Wow!  It was just a couple of days ago I said I was going to blog everyday until I got caught up!  And you know when I said that I meant it.  When I was a teenager my Mother would say, "Brenda, the road to hell is paved with good intentions."  You see in her eyes I was a procrastinator.  In my eyes, I was, you know, flexible!  Intentions changed!  I hope you forgive me!  I'm sure you understand in our fast paced life sometimes we just don't get done what we planned to.

So my excuse is that I am working on our Annual Dinner Auction for Evergreen4kids.  Our once a year fundraiser that gives us our budget for the next year.  I've been pulled away into auctionland!  lol  But, I want you to tell you about another teenager............... I want to tell you about Jessica.

Jessica is a former student from King's Way Christian School in Vancouver Washington.  Before she graduated she made her senior project all about Habanero.  Jessica came to Habanero on a mission trip and fell in love with the children.  During her time in Habanero Jessica worked hard and she loved on the children.  She was a huge asset to the team.  While she was in Habanero she saw a need that tugged at her heart.  She purposed in her mind to do something to help and then she followed through and did it!  Jessica saw that there weren't enough beds, with sometimes 4 children in a double size bed.  Some of the mattresses were on the ground, filthly with holes in them and springs sticking up.

Hearts are often touched during a mission trip to a third world country and it can be very emotional to see the conditions that people live in.  It's not unusual for a team member to say they are going to come back or they are going to become a missionary or they are going to somehow make a long term commitment to help.  They want to make a difference.

 Often the team member gets on the airplane to go home with full intentions of returning or helping in some way.  However, it's not unusual that once back in America we find those good intentions have been left at the airport.  We're home back in our regular routine and life goes on.  But that didn't happen with Jessica.  Habanero was imbedded deep in her heart.

Jessica raised over $2,600 for new mattresses.  Our school director Yanet targeted families to receive the mattresses that were the poor of the poorest.  Most without any employment at all.  Jessica returned this summer and distributed mattresses to 20 need families.  So if the road to hell is paved with good intentions..............I guess I have an idea where Jessica heading............. Thanks Jess!

Gratefulness................it's depends on our perspective.

As I look at photos to share with you I'm overwhelmed with gratitude.  I am blessed.
Period.  I was born in the USA.  This thought lead me to the title of this blog.  There are days when we all want more, feel like we need more or feel like we deserve more.  I think it''s part of the human condition.  Our parents have to teach us how to share.  I think my first words were "mine, mine, mine."  lol   We're born selfish.

Here are five little girls from Habanero.  So happy and grateful to be spending the night at the mission house.  They are cheering for their bounty of bread and cookies with a cup of cola.  All by the light of a little battery operated lantern. It brings joy to my heart to remember this night and how happy they were to share these little things.  These girls don't have Barbie dolls or cell phones but they do know how to find joy with very little material things.

This is Maria.  She is the mother of four.  Her husband has part time work with the government turning on and off a pump that irrigates fields.  He also makes brooms and sells them on the streets.  She's never had a new set of sheets - actually I doubt if she had any sheets before Evergreen4kids.  My friend Marlyn bought a new set of sheets that were a little small for her mattress so she offered them to me for Habanero.  I immediately knew I was going to take them to Maria.  Look at her face!  She was so very happy to have them.  Imagine a full set of sheets - complete with matching pillow cases.  Unattainable for Maria.  A set of sheets like this cost about $30 in Barahona, more than Marlyn paid for them here in America.

Here is a photo of part of my 10x10 room in Habanero.  Directly opposite of this (like where I was standing to take the photo is my bed.  It's a bunk bed with a double mattress on the bottom and a single on the upper. - it's tight quarters.  There's a fan there in the corner and on that same wall is the only electrical outlet in the room.  My door doesn't latch or lock but I do have a padlock on it.  When I'm here and it's hot and we have no electricity to run the fan I am uncomfortable and if the mosquitoes are out they are looking for blood.  When the fan is running it's too breezy for the mosquitoes to fly over and bite me.  The fan cools and it protects.  In the corner there's a plastic bucket full of battery operated flashlights and lanterns.

About the third week that I am working in Habanero I long for the comforts of my own home here in Washington.  I become a little more selfish every day.  And I whine a little bit more.  I start dreaming of going home........ I want my comfy king size bed with matching sheets and soft pillows.  I want to flick a switch and know there is power to turn the light on.  I want water I can drink from the faucet instead of hefting 5 gallon jugs of purified water around.  I want to take a nice long shower. - I even long for better water pressure!

