Waco's Finest

Grocery stores here in Santo Domingo aren't like US stores...in the US you can pretty much guarantee that if you bought something there before, you will be able to find it the next time you go (a certain kind of pasta, salsa, brats (El's fav), sour cream etc). Not here. Because most of the items are imported, you never really know what you are going to find. It makes shopping alot more exciting (or disappointing). Let me give you an example....the other day Elliott and I were out for our weekly shopping trip. I was headed to the checkout line when all of a sudden I see Elliott running/skipping towards me with the BIGGEST grin on his face. It took me a second to figure out why he was so excited....and then I saw it....a can of Dr. Pepper in his hands. Then, I joined in on the celebration...jumping up and down shouting "no way, dr. pepper, no way!!" Needless to say, we made a scene. Elliott showed me where he found them...and we pretty much cleaned out the stock of Dr. Pepper (not  knowing when, if ever, they would have Dr. Pepper again). 

He knows...

The other morning I was having a bad start to the day. I was missing home, we didn't have power so I couldn't do laundry that had been piling up and starting to smell, etc. Then I heard, "Sallllluuuudooosss," "Elllllioooo, Liiiishhhhiii (Lindsay)." I went to the door and saw our neighbors Rafa and Charo...plants and machete in hand. They had come to plant some plants in our yard. Charo is a wonderful gardener and has a beautiful yard full of plants, flowers, and palms. They had dug up some of their very own plants from their yard and brought them down to us. Charo went straight to work...

This blessed me so much. I felt like the Lord was smiling down on me saying, "I see you, I know where you are at, and I'm sending you a little something to brighten your day." Elliott and I had been wanting to plant some things in our yard for weeks, but hadn't had the time to do so. And then, in a matter of a half hour we had 5 new plants! 

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!