Homage & Bon Voyage

Mickey's leaving tomorrow. We're too bummed to even tell you how bummed we are. We could NEVER convey how amazing it's been to have her here.

She is friend, confidante, helper, fun-lover, minister, Spanish-speaker/listener & sister extraordinaire. God has worked through Mickey Page in mighty ways, in countless moments. We praise him for sending us a great gift in her; both for this summer in RioSanJuan, and all of our years after.

Surely not.

Does life get any better than this?!

¿Como se dice "Otter Creek" en español?

Pics from the camp OCYG is doing for our kiddos:

Naomi about to put the hurt on Will Netterville.

Girls group "Las Explosivas" in the OC/RSJ Photo Scavenger Hunt!

"Los Guerreros de Cristo" looking ready to win...

Making pillows with Club Chiquito. (Tori Brown is the hand model.)

OCYG remembered us saying at Christmas that most of our kids sleep on the floor. They realized these kids probably didn't have pillows, and wanted them to have one to sleep on. We are humbled at their thoughtfulness, and know that it is our God that allows them to provide just what these kids need.

OCYG + RSJ

OCYG is here!!! 5 hours in, this week is turning out to be one of our best.

We might have a quasi-paparazzi situation on our hands, as our RSJ kids have heard the group has finally arrived. They are flooding our gates, wanting to meet the group and make sure they haven't missed the beginning of camp!

Oops.

They're just a few weeks old - they can barely open their eyes. Someone dumped them at the end of our street - the boys found them there last night. There are things about this culture that are difficult for us to stomach, and cruelty towards animals is waaaaaaaay up there on the list. It's borderline sadistic.

We CAN'T adopt three little Dominican viralatas right before we leave. So, the boys made a palm tree shelter, and we're all feeding (and sometimes bathing) them until they're old enough to survive on their own.

Anybody got any better ideas?

Tuesday, 8am

We had staff meeting today. It is a privilege to serve alongside these sons and daughters of God. Some meetings are better than others (that's generally how staff meetings go, we hear) and today was a good one.

Thank you Brian & Tammie Wallace, Cory & Laura Beth Lamb, Tim & Lisa Bynum and Norm Curington, for your wisdom, experience and encouragement. May we truly be better ambassadors of Christ together in this place.

The pics are from a staff meeting a few weeks ago at Brian & Tammie's house. We begin with a time of worship and affirmation, then move into more of a staff meeting format. We end with a training time, where we share useful skills in a developing country. Below, Brian is showing us the basics of setting up a sustainable, terraced garden in any climate.

Bet you wish you could be at our staff meetings! (Did I mention we usually have a delicious breakfast treat?!)

"O say, can you grill...."

4th of July. In America, it's a day for BBQ, fireworks, taking the boat out and breathing a deep breath of a thing we like to call freedom.

Here in the DR, its just another hot day without power or water. But we didn't let that stop us.

With the help of Mickey and our friends, the Lambs, we celebrated the 4th pretty darn well. A grill made out of an abandoned sink, red, white and blue flowers in place of fireworks, red, white, and blue bedsheets as table cloths, and an iPod with a little Lee Greenwood made us all feel right at home.


We were/are proud to be Americans, where at least we know we're free and can grill meat better than anyone else.

Mickey/Miqui

Meet TJ's sister, Mickey Page. She'll be a junior at ACU, she's interning with our girls and kids minister this summer, and she's much cooler/sweeter/better than we'll ever be. We LOVE having Mickey here, and the RioSanJuan-eros are even more crazy about her than we are.



In her first 48 hours on the island (May 21-23), she traveled from Tulsa to Dallas to Miami to Santiago. Lost all of her luggage. Went to eat at TGI Fridays. Went on a boat tour through a mangrove swamp to the ocean. Skewered 250 shish-kebabs. Partied with the Bobita interns. Retrieved lost luggage from local restaurant. Went on a culture safari. Watched the season finale of Grey's Anatomy. Rode over the mountain to Santiago at 1am and slept on the floor of a Dominican hospital, waiting for baby Harrison to arrive...

Quite an introduction to the country! Since then, she's put together tons of creative Bible studies for Las Princesas & Club Chiquito, climbed 27 waterfalls & El Morrito, killed 100 spiders, broken out in hives, had her laptop stolen (and recovered), and encouraged TJ and I in our work and walk with God in countless ways.

We love Michaele Page McCloud!

Final Farewell Roll

Our little Gusbuster is headed back to the States with TJ's parents tomorrow.

He must sense that he's leaving, as he did his final day up right with a farewell roll in human feces.

That's right. Our dog likes to find poop in our yard and roll in it. Nasty.

"Why is there human feces in the yard?," you might be asking yourself...

We live in the Dominican Republic. Most people don't have bathrooms. Our yard has a few shaded corners that are apparently just right for taking care of business.

We don't know. We just live here.