And then I see the children's faces and Maria's face and I think - how dare I?  Maria lugs her water from 50 feet away in old plastic containers that once held oil and she does all her laundry by hand sometimes without soap.  The girls shown have never slept in a bed alone, they don't play soccer, they don't take dance or singing lessons, they don't go to movies or restaurants and they don't have battery operated lanterns.  How dare I not be grateful just for the fact that my discomfort is only temporary.  I'm going back home to the USA.  To all the comforts I choose.  This is their life every day and there's not much of a choice in most cases.

Lord, forgive me for my ungratefulness and help me to put life in perspective.  Appreciating all that you have blessed me .with.  Help me to cherish my relationships with precious friends and family.  Help me be a good steward of the material wealth you have placed within my reach.  Help me to put my life in perspective and live it with gratitude.

I'm Back in the Saddle.....Sort of! lol

Ok - I got into the blog again.  That's the good news.  The bad news is yet to been seen when I publish this hopefully it all works!  I'm still a bit gun shy!  lol  I have so many things I want to write about it's hard to know where to begin.  So I'm going to begin by blogging about children I love.  Andelson, Ayadi, Keilah..... just to name a few.

Andelson was only about 5 or 6 years old when I met him.  It was his baby brother Gerson who passed away that brought me to Habanero.  I spent most of my first 2 years in Habanero knowing only Andelson's family.  He was and still is a sweet boy with a tender heart..  My first memories of him is seeing him come home one day from school and he brought a little hard biscuit and a small cardboard packet of milk.  Andelson got them both at school that day.  He brought them both home to his siblings even though he was hungry himself.  I'll never forget that day and I saw him do it many days - share and give - that is his heart.  He's all grown up now and struggling.  He dropped out of school to try to earn money for his family - it's hard.  The unemployment rate stated for 2018 by the Dominican Republic is 5.83% but it's over 50% in small rural villages like Habanero.  So these days he rides around on a bike looking for odd jobs.  The good news is he's looking.  He's not sitting on the white plastic chairs drinking beer and playing dominoes.  He's a hard worker trying to survive.  If we're doing construction I try to give him some work and he never wants to be paid.  He's thankful for Evergreen4kids being in his community.  He's dear to my heart.

Ayadi was about 8 years old when I started working in Habanero.  He was rough around the edges.  Not sure how else to describe him.  Sweet one moment but when he was riled up by others his anger flared.  Ayadi was part of a group of hungry street boys who would hang around the mission house when I was in Habanero.  Sometimes I'd feed them dinner and they'd sleep on the floor and then I'd make them breakfast in the morning.  Children are the same everywhere and they have the same needs.  They crave stability, love and attention.  Most times the sleep overs went well and it reminded me of my own son's sleep overs years before.  But, when Ayadi got angry he didn't know what to do with that anger and he had no one to help me deal with it.  So he'd yell and punch and if it got real bad he'd go home and get a machete and come back and threaten and chase the other children.  It was very upsetting - I'd never seen anything like it before or since.  However over the course of time Ayadi has mellowed and matured.  And a lot of people have prayed for him and loved on him and he has healed some from his painful childhood. Today Ayadi is my right hand when I am in Habanero.  My security.  He's almost always with me guarding me.  Today he has a part time job with Evergreen4kids coaching our new baseball team.  No more machetes! 

Keilah is Pastor Robert's daughter, she was only about a year old when I first saw her.  She never hung around the house because she was very well taken care of and she was kept on a tight rein.  I see her more now that she is older because she hangs out across the street from me at her Grandmother, Oliva's house.  She's bright and funny and oh so creative!  Plus she sings like an angel.  When I'm there we share songs together on You Tube!  I hope one day she will be a leader for the next generation coming up in Habanero,  This picture is of her with some of the hair barrettes she makes and sells.  I bought these from her and they will be for sale at our auction on November 2nd.  

Writing this floods me with so many memories.  Good and Bad - I've seen pain and suffering and peace and joy as well and things you just can't unsee.  I would give all my memories to you if I could so that you could understand how we are all connected and how important it is to love one another.  Just love them.  I'm so thank to all the people that help support the work of Evergreen4kids.  I'm thankful for all the mission team members that have visited Habanero and poured their love into this little village.  My gratitude overflows.

