Our First Month in the D.R.

Our Amazing Makarios Staff and Teachers

Such exciting things are going on in the D.R!  The Fall semester is officially in full swing as Makarios kicked off another school year on September 19.  As we drove through the streets of Montellano on our way to school, we were so encouraged to see students dressed in their Makarios uniforms and excited about their first day of school.  The day went amazingly well and was better than what was expected!  The students were full of excitement but well behaved throughout the day.  If you want more of an “inside look,” check out our video.

Click here to watch a video of Makarios' First Day of School

We are continuing to get acquainted with our new neighborhood.  We love taking walks and meeting the neighbors while practicing our Spanish.  This culture is very “community oriented” and you can find people gathered around visiting at any time of day.  Everyone is so kind and eager to make us feel at home in this country.  It has been fun for us to have a home that has become quite the place to hangout after school.  At any given day, we can have up to 25  kiddos playing basketball, baseball, climbing fruit trees, or just running around in our yard.  We love it and hope to influence these kids for Christ.

And finally, last Saturday, we hosted a party for the Makarios staff and their families – about 45 people in all!  It was fun to fellowship with the American, Dominican, and Haitian staff and show them our appreciation for all their hard work and dedication to this ministry.  One thing about this culture, they know how to have a good time! 

We have so many highlights, in fact every day is filled with them.  But, here are just a few:

Margaret’s Highlights:  Hearing the kids at our gate yelling, “Paco” to see if we are home and able to play.  Also, I love driving down our street and seeing Samuel, who is 2 years old, running out saying, “Adios Paco!” Another highlight was hosting the All Staff Dinner and Game Night as well as Brunch with the ladies.  Such a great time of fellowship.

Doug’s Highlights- Playing baseball in the backyard with the neighborhood kids and being at Makarios and seeing the excitement on the first day of school.

Thank you for your love and support.  

We Are Blessed,
Margaret & Paco

Our First Week

It’s hard to believe that we’ve been here almost a full week.  Hurricane Isaac delayed our arrival by 2 days, but we got here just in time for our orientation with Makarios.  On our first night in the DR, we were greeted with a Welcome Party given by the Dominican, Haitian and American staff.  We spent the next 2 days at orientation getting to know each other and learning more about Makarios’ mission.  We capped off the week by having fun with the staff at a local water park. 

Back at our new home, we are getting adjusted to our life here and we absolutely love it.  We’ve ventured out of our neighborhood to go shopping for groceries and to go to church.   This might not sound like an accomplishment until you witness the driving here.  Let’s just say that there aren’t many road rules being followed. 

Another big change that has occurred since we arrived on the island is Doug’s name.  We “officially” changed his name to PACO.  We felt like this was necessary because of the confused looks we got when people heard Doug’s name.  One guy started barking and another said, “You are moving with your DOG?”  We quickly realized that “Doug” doesn’t translate well. 

One last change we thought we’d mention is our new pet.  When we moved into our new place, we inherited a rooster named Lovey.  (That’s him on the left.)  He is good company and he makes sure that we don’t oversleep in the mornings.  We are hoping to get 3 hens in the Fall. 

We love the nights here.  You can see a million stars and the sunsets are amazing.  Also, our neighborhood is very active...from our home we can hear the Pentecostal church competing with the roosters crowing, the crowd cheering at the basketball tournament, dogs barking, horns honking, the guy driving the banana truck saying something through a megaphone, and other random neighbors' music...so different from what we are used to...and we love it! :-)  

Thank you for your partnership, prayers and encouragement.

Love,

Margaret & Paco

Adios Amigos!

In less than 48 hours, we will be boarding the plane in Houston to head to our new home in the Dominican Republic.  We have packed our bags are are ready to go.  We are keeping a close eye on our friend Hurricane Isaac. He might determine some of our travel plans.

Our last month has been a great way to prepare for our new life and responsibilities in the DR. We wrapped up our training in Colorado Springs at MTI on August 17.  We are thankful for the things we learned and feel more equipped to enter into a new culture for the cause of Christ.

After 3 great weeks in Colorado we said our “goodbyes” and headed to Albuquerque to spend some time with Doug’s family where we took in a ball game, played countless hours of games, and just enjoyed spending time with Steve, Brandy and the kids. 

  

Currently, we are in Lake Jackson visiting with Margaret’s family, tying up loose ends and enjoying time with her parents and grandparents. Sleeping late, practicing Rosetta Stone, and playing games have been on the agenda.  Tonight the Williams’ family will join us in Lake Jackson and we are looking forward to our time with them before they take us to the airport on Saturday.

We fly out at 6am on Sunday morning (weather permitting) and should arrive in the DR at 2:00pm EST.  Thank you for your prayers and support to help us get us to this place.  We are grateful for the emails, notes of encouragement, texts, and voicemails.  We have made progress with our financial support but are still looking for those who are interested in partnering with us on a monthly basis.  If interested, click on the GIVE tab above.

Please continue to pray for us as we go.  For more specific requests, please visit our PRAYER page.

With great excitement and anticipation…

Love,

The Becks

Mission Training International

A picture of us at Mission Training International in Colorado

Well, our journey has officially begun!  We arrived in Colorado Springs on Monday, July 30 to begin our 3 week training before heading to the Dominican Republic on August 26. It has been so encouraging to be with 40 other missionaries from several different sending organizations going to the far reaches of the world. We already feel like this training will be extremely beneficial as we begin our ministry in a foreign country.

Please pray for us as we continue to prepare to leave and serve the Lord in the D.R.  

Feel free to check back for updates.  This will be our primary way of communicating with others while we are serving overseas.

With Love,
The Becks