Sunday, February 23, 2014

Yesterday, our group of 15 arrived at the airport on a school bus from Kitchener.  Bea & I met the bus at the 401 Park & Ride.  The check-in went smoothly except that 4 hockey bags of supplies (of 30) nearly went to the DR via Winnipeg.   Luckily the attendant noticed the anomaly and corrected it.

Journey 2014 Team Members
at Pearson Airport in Toronto

We were wearing our Journey 2014 T-shirts In the waiting area and became the focus of many inquiries about our work.  A group of 6 from Sault St Marie was heading to the DR to work in a village about an hour and a half from Puerto Plata.  I spent a long time chatting with Dominic, a contractor from Montreal, who travels frequently to the DR to work independently with poor people in a village.

Marlene, Margaret, Marliese & Uli 

Our flight, which left 20 minutes late, was a bit bumpy in spots but was otherwise great.  A fellow in the seat behind us on the plane was another humanitarian who has paid for and helped build a house and is coming down to start his second.  Bea was talking with one of the flight attendants who said that she knows several WestJet employees who also do volunteer work in the DR.  

Phil Williams of Servant’s Heart Ministries
Securing the 30 Hockey Bags to his Truck

 This morning (Sunday) we went to a church service at Templo Bibilico, where we were enthusiastically welcomed.   They remembered many of us from our work there the last 2 years.  We were all introduced by name and later in the service we sang a couple of songs for them.  We were treated to juice and snacks afterwards.

The Team is Treated to Juice and Cookies 

In the afternoon we drove to Loma de Los Chivos (Goat Hill) to visit Maria and her family, for whom we sponsored and helped to build a house last year.  She and her family were thrilled to see us.  Maria gave us a tour to show all that she has done to make a home for herself and her children.  The children all looked so healthy compared to last year. 

Maria Gives the Team a Tour of Her Home

We then visited Victoria, for whom we are sponsoring a house this year.   Her old house, all but the kitchen, has been torn down and the new foundation is poured.  We will return on Saturday for the dedication, when the walls and roof should be up!

Victoria is standing beside the remains of her former house.  The foundation for her new house has been poured.  She is living in the tin shack, which is actually her kitchen.