Received April 25 via email...
Let's see I left off at Wed night 04-22. On Thursday the team visited another area - Poly Clinica. A few years ago a number of Sosua residents were displaced when their neighborhood was taken over by the government. These folks were relocated to a partly finished hospital. Families were moved into small hospital rooms and since that time more small buildings with cinder block walls and tin roofs have been attached to the hospital. The team once again handed out food, hygiene items, Bibles and invites to church on Friday night. Other team members set up craft tables and made beaded wooden cross necklaces with the children.
Many of the team members reconnected with DR Families from previous trips. The first person that I saw when we got off the truck was a small eight year old named Marco. Marco spoke very little English and I speak very little Spanish, but it was almost like I had never left. We hugged and Marco helped take me from casa to casa (home) to hand out care packages. It was a very hot morning. Thursday afternoon was free time for all team members; some shopped, some swam, some napped. It was the perfect time to re-charge for the rest of the week. Thursday evening most team members went out to dinner at a local Italian Restaurant and had pasta or pizza. Right after we sat down a six year old named Carlos came in asked Mark Ratcliffe for some food. Mark invited Carlos to set at our table and ordered him his own pizza and a Coke. After dinner Mark invited Carlos to Church on Friday night and then three team members walked Carlos back to his casa.
Friday morning was an early wake up call and then on to another New Missions School where about 100 pre-K to first graders were having chapel. The team watched the children sing and hear a Bible story and then some TN Team members did a puppet show for the children. After chapel, the team went to another area of Sosua called Redemption Village. Redemption Village is mainly populated by Haitian Refuges.They have a small two story cinder block school building with classes from per-K through High School. Many team members got to meet their sponsored children and with the help of interpreters give them gifts, clothes, etc and share the love of Christ with them. The Clapps after meeting their sponsored child were invited to their casa and then climbed 94 steps to get to their child's home. The Tande's visited the CTS sponsored child Maria Lopez who is now 13. Maria advised the Tande's that she has every letter ever written to her by Linda Lanz and others from CTS and she cherishes each of them. We also got to see Maria ride off to school on her bike purchased for her by CTS two years ago. We finished our time in Redemption Village with another great puppet show.
Friday afternoon the team went to a very large multi-story apartment complex and had a craft table, games and care packages. This complex is an area where New Mission is trying to bring residents to church on Wed and Friday Night. Friday night was a Spanish church service at the large tent on New Missions property. Jeane De Tellis gave the message in Spanish and sometimes English. The message was about her husband and founder of New Missions George. George passed on to heaven just about a year ago and Saturday will be his birthday. It was a great service with wonderful music. At the end of the service the team handed out glow in the dark sticks give to us by Lucy Wolfe. During the week the team had also been tying small bracelets hand made by Lucy and her friends to all the children. What a great day. God is good.
Saturday morning New Missions had a birthday party for founder George De Tellis at the Public Beach from 9 AM to 2 PM. There music and speakers, swimming and even some rain. But the rain did not dampen the spirit of all there. Tonight the Team will go back to the New Mission campus and set up games for Family Fun day after English church on Sunday morning. CTS Team members will fly to Miami Sunday afternoon and TN members will leave on Monday afternoon.
Thanks to all of you that have prayed for us. Every team members' life has been changed by this experience. Praise God for all he has done and all he has yet to do. Yours In Christ, Dan
Wednesday evening update received via email
Ole Amigos and Amigas!!! Let's see the last post advised we arrived safely here in the evening on Monday. There are 24 Mission Team Members - 13 from Christ the Savior, 10 from Hendersonville, TN and one tiny 85 year old women from Illinois.
Tuesday started with breakfast and then devotion and prayer time led by Melissa Hanley. We also prayed over pictures of children in New Mission Schools that still need sponsors. We will be bringing some of these pictures back with us for Mission Sunday in May.
Then all 24 of us loaded into a large truck with padded bench seats and a metal roof over the truck bed. We drove a short distance to the New Mission site that also contained a small clinic area. At the clinic we unloaded some of the medical and hygiene supplies we brought into the DR with us. After this, over $2000 of food items - rice, beans, sugar and cooking oil were delivered to the building. Then 24 Lutherans and Baptists showed great teamwork, took the large 100 pound bags of rice, sugar and beans and made smaller bags of each product. We then formed an assembly line and produced larger bags that contained - Food, Hygiene Items and invitations to the Spanish Church services held at New Missions on Wed. and Fri. nights. Over the course of the morning and early afternoon we had put together about 250 of theses special "care" packages.
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Monday evening update received via email
CTS Team and Tennessee Teams arrived safely in DR at about 4:30PM. All luggage and supplies unloaded and teams at hotel by 6:00PM. Dinner at 6:30PM followed by orientation meeting with New Missions Missionaries John and Melissa Hanley.
Tomorrow we will sort through supplies and do some community outreach in one of the villages. Praise God for a safe journey.