Remembering Dominican Republic

Find Ryan and Rob McBride,  Gene and Bonnie Albert,
Francesca Pupillo, Robert Kitridge, and Mackenzie Trott

We received a wonderful newsletter from our Missionary Ardelle Graner this morning.   Ardelle and her husband Gordon are serving in Dominican Republic.   We were blessed to have them visit our congregation in the fall of  2014 and then we had a team of "missionaries" serve in Dominican Republic in June of 2015.  (see the photo) 

In her newsletter she tells an amazing story of giving and compassion.  I hope you will read her newsletter (here's a link)...it is a fast read and ever so humbling.   We are so blessed in comparison to about 90% of the world's population.  So for those that have so much, what does Jesus say to us?   Check Luke 6:38. 

 

We have just completed our pledge commitment to support our church with our prayers, our gifts, and our service.  Our pledge dollars are stretched to the max these days.  Simply stated, we are not getting enough money into our church to cover the expenses. One way we are maintaining is to not pay our connectional tithe.   We have been doing this for about 4 years.   As long as we've been in this church, we have never had a 4 year period of time in which this church did not pay their tithe (or apportionment).  As a Global Church, it is important to support the connection... by paying what is expected from each of us, a tithe.

 

This past Sunday every member family and every individual was invited to share a part of what God has given them.  What if all giving units would give at least 5% of their income (Biblically we are expected to give back 10%)?  (Good illustration was given on Sunday through the children's sermon... thanks Sarah Black.)  How would this impact the day to day life of our church?  What ministries within the neighborhood would be expanded?   What might the trustees do to get our building in tiptop shape?  How about bumping up the part-time staff to fulltime?  Come on... let's dream big.    What would be possible if we gave as Jesus taught?  

Now back to Dominican Republic.  Ardell's taxi driver demonstrated giving out of what little he had.   How will we give out of the abundance that we have? 

   

Thank you from the Graners

Dining hall at Monte Rojo.   Gordon (right front) and Rigoberto (left front) get
a bit of rest before the main meal of the day is served.  Feeding a team means
many others also eat that day.   All the cooks and workers plus families joined
us under the shelter of the dining area for a delicious meal. 



A VIM experience is like hiking up a mountain for the first time, exhilarating and exhausting.  We all deserve some moments of rest and reflection to enjoy the sense of having done something special, sometimes called co-creating with God.  We have given and received of the abundant life that Jesus came to help us find.  This climate helps us to rediscover how vital is the cold cup of water from which we drank together.  Blessed is he or she who puts ice in the water jug!

We thank you for coming to share your lives with us, for your time, your energy, your resources, your fully human and spiritual selves.  Thank you Bonnie, Gene, Taylor, Bud, Elijah, Robert K., Ryan, Robert M., Francesca, Ian, Mackenzie, and Collin and to all your churches, families, and friends that supported you and sent you to us.  



Ardell Graner listens intently to a child during story time.  Note the open
suitcases which were taken to and from the worksite each day carrying
the needed supplies for the day.  

I love the theology of storing up treasures in heaven.  Memories, stories, new friendships, gratitude, and grace are what remain now in a safe place never to be lost or taken away, maybe in a heavenly cigar box labeled Monte Rojo.  

Blessings to all of you as you resume your various activities and pursuits.  Take some time to reflect and remember what happened to you here.  Share your stories with those who are ready to listen, just a little at a time (like Kenia's hot sauce).  Learn Spanish!!!  Give away your abundant life there, like you did here.  Go to church, an imperfect institution but still a good place to remember that God is always with you and a good time to thank God for all things, including beans and rice.

Until we meet again,  Gordon and Louisa (Ardell)    (Dominicans had trouble saying her name so she selected another name.)

 

Play day...

Today we are packing up and moving to another hotel. Long story short, our change in plans did not fit the current hotels guest list. No problem. It gave all of us an opportunity to get our stuff together and be packed for heading to the airport early on Sunday. Today we will take a boat ride to an island off the coast of the peninsula and enjoy the beach and the tourist side of Dominican Republic. But before we go, we are taking our luggage to the other hotel where the steps up (each step was a different height) to the door are serious so we are earning our day off!

