COTN's medical clinic

A story came from last weeks medical team, a team of doctors, dentists and nurses from the greater Seattle area. There is a 39 Haitian man from Barahona came to the clinic with a cleft pallet. He lived with this condition all his life. When the surgery was completed he said, "and now I can find a woman to be married". God is so good and gracious! He needs one more surgery. Pray for him, his healing and for another team of doctors who can come down to finish work.

I'm sure more stories like this will be forth coming. Thanks for your support.

Vic

Family Team

Tonight we had, at The Casa, our farewell and thank you celebration for our team from Summit Church in Orlando, FL. They we mainly a family team, 2 father/daughter teams, one single guy, a few single women and a family of four. Their project was to help pour a concrete floor for one of the families in Los Robles. They worked with some of the family members for two days, giving them a floor that will last a lifetime. The floors are such a blessing for families as the reduce the risk of disease and make life much more comfortable during the rainy season. The pictures above show the team mixing the sand, water, concrete right on the ground out front of the house. No need for a mixer here my contractor friends, just a few strong backs and extra hands.

The children who came with the husband wife team were all under 9 years old. The were great and had a wonderful time playing in the bateys with the kids.

Drenched and more

Whoa! What a rain storm. Just as the two teams from Florida arrived it poured even harder. We tried frantically to find an umbrella so that they could walk from the bus to the casa without taking a serious shower with clothes on. Mo found an old beach type umbrella and we both made it out to greet the bus without getting soaked. We needed to fit at least three under the umbrella plus the two of us to move things along, and that left me on the fringe. I abandoned the covering and took a shower via God's watering.

We managed to get the two teams up to the room for a brief orientation. That went well. We then showed everyone to their rooms, then uh oh...a guy locked himself out of his room because the keys he had didn't work in his doorknob. We then tried every key we could find anywhere, no luck. Hmmm...decision time. After calling our COTN Dominican leader, Angel, he said if all else fails, break the doorknob, and we will get a new one. My new friend, Sandy, the night guard, called on us to find a favorite trusty tool, a big rock. He then did a beautiful job of smashing the doorknob without damage to the door. Then, our friend who was locked out came up with American's favorite tool, a leather man. Presto...problem solved...we had him back in his room in an instant.

A new doorknob is now needed. )-: but this can be done today. No problema...(-:

One thing came to my mind as the downpour continued...and our frustration was remedied...what must it be like to live in the bateys during a torrential downpour and steady rain. The mud and water streaming through the village (batey) must make life difficult. We are so fortunate, here at the Casa and at home. Give thanks to God for all that we have and know that His heart beats for these less fortunate people

Jesus to the rich young ruler...

Matthew 19:21 (The Message)

21"If you want to give it all you've got," Jesus replied, "go sell your possessions; give everything to the poor. All your wealth will then be in heaven. Then come follow me."

New weather experience

Just a quick note from The Casa. We are having a strong thunder and lightning storm tonight, with much rain. Please pray for the two teams on their way here from the airport in Santo Domingo. Pray for safe travels. We are expecting them at 9 pm. We will have our first orientation presention to welcome them.

The sun was shining most of the day but as the evening approached, Wham! New experience!

Vic for the fam

Meet Estali. He is a young Haitian man, 18 years old, who lives in Los Robles, one of the bateys. We had a great time talking about his faith and beliefs. I had some help from an interpreter, but for the most part, I used my Spanish. We talked about marriage, how God sees it, one man - one woman. This truth is not lived very well here amongst Cristianos. It seems somewhat acceptable for men to have a wife and at least another woman. I'm trying to discern more about all of this and continue to have conversations with others.

These conversations are leading me into opportunities to share the Laugh Your Way to a Better Marriage Dvd's with pastors. God is so good and I'm thankful that Monique is practicing her Spanish continuously here, as she is motivating me. We are able to help COTN staff with their English speaking and they help us. Fun!

Today the sun is shining brightly, hace mucha calor. It is hot. Monique and I went to the market this morning to help our cook, Manuela. We took a little guagua (very small van) to the market and our driver, Jeoudi, wove us through the streets to different markets, street vendors, etc. Very fun!

It is time for lunch. More later.

Vic for the fam

During the tree planting project I captured a photo of these two boys hauling bananas, or possibly plantanes to their house. The concho, scooter, is one of the most common modes of transportation here in the Dominican. This scene, however is not that common in the bateys as these people cannnot afford a concho.

The first woman who wanted a tree planted near her house, see picture, asked us for prayer. She is very lonely and has seven children. Her husband died a few years ago. Our time of prayer was amazing. Pray that the tree that was planted will bear much fruit for her family.

Monique gives a piggy back ride with lot of laughter to a girl in Los Robles.

Today was the day to say good-bye to our friends from Seattle - Northshore Christian Academy. We will miss them. They left in the rain and it has rained all day. A day to catch up on some sleep and rest. This is good.

Buenas noches.

Vic for the fam

Tree Planting project

Watching God move over the tree planting project this morning was amazing. Our family joined the team from Everett as they walked around Los Robles, stopping by different homes to ask if there were any prayer requests for families. The first home on our walk was occupied by a mom with seven children. She shared that her husband died a few years ago and she was feeling very lonely. We surrounded her in love and prayed for her and all her needs. She was so blessed by the lemon tree we planted near her home. We asked the Lord to bless the ground and produce much fruit to provide for her family. You should have seen her face and spirit after we prayed. Incredible! This scene was repeated many times throughout the morning.

