Final Videos of Work Performed

Here are two videos of our job site, taken on the last day.  The first is in the yard.



The one below, talks about the tuckpointing part of the job.



Enjoy!

Home again! mission continued...

Day of travel, all to Miami, than a scattering of the team:  Lee back to Arizona; Ursula, Don, Jeff, Rose & Anti to a direct flight to O'Hare; Chuck, Jan, DJ, Ward, John & me to Jacksonville for a connecting flight to O'Hare. 

Lots of waiting around in airports today...

Plans to reunite soon, and to continue encouraging each other to be on mission, reaching out in mercy and witness to our great Lord and Saviour, Jesus! 
What a week!  What a team!! What a great God!!!
Thank you all for your prayers.
Please continue to pray for our missionaries, and for Christ's kingdom growing in the DR & everywhere!

Just a bit more - final day's interactions

Just a few other photos to share:


Principal Kissayris with pre-schoolers who presented each of us with a personalized thank you note, & hugs!




Four tiers of tuck-pointing on the back of the school; Ward, Jeff, DJ, & fearless Brian on a ladder on top of the upper scaffolding level!



The team about to leave the worksite for the last time this visit; tired but satisfied.


After showers & snacks, we strolled 2.5 blocks to James & Christel Neuendorf's home, where the mission staff were gathering for another grill-out.


Danelle (center) with other stylish northern visitors...

  

Matthias Krey is fascinated by motorcycles! (aided by Christel & Kissayris)



 

Matthias also loves to dance with Ana Ries (Pastor Walter's wife)

 

Esther Krey with Aunt Ruth and visiting Sarah.

After dinner & lively conversations, Pastor Ted came back with our team for a wrap-up discussion of what we've learned from God while here and how we will carry on in His mission.  We passed the quiz, barely, so we get to come home and the Kellers get some rest!  

There is so much yet to do!  But as DJ reminded us in closing devotions tonight, the foundation of all we are & do as Christians is to know God and make Him known:  John 17:3 ...this is eternal life; that they may know You, the one true God, and Jesus Christ, Whom You have sent.

Summary of Friday, March 9

Crossing the Finish Line

Today was our final "work day", and we went back to the playground construction site for the last time.  We planned on several finishing touches, including:  1) planting a garden; 2) finishing and reinforcing the teeter totters; 3) upgrading the hooks and hardware on the swings; and 4) completing the tuck pointing.

What we didn't realize is that it would take all day, and we would be working as hard, if not harder, than any other day on the trip, in order to complete it all!

Here is a panorama of the final, finished playground (remember, you can "spin" the panorama by dragging with your mouse - try it!):



It's late at night and our flights are leaving early tomorrow.  We'll finish the blog when we get back to Milwaukee.

This was a GREAT trip and we enjoyed serving our GREAT God.

Blessings,

The Entire Team

Summary of Thursday, March 8

The Best Day Ever!

This morning we traveled to the school for a dedication ceremony, where all of the school children were brought out to their new playground for the first time.  A handful of them had been able to see the construction and changes through the window or the locked fence -- but this was the first time they could come out and play.

After a prayer and some nice songs, the kids were "released" to try everything out, but first, they came up to all of us with thanks and hugs.  (People hug a lot down here in the Dominican...)  It felt so good to see these little ones smiling, and their genuine gratitude was humbling.  But most incredible of all, was to see them go crazy trying out the new games and equipment!

There were screams and squeals of delight, as dozens of kids got to try the swings and the teeter totters for the first time.  It was like someone set off a ten-megaton "joy bomb" and waves of delight washed over the yard.  We couldn't help but feel good, REALLY GOOD, about helping to make all of this possible.  Truly, our hearts were rejoicing and words simply can't describe how awesome it felt.

The kids piled on the teeter totter, with 3-4 kids on each side at various points, and they were loving it!  Some of us jumped in and pushed a swing, or played with the kids.  Others just stood back and thanked the Lord, quietly shedding tears of happiness.

The little guy above is playing "hop a rock", a last-minute game improvised with 12 extra boulders that were laying around the yard.  The teachers could barely get him to get back in line, he was having so much fun.

After the revelry at the playground, we got on the bus for a day of fun and relaxation.  We took a 1.5 hour drive to the northern coast of the island, where there is a nice beach and tourist area.  It sprinkled a little bit, so we killed some time by touring a rum factory (Brugal), a family business established in 1988, the largest rum maker on the island.  We joked that the motto of the gift shop was "drink rum, then buy rum!"

Our afternoon proceeded to a beach-side restaurant, where we ordered some food and drink.  The conversation was lively and we were all happy to have a day off.  We were also basking the "afterglow" of the morning, enjoying feelings of satisfaction and accomplishment.

We went swimming and enjoyed the ocean and the waves, which were pretty big!  After some body surfing and laying around, we did some shopping and headed back home.

Always the "host with the most", Brian took us down back mountain roads on the way home, otherwise known as the scenic route.  Another word for it, would be the "holy cow that's a lot of potholes" route!  We still enjoyed the ride, regardless of the bumps, because the views were lush, green, and mountainous.

