Our Next Step

Hello from the Youngs serving in the Dominican Republic.  Apologies for the length of time between updates.  Thank you so much for thinking of us, praying for us, and wanting to be involved with our lives!

Many people have asked what we are going to do in June when our time is up.  So…we will try to address that question.

We have been very busy with Makarios.  Becky has been working as the Sponsorship Coordinator and has been doing a great job.  The first annual Makarios Sponsor Trip is scheduled in April.  This trip allows any sponsor of one of the Makarios students to come and visit their student and their families.  It should be a great time and a wonderful start to an annual tradition at Makarios.  Becky has also been busy with keeping our home in line as well as homeschooling Jenna after she gets home from the Mak school.

Jenna and Audrey are doing well also.  They are both attending the Mak school and continue to work on their Spanish language skills.  Jenna is still into horses.  Audrey is into acting like a Dominican:)

We have had a lot of visitors since the first of the year.  One of our friends/supporters came for a visit the first of the year and then some of Becky's family was here.  Shortly after that we had the annual Makarios retreat which was very fun and enriching.  Then after that we had another friend come for a couple of weeks.  The day after she left we had other friends/supporters come for a visit with their family.  So, as you can see it has been a little crazy here.  We love hosting our friends/family/supporters so we can show them what it's like here and how God is working in our lives as well as in Makarios.

Darren have been busy with preaching at different churches, giving financial talks at schools, and doing health talks for the students at Makarios,  as well as seeing medical patients in the clinic (or wherever he is for that matter).  He was able to spend some time with the 3 and 4 year olds to talk to them about the importance of hand washing.  He used glitter on his hand as an example of germs and how easy it is to pass them on to others.  He showed them a spanish song about washing their hands too.  Seems like such a small thing but it can have a huge impact on their lives, especially with the environment that they live in.  Darren is in the clinic every day and sees anywhere from 4-5 patients to 20+ patients depending on the day.  He has some regulars from the community that he sees often as well.  He also continues to serve at the Monkey Jungle Medical Clinic on select Saturdays.

In the fall there was a death of the father of some our students.  He was a good man.  Darren met him on our first trip here in 2007.  Darren connected with this man because he could speak some English.  His daughter came into the medical office sobbing, saying that he had just died.  Several of the Makarios staff and Darren quickly went to the village where he was.  He was lying on his back on the cold concrete floor of his house/shack in their Haitian batey (village).  Darren checked him out and confirmed that he was dead.  His wife was crying and screaming along with the children.  He had a Bible opened near his head.  The wind was blowing the pages as we hugged the mom and children.  As Darren looked down to see what passage the Bible was opened to after the wind had stopped blowing the pages... this is what he found:

Psalm 39:4-7

4 “Show me, Lord, my life’s end

and the number of my days;x

let me know how fleetingy my life is.z

5 You have made my daysa a mere handbreadth;

the span of my years is as nothing before you.

Everyone is but a breath,b

even those who seem secure.b

6 “Surely everyone goes aroundc like a mere phantom;d

in vain they rush about,e heaping up wealthf

without knowing whose it will finally be.g

7 “But now, Lord, what do I look for?

My hope is in you.h

Darren hasn't forgotten that day and the life change that death brought to that family and those kids.  One thing is for sure we are all going to die someday.  What are we going to do in our short amount of time on this earth?  We pray that our family will not be working in vain.  Our prayer and our hope is in the Lord, our Creator, our Savior.

So, with this in mind we have decided to stay another year from this June and then see where the Lord leads us. We have peace about this decision and are excited about the upcoming year.  We will be taking a little break this summer for seeing family/friends/church and also maybe a little work for me to keep my medical skills up (still to be determined).  We also feel very strongly about being able to communicate very well in the spanish language so, we are going to take at least a month to go to language school (most likely Costa Rica) to focus on and improve our spanish.

We are so blessed by all of you who have supported us over the past 2 1/2 years.  We are asking for continued prayer please about our continued time here and our time in the US this summer.  We would also like prayer/support for our continued time here and language school, specifically financially.  If you are someone you know would like to help us out with either a one time gift or monthly support that would be an answer to prayer.
If you would like to give here is the link. https://makarios.webconnex.com/missionary

Until next time!

Our hope is in the Lord,

The YOUNGS

Happy Fall…Ahh the smell of burning…what is that??

