First Week

Sorry about the rain drop!

Hello, Friends! Here we are back at the beach. It has been a week already! I know this because I am doing laundry. :) We arrived Tuesday night safe and sound. There were no delays and our luggage was not checked. We were concerned because we were bringing a condenser for the car air conditioner and a golf club for John. The latter just barely fit in the suitcase, and it made it look a little crooked. I should have taken a picture. Our friend Gardy from town now has a van, so he was there with his wife and daughter to greet us. It is so nice to be greeted by familiar faces and big hugs from everybody.

The cutest girls!

On Wednesday, we just went shopping and got settled, but Thursday we talked to both halves of the couple who separated. We had Irene for breakfast (3 hours) and we had him for dinner (another 3 hours). Irene is, of course, devastated. She remains strong in the Lord and was able to forgive him. Luis is adamant. He says things haven't been well for a long time, but he never told us. This was not news to us because we have been talking to Irene all this time. He has a girlfriend, but he would not say that to us. We are very concerned for their child who is very sensitive. He actually has a skin condition that erupts when he is under emotional stress. So, Dad is renting a studio apartment by their house and stills goes to pick him up at school as usual, comes by frequently at night, and all day on Sundays. We know that this is an unsustainable situation because the girlfriend will eventually demand that he spend more time with her. The way things are right now, we don't see reconciliation. We told him we are his friends, but that doesn't mean that we agree with his decision.

Friday morning we went to town early in the morning to walk and pray. The roads are so bad, that we drove all the way on first gear. There is no way to avoid the potholes. The Lord allowed us to see most of the women who come to the Bible Study, so they all know that we are back. Irene wants to continue having the Bible Studies at her house. It was decided to meet on Saturday, August 5 for the first time. Saturday morning we went to the guy who fixes the A/C with the part we brought from the States and a couple of parts for his car.  He has three small children. The oldest boy is six, but the two little girls are about four and two. As soon as I sat down, the two little girls climbed on my lap and stayed there a good hour. Their mother made us the typical local breakfast: rice and beans, scrambled eggs and a slice of local cheese. It is a very healthy breakfast that stick to you the rest of the day. This family is not local really, but from the Dominican Republic. When was the last time you had your car worked on and had a complementary breakfast? Saturday night we visited a family where we have another Bible study, and had dinner with Irene and her two boys.

We went to church on Sunday. The pastor and his wife came, and he led a very good Bible study. This pastor is a very good Bible teacher, but the problem is that he works full time and spends no time visiting or establishing relationships in town. He lives about 45 minutes from here. It turned out that Sunday was Gardy's daughter's birthday, so he invited to go to the movies with them and Randall, Arleth and Yirardi (Gardy and Arleth are brother and sister). We all went in the van pass the airport to the nearest movie theater and saw Spider Man. We got there an hour before the movie, so we had coffee and dessert. After the movie we went to McDonald's for dinner. Leaving McDonald's, it started to pour. We couldn't even see out. Gardy had to drive very slowly. I was praying the whole way. We finally got home at about 9 pm, thankful that the Lord kept us safe.

Yesterday evening we had dinner with Francisco, Luz and his family, but they also invited the pastor, his wife, Randall, Arleth and Yirardi. We really did not want to go because we were afraid of the rain and to get caught in a flash flood; however, the Lord again was good and it stopped raining. We had a great time together, and again, the pastor brought a short devotional. Today Sergio, the other divorced man, came over for breakfast because it was his day off. He also stayed three hours. We meant to visit two other families today, but they both cancelled on us, so I decided to do laundry and blog.

We thank the Lord for our safety and health.

Prayer requests:

• That the Lord will gives us wisdom as we teach and counsel.
• That Luis and Irene will reconcile.
• That the Lord give their son peace.
• Traveling mercies during this heavy rainy season. 
• For the couples' retreat on August 19-20. May the Holy Spirit work on all our hearts.
• That the Lord will keep together the rest of the families we are involved with.
• Safety and health - keep us free from mosquito-transmitted diseases.
• That our family back home remain safe.

 Please keep us in your prayers. We count on you!

Until next time...from the beach...