Mission Trip - Day Five - Friday, December 31, 2010

When we arrived to the mission community on Friday morning, we found that a dog had walked across the wet cement after we had left on Thursday night.  You would have thought that once the dog got into it, it would have made a beeline out, but noooooooooo, it walked the full length of the newly poured concrete sidewalk.

The concrete crew had to some repair work on Friday morning to fill in the "dog tracks"

Work continued on the walls around the new statue

The Dominican government required this wall around the new playground for the school

It's New Year's Eve in the Dominican, and we went out for dinner.  A donor had sponsored our meal.  It was a great meal of chicken and steak, under a thatched roof outdoor courtyard.

After dinner, we boarded our "taxis" and were taken up to the top of the hill to the Bishop's home and compound.  His home overlooks the city of Higuey and the vista was beautiful. 

We had mass in the Bishop's private chapel.  Father Andy Turner conducted the mass.

After mass, we played "Name that Tune" in the conference center located on the grounds of the Bishop's home.  It was a team effort.  One team got 43 out of 50 questions right.

A view of the city of Higuey at night from the Bishop's compound

New Year's is a huge event in the Dominican.  It includes a lot of alcohol so we headed back to the hotel and were told to stay within the hotel for the rest of the evening.  The celebration for the Dominicans lasted well into the next day. 

Mission Trip - Day Four - Thursday, December 30, 2010

Our volunteer medical crew spent the first three days preparing for Thursday and Friday family visits with the doctors.  Early in the week, each family was given an appointment time for either Thursday or Friday to visit the doctors.  Two former Haitian doctors volunteered their time all day Thursday and Friday to examine the residents of the mission village.  

Emma, a second year nursing student at Case Western, takes some vital 

statistics before this young girl goes into see the doctor

A family waits their turn to see the doctor in the medical clinic

Dale George, an electrician by trade, measures for a piece of drywall in the new Community 

Center that also will house offices for the school and the new medical clinic.

Don Craven and Jon Lawrence add one of the "thousands"of drywall screws

 in the new medical clinic area of the Community Center

Outside work included pouring concrete curbs around the new Community Center 

and several homes to divert water during heavy rains

Our battle with the "guys" next door intensified on Thursday night, I was laying on my bed reading, when four or five of them ran into the room, two jumped on me and the other three grabbed Jon's mattress and headed for the door. Jon came back just in time to save the day!  You can see Jon about half way back trying to wrestle his mattress back into the room and you can see me near the back putting one of my famous "half nelsons" on Justin! 

Mission Trip - Day Three - Wednesday December 29th

When we arrived at the mission site, there was a very large truck with blocks awaiting us.  We formed two "work lines' and began unloading the blocks.  We all developed a rhythm to our work  and considering how many people were involved, how heavy the block were, how many blocks there were - no major accidents or injuries!

Unloading hundreds of blocks to be used for walls

I was assigned to the paint crew today.  The ceiling of the Community Center needed a second coat.  After about an hour of working, some on my crew thought that I looked too clean and quickly fixed that with some added paint to my clothing.  Now I looked like I fit right in!

One of the toughest parts of the week was lunch time.  We would always eat in the same building, which had large window openings.  The children of the community would gather in the windows and watch us eat.  When I told my daughter Kathryn this story, she told me that she would probably have had to "fast" at lunch time all week.  A lot of these people really don't know where their next meal is coming from, or that the quantity of food they get leaves them hungry for the next meal.

A couple of "window watchers" during lunch

After lunch, the rest of the paint crew moved outside to paint the outside of the school and new community center.  The sun was really bearing down so I stayed inside most of the afternoon and touched up spots on the ceiling that were missed.  Later in the afternoon, I did go outside and helped paint the school.

Painting the school

In the middle of the afternoon, work had begun on constructing walls and fences around the school (a requirement).  A cement truck showed up and the trenches that had been dug the day before were filled with concrete to act as a footer for the walls.

We went out for pizza!  It was very good and a lot of fun!

Early in the day, the three guys next door approached me about helping them get back at Jon for taking Justin's suitcase.  They wanted me to distract Jon and they were going to come into our room and steal his whole bed.  I played along that I would help - but they didn't know "Cardinal Rule #26" - never conspire against your roommate!  haha

On Wednesday night, I was laying on my bed writing this blog, when Justin came walking into my room, grabbed my smaller travel bag and ran!  I was after him in a second, chasing him through the halls of the hotel.  Up and down stairs.  Remember, this is a 61-year-old man chasing a 15 year old!  He would really pick up pace on the stairs.  I saw him duck down a hallway, and by the time I got there, he had disappeared.  He later told me that one of the rooms in that hallway was occupied by some of the other teens on the trip and he ducked in there and slammed the door.  I eventually got my bag back!  Some of the girls said it was one of the funniest things they have ever seen, me chasing Justin through the halls!



