Laguna Dudu Take Two

Life seams to be flying by so fast. You might think life in the tropics is laid back but that doesn't seam to be the case lately. Don't get me wrong, even when there is a lot going on, it's still done in laid back fashion. Sometimes to laid back. Haha. The last three weeks have been a little crazy around here. First the dedication, then the zone meeting, then the english assembly. Plus having Dad and Tracy here. Hence the lack in blog entries. It might have been busy but it was fun.

Dad and Tracy seamed to survive their time here. It's pretty hard when you have to go to the beach every day and nap in a hammock every afternoon but you do what you gotta do. We are so glad that they got the chance to come see that we are good here and to meet the congregation and understand why we fell in love with life in Las Terrenas. It was sad to have to leave them early but you just can't pass up an english assembly when you live in a spanish country.

But to continue on where the last blog left off. Levi ended up having to get a new rim for his bike so of course he went with the shiny red one. I swear that boy is turning into a Dominican. He's been on the hunt for a place to paint because we live in a complex full of old crabby Italians who think they own the place. Thankfully he met some good ol' Canadians that are going to let him use their garage in exchange for some painting. It's a good thing to cause he's on his way to pick up another surfboard today.

Next we have to go on a hunt for a new place to live in September. Our next place will probably be a little more dominican but anything to be able to stay as long as we can.

It has been amazing at the meeting since we have been in the new hall. We have been having so many visitors from all over the island that the hall is full almost every meeting. Plus so many more studies are now coming to the meeting. I think the new hall has had a big impact on the town. One day while the construction was going on a man passed by and wanted to know what was going on. It was explained to him and he was invited to the meeting. At the time we were still in the school house. He and his family have been to almost every meeting since. Religion is such a part big part of life here that i think the people now have more respect for the witnesses seeing as we have a nice place for worship. It's pretty exciting.On the bus to the zone meeting in Nagua.

Over 60,ooo people attended the zone meeting via satellite around the country with only 30,000 publishers in the Dominican. What a pleasant surprise that the main talk was in English and then translated to spanish.

Ok so here is a picture of my first time on stage. Can you see the concentration on my face. My mic was not working so the brothers kept coming on stage to try and fix it. Talk about distracting.

Michael, Lacey, Leslie
Can you tell which two are brother and sister?

Lacey, Emily, Leslie
And no that's not pepto bismol it's yogurt.

Hannah and me
7:30 in the morning and we're off to blue lake and laguna dudu in the back of a truck.

Laguna Dudu

So this is the other little lake at laguna dudu. We didn't make it over to this one last time but seeing as it was so busy at the main lake we thought we would try it out. It was so pretty and peaceful here.

The last pictures of these little guys were hard to see so here is the little shrimp again cleaning my toes.

The girls trying to catch some sun.

Lacey and me at the entrance to the cave.

Exploring inside the cave. It was pitch black inside and we had to keep taking pictures so we could see where we were going with the light of the flash.

Blue Lake

The whole crew

Maybe things will be a little quieter for march before the rush of april. The congregation has a goal to have every publisher pioneer in april so i think it's going to be a busy month.

Life in the D.R.

We got a little taste of how most of the people here in town live when the hose on the water heater exploded the other day. Just as i got out of the shower we hear a boom and see smoke coming from the back of the house. On closer inspection we realize it was steam coming from the busted hose. Needles to say dad and Tracy were not to excited to shower in cold water but we all got used to it and survived. And of course it had to be on a friday night so it was a whole weekend of cold water. Good thing the water is not ice cold like home but still just a little refreshing first thing in the morning. The guy showed up this morning and the hot water back up and running.

Levi finally got all his paintings done for now so today Dad and Tracy rented a bike and we went for a little tour up over the mountain into Samana. Dad shows up from the rental company with a little scooter because the bike he rented last time was out and he thought the other dirt bike was to old and was worried about it breaking down. Needless to say he went back and exchanged it pretty fast. Those things are pretty gutless and not to fun to ride and we're pretty sure it would not of made it over the mountain. So we get them back on a real bike and off we went. We had to chase the rain most of the way and we ended up getting caught just on the edge at one point. It was not to bad, just a few minutes of rain so we didn't melt.

We made to Samana in one piece and stopped for some lunch. With the lackadaisical way of life here it only took one hour to make a couple of sandwiches. Ahhhh just to remind you of where you are. After lunch we walked along the water to Bon for some ice cream and back to the bikes for the journey home.

Just when we think everything is good, dad pulls up and points at our tire. Ahhh poop a flat. Off the bike we get and levi heads back to the last little town to get a new tube. We waited it out on the side of the road while people kept stopping and asking us if we need help. I got to put my spanish to the test seeing as i didn't have levi to fall back on. I think i got my point across. So along comes levi and we're back on the road again. 10 min. later and poop another flat tire. Needless to say it's not worth getting fixed again. Again some nice people stop and ask if we need help so they help us flag down a truck and load the bike in the back. Levi and i jump in the back and we're on the road again. I jump out at our road and walk home and levi is currently in town trying to get new spokes for the wheel. Lets hope this is not one of those time when it takes forever to get something done.

So that was our exciting day today but at least we can have a hot shower tonight.

