Routines

We've been on the job for three days now. We know who will be at breakfast first who will order fried cheese with breakfast, who will climb into the back seat of the van, who will sit in the front. We know who will pick up paintbrushes and who will look for a screwdriver, who will go shopping with Fr. Hipólito and who will sit down to talk with the kids. We're in the routine.

But...    it's THURSDAY already!!! We haven't packed the goodie bags, we still need to finish the murals, we just got the fans and had to make one more trip to Ochoa this evening, we're just getting to know (or remember) the names of the kids!

Hurry, there's stuff to be done! Slow down, there are moments to savor.

More photos:

Meet Bob, Fr. Hipólito's chauffer! (Note the finger pointing.)

Hands washed, food blessed... LUNCH!

It's pretty tedious, painting the ironwork.

Margel detailing the mural.

Bridget painting in the blue room.

Jacob's ladder!

Miércoles - Just Say Yes!

Dora welcomes her guests

Traditionally, Wednesday is the toughest day of a week-long mission trip. The excitement of arriving, setting up and getting to work is replaced by the challenges of working in a new environment, living with people you generally see for a couple hours and wondering how you're going to get it all finished by the time you have to pack up and leave! Today was that day.



How do you make it past Wednesday? Just say YES!

Gray & Justin switched from rollers to brushes

Say yes when Father Jim says, "Let's go visit Dora before we start work at the children's center!"



Say yes to Chencho when he decides that brushes are the tool of choice for painting the concrete - NOT the rollers that seem to be working so well!

Pablo starts on his mural

Say yes to Pablo when he presents you with a beautiful drawing he's willing to transfer to a classroom wall.



Say yes to the kid who wants a green crayon, not a blue one!

Now, that's a happy child!

Say yes to the proud artist who wants to post a coloring page on the wall!





Say yes when Glennys suggests one more song!

Moses' burning bush(es)

Rock star Glennys

Say yes to a mission trip opportunity - it will change your life.

Peeking from the door

Making a Joyful Noise

 Monday of our 2011 trip was a bit slow... the country had a general strike and we were stuck in the hotel for the most part!



Phil has been helping Lazaro with his website so he got some work done. We combined the Vacation Bible School supplies and started decorating the goodie bags. We spied on a dominoes game happening on the roof below us. It sure felt like a slow start!






Tuesday, though, we hit the ground running.

The rooftop domino game.

Father Hipólito has decided to keep the feeding program open for the children. They were finishing breakfast of chocolate milk and bread when we arrived at Cristo Salvador. What cuties! They were wearing blue polo shirts with a church crest on them. Like all of us, some are morning people and some are not. There were happy smiles and blank stares as we said hello to the kids; but saying hello to the adults was full of nothing but smiles and hugs!


Walking across the street to the children's shelter, we decided what room to decorate with a mural, we reviewed what else might need to be painted in the children's center and we had a fabulous lunch before getting to our afternoon work - VBS!

Josie with one of the kids.

Poly, our rock star guitar-playing priest, will not be with us until Thursday so Martha was song leader of the day. She had the unexpected help of GLENNYS and that made all the difference! A couple rounds of familiar songs had the room ringing with the joyful noise familiar to DR mission veterans.

Pablo is surprised to run into Fr. Jim

With a theme of angels as messengers among us, the first story was of the unusual visitors to Abraham and Sarah who announced the pregnancy of Sarah. We passed out crayons and paper plate angels. The kids set to work and soon we had angels with pipe cleaner halos all over the room!

Just an angel or two!

At Home Again in Santiago

Breakfast at the Hotel Colonial was an opportunity to introduce those new to our team to the hospitality of Lazarus and his staff. Café con leche appeared, passion fruit juice was served. Eggs, toast, fruit and fried cheese were among the choices offered.

I figured that Padre Hipólito would be calling to make sure we were ready for church but we were all pleased to see him walk through the door instead. We climbed into the van,  headed across the river and up the hill to Cristo Salvador. Bridget, Jenni and Margel read, Fr. Jim preached, Fr. Justin and Fr. Jim co-celebrated with Padre Hipólito. The passing of the peace was a round of huge hugs for those team members who were returning and those who were experiencing their first Sunday at Cristo Salvador.

Sunday afternoon was spent at Padre Hipólito's house. We watched the U.S. women win their game against Brazil, welcomed Poly, Lilian and the kids, had a fabulous meal, a couple naps and a tour of the garden.

Believing that one picture is worth 1000 words I'll stop "talking" and share the following photos:

Jenni reading Old Testament

Fr. Justin reading the Gospel

Stairs at the new children's center.

Sean, Bridget and a new friend.

Lots of potential banana bread?

In the garden.

Meatloaf, chicken, rice, vegetable salad, pineapple, avocado... (don't tell Sean's mom it was the best meatloaf he ever ate!)

Getting advice on growing figs.

Jack, Justin, Mary Anne, Bridget and Claude relax on the patio.

Mmmmmm, eggplant!

El Monumento

Checked Bags and Chex Mix

Martha writes:

On Friday afternoon I felt the need to make some Chex Mix. Harris Teeter had their fancy nut mix on sale and I bought a can to throw in. (FYI, if you’re making some of your own, Worcestershire Sauce does not contain gluten!) While the mix was in the oven I filled my suitcase, printed off information sheets for the group, took stuff out of my suitcase, stirred the Chex Mix, searched for my flashlight, decided to pay the $30 for an extra bag so I could carry some kids clothes to be left … you get the picture!

“Do you have plans for that Chex Mix?” asked my husband. “Yup, I’m going to try to carry it with me, otherwise, it’s yours,” said I.

