Dominican Republic Day 4

DR Blog, Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Parkview Baptist Church

Our hostess, Ivelisse, treated us to a Dominican dish for breakfast this morning called mangu (mashed up green plantains.) She has been a wonderful hostess this week. The food has been excellent. Jim started our day with a devotion from 2 Timothy 2:11 and talked about the joy that comes from serving the kingdom. We trust that God is pleased with the work we have already done and will joy in the work to come. Our motivation is to lift up Jesus as our Savior with the work being done as a mere vehicle to advance the Kingdom.

Today on the job site, we built the second half of the wall on our house. This part of the project required teamwork for every aspect of it. We had some people on ladders and some on the ground all day. We went from passing blocks up the ladder earlier in the day to passing buckets of concrete later in the afternoon. Our team finished the walls and still had time to put primer on the interior walls of another house.

We had a record number of children come to the children's program today (about 75). Pastor Cavier joined our team for the day and told the story of David and Goliath. In keeping with the Golden Rule theme, the children learned about being trustworthy today. They decorated bags that we will use as goodie bags for the last day tomorrow.

Before heading back to the apartment, we drove up the mountain to the aqueduct that the government has built that will eventually provide water for future irrigation systems in the community. We got a great look at the houses and community transformation center. We also stopped by the river where Jim treated himself to a quick swim.

Highlights:
During the lunch period, several members of the team walked down to the school in town. The staff and faculty were extremely welcoming to our team. While we were at the river, three little girls from our children's program met us and walked with us. It was really neat to see them reach out and hold Jennifer's hand as we walked down the trail. Anita enjoys holding babies so that some of the older siblings can do the craft assignments. We pray that we make much of Jesus as we make new friends.