Dominican Republic Capital Building. I shot this through a gate while men with guns were watching my every move. A huge storm was about to pass through, I love the color of the building against the dark sky.
We ate lunch by the Caribbean. It was so nice out. We walked down to the water on the coral. I still cannot believe that I was in 45* weather yesterday and now I am here. I am so blessed to be able to travel like this!
Nuevo Renacer "New Birth"
This is the church we will be working on. At first thought I was in disbelief that this was going to be anything and that it was going to be a house of God. True testament that the building does not matter. Our church in Oswego is an amazing building, but this church in Santo Domingo will be just as amazing! Each short term mission group that comes just continues the construction. It started with a dirt floor and now has grown to a building with walls. We will be pouring the cement floors on the first floor and balcony. I want to come back next year and see how it looks when it is finished. The name of this church is so relevant. The church it is replacing a church 20x40ft. It is a very small box and they fill it up every time!
This is a photo from the roof of the church. Every building in Santo Domingo (SD) has stairs to the roof. A few weeks ago a group of 55 high school kids poured the roof. They had to hike up two sets of "stairs" with buckets filled with cement. I love seeing the skyline of SD
The telephone poles are filled with wires. People hook into the "grid" illegally all the time. People also leave their old wires on the poles. It seems as if the telephone pole should tip over from all the wire.
The inside of the church we will be working in. I am standing on the balcony looking towards the alter. Every building is made from cement cinder blocks and is made smooth by cement finishers. The wood on the middle of the room is not holding up the walls. It is scaffolding for the cement finishers. They stand on 1x6" pieces of wood for hours on end finishing the walls and ceiling. How scary! The first floor is suppose to be out "mission" for the week. The men have the vision, but us ladies are wondering how it'll happen. That's where faith comes in.
This is inside the church standing on the alter looking towards the balcony. The group is talking about the job and trying to figure out the process. Imagine bright colored walls with wooden pews, musical instruments, and bibles. This will be such a fun place to be!
This young boy was hanging outside the church while we were inside. His name was Juan. He was such a nice boy. He kept posing for the camera. I look forward to seeing him during the week. One of my team members Bill gave him a piece of gum and he was so happy and grateful. We take life for granted in the US. When is that last time you got so excited about something so small? And can't you see the sincere look in his eyes. He just looks at peace.
The door on the left is the old church that the New church will be replacing. The new church is on the same block.
Buen Pastor "Good Shepard"
This is a church that some of our team members worked on in 1995. They helped build a wall before the actual building ever existed. It was a great chance for them to see that all the hard work they did in 1995 is still paying off. This church was a lot bigger, it used to have a school in the back, but it has since moved.
This Girl was hanging clothes on the roof next to us. I asked her "Puedo Tocar una photo?" I think that means Can I take your photo because she posed. I love this photo!
Ebenezer- I didn't end up taking a photo of the outside of this church
Here is the Assn't Pastor: Pastor Turco. He doesn't know any English, yet I still tried to have a conversation with him in Spanish. It is cool how we can still communicate through the language barrier. I think I made his day with some of the words I was misusing.
This is a view from above. We went to this place called "Los Ojos" It is a group of 3 underground lakes. It was right on the edge of the city. I really enjoyed the change from the bustling city to the quiet underground sanctuary.
Thank you for taking time to look through these photos. I will be posting more every day. Okay well Shawn is playing the guitar and I want to go listen. God Bless.
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