Greetings from the DR.  We hope this finds you well and are enjoying all of the normal fall festivities.  This is Darren's favorite time of year so he misses the cool weather, the smell of burning leaves, pumpkins, football, sweatshirts, candy corn and peanuts…Mmmmm.  Here, it's just hot.  No leaves changing colors.  There is burning stuff, but that happens year round.  Usually it's sugar cane or some other unknown substance which isn't the same smell as burning fall leaves.  Anyway, enjoy the fall-ness for Darren.  We Just wanted to give you an update as to what's been going on with us and with Makarios the past few months.

We had a very busy summer between groups coming down and summer school.  Teams from the states come at least every other week if not more frequently all summer.  They do all sorts of things at the school and at the Mak house.  It's great to see people coming to serve and experience Makarios first hand.  Having groups does increases Darren's patient load with many different illnesses and injuries.  Fortunately nothing too major this summer.  Gracias a Dios!  We also had 5 interns here this summer as well.  Darren had one intern with him.  She hopes to do medical missions someday so it was great that they got to spend a lot of time together.  And who knows maybe sometime in the future she will be back at Makarios. During our down time we got to spend some time with the Makarios staff.  It's always fun to hang out with the people you work with and do community with.  They truly are a blessing to our family.

It has been great to see Makarios growing as well.  We started this new school year with 141 kids!  We now go from PreK-3 through the 6th grade (Jenna's class).  The teachers are all doing a great job of dealing with some of the newer kids (especially the pre-k 3s!).  Most of these kids don't have a lot of structure in their homes so to be in a class, sitting down, not moving can be very difficult for them. It is great to see the positive impact of Makarios on the kids and the community as well.  Not just their physical health but their spiritual health too. The kids are receiving a Christ-centered education and some of them are coming to know Him in a personal relationship.  I've even seen this in my office.  A community kid coming to know Christ because of our presence and meeting his physical needs first.  The spiritual needs are the most important though and we strive to meet those needs as often as we can.
Our girls are doing well.  As I mentioned Jenna is in 6th grade now and Audrey passed PreK-3 in spanish so she is in PreK-4 now (way to go Audrey!).  When they aren't in school they like spending time with their friends and family.

Becky is busy as the sponsorship coordinator, since we have a lot of new students that needed sponsored.  As of now only a few more need to be sponsored.  Each full sponsorship for one child is $100 per month and that provides their education, uniforms, 2 meals a day, medical care, and various other costs at the school.  It is challenging to try and reach sponsors in the US from the DR so you probably have seen many Facebook posts or emails.  Warning:  Sponsorship plug:)  If you'd like information on this please contact Becky:)

Darren has been busy in the clinic with a lot of the normal illness and injury.  On top of that we have had an outbreak of Chikungunya (not a specialty dish at your local Mexican restaurant).  This is a viral mosquito-borne illness similar to Dengue Fever but it is not quite as bad.  People with Chikungunya have a high fever, bad headache, and severe joint pain and swelling.  Some get a rash with it as well.  There's no specific vaccine or treatment only symptomatic care (fluids, acetaminophen, Ibuprofen, rest).  Darren has seen ALOT of kids and adults with this over the past few months.  I'm glad we don't have any Ebola here.

Darren has also been doing some preaching in a couple of the local churches including our local church, Templo Biblico.  He has also had a chance to lead men's Bible study a few times.  He is doing a lot of teaching about finances and the Bible which is another passion of his.  Part of his mission in life is to bring others to financial health so it's been great to see God open doors in this area.

We can't believe that it's been almost 2 years since we arrived here in the DR.  Which means that our 2 year commitment is almost up.  However, we have decided to extend our time here at least through the end of the school year (June 2015) and then see what God has for us.  We didn't want to leave in the middle of the school year and without a replacement for Darren.  If you have been supporting us either financially or prayerfully…Thank you SO much!  You have been a true blessing and have made a difference in the lives of these kids here at Makarios.  We would love for you to continue supporting us through our time here.  Again, thank you so very much.  We are grateful for this opportunity that our family has here in the DR.  We truly are living on the Edge of the DReam.  Until next time.  Hasta luego.  Dios te bendiga.

A "Normal" Day

"And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."  Colosians 3:17

Hello to all!  We are so thankful by those of you who are supporting us in words and deeds!  We give thanks to God for each one of you!  We are consistently humbled by the ways you have blessed us.

After serving here in the Dominican Republic for a year and a half (yes, we have been here that long!), our normal day here looks much different than our normal day in the US looked like.  Here is a glimpse of what a "normal" day might look like for Darren.

