BlitzKrieg

I'll spare you another "Houston, we have _________" joke. All these volunteers from Houston make it easy, but last week's team, from Our Savior Lutheran Church, was reminiscent of the WWII tactic that includes team leader Rev. Kelly Krieg's name. 

They were lightning-fast workers who came and went just as speedily, arriving last Sunday (at 11:48 pm, so barely), and departing on Saturday (at 2:48 am, so I took them to the airport late Friday night). In the five full days in between, though, they were exposed to as many facets of ministry in the Dominican as possible and made a world of difference with their loving labor. 

A Monday morning overview of Iglesia Luterana Pueblo Nuevo before dedicating two days to helping the congregation make the most of its recently dedicated new location. 

The team made banners to teach the faith and help fill empty, white walls; built child-sized tables, bookcases, and pamphlet racks; canvassed the neighborhood with flyers advertising a summer Bible study opportunity; and pitched in to generally clean and organize the space.  

The aforementioned summer Bible study is on the "I am" (YO SOY) statements in John. The icons in the white rectangles above aren't glued down yet; they'll be added one-by-one as the congregation studies who Jesus says He is each Sunday evening in June and July. 

Drilling is a spectator sport?!? 

"I'm taking you to a tropical island for your birthday this year," he said 😂 ¡Feliz cumpleaños, Jennifer!

Volunteers from Our Savior + the Pueblo Nuevo team + the fruits of their labor. 

AFTER pictures of the...

...children's area (minus child-sized plastic chairs, which I bought yesterday morning in time for Saturday's regular children's activity). 

...music area (the completed "YO SOY" banner will go in the blank space on the far right). 

...and fellowship area (a locally made, pewter LCMS cross will go in the top left quadrant of the wall hanging montage above the sofa). 

Come Wednesday morning, we switched gears and launched wholeheartedly into our second of three projects: painting classrooms at Concordia Lutheran School in Palmar Arriba. I had committed us to doing two, but these speed demons powered through ALL FIVE.  

Taylor found a fellow Astros fan in Ángel, who kept us company while his dad, a local contractor, worked in another area of the building. 

Spontaneous visit from seminary graduate Isaac (left) and student Marcelo (2nd from right, with wife Vania, right). 

Marcelo and Vania's daughter Amanda, left, picked up a brush to help and didn't want to leave!

These Texans clean up good!

Friday morning ushered in our less-than-thrilling third and final project: book categorization.  Excluding a handful of boxes we didn't get to, the spreadsheet I started includes 647 unique books, 64 tracts, and 138 periodicals. I don't envy whomever gets to determine which make the cut and will be cataloged as a part of the future seminary library. 

The next DR team arrives August 24. I'll accompany teams in Jamaica later this month and Peru in July but otherwise hold down the fort while many of my DR colleagues are out of country for extended periods of work and personal travel. Things really don't return to "normal" until we regroup for our regional conference in Punta Cana on August 5!

Until next time, blessings!