Summer is Almost HERE!

Constructing a Bookshelf

Hanging Signs for Group Members

We have had a very productive 2 weeks!  Our niece and nephew from Houston came down to visit us and help us prepare for our summer teams.  They worked so hard and helped us tremendously.  We built beds, constructed bookshelves, made repairs, set up our prayer wall, planted plants, painted lots of things, shared the gospel with neighborhood kids, and got organized for the summer teams.  It was fun and rewarding to serve alongside our family.  They came to the DR to serve with Makarios last summer and it was such a blessing to have them here again.  Stewart was also able to re-connect with Cakito who he became friends with last summer.  A huge “thank you” to Stewart and Hallie.

Our Prayer Wall-
We pray for each Makarios Student

Organizing all the Menus and Recipes
 for all  the groups this summer

Planting Trees

A game of baseball with our neighbors

Sharing the gospel with 30 neighborhood kids

Stewart and Cakito

Moving Beds

Painting

We are anxiously awaiting our 4 summer interns to arrive on June 4 and our first group arrives on June 9th.  We've had a great Spring and we're ready for the summer season to begin.  

Thank you for your prayers, encouragement, and support...and for joining us on the journey.

Love from the DR,
The Becks

From One Class to Another

The kindergarten classes at Logos Prep in Sugarland, Texas worked hard to help raise money for our new well at the school.  They did dishes, swept the floor, cleaned the toilets, and did other various chores.  Here's a video we put together for the kids at Logos Prep.  It's a little tour of Makarios that we made and thought some of you might enjoy.  

It's awesome to have young kids investing in the lives of other kids (in a foreign country) for the sake of the Gospel.

With Love from the DR,

The Becks

The Winter and Spring Have Been Full of Blessings!

Snapshots of the past few months...

Meet Brad and Brittany- This great couple lived with us for a month while Brad helped out in the Makarios clinic and Brittany served in the school (and also helped Margaret!)  Brad is in medical school and he came to the DR to fulfill a requirement and we quickly put both of them to work.  Their gifts were a perfect fit in the school since Brad was able to work on the medical side, and Brittany helped out with Special Education, which is her background.  Everyone instantly fell in love with this dynamic couple.  Brittany is proficient in Creole, so she was a hit with the local Haitians, and Brad’s compassionate demeanor made him popular with the students. 

The Kindergarten Class Thanks Them On Their Last Day

Our Last Night Together

FEBRUARY- We welcomed a team of 4 who came in from Austin.  Brandon and Brent, along with 2 of our Austin staff (Chuck & Chris) were on a Vision Trip to get a first-hand view of Makarios before bringing a team of 27 to the DR this summer. We put a saw in their hands and they jumped right in...

They were a huge help in building bunk beds to prepare for our team of 43 who were coming in March.  After the flood in November, Makarios gave away beds to students and other members in this community who lost their belongings.  To read an account of the flood and how it affected the family of our sweet teacher, Yomo, click on http://makariosinternational.org/2013/02/22/yomos-story/.  Sarah, one of our teachers, wrote what she and Yomo experienced the night of the flood.

We also enjoyed celebrating Independence Day with the locals...it seemed like the whole town of Montellano was either IN the parade or watching the parade.  We had fun watching the kids in our neighborhood march in the parade and it was fun to run into our friends who also came out to celebrate.
 

MARCH- A huge shout out to Hill Country Christian School in Austin, Tx.  They brought a crew of 43 high school students and leaders who were AMAZING!  They helped out at the school in a variety of ways, they paved an area of the school that was in need of some attention, and they ministered to the children in the community where we live. We loved seeing them share the gospel with over 70 kids who live within walking distance of our home.  It was a GREAT week!  They were a huge blessing to us, Makarios, and this community.  You can definitely say that they were the hands and feet of Christ!  To read more click on  http://makariosinternational.org/2013/03/23/hill-country-christian-school-of-austin/

APRIL- Currently, we are busy busy busy getting ready for the summer groups!  We will have groups coming throughout the summer, so we have been actively preparing for them.  We are also excited about the 4 interns who will be living with us this summer.  They will be helping at the school, with groups, and one will be a nanny.  We can’t wait.

In MAY, we will be hosting the new principal, Laurie Majcher, who just joined our team!  Joe and Laurie Majcher and their 3 kids will be moving here this summer.  They will be coming in May to look for housing, a car, and to just get acquainted to this new place that they will call home!

And finally, we are excited to have our niece and nephew, Stewart and Hallie, join us for 2 weeks at the end of May.  They came with us last summer on our mission trip and wanted to return, so they have graciously offered to come and help us with the last minute preparations before teams start to arrive.  We already have a long list for them and are thankful for their servant’s hearts.  They will also have a chance to interact and minister to the children in our neighborhood as well as in the villages.  We can’t wait for them to get here.

Here's Our Group Picture from Last Summer With Stewart and Hallie

Thank you for the constant love, prayers and support.  We are grateful for those who support us financially, prayerfully, and emotionally so that we can do what God has called us to do in the Dominican Republic.

With Love and Grateful Hearts,

The Becks

December and January- Our Photo Album

Here are a few snapshots of what we've been up to for the past few months...

At the end of November, we hosted a team from Church on the Rock in Canada.  They were doing missions in Haiti and stayed with us for a quick stop-over.  Such a great blessing to have them in our home.

                      

Flood Relief Update.  Things are finally getting back to normal.  Thank you for your prayers and giving.  For more details, click on  Makarios Flood Update

The day after the flood

The new school grounds

Staff Christmas Party- We hosted the annual Christmas party for the Makarios Staff and their families.  We had over 65 people come to celebrate.  It was a great night of food and festivities.