 Darren in his office.

Get up at 6:20am to exercise and get ready for work.  Head to work at 7:30 on his motorcycle (which is an adventure in defensive driving every day!).  Staff devotions at 7:45 and school starts at 8am.  During the school day, Darren will see and treat students, staff and people from the local community.  The patients' complaints vary with anything from head aches and stomach aches to broken bones, abscesses, cuts needing sutures, removal of foreign bodies, high blood pressure, high blood sugars and much more.  Although the majority of his patients are students from the school, he sees patients ranging from newborn to 90 years old.  His daily patient load can be anywhere from 10 patients to 30 patients .  He has many over-the-counter medications that have been donated to the clinic on hand that he can give as needed.  Any medication that he needs but does not have in the clinic, he can go to the local pharmacy and buy (such as antibiotics).  He can also send his patients to the local hospital/clinic to get lab tests or xrays done.  Any time one of our students or staff is in the hospital, Darren will visit them at the hospital and help in anyway he can to facilitate their medical care.  He is also still involved with other ministries in the area that provide medical care here in the DR as well as in Haiti.  He also oversees several of our students that have chronic medical conditions and will coordinate doctors visits and medications as needed.  The students are done with school at 1:15, but that is not when Darren is done.  He is also responsible for training and educating the staff on medical care and emergency preparedness.  In addition he has been doing financial training for the staff.  Around 3pm, he leaves the school and heads to Spanish class (again on his motorcycle).  He has 2 hours of Spanish class 3 days a week.  He arrives home around 6pm for dinner and time with the family.  His evening hours vary from more Spanish classes, bible study with other local missionaries, family time, and time to rest.

Getting lots of hugs from some of our students!

Here is a post from his facebook, just sharing how somedays feel crazy, but God is good…all the time!

Recap of my day yesterday: spent over 3 hours trying to buy a filing cabinet for the clinic office for charts, at our village visit we saw a previous MAK student and found out he was working from 5pm to 10pm every night at a Colmado (small local store) and he's 10 years old, a guy right behind me wrecked on his moto (I think we was ok), got rained on going to Bible Study, and 4 MAK students decided to accept Christ. Another day in the DR. Thank You Jesus.

(The 4 students that accepted Christ are friends of Jenna's in the fifth grade class.  This life changing decision is why we are here, serving with Makarios!  We praise God for these girls and pray over them as they walk in the light.)

What we are describing above, is a normal day.  But we all know that most days do not seem "normal".  Many times it takes much longer to get things accomplished and can be very frustrating.  Other days things seem to go very smoothly and not as complicated.  Darren works daily to serve people by meeting their physical needs and showing God's love by doing that.  Darren is serving in the capacity that God placed him in by doing "whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."

Watching the Kentucky Derby DR style!

Blessings and hugs being sent to all of our friends and family!!  Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers!

New Year…New Changes

Happy New Year…Ground Hog Day….and Valentine's Day  from the sunny, WARM Dominican Republic!  We hope you have had a wonderful beginning to 2014.  We have been very busy and very blessed so far this year.  Here's a look at what has been going on in our lives so far this year.

We were blessed to be able to visit the frigid USA over the Christmas holiday.  We were so excited to see and visit with so many friends and family.  We were able to visit friends and family in 5 different states (sorry if we missed you). Thank you to all who served us in countless ways.  After being encouraged, blessed and loved on for almost three weeks we made our way back home to the DR (after a 2 day delay because of the "polar vortex"…thanks global warming:)  We went from one extreme in weather to another.  It was a 75 degree temperature change from Ohio to Puerto Plata!  Needless to say we were glad to be home so we could unthaw!  It's been great watching the winter weather in the Midwest from here in the DR:)

Less than a week after returning home, we had our first visitors of the 2014 year.  Becky's sister Heidi and her husband Chad and their three kids, Eric, Emme, and Ellen stayed with us, worked along side with us and played with us!  It was so much fun to share our daily lives with them as well as some of the "perks" of living in the DR.  We all spent several days working at the Mak house and the school, as well as Chad and Eric working very hard on our vehicles.  We also took time to enjoy the beach, the mountains, and many other fun adventures together as a family.  We were sad to see them go, but so very encouraged from their visit.

Audrey adores her big cousin Eric!!

Sister time!

Cousin time is the best!

Hello is so much easier than Goodbye!

