Camp talks

On Tues. and Wed. we had our basketball camp, teaching basketball skills to the guys in the villages (bateyes). After each camp session we took the opportunity to share our life stories with the guys...stories about our walk with God. Manuel Emilio from Altagracia, (pictured here) also shared his life story with us. As you can see, all the guys were riveted and connecting with his story. Austin and C.J. shared too...which demonstrated that life's challenges aren't unique to different cultures. Austin encouraged the Dominican guys in how they treated Mandy with respect during the camp, and exhorted them to treat the girls in their villages to treat young women in the same way, with honor and respect. I'm so proud of our team, as they are mixing and building relationships with everyone here. So beautiful to see with my eyes and I hope the photos bring this back to you.

Team Friday Harbor is here

Hello friends and family! Our island to island outreach has begun. We welcomed all our friends from Friday Harbor here to the Casa on Sunday night. We were all very excited to see everyone and show them around, introducing them to our COTN family here. Here are a few photos and there will be more to come. There are a ton of photos posted on Facebook too. Check out our page; Dominican Republic 2012 - COTN. The basketball camp has been going great. It has been really really hot here during the camp...so we are guzzling the water. It is kind of weird, we get a few cooling rain showers, they stop and then the sun super heats us with intensity and humidity. I think I speak for my family in sharing that we are seeing relationships grow amongst our team and with the Dominican kids and young guys here in the bateys. Life changing stuff...things of God.

Saturday night

I wrote this last Saturday night...and am just now getting to post it. If you listen to the music above the post will have more flavor and meaning... It is Saturday night here in Barahona and that means that you can almost always hear music in the distance, sometimes merengue and sometimes bachata. I’m not sure I would want to be next to the speaker it is coming from, because it has to be very loud for me to hear it at the Casa. Whoa! This music makes you want to move...very fun to listen to and hard to stay seated. We just got news that the team from Seattle that is coming tonight won’t arrive until around 7:30 p.m. I’m pretty sure they are going to be exhausted. I hope their drive here goes smoothly. We had some thunderstorms here in Barahona today; refreshing when it happens, then the humidity usually ramps up big time. Our friend Manuel Emilio stopped by the Casa to see us and get out of the rain. He came in town with friend Yelin to get some medicine. Dominicans generally don’t like the rain, at least working or traveling in the rain, especially if your riding a motorcycle. Last night our friend Franklin invited Carly and I to his church. As we were driving around the streets of Barahona I was struck by how many neighborhood churches there were here. Our cook Manuela tells me that there are four churches on her street. Just driving through the neighborhoods you can here people singing praises to God. It was a Thursday night too. The people this church meet four times a week.

The Bread Man

This man, who I will call "The Bread Man", cruises up and down the streets in the barrious near Barahona selling bread to the small colmados, little one room family stores. He has bread hanging from every inch of his motorcycle.

More eyes

Hi Friends and family! I want to link you to Aaron Soderlund's blog. His team is here now and you can hear his perspective on their work here, some photos too. Here is the link: www.asod.wordpress.com

Hauling Sand by Hand

Yesterday afternoon the team started in on the second cement floor of the day, however, this required a different type of work, and it took everyone to get it done. Even Carly and I got into the act of hauling sand and dirt to the house site. The woman with the bucket is Melanie and it is her house where the floor will be poured. (see photo of her with the bucket) She is standing in front of her house. I didn't get a picture of her husband. The fact that her house is not next to the road, but on a side of a hill, makes this job more difficult. Hauling sand and dirt down the hill to her building site was exhausting for all of us. There was one guy who didn't seemed to be phased by the work. (see the photo of the little boy with the pail on his head) This little guy went up and down the hill with a pail of sand, outworking all of us. He couldn't be more than 5 years old. Wow! He was there to help us, and this is not his house. We couldn't figure out who he was related to in the community. This community is Don Bosco, a barrio of Barahona. It is a huge community in the hills above Barahona. COTN's school there is the largest of the COTN schools, grades K-8, double-shifted, approx. 900 students I think. The heat was turned up on us yesterday, as the rain is gone and temps. above 88 degrees with huge humidity are back.

The Little Children

Hello friends and family, We had just enough of a break between thunderstorms to squeeze our visits to the communities with the new team that is hear from Redmond, WA. We are so thankful that Monique is here. We missed her terribly, and are missing Ellie big time too. Ellie will be here on Sunday. When a new team comes we start their stay with a tour of COTN's office, where we meet the staff and then spend the day visting the children in the bateys (communities). Carly and I were blessed to see some little children we have been watching closely the last four years, seeing them grow, be cared for and nourished through the people God brings into their lives. COTN plays a huge part in providing all the opportunities these little one will have in life. This is where you and I come in, doing our part of lend a hand. I'm reminded of Jesus' words. Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." In the photos, Carly cuddles Diego and Diana, the twins in Los Robles we fell in love with three years ago. I've been posting photos of them on this blog every year. Another little boy I met last year, Brandi, is being held by his grandmother. He is about 1 1/2 now. A new boy that latched on to my hand yesterday is Aro. I'm pictured with him. Please lift these little ones up in prayer. They are precious in sight and should be in ours too. Wouldn't you agree?

