updates from canada now

so i am back home now. since the last post i ended up getting a little sick again so they had to do a bunch more tests and studies and i changed my flight from the 16th to yesterday (the 22nd). but a cool thing... the one day they were doing all these tests and it looked like i had kidney stones all of a sudden and i was in a lot of pain, and they said that my kidneys kept inflaming which is why it was interfering with my breathing as it was pushing on my diaphragm too. so the next day i went back to do some more intense tests, but i had woke up that day feeling AMAZING and i walked into the clinic and all of the staff stopped me to say how great i was looking and wondering what changed. but as i talked to the doctor afterwards he said "we arent sure quite what happened. i sure can't explain it but all your results from today aren't showing anything. you are healthy!!" so i said "amen", he said "hallelujah" and that was it with my sickness - a miracle.
so i spent the last week catching up on things i had missed out for the month i was working with hero holiday, and the 2 weeks i was sick in bed. i was finally allowed to leave the house so i went up to nazaret quite a bit to hang out with antera and nano and bascally the rest of the village and i had my sad last day in the clinic up there. i also got to help with another hero holiday medical team that was down and it was really cool because they did a medical clinic in the hotel they stay in and that i have been visitng for the last 5 years. so staff and family were able to come and get checkups for free which was a huge deal because they're wages arent very good and they barely get an afternoon off each week so to just walk down the hall for a quick consult worked out amazingly. they were so appreciative also because missionary groups and medical groups always stay in their hotel but as far as i have heard this was the first time anyone did something for them.
i also got to get nano his very first mochila (backpack) because he is starting school in nazaret this september, and his mom was telling me how he wont let anyone touch it or look at it without his permission. he is just so excited. and on my last day i took him to the beach and on a whole day adventure - he fell asleep on the way home and as soon as we got there and he woke up, he started crying again (which he does everytime i leave the house) but this time he knew i wouldnt be back until next year... so sad!!!
i also luckily got some more chances to hang out with rana and friends and right now if you want to be praying they are in haiti but should returning shortly to the dominican for their remaining 2 weeks.
so i got home yesterday finally after both of my flights being at least 2 hours delayed, but two friends genevieve and elise came to pick me up in buffalo - sadly one of my suitcases is lost still but will hopefully get in today - and i just unpacked and fell asleep pretty early.
i have had such an amazing summer - crazy busy just how i like it, so i might be sleeping for awhile though. but i have to go get ready for church - i hope they dont think im gonna go up and talk today.
thanks for following everthing and for all your support and prayers. love you all!
and if i get a chance i will try to write a little more once i get more settled.
if anyone feels like praying i wont go through too much of a hard transition back into canadian life i would appreciate that.
i also had to say some really hard goodbyes this week to amy, who had been down since may like me, and obviously all my other friends that live down there, so i am really glad i stayed the extra week or else i would have left without getting to see anyone.

patient versus nurse

quite a bit has been going down since i moved in with gabi this month. i'm not quite sure where to begin but as you all know i will just begin rambling and hope to stop sometime before lunch...\
we had jsut been going through a marathon of everyone leaving - hero holiday, josh and kirstin, kara, kyle etc when finally, sunday august 2 rolled around which means RANA. so i woke up nice and early to make sure i didnt miss her flight but i could barely walk, my whole body ached, my skin hurt to be touched, my head was pounding, my stomach hurt etc etc... so i just assumed i was a little tired so i went with mama D and jimmyjames to the airport to get rana (doubled over, laying on the ground when possible, shivering everytime the wind blew...) but soo excited to see ranita and meet her friends that were coming down. so we got them all sorted out and i just went home and layed in bed for the rest of the day with the beginnings of a fiebre (fever) and everytime i would stand up i would practically fall back down. that night i slept (off and on) with a blanket off and on because i just couldnt decide - and my friends took shifts checking on me.
the next morning was nazaret clinic day so donna decided to take me for some blood work and then up to the clinic, where they immediately threw me on the bed and hooked up 'un suero' (an IV) and i wasnt allowed to move all day. then int he afternoon they got my test results back and were sure i had dengue fever so i was sent to a hospital in puerto plata (everyone gets mad when i call it a hospital because here that means a place you basically go to die, so i was sent to a private clinic). i ended up going through 9 IV's i believe from 7 that first night to 4 the next day, had a fever of 102+ (even though the nurse said "no fever"). they did some tests to show that i didnt have dengue but instead had a bad kidney infection (un infeccion de los rinones) - we ended up having some issues with this hospital overcharging me for things i never had and it was a very expensive overnight experience but i hopefully have the right paperwork for insurance to help me out...
then on wednesday i had a bunch of house guests (people came all the way down from nazaret to check on me - probably spent their weeks worth of wages to do so) and every friend that i have practically ever met came to see how i was. its a really big thing in their culture that i am just learning about (and loving, since i hate to be alone), and if people couldnt make it in to see me they called or sent someone else.
so i had just been taking it easy for a couple days (nobody would let me do anything - rather annoying if you know me) and on friday i was feeling good so i went to find my friends that work in the emergency room in puerto plata. unfortunately they werent working that day and by the time i got home i was back in bed, with another wicked fiebre, this time struggling to breath, my whole body started tingling and i could only cry - which again if you know me, you know is something that i dont do. even when i broke my pelvis i only cried because i didnt want to ride in the ambulance hah..
this time they checked me into a brand new clinic here in sosua (5 minute walk from my house) and they did a whole bunch of other gross tests and found out i had an ovarian cyst that ruptured as well and if i hadnt gotten in when i did, then i would have needed emergency surgery. so they made me stay in for two days to keep an eye on me and to continue doing tests and such. luckily, yesterday morning they came in and said i was doing well enough to leave. so i just have a check-up on wednesday and until then i am pracitcally on house arrest which is VERY annoying just incase anyone wanted to know (im sitting out by the pool write now to write this but shh dont tell, gabi is still sleeping).
so i am feeling a lot better. thank you all for praying. and if someone is reading this and had no idea i was sick it is because i didnt tell anyone. my friend called the parents while i was in the hospital.
basically i just think this experience was another thing to add to the list of things i can understand for when i am a nurse. i will know how it feels, the singns and symptoms, where not to push or touch etc. i probably wont even need anymore formal school training., at the rate im going, i could have these sicknesess down in a couple years... (just kidding - no more hospitals or clinics for me - unless im the one working in it)

