Greg's Wedding Vows

Melynda and I renewed our wedding vows after 20 years of marriage. We will enclose an update shortly but I wanted to write out my personal wedding vows to remind and keep me accountable to them. I thank God for His guidance in our lives through the good times and storms of our marriage relationship. We both understand that we would not have made it without Him - God was and is the key. It also helps that Melynda is so lovable and I know how to do the laundry ;)

Onto my vows;


"My beloved Melynda, my Luv, L-U-V, you know what I mean. Almost 20 years ago, we committed to love one another forever and today we renew our love. But there is a huge difference in who we were then and who we are today."

I paused here and told her that "20 years ago, you were beautiful but today, wow, you are captivating." (and she was, is)

"To shed some light on how we have changed - I want to read a romantic quote from one of our favorite movies The Notebook - because it is how I feel about you.

"The best kind of love is the kind that awakens the soul and makes
us reach for more, a love that plants a fire in our hearts, and a love
that brings peace to our minds and that is what you have given me."

You have awakened my soul, brought peace to my mind, and definitely placed a fire in my heart. But I believe this quote points to One who is greater than even our love - our Abba Father.

Let me read it again - 1st part; "The best kind of love is the kind that awakens the soul and makes us reach for more" - I tried to love you without Jesus but I was inadequate. With God in me, He awakened my soul and gives me the desire to love you better.

2nd part - "A love that plants a fire in our hearts" - that fire from God has helped us - helped you to persevere through our tough times and for that, I thank you.

3rd part - "A love that brings peace to our minds" - God has given me a peace to rest in the fact that with His help, we will continue together as husband and wife forever.


Have I told you yet how beautiful you are? When I spend my quiet time with the Lord, He always points me toward you. It seems my #1 priority in life is not to be a great preacher (although it may happen) or a great missionary (that has happened, just kidding), but my purpose is to love you so much, unconditionally, that you will know how much God adores you, He always has and always will.

So in front of God, family, and friends; I am here to help you achieve all your dreams. I, Greg Burge, promise to love you forever, protect you always, and cherish you for the rest of your days. In sickness and health, for richer or poorer, I give myself to you completely and look forward to growing older with you and even more gray.

Te amo mi amor,

Siempre,

Greg

Day 5 - God is good, all the time!

A major need right now in Haiti is clean water. It seems as if the top needs of the Haitian people are food, drinkable water, and sanitary bathrooms (they need an outside the box idea) for the people living in the tent cities. Our leader, Andy Patterson, ran into a situation inside one of the tent cities. He was checking on their medical needs and they took him down to the river that the people were using for this location. When he got there, he found out that they were using this river for their drinking water and all the people were using it also for their bathroom. Needless to say it broke his heart as he was feeling that there was no way to help them on this trip as w are a medical team. Andy and the Haitian translator stopped and prayed for this situation as he felt there was nothing else he could do (which was true and Andy said it was more like he was begging God to do something). On his way to pick up part of the team at the Miami clinic that night, Andy ran into some guys from Texas who were setting up water purification systems all over Haiti. He explained the situation at the tent city and these Southern Baptist men from Texas gave our team 75 free water purification systems proving to us once again (like we need more proof but it seems like we always do) that God still answers prayer in His perfect timing. At our evening debriefing with the entire team, Andy advised that we should write down these times when God answers our prayer so profoundly as it will help us to never doubt Him.

We all worked the same jobs on Friday. Those who worked at the Miami clinic yesterday, went there for another full day. Those who worked at Mision Rescate (such as Matt) did the same. The only change was with our mobile medical unit. We dropped off the team at the Miami clinic and then Andy needed two volunteers to help the Texas water purification team work in the Haitian heat all day, so Paul and I offered our services. Their tent was located right beside the airport and their storage area was immediately beside the U.S. Army. Paul and I basically moved 2000 water purification systems during our time there. Missionaries, Haitian Pastors, and neighborhood leaders all showed up and picked up numerous systems for the people they were helping. With this system, the Haitians could pour river water into the top and it would filter it down into pure drinking water. NBC news showed up for a demonstration that morning and the leader picked up dirt and trash right off the ground, filtered it through, and drank the water himself. It is an incredible system that only costs $40 dollars; what a blessing. It was an honor to stack those systems in the blazing sun while our U.S. helicopters landed nearby and being able to watch the military Humvee forklift in action. It does not get any better than helping to give out life saving water systems to families in need. It was my dirtiest, hottest, and physically draining day of the trip but so worth it.

The day closed with one of our Haitian translators, Frantzy, sharing his heart. He had lost family members in the earthquake so he was still in mourning. He went to Santo Domingo, in the Dominican Republic, to look for work to send back to his mother as he is now the last living male in his family. He then heard from a friend about this trip back to his capital in Port-au-Prince and saw his opportunity to use his English/Creole translating skills to help his people out. He is a young man of about 20 years and grew up in a Christian environment thanks to some local missionaries in his town near Cape Haitian in the middle of the island. He wanted to tell our group thank you for giving of their time and medical skills to help his country. He said he had never sensed God's love so powerfully as he did this week. He compared the love that was currently overwhelming him to the "number of stars in the sky." To tell our group thank you, he then sang a song in his native language Creole to his Abba Father. With eyes closed and tears streaming down his face it was once again an honor to be in this country and see God continuing to touch people that were surrounded by devastation proving that even in the midst of terrible suffering, God will bring peace and healing.

Romans 10:15, "And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"

Day 4 - more relief work and a miracle

We are awakened today by the music of Michael Jackson at 5:55am on Wednesday. Laying in our tent, I was shocked to hear the song Thriller blaring through some unknown speakers nearby out on the street. This was followed up by "I'm Bad," and then "Don't Stop til you get enough" but I digress. I went back up on the roof to survey the area in front of the Presidential Palace and found out it was the U.S. Military cranking out the tunes while they passed out more giant bags of rice. It was very nice of them to entertain the Haitian ladies waiting in line although the songs were in English. By the way, those ladies could balance the large bags of rice on their heads as they walked back to their "homes." While we are on the roof , a Doctor from Chicago said there was a good chance that another "big" earthquake was coming to Haiti (how he knew this and when it was coming is another topic). Matt and I start discussing what people should do if they are on this 3rd floor roof and an earthquake hits (we are wisely sleeping on solid ground now in our tent while there are many still sleeping up here). We decide it would be wise to jump onto the top of our school bus which is parked right below us and then jump to the ground and get away from the building. It is crazy what you need to think through sometimes to keep your family safe.

I want to apologize again for having to show this trip through my eyes. I was only a small part of this team. The Doctors, Nurses, and Paramedics helped the Haitian people incredibly in their time of need. I was not able to be in the medical clinics to see first hand their skills and how they saved someone from a dire situation. The team was great to be around, even in these tough conditions and they worked hard and long hours.

The same crew of Doctors and nurses headed back to the Miami clinic near the main airport. This was made possible by an idea that Dr. Curran (one of the Doctors on the team) had to help Mision Rescate's relationship with the Miami clinic. Miami was getting too busy to take our emergencies that we did not have the technology or supplies available to handle in our makeshift emergency room. But Dr. Curran had the idea that if we sent an emergency to their clinic, we would send a Doctor along to handle the patient after they were taken care of for up to 24 hours. This idea worked and they also are now welcoming our help the remaining days we have available on this trip. This clinic was partially sponsored by Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt and was a very nice setup for the medical personnel considering the timing and the location.

