Let it Rain!!!!

In the time we are here, we want to be students of the culture here. We believe that understand the culture will help us know how to minister. One VERY small part of this is learning how to live.

Water isn’t always available in the Dominican Republic. The city of Jarabacoa rations water. Our house receives water every other night for about 10 hours. Across the street, the homes receive water every other day for the entire day (sometimes the grass is greener on the other side of the street!). We have a cistern (large water container in the ground) and a tinaco (smaller water container on the roof of our house). Our house does not have a well so we are dependent on the city’s water to fill our cistern and tinaco.

To have water, we need to use the same or less water than what is received every other day. If possible, it is best to save the water in the tinaco as it is there for when we do not have any electricity. Electricity is needed to run the pump to move the water from the cistern into our house and the tinaco empties into the house using gravity.

The result is: we are learning to conserve water. The following is a list of things that have become a regular part of life here. If you have more suggestions…please send them.

Our effort to Conserve Water

1. I have always heard, taking a shower uses a lot of water. Instead of showing, take a sponge or bucket bath. This does not mean you get more than one bucket for your bath. In fact, with “skill and planning” you can use only a third of a bucket. Maybe more experienced missionaries can use even less. Of course, when it rains, you can wash up using the water from the roof (as Ben and Luis demonstrate).
2. Laundry uses a lot of water. So don’t do laundry! Well, at least for a few days. Hand washing clothes can save water (use buckets and don’t let the water run). When we feel we have enough water to use the washing machine, save the rinse water for the next load.
3. Fill a tub of water in the kitchen and use it for pre-washing you dishes. Pre-washing dishes is particularly import in the Dominican Republic because if you leave dishes with food on them, uninvited guests (insects and possibly rodents) will come and help clean off your plates for you. And then you get to clean up after them. The good thing is, they use little water.
4. Keep about two inches of water in your bathroom sinks to use for washing hands. This is much better then, letting the water run.
5. Go to the river to cool off. We have only done this a few times. But some days, when living in a different house that had much more water, we took 3 showers a day, just to cool off. Well, those days are gone.
6. As used to be said when Rick was at a boys camp growing up… “If it is yellow, let it mellow. If it is brown, flush it down.” [Ah, the memories of camp] Yup, the toilet is a place where a lot of water is used quickly. Within reason, try to flush less. Add bleach as needed.
7. Place rocks in the toilet’s resevior. This way, less water is used per flush.
8. Catch water off the roof when it rains and divert it into your cistern.
9. Make friends with people who have wells. One day, when we had just a few inches of water left, I saw our neighbor out with her hose watering the grass and flowers. Our need and her abundance, was quite a contrast (humm…possible sermon illustration). That same neighbor gave us a bunch of water.

Dealing with a lack of water, was not something we thought we would have to deal with when we came here. But it is a reality of living here. And while it can be really frustrating, it has created a great venue for talking with each of my neighbors. All of them know and understand the problem. It has been a regular part of their life for years. And now, we get are part of the club.

Some Blessings....

It seems our first month has been stressful. This we expected, but it hasn't been as fun as our first month in Guatemala. Probably we have forgotten some of the stress of our arrival in Guatemala. Also we felt like tourists at first in Antigua, a tourist town, whereas Jarabacoa feels more like home since we have been here so many times.

Since our arrival we have met many neat people and are getting to know those we have worked with over the last 10 years better. We couldn't have made it through our first month without the help of the Dominicans and missionaries at church. We want to share some of the blessings since our arrival.

First, we are so happy to worship at Iglesia Nueva Vida. Everyone has been welcoming and helpful. Since our last visit in 2005, they have started adult Sunday School in the morning and we love this more informal teaching time. There seems to be a great spirit among the members. All the lay preachers who go to the church plants are preaching through John together. This lends continuity to the church plants and allows for guidance in their study of the Bible as the text is discussed at Wednesday night prayer meeting.

Second, we visited the kid's school, Doulos Discovery School. Ben and Elena met their teachers and saw their classrooms. The school has a great soccer program and Ben will attend soccer camp there in July. Elena is not too thrilled about the prospect of going to this big place for school, but her teacher connected with her by sharing that when she was about Elena's age, she moved to a new country too and knows just how hard it can be. She also asked Elena to be her English helper since kindergarten is immersion English for the Dominican kids.

Third, Rick is a master driver (even though he recently got stuck in a river). He can find his way to just about anywhere. I, Becky, am still trying to figure out how the different sections of town fit together. I have mastered driving to the grocery store and know how to get to about four or five people's homes, the church and school.