I've seen  a lot of change and growth in Habanero.  But there's still work to be done.  A difference is being made - change is slow -- but change is sure.

Habanero has a baseball team!

Thanks to our generous supporters Habanero has a baseball team!  Franciso is the coach and Ayadi is the assistant.  The program is becoming more and more popular with the children.  There are 43 boys in the baseball program!  That means 43 children that are not on the streets.  The now have an alternate activity.  The program not only teaches baseball skills, but life skills,  They are learning how to work as a team regardless of personality differences and different skill levels.  They are learning a strong work ethic and what it means to discipline yourself.  To be on the team they are held to very high standards. The boys are also learning how to deal with pressure, success and failure.  They learn how to keep calm and keep their emotions in check even in the midst of fans rooting for the opposing team!

All this learning in important for any young person to learn, especially early in life.  Learning there are consequences from your actions is always beneficial.  Mistakes will happen.  Wrong choices will happen.  Why not make them on the ball field when your're young instead of in your job or your marriage?

When I was in Habanero in July I was amazed at how the baseball field was continuously being used.  There were children on the field all the time playing baseball even with no coaches and no assistants.  In 15 years of working in Habanero I've never seen that.  EVER. 

The Longview Soccer Association donated tubs of mix and match shirts that serve as our uniforms.  The boys are so proud to have the same color shirts! 

Thank you to Jenny Thompson who coordinated equipment donations from Good Sport Equipment Connection in Vancouver, WA.  Habanero has bats, balls, gloves and even catcher's equipment!

The boys are all hoping they will one day play baseball in America.  Although that might not be a reality for most of them, playing baseball in a uniform representing your little village can be pretty darn close...............

You won't believe this..............Because I don't!

I think I might be udating this blog.  It's been so long I forgot how.  Then google changed some things and wouldn't let me into the blog.  After three and a half hours I think I might be able to update!

i just checked and this little snippit was added to the old blog!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Success!  Ahh..... it's the little things in life, right?

I'm so excited to begin anew!  I'm moving forward with my life and moving forward with this blog.

Quirky Things Part 5 - The last of the series!

This is the last in the series of Quirky Things.......  I jotted these things down while I was in Habanero so I could share them with you.   It's been fun to write and remember these events.  I hope you've enjoyed reading these blogs and it's shed a little light on life in Habanero.

Here in America I have a few little things that don't work properly around my house but for the most part everything works as expected.   Key word in relating to these differences is expectations!  Mine are always different than the reality of Habanero.

So you know when I go to Habanero to prepare for a team part of what I do is get everything up and running for the team as best I can.  The tropical environment is hard on equipment and the quality of work plays into how things work as well.  There are 3 things to fix on the doors.  1) There's just a padlock on the new door and the 2 pieces that you lock together don't line up well, so it was very difficult for me to slide them apart.  2) We need a deadbolt  3) We need a lock on the new bedroom door.

Yanet arranged for a man to come do the work and he is well known and is "very, very good".  In Habanero there is no Angie's List, it's Yanet's List!  He comes in the morning around 8:30am.  He has to weld the new deadbolt on the door so he needs power.  He hands me a cord through the window.  I look at the end and there is no plug in just two stripped wires.  I smile at him and motion for him to come in and hook it up.  He puts the wires in the socket and welds the new lock.  I ask if there is anything else he needs, he says no so I secure the rest of the house and leave to go to the school.

  

A couple hours later when I return he is still working on the bedroom lock.  It's 4pm by the time he is finished.  I have supplied all the materials so I just need to pay for his labor, I ask him how much and he says 700 pesos. Approx $15 for him and his helper.  He also had come to the house the day before to tell me what I needed to purchase for the job.  So $15 for 2 men all day + an extra trip was reasonable. We say goodbye.

Later that night Yanet comes over and we inspect the work. Hmmm....... the new deadbolt works perfectly but the 2 pieces that go together for the padlock still don't fit - I now actually need a hammer to smack them apart.  We look at the bedroom door, lock looks good, but the lock doesn't actually lock.  Bummer for us, because once you buy something in this country you own it weather it works or not. But don't get me wrong, I'm thankful for the doors and locks, we have no lovers and no poopers back there!

Among other things that didn't work on my arrival, the water tank on the roof overfills, the refrigerator didn't work, the washing machine was broken and one fan didn't work.