I was going back on the school bus with a mobile medical unit team. Matthew and other medical people are staying at the Mision to help here. I am internally happy about the decision to have Matt work at the Mision as it is probably the safest place for him to be all day. Our mobile medical team stopped at a hospital and did some work there checking on the bandages of many patients who recently had amputations. This hospital run by 7th day Adventists was well staffed. We left there and decided to go directly into a poor neighborhood that our Haitian translator Frantzy (his english was great but as a person, he was even better) knew of. It was a little dicey at first when we pulled up as I believe the people thought we had food and rushed the bus. Luckily we had Dave and Mark Lynch as security/preachers and they along with our Haitian Pastor/translator were able to calm the people down and let them know we were there to help medically. Doctor Drew (deserves an award for his patience, kindness, and diligence) was our only doctor and was assisted by Paul and I (his manly nurses). We passed out medicine for children and adults along with vitamins. Dr. Drew was able to bandage up the head of a little girl that had been injured in the earthquake in a fashionable purple bandage. He treated kids with lesions on their body, children with diarea due to the conditions they now lived in, a baby who needed formula immediately as it was literally starving, and many others needing medical assistance. The team outside preached the gospel and kept the peace in what could have been a dangerous situation, instead cooler heads prevailed and people were able to get the treatment that they needed. It was a divine appointment.

That night we had a crisis with a baby boy who was having breathing problems. This baby was lucky that he had these skilled Doctors available to help him. It seemed the entire camp was outside the emergency room praying for this child. Despite their efforts which included reviving the child once when he quit breathing, the baby died on the way to the Miami clinic in the ambulance. They had done all that they could do except pray so as the boy lay there they bowed their heads to the King of Kings. Then after a few moments, God breathed life back into this child. Sometimes we get to be amazed by our good God. We can help and give our all but we need to remember to ask for His help as with Him all things are possible.

Day 4 - "The process is dirty but ...."

Matt and I have not taken a shower yet, sorry. There are over 125 people at "Mision Rescate" (Rescue Mission) and the women are all sharing one bathroom while all the men share another. There are too many people in relation to the shower. I am not complaining, (maybe those near us are complaining about our smell though ;) just trying to give you a feel of our accomodations. It is a blessing that the Haitian Police are even allowing us to share their facilities. The Police are being unbelievably welcoming to us as we are invading their space. They let us stay as we are helping them get food, water, tents, gas, medicine, much needed medical help and other supplies to their families and their countrymen.

Everyday, we who sleep in the tents on the ground (in the Police parking lot) have to break down our tents, pack up our suitcases, and stack them in a "corner," somewhat out of the way. Matthew breaks ours down quickly (we have the luxury of stuffing it in the back of the Trooper) and then helps out the other neighbors around us which adds to the love that is outpouring towards my son who is surprising me with his dedication to serve. Later in the day, after dark, the process repeats itself with everyone rebuilding their tents once the vehicles leave for the night. Remember, this is not just one team. It is a mix of separate teams, from different countries, all trying to cohabitate and then work together the following day.

Omey (the defacto leader here from YWAM (Youth with a Mission) and Abner (head Doctor here, our close friend) are doing a great job, delicately/firmly leading all these different cultures/personalities. We had a little meeting today about some miscellaneous items. People were leaving half full water bottles laying around which meant that half of a water bottle was being wasted (not good when it is so precious here and others need it desperately). Even worse, there were also some partially used Gatorades (I would have considered drinking those if I saw them). The women's bathroom was being used but was not being cleaned. People were not understanding that you had to carry water up in a bucket so you could fill the back tank so it would flush. This was causing an obvious major problem. The men picked up the slack and kept a giant plastic trash can filled with water which the women started using to keep their toilets in use and clean.

The men from Brazil (also with the organization YWAM) need a special thank you from everyone in camp. They were not medical workers but they volunteered for every difficult job. Every day they cleaned the men's bathroom and no one understands the humility in that unless you saw this situation with your own eyes. It was not pretty.

Omey closed out the meeting advising us that a new life came into the camp late last night. A lady came in from the street ready to have a baby and Abner, Doctor Drew and others got up in the middle of the night to help. This was the 3rd baby born here since Mision Rescate had set up. Omey does not like blood and the other stuff involved with the birth of a baby and normally does not watch the process but this time she felt the Lord wanted her to be involved. What God was able to show her through this process, she was able to relate to our life here at the camp and in Haiti. Despite being "dirty" and bloody, the birth of a baby brings life and is a beautiful thing. Currently Haiti is bloody and dirty and we Americans and other foreigners are not used to living/working in these tough conditions (we are all dirty and the Doctors and Nurses are sometimes literally bloody). Omey said, "The process is dirty but the result is beautiful." I thought this was an exquisite metaphor. A baby being born in Port-au-Prince bringing life to a country in despair.

Day 3 - Voodoo at the Presidential Palace

Day 3 started early as I awoke to drums and chanting in the middle of the night around 3 a.m. I listened to the chanting get louder and louder, closer and closer, and then I saw a Haitian Policeman run by toward the front gate (to lock it, i hoped - nope - he just ran outside). I woke Matt up and told him we were heading up to the roof to check out what was going on. (I figured if the mob came into our camp knowing we had food or whatever, they probably would not go to the roof as they were still scared of buildings collapsing). The crowd was chanting with the drums as they circled the Presidential Palace. We had about 8 Haitian cops outside of our compound and thankfully the chanting, clapping crowd stayed a safe distance away, directly in front of the Presidential Palace dancing and waving their arms. There was one UN vehicle, kind of like a truck with a machine gun turret in the top but they were backed up on the opposite street and Andy (the leader) and I joked that it looked as if the UN vehicle was prepared to take off in the other direction if the crowd came our way. We all felt somewhat safe with the Haitian police because the people are scared of them because they will shoot them. The US military is technically there to help the people and do not want to shoot anyone but the Haitian police have a reputation of restoring order the hard way so we felt we had good protection. Right in front of us was an old man wearing a purple "dress/flowing robe" with stars on it, waiving his arms praying/cursing at us; so we prayed (to the One True God) and he backed off to the other side of the street; he was definitely not a good guy, spooky. Everyone did not get up at this hour to watch this but some nurses from England said they have worked in Haiti in the past and rituallly at 3am followers of voodoo come out and play drums almost every single night. They finally leave and Matt and I go back down and get in the tent and go back to sleep.

About 4:30 am, I hear music again. At first, I think, uh - oh they may be coming back with a bigger mob. But there is no drums. Just singing, and then I recognize the song. It is "The Old Rugged Cross." As I lay there I start thinking about the Haitians who are up at that moment in their lives and are singing. Most have lost their homes, jobs, their money, clothes, and food. Would I still love God after that? Then I think, at least they have their wife and kids; but some have lost their entire family. Some individuals lost everything and yet they still are singing to God.

