Soaked and Stoked

Tuesday, August 10

What a day! Tuesday morning was the last time at our host homes before we said goodbye and set off on another medical outreach clinic. The home-stays were so much fun and everyone seemed to have a blast trying to use whatever Spanish skills they had. Needless to say, there were many funny moments where things didn't come out of our mouths in complete clarity. Travis remembered this when, after speaking in Spanish for 1hr. he said, "Man, my kielbasa really hurts... wait, I don't think that's the Spanish word for head" (The correct Spanish word for head is cabeza). It was hard for the team members to say goodbye to their host families that had been so generous and loving to complete strangers. After our goodbyes the groups met together once again for a delicious Dominican breakfast under our little backyard cabana. While we ate, a devotional was shared from James 2 and Philippians 1. The topics where faith and joy; something we all could use a little practice on. We then gathered into small groups and spent some time praying for our day and thanking God for the things he had/was/would be doing in our lives.

The destination for our outpatient medical clinic and outreach was in the farming community of La Colonia. It had rained quite a bit the night before so the roads were quite wet and muddy. I suppose now would be a good time to briefly describe the road conditions to you... rough! The blacktop on the roads had recently been taken off by government officials, they told the people that their roads would be repaved if they voted for a certain political party. However, after enough votes were collected the officials reneged on their promise and the roads remain unpaved. As we made our way through the mountainous countryside we came upon a river. The caravan suddenly stopped and a group gathered at the riverbank. Due to the large amounts of rain water from the previous few days half of the bridge crossing the river collapsed and now lay in shambles; impassable for any vehicle larger than a motorcycle.

Without hesitation the team members sprange into civil engineering mode. Some cuffed up their pants and waded into the river searching for large stones to repair the bridge. Others formed a line to pass rocks to the needed bridge. Within a half hour we'd collected enough stones that the collapsed portion of the bridge was now stable enough for our vehicles to cross. With a quick prayer and a "pedal to the metal" the truck and van managed the bridge and kept sliding up the muddy hill on the other side. Cheers went up as the team members crawled into vehicles and continued on our way without any trouble (apart from our muddy shoes and wet scrubs).

We set up camp for the clinic very similar to the day before. Things went even smoother than Monday and everyone was able to operate efficiently without any major problems. We were able to see 138 patients and had the opportunity to share the gospel with each of them. It was incredibly encouraging to see the team work together so well and we were even able to share a drama with the patients while they waited for their prescriptions to be filled. Later, we found out that we had been the first group to come into that community since the roads had been torn up. We also heard that several families walked 2.5hrs., crossing rivers, and grinding their way through the mud in order to make it to the clinic. We were greatly encouraged to help the community and bring the gospel message via Pastor Morales to those who were lost. We raced to finish filling all the scripts and pack up before the next storm approached. We made it just in time. Once everyone had loaded into vehicles the downpour came. It literally rained "gatos y perros" or "cats and dogs" in English. Those treated with the privilege of riding in the back of the pick-up truck soaked. Since it was my birthday, one of the translators gave me the privilege of riding back to town on his motorcycle. Under normal circumstances this would have been a fun and relatively safe experience. However, due to the massive amounts of flood water and puddles up to your knees this was neither a normal nor safe experience... but it was still an experience fishtailing on the back of a motorcycle, soaked, muddy, and praying for safety!

Once we made it safely back to El Cercado, the group changed out of their wet cloths, gathered around for dinner, and enjoyed a spirited conversation and time of fellowship with one another. Shortly after we packed onto our bus and headed 1.5 hrs back to San Juan. Flooded streets and washouts were seen as we passed through the various villages on our way.

For the most part everyone crashed as soon as they sat down on the bus. It was funny to see an entire bus full of people so exhausted. Even more funny was asking that the heat be turned on in the bus as wet passengers felt cold. Once in San Juan the group chilled out at the guesthouse for the rest of the evening. Most of the team members enjoyed a long awaited shower since that hadn't had one since Sunday.

More to come tomorrow. There's always hope that we'll be able to catch up to present time and day on the blog by then. God has been working in our group and we pray that we will continue to be observant and watchful for his leading. Tonight the group shared their dramas in another local church but more about that later. Everyone has been pretty tired here, so it was really great to hear the group break out into hysterics when Daniel and I practiced our "little Nemo" skit for tomorrow's outreach. We're presenting the story of Zacchaeus by doing a skit were one guy plays the hands of a short person while the other uses his hands as the feet. We present the story the three days and we pray it goes well. The sewing of the sheets for the background of the skit was done by Sam before coming on the trip. While in country, Claire, Mary and Peter painted a sweet-looking tree on it to make it look as if Zacchaeus was up in the perch, looking for Jesus. So many talented folks collaborating for the cause. How great is that???

Prayer Requests:

-Continued health and safety
-Rest and energy for those who are physically drained
-Spiritual renewal in the midst of very busy and stressful living
-Spiritual awakening for those we come into contact with who don't know Jesus as Lord & Savior
-Protection as we work in a ghetto tomorrow with children. AIDS+ HIV are very prevalent.
-Cooperation and a smooth outreach as we work with very rowdy kids
-Patience among group members and a lack of gossip

Peter (for the team)