my granddaddy

my granddaddy died last night from natural causes. i am now in nashville. the visitation is thursday from 4- 7 and the funeral friday 11a. please keep us in your prayers.

another earthquake

well, since i went so long not writing, i thought i would write, again. it's been really busy as normal down here in tegus. VCOM has another group here- three girls and another guy is coming on wednesday. in the clinic, its going a little easier in the clinic since they have just come from the dominican republic and speak better spanish than the last group. i haven't been running around like a mad woman in the clinic- i hope this will ease some of the stress. i took them around this weekend- to the bank, grocery shopping, movies, church, my house, etc. ohhh, and two of the girls wanted to go to the catholic church on sun. they asked me sat. when it started on saturday and i didn't know. i told them since it was starting to get dark that we needed to go to then to see the sign at the church for the service times. the main catholic bascilica is called suyapa and is very dangerous- esp at night. anyway, on the way- i got pulled over by the police asking me to take a drunk guy to the police station to be arrested and since he was on a motorcycle he couldn't take him and his bike. anyway, the police officer asked me to take him accross the lado (side) since we where stopped in the middle of the highway. i said ok since my car tags are about to expire and i don't have a local driver's license. we drove up to the next colony over (which i known to be one of the most dangerous areas in the city) to drop them off- it was cracking me up. i could just see the headlines now- man dressed as cop pulls over 4 gringas, robs and murders them. BUT, God was looking out for us. the cop lead me up the hill and escorted me back down. all ended well. yesterday, after being caught in the marathon traffic- i still don't understand why they don't announce them!- i took 2 of the girls to suyapa and 1 to my church kennedy. we was an awesome day. it was bring a friend day- we had 11 baptisms. pretty amazing!!!! after church, i had 15 members from the youth group over, along with 2 kids, amber, sofia (VCOM med student) and myself. i made chili. it was good. it suprises that they don'tmake it here. hello, there are tons of beans!!!! oh, well. well, i think i started out writing about the earthquakes. we have had a few over the last few weeks. two last wednesday and one of friday. i had just called martha lynn mc and it cut me off, sorry martha. well, i promise i will try to be more efficent here on my end and keep up. i have just been really really really busy working with the VCOM students. my whole journey down here has been helping them right now. please pray that this is what God wants for me to be doing to help him. if anyone feels inclined, the clinic is deseparate for donotations. we need to buy medicines. we need around $3,000 to meet the needs of our patients until the end of the year. if you do want to donate, please send your money to Westover Hills church of Christ in Texas- it's tax deductible. if you have questions, please email me. thanks. Dios les bendiga.

I can't believe it's almost Halloween!

well, first of all, i apologize for how long it has taken me to write. i know it sounds like an excuse about being too busy to write but i really have been busy. here is a small list of things/ places i've been doing since the last time i wrote:
1. taught English at the Lincoln School (bulingual school in the city. Payment for 4 hours of teaching on a Saturday morning: a piece of chocolate cake and a glass of iced tea. 2. church 3. working in the clinic- tons- more to come 4. living through another earthquake yesterday- two in fact. 5. translating everything that needs to be in english at the clinic 6. enjoying amber being home- to celebrate- she brought home 15 kids aged 22 months to 11 years saturday night to spend the night 7.tutoring two students in english 8.but the biggest thing has been the start of the project at the clinic with Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM). Each month they send 3-4 medical student for a month at a time for a third world medicine adventure. since i am the onyl english speaker and medical person there most of the time i have a huge responsibility in this project. not only in translating but in being a tour guide, taxi driver, mentor, nurse, etc. don't get me wrong, i'm not complaining but i'm tired. i really enjoy getting to know the med students but think that sometimes i need some help with it all. it can be a little overwhelming but there is no doubt in my mind, heart, and soul that God is not using me here. i love this work. i want this project to go well. i think there were 2 days in the past month that i had to myself. carlos, the young director of the clinic, helps but is always busy. Especially on the weekends, it would be nice to have a little down time. carlos is also the youth minister at his church and does not have time to help out on the weekends and it's my responsibility to "entertain" the students. last month i took them to Valle de Angeles, Sta. Lucia, La Tigra, grocery shopping, Pricesmart, touring hospitals and clincs, going to movies, mall, shopping, eating, to my house- esp to watch america's next top model (Camille), etc. AND the airport, it's pretty sad when all the airport people know you. i was at the airport over 5 hours yesterday alone- three seperate trips. the new group arrived this afternoon and are relaxing in the apartment before dinner in an hour. please pray that GOd will continue to me here and give me strength. and support if it's his will. also, for my granddaddy. he's not doing too well. i pray that God will allow me to be there when he needs me to be. love to all. Dios les bendiga. God Bless you all.

i'm still alive

well, i thought i had time but i'm getting kicked out of using the internet. love to yall. i'm still living... does anyone actually read this blog, anyway? Dios les bendiga. erin