I am going to write exactly what I scribbled down in the middle of the night - some of it may not be coherent but here it is;

"Our God is so real - I know the same God these Haitians are singing to. I know Him, how good He is and these people are still praising Him. One of the poorest countries on the earth and all they have right now is Him and He is still and always will be worthy to be praised. I told Matt to lift up a song in his heart and join these Haitian Christians in honoring God above all - what an honor to be laying in a tent and hear this worship with my 16 year old and hear him drift off to sleep - what an incredible night."

After the voodoo people came out, it was like we had the Christian response. It was so beautiful to hear the Christians singing. They had to be people sleeping in the tent cities close by. A Haitian pastor told me that in the past when the voodoo people came out and chanted while playing the drums, that the Christians did not normally get out of bed and sing. But they are now. Just like they spray painted on the Presidential Palace, "Satan is finished." It was beautiful and I just laid there in peace. It was a totally different vibe from earlier when I was prompted to get Matt up to safety. The Prince of Peace was here and He is good.

Matt and I went out with a medical mobile unit team in the school bus. Some of the team is staying at the Police station working in the clinic or emergency room. Other Doctors, nurses, and paramedics (including Brad) are now going daily to the Miami Clinic which is located at the Port-au-Prince airport and putting in a full days work there where they are busy and are incredibly effective helping people all day long. Our mobile clinic team has found out that the Haitian people are getting pretty good treatment from the medical communities around the world. The places we went today, the people had seen a doctor within the last three days which is almost unbelievable. Their top priority needs are clean water, food, and a place to use the bathroom (possibly litrines could be built) as the people in these tent cities are using the restroom in the same river that they use for drinking water. They are living in horrific conditions. It is tough to see. It has not rained yet since the earthquake which has been a blessing because diseases have not spread due to the lack of rain.

After the bus returned, I was able to explore a little. I was needed to drive my Trooper all over the capital city with Andy and our Haitian translator. We had to get some specific medicines from a pharmacy. We also needed to check out the tent city that we potentially could help the next day to make sure they were needing medical help. Andy was fearless in the middle of Port-au-Prince. He would jump out of my vehicle, buy some medicine, cross a busy street, talk to some street vendors by himself with his limited Creole language (he knows Spanish excelente) looking for the other supplies our team needed.

When our family first arrived in Santo Domingo in June 2005, we stayed with our "bosses" Danny and Denise Stone for four days and then "house-sat" for Andy and Pam Patterson for 6 weeks while they went home to the States to visit. So our first weeks on the mission field were in Andy's old home here in Santo Domingo. I told him (now 5 years later) while we were working together that he was doing a great job leading this mission team as it was not an easy task. He is back in SC working but one day I would not be surprised to see him back on the mission field because it is obvious that he was born to be a missionary. When I house sat for him years ago, I never would have thought we would be working together, driving through Haiti after a horrible disaster together but God knows the future and works all things out for good.

We had dinner and Matt and I went straight to bed. Matt had worked hard all day again and was passed out when the worship service began. Our tent was right beside the service and I decided to get up from my sleeping bag and join in because the Haitian worship leader was singing in English and it was powerful. It was mostly Haitians and Dominicans, as most of our team was in bed except Dave and Maria Fleming (Maria won the prayer award for this team as she was always praying for people while holding their hands, great job) and I believe Dentist Ben was also up praising the Lord. I was impressed by this Haitian worship leaders' English as we sang, "Hallelujah, Grace like rain fall downs on me" - it was incredible. The Dominican team finished the night by publicly apologizing to the Haitian people for looking down on them as a people all these years. They promised to be better neighbors and asked the Haitians for forgiveness. This disaster is bringing restoration between these two countries and the Dominicans really are being a great friend to their neighbor in need.

Day 2 - People from all Nations and tongues

It is Monday, February 1st, 2010; I still cannot believe it is already the year 2010. Today some of the team will be working on the compound and staying here at the clinic while the others will be going on a mobile medical clinic to an orphanage. My son Matthew is going to the orphanage with my Brother-in-Law Brad and others while I will be staying back and working at the Emergency room among other duties.

The American military are passing out giant bags of rice and handling the situation extremely well. We need to give the Haitian people credit for being calm and respectful. From my vantage point, they have an unbelievably good attitude overall. I have not seen the craziness that is always shown on CNN.

Here at the compound at the Policia Nacional is a conglomeration of people from all around the world. The awesome thing is, that it is not just a one denominational deal here. There are Baptists, working with Pentecostals, Four Square churches working with Catholics, who are working with non-christians who are all here only to help the Haitian people - and they do need the help. Omey, a Dominican lady from YWAM, is the de facto leader here and is doing a great job facilitating all the Doctors and other type A personalities that have gathered here. My good friend Abner St. Gilles is a Doctor and a native Haitian (he speaks great English, comes to our house on Thanksgiving and watches American football) and here at the compound he is the right hand man of Omey - basically 2nd in command and doing a fantastic job as a Doctor and administrator. I am working alongside people from Brazil, England, the Honduras, Netherlands, Chicago, the DR, and Canada - it is incredible to see people from all over the globe reaching out to their neighbor in need.

A funny aside - (2 United Nation peacekeepers ask to exchange money with Paul, employee of Brookwood Church, and I. I give them some Dominican pesos and they give me a 10 rupee bill that I pass along to my son Isaiah. Well, Paul is trying to give them a dollar but they keep speaking slower and louder in their "English" saying they want his "South Carolina money" - we finally surmise they think S.C. is its own country. These guys from India come and work for the UN for 1 year and they have been here for 4 months so far and now are in the middle of some action.

The start of my day consists of carrying bags of water in bulk in the morning (that is how they distribute them here, cheaper, in small individual plastic bags) to different areas of the compound followed by being "promoted" to head of security at the entrance to the emergency room. Haitians were not listening to the Dominican YWAM workers and were barging into the emergency room waiting area even though they were not "emergencies" (basically trying to get out of standing in the long line at the next door clinic). I was the designated tall, white guy and had to do the one thing in the world I do not like to do - look serious and tell people "No" all day (unless they were an emergency). The emergency room started to regain efficiency a little after lunch but I was starting to panic. My Trooper was supposed to be returned first thing in the morning so after lunch I found my YWAM buddy who called his mechanic and .... the mechanic with my keys did not pick up his cell phone. He told me not to worry, that the mechanic was his friend. I decided to think how I would tell Melynda. Well honey, the car broke down, I pushed it into a yard, gave the keys to a guy I just met, never saw it again. That probably would not make sense to her, huh.

Around 1:40 in the afternoon, my '99 Trooper actually arrives and I thank my Lord in Heaven. The mechanic leaves it running, lets me check it out, and everything looks good. He was a good guy (I sensed it, though I admit to wavering). Later in the week we are standing beside each other at the nightly Worship service, singing and praising God together. I knew it would all work out, kind of.

The mobile team returns from the orphanage and it was good to see Matt back inside the safety of the compound so I understood how he felt the night before. Brad, his friends Matt and Dave, all had a great time helping the kids and the patients they were able to see. I was pulled aside by the Dentist Ben on the team who told me what a great son I had in Matt. Andy had brought some Haitians that lived in Santo Domingo who knew Creole and Spanish and were having some trouble communicating to the Americans in English. Matt was able to listen to the Haitians in Spanish and then translate that to English. Ben and a couple of the other ladies also wanted to let me know how hard working, respectful, and helpful Matt was and to let me know what a great teenager I had. He is a great guy and was turning into a man.