Samana Backpacker's Hostel

The move to the second hotel was successful.   However we sure missed the comforts of Samana Springs and its wifi.   At the new Samana Backpacker's Hostel, we had a bit of access to AC between 8:00 pm and 8:00 a.m, no real windows, just metal shutters and lots of open spaces,   It really helped us to prepare for returning home.  

 

After the move we went to marine area, caught a boat to an island and we spent the next 5 hours drenched in sun.   We were so thankful for plenty of sun screen and the palm trees.   Nice day at the beach and it wasn't over crowded.   We had a lovely buffet lunch.   It was noted by all that the meals we had at Monte Rojo and San Pedro were of equal if not higher caliber.   Home cooking is always the best. 



The buffet line at the beach.   Nice way to get nourishment without sand!!



There were more palm trees than this but couldn't locate the photo. 

 

Two-thirds of our team loved the water.   The 1/3 just liked find a place to stay
cool and enjoy the view. 

 

After night's sleep (note I didn't say a good night's sleep) we boarded a bus after loading a little pull along trailer to handle the luggage and headed to the airport.   Our transportation from Samana to home for most of us was about 16 hours.  

 

Where did the week go?

Here we are at the end of day 6. We spent 3 days at the Monte Rojo church doing two sessions of Bible School each day. Whew!!!! The guys...Bud Edholm, Rob Kittridge, Gene Albert and Missionary Gordon Graner walked 1/2 mile down the road each morning to paint the parsonage, back up the road for lunch and sometimes a siesta, then back for painting and drag back up the Hill to catch the safari truck back to town. That was a five day routine with the exception of Friday. No work. We had a presentation to make to the church as our team brought two sets of communion stainless plates and tiny cups.


Gordon translate for Pastor Freddie regarding the love gift
of the 2 sets of communion serving pieces in appreciation
for the hospitality, great food and loving welcome our
team experienced. 

We were invited to an unfinished lodge in the area, of course up a steep drive, to enjoy an amazing view of the Atlantic Ocean. Some good selfies were taken. Then back down the bumpy road to the church for a farewell dance. And dance it was. In the hot sun continuous motion for an hour and a half.  The entire community had come to say goodbye. Even the local church members who had been painting with our guys all week went home and cleaned to come to the dance.  Video did get attached but not exactly in the place I wanted it!!!

The served us some homemade bread and 7-up as we departed for the last time. For Thursday and Friday the VBS team had sessions each morning one at a Chapel outside of Samana and another Chapel beyond Monte Rojo.  The pastor of Monte Rojo is also responsible for several Chapels. These are new church plants and children's education is one of things parishioners provide weekly. We had lots of fun with about 190 children throughout the week. We are coming home tired but lifted high from the hospitality of the community of Monte Rojo. I think we may have break tradition and plan to return in 2016. We now have a family waiting to see us and we are anxious to be with them.

We've had such a wonderful team. I hope that we can find an opportunity to share with the church what we have experienced here in Dominican Rebublic. Please ask our youth Francesca Pupilla, Mackenzie Trott, Rob McBride, Ryan McBride, and Robert Kittridge for a 90 second sound bite about their mission journey.

Day 1 and 2 in Dominican Republic

Other than being totally frustrated with blogger and Apple in terms of getting photos loaded, everything is perfect. Great food, beautiful scenery, warm welcome from our hosts, and lots of sunshine. Day 1. We had children. ... About 100 of them for the day. The big activity for our 1st VBS craft was to personalize the little backpacks that Julia young and the Good Samaritan Sewing Circle made were a big hit.

The Monte Rojo children decorated about 100 bags. The story to go with the backpack was the story of Ruth. A story of real friendship and Ruth might have needed a backpack as she traveled from Moab back to  Bethlehem, We had the kids act out the story as it was told. When Emelich died, we had one little one cry so hard her sister helped her leave. She was back today and all was well.