Mission Trip Day Two - Tuesday, December 28th 2010

Tuesday morning started around 7.  My roommate Jon had complained about a cold shower the night before, but my morning shower was somewhat warm. Enjoy it because it would be my last!  haha

Breakfast was in the hotel: scrambled eggs, toast, coffee.  It would be about the same each day - some days they would have french fries (this was not a low calorie mission trip!).  We all gathered in front of the hotel for our trip out to the mission site.  Our "taxis" were actually pickup trucks and many had to ride in the back. 

Each day we would gather for our morning briefing, prayer, gospel reflection and work assignments. 

This is Father Andy Turner leading us in our morning ritual

You can see in the background of this picture  the recently finished statue of the Blessed Mother, Joseph and baby Jesus.  It will change dramatically during the week.  Also notice the large black water containers on the roof of the green building.  When the water system is not working, this is the main source of water for the village for drinking, bathing, and laundry.

The children of the community were all happy and were always up for a game.  Here's a game of "duck- duck - goose" on Tuesday morning.

We got our work assignments for the first day.  I got crafts!  Jon got trenches.  He looked at me like "who did you pay off?"  Ha Ha  (All kidding aside - Jon worked very hard all week long!)


The craft of the day was to make an advent wreath.  A group of volunteers from the church had put together all the needed materials to make the craft and it was our job to supervise.  

Here's Father Andy telling the kids what we will be doing for the day

Here's Stephanie, Sarah, Rachel and Steph discussing the meaning of the advent 

wreath and its significance to the Christmas Season

One of the tables working on their wreaths

Boys will be Boys!

I noticed during the making of the craft - that this table of boys:

Was not getting along with this table of boys:

It didn't take long before both tables jumped up and ran outside.  When I got outside, two of the boys were circling each other, giving each other the "evil eye", waiting for the other to make the first move.  In what my girls call my "mean voice",  I pointed at one and yelled "You!"  then pointed at the other and yelled "You"  and then pointing at the door yelled "back inside!".  I think they understood the international language that they better get back inside!

Here is the finished project

After lunch I was assigned trash duty.  It is very simple.  You get a garbage bag and walk around the community and pick up trash.  Father Bob told us that the community is really getting better about the trash situation.  By going out and setting the example of keeping the community neat and clean, we can really making an impact.


I soon found myself with a willing volunteer - Reuben:

Reuben was stuck by my side for about an hour of trash pickup.  He was very protective of our trash bag - he carried one corner and I the other.  He wasn't very happy when others tried to help carry the bag.  My trash entourage quickly grew and pretty soon I had a crew following me.  We didn't speak the same language but we had fun, making a game of picking up the trash!

My trash crew!

After we finished our trash duties, I was assigned to the paint crew.  I checked in on them - they were painting the ceiling in the new community center. 

Paint Crew in the new Community Center

They seemed to be working well as a team and I kept having these guilt feelings about the "trench crew" and wandered outside to give them a hand. 

The Trench Crew

About a half hour later, I began to seriously think about the paint crew again!  Haha  .I caught up with my roommate - Jon Lawrence - who had been "in the trenches" all day.  It was tough work, but also inspiring to see the residents of the community working so hard to improve what they had.

After a hard day's work, we got back in the pickup trucks and headed back to the hotel.  A very cold shower!  brrrrrrrrrr!

We had dinner at the hotel and then played some card games.  Justin taught us a new card game - "Mao".  It's a great game where you have to figure out the rules as you play.  We played two rounds and I won the second game!  It was luck! 

Jon, Darius (a resident of the village)

and me taking a break from the "trenches"

Jon and Joel with one of the teachers at the school

Jon in the "trenches"

One of the residents who lost hishand in a motorcycle accident who

worked harder than all of us!

On Tuesday night, our fun began with the guys next door: Justin, Bobbie and Jon.  They go to Kenston High School and are members of Holy Angels Church.  The guys kept leaving the door to their hotel room open - many times with the key sticking in the lock.  My roommate Jon told me that we needed to teach them a "life lesson"!

