All Hands On Deck

Unless the Lord builds the house,

 the builders labor in vain.

Unless the Lord watches over the city,

    the guards stand watch in vain.

² 

In vain you rise early

    and stay up late,

toiling for food to eat—

    for he grants sleep to^[a] those he loves.  Psalm 127:1-2

This house, this church we are building in the Dominican Republic is not in vain.  The words from the Psalmist are true and we know our labor is not in vain.  

During these past two days, we have seen the Lord enable the laborers, American and Dominican, to work with unexpected speed.    In two days four walls have been built and headers have been poured by the hands of men.  

The team is a sweet picture of people coming together.  The young boys volunteer to fill wheelbarrows with rocks and dirt to push to the building site.  Other Dominican church members freely give their time to work alongside the Americans to get the job done.

The women on the team have been helping with the child sponsorship program to update the children's personal information and take a recent photo to send to sponsors.  We have been able to make crafts with them, read Bible stories in Spanish, and play  Simon Says and Uno.  Other times we sit around and the little girls just watch us and we smile at each other.  A smile or a silly face goes a long way in connecting with others when you don't have words.  

Speaking of communicating without words...today we met a five year old deaf girl who has not yet learned to speak.  Yet her smile and facial expressions light up a room and our hearts.  Her joy is contagious!  

Unless the Lord watches over the city,

    the guards stand watch in vain.

The Lord continues to watch over us as we have been safe, healthy and free from injury.  We thank you, the guards, the ones praying for us and for the church.

In vain you rise early

    and stay up late,

toiling for food to eat—

    for he grants sleep to^[a] those he loves.

Yes, we rise early.  Yes, we stay up late. But, He is faithful to give us good sleep and to restore our energy.  

We look forward to seeing what God does in the days ahead!