pollota - big chicken

i'm putting this up a couple days late - i ended up falling asleep in the middle of writing this and ofcourse never finished posting it...
yikes, its been another little while eh? but hero holiday is a great excuse, although they leave tomorrow morning at 7 so i figured i should get on this whole blog business before i forget.
so anyways, i never ended up going back to the emergency room yet but then i bumped into the two guys that work in the ER just the other day and they both were asking why i never showed up and they were asking what i know how to do and what i want to learn.
besides trying to get myself a job in 'emerge', i was in charge of bringing a different group of about 20 high school students to the hospital for the last two weeks. as i mentioned last time, we are working with a group that is focused on improving the children's ward. they have done a lot of work on improving care for premature babies by getting them a proper room with air conditioning, real heat lamps (rather than the old reading lamps they used) and new incubators.
every day i brought a different group of teenagers to help with different cleaning and painting projects, and they also would bring along bubbles, or colouring books for the kids. despite all the chaos of trying to organize teenagers, leaders, staff and patients, we managed to clean and repaint the entire children’s ward, made up of 4 large pavilions, a nurse’s station, a future ‘playcare’ area as well as a small courtyard just behind the ward.
after hero holiday leaves i will be moving in with my friend gabi who i have known for a couple years now and the cutest baby in the world.
i'll write again soon-ish.
rana comes in sunday the 2nd. wooohoooo.

OMEGA me tocó

since the last medical team left we have been even busier, so for all you people that are angry i havent written (mom and rana), callese por favor.

so one fun thing we have done is go to a concert for this dominican guy called OMEGA (el fuerte) haha. i had seen signs on the road for weeks about him coming (of course they dont say when or how much so i had to do some investigating) but amy, natalie, erin and kara all decided they wanted to come and it was one of the greatest days. we just ran around for a couple hours playing on the slides and in the pool with some of the friends i knew that we bumped into and finally Omega showed up (2 hours late - so dominican). he played for an hour maybe and we got right up to the stage and he even touched my hand - everyone was staring at me like i was a ridiculous white girl singing along too close to the stage - they just dont know what's what... and kyle (a roomate from last year) also arrived on the same day.

we also had a couple days re-organizing the clinic after the team was here and resorting a ton of pills they left.

on canada day a couple people at the williams' house were sick so we stayed away and had lardwin, sadrak and franklin over for dinner and a game of president (well, franklin cooked) but it was a fun canada day celebration - they even let me put canada flag stickers on their motorcycles.

thursday july 2nd we had another successful garbage day in nazaret. we filled all the bags again without even straying far off the road - we need to buy bigger ones again for the next time. and we had the kids talking about why garbage is bad for our health and such.

that weekend i went with amy and natalia on an adventure to santo domingo, the capital of the dominican republic. it worked out so well because as we were crossing the road we bumped into amy's long lost friend so we stayed at her house with her and her husband for the weekend. we got to tour around a bit for free because last summer amy ran tours for university students all over the island so she showed us around. right off the bat we got kicked out of church (i know, i know but we were wearing shorts and "we should know better") - we were just looking around amazed by the 'first cathedral of the new world' when this man came out of nowhere and dragged us to the door where we also saw him not let another lady in for having a 'scandalous' shirt. (i know, i know but we were wearing shorts and "we should know better")

on sunday the 5th we got back around 4 and hero holiday had arrived. woohooo. so i moved into the hotel for the month and am the 'project manager' at the public hospital in puerto plata (that i wrote about in may when we helped with eye surgeries). we are working with an organization that is trying to fix up the childrens ward so we are helping to paint and clean and then also get to interact with the staff and patients. it is a fantastic place for me to be. today i had to take a participant to the emergency room (he had a cut that was pussing and noone else could help) so after we went across the street to buy gauze (thats right, you have to buy the supplies they need) another friend told the nurse/volunteers that i want to work there one day and they invited me back tomorrow to help. i said maybe next week but i think i will go back tomorrow so they dont forget ... SO EXCITED!

ok i better go find sadrak before he gets surrounded by too many hero holiday girls.

love you guys.

