Our Dominican Saturday

Today was a day to sleep in and catch up on our lack of rest from the past couple of days!! Woo Hoo!! I believe the "latest sleeper" first place prize goes to Devin who slept til 12:30pm. Second place goes to Josh who didn’t join the land of the living til 11:30am. As for events of the day…well, many of the girls took a late morning/early afternoon trip to the salon to get their hair washed and blow dried (which is very common on Saturdays for Dominican women.) Several team members spent time in one of the three malls here in Santo Domingo. Some chilled at home with their families. Some were able to see the old historical part of the city (called La Zona Colonial.) Some played basketball and video games with their new found friends. Whatever the activity today, it was a good and restful day for us all…and we had a great time getting to know our Dominican families. As I spoke with each team member throughout the day today, every one of them said that they are having a good time and are enjoying the family that they are staying with. Most (if not all by now) have been able to make contact with home (either by phone, email or facebook) assuring their parents also that they are doing well and having a good time.

(Oh and by the way…parents, I now have my Dominican cell phone and a new cell phone number. If you would like to have that number, feel free to call Shawnda and she would be happy to give it to you. Her phone number is listed at the top of the phone chain list.)

As for tomorrow, it will be another good, but busy, day. Most of the team will attend church at Iglesia Biblica del Senor Jesucristo. A handful of the team will attend a smaller church with Mr. Farmer and the family that he always stays with. After church, we will have lunch in our host homes, repack our suitcases, get some rest and then meet at the church in the late afternoon. Both the Dayton and Logos teams will take a bus two hours north to the city of Jarabacoa…which is the place where we will be staying and ministering for the next week. Tomorrow will be an exciting day as we head to Jarabacoa because it’s there that we will get to meet the precious children who live at the orphanage! We are really looking forward to that…for those children are the reason why we have worked so hard over the past couple of months and the reason we are here!

P.S. Did you know that Dayton Christian and our DR team was featured in an article in the Dayton Daily News this past Thursday?? Follow this link to get to the article -- http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/dayton-news/schools-pray-send-relief-to-haiti-493885.html

In addition to that, I had the opportunity to be interviewed in Spanish on a Dominican Christian radio station today regarding our team and our ministry here. How cool that our team and the ministry that the Lord has called us to do is getting so much exposure! Praise the Lord!!

P.S.S. I received the following email today from the president of Kids Alive International (the organization that we are working with at the orphanage in Jarabacoa.)

Dear Allison,

Kids Alive has just received word from the Dominican Republic (DR) government that the first orphans identified from the Haiti earthquake will be brought to our homes in the DR. Staff and missionaries are preparing to welcome 50 young survivors into our homes as soon as Monday.

We are humbled to be the first organization asked to rescue the orphans and lost children. The children coming from Haiti will be traumatized, scared, hungry, thirsty, and possibly injured. Please pray for them and the staff caring for them.

At the same time in Haiti, fuel has become scarce even in the north and prices have dramatically increased for basic needs. Our children in Cap Haiten have adequate food, water, and fuel for now and we hope to keep them supplied directly from the DR.

Thanks to all of you who have already given to our relief efforts. Having the funding to provide the food, shelter, and medical care for these victims will be a God-send.

Be assured, your gift today will be helping the smallest survivors of this enormous catastrophe.

Please help us rescue the Haitian orphans! Thank you for your generous gift and prayers. Please stay up to date with our relief efforts on our website www.kidsalive.org/haiti-relief

Al Lackey,
President
Kids Alive International