Our first night we slept on cots on top of the Police station. The second night it seemed everyone else decided to join us up there and in my opinion there were way too many people in tents up there walking around on the only building around that had not collapsed. Matt and I were able to commandeer a tent and moved down to the ground and set up camp in the parking lot. The view was not nearly as good but we felt safer and wiser than the others (although they were correct in that the building never collapsed).

Before we retired for the night, the team had a meeting to discuss the day. Dave, a retired Navy SEAL (I believe), said he noticed on the way back to the compound - a saying that was spray painted on the side of the Presidential Palace that was translated to us that said, "Satan is finished." (seems like not a very "Christian" thing to do but I liked it) Haiti has a lot of Christians but also has a lot of followers of voodoo, even high up in their government, and it was cool to see the Christians standing up for what they believe.

Day 1 - on the way to Port-au-Prince

We left Santo Domingo at 4:05 a.m. with three new additions to the team in my Isuzu (a nurse, a paramedic and a cousin all the way from the great State of Washington - we always say you have to be flexible on a mission trip as things are always changing) and the back fully loaded with supplies. The only thing I was concerned about with my vehicle was my old tires as the entire time I have owned the Trooper, I have only needed to change the oil - it has been an excelente "jeepeta" as they say here.

We made it smoothly into the border town of Jimani in the morning, right on schedule to meet our armed escort into Haiti. They never showed. We waited around a little while and then Andy divinely stopped a driver who happened to work for YWAM dropping off another team so we decided to use him as our GPS directional guide. It only took 45 minutes in the shockingly beautiful landscape of Haiti for my vehicle to break down with a broken serpentine belt. My truck was cooked so we rapidly moved all the supplies into the already overcrowded school bus (I was driving just in case the old bus broke down - how ironic) and pushed my dead vehicle across the highway through a broken down gate into the front yard of a willing Haitian young man to be the security guard of the Trooper until we returned. I will admit to being a little concerned.

As we moved closer to Port-au-Prince, more and more buildings were demolished. I personally had never witnessed such a catastrophe and in my opinion it was worse to see it live. The one thing that struck me throughout the week was the positive spirit of the Haitian people to get back to the daily task of living despite the chaos all around them. As we were driving in, I was surprised to see so many people coming back from Church dressed in their Sunday best. I had always thought Haiti would look different from the Dominican where I live but it looked very similiar with the concrete buildings and little "colmados" (very small convenience stores) everywhere. We stayed at the main Police station downtown directly across from the Presidential Palace that was demolished. All the surrounding government buildings were also devastated. YWAM had setup a medical clinic inside and were distributing food, tents, water, and medical help to the people and the families of the police who in turn provided protection. The team arrived and started and unloading and I left immediately with a driver to fix my vehicle.

Since it was a Sunday (and after the earthquake, we drove by the auto parts areas with lots of stores, all demolished) and no one was open we could not find the belt part I needed. I was working with a Haitian guy around 20 years old who was on his first day with YWAM. He contacted his mechanic and who located a belt we headed back to my Trooper. We arrived, (my car was still there, yeah) but the mechanic noticed that the main problem was a "tensioner" was not spinning and I needed more parts. So I got the pleasure to drive around Haiti throughout markets and back alleys looking for ball bearings only a few hours into my trip here. Melynda knew we had a police escort (nope) and that I would be safe in the Police station by now (nope). We actually found the parts but it was so dark when we returned to the car (it was still there) he could not see to install the parts although we tried diligently to light up the area with our cell phone backlights (did not work).

So we head back to the home base in the dark (power had not returned to the country yet - just generators) flying through the capital, horn beeping, people everywhere, but luckily I was with the best driver I had ever seen (the mechanic) - I actually tell the mechanic this through the Creole (language of the Haitians - a dialect of French) translator. When I returned about 9pm, it had been dark for a few hours and my son Matt was mad at me for not contacting him somehow and letting him know I was fine. (I received it as he was worried about me because he loved me so much). I had missed dinner but I knew I was not as hungry as the people outside.

Before I left my Trooper overnight with the young man and his mother and sister, the mechanic thought it would be better for me to leave my keys with the family just in case my alarm went off and started to bother all the neighbors. (I vetoed this idea). But on the way back, the YWAM kid said if I gave the keys to the mechanic, he would go first thing and then return the Trooper to me so I would not have to go back into that area alone. (I had left some more money with the family to guard the truck and they advised they slept outside under a blanket right beside the truck. Their house was fine but there were some cracks and most Haitians are still sleeping outside due to fear of the house collapsing). Well, with some fear and trepidation, I handed over my keys to the mechanic and prayed for its return (when you leave the DR, the insurance is no longer in force - if it was stolen, then bye bye). So I walk into base camp for my first night in Haiti with no Trooper, and no keys - everything was going according to the plan ;)

Matt and I slept on top of the 2-story Police station on cots under the stars with a great view of the city and the Presidential Palace. There was a late night worship service going on that I was too tired to attend but I went to sleep listening to the song , "How Great Thou Art."

Background behind Haiti Mission Trip

I (Greg) kept a journal during my time in Port-au-Prince, the capital city of Haiti. Keep in mind, my thoughts and observations come from the perspective of a guy going to help/work in any area that I could. I was just a small part of the team; we had Doctors, Nurses, Paramedics, skilled security guys, and translators giving their all for the hurting Haitian people. I worked in the area that was assigned to me daily (this was a team of 40 from S.C.) so I did not get to see what each and every Doctor and Nurse saw inside the clinics that were set up but I will do my best to give you a picture of what it was like.

First, I want to thank my beautiful wife Melynda for praying and giving Matthew and I the go-ahead to join the team going into Haiti. We have lived on the island of Hispaniola (this island that shares Haiti and the Dominican Republic) for four and a half years and never felt called to visit Haiti except for the temporary visits of landing at three of their airports delivering missionary supplies with Agape Flights in an airplane. We have met good Haitian Christians here in the capital of Santo Domingo and have always worked with Haitian guys on our job sites. There are now over 1 million Haitians living in the DR. But we have always felt called to the Dominican Republic and despite some offers from our Haitian friends, had never ventured into what we had viewed as a somewhat dangerous country.

This started to change when we got an email from Melynda's brother Brad. He is a Paramedic and goes to Brookwood Church in Simspsonville, SC and when he heard a mission team was going into Haiti, he felt like God wanted him to go so he signed up - you da man, Brad. Long story short we found out his team was being led by Andy Patterson, (an old friend of ours - he used to be a missionary here in Santo Domingo), so we called him up and he welcomed us to the team BUT he wanted me to drive my vehicle which led Melynda to pray some more. I could see how God was planning this trip and while I was praying, I never felt a complete sense that Matt and I would be safe the whole time, (and we weren't) but I sensed completely we were supposed to go and help - so I drove my '99 Trooper behind a school bus filled to the max with 40 people and alot of medical supplies. We were heading to "Mision Rescate" (Rescue Mission) which was being run by YWAM (Youth with a mission) which is led by another good family friend of ours here in Santo Domingo, Kent Norel. It is amazing to watch how God takes the terrible things of this world and see how he organizes and responds to it with love.

