Christmas 2010, Santiago

Roast pork, seasoned chicken, rice, pasteles, salad, Christmas bread...just a few of the delicious foods that fill your plate at a typical Dominican Christmas meal. Many families prepare their own meat or you can buy it on any street corner during the Christmas-New Year holiday season.

Telara bread is also only prepared and sold at Christmas time. This is a traditional bread that accompanies the holiday meal and is available only at this time of the year. On Christmas eve, it also is sold on every street corner.


After the main meal, candies, raisins and apples are enjoyed along with holiday punch.


The main Christmas celebration is usually held on Christmas Eve beginning with the traditional meal that is usually eaten with family members. Family members spend the evening together and gifts are exchanged and opened. At midnight fireworks are set off to announce the arrival of Christmas day.

Dominican Cooking

Living in different countries gives you opportunity to learn new ways to do things. I have been invited into many kitchens where Dominican women have shared cooking tips and recipes with me. The first rule of all Dominican cooking - wash your rice before boiling it!

Another thing that at first seemed curious to me was the way in which meat is handled. All meat is washed before it is cooked. Chicken is first cleaned by holding it under running water and then soaked in lemon or vinegar water before cooking, to remove all bacteria. I was really surprised the first time I saw someone put ground beef in a sieve and wash it under running water!

One thing I have seen many times in the DR and have come to see as something "normal" is the way Dominican women open cans. Most homes do not have a can opener. You just use a sharp knife to open the lid of the can. These are some pictures of women opening cans with large kitchen knives.

Some might think it would just be easier to give everyone an opener, but I have come to admire the creativity and ingenuity of these women. They use what they have available to them and use it to create and prepare delicious dishes for their families and guests.

Christmas Portraits, Santiago 2009

These are some typical photos of how the city is decorated.









Fruit stands with apples, raisins and gum drops are very common. We also see plenty of roast pork, usually sold along the side of the road, where you can buy it buy the pound for your family get togethers.






























This is what Christmas looks like here, where the night time temperature is still 79F at 8PM. Since it stays warm, outside decorations are very popular.












The decoration theme this year seems to have been: ribbon and butterflies. We have also seen more Santa's this year than ever before.

Dangerous Job

This past week I saw something interesting - and frightening at the same time. We saw some painters working on a six story building. The painters worked in pairs. One man stays up on the roof and makes sure the ladder is secure and also is in charge of raising and lowering the five gallon bucket of paint for the man below.






The other man climbs down the ladder. With one arm he hangs on to the ladder, and all the painting is done with the other hand. As you can see, there is no safety equipment - not even a security rope for the painter. He just climbs up and down the rope ladder right out in the open.





Update:

A few weeks ago I told you about Juan and the robbers that tried to take his motorbike. The bullet wounds have healed up nicely. But, apparently, the bullet did some damage to one of the nerves that control the muscles in the wrist. Juan can close his fist but is unable to lift his fingers and wrist in any kind of upward motion. He is wearing a cast for the time being and may have to get some therapy. Please keep him in your prayers. Juan had been hoping to go into the medical profession. If he does not regain the motion in his hand, he may have to choose a different life's work.

Elections

Next May, the people here will vote in their local mid-term elections. The streets are already filled with posters and ads for all of the candidates from the three different main political parties. All the candidates are already campaigning to get as many votes as possible.

How does this affect the church work? Much of the campaigning is done on Sunday when people are off from work. For several Sundays now, Juan has had to postpone the beginning of the service while we wait for a candidate's parade to go past the church. This video was taken from the door of Juan's church.

As you can tell from the video, it gets VERY loud and the parade is quite long. Those people who don't have speakers blaring, are honking their horns and playing their radios full-blast. It is impossible to begin services or to concentrate on the Word with such a racket going by.

After the parade is past, your ears continue humming and buzzing for a while from all the loud noises. When we start singing our hymns -- it sounds very sweet!





In other news:

We want to again thank all of you for your prayers for the work here and for our safety. On Friday night, one of our members, Juan Fransisco, received a gunshot wound. Bible class had finished and he had already taken one person home on his motorbike. He was coming back to the church to pick up a second person to give them a ride home. Some other men on another motorcycle began following him, pulled out a gun and shot him in an attempt to steal his bike. Juan was able to continue riding his bike and arrive once again at the church property. There the members that were still around attended to him and took him to the clinic. Thanks to the Lord, the bullet exited his body and all he needed were some stitches.