The highlight today was sending Elijah back to the hotel for more supplies ... On a motorbike.  We hired a driver (of a motorbike) and off to Samana Elijah went. Glad to see him coming up the dirt road. 

 

Day 2 another fun day... Guys (Gene, Rob Bob, Bud and Gordon) really threw on paint today.   More church people came to help out.  

Gene is moving the ladder.  



Gordon (our missionaries husband) and Gene posing for a photo opportunity!

Rob Bob is smoothing out the wall with a stone on the first morning.
They were happy to see the paint arrive. 

The team arrived safely....

We were able to check in to our hotel just before dinner.  The day has been filled with travel experiences beginning at 3:30 am with a quick visit to Dunkin' Donut and ending with a walk to the beach or the ice cream store.

Breakfast and dinner was provided by the women of San Pedro church.  Always
good.  Not one person ever missed a meal. 

A close up of what all was in those bags.  160 backpacks, paint supplies for painting the parsonage
crayons, markers, cardstock, coloring pages,  2 complete communion sets, 2 parachutes, soccer ball,
school notebooks, kids scissors, 3 heavy suitcases with scrap fabric, wet wipes, pens, pencils, and more

This had to be removed before Gene could sleep. 

The amazing thing is we arrived with all of the luggage.  15 pieces of checked luggage and 4 carrying as well as at least10 backpacks and one heavy thing that carries everything!  We were met at the airport by Miguel Cancu who is the "Bishop" of Dominican Republic and Rigoberto who helps us with the logistics.  Missionaries Ardell and Gordon Graner will join us tomorrow as the are just returning to the DR from being in the US following the death of Gordon's mother.
Blogger and the iPad are testing me as usual but I'm determined to give a report of the day.
On the 3 hour ride to Samana we were able to travel a reality elf new highway past farms, lots of rice paddies, and just plan lush country.  It was rather cloudy today so th photos out the bus window left a lot to the imagination.  The temperature when we landed at 3:00 was 90 degrees.  Very humid.  A slight breeze was welcome at out semi-outdoor dining area.  Air conditioning has put Gene to sleep rather early.  (9:00 pm). Oh, our time zone is Eastern time.

Dominican Republic ... here we come.

Our team is back up to 12 as of two hours ago.   We are blessed with the ingenuity and perseverance of Mackenzie Trott to in about 72 hours find a way to get a passport so that she can join the team.   It meant a long drive to Detroit, MI for a 9:30 a.m. appointment but by mid afternoon on the 9th, she has a passport in hand and is on her way home.
I have already packed 3 suitcases with fabric scraps and VBS supplies.  We have another suitcase coming from the east side of the state with more fabric scraps, new scissors, needles, and thread.   These will all be such a blessing to the projects that are being readied for the women of Dominican Republic under the direction of Ardell Graner.
I'm hoping to be able to do a bit of posting on this blog while we are gone.  As you know it will depend upon the internet connections.
Itinerary for our time in DR is as follows:
June 12     Gather at the O'Hare Inn and Suites for a team meeting and quick sleep.
June 13     Depart for Santo Domingo at 6:15 a.m. arriving before 3:00 p.m. via Miami.  We will be met at the airport by the "Bishop" of Dominican Republic and he will accompany us to Samana and the Samana Springs Hotel.
June 14     Worship with the church at Monte Rojo.  Afternoon, spend time with Bishop and Graners in orientation.  We will have lunch at Monte Rojo church.  Our breakfast and dinners will be at the San Pedro church which is located just one block from the Hotel.
June 15 - 19   Spending time with the children of Monte Rojo church and working on the parsonage for the pastor there.
June 20    Excursion... Not exactly sure what we will be doing but for sure we will visit on of the lovely Dominican beaches.  
June 21    Depart at 1:20 p.m. to arrive in Chicago at 9:00 p.m. ... again via Miami. 

