We've arrived safely in Toronto, had a bit to eat and are just about to board the plane to Ottawa... a few more hours!!
We arrive at 11:30pm via Westjet 684.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Returning today
Hey,
We're all packed and waiting to leave for the airport. We just enjoyed a meal of Pico Pollo as our final meal and hopefully everything will be alright. It was bought at a stand on the road - a relative of Bernabe owned it. This is fried chicken and we were bale to buy 5 whole chickens, rice, 6 pops and some plaintain chips for less than $12
This morning we attended the service and they called us up on stage. The local church thanked us and gave us a plaque commemorating the event. What was special is that Christo - the granfather of Mirabel - was also recognized. Throuh our service, God spoke to him and he committed his life to Christ yesterday. I didn't know that till late last night, but it was special to see him attend the service.
Please pray for a safe return and we'll see you in about 10 hours!!!
See you soon!!
We're all packed and waiting to leave for the airport. We just enjoyed a meal of Pico Pollo as our final meal and hopefully everything will be alright. It was bought at a stand on the road - a relative of Bernabe owned it. This is fried chicken and we were bale to buy 5 whole chickens, rice, 6 pops and some plaintain chips for less than $12
This morning we attended the service and they called us up on stage. The local church thanked us and gave us a plaque commemorating the event. What was special is that Christo - the granfather of Mirabel - was also recognized. Throuh our service, God spoke to him and he committed his life to Christ yesterday. I didn't know that till late last night, but it was special to see him attend the service.
Please pray for a safe return and we'll see you in about 10 hours!!!
See you soon!!
Saturday, January 29, 2011
The Final Push - fo' real
Today was the final day on the job site. The majority of the job day was occupied fitting the ceiling and walls with 'plywood'. This flimsy material made the job 100 times worse and I'm not prone to exaggerating. While the ceiling and walls were being closed up, we followed with finishing the electrical as well. We did about 40 4x8' sheets during the day and ran out of material. The little bit of work remaining will be completed by Ricardo - the local contractor. The house was finished and ready to move in ...
Ian also had time to go to the salon
It was like an episode of while you were out. Mirabel and her family were temporarily housed at the end of the street and around the corner. We had about 20 people, family and friends moving things from the temporary house to Mirabel's new home. It was like a colony of worker ants decided to move one house into another. In 10 minutes all her possessions were moved in. Tom even went so far to hang up her curtains, clock and artwork. He also cut her table to improve the traffic flow in the main hall (too much HGTV for this hombre!!). She was pleased as punch to be able to move into her house so quickly. Mike did the official handing over of the keys to the family. Kenny and Lynn had gifted the family with a stove and a fridge. This generous gift was received so graciously and will really help this family out so much.
It's hard to believe it is all over. There were many tears and hugs and it was hard to leave the worksite..now a home. Felix, 83 years old, was awed by the outpouring of love and service and said he was never a witness to anything of such magnitude in his lifetime. We need to do this over and over again!!!
BEFORE...........
AFTER ....
Finally, a politcal statement that my fellow missionaries will love ...(zoom in on the cap)
Tomorrow we will attend the church service and then prepare for our flight home. We had such a fun time here but are anxiously awaiting the reunion with our families. See y'all soon. Love, hugs and kisses!!
Ian also had time to go to the salon
It was like an episode of while you were out. Mirabel and her family were temporarily housed at the end of the street and around the corner. We had about 20 people, family and friends moving things from the temporary house to Mirabel's new home. It was like a colony of worker ants decided to move one house into another. In 10 minutes all her possessions were moved in. Tom even went so far to hang up her curtains, clock and artwork. He also cut her table to improve the traffic flow in the main hall (too much HGTV for this hombre!!). She was pleased as punch to be able to move into her house so quickly. Mike did the official handing over of the keys to the family. Kenny and Lynn had gifted the family with a stove and a fridge. This generous gift was received so graciously and will really help this family out so much.
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| Felix (the neighbour) |
BEFORE...........
AFTER ....
Finally, a politcal statement that my fellow missionaries will love ...(zoom in on the cap)
Tomorrow we will attend the church service and then prepare for our flight home. We had such a fun time here but are anxiously awaiting the reunion with our families. See y'all soon. Love, hugs and kisses!!
Ray's Home Visits
On top of finishing the house today, I was able to find time to do 2 home visits. First we went to Georgeli's house with Pedro as the translator and Michele as my backup. I was warmly greeted by Georgeli's father and he is so proud of his family and house. He showed us the walls he was able to build with some money we sent down. He did his own work and it was awesome to see the pride in his workmanship. I told him important the DR and his family have been in my walk with Christ. He was so gracious and said that his house is open to my family anytime we come down.
I was able to find a volleyball for Georgeli - her favourite sport. I prayed for the family and left feeling very comfortable and enjoyed the company of this family.
I was able to find a volleyball for Georgeli - her favourite sport. I prayed for the family and left feeling very comfortable and enjoyed the company of this family.
The second home visit was with Yunelsio's family. This time his mother was there and last time it was the father. Yunelsio is still extremely shy and didn't say any words. His mother said that she still has the pictures of Laura holding him ... she held him all day long at the last visit. He probably would have been different around Laura vs this 6'4" gringo. He started playing catch with his new baseball glove right away. It was good to see him crack a smile at times. His dog is named Black Mouth - boca negra. I wish he weren't so shy or afraid, but that is probably a result of his dimunitive size and his harsh life so far. His sister asked for prayers towards finding a job and his mother asked for health - she is constantly sick. None of the family is Christian, but there is hope for everyone.
The (almost) final push
As today was the day that almost half the team was heading back, it was important to finish the outside of the house today. We were to accomplish that and so much more. Here are more shots of the work as it progressed throughout the day. We were able to frame in the windows, side the entire house and get the electrical hooked up and tested. Work is no fun without competition, right. It was Donato and me against the likes of Pastooor Ryan, big Mike and Ian. We both had the gable side of the house to side (the side with 2 16.25 degree angles) and it was a race to see 'who can bring it to the top'!! For some reason we were able to outpace the other team, but we were both short pieces of wood to make it right to the top. The other team had secretly stached a piece of siding and it looked like their side was going to be higher than ours. Well, wouldn't you know it - we had stashed an even bigger piece!! It was all in good fun and we were able to find the 4 more pieces required to get the entire job done. The camaderie is foremost, and the competition just added another element to the enjoyment of the day. The interior saw a few panels go in and was lit up for the first time in weeks - as we connected main power to the house.
The Electrical and 'Drywall' guilds really enjoyed the cool interior thanks to the Roofers and Siding Unions!
The house looks fabulous and I was commenting at the supper devotion that no one alone had the skills to do alone what we acocmplished as a team. We truly lived out the verses pertaining to the body being made up of different parts with different functions. This 'Fellowship of the Corazones' (LOTR reference for Ricky) brought varied talents and their efforts resulted in a safe, comfortable and secure dwelling place for a family in need. We had a ribbon cutting ceremony and I think Pastor Ryan thought he was in a wedding given the number of pictures he was asked to pose for.
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| Show us the way, o pastor! |
The house looks fabulous and I was commenting at the supper devotion that no one alone had the skills to do alone what we acocmplished as a team. We truly lived out the verses pertaining to the body being made up of different parts with different functions. This 'Fellowship of the Corazones' (LOTR reference for Ricky) brought varied talents and their efforts resulted in a safe, comfortable and secure dwelling place for a family in need. We had a ribbon cutting ceremony and I think Pastor Ryan thought he was in a wedding given the number of pictures he was asked to pose for.
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| LLEGO PAPA!!! |
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