Friday, October 19, 2007
History in the making!!!!
Today is a wonderful day, well actually yesterday was better but today is good too. Scroll down till you see the blog headed "Team Spruceland working on the water cistern", its about four entries down. A day of rejoicing in Los Algodonas.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Nature's Call
It’s a funny thing, you know, this thing called “Nature’s Call”. The other day I was doing some thinking of my own on this subject, I really don’t know why but I do that once in a while and I realized there are probably as many versions of this saying as there are opinions. So I thought I’d pen maybe three with a stunning conclusion based on three different ages and circumstances.
The first is based on the age bracket of our teenagers. It’s seems so odd to me how when I asked my kids, when they were at that age, to give me a hand with something, it would take a team of four oxen to drag them from their den and they would often have the same demeanour. Yet strangely they could suddenly rise for any occasion when a friend phoned. May that is the “call of the wild” being attributed to a type of nature, the nature of knowing what is really important.
The second opinion of Nature’s Call comes when you get to that age when the call usually comes from down the hall. You know that room with the door on the left, textured with the cold tile
floor. I can’t say for certain but I have heard from some that they hear the call a couple of times a night. I’m just glad it can be answered inside now. I feel bad for the “good ol’ days”; some things didn’t seem so good.
The last view I have of Nature’s Call is what Jane and I experience almost every morning. Laying in bed and realizing that something just isn’t right. You hear noises from outside that you know shouldn’t be heard at about 4:30 in the morning. I have often been tempted to remind the most notorious of the culprits that my friend, Colonial Sanders, has a bucket waiting for them with their name on it. But then I would have to tell the mules, dogs and cows the same thing. I could always try to teach them how to tell time but then who would be the real donkey!
So I have come to the stunning conclusion, that the last of the three scenarios is the best to get used to. After all, staying in bed all day can give you bed sores, and you become lazy while getting up two or three times a night can make you grumpy and crabby. Whereas hearing Natures Call at 4:30 in the morning means you still have a pulse and another opportunity to make it a great day so “Rise and truly Shine!”
The first is based on the age bracket of our teenagers. It’s seems so odd to me how when I asked my kids, when they were at that age, to give me a hand with something, it would take a team of four oxen to drag them from their den and they would often have the same demeanour. Yet strangely they could suddenly rise for any occasion when a friend phoned. May that is the “call of the wild” being attributed to a type of nature, the nature of knowing what is really important.
The second opinion of Nature’s Call comes when you get to that age when the call usually comes from down the hall. You know that room with the door on the left, textured with the cold tile
floor. I can’t say for certain but I have heard from some that they hear the call a couple of times a night. I’m just glad it can be answered inside now. I feel bad for the “good ol’ days”; some things didn’t seem so good.
The last view I have of Nature’s Call is what Jane and I experience almost every morning. Laying in bed and realizing that something just isn’t right. You hear noises from outside that you know shouldn’t be heard at about 4:30 in the morning. I have often been tempted to remind the most notorious of the culprits that my friend, Colonial Sanders, has a bucket waiting for them with their name on it. But then I would have to tell the mules, dogs and cows the same thing. I could always try to teach them how to tell time but then who would be the real donkey!
So I have come to the stunning conclusion, that the last of the three scenarios is the best to get used to. After all, staying in bed all day can give you bed sores, and you become lazy while getting up two or three times a night can make you grumpy and crabby. Whereas hearing Natures Call at 4:30 in the morning means you still have a pulse and another opportunity to make it a great day so “Rise and truly Shine!”
Monday, October 8, 2007
Let it sew, let it sew, let it sew!
Well here we are, our first Thanksgiving away from home and our family and it feels kind of strange. But the Lord does provide and he certainly takes care of us! We were invited to a Thanksgiving supper with the group from Spruceland Millworks from Edmonton, Alberta, and it was awesome! We went to an excellent restaurant and really had a good time with them. Even though they are coworkers, the fact that we have spent a whole week with them makes it feel more like supper with good friends. They are a great group of people and we love em.
Jane has just finished her 3rd needlepoint class with the ladies of Ascension village. What began as a class that she started to coincide with the sewing class has turned into a massive project. Her very first class meeting had 35 ladies come out, 2nd class was 50 ladies and today's class had 60 ladies. Jane has one more class to round out the four classes of introduction and we are both wondering if the next meeting will be of 75 ladies. If any of you fine girls have some time to spare, we would be glad to have you join her. Here are some pics of her students.
