Tracy was back for a visit

A couple of days after we got here in July, Tracy Hutt came down with Careforce for a month and stayed at the camp just down the hall from us. It was nice to see her again for a week with a team of teens from Ontario. We didn't get to visit with her too much as she was one of the leaders of some of the 50+ teens. The team worked very hard on 3 different projects, the foundation of the new school, some sidewalks in the community and a wall at the camp. It was nice to see her again. Funny thing is Tracy didn't want to leave, but they left on Saturday and because of storms in the northern states they weren't supposed to get home until Wednesday. Darn stuck in Miami!

Lindsay, the Butcher

We really came to the Dominican so Rhea could have plastic surgery!! A mole removal happened in our livingroom one night at 11:30 while a Medical Ministry International team was here. Lindsay came in to use our internet to email her boyfriend in India and well we got to talking and we told her she could pay us in surgery! tee hee I asked her to take out my uterus too, but she declined that one. Though she said she had taken out a few earlier in the week. Dr. Rob does this machette look clean enough?

Bathtime!!

Reilly enjoys having a bath in semi-warm water in the laundry sink! The first time we saw her do this I thought she was nuts, but she does it on a regular basis and hey why not. The sun warms the water in the pipes from the water tank on the roof and for a short time the water actually is warm. She seems to know exactly when that is.

Vogue

Auntie Colleen and Uncle Murray gave the girls some new hats and they loved them! Got some great shots of them being cool, but this is my favorite. Look out boys, these girls are gonna steal your heart!

Rebecca and Samuel

Rebecca has been Samuel's sponsor for almost 2 years now and they have a great relationship. He knows she loves him and he is convinced that we are his other family and plans on coming back with us to Calgary. His Mom, Cecilia is a cleaner at Lighthouse School and she might have something to say about her youngest going to Canada. For now, and the next 4 months they will just have to settle for seeing each other when ever they can. July will be a sad time for them.

Mobbed by the afternoon class....

When ever I go to the school in the afternoon and the kids are out on a break I have to brace myself for the onslaught of children running for a hug! It's a rough job, but somebodys got to do it!!

Love.....Don't be afraid to......Let it show!

Murray and Colleen's daughter, Melissa, sponsors the little boy in this picture, Moises. While getting to know Moises, Murray fell in love with little Maria del Carmen, and we mean little. She is so tiny. She gave her heart to him and they ended up sponsoring her. They actually got to go to take some groceries to Moises house and after Murray and Colleen left we were able to take some to Maria del Carmen's. Both families were so happy to have the gifts! Love is any language is a great thing!

New Brunswick!!

We had the pleasure of hosting a Careforce team here from New Brunswick. The leader of this group was Barb Irving, we had met her when she was down with another team in October. She and Rhea had become fast friends and we were so glad to see her and her team. Barb had brought her husband with her, Jeff, aka Quick Draw McGraw, is a pastor in their home town, and 5 other folks from their church and town. Barb made Rhea cry when she opened up her suitcase and brought out a package wrapped in brown paper and then freezer packs. In the package was a container of water, Rhea knew right away what it was, earlier that day it had actually been snow! Rhea was touched! (by the way Barb we still have your container) The team poured a cement floor for a family and did lots of work for the 3rd floor of the school, among other things. They actually became very close with Murray and Colleen who were here at the same time. Colleen is actually from New Brunswick originally. Many things about this week were rewarding and we were blessed by having every member of the team here! God Bless New Brunswick!

Colleen and Murray

Our great friends of almost 16 years came to visit us on February 25th. They are staying until the 12th of March and we pray that they have a good time. The first week that they are here there is a group here at the same time from New Brunswick, which by God-insidence is where Colleen is originally from. Murray and Colleen and the small group of 7 became instant friends. I was happy that both were here at the same time.

The Brucks

Pictured here are Liliana and Ramon Guzman and Wendy and Chester Brucks. Liliana and Ramon you know, they live on the camp with us and are the "caretakers" of the camp and work for APEN, the Latin equivalent of Child Evangelism Fellowship. Wendy and Chester Brucks are from Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan and lived in the same house as we do now in 2000. They lived here for 6 months and the house was not nearly as nice as it is now. The house was smaller and they were here with 5 children! It was nice to talk with them and find out that they had some of the frustrations as we have now, but to hear of the blessings that they received was more encouraging! We became instant friends because of our similar pasts, both families living here and both being Canadian. We plan on getting together with them on our return. Thanks for sharing with us Wendy and Chester! God bless you.

The Three Rebecca's

I would like you to meet our daughter Rebecca, our Dominican friend Rebeca and our American friend Rebecca. Rebecca from New York and her Mom, Betsy were here for a week visiting with their sponsored kids and us. We sure enjoyed seeing them again and God will make our paths cross again! Love you gals!

SHMILY

See How Much I Love You!!


The team from Ohio built a house for a lady named Maria who is a pastor in the community. She and her family were so blessed by these people as were our family. Lori helped me make coffee every morning and we got to become good friends. Lori, Laura, Sue and I formed a small group and talked about God and God-insidinces in our lives. The group had great leaders in Judy and Harold. The 4 bunkees were Brian, Todd, Daren and Rob. What great guys these were! Spent time with our girls and infected their lives forever. Jim and Sherry, Darlene and Dave, Judy and Harold, Sue and Vic and Stacy and Harris all were role models for great marriage! Vic and Sue thanks for loving our girls!! We just really want to impress upon you the difference you made here. May God bless you! SHMILY!

Riding in Style

Todd was delivering sand for bucket hauling to the 3rd floor of the school, and he was empty coming back so I jumped in! He is used to heavy lifting because he is a firefighter. It was nice having this team from Ohio here, such great people. We miss you guys!

Mi Amigas

Ana, Luisa and Me just hanging out. It has been great to have these ladies as friends! I have missed my wonderful friends in Canada so much sometimes it hurts, but these ladies have filled some of the gaps and made me laugh, and cry for joy over the blessings God has given us here.

Operation Christmas Child

In late January a small group representing Samaritan's Purse and Operation Christmas Child came to the camp and we were delighted to be present as hundreds of gifts from North America were delivered to children in Los Alcarrizos! We had been able to send shoeboxes when we were in Canada, but to now see the end result was truely a blessing! What a look on a child's face as you can see!! Imagine this hundreds of times more!