Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Annual Silent Auction













Today I had a call from Yaneth our Head Teacher in the Dominican. It was nice to hear her voice. Although I speak very little Spanish and Yaneth very little English we always manage to communicate our love for one another and when I hear her voice it reminds me of all the reasons I do what I do. I find I need that reminder when I am home in the USA - life here is lived at such a fast pace with us cramming in so many details in every minute of our lives that it is easy to loose track of how wonderful it is to hear an old friends voice.

Our silent auction was held at the Heathman Hotel in Vancouver, WA this year and what a great sucess it was! Our board members and friends were busily rousting up donations to fill the tables. They brought in 88 auction items and 12 raffle prizes! There was a full house with the attendance at 107! How exciting it was to see the growth of our little non-profit. Proof in my mind that when you are following your heart with love and integirty - good things will come.

We were blessed with designated donations from individuals who wanted to provided electrical power to the school and our mission house. It was an unexpected gift - Thank you Randy & Teresa and Dave & Pam - You made my heart soar! Having electricity on demand will be a real blessing to Habanero. It means we'll have lights to see, fans to cool, we will be able to pump water to our gravity flow system when needed, we can show a movie to the kids without interruption, we can have full time refrigeration, we can have evening Adult English classes, we can recharge our phones, laptops when the mission teams are there and so much more!

There is no doubt what a small group of committed people can do! In addition to providing electrical power our donors funded the school for nine months. We are in the best financial position we've ever been in and it is due to caring people that step up and do what needs to be done when they see a need. Thank you all so very much.

There are numerous supporters that donated their time, talent and energy to help support the children. One of our board members fills suitcases with shoes for every dental trip, a co-worker and her husband provide the music for the auction, a couple mans the raffle table another the registration table..................Many hands were working together helping to make this a fun and successful event. And really, at the end of the day, isn't that what it's all about? Working together for the good of all...................


* * SAVE THE DATE FOR NEXT YEAR'S AUCTION * * SAT NOV 5, 2011 * *

Monday, August 30, 2010

Our Adopted Children





Hola again! Working late to get the 2nd blog in of the month! My teacher's from way back when were right............... Brenda is CAPABLE of doing the work, but she'd just rather socialize!

I've posted four photos of children Evergreen4kids helps to support. We provide extra food, vitamins, medical and dental care to these vulnerable children.

Brendita will be five years old in October. She has one crossed eye and one with a cataract. School is difficult because she can only see with the crossed eye. We are trying to arrange surgery for both eyes.

Benita is also five years old and from Haiti. She and her Father showed up in Habanero sleeping on the ground by the river while her Father was trying to find work. After about four months the Father decided to move on and he "gave" Benita to a Dominican family in the village. Her life was destined to be sub-servent to the other family members - at five she already swept their house and slept on the cement floor with no blanket or pillow. Our head teacher Yaneth now has custody of Benita and she is thriving in her new home.

Samuel is 1 year old and weighs just 12 lbs. We have been providing liquid vitamins and prescription formula for him since last February. He is growing but he is still fragile. Yaneth continues to check on him and Evergreen4kids continues to meet his physical needs.

Esmeralda was born to a prostitute on June 19th. At one week old the police found her hungry and naked as her Mother was stoned and panhandling in a public park. The authorities took Esmeralda into custody and the doctor at the hospital named her Esmeralda Carolina. Evergreen4kids helped a relative gain custody from the authorities by bringing the house up to standard, providing a crib and agreeing to provide for Esmeralda's basic needs.

What a blessing to be able to reach out and help these children. They are a gift from God and precious in His sight!

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Has it been a month since I blogged?






Is it Is it possible? Could it be that long ago? Every visit to the DR I make a promise that I am going to blog at least once a week......... Well, it never happens.... While there I become so absorbed in the day to day life of Habanero that blogs just seem to be too "advanced" - Anyone that has been there understands what I mean, life is at a different pace there and "technology" isn't always within reach. Which is not a bad thing people!

Some days are just about playing marbles with children that don't have a bucket full of animated electronic toys or a pink plastic Corvette full of wild haired Barbies. Some days are just about taking photos of smiling faces and turning the camera around so the children can see their own images perhaps for the first time!

Experiencing the joy of sharing precious moments face to face and building relationships is top priority during our visits to the Dominican. It's refreshing to our souls and inspiring to the children. We arrive feeling like rock stars surrounded by adoring fans. We leave with tears in our eyes and parts of hearts left behind.

Saturday, July 3, 2010

First Team Members Arrive





Our first five team members arrived safely at Las Americas airport in Santo Domingo yesterday. Even after the long flights everyone was in good spirits. After a few hugs and welcomes the bags were loaded on the bus and off they went on the last leg of the trip to Habanero. They arrived safely in Habanero for a good nights sleep. Today will be a day of rest and playing with the children. Work begins tomorrow. Please pray for all!!!

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Santo Domingo Life




Life is different here that is for sure. We have a meeting today with a Dominican friend that might be able to help us with some of the supplies needed for our fencing project. In the meantime I've added some photos which were taken by my very talented husband. It is Scott's first time here and he loves to take photos and he loves the people.

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

GRINGO HITS SANTO DOMINGO





Arrived Santo Domingo and met with mucho mucho aqua. Rain pouring lard and fast. Some streets are not set up for so much at one time and so there is a lot of water all over the roads. A bit dangerous, but not as dangerous a some of the drivers around here!

As you can see my wonderful husband Scott makes friends where ever he goes! First thing out of the gate he asked a guy for a ride on a chonco. The man is fearless!

So I've posted some shots of my stunt man and some shots of the rain.





