Lundquist Family Visit

We were so lucky to have some visitors come at the end of January! Mom, Dad, and Zach Lundquist were with us for just over a week, and looking back, I can't believe how much we got done while they were here. They landed in Santiago a-runnin', and there was no looking back...

The first day, Mom & Dad rode the gua gua to the mountains with me. (I figured there was no need to spare them of the typical Dominican experience, so we got at it right away.) Mom spent the morning in the clinic as the nurse, and Dad helped me in the preschool. He made friends with Joshua right away...you might remember him...he'll appear later in this post.

Zach and Micah joined us in the mountains for lunch (with Cheima, yum yum!) and then we all piled into our rental Chevy Aveo. It was a bit of a tight squeeze, but such a bargain, so we really couldn't resist. At least we're all related, and honestly, it wasn't as tight of a squeeze as the gua gua would have been. We drove over the mountain to the north coast, stopping at this amazing fruit stand on the way.

Dad sampled some fresh coconut juice, and we drove away with a bounty of freshy-picked fruit.

We spent the night in Cabarete, a touristy little beach town on the north coast. Dinner was on the beach, and the boys enjoyed a cigar (when in Rome, you know), and we all dipped ourselves in the ocean a bit. (We had to thaw the Minnesotans out right away, so we wasted no time getting to the beach!).

We got up bright and early the next morning to drive to the far eastern side of the island. The scenery was gorgeous on the drive as we skirted the entire northern coast of the island. Here is a rice paddy that we saw.

And the herd of cows that took over the road for awhile.

After a few hours of driving, we arrived in Las Galeras (on the Samana Penninsula) where we enjoyed two nights in the gorgeous Casa Dorado, a bed and breakfast. We visited La Playita on the first night and enjoyed freshly grilled mero (red snapper) and dorado (mahi mahi) at Isabella's restaurant, right on the beach.

The owners of the B&B prepared amazing breakfasts, and we especially liked the scrambled eggs with freshly caught fish in them.

Playa Rincón is one of the most beautiful beaches in the Caribbean. To get there, you take a boat from the main beach in Las Galeras. The boat ride is wild...

But worth it for the undeveloped, nearly empty beach and the view that awaits.

We spent the day snorkeling, getting custom-made hats woven, drinking out of fresh pineapples and coconuts, and eating freshly grilled fish...

The next morning we made our way to the town of Samaná, where we boarded the Victoria, a whale-watching vessel.

Each year, thousands of humpback whales arrive in the Samaná Bay to mate and deliver their babies. We saw several whales during our trip!

After we spent the afternoon watching whales, we boarded an air-conditioned bus for a ride to the capital city, Santo Domingo. We all enjoyed a nap, and spent the evening and the next day sight-seeing.

Santo Domingo has some of the oldest buildings in the New World (Christopher Columbus first landed here). Here is a shot of the oldest (still-functioning) church in this hemisphere. We witnessed the processional during Mass on Sunday.

Monday morning we all headed back up to the mountains for a home-stay with a Dominican family (Cheima & Minin) and for work duty. Mom helped in the preschool (when Dad & Zach were building a smokeless stove for a local family...we'll share that adventure in the next post). She also hiked a huge mountain to visit a young mother and check on her newborn baby. They were all so helpful and great troopers!

Here she helps Luisito paint a picture.

The following kids fell in love with Dad, Zach, and Mom...Joshua (of course, and the feeling was mutual, I can assure you)...

Adibeli...

Yandel...

And all the rest of them, too.

Thanks for visiting, Mom, Dad & Zach! We will remember it forever!

Terremoto

I recently made a trip to Jimani, a border town in the Southwest corner of the Dominican Republic. It is the closest Dominican town to Port au Prince, and was quite close to the disaster there. We arrived four days after the earthquake, and had no idea what we would find. We went with the expectations of finding a hospital and dropping off a few supplies that we had purchased. We arrived at the base camp, where the Red Cross as well as the Dominican military have stations. They then directed us to a local hospital that had previously been used for outpatient visits and simple surgeries. Upon arriving, we found 300 patients, all with broken bones - many with compound fractures and open wounds. Sadly, there was only one brave doctor from Puerto Rico along with 6 Portuguese medical students. Overwhelmed, we started to help changing wound dressings, taking histories, splinting, starting IVs, etc... Here is a picture of the makeshift pharmacy.