We are all rejoicing and giving thanks to the Lord for His loving protection of Juan. Please rejoice with us that Juan is well and recovering. The Lord sent his holy angels to watch over Juan. And we thank you, also, for all your faithful prayers.

Contrasts

Living in a foreign country can give you a different perspective. We have the privilege of meeting new people, learning a new language and new customs. It is a continuous learning process and we always feel like we are learning new things.






I thought it might be interesting to show you some of the contrasts between our two countries. These are some photos showing the difference between two countries. The pictures on the left are from congregations in the U.S. The pictures on the right are from our congregations here in the Dominican Republic.






Different parts of the world, worshiping the same Savior.











Thanking God for the gift of salvation, be it with gold and silver or with paper and plastic; coming to worship Him in SUV's or on motorcycles. The thankfulness of the hearts is the same.

At the Mansion

This past week we attended the funeral of one of our newest members. Magnolia, a member of Juan Tavarez' congregation died on Sunday evening.

Magnolia had been feeling poorly for a while and on Sunday evening she was taken to the clinic. After about half an hour she died of a heart attack. The general custom here is for the body to be returned to the family. So she was brought back to the house where the family bathed and dressed her body for burial. Then the family needed to go out to buy a casket and have it delivered to the house.

The casket is usually placed in the front room of the house - after all the furniture has been moved out. (In this case, the family decided to use the community center). Friends, relatives and neighbors will then arrive to accompany the family members throughout the night and until the service and burial the following day.

Juan Tavarez was able to give a beautiful law and gospel presentation to all the people present, affirming the faith that Magnolia had in her heart guaranteeing her a place in heaven next to her Savior. It was an opportunity to witness to many new people.

After the service, a rented hearse arrives to take the casket to the cemetery. Most of the burials here are in masoleums. The family must rent a space for x number of years (usually 3). At the end of the contract you are given the option of renewing or different options for disposing of the remains.

When the funeral party arrives at the cemetery, the workers are there waiting. Juan was able to say a few words again for the family. Then the casket is placed into the chosen spot and is immediately cemented in. The workers place the name plaque in place and fix it in place with cement. Some families may leave flowers or pictures in front of the vault. These are then enclosed with a metal grate and locked to avoid being robbed.

Final condolences are given and everyone returns to their homes. People do not get together for a meal after the burial, as is customary in the US.

Magnolia had been a member for just a few short months. She was very happy about her faith, always expressing her joy in forgiveness. In one service she gave a beautiful witness of her faith to another family member. We will miss her - but only for a little while. We know that she is already with the Savior - at the mansion.

Beaches

He gave the sea its boundary, so the waters would not overstep his command.

Prov. 8:29

When people hear that you live on an island, they naturally assume that you must spend lots of time at the beach. Not so. Santiago is about two hours from the closest beach. Although we enjoy the ocean views, the most we see of the water is on our monthly visits to San Pedro. A good part of that drive is along the southern coast line, which is just beautiful.

The major industry here in the DR is still tourism, so many people come here to enjoy the beaches. From the pictures, you can see why. So, if you would like to enjoy another wonderful part of God's creation, come to the DR and see the beauties His hands have wrought in the sea and the sand.

I made the sand a boundary for the sea, an everlasting barrier it could not cross.
Jer. 5:22

Motorcycles - The New Pick-up

How many uses can you think of for a motorcycle? We never ceased to be amazed at the different ways the Domincan people use this mode of transportation. It's main function is to transport people and family and you can hire a "taxi" motorcycle for about 75 cents to take you anywhere in the city. We have seen up to six people on one motorcycle at the same time. Whole families travel together with dad in front, the kids fit in the middle, mom sits at the back with baby hanging on her hip!






But sometimes you see a motorcycle being used to transport many original things. At times you just smile, and other times you say, "Did you SEE that?" The ingenuity of the Domincan people is quite astounding and refreshing. As some have been heard to say, "Never a dull moment in the DR!"