GRPC Youth Group 2008 (Day 2)

So today was a very busy day for the Youth Group. We have about 40 people here with us total and we were all split us in different parts of Jarabacoa.

7:00am
We met this morning for breakfast and for our morning assignments. My group would work at JCS all morning. We cleaned out the storage room, took inventory and organized books/ materials, we organized classrooms and set us rooms so they could be painted. In the afternoon we had about 8 more girls join our work force and they painted one of the classrooms, removed and painted the furniture that is going to be moved to one of the houses. Moved some of the inventoried books to their classrooms and took some time to play a little ball with some of the local neighborhood kids that came over to play.

The JCS men's group also had a busy day. They framed out the addition to the Annex, they tore down part of the playground, the insulated and began adding walls to one of the new classrooms. The most important part of the men's job was helping the girls every time we needed something heavy to move and removing rodents/bugs that were not welcomed in our work zone.

The VBS (Vacation Bible School) was also a huge success. There were about 138 kids that showed up at the church and through the help of translators the kids were able to have some formal education about Christ. The kids enjoyed coring, playing games, interacting with people who believe they are special and just being kids. We don't know if the numbers will be the same tomorrow, but we pray that God will allow us to help all the kids that attend in some way.

The PT(Physical Therapy) Clinic
In the afternoon, Dan had a few of the kids with him in the clinic. He was able to show them how the clinic works but more importantly how he is able to share the Gospel with people through his occupation. The kids seemed to enjoy it.

12:00pm
Lunches were on time and everyone enjoyed the down time. We had baked chicken with beans and rice.

6:30pm
Tonight we were invited to the Seabrooks for dinner. Annie and Jeff are the director of Escuela Caribe and they wanted to host us at their home on the Escuela Caribe campus. Although I stayed home with my kids this evening, I heard that dinner was wonderful and all of the kids loved being there.

Dan on the other hand took 4 of the Youth Group students with him to Wendy's house for dinner. Wendy is one of his colleagues and some of the kids were given a chance to see how a typical Dominican family lives and eats for dinner. (I'm sure Wendy outdid herself and made a non traditional dinner)

8:00pm
Everyone meet back at the Villas to share, pray and partake in a Bible study.

GRPC Youth Group 2008

El Salto Jimenoa

So today was our 1st full day with our Church's Youth Group. Dan and I have been so excited about having them come down since the spring, but it is such a blessing for us to have them here with us.
9:45am

This morning we were blessed to invite them to our local church service and the Youth Group took us 1/2 the seats in the pews. Although this was not GRPC and everything had to be translated, I pray our kids were able to worship God this morning along side fellow Christians.

12:00pm

Afterwards we went to el Patio; one of the local restaurants here in town. We ate a typical Dominican lunch and I think most people enjoyed it because there was not much of anything left. We then headed back to change and waited for our vans to pick us up in front of the villas. Since the upcoming week is going to consist of a lot of hard work, today we (cool people in charge like the Palmer's and Steve Wallace not Dan or I) decided that it be a good idea to have the kids do something fun.
2:00pm

So we went to El Salto Jimenoa (the Jimenoa waterfalls). This was such an adventure. It takes about 20mins to drive to the salto. We took two DR style 18 passenger vans (probably an 8 passenger van in the US) and our personal vehicle, but the real fun began when we arrived. We hiked down hill for about 30 mins to the falls which was very hard for most because the mountainside is extremely steep. However, It was worth every minute of the hick. Here are some pics from our day. On the way back, many people were definitely feeling the burn because it was a tough hike uphill. At about 5:00pm we headed back to shower and get ready for dinner.

6:30pm
Tonight was a night out with the chicken man. We had tostones/fritos verdes and of course a lot of delicious deep fryed chicken. Everything was so yummy and I was really pleased by how well behaved our Youth Group was. Tonight, Dan is going to be with the team during their evening share/prayer time while I watch the kids. Once again this was only Day 1 of a week of fellowship and I'm already so encouraged and blessed by everyone here. Please pray for these kids as they prepare for a very intense week.

My 2 Beautiful Young Chicas

Ok, so I'm not having any daughters but God did bless our family with the arrival of Tiffany and Candace Ewald on July 11th 2008. Dan and I were Tiff and Candace's youth group leader at GRPC a long time ago so Dan and I were very excited at the chance to be able to host them in our DR home for several weeks. When Mrs. Ewald emailed us and asked if we might be willing to host them this summer, Dan and I were super exited. Ever since we moved to the DR we have always wanted to be able to open our home to anyone who is anxious to share of themselves for the sake of others in the hope of sharing the Gospel either in action or word to the people of Jarabacoa and so its been so awesome to see how much these to girls have have matured spiritually since we last spent time with them years ago.

This past week they have helped me with prep much of the task that the Youth Group will be helping out with at JCS. They have been eager to serve in any capacity and their love of the Lord is evident. Although they have only been here one week so far, I truly believe that God is working in the and in my family as well.