Amazing first week

Hello friends and family! What an incredible first week Carly and I have experienced here in Barahona with at team of students from LaTourneau Univ. in Longview, TX. Their leader Daniel is a friend of Frazer Ratleff's, who came up to San Juan Is. last October to leads us in packaging meals for children. (The COTN Meal Packaging Event) Carly and I really felt welcomed right into their team and as the week went on, God led us as we became family. We all knew that we were part of His family, but those are words...then He showed us by the love that was demonstrated through listening, sharing, affirming and caring for each other. Somehow I think God gave us a tangible example of what it is like to "be" the church. In addition to new relationships being built at the Casa, we then went out to Altagracia to serve (pour cement floors) and experience more love and thankfulness. Sometimes the need overwhelms me, to be honest with you. The children are so precious. Every time Carly goes out with a team...the kids gravitate to her. Ellie too. My friend Manual Emilio, who lives in Altagracia and is one of the young pastors there, asks you to pray for the young teens there, that they would continue their education. Many stop going to school for various reasons; the girls get pregnant, the guys think they need money now and will take off to Santo Domingo to seek work, which is kind of a dog eat dog world in the city. Last night I spoke to a little church in Barahona, encouraging them to think about what it means to love and to love well. Monique and I will go back there and expand that message with married couples next week, I think. Carly and I are looking forward to Monique's arrival on Sunday and of course Ellie with our Friday Harbor team in about a week. Blessings to all of you. We are so grateful to be here again this year.

Safely here at Casa Batesada

Hola friends and family! If I mix Spanish and English at times it is because my brain is trying to intrepret and it is rusty. Esta bien = It is well or Okay. Our flights and I emphasize flights, were pretty much on time all day Friday and Sat. morning. The amazing blessing was that our bags made it through all the transfers, Seattle to Dallas, Dallas to Boston, Boston to Miami and finally Miami to Santo Domingo. We entered into some extreme loss and sadness in the Dominican COTN family. Several of the staff have lost loved ones in the last week. Please pray for Juanchi and Pablo, prayers for comfort and peace I know would be appreciated in these times of grief. Carly and I are so fortunate that the first team we are working with here is a team of college students from LaTourneau Univ. in Longview, TX. We just got off the Casa roof, a quaint meeting place, where we spent over an hour in praise and affirmations. Their leader, Daniel is a gifted worship leader. The everyone in the group is so special and came with hearts to serve and love on the families in the bateyes. They will be pouring 3 cement floors this week and I will have pictures to post later in the week. Did you ask how's the weather...needless to say we will be guzzling from our water bottles. It is hot, 85 degrees with that special moisture in the air called, humidity. Loving it right now, really. Thanks again for your thoughts and prayers. There's more to come later in the week. Vic for Carly

Up, up and away

The day is here for our first departure; Carly and I fly out at 11 a.m. Wow! I can't hardly believe this day has finally arrived. It is going to be a long day hopping from airport to airport; first Seattle to Dallas, then Dallas to Boston, then a stop-over in Miami and finally on to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Sleeping in airports has never been, very very good to me....so your prayers would be much appreciated. The photos above will keep me going today. I can't wait to see some of our fantastic translators, see pictured in funny hats. (Joselito, Daniela and Cookie) I also eagerly look forward to seeing the kids again, see photos...Carly with a little boy in her arms...Austin and Jordan working with girls to produce a beautiful mural last summer. Monique is coming next week, as she is staying home to help Ellie in recovery from a tonsilectomy. Ellie is healing and feeling a little better each day. Our Friday Harbor DR team is coming June 23rd and is busy collecting shoes for the guys who will be part of the basketball camp. If you have any athletic shoes in your closet, please consider donating them for our young friends in the Dominican Republic. Call 378-8435 to find out the locations where you can drop them off. We have received so many generous gifts to make this mission trip a reality. Praise God! In addition to financial gifts, my friend Greg Crimp (Sports Cellar Sporting Goods in Coeurd'Alene, ID) has donated two dozen basketballs and a few nets and ball pumps for our camp. This is a tremendous blessing and will make our camp so much better. Well...I've go to go...time to navigate the airport in Seattle... Thanks for your support and prayers...until the next post...maybe from Casa Batesada. Blessings, Vic for Carly