Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Monday In Santiago
First, if your family member is on this trip... we are all well and we are all much more rested than we were when I posted a message on Sunday evening!
Second, we are having a great time!
Morning work was to wash the walls in the large room above the sanctuary that is used for the children's day care program run by Father Hipólito. While Denise and crew scrubbed, Padre H. drove Steve, Martha and Phillip to the paint store. We chose a semi-gloss in a lighter shade of blue than is currently on the walls. After lunch, and a song lesson from Poly, we headed down the stairs to greet the kids. The lesson for today was Moses leading the Hebrew people across the Red Sea and how that demonstrates that God takes care of us. The kids colored either Moses or Pharoah pictures attached to a headband. We distrubuted bandanas to wear under the headbands and the sound of staplers punctuated the general hub-bub of distributing crayons, re-distributing children in the pews and explaining that we only had bandanas for the kids who were actually in attendance!
Highlights shared at our evening meeting all included a reference to how much fun it was to work with the children at vacation Bible school (VBS). We will be applying paint today. I anticipate some photos of the blue mission group!
Monday, June 29, 2009
¡Domingo!
Fiona here. It’s Sunday night and our internet has been turned off, so this won’t be posted until Monday. But I’ve got to tell about the day while it’s fresh in my mind! Here goes.
‘Twas a bit of a difficult wake up this morning, we’re all still fairly exhausted. We choked down a delicious breakfast of café con leche, eggs and the FRESHEST mango in the world (such martyrs) and packed into our van, which is built for seven, but held 12 of us just fine (except for those crammed in the center…sorry Sarah and Phillip). Arriving at Cristo Salvador was like coming home. Padre Hipólito remembered those of us who have been before and was delighted to meet our seven new folks.
Church, as usual, was an absolute delight. We start off clapping with some super-excelente Dominican songs, which is sort of how you get the feel of the church. There were plenty of familiar faces, and I was delighted when two of them, named Rosanna and Lilian-Maria, came to sit with us. The peace would be familiar to any regular St. Anne’s attendant, as the church chaotically erupts into a noisy hug-fest (it’s always been my favorite part ☺). Padre Hipolito talked about (among other things) the importance of giving, no matter what hand you’ve been dealt. There is a huge amount of gratitude and appreciation for our presence and the work St. Anne’s does to get us all here. So, GO YOU GUYS!
Soon after we were presented with yet another heavenly meal, which we humbly scarfed, and took to playing catch-up. It was wonderful to talk with Padre Hipolito, his wonderful wife Dulcina, and his granddaughters Lilian-Maria and Rosanna. A bit of a food coma set in then, and we spread out taking naps, gathering around the fan, and playing games on Phillip’s iPod Touch. Around 2 we headed back to the hotel for showers, naps, blasting A/C, and general vegging. We finished getting our VBS kit for Monday ready and then sat down for (you guessed it) ANOTHER MIND-BLOWING MEAL. It sounds like I’m overestimating, but I promise I’m not. This eggplant will change your life, unless you’re Matt Miller, in which case it’s plantains.
Towards the end of dinner, Poli (Father Hipolito’s son, another priest), his wife Liliana, and their beautiful kids Lilian-Maria, Rosanna, and Gabriel joined us. It was exactly like a family reunion gone right and it was the final reminder that I was home. Gabriel has become quite taken with his new girlfriend (novia in Spanish, our one and only Sarah Binger!) and I’m sure there will be more romantic updates throughout the week.
As of right now, there is an intense card game going on that I am missing, so I’m done. We are all thinking of you, and being here is just like an extension of the St. Anne’s family.
Peace and love all around,
Fiona.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
A Long Way to Travel, But Dinner Was So Worth It!
The 2009 Dominican Republic Team is on site! We had a very smooth trip - on time flights, all luggage arrived, Ellen put us on the bus and we were checked into the Hotel Colonial with plenty of time before dinner.
When we shared our highlights of the day, dinner was on nearly everyone's list. (We all look exhausted!) We're headed to bed, it's been a long day...but we're ready for tomorrow!
Thank you for your prayers, keep them coming!
One Team In, One Team Out!
Wikipedia has this entry about the monument shown on the left...
The Monumento a los Héroes de la Restauración is a monument in the city of Santiago de los Caballeros in the Dominican Republic. It was constructed by Dictator Rafael Leónidas Trujillo in the 1940's as an honor to himself. After Trujillo's assassination and the end of his regime, the government changed the name to "Monumento a los Héroes de la Restauración" (Monument to the Heroes of the Restoration).
It is located on a hill in the middle of Santiago with spectacular views of the city and surrounding mountains. It also has a surrounding park and it is an attractive place at night where people go to relax.
Saturday evening, those same 11 will be able to look up the hill at the Monumento. There will be stories to tell, check back soon.
Welcome home, Philly crew!
~Martha
Friday, June 26, 2009
Did we make a difference?
- Anne J.
Projectiles
-Kelley F.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Wednesday
KJEFF
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Tuesday
Signed by,
Sam A.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Day 3 in Philly
Signed by
Joel W
Monday, June 22, 2009
Smells, Bells, and Jazz
AECST was founded by Absalom Jones, the first African-American Episcopal priest. The combination of incense and "Wade in the Water" made for a unique, but still familiar experience for us. (No, Fr. Jim, we didn't get up and dance - but we felt you there with us in spirit!) High church and Lift Every Voice and Sing work surprisingly well together. David would have been jealous of the jazz band - I think there were at least 10 musicians, not to mention the male singers that accompanied them. Fr. Shaw and Fr. Bonney welcomed us, along with the rest of the congregation - and look forward to seeing us again next year.
After stopping by Starbuck's (we're not roughing it here!), we visited the Philly Museum of Art and the Reading Terminal Market. We definitely will be headed back to the market again for pretzels, crepes, BBQ, and shopping. We've practiced our songs, cut out the animal masks, planned games and crafts - generally, have prepared for whatever we might find tomorrow.
Compline and a good night's sleep are next on the agenda. As the NZ prayer book says -
What is done, is done;
What is not done, is not done;
Let it be.
~Anne J.
Philly Team - Anne Checking In!
We still couldn't check in, so we started our first team-building event - a shopping trip to Target.
We checked in to the youth hostel which is a really old mansion in a park (www.philahostel.org). We planned for Sunday and then started dinner. There was another large group, so cooking was sort of hectic. The non-cookers did the cleaning.
The next team-building event started... playing poker (see picture)! The only rule that was made was that there was to be no gambling. Other team members (adults) decided to read!
~Anne J.
Friday, June 19, 2009
Summer Starts With a Mission Trip
Summer vacation means many things: sleeping late; rolling out of bed early for swim team practice; the cheerful tune of the ice cream truck; Wednesday grill nights up at the church; reading for fun instead of homework.
At St. Anne's, summer vacation means mission trips!
The first trip of the season hits the road on Saturday morning. A group of teens and adults will head to Philadelphia for a week of work and play at a family shelter. On Sunday, they are hoping to worship at the African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas, founded in 1792 by Absalom Jones.
The Philadelphia team will return just hours after the Dominican Republic team leaves on June 27 for St. Anne's 10th annual trip to that country.
But it doesn't end with those trips. "Mission Possible," St. Anne's mission-trip-of-the-day outreach program for our twelve and thirteen year-olds and the Dungannon mission team will hit the road in late July and early August.
Stay tuned!