A beautiful Saturday morning has greeted the Mission Team and the rest of the DR as the sun has finally made its first appearance since our arrival! The rain, caused by a stalled tropical depression, has resulted in some serious problems for the DR. Homes have been flooded, people evacuated and some roads still blocked with high standing water. Heavy rains always present the most challenges for those folks living in very humble shacks along the many steep river banks around Santo Domingo. So please keep those folks in your prayers.
Yesterday was our last day at the school, and we made the very most of it! Projects included making necklaces and bracelets with beads, sun catchers using sheets of transparencies and lots of colored paper, glitter, and glue. We also did the hands project! Our maintenance team helped out by carefully painting the hands of each child and then each child placed their hand prints on one of the newly painted classroom walls. Turned out everyone wanted in on this project, including our drivers and the cooks who have prepared our food while at the school. The kids loved to point out their own hand prints on the wall!
We then had the always emotional closing ceremony where we presented the incredible teaching staff at the school with gifts, our prayers and thanks. An incredible group of dedicated ladies. We also presented Rev. Barerra with our cash contribution to assist with the upcoming school year. Once again, thank you sending partners for making this all possible.
We also presented the two scholarship recipients under the Rev. Arelene Ackerman's Far Reaching Faith Scholarship Fund with new back packs and supplies for the next school year. They both just finished with their end of year exams and were pleased with their efforts. And we delivered more than 7 suitcases FILLED with school supplies! It was the biggest delivery of school supplies in the history of our mission trips.
We also presented the school with the final result of the tapestry quilt project that included the individual fabric squares that were designed by each child on Wednesday.
Rev. Barerra then presented each of the mission team members with a gift made by the children and the students sung a special song for us. Rev. B gave special thanks to MCC DC , Rev Arlene Ackerman, and Brian Christinkas for their support through the tough times the school has faced during the past two years. MCC DC was presented with artwork designed by the scholarship students in appreciation of our efforts over the years.
So, que paso ahora? This morning, 4 mission members crowded into Carlos' car to go back to the school in an effort to finish the painting chores that were delayed by the storms and rain. Tonight we head into Santo Domingo to visit and worship with MCC Santo Domingo.
This marks my fifth mission trip to the DR, and this trip has presented the most challenges when compared with our other efforts. We are a small group. just 10 (and one in the USA!), but we managed to raise over $17,000 to support this important effort. The three days at the school were the toughest i have encountered, with heavy rains forcing us to constantly make schedule changes. The heavy rains always create health issues for the people of the DR, and we have not been immune to those challenges either. But we are standing together as a team, knowing that God continues to be with us in this great mission. But we are all looking forward to tomorrow and what promises to be a day of well deserved rest and relaxation and more sunshine!
Please check back later for photos of yesterday's school activities and, I believe, some videos clips from the school.
Signing off from Boca Chica, go USA soccer team!
Tim Helm
Congratulations for such a great work!!! God bless all the missionaries.
ReplyDeleteBetty Anderson