Words of thanks were given at the dedication to Lois, for starting this endeavor and especially to God for placing this on her heart to teach these ladies “how to fish.” 
Sales of the jewelry have steadily increased throughout the last 3 years making this a viable business which truly does Help Other People Eat. Ismaela’s son is one of the children to be blessed with proper nutrition because of their work. He was playing with a toy made from an old CD attached to a recycled sardine tin.
Please contact Jane at janehuizinga@gmail.com if you are interested in purchasing or selling the jewelry to help support this project.
In order to accommodate such a large team their work was divided between 2 villages. While some painted the jewelry shop, Lois taught the ladies new things to make, some repackaged three barrels of soup mix from the Ontario Christian Gleaners into family size portions, 
while others painted the entire school of Nest of Love in villa Emmanuel inside and out to make ready for the new school year that is fast approaching. During their afternoons, the team was involved in many ministry opportunities such as the children’s juice program in which Marilyn’s dramatized storytelling kept the children captivated while hearing about Jesus feeding the 5,000 and the showing of the Jesus film one evening. 
The resized soup packets were also included in the 225 bags of groceries that were given out in the village feeding in villa Esperanza. Below are just a few of the items included in the bags.
Pastor Dale met with some of the local pastors and presented each of them their very own Bible dictionary and concordance in Spanish. “This was one of the best gifts I have ever received” was their overwhelming response to this gift; something which they could never have been able to afford on their own. 
The days were long and hot, but very fulfilling. Many new friends were made and tears were shed when the team needed to depart for the airport. An early checkout at the hotel enabled them to spend their last few hours together after the shop dedication Saturday morning.John & I would personally like to thank First McKinney Baptist for their ongoing personal support for us as we serve in the Dominican Republic. It was fabulous to spend another amazing week with y’all from McKinney, Texas. May God continue to bless your lives as you have blessed us.
We hope to enjoy many walks to the park together and look forward to the times when she will venture out to visit us on her own. 
We are back in the Dominican for 6 weeks until the wedding of our son Calvin & his bride Natalie. One team from the U.K. is just finishing up their 2nd week here and another team from Texas is scheduled to arrive today. The RECYCLE H.O.P.E. jewelry shop is moving and exciting things are happening. Stay tuned for more details soon.
The next day, on a personalized walking tour of London with Jon & Debbie, we learned that all the major sites (Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, the London Tower Bridge which the nursery rhyme is named after, the House of Parliament, the National Art Gallery, etc. etc.) were all located within one square mile and walking distance. 
High tea taken with Andy & Julie at the Luton Hoo, a small luxury hotel and former manor house was one of my favorite things to do. Scones with clotted cream and jam…our discussion centered on what really goes on first…the jam or the cream? Opinions were evenly split between the guys and the girls but when checking this important fact on the internet….the girls answer was correct……first jam and then cream. Unless you do as our friend Claire suggests…cream, jam and then more cream….mmm…..delicious.
A town birthday party and a visit to the public high school in Bewdley raised almost 2,000 GBP of support for the Nest of Love School here in the Dominican Republic. 
Visiting the Roman bath museum in the town ironically called Bath, and the famous university towns of Cambridge and Oxford (birthplace of Alice in Wonderland), along with numerous abbeys, cathedrals were just a small portion of the history that we encountered and enjoyed very much. 
Historic steam trains, diesel trains, the tube (London underground), buses and planes…all modes of transportation were used in our travels and we thank God granting us safety through them all.
John also presented 2 cheques to Nigel at the Mission Direct office for donations given from the fundraising events held in Bewdley. Thank you Nigel & Susan, Tim & Pam, Jon & Debbie, Andy & Julie, David & Sheila & Esther for the generous hospitality you graciously showed us while visiting. We enjoyed the Indian curries so much we are now hooked on it.
Even though our gracious and kind hosts, Biago & Cristina could not speak English…somehow we were still able to communicate. The primary languages in Brussels are French, Flemish, German and in this case Italian. The team provided us a very full itinerary enabling us to speak at 3 Italian churches and in a International Christian school assembly where children come from 25 different nations. Thankfully 2 team members, Michel and Paolo could speak English. They took time off work to be our guides for the week. 
After the first evening service, we were treated to a pizza dinner with all the members of the Batista d’Espoir (Ambassadors of Hope) team and organizing committee. Picture this…28 of us in a tiny ristorante pizzeria served one of the finest Italian meals ....antipastos, pizzas, & tiramisu. Michel explained that to the Italians in Brussels...…eating is a sport; you must pace yourself because more food keeps coming and coming.
Brussels and Brugge are probably two of the most beautifully, historic cities in Belgium. Centuries old and home of the historic chocolate quarter and fine Belgium lace where almost every shop sells one or the other. 
Brussels is also the home of a long time favorite children’s book called Tintin. 
The magnificent town square dates back to the 12th century. Brugge is considered little Venice due to the canals that wind through a portion of the city streets. We climbed a tower 366 steps high to get an amazing view of the city.
On our last day in Belgium, Michel & his wife offered to take us on a day trip….it was a 2 ½ hour drive to Amsterdam or 3 hours to Paris. Never having been to Europe before and wanting to explore a bit of our Dutch heritage made the choice rather simple. So off to Amsterdam as tourists the 4 of us went. Avoiding the numerous bicycles, trams and many, many tourists (John thought there was no one left elsewhere….they all went to Amsterdam that afternoon) we saw canals, heritage buildings and the infamous red light district. No windmills, dikes or wooden shoes but that beg to answer the infamous question…would you go back? And the answer is definitely yes, but next time to the countryside.
The next day immediately after church we rushed home to have a quick lunch (a delicious 5 course meal again) and then depart for the airport to return to England. The men of our host family were all flying to Sicily from a different airport in the opposite direction that same afternoon to vote in the Italian elections so a cousin who speaks very limited English took us instead. 4 countries in 4 days….Holland, Belgium, back to England, and then Canada. Whew. What a whirlwind trip but would we do it again? ABSOLUTELY. We feel very privileged and thankful to have had this opportunity to spend time with so many mission volunteers on their home ground and sharing God’s work in our lives.