Team members for your prayer list:
Bonnie and Gene Albert  (The two nutty people who pull this together on the even years. Looking forward to getting better acquainted with the work of Ardell Graner,our missionary and the people of Dominican Republic.)
Taylor Albert (Tarik's daughter and she is language ready for this one.   She's been practicing her Spanish for this trip.   We are counting on her to help us converse with the children.)
Robert Kittridge     (New to our mission teams.   Looking forward to getting to know him better.  His father in-law Bruce Smith will surely be pleased and interested.)
Francesca Pupillo  (New to the mission team.. ASP was her stepping stone and she's ready to go internationally.)
Mackenzie Trott    (New to the mission team...especially internationally but very excited to go.)
Rob McBride      (Returning to join our team to DR after being part of the team to Guatemala.)
Ryan McBride    (Another tall one who enjoyed Guatemala enough to want to explore some more.)
Elijah Fleming  (This is his 3rd mission trip with us.   Will be a Senior at Portage High School).
Ian Ramirez     (A friend of the McBride's.   For sure going to be a good fit with our team.)
Bud Edholm    (Went to Guatemala with us and was anxious to return.)
Collin Wilson  (This is Collin's 5th mission trip with us.   Now a student at IU in the Kelly School of Business.)

  

Thanks for the Fabric Scraps

Our mission team continues to prepare for departure on June 12.   One of the requests from our hosts in Dominican Republic was to bring 2 suitcases of fabric scraps to be used for making quilt pieces (not necessarily a quilt).   Our missionary Ardell has a project in mind when working with the women in the churches.    We have more than two 50 pound suitcases filled.  THANKS.
We still need 4 inch paint brushes to help parishioners in the painting of the new parsonage they have been constructing for their pastor. 

Much of our time in Monte Rojo will be spent with children.  We have parachutes for outdoor fun, crafts, games and Bible stories ready to go.  Squeezing 160 back packs into our suitcase could be interesting but these back packs will be a big hit for the children of our host community.

Follow us on the blog...maybe.   It will depend upon how much internet is available in Samana. 

Early stages of the parsonage

The Valparaiso 1st's Mission for Dominican Republic includes continuing the construction of a parsonage.   Our team will assist local workers.   Here are a few photos of the beginning of the parsonage in late February.   They will continue to build as long as they have money for supplies.   We are one of the few places in the world that can borrow money to build a house.   Most places must raise the money as the building goes up.  In some mission areas our church family has visited, a home or church may take 10 years or more to build.   And when it is done...it is completely paid for.   May be worth thinking about. 

Working with the Dominican laborers ensures that we will get to know the people of this beautiful island.   Team members are encouraged to learn a bit of Spanish.   We will have interpreters working with the team, however, any attempt to speak Spanish is much appreciated.  So team...for those with no Spanish language skills, let's work on the greetings and some common phrases to start with.   Even 10 new words will make a difference. 

Our team is complete...



Monte Rojo Church will be our home away from home in June

With a full team we are now in the final stages of preparation for our mission journey to Dominican Republic June 13-21.  All our held airline tickets have been filled with wonderful, faith-filled, adventurous people.   Our team is unique with the following makeup...

• 4 females and 8 males   (usually it is the other way around)
• 5 adults and 7 youth/young adults   (great energy!!)
• 7 members of FUMC  (3 who have not been on an international mission experience)  
• 5 college youth and 2 experienced high school youth (the HS youth have been on 2 previous international mission trips)
• 4 youth who have command of the Spanish language (we are so blessed with these Spanish language learners!!)

In the next 3 months our team will begin to prepare to be with the churches in Dominican Republic and our Missionaries Ardell and Gordon Graner.  One of our challenges will be to raise enough funds for the project.   We have been asked to provide $3,000 to $5,000 to assist the church in Mt. Rojo with the construction of a parsonage.   Each team member is financially responsible for all ($1,600) of their own expenses which includes airfare, room and board, insurance, ground transportation and a portion of the project cost. 

 

We may also be invited to plan children's activities for the churches in the area.   We will need to collect supplies for art projects and maybe some other things that will provide the opportunity for us to develop a relationship with their church family.  You can be part of our "home" team by praying for our journey,  you can be our "Cheerleaders" as we prepare, you can help support the mission with your gifts, you can help us collect the art supplies once the supply needs have been shared.    

