Daily Life 2

Cont.
 Doug has recovered from his illness and doing well. I had a fever for about two days, still not sure what that was all about but I seem to be fine now.  We had a nice surprise at our first meeting Thursday, a young man came over to us whom we immediately recognized as a former study of Doug's. His name is Carlos. He is now 20 years old, we studied with him and his friend about four years ago when we were here. Doug turned the study over when we left and now he is a new unbaptized publisher. So that was a happy reunion. We got invited to attend the annual pioneer meeting on Sunday. It was really nice, this new  congregation in Cabarete has about 39 publishers and 14 pioneers. Three of the pioneers are local Dominicans and the others are foreigners from the U.S., England, Finland, and Germany. It is a young energetic group. Doug and I were the old ones. I think there was one local sister older than us but it is quite a diverse group, single people, young couples w/o children and a couple with two children. There are two special pioneers here, a couple who recently graduated from the School for Couples. They were both raised in Florida but have Dominican parents so came here to serve a few years ago, got invited to the school and now are Special Pioneers. The meeting was very enjoyable and afterwards they had Snacks! cookies, rum cake, chocolate cake etc....... We really enjoyed getting to visit and hear their experiences.

Pioneer Meeting and Stuart & Jo's Apt

View from Patio At Stuart & Jo's Apt

After the meeting, gift bags were handed out to all the pioneers

If you were a parent, the gift bag included something for your child, thus the pink pen for Stuart's 8 yr old daughter

The snacks!

The Beach near our apartment

Coffee break Time!

Cabarete Beach, we counted over 100 kite surfers, very pretty to watch

Daily Life

We never know what the next day will bring do we? This morning we woke up to grey rainy skies outside but no water inside, surprise! So we got ready for the ministry using our drinking water to wash up a bit and the pool water to flush the toilets. Oh well, till the meeting for field service was over, the skies had cleared and we had beautiful blue skies to preach under. And yes the water was back when we got home! We were told that usually about a night a week they turn the water off to conserve. They had a very dry past six months and there is a water shortage. A night a week isn't too bad, we can deal with that.  But let me back up a bit. We have settled in to our apartment, the screens and window pane got patched (it's not pretty but better than holes). We do have use of a washing machine. The Dominican girls who live upstairs of us, offered the use of theirs which was very nice. So Sunday I took  a load up to wash but then she decided it would be easier for us to use if she brought it downstairs and put it on our back patio. So I come back from hanging up some clothes and this 100 lb girl is carrying down the steps the washing machine! (yes it is a small machine but still!) Doug and her got it set up on our back patio and it is still there. I don't know if it's going to stay there or if she'll carry it back up when she's ready. But anyway, they are very nice neighbors.

The washing machine

Our Apartment Building

Our Apt. is on the first floor, left

I worked in the Ministry with Jessica (right), she is from Massachusetts, her roommate is Patricia (left) also from Mass. Genesis is in the middle. We met her when she was a young girl and now she is 18.

This young fellow is the son of a pioneer couple from Virginia, they are a very zealous family and the two kids each have many Bible Studies, He's here writing down a new RV

Doug Preaching on the street

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our Apartment

Hi everyone, well, after two restful  and peaceful weeks, we have arrived at our apartment to begin the "real" life. You know where we have to cook and clean and get into a schedule for the ministry and meetings. We thoroughly enjoyed our time with Cory and Jeni and at the resort, well..... all accept the last night at the resort. We had reservations to eat at the Mexican restaurant where they are known for their good steaks. When Doug's arrived it didn't look right and after taking about three bites he said that he just couldn't eat it. The waiter brought him a different meal but unfortunately the damaged had been done. Within 20 mins after arriving back to our room Doug became violently ill. We believe that it was Salmonella.So he had a very unpleasant night, getting very little sleep. But there was no time to be sick because we had to check out the next morning and drive over to Sosua and get settled into our apartment. Cory offered to drive us over since it was obvious that his Dad was in no condition to drive but I finally convinced them both that I was quite capable of driving the 1/2 hour from Puerta Plata to Sosua. We were able to get some antibiotics on Monday and although he's not 100% yet, he is feeling much better.

Now as for the apartment, when you rent something unseen, you really never know exactly what you're going to get. Yes, you see pictures and are told it's a fully furnished apartment with a fully equipped kitchen but you just really don't know what you'll end up with. When we arrived the building looked as pictured, it's a four apartment building surrounded by a nice yard and garden with a decent size pool in front. Our apt has two bedrooms and two baths which are both quite roomy and comfortable. The fully equipped kitchen is quite lacking but fortunately we had borrowed some things from Cory & Jeni (frying pan, cutting knives etc.) So I have sufficient to do some cooking. What was missing was a table and chairs to sit at to eat, when I pointed this out to our agent, he called the owner and we were told, "no, this apartment has never had table and chairs but there is a bar at the kitchen you can eat at"  But there are no bar stools! So could we please have a table and chairs to eat our meals?? Well, he's checking on it (I'm not holding my breath) The living room has a small love sit and two other chairs so at least four people can sit down. The other thing we were promised was use of a washing machine that was suppose to be in a public area. Currently the machine is  on one the back porches of one of the upstairs apts. We were told Monday that arrangements would be made to get that moved but so far that has happened but it is a holiday week so I won't start complaining just yet. There are some repairs needed on some screens and a window which a man was suppose to show up on Monday to repair but never came but again things don't seem to function well on a holiday week so hopefully by next week we'll get those things resolved.

