the last day of the year

On this, the last day of 2012, we asked the students what they would be doing if they were home. Here are some of their answers: sleeping, listening to music, watching TV, sleeping, hanging out with friends, playing video games, sleeping, going on Facebook, and sleeping. (Apparently, they like to sleep a lot over break.)

This is what they did instead: Woke up at 6:30 for breakfast at 7:00 on the patio of the hotel. Mary Griesbach gave devotions this morning, encouraging us with the words of Philippians 4: "Whether in plenty or in want...I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength."

We arrived at Cielo by 9:00 and split into two groups. One group mixed, shoveled and passed hundreds of buckets of cement that formed the floor of a house. The other group mixed, shoveled and passed hundreds of buckets of cement that filled a beam in a 75-foot wall of the church. After lunch, we formed another line that moved over a hundred cinderblocks from a top of the hill to the foundation of the church, where we will begin to build walls tomorrow. All this without complaints or conflicts. In fact, there was quite a bit of singing and laughing as we worked. The last hour in Cielo this afternoon was spent on the streets, playing with the children and visiting with people in their homes. It was difficult to leave to go back to the hotel, and this was only the second day of our trip.

Tonight we will have dinner in Santo Domingo, then go back to Cielo for a New Year's church service and bonfire. From the comments we heard today, we would guess there is nowhere else these students would rather be on New Year's Eve, than with the new friends they have made, worshiping and celebrating what God has done in each life.

worlds apart

The village of Cielo is a 20-minute drive from the hotel, but the scene drastically changes as the bus makes a left-hand turn off the main highway. We enter the crowded, winding streets of District Bayona, where open-air colmados take the place of modern supermarkets and houses made of plywood, rusted metal or cinderblock take the place of high-rise condominiums.

The bus climbs a steep hill and enters the gate of Mission Emanuel, and, in the distance, we can see the mountains that divide the Dominican from Haiti. We gather in “Club Bamboo,” so named for the large bamboo tree that shades the area

Today, after a Dominican church service, we walked the streets of Cielo to view our two work sites for the week: laying cinderblock for the walls of a new church, and finishing the home of a family in the village. As we walked, more and more children joined our group, grabbing the hand of an American, getting a ride on someone’s shoulders. It doesn’t take long to make friends, in spite of the language barrier.

After a typical Dominican lunch of chicken, rice and beans, we board the bus once again and head back to the hotel, and the world changes again. We have the afternoon to swim, rest in our air-conditioned rooms and shower in our modern bathroom.

Tonight, we’ll have dinner in Santo Domingo, then meet in room 422 to worship and talk about our day—places where each of us saw and experienced God. Often, we find Him where we least expect, like in a small village at the top of a small hill in the Dominican Republic.

the far side of the sea

“If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast” (Psalm 139:9-10).

This was our day: a sleepy bus ride to O’Hare in the predawn light…a smooth check-in of 19 passengers and 25 bags…McDonald’s for breakfast, sitting on the floor at gate K-9…a four-hour flight to San Juan, Puerto Rico…a three-hour layover that extended to four hours when our plane had mechanical problems and a new one was readied…a bumpy flight to Santo Domingo on a noisy twin-engine plane…customs and baggage claim…and a one-hour bus ride through downtown Santo Domingo to the Dominican Fiesta Hotel.

Others from our team arrived via St. Louis and Atlanta, New York, Philadelphia and Orlando, and now, finally, we are all settled in our rooms, with orders to get a good night’s rest before we go to church in the village of Cielo tomorrow morning.

This was our day: as we traveled to the “far side of the sea,” God held us fast.