Our
final day of groundwork started with some high-quality entertainment on the way
to the site. It was “Flashback Friday,” so Pastor Brian shared his extensive
playlist of all things ‘80s. At times, the narrow center aisle of the shuttle
bus turned into a dance floor, and some of the adults re-lived their younger
days with music that came out before the teens on our trip were even born. Two
of the more popular songs that everyone seemed to know were . . . “Walk Like an
Egyptian” and “I’ve Had the Time of My Life.” Ahh . . . good stuff! J
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| DJ Jazzy Kannel |
Since
this would be our last day up close and personal with dirt, we took some group
photos together to record the experience for posterity. In order to jump into
one of the foundation holes, we had to remove two frogs that had curled up in the
corners overnight. Fortunately, we had a young man in our midst who had no
problem picking up the little guys and relocating them for us. Thanks, Ethan!
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| Frog-tastic! |
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| Civilized us |
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| Wacko us! |
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| Almost buried alive |
Other highlights included:
·
Comparing bug bites and rashes on our legs. At
this point, we are a dermatologist’s dream!
·
Making dirt relocation look like so much fun
that some of the Dominican boys watching us grabbed shovels and wheelbarrows
and joined right in
·
Being attacked by flies at lunch . . . they
wanted to eat almost as much as we did!
·
Saying good-bye to the outdoor toilets, which were
essentially holes in concrete blocks, the DR’s version of port-a-potties
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| Todd was the winner . . . most "decorated" legs! |
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| Actual work |
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| Place of employment vs. Place of enjoyment |
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| Finding Nemo, Finding Dory . . . now Finding Lizard! |
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| Not dead . . . just under the spell of Ethan, lizard-whisperer! |
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| One of our DR mascots |
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| Training the next generation |
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| Want flies with that??? |
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| Shade . . . we take it when we can get it |
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| Everybody needs somebody to lean on |
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| Note: The seat was not attached, slid right off, purely decorative. :) |
Afterward,
we returned to home base for some down time, clean-up, and a special dinner of
empanadas, fresh pineapple, and brownies. Yuuuuum! Then we headed back to El
Tablon, but not for prayer walking this time. Instead, we joined the local
church in hosting a movie night for the community. We helped prepare homemade
popcorn in their kitchen and watched the Spanish version of God’s Not Dead, with English subtitles
so we could follow along in our own language.
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| Our crazy crew |
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| Sleeping beauties |
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| Traffic, trucks, & motorbikes |
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| Beautiful murals all around |
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| Empanadas . . . almost as good as Andrea's! |
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| Chivalry is not dead . . . Ethan brought water for the ladies! |
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| All smiles w/ Christine, a teacher & Envision DR intern |
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| Pre-movie thumb wrestling & pseudo-volleyball, without a net |
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| Maxing & relaxing |
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| Popcorn crew in the kitchen |
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| Kathy & Delores . . . one of many new friends! |
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| A full house! |
When
the movie ended, the pastor explained the plan of salvation and asked if anyone
wanted to receive Jesus into their heart. An elderly gentleman started waving
his arms in the air and then came forward to pray with the pastors at the front
of the church. This man was someone who had been visited by our team on the
prayers walks and is currently battling colon cancer.
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| One lost sheep . . . |
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| . . . surrounded by good shepherds! |
As
we reflected on this one soul that was saved, we were reminded of the VBS
lesson we had prepared for the trip. We chose to focus on the parable in Luke
15:3-7 that describes the good shepherd who leaves his 99 sheep to find the one
sheep that’s missing. When the sheep is found, the passage explains that there
is great rejoicing!
In
a similar way, this Dominican man was the one lost sheep Christ wanted to find
that night. To think that we helped play a part in bringing him to faith in the
Good Shepherd was incredibly rewarding. A cause for great rejoicing . . . here
on earth and especially in heaven!
“Yo soy el buen pastor. El buen pastor su vida
da por las ovejas.” ~ Juan 10:11
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays
down his life for the sheep.” ~ John 10:11
