camp nikos
if you like hanging out with inner city kids and need something to do for a week this summer, check out camp nikos (
http://www.missionpossibleaustin.org/nikos.php ).
they are currently recruiting for counselors, and are always lacking in strong (spiritually) male leaders, so if you or someone you know fits that description, check it out. if you need more info than what's on the website, you can ask me. if i can't answer your questions, i'll direct you to someone who can.
think about it. then apply. you'll be glad you did.
(i'd be there this year, but, ya know, it's a long swim from puerto plata...)
a visit to the hospital
camille and i went up to the hostpital today to visit katy and take some lunch to her grandmother (the hospitals here, even the nicest clinic where we've taken katy, does not provide food for the patients or their families) so she could have a little bit of a break. we read some books to her and sang some songs. overall, she looks well, but was obviously very tired. she also does not understand why she isn't allowed to eat anything. though they are giving her an IV so she can continue to get nutrients, her stomach is still very empty. she finally fell asleep right before we left.
please continue to keep katy, her grandmother, and the rest of her family in your prayers. i'll keep you updated as i have more news.
katy made it!
Here is the email update I just recieved from Jennie. Thank you for your prayers!
Hey all,
I'm glad to report that Katy made it through her surgery and is stable and doing well. Thank you all for praying!
It was a tough wait leading up to the surgery. It was originally planned for 11am, but kept getting bumped back as there was another head trauma surgery ahead of us and it was taking longer. Her grandmother, Wusne, and I did our best to keep her occupied until 5pm. It's tough telling a little hungry and demanding girl, that she can't eat or drink anything. For some reason she just didn't seem to understand....I'm sure any of us would find it hard to understand as well! Anyway, she went in at 5pm and at about 9:45 she was rolled out of the operating room.
Katy had a large cyst attached to the head of her pancreas and really close to her two main arteries. Therefore, it was impossible for the doctors to try to remove the cyst from where it was. So they cut a whole into her intestine that sits right close to there and attached the cyst to her intestine. Slowly the fluids from the intestine will eat away or suck the cyst into it and carry it away with the rest of her body waste. Pretty crazy, huh? I had the doctor explain it 2 times and it really helps to look at pictures to really understand what went on.
But all in all, she is doing well. We're going to take the sample of the cyst that they cut away to be biopsied. The doctor is pretty certain that it is benign and was caused either by a traumatic hit or fall to that area of her body or possibly a previous viral infection. Thank you all for praying! Up until this point, all looks well, and it is pretty certain she'll have a good recovery. She is still in intensive care. She will most likely be moved from out of there to a regular room tomorrow. Continue to pray for us throughout this time. Between her grandmother and I, we are the only ones taking care and watch over her. There hasn't been a good response from concerned family members coming to help us out. It has already been draining and she has about 6 or 7 days more to stay in the hospital without eating or drinking! Trust me, that is not so easy to try to explain to a hungry 6 year old.
Thank you for your prayers!
Serving Him,
Jennie
update on katy
the most recent update i've heard about katy is this:
they found that the tumor is actually a cist on her pancrease, so they weren't able to remove it. they cut a hole in her intestine and apparently that will cause the intestine to eat it up and she'll digest/pass it naturally. i've never heard of this before, but that's what they're saying. i should get another update from jennie tonight and will post when i can.
thank you for all of your prayers!
please pray for katy
please check out the
MAKARiOS Blog to find out how to pray for Katy.
we have received the blood, and one of Makarios' large supporting churches in austin is helping to pay for the surgery. however, it has been rescheduled for tomorrow (wednesday) morning, so there's still time to pray. though katy is a brave little girl, she is still only about 6 years old and obviously scared about tomorrow's coming events.
thank you for your prayers!
chaos in puerto plata
it's been raining a lot this week on the north coast. and when i say a lot, i'm talking cats and dogs. it hasn't rained this much since ernesto passed through back in august.
i got a call about an hour ago from a girl who teaches in santiago. a group of teachers are heading to cabarete, but are stuck in puerto plata. they wanted to see if i know what's going on. i had to tell them that all i know is that it's raining.
then about half an hour ago, jennie called to see if camille and i were at the house. despite our very active social live here in the DR, we decided to stay in this friday night. jennie went on to inform me that there is mass chaos in PP right now because of the rain. i know i've mentioned rain before, and how it can pretty much stop everything here. but what i didn't know is that PP is in a hole, so when it rains this much, it inevitably floods. and the DR isn't really known for it's run-off/drainage system, so the water has nowhere to go.
so the reason this group of teachers is having problems is because PP is impassable and traffic is backed up for miles. there are literally people drowning out there, and the town, as i have said, is in chaos.
this is one time i'm glad i don't have an active social life that would have taken me out on the town tonight. and i now have an even better understanding of why dominicans don't like to go out in the rain.
thank you, austin stone
To The Austin Stone Group - Spring Break 2007 –
I want to thank you for coming to la Republica Dominicana to help Makarios give hope to the people of this country.
