 and come to the worksite. The Dominican people are extremely friendly and hospitable.

The work is hard. We have been setting block for two days and it is very hot. Occasionally, there is a good breeze. To give you an idea of how hot it is and how hard we are working, the neighbor offered to let us use their bathroom and I don't think anyone has had to use it yet even though we are consuming large quantities of fluid. It is a beautiful sight to look over the site and see Dominicans and Americans working side by side, to hear multiple languages going all at once.....spanish, english and rooster.

Thank you for your continued prayers. All of us were working today. Not everyone is feeling 100%, but we are all here today. It is good. God is so good. This has been an incredible experience for me to help build a house, relationships and character.

Brenda
(And Tim......you know me so well!:)

Specific prayer requests.

Today was a long hot day. Two members of the team were not feeling well today, stayed at the hotel and slept most of the day, they really needed to do that. This was not a big burdon on the rest of the team as we really have more than enough people for the work we are doing and we are working with some local congregation members. A couple of other team members are feeling as though they may be coming down with something. Please pray and thank God that the two members who stayed back today are feeling better and will probably join us tomorrow. Please also pray that he will protect the other two from whatever they feel is coming on and that he will keep them healthy to complete the work that we have set out to do. But most of all pray that in everything we do, that God will be glorified. That is the number one goal of the team and we are doing our best. Thank you for all your prayers and support.

Pictures from Esperanza, day two

Today started out very hot, no clouds, very little breeze. The clouds rolled in about 2:30 with a nice cooling breeze. An answer to prayer and a nice way to finish a long day.

Morning pictures from the hotel.

Report from Dan and Kristin

Hola from the Dominican Republic! It is quite warm here today; a small breeze here and there, but there is not a cloud in the sky. The mountains and surrounding rice fields make for beautiful scenery when we step outside of the walls we are building. Yesterday when we first got to the worksite, we had the opportunity to take a walk around the area. A couple of the local Domincans wanted to show us what was around and they pointed out numerous beauties. The rice fields, people making bricks by hands, a butcher hut, and banana fields. The agricultural diversity is very evident. We even saw some Holstein (black and white cows, which we often milk in the U.S.) cows walking down the path behind the worksite. This morning on the way to our worksite, we saw a crop duster spraying the fields and even some John Deere tractors. (It felt like Kristin was at home).

In our devotions this morning, one of the passages was from Romans 12. It talks about using the various gifts that we have been given by God. It has been evident today to see the various gifts being used on the worksite. New gifts are even being revealed and discovered. It's beautiful to see teammates stepping out of comfort zones to complete a task or build a relationship. We are excited to see these gifts continue to develop through out the week, whether they be physical labor skills or building a relationship. Whatever those gifts may be, we are excited to take them home with us and apply them to our lives at home.

Please continue to pray for health and strength as the heat is taking a toll on our arctic acclimated bodies. Also pray that God will continue to reveal Himself, which He has done in so many ways already! Thank you for the continued support, prayers, and love that you have shown us; it is felt!

Dan and Kristin Sterk

Pictures from Esperanza, day one

Pictures of all the work we did, the fun we had and some of the beautiful scenery.