Thank you LORD for another amazing day in the Dominican Republic.  Our journey is almost complete, as we leave the day after tomorrow. 

God bless!

Summary of Wednesday, March 7

The Lord Is Our Strength

Today was very special to our team, because we are beginning to see the "final product" of our 4 days of work so far.  Our work on the grade school playground moved forward in dramatic ways:  1) the concrete from yesterday was dry, so we could remove the forms and landscape the border; 2) we built the teeter totter; 3) we moved and spread large piles of sand and gravel uniformly around the surface; and 4) we assembled the volleyball and basketball hardware.

Shovel, Spread, and Shovel Some More...

It seemed like everyone took their turn with a shovel and a rake today.  With big piles of extra sand and gravel to "spread around", we really got a workout!  The pictures below say it all.

You'll be able to see the full results of our efforts in the 2 panoramas embedded at the bottom of this page.


Let's Show These Kids Something Called a "Teeter Totter"!

On Saturday we put in a metal pole structure for what was to become 4 teeter totters on the playground, and today we got the opportunity to finish the job.  Since there are very few of these anywhere on the entire island, the kids didn't know what to think.

The work was hard, involving everything from drilling holes for bolts, to welding, to digging deep holes in the rocky ground for the tires, but the end result was worth it!  Just take a look at these kids playing below.  They were having a total blast.  We can just imagine what they're going to do with the volleyball and basketball courts.

Brian arrived later in the day with the new basketball hoop.  The hoop is really nice, but let's just say it came with the requirement:  "assembly required".  It was a group effort, but we got it built, and stored safely inside where it can be mounted when the concrete footing is dry.  The neighborhood kids gathered around to lend moral support.

Check Out Our Progress Below in These 2 Embedded Panoramas

Here is a new feature of the blog:  the top photo is an arial view of today's end-of-day worksite.  You can take your mouse, click, and "drag" left or right, to "spin" the photo in a complete circle!  Try it!

Arial View above, give it a "spin"...

View from Playground Yard...

What can we say to our friends, family, co-workers, fellow church members, and anyone else reading this blog?  First and foremost -- God is good.  We are growing in our faith and thoroughly enjoying the opportunity to serve Him.  We are truly having a blast with one another, as the 14 us, from 5 different churches, with all different ages, backgrounds, and life experience, grow to become real friends -- brothers and sisters in Christ.  It is humbling and we are so happy.

In service to our Lord,

Our Dominican Missionaries - fun!

Kissayris ready to square dance.

What a joy it is to be part of building Christ's kingdom in the DR!  The missionaries here are exceptional; we truly see the face of Jesus in them, as they humbly witness to Him & serve people.

    

Danelle translating the Chicken Dance.

      

Danelle Putnam ministers to people with developmental disabilities and their families.  Kissayris Gebhard is the Principal at the Concordia school, where our work is focused and the community outreach dance event was held.  They surprised up by showing up in outfits appropriate for Square Dancing... which none of us visitors was really dressed for.

Even Pastor Walter (Ries) showed us that he not only preaches the Word powerfully, but he can grill, dance and joke.  
His wife Ana is busy with university classes, but participates when she can.



Ana Ries with Mattias Krey (motorcycle maniac)



Esther Krey with mom Rebecca.

Ted Krey orienteering.



James & Christel Neuendorf - LCMS Latin Amer.







Summary of Work -Tuesday, March 6

We Did It!  We Did It!

Our team woke up on this Tuesday morning knowing that we had a full day of work ahead of us.  The previous day, we made all kinds of progress, but the concrete work was cut short after the cement mixer broke down due to a snapped rubber belt.  Without a high-capacity cement mixer, we were looking at a ton of manual grunt work, mixing one small batch of concrete at a time.

After pulling up in front of the school, one of the group said quietly, I'm going to pray right now that the cement mixer is fixed and working today.  And wouldn't you know it, there was the mixer, along with its crew of 5+ men, all fixed and ready to go!  So we were praising the LORD from jump.

We left the 30' x 60' basketball court less than 10% finished the day before, but now, with all hands and equipment "on deck", work began in earnest.  All day long, from about 8:30 until 4:00, there were about 15 people actively working on this part of the project -- a mixture of our missionary group, hired hands, and local teenage boys.

Slowly but surely, batch after batch of wet concrete was wheeled onto the court, poured, and finished.  A number of our group "learned concrete" from scratch, and everything went really well.

There were so many different types of jobs:  making the concrete by shoveling sand and gravel into the mixer; pushing full wheelbarrels in to the work area; raking the wet concrete into place; and then smoothing and finishing.  It was a HUGE job!

With great anticipation, everyone just kept working . . . and working . . . and working.  We were all getting really tired, but it didn't matter -- we were making so much progress thanks to the team effort, we weren't going to stop until the entire court was DONE!

When the last corner was poured, a loud cheer broke out across the playground, "Yeah!  We did it!"

The basketball court might be the most noticable project, but we need to give credit to all the hard work going into the stone-wall decorative gardens, that have been painstakingly put together throughout the week, including today.