medical teams and roadtrips

last Saturday a medical team arrived from jefferson city, missouri and we have been working with them all week in different communities. their first full day here we were out in nazaret at the clinic, sorting drugs, writing labels and a couple artists on the team were painting an incredible mural on the main wall in the clinic. later that afternoon we had the 1 year anniversary of “Centro de Salud Danica”. it was an awesome party with balloon hats, a million homemade desserts (from momma d), homemade, freshly squeezed and chopped fruit juice and a ton of people.
on monday we were out sorting drugs again in nazaret and i took groups of people around down to meet some families and invite the kids to a grande fiesta (big party) we were having up at the school in the afternoon. the strangest thing happened that day though – the kids showed up half an hour EARLY for the fiesta, they just couldn’t handle the anticipation. so we ended up doing face paint, playing different beach ball and “little kid birthday party” games, telling stories, having a colouring station for the younger kids, and all the kids got a cup of dirt and planted a tomato seed in it to take home. it was awesomely chaotic – like most things end up being when you are talking about over 100 kids in the same place at the same time.
for the next three days we had mobile medical clinics in a couple different locations (one in la monteada where we went to the infamous SPORTS DAY - at this particular clinic a local barber decided to come out with us and give free haircuts, which was the coolest thing). in the clinics it was fantastic because i got to sit with and help translate for one of the nurses, in between two fantastic doctors, so i learned so much and got to help with a lot of cool things like ‘lancing’ an abscess on a poor little boy’s leg (he didn’t love us after that), but the team has seen and treated so many people and not only helped them with medical issues but also in taking the time to sit and talk and play with them and their kids is worth more.
yesterday i ended up getting the day off because i had been up at 730 every day all week working with the team, so i went with some friends and people from sadrak’s church on a roadtrip to samana, a city about 4ish hours away (that i happen to be flying out of on august 16th L). we were supposed to leave at 5am but one particular person made us all wait an hour in the bus as he slept in, showered and wandered over – oh the Dominican. on the drive there the guys were all singing and playing their guitars, and we picked up random tourists and Dominicans as if we were a real guagua (so funny) and when we finally got to samana we did a little bit of walking around and then went to a natural water spring? (i don’t know what it really was) but it was so nice, and we were the only people there. after lunch though it had filled up and i was apparently the only white person they had seen in awhile because as Sadrak, lardwin and i walked in, every person stopped talking and stared – it even made them feel awkward next to me haha – so that was fun as i quickly jumped in the water. but then as i was swimming i felt someone grab my feet and up comes a boy who was obviously dared by his friends to grab the white girl as they all stood laughing in the corner... anyways around 330 we were leaving but of course the bus decided not to change into gear. we ended up driving so slowly for an hour until we reached a city called nagua, where we found a mechanic. so then we sat in the bus and hung out for about an hour while he tried to fix it until finally we climbed off and they decided we should probably get a guagua back because the bus wouldn’t go anywhere. so after a little sing-a-long a guagua came for all 18 of us, plus the two guitars and other baggage – wasn’t the most comfortable ride of my life as i shared one fold down seat with someone else and we were squeezed beside the two biggest people in the bus, i had a buckle up my butt and my knees were too long to fit behind the seat infront haha. but that only lasted for an hour or so when we unloaded and hopped in another one. everything was going well until we get taken on a back, dirt road detour past a cow farm in the pitch black. but finally we made it back after about 6+ hours of adventure and i can happily say this was one of the funnest adventures i’ve been on.
anyways, the medical team is leaving today so we will be spending some time with them and then tomorrow KYLE comes and then this week we will be starting to prepare for hero holiday, who come the first week of july. crazy crazy!

p.s thanks again for all of your love and support. please keep praying for the dominican and the things i am being called to do here and also for health because i have recently developed some strange ‘boil’ issues that the doctor things i might need surgery on when i get home, and my wisdom teeth are coming in – uh oh!!!

Love you all!!!

