A Taste of Dominican Culture

I just purchased this nice machede here in the DR so that I could cut coconuts for the team to drink out of for our "Taste of Dominican Culture" night. Part of my job responsibilities are to lead evening activities like this one. During the evening, we play games, drink from coconuts, and dance the merengue. This is a picture of me and Elyse tearing up the dance floor. I have pretty much mastered the art of the merengue, I just cant move my hips like the Dominicans do. Things are going great down here. I cant believe it has already been three weeks. This Saturday I will be hiking Mata de Platino. This hike will be like creeking up the mountain through a shallow river that has aqua colored pools you can swim in. Im telling you now that the mission field is very tough.

Mi Nuevo Equipo (My New Team)

Our church in the DR, Amor a Quisqueya, has a softball team that plays every Sunday night. I will get to be a part of this team for the next 8 weeks. I went 4-6 in my debut with a couple of catches out in center field. After the game Ecidro officially welcomed me to the team, which was really cool. I am looking foward to further connecting with the church and the community through softball. The picture is of me and Jiovanni after the game.

Weekend Off...

Well our first outreach is already done and it went great. God is doing some really amazing things here through the teams. I cant wait to see what else he will do over the next 8 weeks. To start off my weekend of relaxing, Alicia, Brooke, and I went to the river with a bunch of kids from El Callejon. My heart really goes out to the children because of the environment they live in. It breaks my heart. Most of them do not have fathers, they live in a poor community where alcoholism runs wild, and they are lucky if there house does not have a dirt floor. Days like to day are so enjoyable for me because of how excited they are and how they get to do something so simple and yet are so appreciative. We went swimming at the river for about an hour then went and got a couple of pizzas. I love all of these kids. They bring so much joy to my life. In Matthew 18:5, Jesus said, "And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me."

In the picture is Julie, Marisol, Alicia, Quanta, Mariavehay, Rosanna, and Brooke.

Community Outreach

One of the new activities that we are doing here at SI is a community outreach. We went to the communities of El Callejon, Mata Gorda, and Sabaneta tonight. One group showed a video, one did a clown act, and one did a puppet show about the first sin. We also played two games and students shared testimonies and passed out tracts that are stories for kids. I went to El Callejon with the students doing the puppet show. The students did a great job interacting with the kids in the community. The highlight of course was being with Marsiol and her new friend Julie. Please pray for the community of El Callejon that God would continue to bring hope to these people through the fullness of a relationship with him.

Dominican Family

We had our weekly staff meeting yesterday afternoon. Andre Lara works at our Agriculture site. During the meeting he shared a prayer request about his brother. His brother needs surgery to put a metal rod in his leg after he got beaten up. The surgery was going to cost 25,000 pesos (about $800 in America). He said that he had saved 10,000 pesos but was still 15,000 short to do the procedure. Francisco immediately walked over and handed Andre some money. Immediately after that, Vanesa spoke and up said that if we each give 1,000 pesos there is enough in here to cover the provedure. Then Elizabeth spoke up and said how we need to do that because we are family and Andre's family is part of our family. We all pitched in the money and it was so amazing to see how we could bless our fellow worker. That is what I love about working with the staff down here; it is like family!

Postcard from the Dominican....

Hola. Well I have completed my first week in the DR and have 10 more to go. The first couple days started off slow. The first team of the summer came on Monday night and we have been going full speed ever since. The weekend was very relaxing and I even got to take a group of students white water rafting (I tell you the mission field is tough). God has been working on me a lot since I have been down here. Obviously I am doing a lot of seeking while Im down here about where he is leading me in my ministry. The one thing that He has taught me so far is to just remain faithful. There are a lot of circumstances that I cannot control but the one thing I can do is remain faithful to what He has called me to do this summer. I am starting to adjust into my role as teams leader and I am really enjoying investing in the lives of the students that are on this outreach. I get to travel to all of our ministry sites which is great, but I miss out on some of the deep relationships you make when you spend all of your time at one site. This summer is an opportunity for me to facilitate the minsitry and allow others to be used by God. As you all go through your summer, my challenge to you today is to be faithful to whatever task is in front of you.

Dominican Traffic Jam...

On my way to ministry sites today I ran into a herd of cattle. A local man was moving a group of bulls and cows from one farm to another. I must say this is the first time I have ever had to pull over on the side of the road for a good old fashioned cattle drive. Once they got out of my way I was able to make the trip up to Los Higos. Los Higos is a community in the mountains where Students International does agricultural work, as well as medical and dental visits.

New Base Update

Students International is currently renting the property they are on. They also own land that will be used for their base starting in the Spring of 2007. Our Jupiter team in March that worked construction helped building a maintenance building that also has an appartment in it for Carlos, a blind man that works for SI. Here is the progress on the building. They have just begun construction on thier new man building and are still trying to raise funds to finish the building project. The new site will include larger (and nicer) dorm rooms for students, a worship center, a pool, a basketball court, and a sand volleyball court. If you are interested in visiting SI in the DR, they are having a Vision Tour from August 7-12th. SI will be covering the cost for those willing to come check out the ministry here and possibly give towards the incredible work God is doing here. If you would like info on this vision tour email me at kawilson23@bellsouth.net.

First Group of the Summer

The first of my five outreaches arrived on Monday. There are 39 college age studetns from James Madison University and some individuals that came on their own. It is an interesting mix of 31 girls and 8 guys (TJ you should have come). Last night we had culture night where we played Don Ramon and did the merengue. In the picture Elyse is demonstrating a game that the local kids play. You take a broom stick, connect it with the end of a milk carton, and roll an old moto tire around.Today was there first full day of ministry sites. I visited a both schools as well as the construction site, where they are building a house near Mata Gorda. This is a picture of the construction crew after mixing cement all morning.

Its Amazing How God Works....

Lowell is the current director in the DR for Students International. He, his wife Cheryl, and I were sitting around talking yesterday about our experiences with SI. I was telling them how I started going to Guatemala when I was in High School. They were telling me about how there were there in 2000 and they met Perry Banse on the trip. They told me how they went on the retreat to the Safari with the team and everything. I couldnt believe it because I was on that same trip. Then they started talking about a group of guys from the sports site that were doing prison ministry. They said that the guys were speaking at the banquet about how excited they were to lead this prisoner named Alejandro to the Lord. Then they told me about how when they saw the excitement of these 4 guys after God had used them, that they knew this was a ministry that they wanted to be a part of because they saw how hands on and effective it was. It was after that trip that they made their commitment to come serve in the DR. The craziest part... I was one of those 4 guys. We had no clue who each other was and now today I am down here working for Lowell and Cheryl in the DR. You cant tell me that is not God.

Welcome to the DR

I safely made it to the DR. I flew into Santiago airport around 2:30 yeaterday afternoon. After I got moved into my room at Lowell's house Alicia and Brooke made dinner. After dinner Lowell and I drove back out to the airport to pick up the last of the summer staff. On the way out there my sinuses started acting up and I got a really bad sinus headache. I just started feeling worse and worse as we got to the airport. On our way back I broke into a cold sweat (as if I had a fever). I was feeling really naucious and I had to have Lowell pull over. I threw up on the side of the rode, that was a first for me in the DR! When I got back to the base I threw up again. I felt awful after that one. I finally got home and took some Actafed and went to sleep. I woke up this morning feeling fine. Today we have nothing going on except for church this afternoon so I am going to go give my new moto a test drive!