As they say, welcome to the Dominican Republic!  For you here in America "count your blessings!"

Quirky Things Part 4

One afternoon I was sitting on a white plastic chair in front of the colmado across from the mission house when Jose Luis walked by.  He waved and then as a second thought he made a u-turn and headed straight for me.  He took out a prescription from his bible and asked me if I could get the medicine for him.  He said he's been sick with fever and diarrhea (both very common in Habanero).  I told him I was sorry he was sick and I would see what I could do.

I took the prescription into the house and put it safely in my purse.  I then added Jose Luis' prescription to my "to do" list. Jose had never asked me for anything before so I assume it was legitimate.

The next morning as I was going over my list I looked at the prescription again, I didn't know what it was for but I could see that it was dated December 5, 2015 which was over 2 months previous.  Hmmmmm......  Red Flag!  I made a mental note to speak with Yanet about this.

I normally only purchase recent prescriptions.  If the prescription is old and they are still sick I tell them to go back to the doctor and get a current diagnosis.  So later that evening I showed the prescription to Yanet and told her I was concerned because it was from December.

Yanet looked the prescription over and started laughing.  She said no don't get this for him it is for hair loss!  I started laughing myself because I could see that Jose Luis was getting older, probably 35 years old by now and yes, he
was loosing his hair.  Yep, he almost got me~!  :-)

Quirky Things Part 3

For those in the know, we have been working on the mission house little by little for a couple years now.  Adding rooms so that it would be more comfortable for our mission teams and giving us some much needed storage space.

When we began I wasn't really sure the WHY's were good reasons.  I mean after all, weren't the Americanos pretty comfortable most of their life in comparison to the people of Habanero?  Maybe it was meaningful to suffer a little while you served.  And seriously?  Did we really need more space for stuff?  I wondered if perhaps we were turning the mission house into little America. 

 At any rate, we've been working on it.  It is wonderful I couldn't love it any more.  And the added showers and toilets have been very much appreciated.  But that's not what this blog is about.

Last August when I left Habanero the roof had been put on the new kitchen and bedroom.  Next step cement floor, so I left enough money for Yanet to have the floor finished in my absence.  When I arrived in January boy was I surprised!

Not only had the floor been finished, but metal bars had been put across the windows and door.  The new space was secured!  Yeah!  That's a good thing, right?

Well, the only problem was we owed money.  No one was exactly authorized to put us in debt.  But, at least they didn't sell the house, right?

I speak with Yanet and learn that evidently some teens were meeting up and doing a little making out back there!  lol Some things transcend international date lines.  The teens were using it for love connections until it started to smell because someone else was pooping back there!  lol    A third world problem for sure.

So Yanet had made the correct executive decision to secure the building.  That's what we want her to do.  Lead - and she did.  She cleaned it up and secured it.

During our conversation I also learned that we had a problem with the building.  Evidently when it rained the roof leaked. I'm like WHAT???  It's a new roof.  So we get the builder, Boika and I say hey you gotta fix the roof it's leaking.  He says well, are you ready for this?   "It will cost more money if you don't want the rain to come in.  We need to build an overhang so the water doesn't come in."  I think about that for a moment knowing I must be careful with my words.  I look at the rest of the work he has done and sure enough the other walls have an overhang.  So I say, well I'll buy the materials but I'm not paying any more labor.  He says, you didn't say you wanted an overhang.  It's not my problem.

I'm like really???  I need to tell you I don't want water in the new kitchen and bedroom, really?  I have to tell you that? Would you construct your own house so that water leaks in your bedroom?  He kinda smiles, shuffles his feet and says, OK we'll fix it, but you have to buy the cement.............  

Only in the Dominican!  

Quirky things........... Part 2

As most of you know Evergreen4kids and the school in Habanero have been trying to partner with the Dominican government for a couple of years now.  We want a partnership so our staff will have all the government benefits and government employees have.  Last August I thought we'd finally made some headway.  After lengthy meetins we learned we had to submit an application in Santo Domingo and take an "official" name for the school.  The official name would be "Instancia Infantil Habanero"  this name was given to us by the secretary of the Director of Education in Barahona.

Yanet, Carlucho and I are so excited!  we drive to Santo Domingo the next day and file the papers.  We go back a week later and have the official papers!  Yeah!  Next step more papers filed in Barahona.

We are so excited, we make new t-shirts for the staff and signs made for the road.  Isn't it beautiful?  

