Happy Resurrection Day, everyone!

Dominican Trip (Day 9)

Saturday, Our very last day, we got up earlier than ever so we could catch our flight home. It was hard leaving all the people we had come to love there in the D.R. and then at the airport when some of our team went home to other states. But I was blessed to be with them for as long as was! I loved every single person on that team and I'm glad that we will all be together again someday!

The sunrise on the flight home was really pretty. This picture does it no justice.

 We were welcomed home with....SNOW!!! That made me miss the D.R. right away! Haha! The snow didn't last long but the cold did.

Well, I hope you have been blessed by my posts and I pray God stirs something in you. Maybe you will be called to go the D.R. or another country to spread His Gospel, the very good news!

Dominican Trip (Day 8)

On the last full day of being in the Dominican we went to Catalina Island. First we drove about 45 minutes to  an inlet where we boarded a small boat. On this boat we chugged along at a very snail-like pace, seeing the island as soon as we got out of the inlet. It was a beautiful day with white fluffy clouds against a deep blue sky above and the clear blue water below. We had about two hours to enjoy this before we neared the island. : )

The inlet.

Can you see the island on the horizon?

Denice and I.

As we neared the island, the boat was stopped and we were able to jump out of the boat and go swimming and snorkeling.

My splash.

The water was sooo salty! It tasted nasty! ; )

Then we all got back into the boat and went farther around the island where we got into a smaller boat and came ashore. The rest of the day we rested, sunbathed, tried to tan (it didn't really work for me...), bought stuff at the gift shop, splashed in the water, ate a wonderful lunch, and played volley ball.

Around 3:00 we loaded back onto the small boat that took us to the larger boat and headed home on very rough waters! It was funny because when we reached the inlet the boat just died on us. The workers were running around trying to figure out what was wrong and we were sitting there wondering if we'd drift back out to sea! Thankfully they got the motor started again and we were parked and headed back to the compound before we knew it!

Crowded on the smaller boat.

That night we gathered around beside the pool and all threw a shoe or pen or something into the middle of the room. Then Van, starting us off, picked up a shoe and the person the shoe belonged to had to share something they learned or how God had grown them during the trip. After he shared he would pick up someone else's shoe and so on. We had a wonderful time.

One thing I learned is that the people in America are very self-centered and that we do not appreciate things like we should. Too often we get mad at how things don't go our way, or how we shouldn't have been treated a certain way, or how we should have gotten something better, and so on, and we don't even stop to think about how blessed we are. Most of the people in the Dominican don't have half what we do and yet they are so cheerful! Do they complain if they don't get their prescription as soon as they want it? No. Are they depressed because they live in a dump and only have a shack above their heads? Not that I noticed. They are a very cheerful people and I think we have a lot to learn from them!
I also learned that I don't have to be on a missions trip to be a missionary. I can do that right here where I am. Not that I don't want to go back to the D.R.! I hope to go back next year. I want to go back right now! ; ) But I don't want to stop spreading the gospel while I'm in the States just because it's not considered a missions trip.

Life Gets Teejus, Don’t It?

Life Gets Teejus, Don’t It?

Sun comes up and the sun goes down.

The hands on the clock keep goin' around.

I just get up an' it's time to lay down.

Life gets teejus, don't it?

My shoe's untied but I don't really care.

I ain't a-figurin' on goin' nowhere.

I'd have to wash an' comb my hair.

That's just wasted effort.

Water in the well's gettin' lower an' lower.

Can't take a bath for six months or more

But I've heard it said, and it's true I'm sure,

That too much bathin'll weaken' you.

I open the door an' the flies swarm in.

I shut the door an' I'm sweatin' again.

I move too fast an' I crack my shin.

Just one durn thing after t'other.

My old brown mule, he must be sick.

I jabbed him in the rump with a pin on a stick.

He humped his back, but he wouldn't kick.

There's somethin' cockeyed somewhere.

There's a mouse a-chawin' on the pantry door.

He's been at it for at least a month or more.

When he gets through there he's sure goin' to be sore.

[Chuckles]  There ain't a durn thing in there.

Hound dog howlin', he's so folorn.