Heading For Haiti...

We are asking you, our readers, to be in prayer for Melynda's brother, Brad, and the other 19 people (medics mostly) who are heading our way this Saturday (January 30th). They should be arriving here in Santo Domingo on Saturday and heading out really early in the morning on Sunday (January 31st) to work with YWAM at the medical tent which is set up in the area of the Presidential Palace.

Also, we are asking you to be in prayer with us as Greg and Matthew may go along with this same team. They will be traveling on a bus and probably followed by a supply truck. The good news is that they will have a police escort from the Dominican/Haitian border all the way to Port Au Prince and be stationed across from the National Police Station and have armed guards around them at all times, then be escorted back to the border as they return the following Friday (February 5th). We have heard good reports form the leaders of YWAM and while it seems scary we are praying for confirmation from God in His leading knowing that where He leads He will Provide and Protector.

Thank you for all of your support throughout this time and for all of your prayers. We will keep you posted as the final decision is made.

God Bless You All,
Greg, Melynda & Family

Haiti Relief

Hello Everyone,

As you well know these are devastating times for the Haitian people who were already living under extreme poverty before the earthquakes. We have joined together with several other mission organizations that are represented here and in Haiti to bring relief and aid to Haiti. Currently we are working with Missions Ventures, Four Square Ministries, International Baptist Organizations, Iglesia Christiana Palabras de Vida, Agape Flights, and YWAM (Youth With A Mission) - who has a base in Haiti - to name a few. Representatives from each of these organizations made a trip over to Haiti within the first few days after the first quake. They were able to check on staff members, friends and family members as well as assess the damage and to devise a plan of how to best serve the Haitians. Upon their return a meeting was held to discuss the needs of the people and to form a list of items to distribute among our supporters and others who are looking for ways to help.
That same group found great favor with many government officials in Haiti and were given armed escorts to and from each site that they went to in Haiti. They were also told that they have free reign in entering Haiti to bring relief supplies, doctors, etc. This is a blessing of the Lord as distribution of food, water and other relief supplies can be a dangerous situation if done by individuals without police or military support to keep order. As you know desperate people do desperate acts. There have been several incidences of mobbing when aid has been distributed and several injuries have been the result so it is a great blessing to know that we have a way to get the aid where it needs to go in safety.
We are working alongside Agape Flights of Venice, Florida who are currently working very long hours receiving and packing airplanes with relief supplies that are being donated, as well as doctors, and other aid workers coming to help. They are using their plane as well as several other planes that have been volunteered for use for the next several weeks. Agape is flying several flights a week here, to the DR, and to Haiti transporting supplies and people. We have opened our home to be used for doctors, relief workers, and missionaries traveling to and from Haiti. It is wonderful to see everyone coming together to help in whatever way they can. This is how the body of Christ should be all of the time in crisis and outside of a crisis.
We are distributing this list as a beginning to what will be a long journey of recovery and rebuilding in Haiti. We will try to keep the list as up-to-date as possible by adding items as necessary and deleting items that have already been supplied. There are a few items that are marked with and asterisk (*) an indication that it would be easier/ more cost effective to receive the money for such items to be purchased here in the DR and then transported to Haiti.
Our internet savvy daughter, Brittany, has set up a separate email for all of the responses coming in about how to help. That email address is www.supplies4haiti@gmail.com . Thank you in advance for all that you are doing to help in the relief and rebuilding efforts in Haiti. May God bless each of you for your sacrifice!


Food

Dominican Coffee* - 20 bags (cost of $2 per bag)
Plastic glasses* - 500 count
Water bottles* - Endless supply needed (Cost of $0.30 each)
Gatorade (bottled or mix) - Endless supply needed
Energy Bars - Endless supply needed
Supligen*(Powdered) - Similar to Pediasure - Unlimited supply (Cost of $8 a can)
Sustagen* (powdered) - Unlimited supply needed (Cost of $8 a can)
Trail Mixes - 50 large bags
Rice* - 75 bags to start (Cost of $20 for 50 lb. bag)
Beans* - 200 bags to start (cost avg. $2 a bag)
Cooking Oil - 50 bottles to start
Food to give away - needs to be easy to prepare over open flame and preferably
individually bagged, boxed, or pop-top since they may not have a can opener.

To make a camp for workers and recovery patients:

Tents - large and small - 500
Sleeping bags - 100
Quality tarps - 20
Portable showers - 2
Blankets -100
Sheets - 100
Rolls of rope (1/2 inch thick) - 3
Printer (Printer, copier, fax) -1 and ink cartridges (one dozen)
Plastic chairs* - 100 (cost of $10 each here)
Plastic tables - 10 - The heavy duty kind that are used in churches with foldable legs
Small plastic garbage bags - 1000
Large Plastic garbage bags - 500
55 gallon drums* - 10 (cost $15 each)

Needs in the Clinic:

Disposable sheets - 2000
Clorox* - 50 gallons (Cost of $7 ea.)
Ink Pens - 200
Pads of Paper - 50
Lysol (Spray and Liquid) - 100
Anti-bacterial soap - Unlimited gallons
Hand Sanitizer (pump bottles preferred) - 50
Diesel Fuel - endless supply needed (cost of $4.00 a gallon)

Personnel Needed:

Doctors
Nurses
Paramedics
Organizers - to sort food, medicines, clothing, etc.

Medicines:

Toothbrushes (soft bristle)- 500
Iodine - Gallons
Surgery Kits
Anesthesia
Anti-Inflammatory (pill form and injectable)
Betadine
Carbonated Water - Lots of bottles
Rubbing Alcohol
Gauze
First-Aid Tape
Bandages
IVs
Needles - all sizes
Antibiotics - Pill form and injectable
Granulated Glucos
Equipment for Sterlizing
Steroids
Stethoscopes
Equipment for minor surgeries
Nebulizers
Asthma medicines
Insulin
And anything else a doctor can think of for emergency that is portable and does not
need electricity. =)


That is the list as it stands right now. Again thank you for all that you are doing to help. Supplies can be sent by Agape Flights at:

100 Airport Avenue
Venice, Florida 34285

Please note that there is a $3.00 shipping fee per pound which helps to supply the fuel for these flights. You may also contact Agape at www.agapeflights.com or call 941-488-0990 for more information on shipping or transportation to Haiti.

If you would like to make a monetary donation, please send it to this address:

Bethel Worship Center
814 Fair Street
Camden, SC 29020

Please make sure you put Haiti Relief in the Memo line of the check.

Thank you so much for all your help and prayers!
In His Love & Service,
Greg & Melynda

BCS Team makes a come back...

We have had the priveledge of working with Jonathan Jankovich and the team he leads from BCS (Bradenton Christian School) for the 3rd time. He, himself, has been here 5 times now. This time he brought a team of 16 youth with him and we made sure everyday was loaded with activity.

