tj&h

Slice of life:
Most people outside of the main cities of the DR do not have running water. Many times, they will have a large 50 gallon barrel that they keep fresh water in. We are fortunate to have running water. It works like this: We have a large underground cistern where water is pumped up to our rooftop tank, and then gravity delivers it to our showerhead, etc. The only problem with this kind of system, is that when there is no power, there is no way to get the water up to the roof. Our neighbor has a 5550W generator that struggles to power the pump. Our inverter batteries, the electric from the street, nor our little 650W generator can handle it. So when our neighbor left town for a week, and our tank ran out, we were without water. We did what most dominicans do- we hauled buckets of water up the stairs and used it to wash dishes, flush toilets, and take sponge baths. (Sponged clean on your anniversary... romantic.) Our neighbor is back and we have running water again, and the problem should be solved this week when our power is "fixed" (We only get 50 watts or so from a 110 outlet.)
In other news, the ministry is up and running. We are starting to make some fast friends with our strategy of "If you sit there, they will come." Names like Yonso, Jordan, Yeffri, Chico and Nannanina will soon become familiar, when we can get our pictures up and running to post little bios of the kids and introduce them to you. We are learning the rhythm of the days -afternoon and evening, there's more "people traffic" than mornings. We also have lots of interest in English classes, and have already had a first meeting with two Haitian men, one Dominican man, and several older Dominican teens. Are we ready for this?!
We are going tonight to a town not far from here called Las Terrenas to celebrate our anniversary. Thanks again for the continued blessings through email and on this site! We love you- Tj and Holly