It isn't Christmas but its close!

School may be one thing that doesn’t exactly bring tears of joy to the students but its music to a parent’s ears! Here in the Dominican Republic, the ability to attend school is always exciting to the children. In the Samaritan Foundation village of Nazareth, Dominican Advance (http://www.dominicanadvance.org/) with some assistance from the Samaritan Foundation has erected a school that will provide an education for children that otherwise would not have had such an opportunity. Here are some of the pictures of this wonderful project and the happy faces that come from it.

The students and teachers were so excited about their new school that they were already teaching and students attending before the school roof and washrooms were completed. If you’re interested in how you can help or sponsor a student, please email Kim and Josie Pensinger at info@dominicanadvance.org .

They find me everywhere

You know, I just can`t shake them. A few weeks ago I got a ticket for going through what they said was a red but I am sure was a yellow light. Someone told me that when they wave you over to give you a ticket, they literally jump in front of your vehicle to stop you, that if you act like you can`t understand a word they say, sometimes they will let you go. Well I am here to say, it isn’t true and I`m really considering my friendship with those who told me this. After a few minutes of charades’, the police officer jumped in my car and directed me to the local station. Being here only a few weeks and literally knowing very little Spanish, I telephoned the only 2 people I knew who could maybe help me out. One said he didn`t want to risk misunderstanding the conversation on the phone because he felt his language skills weren`t up to par for the challenge. I appreciated that since I really didn`t want to get into more trouble than I might already be. Now thankfully, my good friend Dr. Bob was in his office and listened to my story and the instructions from the officer. The good doctor told me I had exactly 30 minutes to get to City Hall and pay the ticket or they would impound my car till the following day when I could pay the fine. This left me with a dilemma since I wasn`t allowed to drive my car to City Hall to pay for my traffic sin. On to the back of a `motto concho` (a motorcycle taxi) I go and off to the Hall. As we sped through the traffic at break neck and hair raising speed, I had the opportunity to revisit my previous years of life as they flashed before my eyes! After getting to City Hall through the back door, I paid for my crime, said a prayer of ``Thanks`` and got back on the `motto concho` to review my life all over again. Through the traffic once more and back at the station we arrived, showing them the receipt of payment and gladly got behind the steering wheel of my own car. This little ordeal from start to finish may have been less than seventy five minutes long but will certainly last with me for a life time. The moral of the story, ``Ignorance may be bliss” but it can sure help to revisit the past.

The sewing center

Just before our second week started, Elio Madonia, the Samaritan Foundation founder and Lina his wife left for Canada to attend their grandchild`s wedding. During the week we did some painting at our home and continued to get our bearings around our environment. Jane and I visited the sewing center where she was going to work and help teach. While we were there, Jane spent a lot of time cleaning the place up and sorting through some of the material. I built some shelves for the sewing goods and continued to organize through the stuff that was there. There were sewing machines to clean and Jane was feeling right at home when while sorting through the material, she came across some of the ugliest, biggest spiders I think we have ever seen. They even gave me the creeps and I don`t mind spiders. One of them was so big I had to arm wrestle it to see who got to keep the shop. Thankfully I won! Another goody we found while Jane and I were removing the boxes from the storage closet was a very alive and healthy rat. It ran out from between us and eventually we chased it out of the building completely. Never a dull moment. Jane has just finished cleaning the last of the machines and today, Wednesday Sept. 26, they start interviewing the village ladies to see who the first sewing students will be. This is great news and there will be many ladies vying for the first classes.

A medical clinic

While Elio was in Canada, he phoned to inform me that it seems that there is interest by some groups in sponsoring a small medical center in one of the villages we are currently building. Nazareth is one of the villages we are presently working in and a medical clinic is something that is greatly needed. This clinic will not only be used to treat the sick but will also be used for teaching local villagers about hygiene, nutrition and overall healthcare. This is something we take so much for granted in Canada, USA and other developed countries but here, affordable if not usually free care is only something most can only dream for. In this picture Phil and I are measuring and discussing the possible ways of designing this clinic for not only maximum use of the property available but also on how it can be done in a most cost effective way. Phil is here with an organization he and his wife, Donna, have started called Servant’s Heart Ministries (http://www.servantsheartdr.org/). This clinic will service Nazareth and at least 3 other small villages also founded by the Samaritan Foundation. We hope to start digging the footings and start construction the third week of October with the completion sometime around the beginning of November.

Where is your strength

Psalm 23: 4 “Yea, though I walk through the valley of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff they comfort me.” New King James Version

The following story took place this past Thursday evening, September 13/07, to 3 very good friends of ours and is not intended to scare or frighten anyone but to emphasize just how great the Lord our God is! I am going to try to keep it short but yet not miss anything important. It is a story that is amazing! I will be posting it on our blog.