They arrived Saturday afternoon and went directly from the airport to the church (Palabras de Vida) to share in a time of praise and worship, prayer and teaching with the youth group.

~Sunday was full of prayer and praise as we went to Palabras de Vida with Pastor Raffy Paz in the morning and Iglesia Accion Misionera with Pastor Juan Santos. It was their first visit to Jaun Santos' church and it was unforgetable. Jonathan was given the opportunity to prech the sermon of his life. What I mean is that he had thought long and hard about what he would say if he could only preach one sermon for the rest of his life and this was his time to share that sermon. After his message many came forward for prayer - some were first-time salvation prayers, some for healing, some for encouraging but all were to grow closer to God. They even learned a littel merengue at the end of it all! Dancing for joy is just part of the Latino culture. We love it!!

~Monday was spent working hard at Restoration Ranch. We were able to accomplish a lot of work in a short amount of time. The group was split up into smaller groups which allowed them to split up and work on several tasks at once. One group was cleaning up the apartments of the first building. They had to pick up all of the broken pieces of block and chip away at chunks of concrete that has spilled or fallen and such during construction so that the floors would be as smooth as possible. Another group helped to fill in all of the trenches that were left from plumbling being laid. They busted up a concrete pad that was left from the big concrete truck and moved all of the debri to fill in the footers of the next building. A team helped me to organize the kitchen and begin on organizing sheets and towels into plastic bins. During the entire time we were at the Ranch teams of 4 rotated in and out to prayer walk the entire property. It was a long hard day that ended with a quick trip to Las Salinas where the salt mines are along the coastline. We walked up the beach and spent some time in taking communion before returning to Santo Domingo for dinner and rest. =)

~The team started out Tuesday morning traveling to San Pedro to visit another missionary and helping to pass out invitations to a big event as well as establishing a plan for the Baseball team of BSC to come and be a part of all that is going on in the Hales' baseball ministry in San Pedro next year. Then a quick trip to the market on the way home.

~Wednesday included a trip to Ina's and clean up and minsitry in Cercadillo. Ina is trying to help the community to establish a sens of pride in their area and one of the ways to do that is to teach them to throw trash in a trash can and not on the ground. We started the process by dividing the kids of Cercadillo into teams with our youth mixed in and we raced to pick up trash. The team who filled the most bags won a prize. Then some went to share their testimony with the kids and play baseball while others helped to tote water from the well pump area to the homes. That was soem heavy labor!! Later that evening we were able to take the team to ride on the Metro (our new railway tram system that is both above ground and below). all 25 of us gringo Americans laoded on the tram and headed from Villa Mella to the Malecon to Euri and Zinyada's home where we celebrated with Brittany in her disperdida (farewell party).

~Thursday was when the trip was winding down. They headed over to work with Jerry Poppe in Los Alcarrizos to help by painting the Haitian church and its newly added area for children's church. They also gathered around to pray for a child who is deaf and play with several of the Haitian children. That evening we got all cleaned up and dressed up and went to "The Cave" to eat dinner. A real splurge for us, the Burge family, as we have only been there one other time. It was a time of great food and great fellowship to end a great and impacting trip!

~Friday morning was off to the airport to say so long until next time. It was also time for us to say farewell to our daughter, Brittany, for 6 weeks as she traveled back with them to attend school with them and have the high schol experience. =)

Healing and Freedom were the theme for this team's trip and they accomplished both...prayer and fulfilling of healing as well as being set free from old ways of living and thinking. Lives were touched on both sides and God was glorified!

Brittany has left home...

We now have a new respect for parents who send their children off to college. Letting Brittany leave 6 weeks early to go to Florida throew us all out of wack! She has been working very hard this school year to finish early so that she could travel back to Florida with the team from Bradenton Christian School. She has been blessed with the opportunity to go to high school there for about 6 weeks and enjoy being around other Seniors, go to prom, and go to the library - oh, how she loves her books! =)

We knew that letting her go with them in April was going to be hard but we did not realize just how hard it would be! After enjoying working with one last team with her by our side helping all the way we said so long - we don't like to say goodbye; it is just too final for us - we circled around her and prayed for her (as you can see in the picture on the right side. She is in the center...look at the feet) then we watched her walk through to the check point at the airport with tears being held down with large gulps. As I turned from watching her walk through the doors, leaving us and heading into a new adventure with God, I heard Greg say, "Well that SUCKED!" *Excuse our language. Haha!* It truly did suck! We walked out to the waiting guagua (bus) and loaded it with our heads down and tears beginning to flow. Once we were on the bus Greg asked Guillermo (the driver, who is more like a family member) to put in some music and we each retreated to our own seat to cry. Yes, grown men can and do cry especially when their little girl grows up and leaves home. =) After a while, we came together and talked and cried and then called to see if Brittany was able to get through Customs without a problem (since she is 17 and trying to leave the country without a parent she could have been stopped even with our letter of permission). She was fine and said that she had left us a gift at home, a letter. She even wrote one to Guillermo, she is just too sweet and thoughtful.

When we got to the house we gave Guillermo his letter which he started to read then got choked up so he put it in his pocket and said he would read it later when he was alone. Can you tell she has had an impact on everyone around her? To be honest, we have not read our letter yet...we just can't handle it, not just yet anyway. We are very thankful for all of you who have lifted us up in prayer. We know that Brittany is ready for the world with God by her side and that she is truly in the center of His will for her right now it is just hard to adjust to her being gone especially to another country. Sorry, no pity for those of you who are only a few hours drive from your kids. ;) We are an ocean away and we know that it will only be a few years before she is half a world away as she plans and believes God for His provision and timing for her to go to live in Europe and eventually Isreal.

Please keep us in prayer and more importantly keep Brittany in your prayers as she prepares for college and for the plans and purposes that God has for her in the future.

We love you Brittany and we will miss you, but we are proud of the woman you are becoming! =)

Monthly Challenge...

As many of you know, we have added a column on our newsletter which is the "Challange of the Month". The challenge changes from month to month and while we issue the challenge to each of our readers we also follow through with the challenge. I wanted to share with you the results from one of those.

In March the challenge was to go beyond yourself to reach out to a person in need. We know that the economy has many of you looking for ways to trim your budget just as it done to us, but we know that we are to trust God in all our situations no matter what the circumstances may be. It is yet another trial that gives us an opportunity to stretch our faith and continue to show and share God's love.

Most of the time when we reach out beyond ourselves and help another we do not get to see just how far our act of kindness reaches however, in this case, God allowed me to find out just what He was able to do with my willingness to reach out to another.

I had prayed that God would show me a way to reach out to someone in need. We help a lot of people here in the DR but sometimes I just want to do something random, something new, something different. As I was preparing for a team to come and stay in our home and writing a grocery list I heard the Holy Spirit tell me to make a list for Marisol. I was taken back for a moment though I quickly realized that this was the person I was to help. Marisol is a single Mom with 2 girls, she runs a hair salon out of a room of her rented home. She seems to struggle to make ends meet, as do so many others.