The proud winners of the "Reindeer Games"

Christmas- We spent Christmas Eve celebrating with Josh and Jen and their 5 precious kids.  Then, on Christmas Day, we took treats to our neighbors and enjoyed visiting with them.  Later that evening, we worshipped at our church with a few of our neighbors. 

Delivering cookies to Francis
at the local colmado

Treats for Santa and her 2 children,
Samita and Samuel

Worshipping at church with Sylvia, Michelina, and Inea

The Youngs- Darren, Becky, Jenna, and Audrey have been living with us since December 30.  Darren is the new doctor at Makarios and we have enjoyed having them at the Mak House.  They recently found a home and will be moving out this weekend.

Austin Stone College Students-Wow…what can we say.  They were awesome and such an amazing blessing.  To find out more about their trip, check out their blog by clicking Austin Stone College Trip Jan 2013

Austin Stone College!

Dr. Bud Neely with our neighbor, Isaac!

Dental Team January 2013- Dr. Bud has been bringing a team down to do dental work on the staff and students for 6 years.  This year, they saw over 120 patients during the 5 days they were here, and one child put his faith in Christ right there in the dentist chair!  Such a blessing.

Dr. Rebecca Schneider

Cindy the Hygenist

We even got in on some of the fun!

So, just a glimpse of what we've been up to in December and January.  There's so much more, but hopefully that will give you a picture of our life here in the D.R.

We are excited about February- it looks like it will be a busy month! We will have lots of people coming and going and staying at the Mak House.  In fact, it’s been quite active around here.  We will have had at least one person staying with us from December 30 until March 16^th.

God continues to show His faithfulness to us in countless ways.  We feel so blessed and are amazed at what He is doing through the ministry of Makarios.  Thank you for your prayers, encouragement, and partnership!

With ThankFILLED Hearts,
The Becks

Help Is On The Way

This picture was taken from our roof by Esther Havens.
Grateful for a reminder of God's Promises.

A team of 8 men from Austin and 2 other couples arrived just in time to bring some strong hands and encouragement our way.  God knew exactly what we would need and He provided.  This amazing team of men and women arrived on Saturday, the day after the flood.  They accomplished so much in a short amount of time.  With their help, we were able to clean the cafeteria and first floor classrooms, repair a section of the cinderblock wall that the force of the water had caused to give way , shoveled over 3-4 truckloads of rock, dirt, and gravel to enable the road leading up to the school to be passable, and added laughter to our home.  The students were able to attend class for 2 hours on Thursday and were able to eat breakfast, take their vitamins, brush their teeth, go to chapel, and receive a sack lunch to take home.  Monday, November 19,  was their first full day back to school.  We still have so much to do before the school is back and functioning properly, but we are on the road to recovery. Please keep us and this community in your prayers.

The Flood

This was taken as the school.  
You can see the flood water level on the columns.
 It was 3-4 feet high

The last 2 people from the Medical Team left on Friday, November 9  and later that night, we experienced a terrible flood that affected many of our students, staff, community and school.  We received a call around 11:00pm from Josh, our Director in the DR, to come immediately to the school and “bring the truck.”  We were there within minutes, but it was too late.  The road was already blocked off and the flood waters were waist deep.  There was also a rescue taking place right before our very eyes.  Josh, Sarah & Yomo (2 teachers) had all gone to check on the school.  When they saw how high the water was and how quickly it was rising, Josh told us to meet him at Yomo’s house.  Yomo’s lives near the river and they were afraid that her house might be affected by the rising water.  We winded our way through the narrow streets and driving rain and finally arrived at her home but it was already under water.  The water was so high and rushing so quickly that Margaret had to stay at the truck while Josh, Doug, Andy and Sarah went to help Yomo’s family save what they could from her home.  They were not able to stay long because of the rising water.  When we got back into our truck, we saw that we had missed a call from a teacher who lives in our neighborhood.  His house had rising water, too.  So, we headed over there.  Again, we were not able to reach their home because of the rising water.  In order to get to his home, Doug and Josh had to cross the river that was now rushing through streets.  Once they got there they helped put some of their belongings under a tarp on higher ground and then brought Lucia (who works at the Mak House) and the children back across the river to our truck.  They all spent the remaining of the night with us.  The water rose so quickly with little to no warning.  The flash flood was a result of heavy rain in the mountains that raced without any discretion, taking out everything in its path through our little town.  The next morning when we arrived at the school, we couldn’t believe the destruction to the school and the surrounding villages.

We didn't have our camera to document the damage, but here are some pics from some of our staff as well as Esther Havens.

Our cafeteria became a stopping place for items recovered from the classrooms.
There was a pile for the "good" the "bad" and the "ugly."

Our Kindergarten Classroom.
Dena, the teacher, said it looked like a scene from the Titanic

Sifting through books in the library

The destruction of a local home

This is how high the flood waters came in his home

Cleaning up the flood at the school

Books taken out of our new library

A neighbor who lives near the school.  She told Esther she
was thankful to God to be alive.

Medical Team Update- Long Overdue!

So much has happened since our last post...

Here's a snapshot of the Medical Team...they were INCREDIBLE and so much fun to have in our home!

We were so blessed to have an amazing Medical Team join us from October 27 until November 4.  During the period of 4 short days, they were able to see over 470 students and families of Makarios as well as others from Tamarindo, Chichigua and Pancho Mateo.  It was awesome!  They treated so many physical ailments and were even given the privilege of seeing someone receiving the ultimate healing.  One dear woman gave her life to Christ after visiting with one of the PA’s.  Here are a few pics to capture their time here:

Three different stations were set up for patients in the Makarios Cafeteria

Families from a neighboring village, Chichigua outside
the "makeshift" clinic waiting to be seen