That was last August.  When I arrived this February, I learned the word Instancia is spelled wrong.  Now mind you, this name was written on a piece of paper and given to us by the secretary of the Director of Education in Barahona and we filed the name with another government agency in Santo Domingo.  So it seems that sometime in December a man is driving down the road and he stops and starts asking people about the sign.  He finally gets to Yanet and informs her that Instancia is spelled Estancia. 

We had to file and pay for new papers in Santo Domingo and submit them to the office in Barahona, who were all unaware that it was incorrect.   I had to laugh.... only in the Dominican.

Quirky things................. Part 1

This is a post about the quirky little things that happen in Habanero.  It's such a different world than my ordinary, quiet life in Longview, WA.   Sometimes I just have to shake my head and laugh. 

Since we had a large mission team coming to Habanero to build the Teen Center we had to purchase more plastic chairs.  The chairs are a necessity in Habanero because we sit outside so much and the chairs are easy to move around. Plus they are cheap.  About $10 each.

Now you have to be careful with the chairs because not everyone can afford them and if you leave them outside they might grown another set of legs and run away.  Over the years I've came up with the idea of spray painting the legs of the mission house chairs.  That way it is obvious if someone else is sitting on a run-a-way chair.  We had 10 black leg chairs and now we have and additional 15 green leg chairs.

So one afternoon I am painting the legs of the chairs in the street when Temo comes over and asks if he can help me. I'm more than happy to let him help as I have a list a mile long on my to do list.  I lock up the house and go over the school.

An hour or so later I come back to the house and as I walk around the side of the house I see Temo's name spray painted on the cement blocks which will one day be the inside wall of the garage.  I'm not happy with the graffiti.

I see Temo, Maconi and Adrian across the street smiling.  I go over and say, hey what's the deal, did I give you permission to paint my house?  They laugh and point the finger at Maconi and say "he's an artist".  Obviously they don't think it's a big deal and in fact think it is funny.  

So I say, yeah, I'm an artist also.  How about I spray paint my name on the gas tank of your motorcycle?  Temo looks at his beautiful motorcycle and says no, no, no.  Adrian laughs and I say,  Hey Adrian how about I spray paint my name on your grandmother's house?  Would that be okay?  Adrian looks serious now and says, no that wouldn't be good.  I said no it wouldn't be good because it would be very disrespectful to paint someone's property without their permission, wouldn't it?

The three young men 18, 20 and 26 years old hung their heads in shame.  I kinda felt bad for a moment but I let that pass.  They didn't have the right to spray paint on another person's property and it doesn't matter what country it is.

Later that night I bought them a cold refresco and told them I still loved them.  All was well.  Little did I know that a week later I would ask the "artist" to write on the teen center for our team photo!  Everything happens for a reason............

And you think you've got it rough................

There is a man in Habanero that has stolen my heart.  Shhh...... don't tell my husband.  lol  Nah, it's not that way, but Ben Wai does hold a very special place in my heart.  Ben Wai works in the fields in the Dominican Republic.  He plows the land by hand.

From the first time I met him I was impressed by his toothless smile and humble spirit.  He came to the Dominican from Haiti to find work. He has been in the Dominican Republic many years now and his 3 children were all born in Habanero.  Ben Wai stands out as a man of integrity to me.  You see Ben Wai is extremely poor, but over the 10 years I've known him he has never asked me for anything.  Not one peso, not one grain of rice.  Impressive.

I see Ben Wai every visit to Habanero.  His family is usually a recipient of a bag of clothing.  With each trip we take as many suitcases as possible.  The suitcases are filled with school supplies, shoes and clothing.  Sometimes towels and sheets if we have them. We have a list of all the homes and fill up a plastic bag for each home.  We go as far as we can on the list and when we return we begin where we left off.  I always think it really isn't so much WHAT we give to each family, it is that we REMEMBERED each family.

Ben Wai doesn't speak English and my Spanish is for survival only! ¿Dónde está el baño?  lol  But I know he is thankful for what we do in the community.  In February I learned how important that small gesture is.  A girl in the village, and my future daughter-in-law (thank you Jesus) has learned to speak English.  Her name is Lucy and we were together every day this trip.

Wow!  What an eye opener!  We always have translators when we are working with a team, but when I'm there alone I usually wing it unless an emergency arises.  I learned so much by having Lucy by my side and I appreciate her help so very much.

