Working hard in the D.R.

Hello all! I know its been quite some time since my family or any of my followers have heard from me, but internet in the D.R. isn`t particularly easy to come by. I`m sitting in an internet cafe right now, not know how long I have here to blog. We get dropped off my Stefan, one of our amazing Gateway staffers, and we are never really sure when he will come back.

Its so beautiful here. The mountains, beaches, and villages are stunning. It has been quite the cultural difference here though. After learning in the Gateway course about differing worldviews and working with the poor, I have a new veiw of short term mission trips. I wish I could explain what I mean in more detail, but this internet cafe is very loud and this boy is whistling, so I can`t concentrate very well. Forgive me if this post is not as imformative as you would like it to be.

We have been working in a village called Ascension. We are expanding the cafeteria at a Kids Alive center there, which is what they call a care center that kids go to after school. Its basically school though. They have normal classes, and a bible class and devotionals after lunch. They always give the kids one large meal a day at the school because its likely that that meal is the only one that a child will get each day. The economy not doing too well here, and many people are fighting to get money for food. So I have been shoveling rocks, dirt, and concrete most of the days in Ascension. You may not believe me, especially my parents and siblings, but I have actually been working my butt off in our construction time! I even have enlarged biceps to prove it. We also spend time with the children at the school too, performing skits and letting them play with our hair. I have spent most of my time within school grounds, but I have also spent time in the village of Ascension. Kids Alive (the school where we are working) have to accept kids who apply to go to the school, so there are a lot of kids who arent allowed in the school grounds, so we venture out to play with them and talk to their parents who own shops and want us to buy things.

Speaking of buying things, I am out of the money I brought here. Haha, it went so quickly! I am making a list of the things I have purchased currently to figure out where it all went. A lot of it I have spent on grocery trips I think. I get so hungry all the time, so I bought snacks. I have also bought a lot of things from people in Acsension and in Aguas Negras.

There is so much to say, but I cant think of it all right now. Here are some prayer requests:
-I have been struggeling with having total faith in God`s power (of healing especially)
-My physical health (allergies, stomach problems, etc)
-The village of Ascension (for jobs, health and hygeine, and motivation in the ppl to appreciate and use the land God has given them to farm)
-Sosua (huge prostitution problem in Sosua - we had the priveledge to witness it last weekend)

I have to run! Thanks for reading. God bless. Cant wait to come home!