I give glory to God for the bodies that served, the eyes and mouths that read to eager children (and adults), the minds that were used in ways that were never expected, the shoulders and backs that held dirty children, the arms that gave free hugs to those who needed them most, AND the arms that helped control the angriest of all children, the hands that shoveled human dung so that a village might get water, the legs and feet that ran through the sand as many children experienced the ocean for the first time, and the hearts that were broken and changed as a result of their service.
I admire your maturity, humility, service, giving, joy, and passion for the Lord’s renown.
I enjoyed the fellowship, conversations, worship, laughter, community and prayer.
I pray that you will never forget, never be the same, and forever know the Lord in a new way.
I ask that you continue to pray for Makarios & the people of the Dominican Republic and let me know how the Lord continues to work in your life in the United States.
i love ice cream
here is a picture of the HCCS group and my students at the Playa Dorada plaza. thanks to christine for the pic!
somehow it worked
this past week we had a total of somewhere around 80 people in our house. they weren't all here at the same time, but still, that's a lot of people. to be honest, i was a bit cynical about the possibility of things going smoothly.
yet, we had amazing group members from both Hill Country Christian School and The Austin Stone Community church. despite a few logistical snags of transporting that many people in a 3rd world country and the mystery of the missing water, the week ended up a big success.
camille had a lot of help in her classroom as HCCS had planned out many activities for the kids. HCCS also made it possible for a group of us to take some of my students to the plaza at Playa Dorado for ice cream. despite the looks from tourists who didn't expect to see lower class locals on their vacation, we all had a wonderful time and my students are excited about the next trip they get to take with other americans.
the Stone also helped us out in a huge way. we had 80 extra hands and arms to help with crowd control, and just as many sets of eyes to sit with kids one-on-one to read a book. my English classes also thoroughly enjoyed the gringo's dramatic rendition of The Good Samaritan, and the opportunity to practice speaking with native English speakers who knew little to no Spanish.
i hope that membes from each of these two groups won't forget to send me emails and cd's with copies of their pictures so i can post some here for all to see.
daylight savings time
word on the street is that we've had another time change in the US. since the DR doesn't follow all of that time changing stuff, we're now back on the schedule we started with. i'm on eastern time, one hour ahead of texas. so, plan your phone calls accordingly :)
march madness, dominican style
on friday evening a group of 21 high school students from Hill Country Christian School in Austin, along with their 10 adult sponsors, arrived in Santiago. they will be coming up to Puerto Plata on Sunday evening and spending 3 days with us in the villages. the students are a part of board member Laurie's Spanish class, and have prepared lessons to teach the kids. they'll be leaving us Thursday morning to spend a day at the beach, and then head back to Santiago to help Ruben on the farm.
and while we're all having fun with the kids, a group of 42 from the Austin Stone (mostly UT students) will be arriving in Santiago on Monday night. after helping Ruben on the farm for a few days, they'll be passing the HCCS kids on the road and heading to Puerto Plata on Thursday morning to meet us in the villages for class.
one more tidbit to add to the craziness. Jim White's father passed away just a few days ago, so Jim and Teresa are both currently in Indiana. that means Sharla's holding down the fort in Santiago while Carrie and Agape take care of Jacaob & Isaac, as well as their 3 month old daughter, Promise.
so please be praying for all events of this week. please pray for the White's as they grieve the loss of Jim's father. pray for Sharla as she takes care of the groups while they are in Santiago. pray for all of our staff to have plenty of rest and strength for each day so we can faithfully serve these groups and allow them to have a great trip. and please pray for the week overall, that our detailed logistics will pay off, and when the inevitable stafu's do occur, they will only make for good stories!
a trip to the east
this past weekend, camille, jennie, miguel, and i piled into jennie's jeep with all our camping gear. as we were doing this, keith, ruben and all of rubens family (wife, son, and two daughters) were doing the same down in santiago. we were all meeting up for a fun weekend in samana.
samana is on the eastern peninsula of the DR and is famous for whale watching. the whales come to
samana every year during february and early
march for mating and giving birth. it is also home to Playa Rincon, known as the nation's most beautiful beach.
after 5 hours in the car, we arrived friday evening and stayed the night in samana. saturday morning we spent three hours on a boat watching whales. unfortunately, my photography skills aren't up to par, so i don't have any good pictures of the whales, but i assure you it was well worth the trip.
we headed out saturday to camp at playa rincon. there's a little dominican man who cooks and serves fresh fish with moro (rice and beans) and platanos fritos (fried platanos) right there on the beach. it was some of the best fish i have ever eaten.
after our wonderful meal, we started a fire, laid down on our beach towels, watched the stars and listened to the waves. despite the late night showers, the next morning was sunny and bright. i've posted a few pictures here of what this beach is like.
what the combination of sun and chaco's can do to a persons feet!