A couple pictures of the children!!!! Tammi a friend from church made a zillion dresses for the girls and a zillion pants for the boys. I wish she was here to see the joy in the faces and they received their new clothes. They loved them! For days we have seen them running around town with their new clothes. Thank you Tammi

We need a fence!!


Hola From Santa Domingo!


We just arrived in Santo Domingo we have a meeting tomorrow with Febeka. She is a Dominican friend and business woman that has a heart for children and wants to help us with our fence. She is a wonderful woman and has built a business school in Santo Domingo. We will visit her tomorrow at her school. We are so very thankful to have her help us - she is also going to take us to look at a vehicle. Currently we rent a car, but buying one could work out better for us.

In the meantime our concentration is organizing and funding our fence. It is so very import at this time to fence the school. As we have more and more children per teacher is in critical we maintain the safety of the children. The children are 3 - 8 years old and they are used to running around the village. It is not unusual to find a child very far from home as they chase and play with other children. The same happens at school. Sometimes one wonders away sight unseen! There are many reasons we need to have this fence built for the children.

The area is very danderous especially because there is an irrigation canal which runs behind the school. The children play in it. Most of the time the canal is dry, but when the water is turned onto water the crops the water comes unecxpectedly and rushing very quickly through the canal. There is a great potential for a child to be hurt there.

Also the children's play area is overran with animals, goats, cows, horses, turkeys and pigs. What they leave behind is not good for our health and wellness program.

Once the fence is complete and our area is secure we will build a small kitchen to feed the children. Currently we cook at the mission house and walk the food over, the children eat in shifts in our little "clinic" room. Once we build the kitchen we will build an outside covered eating area where all the children can eat together. The area will double as an gathering area for parent/teacher meetings, adult education classes and our continuing health and wellness classes taught by our mission teams.

We plan also to plant fruit trees once the area is secure. We can have bananas and melons for the children to eat. Plus teach them how to grow their own food.

The final bonus of having a fence is simply to define our area and keep it clean. Teach the children to take care of their space and setting an example for the entire community.



Friday, June 25, 2010

June 25, 2009

Hola from Habanero!

So much work to do here. Benita is very sick, so she is first priority. Scott is enjoying the country and the people and is learning much. My email is not working. So only blogs and facebook to keep everything up to date. I think scott is loading pictures to share. Please pray for us and the children! Love.....For the children, Scott and Brenda

Sunday, May 9, 2010

The Headless Dolly


The Headless Dolly!!!!!!!!!!!!
Oh my goodness! One day little 4 year old Brendita came over the my house with a dolly. I'd never seen her with a toy so I looked closely at what she was carrying. Lovingly held in her arms was a nekkid and headless little doll. She carried her baby doll with her where ever she went. No one knew whathappened to the head, but it didnt seem to bother Brendita at all. Later in the week down a long dusty road we saw a little girl playing with the head of Brendita's doll...........Both seem content with the piece of the toy the lovingly carried. Makes you stop and appreciate all God has placed in our hands.

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Color Their World!!!!!!!!!!



During the mission trip Dana, Liz and Eileen turned two cement slabs into happy play grounds. Amazing what a couple of gallons of paint can do. These children love and appreciate the simple things! Thank God for willing hearts and helping hands!

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Finally Blogging The Last Mission Trip!



Good grief! Where did the time go? I've been home over a month now and this is the first change to blog. We are living life at the speed of light right now. After I returned home I moved into a bit larger home because I am getting married in June. When we finally get married and live together we'll need more space that is for sure. Combining two households has reminded me of how many "things" we have in our lives. "Things" we don't always need, we just collect. And so on that note I'm going to introduce to a little five year old girl named Benita.

The village of Habanero is located 65 miles from the Haitian border. Our village is comprised of Dominicans and Haitians. Benita and her father came to the Dominican looking for work, they were found sleeping by the river. They speak Creole and only a little Spanish so we don't know a lot about their background. This much we know, the came alone barefoot and with just the clothes on their backs. After a couple of weeks of living on handouts, Benita's father gave her to a Dominican family and he left.

I never saw her while the Mission team was there. after all the Americans left I noticed her sitting alone on the porch, never interacting with others, always alone. She wasn't going to school and I learned she was sleeping on a concrete floor. A child in Benita's situation would be raised subservient to the Dominican family. Almost a slave to them. I could see this was happening to Benita already. I went to the house to see her one day and she was sick with fever. I asked the family if I could take her to my house for a few days. That night at my house I saw bite marks on her back from the older children.

The next day we went to Barahona, purchased medicine, a new school uniform, socks and shoes. Benita and I spent the next five days together while she recuperated. It was hard to take her back home, but I knew it was only for a short time. I'd already had a goal of moving her to our head teachers house. I just learned a couple days ago Benita is with Yaneth in a loving Christian home where she will be treated as a member of the family.

Thanks to our Board of Directors we are committed to help support Benita every month. Notice how very proud she is wearing her new uniform ready for her first day of school. Praise God we were there and are equipped to help this child. My part, well, I'm going through every box we moved her and preparing to have a garage sale. That garage sale money is going to be used for Benita's care. Along with another family's care, but that's another blog.

Monday, February 8, 2010

Here We Go Again

I leave for the DR tomorrow again. Has it really been six months since I've seen the children? In 24 hours I will be somewhere over Texas................

Thanks to all who helped with prayers and encouragement as we planned this Dental Mission Trip - And thanks to our team members who have dedicated their skills, their time, their finances and most of all their hearts to the children!

It is my goal to update the blog while I am out of the country! Let's see how disciplined I am................ Tough choices we have to make............ Hug a kid? Go to town and blog? Hug a baby? Blog?? Let's see how I handle it. Keep praying for us!