We took Justin's suitcase and hid it in one of the girls' rooms in our hallway.  Justin came back later and we could hear him yelling "Someone stole my suitcase - I am going to be in big trouble"

I think Justin could tell by the "grins" on our faces that we were somewhat involved.  After letting him worry for a while, we showed him where the suitcase was located.  He was not very happy with us!  haha

Dominican Republic Mission Trip - Day One Monday, December 27, 2010

What a great day!

It started at 3:30 a.m.  I had to be at the airport at 5:00 a.m.  Kathryn’s boyfriend, Joe Brown took me to the airport.  There were several volunteers at the airport who made the check-in process painless.  There are 46 people on the trip, but Father Bob and Jake left on Sunday to get things organized. 

The plane was late because of a delay from where it originated.  We took off at around 8.  We arrived in Punta Cana around 1:00.  Customs was well organized.  We rode a chartered bus to the hotel – Hotel Don Carlos.  I really didn’t know what to expect.  I would compare it to a Motel 8 but it does have a restaurant and a bar. 

        Hotel Don Carlos in Higuey, Dominican Republic

                  Our room at the Don Carlos - I offered to flip a coin to see who got the double bed or the single, but Jon Lawrence let me have the double - maybe my size had something to do with it!

My roommate is Jon Lawrence.  His daughter Danielle is on the trip with him.  She is a junior at Gilmore. John manages the Northern Ohio offices for Merrill Lynch.  This is their second mission trip.

When we got to the hotel, Father Bob and Jake were making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for a late lunch so I pitched in and helped with the process.

                                               

Lunch and a short meeting at the Don Carlos
before we headed out to the Mission site

We got on a different bus  and headed out to our village.  Lots of motorbikes on the roads, it was raining so traffic was fairly light. 

In a 20 minute trip, I saw no stop signs and only one traffic light.  When cars come to an intersection, they either slow down, speed up, or just barrel on through.   After 10 minutes of constantly flinching at "close calls' - my shoulders ached!

You see all forms of transportation on the roads!

We passed a prison on the way to the village.  The prison is close to our mission site and arrangements have been made to get fresh water from the prison water source.  The prison has been under construction for several years and has yet to be occupied.  We soon found ourselves on a dirt road, very bumpy and slow.  When we arrived in our village, things were very quiet and we saw very few people – maybe the rain?

Prison under construction near our village

Father Bob took us up to the door of the old community center and said we were going to go inside because it was the only building that the roof didn’t leak!  When he opened the double doors, the building was filled with the village people! They had planned a surprise welcome for us.  This was very significant, because it was the first time they had ever done this.  Most of the people living in the village are displaced Haitians, having been displaced several times in the past few years.  Most did not know each other when they moved into the village.  This meant that they were growing together as a community – a significant step.

They had gone out and purchased soft drinks for us which was also a significant gesture.  You should have seen the smiles – all age groups!  Hugs galore.  Beautiful children.

                                   

Reception by the villagers at the old community center.

                                       

That's Steph - a member of my "mission family". She called me "dad" on the whole trip.
Steph has been on many mission trips and has made some good friends among the children.

We stayed for a half hour and then headed back to the hotel where we were given room assignments.  We napped and met for dinner at 7:30.  Dinner was good: chicken, rice beans, salad, fried plantains, cucumbers and tomatoes.

After dinner we met with our families.  At the retreat a week before we left, we were placed with several other people in families. 

My family: Stephanie in front, Liz, Justin, Jon, Steph and me!

We were given a t-shirt and asked to decorate it with the first letter of our first name and write our name on the back.  This was to help the villagers with the English alphabet and our names.  We were to wear them on Tuesday.  It was then off to the Tiger Mart across the street, the local gas station, and snack mart.  The Tiger Mart is in constant motion, mostly motorbikes buzzing in to get gas - hundreds of them per hour.  35 pesos to the dollar.  We figured around $4.50 per gallon.  I got a bottled water and a diet coke, and got change back from the two dollars that I gave her.  There was a security guard by the gas pumps with a sawed-off shotgun.  No stealing gas here!!

We met a Mormon missionary at the Tiger Mart, from Utah.  His parents were born in Haiti.   He was with a group called Liftalife.org specializing in dental and medical help.  I promised to hook him up with my dentist, Dr. Robert Fulton, who has invented a portable dental work machine that can be carried into the field.

In bed by 11! Breakfast at 8 in the morning.  It is supposed to rain again tomorrow.  Shipping container has not arrived – red tape in Santa Domingo having to do with shipping in used clothing. 

The Dominican government is afraid to let used clothing into the country because of the cholera scare.  I hope all of the clothing donated by St. Ambrose parishioners is not thrown away.