Jane has just finished her 3rd needlepoint class with the ladies of Ascension village. What began as a class that she started to coincide with the sewing class has turned into a massive project. Her very first class meeting had 35 ladies come out, 2nd class was 50 ladies and today's class had 60 ladies. Jane has one more class to round out the four classes of introduction and we are both wondering if the next meeting will be of 75 ladies. If any of you fine girls have some time to spare, we would be glad to have you join her. Here are some pics of her students.
Saturday, October 6, 2007
School Time
While most of the Spruceland employees are working on the water cistern, some of them have also helped on a school that is being constructed in Los Algodones. Since 16 workers in a small area can create a bit of havoc, some have also bent needed rebar and moved blocks for the school. Come back for updates.
While the team is busy on both projects they are also doing some work off the job site. They have been actively distributing not only food packets to needy families but also participating in a milk ministry to many of the children in he villages and towns we work in and with. Here are some pics on this part of their work.
Team Spruceland working on the water cistern
Spruceland Millworks employees are here with us in the Dominican Republic for two weeks working on erecting a water cistern. Here are only a few pictures of their employees hard at work. They are a group on a mission! Come back to see updates.
This picture was taken the last day they were here in the Dominican Republic. They were a happy but very tired group. Unfortunately, 3 of the group members are not shown here. The work goes on but the team will never be forgotten!
And the water has started to flow! Fresh, clean, beautiful water! Thank you Lord!
This picture was taken the last day they were here in the Dominican Republic. They were a happy but very tired group. Unfortunately, 3 of the group members are not shown here. The work goes on but the team will never be forgotten!
Meanwhile at the bottom of the hill about a mile away, all stations are go and waiting for the electrictric/hydro department to hook up the pump to start the water delivery. Till then we will be using a portable generator as a temporary substitute and actually started to fill the holding take. Here are some pics for that great event.
The top picture is what the holding tank looks like on the bottom of the hill. I haven't included any pictures of the construction of this because basically it started as a hole in the ground and looks similar to the cistern in the previous pictures but to a much smaller degree. The bottom pic is the bottom holding tank filling with fresh water waiting to be pumped to the top of the hill once the above cistern is completed. Hopefully in the next day or so it will be pumping beautiful fresh water for the poor who live up the hill who have never experienced drinkable running water before. Praise the Lord!
Thursday October18, 2007 History is made!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And the water has started to flow! Fresh, clean, beautiful water! Thank you Lord!
The first pail is filled and the rush begins.
The celebration has begun and the people were dancing in the streets! Many were singing songs of praise to the Lord in thanks. As one young man said to me, he is 30 years old and has never seen running water here before and his mother is 60 years old and she also has never seen running water in this village before. This is truly a day of praise and thanksgiving! Now once the cistern is completely built, they will go there to get their water and eventually, the Lord willing, we will get the permits to build over 200 homes for these poor and they will experience something they have never had. A home of their own with clean running water close to their house. We have the permit to build a school, church and medical clinic but please pray for us that we will be able to get the permits needed to build the homes. To God be all the glory!
Los Algodones
This is a village of incredible poverty. It currently has no running water, school or medical facilities and one church. Here are just a few pictures of the village and its people.
Spruceland
As you have no doubt noticed, I haven't been very faithful in keeping my blog up to date. This is in large part to fact that we have a group of 16 very energetic people from Spruceland Millworks here working and they are an amazing team. They have been working very hard every opportunity they have and the work is been done quickly and efficently. They are working on the water cistern for the village of Los Algodones, a village of incredible poverty. While they are working on the cistern, because the area is rather restricted, some of them are also working on the school. The following entries will show the village as well as the work they are doing. I hope its an encouragement to everyone to get involved in one way or another. After all, regardless of race, wealth, nationality, colour or status, in Gods love, we are all his children!
Monday, October 1, 2007
A reprint of Jane's Coconut story
Hi folks,
I hope all is well with you. I thought I would share a story with you about my baking adventure last week. Unfortunately none of my cookbooks were packed in the bags that we took. Oops, mistake numero uno. So let's try to remember from the top of my head some receipes that will hopefully be complete. I thought about making chocolate macaroon drop cookies. John doesn't like them but I needed to bring something for the home church we went to the next day. When shopping in the playero grocery store I couldn't find any bagged coconut so instead bought a fresh one. Next dilemma is how do you open them? They are rock hard and cannot be cut with a machete. John's bright idea was to throw it off the patio onto the driveway below. So we did. It cracked open on one end a little bit. So do it a second time and see what happens. Success at last. The coconut meat is difficult to get out so I used a sharp knife and pried it out piece by piece. The next step was to grate these pieces using only a regular hand grater. An hour later and a few skinned knuckles the task was complete. Next I turned the oven on to 400 degrees (when it is already 35 plus degrees in the house) to toast the shredded coconut. 20 minutes later and turning it twice the house is now very warm because the oven is not insulated like the ones in Canada. The recipe says to cook the ingredients on the stove top and then immediately drop by spoon onto a greased cookie sheet. As it is cooking it is now 9 pm and I said to John I sure hope the power doesn't go out, 30 seconds later, it does. It gets dark here at 7:30 every night so John came to the rescue and held the flashlight while I scooped the cookies onto the baking sheet. When the power supply goes out the pump doesn't work to refill the water reservoir so we were careful to use only a little water to clean up which has to be done immmediately or the sticky residue becomes rock hard. From start to finish it took 3 hours to make a batch of drop cookies that were devoured in 10 minutes the next morning. They were enjoyed by all except John and we found out on Sunday the proper way to open a coconut. Apparantly you need to stick a screwdriver in the end of the coconut with 3 small holes, then take a hammer and smash it open. Who would have thought!!!