junio is coolio

ay ay ay. it has been rather busy this last little bit – a medical team from missouri arrived last saturday so i never got a chance to write about the week before. anyways here we go back to the week beginning june 14th...
i don’t know if i have been talking much about it but scott (oldest son of momma d and p daddy) and now josh (my roommate from last year) have been playing beisbol on team nazaret, the village we spend the majority of our time in. incase you were unaware, i kind of LOVE watching /playing beisbol so i have gone to every game/tournament – sometimes they say one game and it turns into 5 with a trophy, lasting until 1am – i’m die hard... so most sundays they actually have tournaments and scott was told to be there for 8am but there was nobody there... so we thought maybe they were just staying true to their culture and started playing in the field a little bit ourselves and then around 9 a couple men showed up and started cleaning up the diamond a little bit and then around 10:30 teams started arriving. turns out they were going to start thinking of getting ready at 8 and scott just didn’t get the secret code. luckily my 3 year old best friend, nano, came with his dad who is on the team, so we swam in the river and went on adventures all day, since beisbol lasted until 6. beisbol has been such an amazing addition to this year because i am getting to know some dad’s of the kids i spend so much time with (usually they are working), and i think it shows them that we aren’t just going “to work” for an hour or a couple hours but are wanting more than that and care more about them than that. and i am learning so much about the dominican culture, and falling more in love with it. everyone is just so friendly and relaxed – sometimes a little too much though when someone in the field pulls out their bottle of rum in the middle of the game but it makes it more entertaining.
a couple days later when i was walking through town with amy, we bumped into snotball’s (widline’s) 15 year old sister who had promised to get me a phone number so i could reach their grandma that snotball is living with in haiti. so jean-wisline (jon-wisleen) took us back to her 18 year old sisters apartment. we wandered down a back alley where a man was making a fire to cook his dinner, past some ladies getting their hair “did”, past some naked kids laying on the cement to stay cool – it was like a whole different world just a block away from the centre of the tourist hub in sosua. they invited us in and it turns out that their older sister has the cutest baby boy ever. amy and i quickly made ourselves at home on their bed while we just hung out with 5 girls that we have seen around town working as prostitutes with a baby almost as light as us, making it rather obvious that he was the son of a foreigner – but none of that mattered as we were all just talking and joking like we were old friends in an apartment only big enough for a double bed and a toilet. we eventually started talking about widline (snotball) and how she is doing in haiti. they told me that their grandma is struggling to take care of them both but they both went back there because here the dominican government won’t offer any support since apparently haitians aren’t people...? but the way she told me wasn’t as if they were just looking at me as a bank. money never even came up except that she said she was trying to send them support in haiti. one of the coolest things about this was that they were calling me widline’s godmother and were saying how they appreciate that i would come look for her year after year. this was by far one of my favourite times, ever – we didn’t want to leave but figured the girls might need to start getting ready for their night.this week we also started doing a garbage program up in nazaret. it was our first attempt so amy and i decided not to do a lesson but just see how many kids would actually come join us. we set out with a pocket full of grocery bags and a box of fun blue gloves, and in less than 10 minutes we had a crowd of about 20 kids and had filled up and run out of bags. we had to start using rice sacks that we found in the ‘gutters’ but then couldn’t go too much further. basically garbage day was a SUCCESS and we are going to start doing it every week and talking about why it’s bad for your health etc.

A message from Sadrak

The other day I spent a little while helping Sadrak write a letter to send to different people and groups about his father and I thought I would post it here because it gives some updates.

Hi, it’s Sadrak Jeremy. How are you doing? I hope you are doing well. I just wanted to let you know that my father was in a motoconcho accident two weeks ago and he broke his knee and femur, two ribs and dislocated his jaw. He was on his way to visit his mother when a truck came out of a side street without looking both ways. It ended up driving right into his bike and a jeep from behind also collided with them. The driver of the motoconcho was taken to a clinic in Santiago. My father was taken to a private clinic in Puerto Plata and was expected to die but by a miracle he is alive after 4 different operations – they had to put pins in his leg. My family and I are taking care of him now that he is back home. We have already paid $250,000 pesos (around $7400.00 USD) with the help of people from our church and other friends from all over but we still owe the clinic $92,000 pesos ($2700 USD). My father’s name is Victor Vasquez. He is a pastor here in Sosua, Dominican Republic but will be without work for 6 or more months. I would like to ask you to pray for a speedy recovery and also for my family, and if you are able to make a financial contribution we would also really appreciate it. We are praying and trusting that God will provide.
If you are able to make a donation you can do it in the Popular Bank to the name of Sadrak Vasquez Cabrera, account # 743 769 432.
Muchas Gracias y Dios Te Bendiga
(thank you very much and God Bless)

felicidades - congratulations

woops. it’s been a little while eh? so as you have seen the parents were here last week which was awesome. i loved showing them around my island (ha) and getting mom on a motoconcho – i couldn’t believe it. mostly i loved introducing them to everyone down here and seeing them start to be friends with my Dominican friends and family.
since they were here we’ve had a few big events. first was that josh (my roommate from last year) and kirstin, his girlfriend, came down so i have moved in with them to our old apartment from last year for the month until another friend kyle joins us.
tambien (also) sunday june 7th was the one year anniversary of the clinic in nazaret that i work in; but they decided to wait to have a fiesta (party) until a medical team that was here last year returns again on the 20th of this month.
hoy, (today) was the 2nd annual graduation for the kids of nazaret that i see todos los dias (every day). we went up this morning to help decorate and set up and make refreshments and such and then at 430 we went back for the actual ceremony. it is so cute because only the kids in kindergarten are actually in the ceremony and they get all the kids an escort. hoy (today) there was a boy wearing a tux and all the girls were in their ‘poofiest’ white dresses to walk the graduate in the parade around town and then to their seats. it is such a fun production with dances from the older kids and graduates, an award section and different speeches. we also had a special surprise rain storm today just near the end – it wouldn’t be the Dominican if it didn’t rain at some point during the day.
on a more serious (sad but encouraging) note, el sabado pasado (last saturday) my friends dad was in a motoconcho accident where a truck pulled out and one way or another both the motoconcho driver and my friends dad ended up in hospital. his dad is a pastor in town that i have known for four years now and he is always so welcoming when we come to the church or to their house. i went with his son the other day to check on him in the hospital after his 4 operations. he ended up in a full left leg cast after two operations, plus he needed a procedure on his hip/pelvis area and one also on his face (jaw perhaps?). first of all it was a miracle that he was in such good condition because here the motoconcho drivers are the only ones that “have to” wear helmets (because how often do you expect to see people walking around here with a helmet just in case they might need a drive somewhere) but they usually don’t either. so that was quite marvellous (the thesaurus wasn’t very helpful, sorry), and that he was able to talk to me and move, for the most part, his other body parts was awesome. we got a chance to pray with him and encourage him which was great, and i got the meet the family and other close family friends (kind of awkard timing though). the unfortunate news is that the 4 operations are going to cost his family around $230,000 pesos or around $7000 USD which his family definitely doesn’t have. so please be praying that we will be able to help them figure something out. sadrak (his son) was telling me that he knows that after such a challenging time for his family (which this whole year has turned out to be) that God must have some big blessings waiting so he is just living in faith, which is such an encouraging attitude, especially when faced with such a real, overwhelming necessity that his family cannot handle on their own...
love you all, thanks for being so great.