Yesterday, for the first, Doug felt well enough to walk to the beach. From our apartment it's about a five minute walk. We didn't get to enjoy too much time there before a thunder storm rolled in and we were chased back. Last night we were invited to our friends home, Ray & Joyce. They are now helping out the congregation where Matt and Debra are so had invited us and the McKinneys (Kurt, Bridgit, Mavryk, Matt and Debra) So it was nice to get caught up with their adventures of the last two  weeks not to mention eating some good BBQ that Ray had cooked up on the grill.

So that about catches you up with the exciting or not so exciting life of Doug & Deb. We'll attend our first meeting with our new congregation in Cabarete Thursday and our looking forward to getting to know them and enjoy some time in the ministry.  Hope all is Well with You!

Un Buen Dia

Yes, yesterday was a Good Day for several reasons. First I have to mention the weather and I really am not trying to rub it in because I know back home you are dealing with another snow storm today but..... When we got up yesterday there was a clarity in the air, real blue skies and you could tell the humidity was down. For the first few days of our visits there were sun and clouds and the occasional rain shower throughout the day (typical winter weather here) But yesterday was exceptionally pretty with a fresh breeze. In addition we worked in the ministry in a particularly pretty area. Their territory here is very rural and the people take pride in keeping their gardens and flowers pretty. So it was just a pleasure to be walking along talking to these hospitable people. Jeni and I approached one home where three teenage boys were practicing some music, one had an acordian and I'm not sure what the other instruments were called but as soon as they saw us, they stopped playing, put their instruments down and went and got us chairs to sit down. They listened attentively and accepted some literature. It is just very refreshing to see the respect for the Bible that these people have.

In the ministry, this little guy couldn't have been more than 5 yrs old but he was handling these cows like a pro.

Writing down a RV

Tires a little low

So after a morning in the ministry we decided it was just too nice of day and there was no other choice but to go to the beach. So the four of us loaded up after lunch and headed to Cambiaso which is a bit of a drive over and through the mountains but what beautiful views we had. We went to a little protected cove where the water was  calm and to us it felt almost warm!  We had  a nice time swimming around and Jeni tried Snorkeling for the first time.

I thought of you Doug A. When Cory found this one on the beach, Sorry too heavy to bring home

Had to forge a river to get to the beach

 

 

 

 

 

View from top of the Mtn

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But there is something else that made this an especially good day. To tell the whole story I have to go back a little bit. Many of you know that Jeni was approved for a tourist visa to enter the U.S. next year. About a week before our arrival they received her paperwork and the visa was only good for three months, meaning they would need to travel to the U.S. by mid February. This is not what they requested. They had told them their trip was planned for the Spring. So an email was sent to the embassy and they received a reply that they would need to make another trip to the Capital to get approval for a date change, just what they wanted to do (not). The interview went fine and they said no problem will change the date, your paperwork will arrive in about a week. So this brings us to yesterday. While in the ministry, they received a phone call saying the paperwork had arrived (at a local store in Luperon). So now we're all wondering will the paper work be accurate with the correct dates. Well much to our delight, Jeni received not a one time entry visa but she was approved for a TEN year entry visa, meaning she can come and go as they please for the next ten years w/o the expense and hassle of applying again! So this good news made this an especially "buen dia".

We've Arrived!

 The trip was uneventful, just the way you like it. Our flight was in between the two storms that hit the East, so we had no trouble traveling.  The McKinneys and us were on the same flight so were met at the airport by all our three boys. (They seemed happy to see us)  Cory and Jeni had a nice comfortable room set up for us for our stay with them. You can tell it's not a bachelor's pad anymore. Jeni has done a good job of making it look like a home. We've had a very relaxing week so far. On Tuesday we went with Cory and Jeni on some of their calls and Bible studies which was very nice. Yesterday we worked with the group doing door to door and had several nice conversations. Doug and I got a chuckle out of the Brother's prayer at the meeting for field service. He prayed that Jehovah help them in their preaching this morning and noting that it was a little cold for them to endure (it was probably 79 with a few clouds) They really don't understand what cold is! The kids had studies that they do together in the afternoon, so Doug and I headed over to the beach for a few hours. So as I said, after the stress of the last few weeks, we're enjoying the nice relaxed pace here. Hope all is well with you!

If you feed them, they will stay!

And Sooooo A New Adventure Begins!

I'm sitting here in my dreary Pennsylvania living room, the luggage is packed sitting at the door. The past two days have been truly typical dreary PA weather and I'm looking forward to some blue skies. Our first stop on our trip will be at Cory and Jeni's house. So we'll get to see how the newlyweds are doing. Dec 22 we'll be heading over to our old stomping ground in Sosua. We've rented an apartment there and will be attending the Cabarete congregation which split from the Sosua congregation about a year ago. So we'll be looking forward to seeing some old friends and making some new ones!