Friday, March 7, 2014

MOTE-BETHEL-UNEV - First Field Trip


On Wednesday our Practical Theology class of pastors and leaders took our first field trip to a community called El Valiente.  The community is pretty remote.  Transportation to and from the area is difficult. 
Doctora y Pastora Susana Sanchez talking with one of the pastor-students.

There are thousands who live in the community of El Valiente, but the homes are much more spread out than they are in town or in even in other bateys.  We are used to seeing many homes right next to each other.

Most of the residents don't have vehicles, so they have to walk quite a distance for school, work or even to get to a store. 

One thing that many don't realize is that there is a cave in this community.  So far it's been kind of a community secret.  There hasn't been any major efforts to preserve it or to turn it into a tourist attraction, as we've seen in other places. 

The residents have mixed feelings about whether or not they'd like the cave to "go public."  Some say it would provide more job opportunities.  Others are afraid of how it would change their community and are aware that they may lose their land to the government.

When we got to know more about the needs of the people who live there, the residents talked about a major need for job opportunities, especially for women, and a daycare center. 

In a recent census done by one of the leaders, they found that very few of the residents are married.  They found many homes with single men raising children and other homes with single mothers.   
With very few job opportunities, many of the residents have used prostitution as a way to try to support themselves and their families.

The leader who invited us to the community would really like to focus on getting a daycare center going and training some of the women in basic skills, so they can start to earn an income.

It's hard to hear sometimes about all of the suffering that goes on in some of these places.  So thankful that we have a God who heals and restores.  May the Holy Spirit move in this community, and may this leader and others in her community have the wisdom, courage and compassion to be able to demonstrate the love of Christ with their words and actions.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

The group of pastors-leaders exploring the cave.

At our student "Open House". 
Kristin, Dr. "Chappy" Dave Walden, Dr. Susana and the university journalist.

Parent-Child Activity in Villa Vilorio


On Friday last week we all went to one of the communities where we've been working with the children for some special activities.  In the morning we split up into small groups and went around to talk with some of the parents and visit the children we've been working with in their homes. 

We really want to take more time to get to know the parents and allow them to get to know us, so we can work together and support them more as they raise their children.  Some of the parents were home, some were working, some are Christians, some are not. 

We're going to start doing this once a month in each of the communities to start building these relationships as much as we can.


Then, in the afternoon, we invited all the parents to come to a special activity in which we shared a little bit more about the ministry...what we do, where and why we are doing it. 


Some of the kids prepared a special song doing actions.  They call it a pantomime.


The youth of the community prepared a drama.  This is one thing we are excited about in this community.  There is a large number of youth that have been really helpful and have been participating a lot with the children's classes.  We are looking for ways to engage and empower them even more as leaders and role models in their community.

The youth of our ministry prepared a special drama as well.  If you haven't noticed, it's really popular and effective to communicate through dramas in the Dominican Republic.  It seems you can communicate a strong message without even using words that is really impactful to those who see it.


The church was full.  There were some parents and grandparents.  We're hoping that each time we do it, more and more of the parents will come.

Afterwards thanks to a donation from Resurrection Lutheran Church, we were able to bless each family with a bag of groceries.





Here are some pictures of the team leaders preparing the food the day before.  They did a good job planning the activity.  They had a budget to work with and thought through all the details: how many people might attend, what groceries to purchase and where to find the best deals, transportation, etc.   

They did a really good job and will only get better as we go along.  We've done this in one community and have three more to go!

Each of the bags had rice, beans, oatmeal, spaghetti, salt, oil, sugar, two types of flour, chicken-flavored seasoning, tomtato sauce and salami.  All of these are very typical ingredientes for dominican meals.

Thanks Resurrection Lutheran Church for the donation for the food!

English Classes & Ministry House Improvements

English Classes in Hato Mayor

Here are some pictures of the English class we started in Hato Mayor.  The students have been in class just over one month now.  There are 19 students, age 14 through adult.  They are an enthusiastic bunch, excited to learn and practice speaking English!


This is their teacher Mario.  It's a tight squeeze in the ministry house.  Two of the students sit in the entrance to the hallway. 


They do lots of partnerwork so they can practice saying the words outloud and having basic conversations.

The class has been such a hit.  There are several more who would like to enroll but we just can't fit anymore in the house.  We are working on starting a new session from 5-7pm.  We'll see if we can fill that one up too! 

Here's a group of the students after class.  Those in this photo happen to all be members of the ministry as well.
Left to Right:  Oscar, Yanibel, Kenia, Neftali and Yahson.


Improvements to the Ministry House

You may recognize some of these pictures from several months ago when we first moved to the new house we are renting for ministry.  This was the land next to the house that was covered in garbage. 



We worked together to tackle the majority of it right away.  Joselo and a few others have been chipping away on some of the smaller items, sorting the rocks from the garbage, putting it in sacks and finding a way to get rid of it over the last few months. 


Here is a current picture of the land.  We've come a long way!!!!  They've even planted a few guandules (pea plants) that have started to grow.  There still more work to do to get it in excellent condition, but we're making progress a little at a time.  The next step, they tell me, is to pull out of the old stumps.


Iron

We also worked with the home owner to get an iron door and window coverings for the gallery area.  It's entirely closed in now.  Just another layer of protection from theft, just in case.  We want to take good care of the house and all of the things we use for ministry.  Venisa also stays in the house overnight every once in a while when she comes from Prudencio for meetings or the tv program and can't get back before dark.  We want her to feel safe there as well.  We're excited about the changes.  Things are coming together.  God is good!