Lucy, Ben Wai and I sat and spoke for about an hour and I had many questions.  I asked him about his children, his wife, all the general things you'd ask.  He said they were all good, healthy and the children were in school.  All said with that great big toothless grin.

Ben Wai is currently staying at a property Lucy's father owns in Habanero.  Ben Wai stays there for free in exchange for "watching" the property since Lucy's father now lives in Barahona.   It's 2 rooms with no bathroom but there is running water outside to bath. The water is not good, but they drink it anyway since they can't afford to buy water.  There is one bed for 5 people and clothes are hung on nails pounded into the wall.  They cook outside on an open fire.  Life is simple he says they have everything they need.

I wanted to know more than just "how are you" so I asked if I could ask him some personal questions and he said yes.  I learned that Ben Wai works 6 days a week on a plantation.  He goes to the fields as soon as the sun comes up and while it is cool.  He puts in 8 to 9 hours everyday 6 days a week.  He plants, waters, weeds, etc.  He has worked for the same man for 5 years now.  He gets about 3,000 pesos per month or about $70 US.   And he says that is Depending............  Depending on if the man pays him or not. What?  I think, 48 hours a week and you get paid once a month, maybe......... 

Ben Wai just smiles when he sees the shock on my face.  He understands I come from a different world.  I ask him what he does when he doesn't have enough money.  He says sometimes if the plants are ripe, he asks the man if he can take some of the plantinos from the fields.  Sometimes he will do an odd job for someone in the community and use that money to buy food.  But mostly he gets credit at the local Colmado (store) in Habanero. When the man pays him he gives all of the money to the Colmado.  He must or he will not get credit again.

I ask him why he doesn't find another job even though I already know the answer.  There aren't many jobs in Habanero, there's about 70% unemployment rate and it's worse for Haitians.  Ben Wai is in the country illegally and never goes outside of the safety of Habanero.  To do so would subject him and his family to possible deportation.  So he works the fields and stays off the main roads.  

I tell him it seems like a very difficult life.  He says it is a difficult life, but his children will have a better life.  They are going to school.  He tells me he never went to school and cannot read or write.  But his children can!  And there it is again that big toothy grin that shows a joy far beyond my understanding.  He tells me he is thankful for the school in Habanero because his children eat there and he does not have to buy them uniforms to go to school.  He is thankful for the bags of clothing we bring because he can use the money he earns to buy food for his family.

Ben Wai also tells me of the hope he has to get papers for his children one day.  You see they were born in the Dominican and therefore are Dominicans.  However, without papers they could still be sent back to Haiti.  He is trying to save the money necessary to get the papers.  Which will be about 10,000 pesos.  He seems so hopeful, but I do the math in my own head and know he will never be able to save the money.  It is 5 months worth of work for Ben Wai. 

It's time for Ben Wai to leave so we say good bye.  I understand now how much a small bag of clothing can mean for this family.  My heart is heavy with the reality of his life.  I vow to never complain about my life again.  Oh, if only I could keep that vow.............

Growing Up Role Models

With every trip to Habanero it just never gets old, there is always something to amaze me.  God is working in this place and I wish that you all could see the changes that I have seen over the years.  

One of the things Evergreen4kids is most proud of is the fact that from the very beginning we decided to only hire staff for the school from Habanero.  We felt strongly the children needed to see people from their own community as leaders.  The children needed good role models.

Hiring within Habanero meant we had to find people that had an interest in teaching and were capable and committed.  We found Yanet.  She was volunteering at the nearby government school and taking one class a week towards a teaching certificate.

E4K asked Yanet to volunteer at our school as well.  She would receive an "incentivo" (an incentive) for volunteering. This arrangement is quite common in the Dominican Republic, they are not really an "employee" they are a volunteer.  Yanet was happy and excited to work with us. Yanet was born and raised in Habanero and wanted a better future for the children.  So Yanet began as our kindergarten teacher.  

At the same time we also hired 2 Christian ladies to teach 3 year olds and 4 year olds.  One of them was Maria and she was also volunteering a the government school.  But at that time Maria was not working towards a teaching certificate.

Both Yanet and Maria now have their Dominican teaching certificates. Yanet is our school director and teaches the regular first grade class and an afternoon remedial first grade class. Maria is our kindergarten teacher.  Yanet and Maria have both come a long way and are excellent teachers. They are loving and compassionate and the children look up to them.