Two days later, when I went to the grocery store, I purchased food for her and took it to her house. When I walked in to deliver the groceries to her she was talking with a friend. She stood and asked me what I was doing and I told her that God told me to get the groceries for her and that they were a gift from God. She looked a little stunned. She asked me why? I told her that God loves her and that He wanted her to have them. I could see the welling of tears in her eyes. While I was unloading the bags of groceries from my arms the Lord spoke to me and told me to leave some money with her as well. I didn't think that I had enough money on me but I looked at what I had left and it was exactly what God said to give so I gave it all to her. I gave her a hug, told her again that God loved her, and that I would see her again soon. Leaving her home I felt a little lighter on my feet and my heart was full of joy! That was an awesome feeling and both of us were blessed, but God was not finished.

A friend of mine saw her a week or two later and noticed that there was a difference in her posture and facial expression. She asked Marisol what was different and Marisol shared with her what God had done. The day that I visited her and she was talking to her friend she had been telling her friend that she was giving up and that she thought God had forgotten all about her and her struggles. Her friend was trying to encourage her and tell her that God did love her and had not forgotten about her. A few moments later I walked in with arms loaded with groceries and a financial gift having NO idea all that she was thinking or feeling, but God did! She cried after I left, and she decided to go to church that very Sunday and gave her life to Jesus Christ. She knew that God did/does indeed love her and that He is watching out for her every need. Now she has her children going and even her boyfriend. She is on fire for God, sharing her story with everyone she meets. she even has a Bible out on her station so that when people see it and ask questions she has another opportuinty to share what God has done in her life! It is awesome! God is Awesome!!!!

I am so thankful to God that He shared with me what He had done in her. It could not have come at a better time for her and the revealation of it all could not have come at a better time for me, as I was struggling with the fact that Brittany was leaving home to start in her new adventure with God.

We are old...

Well, it is official... we, Greg and I, are old because we now have three teenagers. That's right, Isaiah is a teenager today.

Happy Birthday Isaiah!! We love you!

We were able to celebrate with him today and thanks to a friend Isaiah was able to find a recipe for making Chick-Fil-A sandwiches so that is what I made tonight. They were not exactly the same so I will play with the recipe but they were pretty close. Closer than we have had in over a year since there isn't a Chick-Fil-A in this country. =) We even add the pickles. I made tea mixed with fresh sqeezed lemonade too! We will be taking Isaiah to bowl in the next day or two as he requested.

A fireman in our family and "Did you hear that"?

We had a lot of excitement in our home today. As if we needed anymore of it. lol I must start at the beginning...

I told you in our last post about having a gas water heater downstairs. It is actually just outside of the bathroom downstairs in the laundry room. Well, we were enjoying having warm showers for a while, a nice break for the cold ones we usually have. Anyway, this morning Greg had taken a shower downstairs, then I did so we could go and run errands, buy food for the incoming team and such. We told Brittany that if she wanted a warm shower to take it downstairs and she said she would.

Off we go on our errands and just after we made our first 2 stops we receive a call from Matthew. He told us that the water heater had caught on fire and he had put it out. He was calling to ask what else he should do now that the fire was out. After getting back home and getting the full story we found out that Brittany had been in the shower. She said she was just singing Praise songs and had conditioner in her hair when she heard that still small voice tell her to, "Get out of the shower, now!". She said she started rinsing off to get out and that she heard the same voice (the Holy Spirit) tell her again, "Get out of the shower, NOW!" So she jumped out wrapped in a towel and looked out of the window to see the water heater consumed in flames. She ran to matthew and told him and asked him if he knew where I kept the fire extinguisher and he did so he ran to the kitchen to get it.

Brittany said that he came running back down the stairs with it and ran straight out to the fire and sprayed it like a real fireman and put it out completely. She said, "he was so calm!" she said she asked him after he came back in from putting out the fire if he had ever done that before and he said, "No!" She asked him how he knew what to do and he said he didn't. He said he was trying to read the directions while he was running down the stairs but it all looked like German to him and he couldn't read a word. He said he just looked at it and the thought came to him that the pin sticking out of it looked like one on a grenade so he decided to pull it out and see if he could get it to work. (Thanks to my brother, Brad, for the knowledge about grenades not that Matthew has ever pulled the pin on one of those.) He said he realized that it let the handle loose so he just aimed and sprayed. He backed up and waited a minute or so and looked for any remaining orange glow from anywhere and ran up and sprayed that then backed up again. He said that once it was all out he realized what God had just help him do and then he got a little shakey from it all.

After going out to the laundry room and assessing the damages we realized just how good God is and how tired our guardian angels must be ( ) because the fire could have happened while the kids were upstairs and it could have spread and caught the paint cans and cleaners that were on the opposite wall on fire, it could have followed the gas up the line and blown up the tank that is outside the kitchen window (how it did not only God knows). It could have engulfed the entire laundry room in flames in a matter of a few more minutes...but GOD. He was watching out for my family and for our home. While it did take us a few hours to clean up all that was burnt or charred we are so thankful that it did not spread any further. Go God!!

Later, as I was talking to Brittany about how she had listened and heeded the words of the Holy Spirit, she said there have been several times in the past, the last few weeks especially, when she feels like she heard that same small voice tell her to get up and close her door or close her window or other things and how, even she tought it was a strange idea or saw no real point in it, she would get up and do it anyway. I said that I experience the same thing a lot of times too and sometimes i follow through and sometimes I don't. Like when you lay something down somewhere and you immediately hear that voice or have that thought that says,"you shouldn't leave that there" and sometimes you move it but sometimes you don't and then you end up not being able to find it later or it gets broken or something and then you can think back and remember that "something" told you not to leave it there. I know you have experienced something similar, we all have. We talked about how that can be God using those small oportunities to train our ears to hear Him when He speaks. That we could be tuned in to His voice so that when He does speak to us to say, "get out of the shower" we will listen and obey.

He has such plans for you; plans for your welfare not for evil, to give you hope and a future, (Jeremiah 29:11) and even if you don't fully understand or believe it He cares about the things you care about and He is always there watching over you to protect you. However, you must have ears to hear and the willingness to follow through even when it may sound crazy or ridiculous to you like getting up to close your door or moving something to a different location. He loves you and those around you. Listen for Him today. Listen with your heart it might just save your life!

Thankfulness...

We have a team staying in our home this week. It is actually a combo of two teams, one has 5 members and the other has 15 members. We aren't leading this team just housing and feeding them. =) If you have never cooked for over 25 people you should try it sometime. It is a lot of work but it can also be a lot of fun. No really, it can be fun!

Anywho, we have a gas water heater and we were trying to bless the team with warm showers instead of cold or shockingly cold showers but it backfired on us because everyone was enjoying the shower so much that they were taking 2 a day and not in any hurry to get out. I know many of you are thinking what is the big deal right? Well, here in the DR things are different, obviously. We have a huge undeground tank (a cistern) in our front yard that holds water that is pumped in from the "street" or city water system and it does not flow everyday. We can actually go a week without it pumping in to refill the cistern. While our cistern is the largest on the block and holds as much as a small swimming pool but we still need to watch our comsumption because we never know when it will stop flowing and for how long.

Guess what happened mid week with this team? Yes, you guessed it...we went from a full cistern on Saturday morning to an empty one on Wednesday morning. That means that with 25 people in this house we could not flush toilets, run water in the sinks, or wash dishes much less take showers. We asked the teams to pray for the water to begin pumping in from the street again and that we would be able to contact a water truck, which can be expensive, to come and dump water into our cistern in the meantime.

