In Rememberance of Him

This Sunday we gathered around to "commune" and remember what the Lord did for all.

Brian led our thoughts to use this time as:

• A memorial of Christ Jesus
• An occasion of thanksgiving
• A public proclamation
• Expression of confident expectation
• Time of self-examination
• Time of sharing with Christ
• A demonstration of unity

As we "supped" together, we shared what this time means to us, shared passages that touch our hearts, sang songs that praised and thanked our Father for what he did.

We did as families do around a table of love and appreciation, we enjoyed each other and were encouraged by one another, knowing we had a Father who loved us so very, very much!!

VBS

The groups have done a great job planning and presenting their VBSs this summer.

So far:
"Courage" (Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego; Ester) presented by Levy
"Fruits of the Spirit" presented by Highland View
"Trust" (David and Goliath) presented by Fairfax

Still to come:

"Creation" presented by Maricamp
"Faith" (Noah's Ark; Daniel and the Lion's Den) presented by Cloverdale
"The Power of God" presented by Lake Cities
"Amigos de Dios" (Apostles being called) presented by Westminister

New Addition

Drum roll, please.........

Our baby-girl is engaged!!!

Jonathan Raine (a Kiwi, and son of the director of the Bible College our daughter is attending in New Zealand) proposed to Shawnean Wallace (an American, whose South African father had married the dean's daughter of the Bible college he had attended in NY) this past May after dating for a year.

Welcome to the family, Jono!!

A Group Effort

The groups work hard while here in the DR. It's such a blessing to have so many extra hands make our jobs lighter. Thanks Fairfax. painting at the Children's Home

rock detail

Brilliant

All groups end their week with supper at the beach and a sunset devotional.
The Creater demonstrates his majesty at the ocean like no other location.

Highland View member, Tyler, demonstrated his brillance by proposing to girlfriend, Brittney.

Celebration!

Lindsey Bynum had a surprise Graduation party last night. We are blessed to be a part of this young lady's life.

HAPPY GRADUATION, LINDSEY!!!

Invitation to a Wiennie Roast

A few weeks back we were invited to the children's homes' wiennie roast. A new experience was had by all. The kids first time to roast hotdogs on a wire over a fire, and....

...first time for us to roast marshmellow Peeps. Shame!!!

All Work, No Play Makes Jack a Dull Boy

Levy have added the final extention to the basketball/soccer court. It's big now!

The groups have a real workout when they come here.

But we're not total "task masters".

They got the job done quickly and a quick rinsing off of cement in the nearby river was refreshing to all.

The Pieces are Coming Together

We've been praying long and hard for some one to fill the role of well driller with the MannaDR work. Rich and Audrey Amy were invited to join the team a while back, but due to obligations that kept them in the States they weren't able to come at that point. Well, all that's behind them and they're wrapping things up to head our way.



As we humans wonder how things can possibly get done, God is making all things possible.
We've been open-jawed for the past several months in awe of our Lord's "ways" and witnessing how he's placed in the hearts of wonderful people, to come and serve along side us in the MannaDR work. Bart, Kristen and Elijah Norman; and Kyle and Vicki Graham will be working in the outreach of Rio San Juan.

Please be praying for the Amys, Normans, and Grahams as they all embark on heading off to language school in September and plan on arriving in the Dominican Republic in January 2009.

Making Room

There's some expansion going on at the camp.

The meeting area has been expanded by a third and has given us a lot more room.

The roof has since been put on.

What to do if...

Yesterday the medical group trained the MannaDR staff and Dominican House moms in CPR and helping someone who is choking. Very valuable information when one lives so far from medical care.

All the children in the homes had check-ups as well.

Interns Take over

If you've read previous blogs, you'll know that Cory and Laura Beth have recently returned home with their first born, Harrison. While Laura Beth recovers and all three get used to a new way of doing things, our interns have taken over the Wednesday night Bible classes.

The girl interns are teaching the little ones until Laura Beth returns to teach.

And the guy interns are teaching the "jovens" (young people), and then the girl interns will join them to be of assistence as well, while Cory assists Laura Beth.

