"Finished" Photos of DR Mission Site - Summer 2013

Thanks for Your Patience

We are long overdue to share our progress in the DR as of this summer.  Brian finished his work in June and returned home, and this post includes ALL of the latest photos, events, and celebrations as things got finished this summer!

The finishing work on the building was performed by the last couple of groups that came down from Our Redeemer (Wauwatosa, WI) as well as some folks from Montana and Oregon.

We can't do enough to thank and recognize the hard work of our volunteers.  We couldn't have done it without you!

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Here are all kinds of pictures of all of the progress that was accomplished this summer before Brian came home for the year.  The group home is complete!

 

Several parts of the building have nice murals.

 

Similar to the school and the seminary on the hill, the group home has a big cross on it!

 

All the work was done by local contractors, community volunteers, and missionary groups from churches.

 

The school yard has some cool gardens.

 

A huge dedication ceremony was held to celebrate and dedicate the orphanage.

 

Several enterprising workers made this industrial home-made basketball hoop to play "full court".

 

The beautiful inside of the group home, all finished.

Comfortable bedrooms and sitting areas throughout the home.

 

The kitchen opens into a large living area with big windows and a view of school and yard.

 

The open-air environment gives an inside-outside feeling at the same time.

 

Many local citizens, pastors, church members, and volunteers celebrated all of the good work. 

 

Thank you to all of our supporters who helped us accomplish so much in the DR.  Please pray for God's continued grace and provision to the people of Palma Arriba!

Group from Our Redeemer Accomplishes Much!

We are thrilled with the progress that was made with the help of a group from Our Redeemer (Wauwatosa, WI) which recently came for a visit.  This was the latest group in 2013 and we were happy to accomplish so much.

The group worked on the inside tile floors, and they also placed two murals on the walls of the new orphanage.

The group also put the finishing touches on the landcaping, planting a number of the flower beds with plants and trees.

The orphanage is a great testimony to the LORD and we are happy that it is so nicely appointed with a variety of construction finishes and details.  Our God is worthy!

One of the interior murals is shown above.

The interior ceramic tile floor is clean, cool, and almost indestructible!

 

As usual, the missionary team was "supervised" and assisted by the local neighborhood kids, who have been watching the construction project since it was a hole in the ground, just 4 months ago.

The exterior of the property has come a long way, it is even getting a "yard" which started as dirt and rocks -- but now it looks really nice!

 

We did have a softball game with the local community, which is always really fun. 

As usual . . . it was God's people working together that made this such a successful visit.  Thank you to the Our Redeemer group and to all of our helpers and supporters who have made 2013 such a productive year for our team.  We praise the Lord for you!

Tremendous Progress on Construction Project - Praise God!

Here is an update on the orphanage! A group from St. Louis came down last week along with a couple from Oregon and a couple from the New England area and completely painted the building inside and out....
 

 

 

The group of 10 did a great job with all the different colors in all the rooms inside and began the stone planters in the front sidewalk areas . . .

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

The terracing is completed with a total of 9 terraces in all, and we are starting to place a barb wire fence around the property to keep the burros and horses out! The group also will finish the planting and irrigation on the terraces!

 

 

 

 

The next group will come in on Friday from Our Redeemer, Wauwatosa, WI. The group of 14 will work on the ceramic floors along with completing the landscape and concrete sidewalks'.  Hopefully the cabinets and doors will be installed while they are here along with the windows so they will get a feel what the house will be like before the kids move in the middle of June...

 

 
 
Thank you to ALL of our visitors and supporters, each of you is most appreciated and we are praising God what he is doing here in the Dominican Repbublic!

Look What the LORD is Building!

 
We are delighted to report more progress on the group home that has been under construction throughout the past few months.  It's hard to believe we were just prepping this jobsite the first week of March.  We have applied a nice finish to the exterior of the building to give it a nice finished look.

 
Our next group will be arriving on May 10th, from the St. Louis area.  We will get started on laying ceramic floors and also tile for the bathrooms.  We will also possibly work on an outside planter with all the rocks we have here!  We will stain and seal the wood ceiling throughout the house with a spray gun and compressor as well.

 
We just completed two more terraces up the hill and planted 60 avocado trees, 30 cashew trees and 60 limon and cherry trees.  We are continuing to work on two more new terraces as we get closer to the Seminary, it is getting to be a large addition to the overall complex! 

Some of the extended Keller family came to visit recently, with in-laws coming for a week and helping with planting some of the trees.  The week before we were assisted by Rich and Mary Erickson from First Emmanuel Cedarburg and we really appreciate the help!

God is doing some wonderful things down here and we are grateful for His blessings -- Praise the Lord!

Local Church Members Help with Roof on Orphanage

The construction project continues to move along very well.  Last Friday, we had a mission work day at the new orphanage, with the help of Pastor Willy from Las Americas with 4 members from their church.

We had members from local churches as well, along with most of the missionaries with families.

We worked hard, but we found time for lunch of course!  The real highlight of the day was all of the terrific progress on the ROOF of the house:

 

This project is really cruising now!

Some sections of the roof are almost complete.  This was a day of hard work, but also a great day for the LORD.

 

Thank you to all of our helpers and hard workers here and back at home -- we appreciate the prayers -- the word from the DR is:  God is great!!