I can also report that we have two other teachers who are going to school to get their teaching certificates.  Fani who is our 4 year old teacher and Beronica who is our 3 year old teacher.   E4K encourages a better education for everyone. One of our maintenance men Omar, is going to school to be an electrician and our night watchman, Allen is going to school to be a PE Teacher!  

How exciting is all of this?  Soon to have 6 people in our building with degrees! 

THIS IS HUGE FOR HABANERO!  TO HAVE THESE PEOPLE AS ROLE MODELS FOR THE CHILDREN THAT WILL BE ROLE MODELS FOR THE NEXT GENERATION IS A GREAT GIFT FROM GOD ABOVE!  I AM SO THANKFUL TO BE A PART OF EVERGREEN4KIDS!

Love, Compassion and Common Sense

Good grief!  As I get older I realize I need lots of help.  lol  I just ran across a blog I wrote a while back and I want to post it.  The blog will be out of date, but I think it's important.  I hope you do too!

September 3, 2015

This morning as I come around the corner by the school I see our school Director Yanet and our 4 year old teacher Fani running out to the street.  Yanet is waving her hands frantically at a man on a motorcycle who has just dropped his daughter off at school.  Fani is behind Yanet with a small child who is obviously unconscious.  Fani hops on the back of the moto holding the child and the man zooms away.  Off to the hospital. 

 

As I arrive at the school I learn 2 boys were running and came around the corner of the school at the same time.  Bam!  They collided and one of the boys, Manuel, hit his head on the cement sidewalk and was knocked out.  We prayed for the boy as he was being sped to the hospital.  We also prayed for the other boy, Tico because he was very traumatized by the incident.  Tico was crying so hard he was shaking.  I believe he thought Manuel had died and it was his fault.  Tico’s father arrived, consoled him and carried him back to class.  Manuel’s father was alerted that Manuel had been taken to the hospital.  In about an hour Manuel, his father and Fani arrived back at the school very happy that Manuel was now suffering from nothing more than a headache.  We gave Manuel Acetaminophen to relieve the pain.  Then we got Tico and Manuel together for a great big hug!  Students and teachers were all happy that Manuel was okay and back at school just in time to eat! 

 

I write about this incident to show how very different things are in the Habanero. This was an unfortunate accident that was taken care of properly.  From our staff, Fani & Yanet to the man on the motorcycle and to both fathers everyone went into action and did what was necessary for the sake of the children.  There were no accident reports, no parents upset, no school board inquiries, no insurance companies involved.  Both the boys were treated with love, compassion and common sense.  I myself was impressed with the lack of coddling of the boys.  They both went back to class and finished out the school day as usual without dwelling on the morning incident.  How refreshing it was to see!

We're building a Teen Center!

Wow!  I just returned from a month in Habanero.  It was a long, hot trip, but the work was wonderful and fruitful.  I was the coordinator for two high school teams from Kings Way Christian School in Vancouver, WA.  Over a two week period we had over 30 high school students working to build the teen center.

We hope the teen center will be a safe haven for those seeking to further their education.  We're looking forward to the future and all God has planned for this place.  I know lives were affected by this mission trip to Habanero.  Our USA students were touched as were the Dominican villagers.  Everyone worked together and there were many tears shed when we said our good byes.  Jesus' love flowed through these team members as they loved on the children.

But it's not over!  Kings Way will be coming back and is now planning a VBS team for August 2016 and a construction team for February 2017.  God is faithful.  HE provides all our needs!

                                     

No Summer VBS

August 2016

Sadly there was no VBS team this summer.  However, I was there in Habanero to help Yanet open up the school and get ready for the new year.  All is well with the children and we look forward to a new year.  We have enrolled over 100 children this year!

Health & Wellness Mission Team Feb 2015

I've been back from Habanero about a week now.  I was there for a month with a Health & Wellness Mission Team and a Dental Mission Team.  I feel so blessed to be able to serve along side these wonderful people.  The use their hand earned money to go and their vacation time.  Plus they work their tails off while they are there!  I hope their experience is a meaningful one and that each one will return to Habanero again.  The people there never forgot the love and kindness you've shown. 

The goals of the Health & Well Mission Team were to provide a new hand washing sink, teach health classes, take eye exams, distribute eye glasses and clothing.  Each goal was accomplished with joy and love!

Why Oh Why?