Patients were continually coming in over the next four days. Groups of relief teams also were beginning to come in. Many of the groups were only there for a short time while others moved on to Haiti. At times, there would be up to 6 trucks and ambulances lined up with up to 10 patients each.

We got to the point where we didn't have any beds for the continuing influx of patients, and began moving the most stable patients to the outdoor chapel.

The associated surgical building was busy day and night. The most critical patients, with femur or pelvis fractures, were first in line for surgery. Not only were we trying to get surgery for most of the now ~1000 patients, but the Puerto Rican government was beginning to fly in critical patients directly from Port au Prince.

Supplies were limited, and we had to make do with what we had. Here is a makeshift suction mechanism to remove fluid from a man's lung.

We had one tank of oxygen with two patients in critical need of oxygen. Here, we spliced two tubes together so that they could share the flow of oxygen.

One thing that we could do for the patients was feed them. Hot food arrived from a local relief group twice per day. It was during meal times that I realized how devastated everyone was. They had nothing left in their country. They had lost many family members, had no house, no city.

Dinner time for us. Luckily the Portuguese medical students had extra food they were willing to share.

School Time

This lovely garden welcomes students and their families to the Academia Lynn Barta...it's where the students can wait for school to start.

When they arrive, they are really itching to get in...they can hardly wait. They know this bicycle track is waiting for them behind the gate.

And this casita, their own little play house.

Complete with tile floors, windows and doors that open and close, and two brooms for keeping it tidy. (I encourage both boys and girls to sweep...we're all about gender equality in this school.)

They also know that inside, their classroom is waiting.

With the dolls, the books, the trucks, the puzzles...

And a little room where we can trap them in for some group learning.

Where they'll be able to put their own name tag on the wall. The school is quite beautiful, and we're thankful for the space to spend our time.

But the kids who come to the school are even more beautiful. Plus, they're funny. And smart.

They like to play with the dolls. Luisito was playing "doctor" this day.
They love to paint.

And more than nearly everything, they like to run and play.

Some kids weren't so sure of the place on the first few days. So they sat and watched for a bit.

(This one is never afraid...he's hard to keep still.)

Here's Joshua (you might remember him from before). He was as goofy as ever. He was having trouble keeping his eyes open for his portrait. As you can see, he's quite a problem solver!

We've had a blast our first two weeks!

Inauguration of the Lynn Barta Academy

Here starts another chapter for A Mother's Wish Foundation. On January 11, 2010, hundreds of folks from the Dominican mountain village came (in the pouring rain) to help us inaugurate the Lynn Barta Academy.

You might remember my early posts about the school--I started giving preschool classes to test-drive if the community would be receptive to the opening of a top-notch preschool for their kids. They were very receptive. And with the blessing of a large donation from the family of Lynn Barta, a Nebraskan woman who recently passed away, we got to building a real school for the kiddos. It's beautiful, and we had a great turn-out for its grand opening.

Soccorro led the troops on the decorating committee. She was sure to dress for the event!
The girls club members prepared treats and punch for the crowd.
Homie, the husband of Doctora Corina, gave a blessing, and Rita & Diego gave speeches.
And then cut the ribbon.
The crowd waited anxiously for a tour led by the Girls Club members.
While the Boys Club members lead games, and got their faces painted.
Micah judged the hula hoop contest, and eventually awarded prizes to anyone who lasted over five minutes...they were quite good at it!
The older guests chatted inside the clinic in peace...
...until we started a karaoke contest for the kids in there...
SO MANY people helped to make this dream come to reality. For that, we say a giant GRACIAS, THANK YOU!
We thank you for your donations, your time, your help writing curriculum, your building skills, and your prayers.
We know that the kids who attend will be blessed by it.