we're home

(From the mom/ Lisa again)... We have arrived home safely from our trip to visit Krissie. What a wonderful experience we had. I can't get over how friendly the people are down there. Not to mention the hospitality of Donna, Phil, Scott and Jimmie (Missionary's Krissie works with under "Servant's Heart Ministries"). They welcomed us into their home with open arms and it was just a joy to spend time with them and all the people they serve. It really helped to make this holiday unique for us, in that we had family and friends who knew what they were doing and where they were going. It saved us so much time and effort to have them as our tour guides and hosts.

So as you might guess, Krissie kept us busy each day we were there. It got easier each day as I got more used to how things worked, not to mention the weather. The temperature never went down, so either the humidity was less or we just got used to it, but it was much more bearable later in the week than at the beginning.

During the day on Wednesday, Phil and Donna generously lent us their vehicle so Krissie could take us on a personal tour of what she had been doing over the past few years. We went way out into the country to see the very first school she helped to build in the early years. Later, while Darren helped the others at another school (framing walls etc.) Kris was able to take me to visit "Mustard Seed" which is an orphanage for disabled children. I was delighted to see that the facilities were quite substancial and well kept. I was happy to greet the children but soon learned that because I couldn't speak the language it was very hard to communicate with them. So a smile and hug was all I was able to give. They have around 18 children there with 12 staff.

Later that evening, Krissie threw us and her friends a BBQ at Phil and Donna's. It was so fun. We enjoyed burgers and potato salad and some wonderful homemade desserts...oh yes, and watermellon (Krissie and my favourite). The highlight of the evening was when Kris's Dominican friends pulled out their guitars and started playing and singing. They are so talented. It was really enjoyable to sit and listen to them sing in both Spanish and English. (I like the Spanish songs the best!)

As the days quickly flew by our time in the DR rapidly came to an end. But before we left, we were able to see the site of what they hope to be a future clinic, in a poor area, near the airport. Perhaps next time we go to visit that clinic will be up and running and serving those who desperately need it.

All in all we had a wonderful trip and made some great new friends. It has been a lot to process. As I said in my earlier blog, it is hard to constantly flip back and forth from beauty to poverty, I found that really difficult. Always in the back of your mind is what you know is there. The need, the hurt and the pain that poverty thrusts on people. But what I do know is that God is greater than poverty. He is greater than our deepest need and He is faithfull. But He does require our hands, our feet and our mouths to do his work. As I return home to my house in Ancaster I am aware of and grateful for the great blessings that we all enjoy here in Canada (and more often than not take for granted). I am reminded that to whom much is given much is required. And I have also learned that when people have so little, they tend to appreciate so much.

I was honoured to be able to glance very quickly into the world of missions and humanitarian relief and applaud those who do it full time with joy and passion.

Blessings to those who use their gifts and get the job done!

Dios te bendiga - God bless you

Hi, it's the mom...Darren and I are visiting Krissie for the week. Wow, what a joy. We are really getting a good taste of what she does and it's great. So far the above is the extent of my Spanish...but it's still early. So Krissie has taken us to the clinic and school (both at the same location) in the hills, in the heat, in the beauty of the countryside and also in the midst of the poverty. It is such a tug of war between beauty and suffering! It is really hard to switch back a forth from going "oh, isn't that beautiful - a child's smile or a beautiful flowering bush - to an impoverished sight of pain, suffering and want.

We were also privileged to go to Antera's home for lunch today. (She works in the clinic.) We enjoyed a typical Dominican meal of rice, salad, fried cheese and plantains. It was awesome and so special. The adults sat around the table while the kids waited patiently in the other room - about 3 feet away. There were maybe 12 people in her house that would be about 8' x 8'.

Last night we went to church. It was really great. All in Spanish of course so we were a little lacking in understanding, but still had a great time. It was a big Dominican mother's day celebration. The most amazing thing I would say about the DR is the friendliness of the people. They have so little (most of them) but they are so happy - always greet you with a smile and a warm Hola. Darren is pulling on my arm wanting me to go into the pool with him, so got to run. Splash!!
Out of the pool but it is still 32 in the shade so I'm hot again. And the mother who is always on her kids to use sunscreen has a slight burn on her shoulders (don't tell Jackie).
So today Krissie made me ride a motoconcho down from the clinic. So there was the guy (driver) me in the middle and Darren on the back. Hmmm - Now I know what the icing in an oreo cookie feels like. I had to chuckle to myself as Krissie was haggling with the motoconcho drivers. There are Darren and I standing in the 42 degree heat because we were in the sun and about 6 black guys on motercycles were circling around us and Krissie and Amy (her roommate) to see who could drive us (well, really the girls!)
So after we get down the hill we have to catch a guagua (another name for a bus that carries 22, yes I said 22 people). It is the size of a mini van. I had to count how many of us were in there and yes, it again there were 22. Well, one guy was hanging outside, 4 people in the front and so on.