Laziest dog that ever was born.

He's howlin' 'cause he's a-sittin' on a thorn —

Just too tired to move over.

Tin roof leaks an' the chimney leans.

There's a hole in the seat of my ol' blue jeans.

An' I've et the last of them pork an' beans.

Jus' can't depend on nuthin'.

Cow's gone dry an' the hens won't lay.

Fish quit bitin' last Saturday.

Troubles pile up, day by day —

Now I'm gettin' dandruff.

Grief an' misery, pains an' woes.

Debts an' taxes, an' so it goes.

And I think I'm gettin' a cold in the nose …

A-choo! Ah, life gets tasteless, don't it?

    ~Carson Jay Robison~

Dominican Trip (Day 7)

Thursday was a half medical day and I was sick that morning so I didn't get any pictures. I do know that both the pastor and his wife were dying of cancer. The nurses said it was the worst they'd ever seen and that in the states it would have never gotten so bad as that.

That afternoon I was able to go to the old Lilly House with everyone and paint for them. Actually I didn't paint at all. I helped watch the kids so everyone else could paint with no disruptions. ; )

They were a wild bunch of kids!

This little boy was getting so sandy! He was really cute!

 Some of the painters...

 The view from the deck upstairs...

The view of the other side...

 Hannah and a little friend...

Thursday, as you know, was Valentines. So on of the guys bought all of the ladies roses!

Dinner...

A Dominican man sharing his testimony during dinner...

Felipa and Dio...

After dinner we all gathered around Dr. Bob's laptop while Lee skyped his Dad, who got the trip together yet wasn't able to go. First he and Van talked a little without letting him see us and then Van said, "Hold on on a minute," and turned the computer and we all shouted, "HEY!!!!!" He was really surprised and we all loved seeing him!

Gathered around.

Well, thus ended the medical days!

Dominican Trip ( Day 6)

Wednesday, our third medical day, we piled into the buses, loaded the truck, and drove 1 1/2 hours to the Santo Domingo dump. Here we saw the worse medical issues any of us had ever seen! And you won't be seeing it because I couldn't stomach it long enough to take a picture and I didn't want that visual reminder either. Maybe I should have taken a picture of it all. I don't know. 

The poverty level was worse than I'd ever seen as well.

Amanda about to give her testimony...

All the kids up front...

Brooke giving her testimony...

This was the view from the top of the church we did medical in. If you click on the picture to make it bigger, you can see Santo Domingo on the horizon.

Three nurses and a translator...

Krista, Sherry, Brenda, and Catherine.

Racheld (walking in the background),
Mignelis, Brooke, Sherry, and Dr. Bob.

Getting an EKG done...

Praying for the patients...

One of the translators reached for my camera and said, "You have been taking pictures of everyone else. Let me take a picture of you!" So he did. ; )

Brooke holding a baby. I think she was 9 months old, but I can't remember her name...

After we opened some of the wounds the smell was so bad that a few of us had to wear face masks.

A better view of Santo Domingo...

Behind the church was an area where some people were recycling plastic. There were soooo many flies down there!

Isn't she so cute?!

They loved Lee's watch and were pushing all the buttons!

Dr. Bob is the missionary Doctor that lives in the D.R. so when the nurses had a problem or didn't know what to do they would call him. Sometimes though it was very loud and hectic so somebody had the idea at one station to make this cute sign to hold up if they needed him...

Donnalyn, Audrey, and a translator.

After the doors were shut there were still so many that wanted to see the doctor.

Evangelism...

Stephen and Felix.

Kika being silly.

Hannah.

This little girl's pants just slipped right off! It was really funny to see!

Sweet Lauren, the SCORE medical intern, holding a baby.

I thought this picture was really funny...

Praying for the pastor of the church...

A group outside as we were leaving.

We treated that guys bandaged leg. His was one of the worst.

More of the plastic recycling....

On the way home from the dump we stopped at a place beside the ocean to take a group picture and stretch our legs.

Our group picture....

Angela, Cliff, and Savanna.
...and Dad...

Mignelis, Brooke, and Felipa, the oreo.
They were laughing at how white we were.