A Day at the Farm

It appears that Restoration Ranch is made of the things that bring excitement to children, boys especially. On the last full day of the Geary family's time with us we took them and Rosita and Priscilla to the farm. We planned to have a big lunch of typical dominican food, minister to the people in the small community across from the farm, and enjoy the land and its benefits. We added Matthew and Isaiah Burge to the group as well, and the 10 of us loaded up in our Dodge Durango.


Marta prepared us a great meal of pollo guisado, arroz con habichuelas, tostones, aguacate, y concon. It was wonderful, and even the kids enjoyed it. I bet you non-spanish speakers would love to know what it was we ate!

After lunch the Geary family, the two Burge kids, and Prisicalla and Rosita went across to the neighboring community and ministered to adults and children alike. When I finished working with the master builder and went to see if they needed any help, they had the crowd participating in everything and smiles everywhere. Everyone had either an animal-shaped balloon or a hula hoop and a lollipop. Priscilla did a great job translating for them and freed me up to take care of construction business while they worked over there.



I have to admit that one of my favorite parts of the day was watching the boys having so much fun chasing and catching chickens! Who knew it could be so much fun. No GameBoy or other electronic gadget in site, just pure free fun.

The Local Community School

Last year around this time we were able to take a team from Boiling Springs to a school about 20 minutes from the farm. The team had purchased back packs, school supplies, candies, hats, etc. The decision was made to bless this particular school because Fran's kids go to school there. Later that afternoon as I sat on the patio at the farm a lady came to visit. Her name is Fausta and she is the director of the school that is only a minute or two from the ranch. Fran's kids no longer go there because they have passed the 8th grade and this school doesn't include high school. This sweet lady spent a little time with me, and in the course of her 15 or 20 minutes of chatting she must have mentioned the 'local community school' a dozen times. We got the message! Here was a school within walking distance of us, and we should keep them in mind when we had blessings to share. So when Gloria and boys wanted to share at a school we knew exactly where to go - the 'local community school'!

Lucy's Orphanage

You all know that we just can't get enough of visiting all the precious children in this country. We included in the Geary family itinerary a trip to Lucy's orphanage in Santo Domingo. That's where our girls, Rosita and Priscilla, live.
I told you yesterday that we always have fun. Here's the 'funny faces' shot.

Danny is always a favorite with the little girls at the home. Here he is with Amorosa, a precious child who was discovered as an infant lying in the mud under a bridge.

Fun Fun Fun

We have fun wherever we go! We took the Geary family to Pastor Manning's favorite dominican restaurant, Adrian Tropical. While we waited on dinner the boys enjoyed entertaining the large parrots in the cage on the balcony overlooking the ocean. After dinner, while waiting on those who were in the bathroom, the two youngest boys tried their hands at typical dominican musical instruments.

Fun Day

Not every day is supposed to be chock full of work. We try to make sure that each team gets some play time too. The Geary family had just such a day at a little stop called Biyeya Beach. It's a local place where there is usually almost no one there. Yet the water is the beautiful tropical blue, and the mountains outline the distance for a spectacular view.

One of my personal favorite things about the day was watching the boys be boys. They had been so mature while doing all the ministry work, and now here they were creating games that only boys dream up! You can see that in the photos below.

I love it! What better place to mud up for soldiering than a beach where one can jump in and rinse it all off!

Girls This Time

After having an exciting action-packed afternoon with the boys at the orphanage we went across the street to the new girls' home. What a change of pace! Five precious little girls living in the house with the lady who cares for them sat quietly in a row while we talked with them. Now that just doesn't really happen at the boys' home! We enjoyed both places tremendously, and we visited them in the proper order I think. Action first, tranquility next.

Boys, Boys, and More Boys

Our second ministry stop with the Geary Family was just outside of San Juan de la Maguana where we visited the children at the orphanage there. The Geary family had purchased some snacks, some balls, a few hula hoops, and a couple basketballs. As you might imagine, the kids were happy to see them! At the boys' home there are currently 52 living there. We added 'our' three and rounded up to 55. One of the things the boys enjoyed most was their time playing together. Baseball, basketball, hula hoops, and love seem to have no language barrier.

Another World

Monday we headed out west with Gloria Geary and her three sons, Hatcher, Reed, and Harrison. They had enjoyed a rousing Latin church service Sunday morning, and we were now taking them to another area of the country. This family has spent the last year of their lives traveling to 17 different nations to share the message and love of Jesus Christ with others. They primarily have done so using a bracelet with six colors that each represent an aspect of christian life (heaven, sin, Jesus, forgiveness, Holy Spirit, and growth). Even the youngest child, 7 year old Harrison does an excellent job of sharing the colors and what they represent. Our first ministry stop with them was in a small primitive village called El Copey. We have been there so many times over the years that they felt quite free to lovingly chastise us for having been away for most of this year! The Geary family hit the ground running, wasting no time heading out to meet the residents of this small community. They were loving on children within minutes.

Two Families - Five Boys

On Saturday we picked up another family. This time it was mom, Gloria and her three boys, Hatcher, Reed, and Harrison. We arranged for a taxi van to take all of us, the two families and Danny and me to the old colonial zone of Santo Domingo for a little history and tourism. It went much better than I had actually hoped! All the boys were truly interested in what they were seeing. With five boys 12 or under we were quite a group. We kept the number of sites to visit to a minimum, and everyone had a good time. The sites we chose to see were the exterior of the Ozama Fortress, the Pantheon of the Heroes, and the Diego Columbus house. The Fortress was the fort built when the spanish first colonized the island over 500 years ago, and was later used as very dark and dingy prison for political prisoners. The Pantheon has an eternal flame, tombs of national heroes, and guards to make sure no one is disrespectful to this sacred shrine. The guards, however, did allow us to take pictures of the boys with them, even the one on duty! One of the most interesting visits was our tour in the Diego Columbus palace. Diego was the son of Christopher Columbus, and he and his wife ruled the island as governor for 14 years. The old palace has been refurnished with pieces for the appropriate time period, and the tour is enhanced by the english-speaking guide. It was a great way to blend the families for the day before we had to say good-bye to the Bradner family.

A Spirit of Adventure

One of the things we enjoyed so much about the Bradner family was the great sense of adventure they brought with them. They were not only willing to try most anything, they were eager to do so. The boys even wanted to try things that they knew they might not like! For example, agua de coco (coconut water) is not a favorite with American visitors. Danny once described it as tasting like swamp water! Ben and Deb brought two boys ready to taste it though. Ben has traveled to many different countries and has 'enjoyed' coconut water in many of them. Both he and Deb have been to the Dominican Republic before, as has their oldest son. The boys, Kavin and Micah, reminded me at times of "The Swiss Family Robinson". They tasted the coconut water, searched for mangos and peeled them with Fran's machete, and both enjoyed a stalk of sugar cane. When you add in the fun the had with the animals it just reminded me of the way the kids on the movie enjoyed their temporary island home.

Bradners at Work

The Bradner family from Restoration Church in Spartanburg was able to spend two days working at Restoration Ranch. What a fun two days it was. We don't normally get to host young children of 7 and 12 years of age so it was a real treat to watch them learn about block laying, cement mixing, leveling, etc. It was just as much fun to watch them just be boys. The saw the new baby sheep, and one day helped herd them to the corral at dusk. The boys chased the chickens, learning how to catch them and how to hold them. They watched everything the workers did, observing each and every job with fascination. We've been working at the farm for over a year, and I have yet to chase a chicken!