Renting a House

Since we arrived a month ago we have been on the hunt for a house to rent. The process is a bit differnt here....like so many things. The day after we arrived, Bill Hansen took us to look at a beautiful house that was rented by missionaries who were leaving the field. The price was great, the house was great, but it was out of town and this would be a problem for ministry. It was also a security concern because there were few neighbors. But we bought some appliances from them!

To find a house to look at we put the word out to the Dominicans at church and every missionary we knew or met. We are looking for a three bedroom house in town with a little bit of yard. We also drove around and looked for "se vende" (for sale) signs and vacant homes. We asked people in the neighborhood about the houses and got the following types of responses: they only rent for weekends, no that house actually isn't finished, the owner is in capital and comes here on weekends, etc. We were hoping to find houses that might be rentable since selling a house is usually wishful thinking on the part of the owners. We looked at a lot of houses and usually heard a high rental price which was very negotiable.

We gave each house a nickname since houses don't have addresses, some streets don't have names, and most houses are white. Just for your entertainment we will list some of them:

The Circle house. So named because is has a circular staircase in the middle of the house to the second floor. All the rooms are off this hub. We nixed it because it came with a live-in caretaker family and the owner only wanted to rent it for weekends.

The Garden House. This house had fabulous grounds, but the house was really old and, well, unlivable. But the owner did a nice job pumping up the features, all outside the house. We could have owned a horse and dogs since it had a horse shack and kennels. The grounds were beautiful and extensive and therefore very expensive to maintain.

The Mansion. Just for kicks Rick looked at a house behind the camp where our teams stay. It was huge, two stories, 5 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms. It also had a huge price and we would feel ridiculous living there in this country.

The Cristo Rey house. This house was the first house that we looked at the was a real possibility. It's name comes from the fact that it you turn off the main road at the Cristo Rey Pharmacy. However, it would have needed a lot of TLC for it to feel like home. The agent who showed it to us promised that everything would be fixed up if we wanted it. Even though we had only been here a week, we knew better.

There were others we looked at, or tried to look at like the Chalet, the Hanson's neighbor's house, the Postage stamp house, but let's move on to the two houses we are praying about. Both houses are three bedrooms with two bathrooms and have cisterns, water pumps, roof water tanks, and water heaters. Both are relatively new which hopefully means fewer plumbing, electrical, and leakage issues. Both are currenlty rented by missionaries, so we have gotten the run down on the neighborhoods and the houses' quirks.

The house in Medina: This is a newer three bedroom house. It has some pluses like a back patio area, stairs to the roof, and a double car port. We have negotiated a price with the landlady, but want her to install barred doors on the entrances. We are a bit concerned about the area as other Americans who have lived in this area moved out because it is so noisy.

The house on the hill, also known by our kids as the house with the giant dog. It is closer to the camp where teams will stay and near a couple families in our church. It is said to be a better neighborhood. It has a huge backyard. This is a bonus for soccer-loving Ben, but an extra expense in lawncare. It lacks a few things, like a good laundry area. But it has barred doors. This house we have been praying about since we first looked at it in May, but thought it wouldn't be available till the end of July so we wrote it off. It will now be available at the end of June. We are negotiating a price with the landlady. This house has a giant dog which we could adopt, but it is Fila Brasilera and we don't think this is the breed for us. It is a great guard dog as it scares the daylights out of strangers even though it just lays in the driveway most of the time.

Please pray for God's direction about which house to rent. We are anxious to get settled, but know that a good living situation is essential for our family life.

Life is just a Chair of Bowlies

We are learning the life in the Dominican Republic is a series of problem-solving challenges. Our new motto is "If it's not one thing, it's another." We choose to have a good attitude of about the curve balls most of the time. As we look for help from our Dominican friends and our missionary friends, we get smiles and nods from them as we share our most recent adventures in learning to live here.

Tuesday we moved for the third time in the last month since we have not rented a house yet. (See another entry about this). We are house sitting for some missionaries who have returned to the states for a while. We are so thankful for this as it is a roomy three bedroom house and near our friends Grace and Maria Jose. However, we were hit with a common problem here soon after we moved in: no water!

Water, water, everywhere and not a drop to drink! When we arrived at the house we had water, but no power. 6 hours later the power returned, but then we had no water. What is going on? Here's a little education for you North Americans: If your house is on city water, that means that the city gives you water one to three times per week. Many houses have cisterns to collect this water so they have running water all week. This requires a pump to then bring the water into the house or, if you are so fortunate, to pump the water up to a huge black water tank on the roof so you have water even when there is no electricity. This house has all three components. In fact it even has a small water heater, a true luxury. Yet in the midst of a deluge of rain outside, we had dry faucets.

