***NO PICTURES WILL BE POSTED AT THIS TIME*******

After breakfast and devotionals we loaded the bus with various sized clothing, shoes, socks and baby products. Then we loaded the individual bags of food we purchased for the families at the Jumbo. The bags consisted of cooking oil, rice, beans, two cans of tuna, coffee, salt and some seasoning. We purchased 50 bags, which means 50 of the 100 families will receive food.

It’s not easy to see the conditions of the villages. The homes are falling apart, the roads are filled with debris and there are variations of poverty within the families of the villages. Some kids walk around bare foot and in dirty worn clothes and others are more fortunate.

When we arrived the people gathered around the bus, to many it is another night’s meal. We unloaded the food bags into the church and we took our baseball gear out to a baseball field that was probably made when resources were better. We mixed the teams up which was a good idea; the Dominicans are exceptional baseball players. :- )

One of the members of our team is a school nurse; she has been such a blessing to the team. Today, she had opportunities to mend and dress a few wounds that were badly infected and in need of care. One gentleman had a huge gash on his finger from a Machete (long knife used for cutting vegetation). It's amazing how God puts a team together, people with different skill sets and talents.

When we were done playing, we gathered the team in the church for food distribution. We shared a Gospel message with the families and encouraged them in the Lord and the food was distributed. There is a method they use for handing out the food. A ticket is given to each family and the numbers are called and they turn it in for a bag of food. The families that don’t receive will have to wait till another team returns with food to receive a ticket. This can often cause disappointment and disagreement, but the local pastor and the SCORE missionaries will mediate between the families.

Although we only had enough food for 50 families, we also had 16 extra bags of beans, a bag full of shorts, shirts, socks, shoes and baby clothes and products. This was dispersed to the families that did not receive food, so that everyone was able to receive something.

We said our good-byes to the village and headed back to SCORE for lunch. Then we were off to Jackie’s House. Jackie’s House is a home for children whose mothers are street walkers. Women who were ready to abort and Jackie offers to take the children and care for them, among them are four disabled in wheelchairs.

The house is very narrow and the general visiting room is 10’ x 8’ wide, which made it very challenging for the team to play with the 40 children living there. We were very impressed with the bible verses they recited from memory. The team performed a puppet show and about 22 of the children stood up after to pray. They returned the favor by dancing and singing in English. We spent the rest of the time making balloon animals and paper bag puppets, distributing verse bracelets, fish necklaces and cross stickers.  

What really made an impression was Israel, a 13 year old wheelchair bound boy who prayed for the team before we left. His prayer was heart felt. He had told one of the team members that he is praying about becoming an evangelist. Israel is in charge of teaching all the bible verses to the children…He was such a blessing. It’s amazing to see what the Lord does on the inside, even when we are limited on the outside..

Psalm 139:14- “I will praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made..”

Tomorrow we are going to the capital to visit the Conani Orphanage for severely handicapped children.