Hola From The DR

I can’t believe we have been here for almost a month already. The time has flown by. I can see progress in Habanero and am in hopes of having internet there one day. But for now, it is a trip into Barahona to get on the internet and it is SLOW! Remember dial-up? Yeah, you know what I mean…..

It rained tonight and that means the misquitos will be out tomorrow night. I love that the rained cooled things off and sent all the children running for home. Sometimes the house is surrounded by little ones hungry or just plain curious.

We spent half the day at the school tpday – beginning at 8am. I am there a few minutes early so I can applaud the ones that are on time and encourage the ones that are late to be one time. Attendance is up and down. We have 81 children enrolled, but most days have only 50 attending. Some are sick and some didn’t get enough sleep and they are just plain too tired to attend. It’s a struggle, but we’re happy for the parents that are “getting it”! They are faithful and get their children up, washed and ready for the day.

We spent the other half of the day taking Brendita and Esmeralda to the doctors and filling prescriptions. Brendita is set for lab tests on Feb 1, those results seen by a Dominican doctor on the 2nd and 8am appoint on Feb., 8th with an American doctor that hopefully will be able to do surgery on both her eyes before he goes back home. I’m posting a picture of her smiling face!

Esmeralda (an orphan we help support) has an ear infection from bathing in the water and a cold. The prescriptions cost $20 US Dollars. Thank goodness we still have some money left to pay for the drugs. Her foster father makes $81.00 a month as a security guard for a Texaco gas station. It doesn’t sound like much, but it’s steady work and Victor is happy to have it. I’m posting a photo of her sleeping in her new crib. (our suitcase!)

We are thankful for our friends at the clinic who see our children for free when I am here and can personally take them in. The free clinic in the next village LaHoy has been closed for three months now. The government hasn’t paid the doctors for five months and so they decided to walk out. Daily life here………………Simple and complicated at the same time.

Love from Habanero,
Scott & Brenda