Picture Post #3

Before launching into the photos from last night and earlier today, we just wanted to give everyone a quick update on our progress this afternoon.  The Lord blessed our work projects this afternoon as we finished up on all of them!  Praise the Lord!

However, we decided against heading into the village this afternoon because the kids were pretty drained from a long and hot day of work.  Joseph Grant in particular was pretty overheated... so you'll see a picture of him with Rachel cooling off in the shade.  Please continue to lift us up in prayer... as Juan Tomas is currently experiencing a heat wave. 

We are praying that things work out for us to walk into the village after the baseball game tomorrow.  Please pray that everything works out logistically for us as we travel from the village into the city. 

Last night Christina and Rachel rehearsed their skit with Luis and Barbra for the Advanced English class.

After a long, hard day Annika works with some English students.

Earlier today, Chloe and Kai worked on painting the exterior of the High School cafeteria.

Dean and Ian have been inseparable for most of the trip. No one has ever seen Ian talk or smile so much.

Doug doesn't know much about science, but here he gives a physics lesson on the dangers of climbing on both sides of a ladder.

This is Joseph before over-heating in the afternoon.

Nanako is one of our hardest workers. She also did a great job of giving Christina a beard.

Actually, Nanako gave several people beards.

Don't let the smile fool you.  She'll paint a beard on you when you least expect it.  Joking aside, she has been amazing (with all the other girls) in caring for Rachel this week.

The heat was hard on Rachel today... but she always has such a cheerful heart.

Every day, new children from the village wander in to help us with our work on the projects.

Because of their hard work, we were able finish up our painting projects today... No more Verde Fresca paint!

Ian has been an awesome worker this week... we are really thankful for him.

Lydia killed it today using the extended roller. She is having an awesome trip!

Molly Wells tried to photo-bomb this picture... but I snapped it just in time.

Perhaps more than any other, Lucas has grown and matured since our trip last year. He's a workhorse for sure!  And the village children love him!

Tyler was instrumental today in acting as our quality control guru.  He is precise in his measurements and deliberate in all of his actions.  He's a great foreman for our kids!

Abby has had an awesome week.  Here she caught a snail!

Paul and Linda's grandson (left) is joined here by a boy from the village. They have been helping us much of the week.

Don Klingen would be proud... Chloe whipped out a pretty amazing series of Dad Imitations.  Our favorites had to do with Don getting five lovely ladies ready for church on Sunday!  

Lydia and Kai have children following them around the clock.  It's very precious to see.

The food gets better every year.  Today's lunch may have been the best.  We enjoyed salad, meatballs, mashed eggplant, and the best pinto beans in all of the Caribbean.

When you support our trip, you are also supporting the lovely ladies.  Each year we give the cooks a love-gift to express our appreciation for the work they do cooking, and cleaning for us.  We are so thankful for their labor.

This is a shot of the cafeteria.  The two-story building behind it is the ladies dorm.  As you might expect, it gets VERY hot there in the summer sun.

This kids are a huge reason why our students love returning each year.  They grow physically and mentally, and and they are always so excited to welcome us back to Juan Tomas.  And if it isn't already obvious, Ishmael on the right is Argenis' son.  He's definitely a fan favorite for our team!

During siesta today, I was woken up by the sounds of shouting and cheering.  Apparently, our students have introduced the Dominicans to Ultimate Frisbee.  And it's a big hit here...

Unfortunately, the game was so popular that the kids played in 100 degree temperatures.  Not surprisingly, some of them were exhausted afterwards. 

Here is a shot of the four apartments that sit across the street from the school.  This is where 2 of the elders (Agenis and Richard) and 2 of the deacons (Yankol and Roberto) live.  

Earlier in the week the kids panicked if they were without a specific task.  Now they look for a Dominican, and they launch into eternally significant conversations. 

Here, Tyler is putting the final touches on the final project.

When Christina and Nanako finished their project, they found Wendy and began leading the village children in songs and games.  And I'll tell you, there's nothing like joyful singing and cheering in the background when you're sprinting towards the finish line.

Here is Paul Macmillan, the missionary that started the school and church 26 years ago.  He stands with Nathania in the reorganized tool shed.  Like Doug, he said that he has never seen the shed look so good.  As a fan of the show FixerUpper, it feels a little bit like the big REVEAL at the end of ever  episode!

Chloe 'The Key Master' Klingen, Rachel 'the Mother of my Child' Johnson, and Joseph 'Heat Wave' Grant are seen resting up and cooling down.