Tuesday Night and Wednesday

Earplugs. That is what you need to go see a baseball game in the Dominican Republic. It seemed to me to be louder than the 1980 Who concert I went to. The Dominicans love their baseball, and they show it. The announcer is loud, the music is loud, the horns are loud. And it is a great deal of fun.

We saw the Licey Tigres play the Santiago Aguilas. The Aguilas were out pitched by Licey. The score was Licey 5 and Aguila 1. We had a great time soaking in some of the Dominican culture.

Wednesday morning came, and following breakfast we headed back to Cielo. With my back a little soar from our work on Tuesday, I decided to take it easy and work on my sermon for Sunday in the office building. I had a good three hours of uninterupted time to think and write. Part of me really wished I could be with the crew working on building a wall at Luis' home, but I knew I needed to get the sermon done. My back thanked me as well. It really is frustrating to have the will to work as hard as ever, but not have one's body cooperate. Still, I am doing better than I though I would. I am hopeful that my back will continue to get better, and that by my next trip I will be back to full speed ahead.

I haven't said much about the food. So let me remedy that.

It is delicious. Our lunches each day are made by the staff cook named Suni. I believe she begins cooking for our 12:30 p.m. lunches at 9 a.m. Lots of rice and beans and sauteed pork and chicken. Fresh fruit and vegetables. It is all wonderful. A number of us have commented that we wish we could cook rice and beans the way Suni does. It would be all we eat!

Our dinners are usually out at restaurants. Monday night we went to a very nice Italian restaurant just a few blocks from the hotel. We would have gone out for Chinese food on Tuesday, but we went to the baseball game instead. Thursday night will be at a nice restuarant in Old Towne - Linen tablecloths and attentive waiters.

Wednesday night we went to the church service. I always look forward to the service, but tonight was especially wonderful. Porfi, the worship leader of the church, is a gifted singer and leader. I don't think I have ever been as engaged in worship as tonight. Singing with people who have a passion in their voices is inspiring. It is as if the louder they sing the more that God will hear them. There singing is a statement of faith. Even if the world around them looks like God is not present, they believe that he is in their lives helping them through it. We were not Dominicans and Americans tonight. We were fellow believers praising God in two languages but united in spirit. It was awesome.

Monday & Tuesday

Our schedule for Monday and Tuesday was very much the same. We woke at 6 a.m. Breakfast at 7 a.m. Then on the bus at 8:15 a.m. for the 15 minute drive to Cielo. Our work for the first two days was pouring headers on the homes of Marco and Luis.

Marco and Luis are Hatian employees of Mission Emanuel who have been working with the mission for 7 years. Marco and Luis are some of the hardest working people I have ever met. They have helped build 50 of the 55 homes the mission has constructed. Never once did they ask to have a home for themselves. This year the mission decided that it was time for them to have a home built in the community where they have worked so hard. It is very meaningful for us to be doing this. For me, Marco is one of my favorite people in the DR, and I am honored to help build his home.

So what do we do? One group mixes concrete on the ground in the road. This takes about 2 -3 people. They then fill small buckets that are then passed up a line to the person who then pours the concrete into the forms that form the headers that connect the whole cinderblock house. It is that simple. But of course you add in blazing hot sun, heavy buckets, an make shift ladder up and incline, and 4-5 hours , and it becomes work.

But of course there are numerous breaks for water to stave off heat stroke, and there is time for joking and getting to know those who are helping out. Here is a picture of me explaining to Steve Rowell what I believe the weather pattern will be for today. They all wondered which meteorological school I graduated from.

My biggest concern of the last two days was not to over do it. Last year, when we were doing cement bucket lines, I injured my back significantly to the point that it hurt all the time. Each month since last October it has gotten slowly better, and I did not want to re-injure it. So far, so good. I have been wearing a lumbar support thing that I believe is helping. A little advil and ice at the end of the day have also helped.

This evening we are going to see a game between two of the premier baseball teams of the Dominican League. As you may know, the Dominican Republic puts out very good baseball players - many who play in the major leagues. They often return to the DR during the off season to play in this league.

Well that's it for today!

Cielo on Sunday

What a beautiful day to start off my week in the Dominican Republic. This morning I was at Mission Emanuel for the morning worship service. There was a nice breeze, and in the shade it was a pleasant 82 degrees.

This is not the Dominican Republic people see on the tourist brochures. Mission Emanuel is in the midst of two very poor neighborhoods known as Cielo and Nazaret. Here people eek out an exisitance, living in conditions that make the poor in the United States look wealthy. Yet, they are full of joy in the Lord.

Worship was energetic and joyful as we praised the name of the Lord who created us. The Sunday morning and Wednesday evening worship services have become one of my favorite parts of our trips.

I also enjoy our Sunday afternoons, as we begin to re-connect with our Dominican friends from years past. We visited Raphael and Enelcida whose home we helped construct in 2006. They were so happy to see us and said that they are encouraged knowing that some body in the United States cares for them. Their son "little" Raphael and their daughter Brenda are living with Raphael's sister in another town. Big Raphael told me that "little" Raphael has grown to almost 6 feet.