A few days after the Kreiders left, we had our annual dental team visit to the Makarios School.  As the Director of Health for the school, Darren was responsible for the set up, organization, and scheduling of this team.  He worked along side of them, scheduling students and staff, and helping with the flow of patients.  They worked very hard and were able to see and treat so many of our students and staff.  It was great to hear Dr. Bud say that the Mak school kid's teeth look better than the kids he sees in the states!  We also enjoyed visiting with them at dinner several times during the week.  The entire team was so fun to be around and a huge blessing to our school and staff!!

After the dental team left, we thought things would start to settle down for us and we could get back into our "normal routine".  But God had other plans.  Just this past week Audrey started as a pre-K 3 student at the Makarios School.  She has been wanting to go to school like a big girl for quite some time now.  The first day she was very excited…unfortunately, that excitement did not last long.  Her desire to be with mommy and play at home has been a difficult thing to try and overcome.  The first week was a little rough, as to be expected, but each day has gotten easier for her.  It will be exciting to watch her grow, develop, and learn Spanish under our wonderful teaching staff at the school.

With Audrey in school, Becky now has time to work directly with the school.  She will be working as the Sponsorship Coordinator for the Makarios School.  All of our students are sponsored by someone in the US in order to provide food, education, uniforms, and medical care through the Godly, loving staff at the Makarios School. The transition into the is role will begin over the next few weeks.  God has blessed her with a job that allows her flexibility to work at home as well as at the school.  She will be able to continue to homeschool Jenna in the afternoons and keep up with the daily needs of running a home.  It is an exciting time for all of us!

We are looking forward to our annual staff retreat this weekend in Jarabacoa.  It is a beautiful town up in the mountains here in the DR.  Our co-workers are so much fun and we enjoy spending time away from school with them.  This will be a time of worship, bonding, and focusing on the vision of Makarios.

After we return home for Jarabacoa, Becky's parents are coming for their first visit to the DR! Hooray.

We are so very thankful for each and every one of you.  Your prayers, emotional and financial support and encouragement to us is what makes it possible for us to be serving our great God here in the Dominican Republic.  Please continue to pray that we will continue to serve Him to the best of our abilities. Pray that Audrey will continue to make a good transition during this difficult time of starting school (all in spanish).  And finally, pray that Becky will transition into this new position very well. May God continue to bless you as he has blessed us.

Medical Team Visit

Medical Team Blog November 2013

Here is our blog from the recent medical team visit.  Things are going well here and it's been great to see growth in Makarios, the positive impact that Makarios has within the community, and the lives of the children and families that we are changing for the better.  You can also see this blog with some better pictures from the team on the Makarios website   http://www.makariosinternational.org/blog.html

Makarios recently had the opportunity to host a medical team from the states.  This group was comprised of 4 medical providers (2 MDs, PA, NP), an optometrist, RNs and other ancillary staff.  There were 13 people in total from Ohio, Michigan, and Georgia.  They brought a lot of medications and other supplies for the weeklong clinic as well as to keep in the Makarios clinic to use throughout the year (a huge blessing). 

 Makarios has been hosting a medical team since the fall of 2007 when my family and I brought the first team.  We have been bringing a team each year since until this year when we had the pleasure to host them since we are on Makarios staff now! It was great being on this side and hopefully we will continue to improve the health of the Mak kids and their families through us being here and the visits of the medical team.

This was an exciting week.  There is a great need for medical and eye care here in the DR. They saw about 550 patients in the 4 days they had clinic.  They saw all of the kids in the school, their families, the Makarios staff and their families, Chichigua, and many people from the local church (Templo Biblico) and the surrounding community. They had 2 half days to visit one of the villages (Pancho Mateo) to see how and where the kids and their families live.  The cafeteria was transformed into a 4 room hospital treating everything from fungal infections, respiratory illnesses, skin abscesses, foreign body in the ear, urinary problems to hypertension.  Rex (our eye doctor) was a very busy man as well.  He checked all of the kids in the school (115 or so) and hundreds of others.  It was awesome to see some of the elderly come out with glasses and immediately pull out their Bibles to see if they could read.  To see the smiles on their faces when they could see what they were reading was priceless!  They also spent a morning in Chichigua seeing anyone who wanted to be seen there.  The highlight was having one of the student’s moms come to know Christ because of this team.  She was having depression and other problems and with the help of a great translator she lead her to the Lord. 