But here we are and we arrived safely.

Earlier today we went to Arroyo Scco where Krissie helped build the school. (her very first project here). It was awesome to see. Quite substancial - much more than I had imagined. So we hiked it down the road to see if we could meet any of the locals. And of course out they came as we were walking. A little girl came running out to see Krissie, did I mention she knows everybody! They are all so pleased to see her coming. She is introducing us to everyone which is really great. So we hiked off the road (Krissie is never one to stay on the beaten path) so into the hills to a beautiful grandma’s house. She offered us the best she had which was 3 chairs to rest on. Her little grandchildren sat and stared at us as only Krissie could communicate with them. Grandma thought Darren looked really strong!! I think so too. Ha Ha...Anyway that was one of my favourite stops so far. It reminded me of Grandma Sonnenberg and how she would be. Rustic and country and peacefull. I'd love to go back and sit with her and chat, now I know why Krissie keeps coming back.
So Krissie is reminding me to tell you all about the talent show, fund raiser she took us too. It was really good. They are such talented musicians. So there we were enjoying the show along with about 300 young adults when the power goes out – completely! So out in the streets are lots of other people milling around and there we are in a building which is almost pitch black. Hmmmm...pray now! Then the lights came back on in about 3 – 4 minutes and we were good to go. The show was amazing.
The first day we were here I realized I had not packed enough cool tops so Krissie said she’d take us out shopping for some clothes. Now that’s a first. So off we went, Kris grabbed us a publicar (a “taxi” where you fit in as many people as you possibly can). After it broke down on the side of the road for a minute or two I thought it would be a good time to open my pop – yes, I said pop. At a time like this you are not fussy about your liquids – just happy you have some – anyway, as it turns out it was not such a good time to open it as Kris and I found out. Apparently the roads are a little bumpy and it sprayed all over Kris and I and the driver and his car. O bother. But alas I had a wetnap in my pocket and made the most of it. Nothing a little extra tip to the driver couldn’t fix.
So we are having an awesome time. Hope I didn’t bore you with my ramblings. Hope to write again before we have to leave. Cheers, Lisa

estan aqui - they're here

the padres (parents) are here. today i am going to show them some of the schools i have helped build and work in over the last couple years. mom is going to write a blog before they leave too. dont worry rana, we're on it.
thanks everyone for prayers and support.

sports day and post sports day adventures

this week started out with a real dominican BANG!

el domingo pasado fue (last sunday was) "sports day" in la monteada (past arroyo seco for anyone who has been here before) and it was as good as imagined.

amy (my roomate and sometimes other half - in the nerdy sense) and i were promoting and talking up sports day all week, mostly to momma d and fam. mirian, the pharmacist in our clinic, and her husband plan a big weekend event every year out in different villages where they have different sports like beisbol, volleyball, futbol (soccer) and then other games (we apparently missed the potatoe sac races) and lots and lots of food for free. she invited momma d and then we invited ourselves along but when we asked her when it started she said "it's all day" and we couldn't get a straight answer, so we aimed for 12ish.

scott managed to get on the villa nazaret team after a short tryout, and they forced him to squeeze in to some small dominican man's tight white baseball pants - hilarious!! i also inherited a son for the day.

now don't fear, sports day had music too, but i think the dj might have been busy playing or eating because we listened to the same song on replay until 5ish when we left. needless to say, the soundtrack to sports day was a hit.

post sports day we were up in the clinic and also going around the village to talk to parents about registering their kids for kindergarten next year. on tuesday some friends that are staying in puerto plata came to check out nazaret and the clinic and we took them down to visit baby ruth. in the afternoon we were apartment shopping in cabarete for amy and being assaulted by sand - it was a little windy.

hoy (today) i went with the puerto plata girls out to arroyo seco to check on our friends. we played for a couple hours and then the kids decided they wanted to go swim in 'el rio' (the river). it was fantastic. it is nice to just hang out with everyone for once rather than having a strict schedule to follow. we stayed for almost 5 hours of fun/madness. for tonight amy and i are going to be beisbol groupies for scott - he got invited to play with the team again. he even bought real pants...

and el viernes (friday) the parents are coming. woot woot.

tick tock

one thing you need to learn when you come down here is that everything (but driving) is in dominican time. no matter how hard you try to get other people to be somewhere "en punto" (on the dot), or even to be on time yourself, it just never seems to work... i dont even bother wearing a watch.

when it is raining most people pull off the road to hide under a little store front roof or just sit inside until it is over. when it is too hot and sunny most of the dominicans again hide inside or in the shade while all the 'gringos' are out there soaking it up. when there is construction or just a big load of anything, the whole road just gets blocked off until they decide to move their big dumb truck. and nobody seems shocked or even aware that an event started at 3 but nobody is there until after 4.