Maybe next time I can remember a recipe which requires a lot less work.
Anyways, on Sept 23 John's sister Betty and her husband Arnie are coming here for a week to work. Paul is getting together a few suitcases ready for them to take so my cookbooks will hopefully accompany them. Life will be a lot sweeter then. Everything here takes a lot longer to do than at home but that is part of the culture stress here. We are both doing really well and look forward to spending more time in the village working. We have been getting settled in and finding how to live life here until Elio returns on Saturday. We have been visiting the villages and started sorting out the sewing room but what a monumental task. The sewing program has been idle for a while so I will be trying to revive it to give these ladies a job. They are so excited about it!
We are going to attend a new Spanish language program for missionaries starting Saturday which promises to be quite intense. We are really looking forward to it especially since there are 4 other couples from Canada, US, & UK who will also be attending.
Give our love to your families and Hasta la Vista.
LOL John & Jane
I hope all is well with you. I thought I would share a story with you about my baking adventure last week. Unfortunately none of my cookbooks were packed in the bags that we took. Oops, mistake numero uno. So let's try to remember from the top of my head some receipes that will hopefully be complete. I thought about making chocolate macaroon drop cookies. John doesn't like them but I needed to bring something for the home church we went to the next day. When shopping in the playero grocery store I couldn't find any bagged coconut so instead bought a fresh one. Next dilemma is how do you open them? They are rock hard and cannot be cut with a machete. John's bright idea was to throw it off the patio onto the driveway below. So we did. It cracked open on one end a little bit. So do it a second time and see what happens. Success at last. The coconut meat is difficult to get out so I used a sharp knife and pried it out piece by piece. The next step was to grate these pieces using only a regular hand grater. An hour later and a few skinned knuckles the task was complete. Next I turned the oven on to 400 degrees (when it is already 35 plus degrees in the house) to toast the shredded coconut. 20 minutes later and turning it twice the house is now very warm because the oven is not insulated like the ones in Canada. The recipe says to cook the ingredients on the stove top and then immediately drop by spoon onto a greased cookie sheet. As it is cooking it is now 9 pm and I said to John I sure hope the power doesn't go out, 30 seconds later, it does. It gets dark here at 7:30 every night so John came to the rescue and held the flashlight while I scooped the cookies onto the baking sheet. When the power supply goes out the pump doesn't work to refill the water reservoir so we were careful to use only a little water to clean up which has to be done immmediately or the sticky residue becomes rock hard. From start to finish it took 3 hours to make a batch of drop cookies that were devoured in 10 minutes the next morning. They were enjoyed by all except John and we found out on Sunday the proper way to open a coconut. Apparantly you need to stick a screwdriver in the end of the coconut with 3 small holes, then take a hammer and smash it open. Who would have thought!!!
Maybe next time I can remember a recipe which requires a lot less work.
Anyways, on Sept 23 John's sister Betty and her husband Arnie are coming here for a week to work. Paul is getting together a few suitcases ready for them to take so my cookbooks will hopefully accompany them. Life will be a lot sweeter then. Everything here takes a lot longer to do than at home but that is part of the culture stress here. We are both doing really well and look forward to spending more time in the village working. We have been getting settled in and finding how to live life here until Elio returns on Saturday. We have been visiting the villages and started sorting out the sewing room but what a monumental task. The sewing program has been idle for a while so I will be trying to revive it to give these ladies a job. They are so excited about it!
We are going to attend a new Spanish language program for missionaries starting Saturday which promises to be quite intense. We are really looking forward to it especially since there are 4 other couples from Canada, US, & UK who will also be attending.
Give our love to your families and Hasta la Vista.
LOL John & Jane
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