This week was a huge blessing to the people of Makarios as well as those near or associated with this wonderful organization.  Thank you so much Medical Team 2013!  Start preparing for next year.

Please continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers.  We will be back in the states in December and hope to see a lot of you.  Thanks so much for your support.

Summer!

Hola otra vez!  Hello again from the island of Hispaniola.  We hope this finds you well in all of your summer activities and family time.  I am sure you have all been busy as we have been.  We will try to update you with all that has been going on since our last update.

First of all, the medical side of things at the Makarios school has been going well.  At the end of April I had a chance to do some medical teaching to all of the kids in the school in two separate groups as well as to the teachers.  I covered basic hygiene and some of the most common things that I see medically in the kids (i.e headaches, abdominal pain, dehydration, constipation).  I was going to show them that new movie about constipation but....it's not out yet (sorry, I had to).  When we discussed germs I had some glitter on my hands and shook hands with the kids to show how easily germs can be passed from one person to another.  We really want them to have good hand washing to prevent the spread of illness.  I see various medical problems at the clinic.  I have a decent supply of donated medicine to give when necessary and I also have the ability to purchase antibiotics from the local pharmacies.  The pharmacies are a huge help and even give Makarios a discount.  The last week of school I "dewormed" all of the kids and staff at the school.  This involves giving a medicine called Albendazole to help kill any worms and some parasites in their gastrointestinal tract.  With the living conditions, drinking untreated water, not washing food correctly, and coming into contact with these small creatures all contributes to them getting parasites and worms in their bellies.  Diarrhea is one of the most common complaints especially from groups that are visiting here.  A new study did find that diarrhea is hereditary...it runs in your "genes." (sorry, I had to again).  Anyway, it is important to get rid of these parasites so they can gain weight and get the nutrition that they need since a lot of them don't get three meals a day.  Overall it is going well and getting to love on the kids and treat their physical needs is spiritually rewarding.  

I am also to volunteer at a couple of other clinics to help them which in turn helps me with my Spanish and Dominican medical care.  I volunteer at a place called the Monkey Jungle which is a free clinic that operates on Saturdays.  We can see up to 80 or 90 patients in a 5 hour period.  They have a free dental clinic there also.  This place is a real blessing to the local Dominican and Haitian people who don't have the resources to obtain the care that they need.  And the bonus for my family and I is that we get to go zip lining and hang out with the monkeys for free:)  My daughters love visiting the monkeys!  And I do too! http://www.monkeyjungledr.com/site/
 I also have had the chance to work at a clinic associated with GO MAD ministries.  Their mission is to help fight human exploitation here on the north coast.  In doing that they have a school, medical clinic, and a women's ministry to help get women off the streets and out of prostitution.  I am blessed to be able to help them with their mission and clinic which is past Cabarete (about 45 min. away).  I am trying to use my gifts for His purpose in any way I can.  http://www.gomadministries.org

Family zip-lining time, yes even Audrey went!

Becky and Audrey feeding the monkeys

We are still working away at our spanish language learning.  I go to class 2 to 3 times a week and our friend does lessons for Jenna, Becky, and I about 2 to 4 times a week.  We are making progress and I feel we are in a good place for only being here 6 months.  It is still one of our main goals to be able to speak spanish well, so we will continue with lessons and practice for months to come if not the entire time we are here.  Becky is doing well and we are even getting Audrey involved with some spanish.  Please continue to pray for us that we will have the time and mental strength to continue our learning.  It does make our lives busy with work and then spanish but we feel it is necessary for our mission here.

  

Summer!!! At the Mak school it is a little different here in the summer.  School is shorter and we don't have classes on Fridays but we have teams from the states here every other week if not more.  They come and do projects at the school (i.e. building a shed, painting the walls around the school, helping with recess and soccer camp, among other things).  It is a real blessing to have these teams here working to help make the school a better place and getting to know the kids.  I am  also responsible for their medical care so I have had several "on call" moments to provide the needed care.  We appreciate all of the teams and their hard work.

Becky is busy at home with the kids, transporting kids, learning spanish, and keeping our family in line (not an easy task!).  She does a great job and we thank her so much for doing this much needed part in our lives.  She is practicing her spanish by talking with and getting to know some of the local women.  She is also going to be joining a ladies bible study/cook book study with both Dominicans and Americans.

