Saturday Update from Emma, Kerri, and Carley!!! :)

This is our dining hall for the week. It's fun to eat and hear roosters at the same time! :)

El grupo (Pastor Steve is taking the picture)

L to R: Emily Diepstra, Jenny Koopmans, Gabe Feddema, Emma Tilma, Carley VanSwol

The ceiling in Diego Columbus' home - this ceiling took 3 years to make!

The first Catholic church established in the Americas

First morning we woke up still exhausted even though must of us went to bed at 9. We had breakfast at 8 it was muy delicioso! We had eggs, bread with peanut butter and jam, fruits like pineapple, mango, papaya, yogurt, and orange juice. After eating breakfast we went to the colonial part of town/parque central. We took a tour around the first catholic church of the Americas. We went to Columbus' son Diago's house where he lived, we saw the original architecture of that time. The ceilings were made/carved out of mahogany wood, one ceiling took over 3 years to make! One fun fact we learned was that people from Spain's average height was 4-5 feet tall! muy pequeno. Because of this their beds, chairs, and doorways were very small and not made for Eric Van Swol. After touring these places we had the opportunity to walk around the shops near the central park, we learned that salesman are not shy and willing to bargain. During lunch we had the pleasure of being accompanied by several hundred pigeons. :) Several of us got the gift of their droppings, including Pastor Steve. :) Now were just chilling for a few hours, waiting for dinner, then later tonight we'll go to the Casa Joven Church. I think we'll go rest now, because we'll need lots of energy tonight! More pictures to come later tonight! Hope your enjoying the cold Michigan weather :)
Adios!
Emma, Kerri, and Carley :)

We're here!

We are here! We had a bumpy drive from Grand Rapids to Chicago, and had a few hours of a very empty airport before checking in and boarding our first flight to Miami. A few hour layover in Miami (where a few very tired folks took naps right on the floor!), and then we flew to the DR. We were greeted warmly by Mario and a few others and took the scenic route (alongside the Ocean) to get to the Ministry Center. We settled in and were treated to an amazing meal of rice, beans, vegetables, salad, and even french fries! Oh, and for the non-vegetarians they had chicken fingers, too.

This evening, Mario shared a video showing all the amazing sights and experiences of the DR - the white sandy beaches, the golf courses, hotels, water activities, etc. Then it showed the other side of the DR - the poverty, lack of education and medical care, violence and brokenness. He introduced us to Veronica, who began and runs a holistic ministry for children and adolescents, where she and her family try to meet the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of the children they minister to. She shared about her goal of feeding 300 kids, but they cannot handle that many due to a lack of resources and help. She shared how she sits down for lunch at her table and cries, knowing that those children are not being fed. She had a passion for doing the Lord's work, which was evident, despite her words being translated for us to understand them. God is at work here, and we are anxious to see more of the ways in which that is happening.

Praises: Our flights went well. ALL of our luggage made it. We're all healthy.

Prayers: We're pretty much all exhausted after an hour here and there of sleep last night. It's only 8:30pm as I type this, and I think half our team is already in bed. Prayers for a good nights rest and energy for the rest of the week. Prayers for our health. Prayers for us to have eyes open to see God's beauty amidst the poverty and brokenness we will see this week.

Our 'ish' plan for the week

24 hours from now, we will be circled up in the parking lot for a prayer before loading the vans and heading to Chicago! Our flight leaves out of Chicago around 5:30am, so we'll have a few fun filled (and sleep-deprived) hours in the airport before we board. Our flight takes us to Miami and then to the Dominican Republic (close to 3 in the afternoon)!

It's late & there is lots to do before heading out tomorrow night, but I thought I would quick add a basic outline of what our week looks like. I call it an 'ish' plan, because we'll be running on 'ish' time and 'ish' details. We're all aware that our plans could change at any moment, and are praying to be flexible if God wants to change our plans.

Friday, March 30: Arrive, get settled at the Ministry Center, Dinner, devotions & orientation

Saturday, March 31: Breakfast, tour the colonial zone and other areas of the city. Learn about the history, some of the current issues, and also stop by the market. In the evening, we'll visit Casa Joven church. Devotions/debriefing and bed!

Sunday, April 1: Worship at Cristo Rey in the morning, DR ministry overview and partnership with CRWM in the afternoon, worship at Servidores de Dios CRC in Los Angeles in the evening, devo's/debriefing & bed.

Monday, April 2: We are excited to have some time to see and appreciate the beauty of the DR by heading to Playa Los Guayacanes (the beach)! We'll be watching and discussing the film Reparando in the evening. 

Tuesday, April 3: Today we will be a work day. We'll be painting a church and building beds in Villamemella. We'll eat dinner at the Ministry center followed by devotions/debriefing & bed.

Wednesday, April 4: We will tour Batey Mojarra and Fao and interact with Cocref and CRC churches. We will see a lot of poverty during this day. We are having another guest come and speak with us to help us understand more about poverty in the DR. We'll have dinner, devo's/debriefing & then bed.

Thursday, April 5: We are going to be helping with a VBS this morning in Guaricano and also in the afternoon in Los Angeles. We'll have dinner and our final night at the Ministry Center.

Friday, April 6: 4:45am we'll be heading to the airport to fly back home. Who arranged these early morning flights?? ;)

Prayer requests right now: We'll all essentially be awake from Friday night when we meet in the parking lot until we go to bed in the DR. Please pray that we are able to sleep a bit in the van, the airport and on the flights, so that we have some energy when we arrive to take everything in. Pray for positive attitudes despite our weariness. Pray for our luggage to make it there. Pray for those who are leaving family behind - peace for those family members staying here and for those of us going.

Thanks friends! We'd love for you to comment on our posts. I'll try to share them with the group during our evening devotions, so leave a prayer, encouraging message, note to someone, etc!

WELCOME!

Welcome to the PHCRC blog dedicated to our trip to the Dominican Republic from March 30 - April 6. We are excited to share with you some pictures and thoughts of our time here, ways in which you can pray for us and those we meet, and more about the amazing work God is doing in the DR!

Each day, you can expect to find thoughts from different memebers of our team.

To start, here is a list of our team members. Feel free to start praying already as we mentally, physically and spiritually prepare this week!

1. Steve DeVries
2. Lori DeVries
3. Charlie DeVries
4. Joe Geelhoed
5. Alice Geelhoed
6. Sue Vuyst
7. Tom Diepstra
8. Bea Diesptra
9. Nathan Diepstra
10. Emily Diepstra
11. Denise Mokma
12. Kerri Driesenga
13. Marc Driesenga
14. Gretchen Driesenga
15. Eric VanSwol
16. Carley VanSwol
17. Emma Tilma
18. Gabe Feddema
19. Jenny Koopmans