Dominica 2010

Dear Blog~ I tried blogging on a Word Document, but was unable to cut & paste it here. So, I'll try to get it posted here once we're home. In the meantime, I'll blog from here on out on this site, now that I have Internet connections.

Day 4
THis was our first day of actual work. We went to the jobsite at 7 AM and had devotionals with the Dominican crew. Then we outlined what jobs we needed to accomplish and we began work. The men began work on constructing the roof on the snack shack building at the OceanView Retreat Center. The women were in 2 groups. One group stayed at the mission house to organize the food & cook, and the other group was at the retreat center and we cleaned the kitchen, cleaned the floor of the dining hall, and we cleaned the men's and women's restrooms. Bugs are EVERYWHERE... And it is HOT. Hot and MUGGY... Unbelievably hot and muggy! The heat from the sun is so intense here, being so close to the Equator.

The men were working down the hill on the snack shack, and it was below the level where you could feel the ocean breezes. So, for them, the heat & stuffiness was crazy!!!

The ladies then went to Pastor Ray's house. This is a house that was built by a former work & witness team. We needed to prime the outside of the house as well as the inside. For the past 2 days, we've been priming, and have gone thru a complete 5 gallon container. The house is about 400 square feet, and is basically 4 walls with a roof on top. Inside, there are 3 rooms and a outside shower. No kitchen. His kitchen will be in his old house, which is nothing more than a lean-to shack. That way, if the wood burning stove burns down the kitchen, the house doesn't get burned down. Pastor Ray bathes in a river which is down this steep ravine, and he uses an outhouse for his restroom, which is also down the ravine. His house that we are painting is by far and above the nicest house in this part of the village.

We had our lunch break at noon, when one of the drivers came to the house and got us to take us back up to the campground. We ate with the rest of the team & the local workers. The women finished the afternoon early so we could return to the Mission House to shower and get ready for leading the women's bible study & make a craft with them. The men finished at 3:30. They came back to the mission house and got cleaned up & went out to dinner at a BBQ place.

The ladies went to the Bataca Church and I lead a Bible Study on the ability for us to be Godly women, based on Psalm 31. Then we taught them how to make padded picture frames & I took their pictures & printed them out with my Picture Mate Photo Printer. This was a hit! One of the leaders of their women's group took all of our extra supplies, including our glue guns, and will use them. We are so glad about this.

We came home from this dead dog tired! The room we were in, of course, was not air conditioned, and the sweat was just dripping off of me while we were hot gluing photo frames. That took us 2 hours! We all came back to the mission house and nearly promptly went to bed. The men didn't get home until 11 PM.

End of Day 4.

Day 5 - Tuesday
Up bright and early, after a night of howling winds. Got up, put on my painting clothes, washed my face, put my hair in a ponytail, had breakfast, and away we went. The men continued working on the snack shack and we women went to work some more with the Pastor's house. We managed to use up all of the primer paint before noon. Pastor Dan was so surprised we used all of that paint! LOL I told him that the wood was just soaking it up. THis work is hot and difficult. The weather is stiffling... I do believe we are "suffering" for Jesus, or perhaps not. The blessings are outweighing the difficulties. We just continue taking water breaks and we try to find any little bit of a breeze that we can!

Today, we met Pam, who lives in a double shack across the street. She lives there with her husband who is disabled, and her 3 children. She weaves baskets for a living. And she farms. Her shacks are right on the side of the road, and next to them is a "smoke house" kitchen. Then up a little hill is her living room, which is nothing more then benches set out under trees. This is where she weaves her baskets out of reeds. THen you climb the hill more and you get to where she hangs her laundry to dry, and then you go further up the hill to get to her garden, where she plants various vegetables to grow for her family, and to sell for $$. SHe is charming. She is a Christian, and is so excited to know the Lord.

Part of our reason for being here is to do the physical tasks that need to be done to further The Kingdom. The other reasons for us to be here are for developing relationships with the locals. That, for me, is the fun part.

Today, the women were able to partially finish priming the inside of the house, and we applied the first coat of paint on the outside. The color is a buttercream, and the trim will all be white. And, I have as much paint on ME as we put on the house! LOL

Tonight, we had dinner and then went to the Galette River Church for worship. Judy Wickham shared her testimony, and Frances, Jo Ann & I sang our song, which right now I cannot remember the name of... I'm so crazy tired.

Everyone is heading to bed... so I suppose I must too. This getting up early is for the BIRDS!!! Up before 6?? Are you kidding me??? But, I"m doing it... oy... as long as there is a pot of coffee on, I"m happy.

I'm missing my kids and grandkids pretty badly right now. We have another week to be away from home... I can't wait to get back and hug & kiss on them!

Goodnight, Blog. End of Day 5.