Meet the Crew
This year's crew will be Darryl Neff, Gene Greiner, Ad Boyer, Fred Bromm, and Joe Stiles.  Smaller than other years, the size is best suited for the current needs.  Both native churches, La Yaguita and Los Girasoles, have a host of smaller projects that can be done.  At La Yaguita, Pastor Ramone and his family need a new water tower built.  In the DR, the water availability is a unstable as the pressure, so when public water is flowing, they store it in a tower tank to give them a bit of constant pressure.  Time, the elements, and termites, invaded their first wooden tower and caused it to fall.  I think there will be a new concrete structure in their future.  (Joe - Get ready to mix that mud!)  The DR got hit pretty hard by two hurricanes this year, so there will be no shortage of repairs and rebuilding that has to be done.  Ad and Fred are headed down early to assess the situation, get the TO DO list started, and order the materials.

You may see some jokes, humorous pictures, and general goofiness at times on this site.  What we're really about is soli deo gloria.  Those words make up a Latin phrase that comes out of the Protestant Reformation and stand for "to the glory of God alone."  The reformers were careful to make God's glory the primary motivation for anything they did.  We are going down to the Dominican Republic for many reasons.  It encourages our missionaries.  It builds friendships.  We will laugh from the time we get on the airplane until the time we leave.  And yes, we will even build a building for the people of the community.  But our primary motivation is always to love God and give Him all the glory due Him by being obedient to Him.

Maybe you are scanning this site because you know someone who is down in the DR serving or maybe you're just surfing the web to see what this is all about.  Whatever the reason, can you say that you are motivated by a love for God and a desire to give Him the glory? That's why He created us, you know.  If you cannot say that then you are not a Christian.  What is a Christian?  How do you make God's glory your motivation?  It's by obeying the Gospel.  

The Gospel is the good news that all mankind are sinners and separated from a Holy and Just God.  Does that seem "good"?  Read on....  But God did not leave us in that condition.  He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to live the perfect life that sinners could not live, pay the penalty for the sin that sinners could not pay, and ransom lost sinners from the slavery of sin.  That is good news!  Because we can't save ourselves, God steps in and saves us!
Think about it.  Obey God's command...that is to repent of your sins and ask God to forgive you.  There is no sin that He can't forgive and no sinner He can't save.  Just look at me...I'm living proof!

Crew Lingo:

We don't want anyone to feel left our and not be able to share in the fun down here, so there are a few things you should know to be able to communicate with anyone who has been on one of these DR work trips.

1) Comrades:        What one crew member calls another...usually prefaced with "Dominican...".

2)  "The Missionary":         This really is an affectionate name for our host, Richie.  It is also a universal word.  It can be a proper name or adjective.  It can even be an excuse - which is its most popular use.  For example - "I can't lift that.  I'm the missionary." or "It's not my fault.  I'm the missionary."  You get my meaning.

3) Mud:         This has nothing to do with dirt other than it's made on top of the dirt (or pavement or stones or any other surface we can find).  In the DR, most concrete is mixed by hand, with shovels, and on the ground.  We've given you a little demo at the bottom.  Just click on the video as it's worth about 157.32578 words.  NOTE:  See the official looking guy in the background?  Yes, even in the DR the supervisor wears a white hat!

4) pollo:         A  little Spanish lingo, there.  This is actually the primary food group pursued while in the DR, with pork as a close second.  The eating of pollo is not done with forks, spoons, or any type of utensil other than those 10 which God created us with.  The amount of pollo is not counted in pieces but in whole birds.  Unidentified sources have claimed that the ability to eat a minimum of 1 whole pollo solo is required to be a part of the crew.

5) "The Cave"    Few who enter this room in the Vallette house ever survive.  Only the bold, the unshaven, the early risers (What's wrong with starting your 3rd pot of coffee before 5:30AM?) and "those-who-can-fall-asleep-in-under-five-seconds-and-snore-till-the-windows-rattle" can venture here.  This room has been reserved for Gene, Fred, Ad, and Joe.  We'll try to get video or audio this year, but the problem is that the ones with the cameras are the ones raising the roof with their nostril symphony!

6) Ice Cream    A much desired and sought-after post meal snack which "the crew" gets any time "the missionary" will let us.  One kindly piece of advice - Never let the cab driver take you to an unauthorized ice-cream stop without telling "the missionary."  We did the group hug thing afterwards but I didn't know he could actually lecture 5 grown men as if they were teen-agers?!?!?  Although, I guess if you act like teenagers, you should be treated like one.  We'll just forget it and blame Marc and his "Spanish lingo".  Can anyone say "el ice-cream-o"?

7 ) "How are you doing, my friend?!?!?"          Standard greeting from one comrade to another.  Must be done at an audible level at least a few notches above any surrounding noises and with one hand extended straight up in a "high five" manner.  The voice inflections are difficult, so we've added some audio to help:




 







Click here if the video will not play.