Add to the mix that I, Becky, was foolhardy enough to try to do a load of laundry in the afternoon when it is most likely that the power would go out and it would rain. The load made it through the wash cycle but no further. I hung soapy clothes up to dry so they didn't mildew.

In the midst of the deluge, power outage and water strike, a missionary friend stopped by to see if he could help us get the internet working. Since the power outage made this impossible, he gave Rick a lesson in Dominican water supply. When the power came back on late in the evening, Rick checked on the things our friend suggested, but the problem remained a mystery so he dipped buckets of water from the cistern for the house.

The next morning Rick went to the school where this missionary works and brought back the maintence man who was happy to assist. However, he ran into a problem. The water pump is locked up to prevent theft, but we didn't have the keys. Hmmm, you see, if it's not one thing its another. We agreed that the best solution would be to break the lock and put a new one on. He returned later that day and got the water restored. YAYAYAY!

For us newbies this felt like a major crisis, but to experienced missionaries here this is just a bump in the road. For Dominicans, it's all in a day's work. We have so much to learn! Just getting everyday life accomplished takes a lot of time and energy.

The Burglary and The SUV

Monday, May 28, some time while we were out of the house it was broken into. Unfortunately we had a large amount of money and this was taken. Nothing else was touched. The passports, laptop, camera, etc were all there. Most often burglars ransack the house for valuables. We didn't realize the money was missing until the evening when Rick went to get it out in preparation for the next morning when he was going to Santiago with a missionary to purchase an SUV.

We are devastated and have shed many tears of anguish during the night. As is natural we have done the "I wish I would have...." But the fact is this has happened and God is sovereign and loving throughout it all. We are thankful that nothing else was taken and that we were not physically accosted. However, as anyone who has been robbed knows, we feel violated and vulnerable.

Here are some added details. We have been living in a house rented by Kids Alive which they use for teams to stay. They have never had a break-in during the few years they have had the house. The house is quite secure and we were vigilant about locking everything up as break-ins do happen here and foreigners, especially new ones, are easy targets.

Why so much cash in the house? We actually got the cash on Saturday and drove immediately to the dealer with our missionary friend. However we found the vehicle (a 10 year old Toyota 4Runner) to have some minor problems that we wanted the dealer to fix. So we put some money down and agreed to return Tuesday to pay the rest if the repairs had been done.

The money changer we use is very reputable and is used frequently by the missions here to change large amounts of cash into Dominican pesos. We could have been watched, but did not return home with the money directly. Who else knew we had so much money? Our missionary friend, the car dealer in Santiago. Of course, if we were being watched and did not return with a car, someone might guess we still had the money.

We need your prayers at this time as we are jolted by this event. On the advise of our Dominican church member, we have chosen to involve the police. If the police are not involved in the crime, they can be of some help. The police indicated there have been several other robberies in the area. Pray for us in this as the police are corrupt in general and involving them does not add a sense of security.

The purchase of our vehicle is on hold at this point. We called the dealer and told them we could not come today. We need some time to decide what to do. We do not have money to complete the deal and may need to get our down payment back. The money we had to purchase a vehicle was not from support we have raised. It was the money from the sale of our two vehicles in Minnesota.

This leaves us in a difficult spot and we are trusting God that He will provide transportation for us. Because of the terrain and poor road conditions, the work we have come to do is nearly impossible without a hefty four-wheel vehicle. Last week we visited one of the church plants and after we left the paved road drove for some time on muddy dirt road, then forded a river, drove through a rock field, and finally back on steep muddy roads again. (This is Boma for those of you have been to the DR).

Late last night, or early this morning, we remembered some of the words of a dear friend who is now with the Lord. Those who are from Calvary EFC may remember Tammy Orth saying "When adversity enters your life, you can rest in the fact that it has first been filtered through the sovereign hands of God. And those are fingers of love, because God is love." We are so thankful for this reminder. Also, we are well aware that it could be much much worse and we thank God that only money was taken.

Please pray for us. Emotionally we struggle. Pray for our need of transportation. Currently we are renting a car and will continue to do so until we can work out a plan to purchase one.

As we know you will pray, thank you for your prayers.

Update:
What you just read was an email we sent out. Many people responded and asked how they can help. We then sent out information for how to give so we can get a car. In just 3 days, we received pledges for over the amount that had been taken. We now have bought a car - different form the Toyota 4Runner that we had talked about in an ealier post (that is another story). We now own a Susuki Grand Vitara XL7 (pictured above). We feel that it is God's car. Earlier in the week, we were overwhelmed with the loss and wondering how would could buy a vehicle and now, we are overwhelmed with God and His provision.

Praise be to God!