On to Sierra Prieta

Loading up at the FH offive

We woke up this morning thankful for things that daily we take for granted.  Comfortable bed, interrupted sleep and a shower. It was a great blessing to be refreshed after travels but we all looked forward with anticipation to returning to Sierra Prieta.

We headed to the FH national office for some planning and to pick-up our translators.  Johnathan was headed to pick up another team so we said farewell to him and headed out with Nathan and Heidy.  Nathan is a missionary in the Dominican Republic. His wife is expecting their first child in the next 4 weeks.  Heidy is between medical school and her residency and often translates for FH teams. 

The home We are staying in.

We arrived in the community to find that we were staying in new accommodations.  Jacoba has moved all of her furniture out of her house to allow us to stay there.  We have 2 bedrooms with 4 each and another couple guys in the main room.  All the cooking is happening in her kitchen where they have moved in a large gas range and lots of ice and coolers.  We are so grateful for her generosity. Electricity is sparse here this week we’ll hope we can keep the computer charged for the blog.  Internet is consistent so we expect the blog to be able. 

Touring the community

Once we got here unpacked a bit and had lunch we took a short walk to visit some friends in the community.  The lunch was a great meal of pork chops, yellow rice with corn and salad.  We were joined by lots of kids, many of them familiar faces as we walked stopped by a few places to say hello.  It was a blessing to see old friends.

In the late afternoon we had a welcome ceremony with the community where local leader, and pastors welcomed us and the kids from FH’s Amo Program sang a song for us.  They all continue to tell us they want us to feel like this is our home and we are part of their family.  It is encouraging to be so welcomed. 

Community members at the Welcome Ceremony

Tomorrow we are looking forward to lots of activities.  We’ll split up in the morning and some will do impromptu home visits and the rest will be working on the construction of the community center.  In the afternoon Dan and Lisa will be hosting a Forum for parents and caregivers of Special Needs Children.  Others will visit their sponsored children.  Then we’ll have VBS after the kids are out of school.

Thank you for your prayers.

The Amo Program Kids singing at the Welcome Ceremony