We were able to contact a water truck and they were able to come out that afternoon to help replinish the cistern and while they were here emptying the truck of water the street pump came on. Praise the LORD!! It was getting pretty stinky in the humid house with 4 toilets full and needing to be flushed. Haha!

Once the water was back in the cistern we went to turn the pump on to get the water flowing back through the house and it would not work. Mind you that the pump was new, only a week old, and it wasn't working. Matthew came up with the idea of hauling buckets of water to a rope and lifting them up the side of the house to the roof to pour into the tank up there so that gravity itself would help to distribute the water throughout the house. Great idea!! After about 4 buckets he was already getting tired and we were recruiting team members to take shifts. 20 something buckets later the tank was finally showing signs of the work being put in. In the meantime we were trying to get the pump fixed and taking buckets full of water in and pouring them into the backs of the toilets in order to flush them. I just had to laugh. I mean what else can you do in that kind of situation except find the humor right?!

Fortunately, the pump was fixed within a few hours and we were back on track again. Needless to say, there were no more warm showers which meant that the showers were quicker and a little less frequent. Hahaha!

We are so thankful for the teams' flexibility and that they all seemed to just take it in stride. They also got to see God answer their prayers...quickly! All this to say that you need to remember to be thankful for the little things in life. Remember how truly blessed you are in the U.S. that you do not have to worry about your water running out, when you turn on the faucet it is always flowing. No worries about pumps to get water from under ground to your roof and from your roof through the rest of your house and the wondering of when will a repairman get here to fix this problem (in this country taking a few days to fix anything is "normal"). Not only fix it, but do it correctly instead of just rigging it to work for now. =) When you do not know what else to thank God for - though we know there is so much more to be thankful for - just tell Him thank you for running water, a roof over your head, humor, and good friends.

May His love abound in your hearts today and everyday!

Melynda

Team RC

Things are coming right along on Restoration Ranch. A team from Restoration Church in Spartanburg just left after working long and hard on the ranch. They were able to get a lot of work done in a short period of time.

I had the pleasure of working with Chris and Cliff in wiring one of the apartments of the first building. I learned a lot and had fun doing it. Greg and Matt had the manual labor side of things. They helped with everything from digging trenches for the plumbing of the septic system from the house to the septic tank to hauling cement and block. They worked hard. Brittany was cleaning the boxes were they were building the boxes for the drain system and she said she felt like an archelogist with her paintbrush in hand and gently but thoroughly brushing away the dirt so that the cement blocks and sealing would stay and not shift. Isaiah helped to shovel all of the excess dirt and rock and broken block up into wheel barrows for it to be wheeeled out of the apartments leaving behind cleaner and smoother floor areas that would be ready for the final pouring of the floor.

We also got to experience sleeping at Restoration Ranch. Greg, Brittany, and Matthew slept outside on cots under the gazebo while Isaiah and I share a small pup tent and slept on the ground with a blanket and pillow. Did you catch that? A "blanket"...it was cold down there. Yeah, I know, I know...you guys have had snow and really cold weather but for us, here in a tropical region, it was cold. We each had a blanket and we were curled up and still cold. It was unbelievable!! I was amazing to be able to look up and see millions of stars shining in the night sky because there were no street lights and car lights and such to obstruct the view. It was breath-taking! Greg and Brittany were able to see a shooting star together. A great Daddy-daughter moment indeed. =)

Another first was to be able to cook on a stove outside. It is so different than cooking on a grill. It was fun to try to beat mother nature by blocking the wind so that the flame on the gas stove would stay lit while trying to cook. But that didn't hinder us from making a cake to celebrate a team member's birthday. lol

The team also brought suitcases full of school supplies including pens, pencils, glue, markers, crayons and several hundred notebooks that we were able to take and donate at the school near the Ranch. It was fun to go in to each classroom and listen to the team members take turns in sharing their testimony and then hand out the school supplies to each student. There were several students who stood up before their classmates and either sang a song or gave thanks for the supplies or other forms of gratitude for the gifts they had received. You could see that it touched each team members heart and it was talked about more throughout the evening.

We are very thankful to the team and hope that they are all doing well and are blessed for all the blood, sweat, and tears they pored out to help the dream to become a reality. Blessings and love to each of you!

~The Burge family

A Great Blessing...

I am so thrilled to announce that my (Melynda's) Mom, Yvonne, was able to finally make the trip down here to the Dominican Republic to visit us. We have been here over three and and half years and she asked that her Christmas present be a trip down to see us. I can't tell you how exciting this was on so many fronts. For one she was able to get a release by her neurologist to travel here which is a HUGE indication of the healing that has occured in her. Thanks only to the Jehovah Rapha - our Healer. Second, she was able to see for herself where we live and what we do which helped her to set her mind at rest and made it easier for her to give us her blessing in being here. Don't get me wrong... she has understood and supported us but this has brought it to a whole new level.

We had a great time the day that she arrived. We waited until she arrived to celebrate Matthew's 16th birthday. We went to eat at Wendy's. **Sidenote** For those of you who take Wendy's for granted...think again. There is only one in the whole country right now and it doesn't have a 99 cent menu so it is a real treat for us to go there. After the visit to Wendy's we went bowling...again only one bowling alley here. We had a blast. My mom hasn't bowled in over 30 years but she had great form! We did a lot of laughing and high fives all around. Isaiah wants to go back for his b-day at the end of the month of March.

As a combo gift we were able to go up to the North-western shore of Samana to go whale-watching. The Humpback Whales come every year for breeding and birthing in the bay. The prayer is always that you will actually be able to find and observe them when you go out on the boat. It was our priviledge to be able to go out with a Marine-biologist who was able to give us an in-depth and interesting background on the whales. Our prayers to see whales were answered in a BIG way...not only did we see a mother with three babies but we also got to see two males chasing each other and bumping each other in a battle to win a female to mate with. It was a once-in-a-lifetime event. They were so big measuring about 50 feet long and weighing about 40 tons! God is so creative! They moved with such grace through the water and it was amazing to see them jump.

Needless to say it was an amzing week and to top it off my Mom said that she was proud of the work we are doing here and she understands why it is that we can't leave. While we miss our family and friends our heart is here in the D.R. and in what God has called us to do. We love you Mom (a.k.a. Mema) and we miss you!

Birthday Wishes...

Happy 16th Birthday Matthew!

We are so proud of the man you are becoming and we look forward to seeing all the great things that God has planned for you! Remember Jeremiah 29:11 We love you!!

Happy Birthday to all of our readers who have had a birthday in January or February of this year as well! ;)

Another First

Who remembers the song..." I feel the earth move under my feet..."? We just had the earth move under our feet. We experienced our very first earthquake which measured at a 5.1 on the Richter scale. It only lasted a few seconds, but I was watching the Christmas tree shake and felt the second floor of our concrete house quivering under my feet. It started in San Pedro de Macoris located an hour and 45 minutes east of Santo Domingo. Kind of freaky, yet in a weird way, it was kind of cool.