last year one of my friends was invited to his dominican friends' wedding. he said it was supposed to start at maybe 5 so he planned for that and still showed up at 530 and they were just beginning to set up. even this week some friends were coming over to the house to help me make dinner and they said they would be there at 7. luckily i still made some kraft dinner beforehand because my first friend showed up at 8ish with some plantains and the other two didnt come until after 10 - and they forgot the food. finally we ate around 1130. good times (literally, ha im hilarious).

everyone always just wanders around town slowly, hissing and people watching, and finally when they put their mind to go somewhere they can be the most impatient, speed-demons you have ever seen. i dont know how many times we have been passed by a truck full of people in the back while there is a motoconcho on our right and a car and motoconcho driving towards us. everyone just moves over as far as they can and speeds off to wherever they are headed. i sometimes figure it is because they know they are already so late so they try to make up for some of it with their driving techniques, but who really knows.

basically, the point of this blog, (besides the fact that i was assaulted by dominican time again today when i went to pick something up that we ordered last week and was supposed to be ready two days ago, yet wont be ready until at least next week) is that if you come to the dominican and start getting upset that people arent meeting you or calling when they say they will, you just have to remember what i was told... "the white man invented the clock"

strabis-wha?

so i just got home from the puerto plata public hospital - rana i know you would be proud. there is a public, where the families have to basically take care of the patient and bring sheets, food, water etc and a private hospital which is just expensive.

so a couple months ago there was a medical team working in a nearby village and scott made a little friend who was terribly cross eyed, which scott had been when he was a wee little thing. so the other day we went up to the clinic and found a poster taped to the door saying another ministry down here was having a free eye clinic to help correct cataracts and strabismus (which i just learned means cross eyes-ness) so scott thought ..."fantastico" and took him for a consult last thursday. then on sunday scott was supposed to bring him to the hospital for around 12 (p.s i dont live alone anymore. a new friend named amy came in saturday night...) so amy and i were deciding what to do for the day and pdaddy mentioned he had gotten an email that said at the eye clinic they could use help, so we tagged along (maybe that didnt make too much sense though).

anyways, when we got to the hospital it was 'jam packed' (which i want to learn to say in spanish because i think it is a hilarious expression - i'll keep you guys posted) and everyone assumed we knew what to do since we weren't dominican, however that was not the case. finally after waiting for a little while in the chaos i decided to sneak myself into the office and ask if they needed any help. it turns out they needed translators and the little amount of spanish amy and i knew was more than all the other 'gringos' combined so we were enlisted.

what happened was they organized all the cataract people in the morning and then by the time we got there we helped wrap that up and then we started organizing all the 'crazy eyed' kids in order of age for their next consult. we would bring them in about 3 at a time and do a little physical (had to make up some awesome spanish descriptions since i couldnt remember all the right words to explain their results) and then ask some more history questions. next they were taken one by one into the next room to get some eye drops to dilate their pupils or something of the sort, but all the kids hated life at that point and we didnt want the others to notice. despues - after we walked them down the hall to get blood work done, which took a decade, and they were brought back to be re-examined and organized into a surgery schedule for this week depending on their results.

we got home around 6ish and i went to sadrak's church in charamicos and got to see his family and some old friends. then we went to one of his friends houses where she and her mom cooked huge amounts of rice and beans and also crab for about 12 of us as we squeezed in to stay out of the dumb rain - which ended up catching me half way home on the motorcycle and amy said i came in looking like a wet dog...

today we decided to go back out to the hospital to help with translations and whatever else but at first we were of no use. we were almost ready to leave and go to the clinic in nazaret but then i again wandered upstairs and asked some random white lady in scrubs if she wanted help. she was ecstatic. so once scott and amy agreed we were given scrubs (scott was busting out of his - he looked like a fruity bouncer ha). anyways our main job was to help with IVs (setting them up and then holding down the frantic kids - our little 4 year old buddy ended up taking about 5 of us to hold him down and he still managed to bite bernard). after we did that we got to get in on a surgery and see them remove some of the muscles in the eye and poke things in it and stitch it up. it was great. we took awesome pictures in the OR (which reminds you we aren't in canada) but amy forgot her camera cord so until we figure something out you will just have to leave it all up to your imagination (p.s. that is a google picture).

i shall try to write again sometime soon (but rana i dont want to give you too much of an excuse to stop studying)
love you all