There are a total of 4 of these little gardens around the outside wall of the playground.  The flowers aren't planted yet -- but stay tuned!  This project is being performed by 5-6 of the women in the group, who have "gotten their hands dirty" (and then some).  This involves moving rocks and boulders, mixing mortar, and laying these walls in place, one stone at a time.

The ladies have also taken charge of serving lunch.  Each day we take a break around noon for a snack.

Last but not least, is the huge amount of work that has been done patching and tuckpointing the school building, a hot, labor intensive task that is combination of setting up, taking down, and moving scaffolding -- combined with working 2-3 stories up in the air applying mortar to broken sections of the building. 

This job has been handled by Ward and Jeff (pictured above), and their ground-helper Lee, who gets them tools and buckets of mortar.  The scaffolding seems vintage-1950's, made of rusty old steel that has to be banged together, and apart, with a hammer.  We have been slowly working our way around then entire building, and we've already made more progress than we originally thought possible.

When something truly "crazy" needs to be done, we count on our fearless leader Brian.  His rock-climbing experience comes in handy, as shown in the picture above, as he proves he wasn't lying when he say "I like heights!"  All we can say is, yikes...and "Lord have mercy!"


Want to see our progress?  Click on this link:  Panorama of Worksite - Tues March 6

Conclusion - We are REJOICING Today

Our motto for the trip:  "Realize the Dream"

In our devotion tonight, we were talking about the great deal of joy that we are all experiencing here in the Dominican, as we serve our merciful God.  We are truly blessed, and we see Him working in all kinds of ways.  We are enjoying great humor and fellowship, we're getting a ton of work done, and everyone is going to sleep well tonight, with our hearts full of the joy of the Lord.

In His service, with gratitude,

Pray for safety & stamina!

Prayer supporters! 
Please be praying for our work & interacions these next few days.  We have almost all of the c. 65' x 35' concrete basketball court to do - with only the mortor mixer; so we have the additional work of sifting all the coarse sand, and adding gravel by hand to each wheelbarrow of cement before pouring & working to smooth.  Also, we have a couple of brave souls (Ward & Jeff) who have faced hornets, height & heat to repoint the concrete block of the school - on a very non-OSHA-compliant scaffolding.


DJ helping fill the concrete mixer that died....



Summary of Monday, March 5

Buenos Noches!

We are officially at the end of our third full day -- Monday, March 5.  After a day of church and socializing yesterday, it was time to get back to work.  Everyone was "up and at em" around 6:30 a.m., and after the usual breakfast and coffee, we loaded into the van to go to Palma Arriba, the village where our worksite is located.  Brian dropped off to get the concrete mixer, leaving us with Don to drive our van, with 13 backseat drivers, attempting to find our worksite in the convoluted village of Palmar Arriba.  We got the site-seeing tour we missed yesterday, but eventually got there.



Brian on a ladder on the scaffold 2nd level.


Today our goal was to continue work on the 3 major projects that have defined our mission:  1) to continue tuckpointing and patching the masonry on the wall of the school; 2) to design, lay out, and pour a concrete basketball court; and 3) to create numerous natural rock-wall enclosed garden areas.  All of these are helping to transform a bare-bones playground area into something really special for the kids at this Lutheran school.

This morning was immediately different because among other things, the school was teeming with kids!  We were working outside, but inside, this was a normal school day.  At the close of their day (which ends around noon), they invited us inside to hear their normal prayers and songs that they sing.  It was beautiful.  These children are being taught that God made them, and Jesus loves them.  It was a feel good moment.

After lunch, it was finally time to start pouring the large concrete slab that is to become the basketball court (and volleyball court, playground, etc.)  A number of our group had spent hours measuring, leveling, and prepping the area.  Finally it was time to pour some concrete!

The main difference in this project is that there is no concrete truck -- no indeed -- each load has to be mixed by pouring water, concrete mix, sand, and gravel in a mechanical mixer.  As each batch becomes ready, it is then poured into wheelbarrels (perhaps 6-7 loads per batch), wheeled onto the court, and dumped.  Serious grunt work!

Things were proceeding smoothly for about 45 minutes when we ran out of water!  There is no regular water for the school; we were working from a reservoir tank, and of all times for it to run dry.  This problem got solved with a bucket brigade, as a nearby neighbor kindly offered to share his own water supply with us.  So we were back in business - temporarily.

Shortly after the water supply was replenished, the cement mixer suffered a breakdown!  A small rubber belt was broken; an easy repair, if you can find one.  Brian warned us that "things happen" in the DR, and we have to be patient and flexible.  Sure enough, no belt was found, and by the time Brian got back, it was time to quit for the day.

Despite setbacks, all of us were dog-tired because we really did get a lot done today.  Here is a panorama of the worksite, after our 2nd full day of work:  Click Here to See a Panorama, after March 5.

Our day ended with an amazing dinner at Pastor Ted Krey's house -- he served a "Brazilian Steak-House" style dinner, featuring steak, pork chops, sausage, and chicken. It was incredible, and boy, were we hungry.  Pastor Walter is actually from Brazil, and he is pictured above serving meat right off the spit, the final highlight of our day.

Thank you for all of your prayers -- we'll keep you posted as we'll be back at it first thing in the morning.