Busy As Ever

So we thought we were done being busy but we seem to be on the go just as mush as before. Well i guess you can't really call going to the beach every day on the go. Dad and Tracy seem to be settling in here and spending lots of time all the beach which is nice for me. It's funny how when you have something right there in front of you , you take it for granted. We live on the ocean yet we hardly ever go. So now with company i'm taking advantage of it again. And Levi is so busy painting surfboards it's almost like he has a full time job again. Good thing it's doing something he loves. Anyway here is a compilation of the last week.I forgot to post these pics last week but this was the last meeting in the old school house. It is so amazing that we have been here for so many firsts and now a last. The progress in the Dominican is so amazing. There are even more and more language groups opening up on the island, English, Russian, Japanese, Italian, sign language etc...

Again where there's a group, there's food.

Hector Jr. enjoying a peanut butter cookie

After the culture shock of town and a nights sleep we headed to the beach to show them the other part of life in the Dominican. This part i'm pretty sure they like. Getting dad out of the hammock is a chore in it's self but once he's up we're good to go.

Yup with a beer in hand dad says it's not to bad

Another first
This was the first Spanish meeting in the new hall.

Another First
Levi gave his first spanish bible reading.

He did soooooo good. I'm very proud.

Dad And Tracy at the first meeting

Yesterday they rented a bike so we could do a little more touring around.

We took them out to Playa Coson for a swim but......

If you can't see it in the picture, that's a tow rope dad is holding. Yup the bike broke down. I guess the spark plug fouled and they were trying bomb start it but nothing. Levi had to ride back into town a get a new one. At least it happened at the beach so we just sat by the water for a little longer.

Dad changing the plug.

After all a bite to eat we were back on the road. Next we headed back in the other direction to check out some country side and then back to the beach road and followed it home for a ron punch smoothie and a nap. We didn't want to waste the time with them having a bike so after a nap we were back out on the road to get some German food just outside of town. It's just a tiny little restaurant but the food is soooo good.

This morning it was time to introduce them to the other way of life here in Las Terrenas so we took them out in service. We walked for a few hours and they got to see some of the back roads. not right into the barrio (shanty town) but a good mix of local and foreign houses. Me and two of the sister hiked way up a driveway to some french places but only one person was there. Dad and Colby made it up half way but we were already there so the left. The view from the top was AMAZING. It was a 360 degree view of Las Terrenas and blue ocean forever. There must have been at least 5000 steps. Next time we'll have to get them right into the barrio to experience the true feel of service here. There was a lot of walking this morning so i think we might have to just chill this afternoon on the beach while levi "works".

Dedication

And breathe. That's right the hall is done and the dedication is over. Finally we can move in. Well actually the creole group already has. Seeing as they had their CO's visit last week they got to have their meetings in the new hall. The CO pulled rank and said they could use if before the dedication while we still had to meet in the old school house. You know what, i think i might actually miss the school house a little. Not the hard chairs or the leaky roof or the bugs or the bathroom or sitting outside in the rain but yeah i will miss it. We went from this

and this. Standing outside because there was just no room inside

To this!

Once the grass fill in, the landscaping will be beautiful. Right now it looks like it had a bad haircut but the plants are really nice.

Here is Mark Weiler (from Edmonton) giving the history of Jehovah's Witnesses in Las terrenas

The final dedication talk given by Bro. Crispin From Bethel. The talk was also translated into creole by Rau, (a special pioneer in the creole congregation) It turned out to be a packed house so people were still sitting outside. It seamed kind of funny because we did all this work to avoid having to sit outside but with 262 in attendance it couldn't be helped.

The girls worked so hard on these beautiful flower arrangements and yes they are real flowers.

Where there's a group, there's always food.

I was hoping Sachiyo would break out her kimono. She wears it to the memorial but i've never gotten a chance to see it in person. It is so amazing all the different cultures that make up the congregation.

Keon & Priscilla ( from Edmonton )

After the dedication, the two congregations and the construction group all headed over to the house of one of the brother and sisters from the creole cong. for yet another feast. This gave us one last chance to say thanks and good bye the the crew.

Miharu & Leslie

Josue & Laura

Leslie & Amii. Our little super models.

Some more outfits from other lands

As a surprise Jeremy arranged a group of brothers and sisters the sing a mash up of kingdom songs. It was so nice to hear them going from Spanish to Creole to English to Japanese. There were many tears flowing after that.

The girls were having a hard time letting go so they tried to sneak into the van as they were leaving.Even Elda Papa tried to run away with the boys.All the single sisters shedding a tear as the boys drive away.

Sachiyo, Lacey, Amii, Hannah, Leslie, Miharu, Sara y me

After the party we headed out up over the mountain to pick up Dad and Tray from the Airport. With all the snow (in Toronto) i was wondering if they would even get here but the plane landed right on time. It was nice to see some family again. This morning we took them for a little tour of town and then headed to Lindo to stock up on food and take advantage of having a car for the morning. Back to the house for a snack and a snooze in the hammock for Dad. Then off the beach and then back for another snooze in the hammock for dad. Haha I think i know where he's going to be for next two weeks.

But know it time for levi to get back to work painting surfboards and preparing for his talk on Wednesday. Yup his first spanish talk is this week and then next week i am a householder for the first time. Time to get back to my spanish. I hope Amii takes it easy on me. Who knew life in the tropics would be so busy.