Helpers

It was great having Rich and Audrey visiting earlier this month.

They helped us out so much.

Rich turned Brian on to locating places on a satelite map.

Started contructing the soccer goals on the "newly increased" court at the Homes.

And turned a drum into the grill Brian wanted, making him very happy.

Audrey helped me to organize the Home's storage room.

Taught me Accounting 101 (I hope I can remember it all)

And cleaned my house!! (No picture since it didn't stay clean after she left)

Thanks, Amys!!!!

Mother's Day

Today is Mother's Day here in the DR and we celebrated our moms with a worship service of the children in the Homes singing some songs, reciting scriptures and inspirational poems for the moms. A time of sharing stories about our mothers ended a lovely service honoring God's gift of moms.

Norm has been meeting with a group of young people in Rio San Juan and some are musically inclined. Mother's day and the camp grounds was a perfect reason and place for them to perform their first concert. They did a really good job.

There's a New Kid in Town

Yes! Harrison Henry Lamb has arrived.

What a beautiful family!

Any family resemblance here??More info and photos at:

http://web.mac.com/coryandlaurabeth/Site/Blog/Blog.html

Welcome Interns!

After a morning of orientation, and then an afternoon of putting a fresh coat of paint on some of the camp buildings; we had a "Welcome Interns" cookout.

Nothing says "Welcome" better than food!!

It was goooood!!

Arrival!!

No...still not Baby Harrison Lamb.

The interns!!
Some are interns for the summer groups, some are for the Rio San Juan outreach, and some are invitees from the year before to come be our "go-phers".

Luke arrived the 19th
Jamie
Felicia
Mickey
Daniel
Jacob all arrived today
Chad arrives tomorrow
Catherine arrives on the 9th of June

Please pray that this summer is a blessing to all, and that God is glorified in what is being done.

Working it

It's so nice having the garden.

We've already harvested tomatoes, green beans, basil, cilantro.

Won't be long until the carrots, eggplants, and peas start producing.

At our last staff training session, Brian showed us what and how good ground should be made, drainage, and creating one's own compost.

It's Arrived!!

No....not Baby Harrison.

Jarisa's Visa!!!! After a bit of confusion and trying to deliver it to a resort (that had been mentioned in the directions as a way of indicating that our country road turned off the main road between Bahia Principe and Rio San Juan) it arrived by courier today.
Hardening Academy here I come!!

Water

Good to see the pump working again and the folks in Caraqueña able to get water.
Especially timely, since the solar pump at the children's home well is in need of repair. So until the part can be ordered and gotten here, the Home kids are benefiting from the village well too.

What a Gift!!

Last week we ran into a contact who'd we'd not seen in years, and he told us that eye surgeons were coming into the country to give free operations. We immediately told him of 2 kids that needed eye surgery and we got the necessary information to take them for consultations. Both kids were eligible! One of Jean Baptiste's daughters, Ashleigh, was born with "wandering eyes", but now she's been given a wonderful gift. Two days after surgery and she's doing fantastically. We praise God for his many blessings!!

Cleaning Frenzy

It's sooo nice when the kids' community service projects coincide with a need at the camp.

This month Cory and Laura Beth arranged for the kids of the Homes to clean the summer interns' houses. It sort of turned into a duel of who could get their house the cleanest. (Perhaps it was something I said).

The girls cleaned the girls' intern house...

and the boys cleaned the boys interns' house.
Good Job!!!

Girls and Boys

While the girls (Laura Beth, Kayla, Audrey, Lindsey, Lisa, Holly, and Tammie) partied it up showering Laura Beth....



and anticipating Harrison's arrival....Girly Stuff



...all the guys (Rich, Cory, Ethan, Tim, and Brian) set about getting the stuck piping and pump out of the Caraquena well. Even made use of the newly arrived rig. Manly stuff!!

....Something Old, Something New...

Brian and I found ourselves in something new this past Sunday. He as "wedding co-ordinator" and myself as....
...mother of the groom.

Our friends from Haiti, Jean Baptiste and Marteen, now living and working here in the DR, were finally able to have a wedding ceremony.

It was absolutley lovely, if I say so myself!!