This Boy´s Gotta Fly!

I know his ears look as if they could flap him to the Carribbean, but so far he hasn´t lifted off on his own. If you would like to pray for something specific, please pray that this guy, Ridley, would somehow get a flight from Orlando, Florida to Santo Domingo. We´ve been baffled in our efforts to get him off the hands of Lindsay´s parents (who have been oh so, so gracious in caring for him for almost two months) and into our hands before he ends up in the hands of the animal shelter keepers. Please pray, especially for a delivery opportunity this coming Wednesday. The whole thing is burdening others and stressing us out!

Up in Flames

Here are a few happenings from our first month here. The more important updates are in our newsletter that you will receive this week. Thanks so much for your prayers as we have transitioned to our new life here. Please keep praying...so much is new and different...and we have ALOT to learn.

1. I guess we are official Dominican's now...we burn our trash. We are not big fans, as we like to help, not destroy the environment...but when the trash men come about every 3 weeks (at best),and our garage is overflowing with trash (and all the smells and flies that come with it), we are left with no other choice.

2. Shopping, shopping, and more shopping. Our first few weeks were spent driving the crowded, traffic filled streets of Santo Domingo looking for furniture. At this point, we would give anything for a Target or Ikea. But, we have enjoyed all the different kinds of carts....this one was our favorite...

3. In the course of a month we went from owning zero pets, to owning 2 dogs. When we arrived in early July, Ridley was too young to come down. We were told by various Dominicans that we needed to have a dog in our yard at all times...so Vijo gave us one of his dogs from Cielo. So, now Lobo lives with us, and we are awaiting the arrival of Ridley sometime within the next 2 weeks.4. Weddings!!! We had the privilege of attending 2 weddings this month. One Dominican, and one American...one started on time and the other started 2 1/2 hours late, I bet you can't guess which one is which. Jainero and Lisette were married on August 2nd and Sarah and Nick were married on August 9th. Please pray for these 2 couples as they start their new lives together as one.

And we're off....

Today is the big day....we are finally moving!!! We are busy packing and running last minute errands and then will head to the airport for out 8 pm flight. We will try to post as soon as we can from the DR, but will have limited access to internet for the first few weeks.

Thanks so much for keeping us in your prayers...we need them!

Home Sweet Home

Here she is...our new home for the next 2 1/2 years!

(Still needing a second coat of paint and some trim work)

Last week we went down with the Orlando family group to paint our house. There was lots and lots and lots of work to be done. We are so grateful for all the help we received from our brothers and sisters from Orlando.

The highlight of our trip: One night Elliott and I were eating dinner with the group in Cielo when we got the call that Lalo, Zeneida and some other Dominicans were at our house working and wanted us to come help. When we showed up water was flying out every door and window...one guy had a hose and was spraying down all the walls, and 5 people with push brooms followed him pushing all of the water out the door. About 20 minutes into creating this "water park" the lights went out. So we all scurried out of the house to fetch our flashlights. We continued spraying down the inside of our house by flashlight. Oh the things you get to do when you live in the Dominican Republic!!!! Nothing like taking a hose to the inside of your brand new home.

Sanding down the walls for the first 2 1/2 days...not the most fun job in the world, but it is a
very good arm workout.

Missionaries on Wheels

When Lindsay and I calculated our 2008 budget we included $15,000 for a used SUV to serve our transportation needs in the DR.  We need an SUV for a few reasons, the most significant being higher ground clearance to traverse flooded roads when it rains (which happens just about every time it rains).  After consulting Consumer Reports for reliability and robustness reports and considering the most serviceable vehicles in the DR we narrowed our search to three options: Nissan X-terra, Nissan Pathfinder, and Toyota 4-Runner.  Fortunately we found a great vehicle to fit our needs and our budget, and it was our first choice of the three.  Here's our 2002 Toyota 4-Runner.  We hope she'll serve us well for many years.  Sale price- US$15,000.02, proving this "line item" to be our most accurate budgeting yet!