Thursday

Bad news. Our Mosaic guys lost their soccer match and Ted re-injured his hamstring... for the 6th time. During the game, some of the team headed into town. We soaked in the culture and of course, shopped:0) We had dinner at the villas brought to us by the most dominican yellow VW bug. The native doulos staff driver's friend carried a wrench to start the engine every time it stalled. Unforntunatley, the car had to be pushed out of the lot. Chad and Krista Wallace, the founders and directors of Doulos, joined us for dinner which was a huge blessing. After dinner, some Doulos staff led us in worship. During worship,we had some special visitors. Rosie, Leo and their son joined us for dinner. We had the chance to pray with them which was tender and very sad. (they lost their eldest son recently in a motorcylce accident). Rosie is a very good friend of Micki Cain. In addition, Ramone, our grounds keeper/guard at the Villas, joined us. We have been developing a relationship with him throughout the week and have prayed for him. Michelle, Julie and Alissa led our devotional time. It was very encourageing to hear about each other's journeys. The time was honest. Maybe even freeing. God is doing some powerful work in our hearts.

We began today meeting with Chad and Krista. They shared more of their vision for Doulos regarding the physical campus, child sponships and graduate placements in college. Chad shared his appreciation for our church community. He made sure to mention his gratitude specifically for Brian Komar's design work for expansion of the Doulos campus and for Josh Mitchells help as well. Chad also mentioned that he feels our vision at Mosaic is very similar to theirs. He and Krista thanked us for the money we raised through Trivia night for their lunch program. This May, their first class will graduate and they are seeking college scholarships for these students in the States. If you have connections at any schools, they would love to hear from you.

Today is THE DAY. It is expeditionary night where all of the students learning comes together in the form of plays, displays, songs, and projects that are presented to the community. Tons of work to be done....from electrical work, to soldering, to painting, to sewing, etc. We can hardly wait to see the product of all the hard work that has gone into not just this week, but the whole semester at Doulos. It has been cool to see how individual gifts are being used to complete God's work on campus.

Wednesday

Everyone sends their best. Thank you so much for the encouraging comments on our posts! Last night we went to different Doulos Families homes, specifically those that are on scholarship. Although our cabs got very lost, we did find the homes eventually. It was awesome. Ted, Erica and Julie actually saw a cock fight at their host's homes. Jack, Alissa and Michelle walked to the ARC which is a christian foster care home community for homeless children. The Lockes actually got their host family to dance per Colleen's request. Nicole, Brock and Dave got to visit the schools custodian, Jenni, at her home that she shares with two other women. One of them is a single mom like her. Each group shared how wonderful conversation was (we had seniors from Doulos interpreting for us) and how all of our fears were for nothing. The bond of Christ is so much stronger than cultural differences. Proverbs 22:2 says that God created both the rich and the poor. We were reminded that we are all God's children. Our hosts were so gracious!!

After dinner, we met back at the villas and worshipped with the Doulos staff. The music was awesome (guitar,flute and viola!) and the company was even better. Not only was this a sweet time of fellowship, but Ted used it as a special time to affirm and encourage our Doulos friends who are pouring out thier lives at Doulos. I think our time at Doulos has been sweet for both us and the staff. After worship, Ericka and Colleen led our devotional time. We were challenged to act in obedience out of love and gratitude. And to always remember God no matter how blessed we are.

Tomorrow is expeditionary night!! We cannot wait to experience it. Lots of work to do still...but things are coming together. Lots of love sent to you all.

Tuesday

Today was a full day at the school. After eating a HUGE breakfast of plaintains, potatoes, grilled ham and cheese and the best granoloa EVER, we all broke off to our different assignments. Erica tested students hearing and sight, the boys had success moving the boulders (to Kevin's great satisfaction)and many of us worked in classrooms. The children were tons of fun and helped us to learn a little Spanish. They loved making me repeat words in Spanish for perfect pronounciation. Michelle even learned how to make a bracelet from one of her students that she intends to teach to her Stow High School students back home. Lis actually got to go on a field trip with Kindergarteners to a farm. She looks whiped out.

Last night was awesome. The staff of Doulos made gracious hosts. It was so much fun to make friends out of the staff as we entered their homes. And we all had GREAT meals. Ted and Lis benifited from the gourmet cooking of Daniel, Micki's husband. Tonight we are also heading out for dinner to the homes of families of Doulos. Unfortunately, our rides are arriving in a 15 minutes and I have to head back to the villas. Much love sent to Ohio. We cannot wait to share our stories and pictures with you.

Sunday and Monday

Sunday: Our first morning in the Dominican included a visit to La Vid (the Life), a church that many of the staff and families of Doulos attend. We were caught up in the beauty of their worship, full of joy and gratitude to the Lord. It was very impressive to watch the key board player jump up and down like crazy while playing and singing. After church we hiked up to Spirit Mountain Coffee farm (the farm that helps to support Doulos). We learned lots about Coffee from Chad Wallace (one of the founders and directors of Doulos), ate raw coffee fruit, drank directly from the stream water and enjoyed the majestic beauty. It was also very special to be able to see all the work that the previous work team did to create the trail and bridges so that we could have a very intimate and beautiful hike. We even saw the rock that Ted almost killed Josh with and the boulder that Beau let get away from him:) For the evening we enjoyed a great dinner together and were led in our first official group devotion by Zach and Brock- they both shared out of Matthew in regards to worry and letting it go. It was a true blessing to all of us! We went to bed extremely tired and excited to begin our first day at Doulos.

Monday: We started the day with "Building Background Knowledge" we learned a lot about the current educational status of the Dominican and what Doulos is doing to meet the severe needs of this country. It gave us all a greater understanding as we begin to come along the staff and students this week. The rest of the afternoon we were unleashed to help teachers with projects and work on some grounds work which only resulted in one smashed thumb on Brock ( he is just fine). Tonight we have the opportunity to have dinner with members of the teaching staff from Doulos in their homes. We love and miss you all...more pics to come! (from lis)

We are here!!

Wake up time 4:00 a.m. but surprisingly we are all quite "Chipper"! Great flight, great flight attendants...and finally a beautiful country and a great school. We are just settling in and about to enjoy a blue grass concert at the school amphitheater put on by the American Cultural Embassy!!! The band is from Texas so we have a little touch of home already. We got a quick tour and and are going to also enjoy a cultural orientation after dinner. WE love and miss all friends and family!!!!- (Lis)

JFK

Need we say more? The day started sadly with the passing of sweet Charlie Kruse (dog). Not a good way to begin the trip, but we are excited nonetheless about what is to come. Finding joy in all circumstances, (from Brock). His ticket was found, after 40 minutes which he did not actually lose, the airlines did.... We departed an hour late. Then came JFK. Lots of lines, no shuttles and confused cab drivers. Ted lost and found his wallet (with lots of important stuff in it). We are waiting for our very expensive New York pizzas while paying to use the internet. Four minutes and counting. We were told to be at JFK 3 hours early which is 4am tomorrow morning. Please pray our flight actually leaves because 50 percent of the flights were cancelled today due to volcanic ash. Lots of laughs and bonding. This is a great group of people. Hopefully the next post will be from Jarabocoa.

Hi everyone-
We leave tomorrow, Friday, at 3:30 from Cleveland. We arrive in the Dominican on Saturday around 10am. Please pray for safe travels.