We also went to see Bralio and Raina whose home was constructed by the First Presbyterian, Lexington Youth group in 2005. They were not home, so we will stop by later.

We had an excellent lunch cooked by some of the Mission Emanuel staff. Rice, beans, and chicken. Delicious. I wish I could learn how to prepare beans the way they do down here. This late afternoon is free time which is allowing me to update this blog and rest a little bit.

I am so blessed to be down here for this trip. I look forward to being able to share this with my family some day in the future.

Trip #6

Well here I am, sitting in the Miami airport getting ready to go to the Dominican Republic for the sixth mission trip to Mission Emanuel. Time sure flies. Craig is with me. He has been on every trip for the past 6 years. Tom is on his third trip, and his wife Ann is on her second trip. We are not sure what our project will be this year, but that doesn't matter. The trip is about relationships....connecting with Dominicans and Americans from years past. This is what truly brings me back year after year. I look forward to seeing Raphael, whose house we built on our first trip; Vijo whose house we completed last year; Jack and Javier, the passion and brains behind the mission; and the American friends who come to help - Mark and Heather, Steve, Bob, Holly, etc.
The DR is one of those places where I feel that I am truly in the will of God. I can out every thing out of my mind and just enjoy serving. This trip is truly a gift.
More to come.....

Madison Recognized for Outstanding Achievement on SAT

As part of the Duke University TIP program, Madison took the SAT as a 7th grader. She did so well that she was among a number of students who were recognized for their achievement. We went to Wake Forest today for her to receive this award. We are quite proud of her. She is a hard worker who loves to read.
In case you are wondering, she scored a 630 on the verbal part of the SAT. I think my best verbal score in high school was 580. Her math was 520, and this is from a girl who hasn't yet had algebra! No telling what she might get once she has had the math.

Sailing with My Family

This past Sunday - Wednesday, my brothers and I descended upon our parents in Newport News for a few days of sailing. This began as a grand adventure idea that included overnights in a larger boat with a trip up the Chesapeake to Tangier Island. But given our busy schedules and other factors we limited it to some local sails in the James River.

Now the James River is in my sailing blood. I grew up trailing my Sunfish down to Hilton School, putting in the water, and sailing up and down the north bank. In my high school days, I spent my summers up at the York Yacht Club in their sailing program. We sailed out Deep Creek into the James. So a few days sailing familiar waters was full of good memories.

Our first day (Monday) was a very light day. We did just a little more than float. In the above photo, you can see how light the air was. Still we persevered and stayed out about 3 hours. John had to leave to make it back to the DC area. So we said good-bye to him with the hope that we can do this again.

Our second day was a lot better - wind wise. We sailed about 6.1 nautical miles and averaged about 4.5 knots. Pretty good for the Sea Pearl. We made it almost all the way across the James, but the weather began to look ominous. So choosing safety over more hours, we cut the sail short. We were out about 1.5 hours.

I am hopeful that this is something that we will be able to do again. It was great reconnecting with dad and my brothers doing something that we were raised to do. Having been land-locked for so long, I treasure any amount of sailing time that I get. I'll be down at Hatteras in a few weeks with my family, and I am looking forward to getting my Sunfish in the sound.

The Top 10 Lee Zehmer Family Events from 2010

10. Driving 4000+ miles in 5 weeks this summer. We made treks to Kanakuk Kamp in Missouri, Disney World in Florida, and some friends' beach home in Beaufort, NC. We had lots of opportunities for serious bonding time!

9. Brooke beginning graduate school at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Through the North Carolina Principal Fellows Program Brooke is able to go to school full-time while pursuing a Masters in Educational Administration.

8. Lee traveling on his 5th mission trip to the Dominican Republic with members of our church. As the years progress, the friendships formed with people there become sweeter and sweeter!

7. Madison turning 13 and getting her braces on! She continues to enjoy writing, dance, piano, chorus, and handbells.

6. Kinsley turning 13 and getting her braces off! She stays busy with dance, chorus, and handbells and thinks babysitting is an amazingly fun way to make money!

5. Mollie entering fourth grade and playing a townsperson in Lexington Youth Theatre's production of "The Music Man." The rehearsal schedule was brutal, but the show was fantastic! Mollie loves dance, soccer, and Girls on the Run.

4. Welcoming Brooke's parents to their new home 10 minutes from us in Lexington. We all miss "Wynndy Hill" near Harrisonburg, Virginia but are so grateful to have family nearby!

3. Preparing to welcome Lee's brother Bud, his wife Jennie, and their children Jamie and Francis to Hickory, NC. They are moving from Philadelphia the week of Christmas and will live 1 ½ hours away from us. Again, what a treat it will be to have family nearby, and Lee and Bud will be able to "talk shop" since they are both pastors!

2. Celebrating 5 years at First Presbyterian Church here in Lexington. It has been a fun, fast, and fruitful time, and we are excited at all the Lord is doing in our church and our family!

1. Thanking God for all of the blessings in our lives. Chief among those are the friendships we enjoy and appreciate. Our door is always open to you!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!