Jim and Sue Coates (www.dominicanministry.com ) and Phil Williams (servantsheartdr.org) had finished supper and were sitting outside behind the Coates home enjoying the evening air. It had been another very warm Dominican day and the cool of the evening is always a welcome time. While they were enjoying the peace and quiet, around the corner of the house came 2 thieves banishing guns. The 2 had climbed over the wall and fence that surrounds the home. They reason they weren’t noticed or heard entering in the fenced property is someone poisoned 3 of Jim and Sue’s four dogs and stole their battery inverter only 6 nights earlier. The only dog left is now very scared of bumps in the night.

The 2 intruders pointed their guns directly into their faces and demanded all their cash, keys, phones and laptop computers. They meant business, pushing them around and then putting the 3 together where one could keep his gun trained directly at them while the other searched through the house. They were willing to kill them if necessary and certainly appeared to do so if needed. The 3 were totally defenceless and all the they could do and did was pray while this was happening, asking the Lord for his intervention and protection.

As the leader searched the home and rummaged through many personal belongings and private areas of the home, he noticed a large amount of baby food and baby accessories and demanded to know where the babies were. They explained to them that all three of them were Christian missionaries serving the Lord by providing and helping the poor and needy of this country. They told them that they had no more money because everything they had they used towards feeding and caring for the poor and hungry children.

When the lead intruder found out that they were Christian missionaries serving the Lord, the fear of the Lord entered them as a large injection that changed their hearts. As the two intruders with their still cocked and pointed revolvers stood in front of the 3 missionaries with their arms loaded with what they came for, they gently put everything down. They gave back to them everything they took; apologized for scaring them, emptied their guns of bullets in front of them and then asked for their forgiveness. With this Jim and Sue offered and gave them a glass of cold water and they disappeared back into the night as they came.

The reason I am sharing this actual happening with you is not to make you afraid or give you the impression that bad thing don’t happen to Christians. This very story could have ended very differently, happened in your country, city, neighbourhood or even to you. God never promised any us a life of ease, free of problems but he did promise us that he will remain faithful to us every day. I am also sharing this story because I want to ask you this, “Where does your help and comfort come from?” Our comfort is in the words of Psalm 121. This was the psalm our church pastor gave us on our last Sunday worship in our home church. It always was a favourite psalm of ours and even more so now!
Still gladly serving our Lord in the Dominican Republic,

John and Jane Huizinga
http://www.james-experience.com/

Psalm 121

I will lift up my eyes to the hills-- from whence comes my help?
My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth.
He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber.
Behold, he who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.
The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade at your right hand.
The sun shall not strike you by day nor the moon by night.
The Lord shall preserve you from all evil; He shall preserve your soul.
The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in from this time forth and even forevermore.

New King James Version

Our first week

Our flight into the Dominican Republic was a good indication on how our first few weeks were going to be, a tad bumpy. At the last moment our pilot had to abort the landing because there was a plane still sitting on the tarmac. After one of the fastest rises back into the sky I had ever seen, we were on the ground in a few minutes safe and sound. A wee bit scary but everyone loves a thrill.
We came with our son Dan and that certainly was a good thing. Leaving our family and friends behind was probably one of the hardest things Jane and I have ever had to do and so we treasured that week incredibly. Even now we still miss them badly! Though our first weeks here weren’t easy, we certainly could feel the Lord carrying us through some of the toughest times. The story “Footprints” rings loud and true for us.

We also caught the extreme edge of Hurricane Dean. It rained so hard that it came across sideways! If we were on the edge, I can only imagine what it was like for the “eye of the storm”. They closed the airport of the capital city Santo Domingo because of the storm. After this our hydro or electricity inverter went out of commission for 3 weeks. That’s a good news bad news story. Good news was we had lots of candle light suppers; bad news was they started to lose their novelty after week 2.

One of the things we found hard to get used to was the hot, hot, hot weather. It was almost always 30 degrees Celsius by 8:00am and generally climbed from there. It`s really not uncommon to change your shirts several times a day. Very good thing Jane loves doing laundry; actually she likes it so much she wants to teach me how to do it also. This way we can have additional joy together! As the saying goes, “the family that does laundry together stays out of the dirt together”. I bet you can`t tell I thought of it all by myself.

Here we go!

Well we have been here now for just over a month, 44 days to be exact, and so I thought I would give you a quick snap shot of the days gone by. Since I erased our previous blog, not knowing how to transfer it, I’ll try my best not to miss anything. So, grab a high octane coffee with triple sugar, no milk and have a seat. With each story I am going to try to find an according picture and will give it its own caption.

A new start

Hi Folks

Well we have started a new blog for two reasons. The first is because we wanted to start a new blog with new entries and to keep it completely seperate from the work we do. Secondly and probably more accurate is the fact that I thought I had to clear everything in order to start over. Yes, I am completely computer iliterate and I figured out later that it was a completely dumb move. So now its back to square one with a fresh start and a new respect for computer knowledge. Anyways, I'll be back later with a new entry and a new start.