THE MOVE

In the midst of all the teams, a cold virus, and the construction at Restoration Ranch we also moved from the apartment where we had lived for the last 10 1/2 years. I think that is the longest I have ever lived in one place in my life. My father was military so we moved a lot when I was a kid. A decade ago a wonderful Christian lady and her husband offered to rent us their upscale condominium according to our middle of the road budget. It was a gift from God and its timing was perfect. The condo is in the center of Santo Domingo and was perfect for us since we didn't have an automobile during those early years. However, the very thing that made it so perfect is the thing that had begun to make it less than desirable. Being in the center of a city of 4 million is interesting! We actually grew to like city living in spite of the fact we thought we would never get used to it. As the city continued to grow we began to see more and more high-rise apartment towers taking the place of single family dwellings. On our block alone we could count about 14 such undertakings. The results are that in the same place where a single family lived and had their one or two vehicles there is now a multi-family tower with 80 or so families, each with their car or two or even more. The pollution in our neighborhood began to show the effects of the increased traffic. Because of the amount of construction occurring, we also have had an influx of large diesel trucks pouring out contamination. We don't have the same pollution laws here that we have in the States! Anyway, to shorten the story a little, we had been thinking that we'd like to make a move. We had two major factors inhibiting us; the security of the 24 hour guard at the apartment building and the fact that when we traveled the building administrator paid all of our bills in our absence. Recently we had a family visiting us here, and we housed them with our staff members Greg and Melynda Burge. One day as we took them 'home' we noticed a rental sign on the house that sits right behind the Burge house. To be continued...

What CAN $75 do?

What can $75 do? It could fill your tank with gas. It could buy a dinner for two in a nice restaurant. It could take a family of four to the movies complete with popcorn, candy and drinks. Or it could help build a square meter of roof on a home for underprivileged children.

We have had a number of responses to our newsletter post and e-mail with the idea of people helping build the roof by 'purchasing' a square meter. With Thanksgiving right around the corner, assisting in the construction of this home for the underprivileged may be a wonderful way to acknowledge the multitude of blessings in our lives.

Our goal is to get this roof on, put the stucco on the exterior walls, then begin to finish out the apartments one by one. As soon as we get that done we can begin to bring in parents to train and finally to start the process of receiving children. How exciting it will be to see children running, playing, and learning right there on Restoration Ranch!

What Can $75 Do?

Most of this post is from our November newsletter, but it is worth sharing again!

Building number 1 at Restoration Ranch is ready for a roof. As you can see in the photo all the second floor walls are up, the bond beam has been poured and the angle walls finished up to the peak. The hip style roof (with sloping sides and ends) will be a poured slab of 4 inch concrete, which will not only help prevent water from filtering through and damaging the paint and the walls (a common problem here), but will also be strong enough to withstand hurricane strength winds.

Because of the design of the roof an enormous amount of wooden support poles and plywood will be needed to build the form. Into that form will go a mat of rebar, electrical conduit, and outlet boxes for the lights. Once that is prepared the cement truck will be required to pour the mixed cement. These materials along with labor costs are estimated to be US$28,438. The roof is approximately 400 square meters in size, so that comes out to $71 per meter. To allow for cost increases we are thinking that $75 per square meter will cover the cost of building the roof. We are seeking donors who will help build this roof, meter by meter, with gifts of $75 per square meter. We currently have 30 meters worth of donations. That leaves just 370. How many would you like?!

THE BIG DAY

Today's post will be just a little different, but so near and dear to the core of my heart that it must be the topic. You see, 27 years ago today our baby girl was first laid in my arms, and a nearly 3 decade love affair began. A beautiful autumn Friday afternoon and a perfect new born baby girl; It doesn't get much better than that! HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESSICA! Ireland is lucky to have you.

Building One

Building One is ready for a roof! The builders are finishing up some interior walls on the first floor, and then will need to build with plywood and wooden posts the platform that will hold the 4" cement slab. The roof will be slanted as opposed to the very common flat roof that we see so often here. It will actually cost a bit more to build this roof, but it will eliminate a host of future problems that begin with water filtration.
As you can see, there are construction materials all over the place, even in the resting areas.

Preliminary Trip

While the group from the DC area was here with the Burge family, we personally hosted two pastors from upstate South Carolina who flew in to spy out the land and the opportunities for missions here in the Dominican Republic.





Pastor Fred Bachman and Bob Kelley seemed to enjoy their time with us and are excited about Restoration Ranch and about bringing a team in the spring of 2009. When I write 2009 it seems so far in the future, and yet we are in the midst of November, and 2009 is less than 60 days away!

MInistry to the Kids

On the same day that the group planted all those little bushes and hauled all those heavy blocks, they ministered twice at our local community school. We have developed a close relationship with the school director, and she allows us liberty in when and how we minister to the 350 children she has under her care. The kids really enjoyed the puppets, skits, and 'magic' tricks that the team used to minister to them. They were having so much fun that they would answer "si" to whatever Jim said, without a word of it being translated. It honestly didn't matter what he said; they were just agreeing with every word he spoke!