Dominican Republic Mission team...

Dominican Republic shares the Island with Haiti.   Our mission church will be on the northern peninsula in the mountains north of Samana.  The map above shows clearly the little peninsula where Mt. Rojo is located.  Mt. Rojo is about in the
middle of that peninsula.    

One more seat (on the plane) is available for our mission with the church in Dominican Republic for June 13 - 21.  There is something special about having a team of 12 ready to serve.   Right now our team consists of 3 females and 8 males.   We are 3 retired folks, 1 employed adult, 5 college students, 2 high school students.   Looks like a high energy group.    About 4 of our young people are somewhat Spanish Language proficient.  That puts pressure on the others to learn a bit of Spanish before we depart. 

 

One of the side trips is hopefully a trip to the baseball stadium that is the training ground for many of the DR youth and a feeder system for our National and American Baseball leagues.   We also will try to get a glimpse of the beautiful beaches in that country. 

Here's a bit of information shared by a team that went to Mt. Rojo in February. 
"We were there to mainly build a relationship with the people of the Iglesia Evangelica Domincana, a church formed by Methodist, Presbyterian, and Moravian churches.... We worshipped with church members, did Bible School type activities with the children, made banners with the women, painted on of the church's capillas, shared many meals, and mainly cheered as they added a cement roof to their new parsonage.  Samana, where we stayed, is a small city known for whale watching...so we had an afternoon of whale watching."  

 

Ardell and Gordon Graner are the missionaries in Dominican Republic and are taking time to make the arrangements for our team.   In early March, they posted an article about the mission team that just served with the church where we will be visiting.   Check out the March 2 blog post.

 

I'll update this post when I get some photos of our project.  Looking forward to a great week. 

 

Dominican Republic and MMDC teams updated.

With less than a week before the deadline to put the names on the seats in the plane, we are getting closer to having seats filled.   If you have been considering going to DR this summer (June 13-21) and haven't let Bonnie know, you need to contact her immediately.   We are at 11 of 15 seats filled for sure with 4 still thinking.   bonnie@albertmail.com   March 10 will be the last date we can change the number of seats. 

 

The Midwest Mission Distribution team will depart on Sunday for Chatham, IL.  They still have room for more people and plenty of food promised to feed everyone.   You know this particular mission trip is a food fest as well as an amazing glimpse at the work done by UMCOR.  If you are interested (just $200 for and all inclusive experience), contact Mike Strayer.   jstrayer@netnitco.com 

 

We are blessed through serving.  

June 13 -21 ... Mission Experience in Dominican Republic



We are now getting a team together as we have been invited to come to Monte Rojo which is a small community just north of Samana.   We can expect to make new friends and help in the construction of a much needed parsonage.  

Gordon wrote on Tuesday...

We have been back in the DR for three weeks now and nearly up to speed.  We have a team here next week from the Dakotas and  a second team also from the Dakotas in May.  Both teams will be working in the Samana area, near the north coast of the island.  We are focused on a church in the mountains known as Monte Rojo.  Our work there is to complete a small parsonage.  Once the parsonage is complete the pastor will move in and vacate the two rooms he lives in beside the church building.  Those two rooms can then be used for Sunday School classrooms.  As it is now three Sunday School groups meet in the sanctuary simultaneously and it is chaotic. " 

We are looking for some adventurous people to join us.  Serious building skills are not necessary.  The skilled workers will be locals and we will help them get the job done.  If you have questions, don't hesitate to contact Bonnie Albert (bonnie@albertmail.com or bonkay@hotmail.com ) or Mike Strayer (jstrayer@netnitco.net )  We need to have names on the dotted line (form to be completed) by March 11 along with a $200 deposit.   Additional details are included in an information sheet that will be emailed to anyone interested.  The total cost is $1600 which includes the $300 project cost, airline ticket, in country transportation, room and board, and insurance.     Only 15 seats have been reserved.  Come along...you will be blessed in so many ways.