a light in the street

ayer (yesterday) phil, scott, bernard (our translating friend) and i went to a place called agua negra (black water), which is now a village built on an old garbage dump. they warned me to wear some old shoes because it had rained all through the night, and in agreement with the name, there would be at least a couple inches of black water coming up over my ankles, but i had no idea.
we went to have a meeting with a dominican lady who has started a ministry called ‘a light in the street’, which is now responsible for 2 schools, a clinic and some vocational schools, among many other projects. she seems like an amazing lady, and the things they are doing for that community are incredible. she said that she had grown up there for 18 years of her life now (she is only in her early 30s), which would definitely help her to see the needs more clearly and be able to prioritize projects when different groups come to support them.
after discussing different needs in that neighbourhood she decided to take us into a few homes just down the street to show us a more clear picture of the problems they are facing – the main one being dirty water build up. most of the houses, we noticed, were at a lower level than the street which allowed for a lot of flooding. almost everything they had in the house was built up on stilts from past experiences, and all the furniture they could carry had been lifted up in the ‘rafters/supports’ for the ceiling/walls.
one particular house we went in, after walking through other people’s homes because the streets were too flooded, was about 2 feet lower than the ground outside – meaning even more run off. they gladly welcomed us in/carried us across a little rock path and even though they had used a pump to empty the house that morning, there was still about 2 inches of water on the floor. one of their solutions was that over time they had collected cinder blocks and made a little floor platform for everything in the kitchen, which was a good start, but in most cases the water would probably be much higher. at one point i turned to scott and said “who would ever think you needed gutters in your bedroom?” because as i looked in, i noticed a little area chipped/worn down to facilitate water flow out towards the kitchen area.
i cant even imagine what it must be like to go to sleep every night praying that it wont rain, and then you wake up and the majority of your things are soaking wet after just drying from the last storm. we are just now in the middle of rainy season (may is usually the wettest), which for most people on the island is a good thing because it takes care of their crops, but for this little community it means many more soggy days - plus i imagine a lot of sickness results from all the things floating in the water and from it sticking around for a couple days afterwards.
the solution...? - the only real thing phil could think would work is to bring in dirt-like materials to build up under the houses and then repour a cement floor, much higher than the pre-existing one. once that was done they would have to build up the walls and raise the roof because you could only be about 4 feet tall to fit in after that was all done. but then figuring out how to fix the door openings would be the next issue since that is where a lot of support beams for the house run through.
in july we will be back out there working with that group but please keep them in your prayers and maybe i will get a chance to go work with them sooner.
hasta luego - until later/see you later.
p.s - i unfortunately didnt get any pictures from there but next time phil goes out i will give him my camera...

en la clinica - in the clinic

every monday and tueday the clinic in nazareth is open. momma d and i go up there for around 8 to open la farmacia and then i get to sit in with the doctor or fill prescriptions or play with the kids. monday's we are open from 8-12 and then we get a 2 hour siesta or prep time and then are back open from 2-6. we all have matching navy blue embroidered scrubs now and everyone just assumes i am a doctor. they are too trusting...
this year i decided that i want to learn how to cook more dominican food so i asked if one of the ladies in nazareth named antera would teach me. yesterday we fried up these short, fat banana/plantainish things and if you have ever eaten the 'frito verdes' that i make then you basically know what these were. we also fried some cheese - which i dont love - but it was better than i expected, and made some fresh jugo de cereses (cherry juice). it was a pretty simple lunch but i've gotta start somewhere... (this morning she made us a fresh banana juice/shake... yumm!)
for the rest of today we will just be doing some renovations on my little house and working on other projects for child sponsorship etc (i'm pretty pumped - we are making screens for the windows because the mosquitos love to sleep in my bed).
que tengan un buen dia - have a good day.

love you all and thanks for your prayers.

feliz día de las madres - happy mother's day

weather report: its about 30 degrees in the shade so therefore in the sun it feels like 40++.

and just so everyone is caught up on key characters to my dominican adventures, right now i am staying at a house beside a missionary family i worked with last year - phil (Pdaddy), donna (mommaD), scott (oldest son) and jimmyjames (youngest; i couldnt decide which to call him last year and that name stuck) ... p.s you can only see phil and donna in that picture to the right...so when i got in last sunday there was a mission group down from canada working with donna and phil (and i happened to know three of the people). the first day we took some of them to the public hospital to see the conditions and help improve the children's ward a little bit. at this hospital the patients are totally reliant on their family to bring them food and water, bedding and anything else they may need, which is a mega issue if you don't have family - you can only be assured a bed and IV. some of the team went to hang out in the maternity ward and got to 'watch'/support two women giving birth. apparently a garbage bag was used as the sanitation for the table and within 2 minutes of giving birth the women were up, showering off and getting ready to go.
we also took the group out to villa nazaret where the clinic we helped with last year is and all i could hear as i walked down the path was "kike, kike" (keekay) which is the dominican name i was given last year (because when you say "krissie" with a spanish accent it sounds like spanish "crisis"). anyways it was nice that they all remembered me, and seeing the clinic was awesome.
on thursday most of the group left and i got to sit in with doctor raquel in nazaret, and santo the nurse was teaching me to give needles (which i am supposed to wait to learn next year at school, but what the heck...)
since then we have mostly just been catching up on sleep and doing things around town to get ready for the next missions groups (hero holiday included) and to get the house im staying in ready for some other girls to come stay (rampage jackson will be busy). and yesterday scott and i went to another village (redemption) to check on a family that rana and i helped out a lot last summer. if anyone remembers any stories about baby ruth, she is doing a lot better and although all the kids were still running around naked, it was laundry day so there is hope for them this year...
anyways, i am being taken to the beach today (sunday is beach day for dominicans - for real - before you go to church at night) so i can work on not glowing when im in a crowd. everyone was so shocked by how 'white' i became this year...
alright, i shall talk to you all later and feel free to email me if you have any questions or anything. alwaysfresh__@hotmail.com
love krissie/kike
p.s happy mothers day!

estoy aqui- i'm here

hola everybody.
just wanted to let you all know that i'm here and give you a little update on life in the DR, so here is my blog (and if all you parents forget how it works you just have to paste the link into the www.___.com part anytime you want to read it). i will try my best to write frequently but sometimes the internet is funky and sometimes i just wont want to sit on the computer but i promised mom i will try.