Little Danny is now a BIG Guy

My Handsome Little Man

This past week, when Danny got his haircut, I started to realize how much Danny has grown. He is still super sweet, loves to give lots of hugs and kisses but he is really turning into a big guy. I tried to lift him up and it is increasingly more difficult to do. He sometimes sits in a chair or plays with his brother or with certain toys that really lets me see just how far he has come...

Here he is in his old Pack and play. Playing with some of AJ's toys. He barely fits in it any more and he certainly does not need my help to get in and out. He does still enjoy playing with some of those baby toys so it comforts me to know that he will still be a little boy a little longer.

Here is is hanging out on my lounge chair. When we bought this about 3 years ago, he looked like a little peanut in it. So Dan and I got one especially his size. That one has now become AJ's chair because Danny can hardly squeeze in it anymore.

Here he is finding his own accessories. Granted they do not belong to him, but he does know that accessories do complete and outfit. I love that I have done a good job with that. (just kidding)

Here Danny is hard at work on his homework. He is very meticulous about his work and he always tries to do the best he can on all assignments. He loves to practice school work and although he still wants me there with him, he really doesn't need me much to get thing done.

Finally, here he is trying to read to himself. He has always enjoyed books, and although Dan and I still read him many stories. He is now able to sound out many words and is able to read a lot of them. He even tries to teach AJ how to do. He is such an awesome Big Brother. (OK so there are many times that he tackles and beats AJ up, but right now we are highlighting the good Danny)

AJ loves shoes....

I know this might seem strange to those of you who do not have kids yet, but my little AJ loves shoes. (I have no idea where he got that from, but it was probably DAN :) Any who, anytime he gets a chance he is wearing someone's shoes. He think he is such a big guys in them.

Here he's stomping around in Danny's school shoes like he owns the place.

What do you think about the black ones?

Here he's sporting Danny's sneakers. His face indicates that Danny has just caught him agian and was about to yell at him. Although Danny thinks its funny to see AJ in his shoes, he does not like him in these sneakers bc Danny is not allowed to wear them yet (They were a gift for his B-Day and they dont fit him yet). Aj clearly did not get the memo.

(OH-OH here comes Danny, maybe I should go get a pair from Daddy's closet instead)

YUP, I think these will do jut fine. Daddy will never know there gone.

Almost anytime AJ is a little to quiet, I know I can find him playing in someones closet making a mess with the shoes.


So many shoes so little time.

Resurrection Sunday

Happy Resurrection Sunday

This Easter Sunday, we celebrated the holiday a little differently. I (Karen) attended a sunrise service at Escuela Caribe (a wonderful Missions group that serves troubled teens) with two of my closest friends in the DR. (Dan was wonderful enough to watch the boys and sleep in) The speaker did an awesome job of explaining that Easter is the main part of Christianity that most people/other religions have a problem with. Most people/religions would not argue that there was a Jesus and that he was a great teacher, prophet, man etc.... Most people (and history) would also agree that Jesus was born and was killed over 2000 years ago. However, the conflicts come on Easter Sunday with his resurrection. For one, if Jesus does not rise then he could not have been who he said he was which conflicts with all the other theories of him being such a good teacher, prophet etc... Most importantly for me, as a Christian, if Jesus does not rise again then my faith is worthless because I have placed my trust in something that is a lie. So the point of the message was that either Jesus is who he said he is or he was the greatest liar and impostor that has ever walked the face of the earth and my faith as a Christian is worthless and my hope for eternity in heaven is a joke. As a Christian the message really hit home and made me truly appreciate the sacrifice that God made for all who believe.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. John 3:16

After the sunrise service we attended our regular service at Iglesia Nueva Vida as a family. We enjoyed another wonderful service where our pastor talked about the importance of knowing the real purpose for the celebration. I left that service eager to talk to Danny and explain to him that the reason we are celebrating the day. Its not the yummy candy or colored eggs that are important, but its the the fact that Jesus rose again so that our sins could be forgiven and have the opportunity to spend eternity with God. After church we enjoyed a wonderful potluck lunch and an egg hunt with our Bible study families. (Rick and Becky and their 2 kids and Teresa and Daniel and their baby)

Here are a few pictures of us on Easter.

Easter Fun in Jarabacoa

EASTER FUN at the Bransons

Although the Easter celebrations are different here, Dan and I wanted our kids to continue enjoy some of our American traditions. With that being said, one of our missionary friends down here (Sharon and Paul Branson) invited us over to have and Easter egg hunt with their kids and it was great FUN. We tried to have the hunt in the morning so that the candy did not melt by the time the kids found it. So we hard boiled some eggs, grabbed our egg decorating kit and off to the Branson we went for some fun.

Here are my boys with their empty baskets. Danny is ready to go collect candy. AJ is wondering what he is going to do with the basket.

We had to get creative in our hiding, but the kids had lots of fun.

Baskets full of candy!

The kids had lots of fun decorating their eggs.

Everyone had a great time.