Becky getting some Mother's Day love from her two best girls

Jenna is attending the Mak school this summer to help her with her spanish and to make some friends.  She also had a chance to make some friends at a summer surf camp.  The campers would surf and then do some other activity (i.e. snorkel, games, crafts, trapeze).  She made some new friends (from the DR and Bermuda).  She had a very good time.  I have even had a chance to learn to surf also and hope to do some surfing with Jenna.  We also like to snorkel in Sosua.  There is a reef just off the beach so we can go whenever we want.  We have seen a lot of fish, tons of sea urchins, a spotted eagle ray, coral and even an eel.  We love learning about the underworld there.  Still waiting to see a shark though. 

Darren and his girls enjoying the beach on Father's Day

Jenna snorkeling, one of her favorite things to do here

 Audrey has adjusted well and seems to love living here.  Her favorite things are the beach and the monkeys at the Monkey Jungle.  She is understanding quite a bit of spanish and is even starting to speak in spanish!  She also loves going to the school during recess to play with the students and staff, who also love playing with her!  She also enjoys visiting with the teams that are here and is always ready to greet everyone with a big smile.

Audrey taking a moment to smile for the camera while enjoying a sucker

Overall, we feel like we are finally settled in and are having an impact here in the DR.  One of the highlights was the last day of school where all of the parents came and the kids did some activities for their parents and our pastor delivered a gospel message.  It is great to be a small part of these kids and their families lives and try to make the most of every opportunity.  Please continue to pray for continued relationships and opportunities to help them.  Check out the Makarios website to see what else is going on!  http://makariosinternational.org

The last day of school presentation

Hola, It's been a while.

Hello to all of our friends and family from the DR!  We pray that you are all well.  We thank and praise God for each of you!  We apologize for the lack of updates from our end.  We have been very busy getting settled into our new house and into our new culture.  It has been amazing to see how God fills our needs and gives us even more when we depend on Him.  One such blessing is our house.  We found a wonderful house that is just right for our family.  It is about 10 minutes from the Makarios school.  We are getting settled in here and it feels like home now.  The girls are enjoying having their own space to play.  We also now have a puppy named Macy.  Macy found us and after attempting to find her a new home, came back to us.  So...Jenna talked Mom and Dad into keeping the puppy!

Our house

Macy (about 8 weeks old) and Jenna 

The month of February was a busy one for us, not only were we getting settled into our new house, but Darren had the opportunity to have a medical student work with him for four weeks.  Brad and his wife Brittany were so much fun to have around and were such a blessing to us and to the kids a the school.  Darren, Brad and Brittany had an opportunity to go to Haiti to help with a medical clinic for several days.  Darren and Brad worked with a Haitian doctor while Brittany helped to translate, she knows Creole!  They were able to help a lot of people as well as enjoy the Haitian culture.

Darren at the clinic in Haiti

Darren is working hard at the school taking care of minor as well as a few major health issues of the kids in the school.  He also provides medical care for the Dominican staff and people in the village when he can.  He is currently working on developing health education for the students and staff.  While Darren is at school working, Becky is at home with the girls.  Her day consists of many things, but a large part is homeschooling Jenna while trying to keep Audrey and Macy from getting into too much trouble!  We are both working hard on improving our spanish by taking classes four days a week.  It is helping but neither of us feel we have a handle on the language by any stretch of the imagination!  Please pray that we will continue to persevere in our language studies and have opportunities to practice it.

A few weeks ago for semana santa (spring break) we took a couple days to visit Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic.  It was a wonderful family vacation and we all enjoyed our time.  There is a lot of history around Christopher Columbus and the Spanish settlers in Santo Domingo.  Were you aware that the Dominican Republic was the first island in Western Hemisphere that had a European settlement (first on the north coast near our house and then Santo Domingo)?  And according to our guide on the train, Christopher Columbus claimed the DR was the most beautiful island he had ever seen!  After learning about the history of the DR, we enjoyed hiking around Los Tres Ojos (the three eyes), visiting the national aquarium, walking around a very large mall in which there was a small amusement park, riding fair type rides at the mall, and finally enjoying a yummy meal at Johnny Rockets complete with a big milkshake!  Tasted a lot better after months of not eating that type of food.

Los Tres Ojos

The Columbus Grave

Darren and Jenna enjoying Jonny Rockets

Thank you all for your love and support of our family during our time here.  We have been studying the book of Ephesians in our bible study here.  Our prayer for you is this "That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.  And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power together with all the Lord's holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God (Ephesians 3:17-19).  We love and appreciate each and everyone of you!  Until next time...