Have you ever wondered why I would leave America and spend two months working in Habanero?  I leave my family, my church and all the comforts of home to live in a little cement block house without full electricity and by that I mean you never know when you will have power.  We also never know when we will have water.  The water comes to the house about every three days.  On this trip we had a 10 day stretched with no water because a pipe broke and it took that long to get it fixed.  Fortunately a few years back we put in a cistern, so we have access to water.  But it’s back breaking work to lift it out of the cistern bucket by bucket.

Well, here are a few of the reasons………..First and foremost, God has called me to Habanero and the children there.  So I thought I’d show you a few of those children, because they are the reason I leave my home.

Bahai de los Aguilas, huh?

It's been awhile since I blogged because I've spent the last two months in Habanero AND the internet which I was so very happy to get set up SUCKS!  I can't say it any other way, it's a throw back to the 1980's when I got my first aol email account.  Remember?  Gosh we were so impressed by the technology we thought dial up was like greased lightning!  lol  Little did we know we'd one day look back on it as slow as watching paint dry..........

Anyway, while Scott and Chris were in the Dominican I'd thought we'd take a day off from Habanero and go see Bahai de los Anguilas.  I'd read so many reviews about how beautiful and secluded it was I was anxious to get there and see for myself.  First thing to do?  Ask around to see how long it'd take us to get there from Habanero.  Well, that was my first mistake!  I received answers ranging from 45 min to 2 hours.  So we planned on a 2 hour ride and headed out for the day with our beach bags packed.

As we headed out of Barahona and then past San Rafael I became suspicious.  I hadn't seen one sign noting either Bahai de los Anguilas or Juragua Park the protected area in which Bahai de los Anguilas lays.  Hmmm.... well we kept driving and hit some pretty rough spots in the road and I mean rough.  Like you could loose your whole rim and tire in it!  We had to slow down and then low and behold we hit construction.  Men here, men there, but not much happening.  Yep, even in the Dominican Republic, you will see 10 mean standing around and 1 looking like he might be actually working.

The view was beautiful during the drive and then right around one corner we saw a wind farm.  Yep, right there in the middle of no where there were acres and acres of wind turbines catching the wind and making electricity.  Of course we had to stop, explore and take pictures.  It was pretty impressive for this backward country which still uses horses and mules for farming.  Hopefully this means that one day we will have electricity 24/7 in Habanero!

Okay, back on the road, we're tired, hot and ready to give up finding this beach when we come upon a police check point.  We stop and ask where it is and happily he says take a left less than a mile ahead!  Alrighty, we are excited, except we already have 4 hours into this trip and 4 more hours to get back home.  We turn left onto a dirt road and go about 10 miles further.  And there in the middle of no where is a restaurant open for business and a guy showing up where to park.  Excitedly we get out of the car and talk to the guy pointing us onward.  He was actually trying to get us into his little area where he cooks and sells food.  We were hungry, but thought it best to eat in the restaurant.

We sat down and ordered something to drink and inquired about the Bahai de los Aguilas beach.  You have to take a 15 minute boat ride to the beach.  Since we'd already spent 4 hours on the road we thought it best to eat and hang out at the restaurant's beach.  We had a nice time, but we were disappointed we didn't get to the secluded beach we'd been looking forward to seeing.

We learned there is a hotel further down on the beach so next time we try this adventure we're going to head out early and then spend the night so we can really enjoy Bahai de los Aguilas beach!

Oh, yes, I learned a valuable lesson about relying on information gathered from people that have NEVER been out of their village!  lol  Silly me.

Ten more days...........

Ten more days and my feet will be on Dominican soil.  I am so very excited and thankful to be going back to Habanero.  I miss the children.  I miss Yanet.  However, I know I will also miss my family and friends that I am in leaving in the USA.  It's a struggle sometimes.............Seems like I'm always leaving someone.

Since my husband Scott has no vacation time he will be staying in Longview.  The last few weekends we've been trying to squeeze in every minute we can together.  Thankfully he will have vacation time next February when I will return to the DR with the dental team.

This trip we have lofty goals for such a short period of time.  I will be in Habanero for just three weeks.  I hope to get the covered play area complete and an outdoor kitchen built.  We also have a team coming that will paint the classrooms, redecorate using bilingual materials, distribute uniforms and backpacks and take photos of the children.  We will be happily busy.

Please keep us in your prayers for safe travel!