Mango, lemon, custard apple were all planted around the batey. As we continued on more and more children came out to join us and ask for trees for their families. This project connected all of us with God's love for these people and in a very short time relationships of trust began to be built. The tree now provides an opportunity for pastor Juan Jose to connect with each family as well. see pastor Juan Jose with the white baseball cap in the picture)

What an amazing few days we've had here already!

Vic for the fam

Patricia's family

June 22, 2010

Una Manana Maravilloso!

This morning Ellie, Carly, Monique and I had the opportunity to visit Patricia Cueva’s house (casa) in the batey of Los Robles. We talked with her, with some help from an interpreter, in Spanish for almost 2 hours. She welcomed us into her home and introduced us to her madre (mother) her sister (hija) and her father (padre). Throughout our conversation Patricia’s cousins (sobrinas) would stop in to say hi too. She has a lot of family in the batey.

We asked questions of her and she of us much of our time together. She welcomed our questions. Patricia loves Christ and follows Him faithfully. There is a pastor for her batey whose name is Juan Jose, who is doing a great work in pouring his life into the adults and kids there. One of the things she shared, which I found interesting, is that there are many more women and children who follow Christ in Los Robles, than men. I found out that this is also true for the Dominican adults. So...therein lies a prayer request, for men in these cultures, Haitian and Dominican, to be drawn to the heart of God. More on this later.

Patricia is studying to be a pre-school teacher at the universidad in Barahona. She goes to school 2 long days a week and is working very hard to earn credits. Pray for her perseverance in her quest to earn a degree.

Patricia

Meet Patricia. She is a young woman from Los Robles batey who our family sponsors for her college education. She was so excited to see Ellie and Carly, Monique too. I really met her for the first time today. She has invited us to her casa (house) to meet her parents and siblings tomorrow. Isn't she beautiful. Meeting her family is going to be one of the many highlights in our mission here. Patricia has been part of COTN's program since she was a child. God has led us into a beautiful relationship with Patricia through Carly.

We will share more of COTN's child sponsorship program when we return.

Buenas Noches mi amigos...Good night my friends.

Vic for the fam

R and R day

Today we have been blessed with an R and R day, which began with a trip to a beautiful beach about 45 minutes from the Casa. There is a river running into the ocean at this beach and many tiendas de comida (stands with food for sale) fish (tilapia) rice, empanadas, fried okra, jugo (juice) etc. They have made pools to catch the water that you can wade in and the water is cool, straight off the montanas (mountains) Very nice on a hot day! We did not go to this beach last year.

Joselito (one of our translators) told us they can't trust teenagers at this beach (sorry 2009 team) because it is more dangerous, rip tides, and strong waves. The waves actually knocked us down and we weren't out very far at all. I sat down and let them carry me up on the sand on my butt. Fun!

We will go to church (iglesia) tonight with the group from north Seattle. We are looking forward to the experience. There are many new COTN staff here this year, new people to meet and get to know, not to mention the interns and short term teams.

That is it for now. Hasta la vista! Vaya con Dios!

Vic for the fam

We've arrived

We are here at the Casa Betesada. What a journey, forgot how long it took to get here after landing in Santo Domingo. A long action packed bus ride for sure dodging scooters and small trucks, not to mention people. Ha! Stay tuned! Thanks for your prayers. The coffee is just as tasty as I remembered.

Our room situation is great, Ellie and Carly and in a room next to Mo and I. Perfect! There is a team here from Northshore Christian Academy and a team of doctors, nurses, family members from the Seattle area who will be doing surgeries, etc., at COTN's medical clinic in Barahona. Great people!

More later

Love Vic and family

The Casa

The photo shows some of the Casa Batesada where we will be staying this summer along with mission teams from all over the U.S. Each team has a specific vision for their role in serving the Haitian refugees in the bateys. Our main role will be to serve the various mission teams that will be staying at Casa Betesada with us and helping them experience life in the bateys in their specific mission. We will be communicating with the COTN national team and helping them prepare for the international short term missionaries who will come all summer long.

This summer at the Casa we will host the following teams:

a medical team who will be working in the bateys doing surgeries and some family ministry at COTN’s medical clinic.
a team of teachers who will be doing seminars for COTN’s school teachers.
a teaching team who will be doing a series on Environmental Stewardship.
a Vision team is doing vision work and an Environmental Stewardship project in the batey of Don Bosco
a Reach/Build team is doing work painting a school and some children’s ministry work.
a Build team is constructing floors.

These are just a few things some of the COTN Venture teams are doing. Would you consider what God might have you do in forming a team to serve these people. Monique and I would love to help you in seeing your vision become a reality.



Would you prayerfully consider giving to this mission? We are asking God to provide for our travel expenses and our lodging costs during our six week stay. Here is a link you can use to donate online...http://www.cotni.org/opportunities/9

Thank you for your prayers not only for our family but for the many teams we will be encouraging this summer.

We are just two weeks away from our departure. Wow!