We had the luxury of a late start on Saturday, meeting at Dulles about 9:30 a.m. for our 11:30 flight. When our group of 15 was together, we parceled out the clothes in my second bag, sent the bag home with Aleesha’s folks and then started the check-in process, and a very slow process it was! Finally, we were ready to clear security, grab a cup of coffee and step onto the plane.

DR Mission 2011 was on the way!!

After a lunch of medianoche sandwich, tostones and a great cup of coffee at the Cuban restaurant in the Miami Airport we flew to Santo Domingo where we arrived in a thunderstorm. Immigrations, Customs and then – Bob and Ellen Snow greeted us with the Iglesia Episcopal sign, helped load our bags on the bus, prayed with us and waved us on our way.

This is where the Chex Mix comes in! Claude filled individual baggies from the huge bag I’d lugged through Dulles, Miami and Santo Domingo. Hunger made it “the best Chex Mix ever!”

Midnight arrival at the Hotel Colonial in Santiago, smooth check in there, a little unpacking, a great night’s sleep, alarms set to be at 7:30 breakfast. St. Anne’s is once more On the Road!

All of a Sudden, It's Friday!

 It has been a really fast week! And a very fast-paced week, too. Friday morning was spent at The Closet, a local thrift store. The staff gave our campers an orientation and then set them to work. Barbie dolls were dressed and given hair makeovers, battery-powered toys were tested, game pieces were sorted and matched. The Closet is careful to offer high quality items for sale and our kids did the shop a real service by making sure the toys were ready for new homes.

After lunch, photos from the week were set out and the kids made collages to remember Mission Possible 2011. Ice cream sundaes celebrated a week well spent.

After a round of singing and dancing to "King of Kings," we settled down to share favorite moments and recommendations for Mission Possible 2012. If the value of a program is measured by how many participants want to return, Mission Possible 2011 hit a home run!

(We can't let this chapter of the blog close without sending congratulations to Rev. Denise as she welcomes granddaughter Peyton. Thanks to text messaging, we got the news of Peyton's safe arrival early this morning. One day, we hope she'll have a great time at Mission Possible, too!)

Check the blog on Sunday evening to follow the adventures of the Dominican Republic mission team. They'll be arriving in Santiago late on Saturday and up early Sunday to attend church with the people of Cristo Salvador. Keep them in your prayers, please.

Thursday - Theatre Day at Mission Possible!

Who's in Rabbit's House? The answer comes when a big, bad voice from inside the house roared, "I am The Long One. I eat trees and trample on elephants. Go away, or I will trample on you!"

Rabbit & Frog

Rhino offers to toss out the intruder.

The Mission Possible kids presented this Masai tale to groups of children at Common Ground and Laurel Learning Center today. The culmination of work on Mon., Tues., Wed., and today, the actors wore masks they had created and speculated how to rid Rabbit's house of whatever had moved in! The little kids were delighted when a terrified green caterpillar emerged after having been threatened by a tricky frog. The play was accompanied by audience participation sound effects. What fun for ALL of us! A beautiful lesson in the power of teamwork.

The "Long One" exits Rabbit's house.

The triumphant cast returned to St. Anne's for lunch and then headed over to Herndon for a visit to the Jeannie Schmidt Free Clinic (jsfreeclinic.org). One of the volunteer doctors talked about the importance of providing adequate medical care to all people, not just those who can afford health insurance. We left behind goodie bags stuffed with toothbrushes, toothpaste, pencils and toys for children seen at the clinic.

Visit to the Jeannie Schmidt Free Clinic

Tomorrow - the final day of Mission Possible 2011. Green shirts and time at The Closet! We can't wait! 

Weeding Wednesday

Getting weeding instructions.

"It's raining!"
"Are you sure we're still going to work outside?"
"I didn't bring extra clothes!"
"Well, we won't have to wear sun block!"

Yup, it was raining first thing this morning. But the message was that the Reston Association staff would be waiting for us - rain or shine - to pull up English ivy, an invasive species common in Reston woodlands.

 





As often happens around here, by the time we got to the weeding site, the rain had stopped. After a briefing by the Reston Association staff, we spent two hours pulling up long strands of ivy roots. We left behind two huge piles of ivy and carried home a huge sense of accomplishment... not to mention some pretty muddy pants, shirts, shoes and gloves!

The afternoon was spent untying a "human knot," finalizing our script and making props for the play we're presenting tomorrow.

 A little rest tonight and we'll be ready for Thursday!

A jackle!

St. Anne's + God = Mission POSSIBLE 2011!

Shirts and journals are ready!

Today was the first day of Mission Possible, the outreach day camp at St. Anne's. We hit the ground running for our four day program. Blue was the shirt color of the day. 

The morning began with Rev. Denise leading us in worship and scripture study. We talked about "Unity, not Uniformity." We prepared to work together, drawing on our individual gifts.

Like chocolate, go right.

Team building was next on the agenda.

Martha led some getting-to-know-you games before lunch. It was fun to find out who liked which Harry Potter movie or who would rather have a koala or a kangaroo for a pet. This is definitely a group that prefers the beach to the mountains for a summer vacation! 

Toothbrushes and toys for goodie bags.

Following lunch at the park, the group designed an assembly line to sort and pack goodie bags that will be delivered later this week to the Jeanie Schmidt Free Clinic.

Our Thursday activity will be presenting a play to a couple local daycare programs. We chose the story and read through the parts before our busy first day came to a close.

Emily works on the script.

Journals

We spent some time journaling before a couple of songs, announcements and a closing prayer.

Tomorrow: green shirts and God's green creation!