Toy Drive 2011

80 boys from Jarabacoa have picked up trash, washed walls, memorized verses, come to club meetings...and earned tons of Ryan Bucks in the process.  They're ready to cash in, but we have NO PRIZES.

Our goal this Holiday season is to raise all the prizes we'll need for 2012.

We need your help!

1. We need 20 people to fill a box with toys: you can buy them, give them, ask other people to give them, steal them...whatever you need to do to fill 1 medium-sized box with toys.  We'll pay for shipping...
2. We need 20 people to donate $30 each to cover shipping costs: Click the button to help out:

Important Information:

• If you're willing to fill a toy box, please leave a comment on this post and/or email hollowre@gmail.com and I'll get you more info
• If you want give some cash just click the button.
• The boys are 8-18 years old
• Prize ideas: Old video game systems, sports equipment, clothes, shoes, action figures
• We need all boxes to ship by November 18th so don't wait!

Read this post or this one if you want to know more about the SI Boys Club Site.

Some of the boys we work with on the peak of Mt. Mogote

Boys Club in Sabaneta

As you may already know, the boys club I started became an official site in May and we hired a Dominican guy named Leo Escalante to direct the site. One of the first orders of business was to begin a whole new club in a new area: Sabaneta. During my final months here I'm doing my best to establish this club and create all the little things that make a club a club: slogans, name tags, titles, Ryan Bucks (er, Leo Bucks), games, sports, Bible lessons.

It's gone really great thus far and I really enjoy it. Enjoy a few of the pictures from a recent club meeting.


This is the slogan for our club, in English: Dare to be different.


These beautiful murals were painted by Art Site students this past summer. Excellent work!


Singing a few songs to warm the boys up. Jose Antonio (on the right) doesn't seem too into it.


We meet in the morning and the afternoon on Tuesdays and Thursdays. This is the afternoon group, usually about 20 boys.


Pay close attention the lesson, answer questions about the lesson afterwards, earn Leo dollars.


After Tuesday bible study we have an hour of rec time. This is the soccer field outside where we meet. The building was built by the Catholic church but is never used.


On Thursdays we do activities. Over the past month we've done an egg drop contest where you build an apparatus to protect an egg that I'll throw from the roof. The contest is this Thursday and the winning team gets $400/each.


Often times I'll ask the boys random trivia questions as we're waiting to start the meeting and they earn $10 for every right answer. Sometimes I randomly throw $10 in the air and whoever reacts the quickest gets it. Jilson capitalized on this occasion.


Leo going for a home run in kickball. He's done a great job with the boys and his story and humble beginnings are a great example to them.

Thoughts from Caroline

Kim Streeter (who I have written about before, my 'replacement' for lack of a better word) arrived in the DR just a few weeks ago! Her first project here is to do a Social Work Site Blog, and she asked me to do a post for it, and I thought some of our readers might be interested in it as well.

Also, if you want to check out the new site blog, here's the address: http://meetingjesusinelcallejon.blogspot.com/?spref=fb

I remember before I moved here 3 years ago daydreaming about what my ministry would be like in the DR. I remember imagining leading a profound Bible study (in perfect Spanish) to an attentive group of women. I remember imagining seeing lives transformed over night because of my ministry. I remember imagining myself having deep heart-to-heart conversations with women and girls.

The reality of how it was when I did move here was quite different. I remember feeling overwhelmed and intimidated by 30 shouting women crammed into our tiny site. I remember stumbling through Spanish and getting lots of blank states and nose crunches (a Dominican gesture for “what?!”) I remember feeling like I had nothing to offer the women and girls.

Looking back 3 years later, my ministry did not end up like the perfect picture I imagined it would be. And thankfully, it got a lot better than my initial experiences also.

There are so many stories I could share, like how several of the couples who have been living together for years finally sanctified their relationships by getting legally married. Or the bittersweet time when Lourdes was diagnosed with terminal cervical cancer, and as a result gave her life to Christ. Or the trips to the beach, or the pool, or to the pizza place. Or how several students who came down on outreaches decided to return as interns or staff.

But there are also so many sweet memories that I alone cherish. Like hearing the young girls recite their memory verses week after week. Or the joy in the women’s’ faces when I told them I was pregnant, and later when they saw James for the first time. Or hearing students’ stories of how God used their time at the site to grow and transform them.

There is no doubt in my mind that God is working in El Callejon. It’s a long process transforming this community. Many days it seems as though we take one step forward and two steps back. But the past 3 years I have been a witness to the growing spirit of hope and light that exists in the community. And I trust that God will continue to use this and other ministries to grow His kingdom in El Callejon.

Pico Duarte

For an island country about the size of New Jersey, you wouldn't expect to see 10,000 ft mountains, but, in fact, there are several. Jarabacoa is actually situated near the Dominican Alps, which include the tallest mountain in all of the Caribbean: Pico Duarte.








After 3 years here I finally went on a trip to the top. Six SI staff made the 3-day journey: Me, Nate, Lowell, Hans, Leo, and Raul, along with 2 guides and 2 mules.





The first day was the most difficult. We hiked 11 miles and ascended 6000 feet. It was brutal. It started raining around 2 and got very cold which added to the brutality. We arrived at the camp at 5:30, tired and wet.







The facility was actually really awesome. It could sleep at least 100 people. There was a large covered fire pit, a kitchen, and a nice bathroom. Our guides had a fire and food ready for us when we arrived.









Day 2 was the most fun. It was a short hike to the peak where we took pictures, climbed around on the rocks and enjoyed push large boulders over the edge and watching them destroy everything in their path.







Day 3 should have been easy. It was a long day of hiking back down, but it was almost all downhill. The first half of the day was as expected. But, around 11am it all changed. Raul and I started running down the steep parts and jumping from rock to rock. Raul repeatedly yelled "parkcore" in a thick Dominican accent. This culminated in an all out wrestling match when I tackled him for passing me.

It's the right time to interject that Raul is former military and it shows. Once he had me pinned he asked if I was going to give up, to which I replied "claro que no". He took off running and I followed. We ran, and ran, and ran, until it stopped being fun. In total we ran about 12 km with 25lbs on our back, stopping only twice for water.





I was unable to walk normally for 3 days.