May 2, 2016

This morning started earlier than yesterday after a good night, (though hot) night’s sleep. Seven women in one room with one bathroom! Eight men sharing two others. We are getting good practice in sharing, taking turns—deferring to one another. These lessons are part of the experience here too. We’re doing great! God is knitting our hearts together as a team, learning more of each other’s stories, even as we serve side by side.

We’d planned on exchanging our American money for pesos before heading out to Palo Blanco to work,   but we didn’t realize that due to the holiday today (We’re told it is the equivalent of Labor Day) the money exchange would be closed. So we simply headed out to Palo Blanco instead. We met Derrick and Katie and Jan there and after showing us around (there are 8 new people on the trip) we all settled in to our jobs.

God is doing amazing things at Palo Blanco. Derrick and Katie have worked hard and there is an extensive aquaponics project under way (It is massive—the largest in the Dominican.) It’s exciting to see the fruit of their labor and to have the opportunity to pitch in. (If you are unfamiliar with what that entails, take a few minutes and look it up.) In a symbiotic relationship between vegetables and fish, they are growing lettuce, peppers and tomatoes on the rooftop of the school and raising tilapia in huge cement tanks at the front of the school. For the first time the kids at Palo Blanco are getting fresh vegetables (and very soon fresh fish) to eat on a regular basis!  They hope to provide enough for the other schools too. The fish will also serve as a way to raise money for the school when they make them available for purchase.  Since it was a holiday there were no kids at the school, so our team kept to our tasks and accomplished a lot!

(Aquaponics at Palo Blanco)

 

We all split up. Verray, Erin and Catherine planted lots of lettuce on the rooftop (with some late afternoon assistance from Rose after she finished covering books for Jan.) Tyler, Chris Russell, Luke Rachel and Lynette helped to drain the huge fish tank (with Katie and Derrick) and transfer and count the tilapia. (Keith was there to count every fish that got tossed into the new tank!) They became fish herders! I wish you could have seen them wading in that fish tank, dragging the nets as the tilapia started jumping! Chris Bennett, Steve and Duane worked on the construction of walls for some new classrooms to accommodate the extra children in this growing school. Chris Wert took great care of Derrick and Katie’s three kids who obviously adore her!

(Chris W with Ellie, Beckham, and Bria - the Allen children.)

 

(Luke and Lynnette trying to catch fish with a net. It didn't work! Lynnette, Chris R and Tyler had to get in the pond with nets!)

(Fish herding!)

                                                  (Duane and Steve building the new classrooms.)

We left there tired, a little fishy, but happy. We let the “fishy” people shower first since they didn’t smell very good. When we got home, the team house smelled great. Yes, Carmen was here and had cooked a great meal as usual.

 God is good! This is the gospel! It is being walked out in sweat, in vegetables and fish and love, in laughter and tenderhearted goodness with plain ole ordinary people. It’s been a good day.