Dengue Fever

Near the end of October I (Amy) went to the school nurse one morning because I felt feverish. My temperature was 102 degrees. I felt achy and figured it was just some type of flu bug. Before I left the nurse's office she asked if I had a headache. I didn't have one but she mentioned that those symptoms could mean dengue fever. The only way to get dengue fever is to get bitten by an infected mosquito. As the days progressed, it became clearer that I probably had dengue. I guess I came in contact with a really nasty mosquito. The symptoms of dengue fever are miserable: fever, bad headache, nausea, dropping platelets and extreme tiredness. These symptoms go on for a week or longer.

A few days later Brian got a fever and a headache. He also must have bitten by a dengue mosquito. Our days passed slowly. We took turns heading from the bedroom, to the couch, to the bathroom. For many days we ate only crackers and tried to drink a lot of fluids. Doctor visits and blood work added to our dismal week.

We're so grateful that we didn't get the more serious kind of dengue. In some cases, the platelets drop so low that people need to be put in intensive care for dangerous bleeding issues or require blood transfusions. However, we're still much more cautious about wearing mosquito repellent. We certainly don't want a repeat of those miserable weeks.

Bright spots during our sickness:

*e-mails from friends, family and supporters

*fun cards from the students at school

*food deliveries by teachers who care about us

*help from the school nurse

A few weeks after our recovery, we saw this sign on the back of an exterminator's truck. Maybe we should keep these phone numbers handy!

Our Morning Walk on Christmas Eve Day

We went for a walk yesterday morning, and we thought we'd share the sights with you. Take a peek at what we see on this December morning.

The people who live in this house raise roosters for cock fighting. We are very glad we don't live next door to all this early morning crowing!

This man goes up and down many different streets looking in and by the trash barrels to try to find plastic jugs to recycle for money. This is probably how he earns his living.

This is a roasted pig on a pole. They're selling this pork along the side of the street. Roast pork is one of the traditional foods for the midnight Christmas Eve dinner. This roast pork is called puerco asado.

The head is actually sold too because people like to eat the snout and the ears.

This is another roast pig. If you look just behind the table to the left you can see the scale where the salesman could weigh out the amount of pork that you want.

Public cars called conchos run routes through the city of Santiago. You can get on and off at any point along the route. These cars are usually rather rickety, and they often cram seven to eight passengers in the car. It costs about 15 pesos per person for a ride. That's about 50 cents.

This man is selling avocados to people who are driving down a main road near our house. When the cars stop for the red light, he goes from car to car trying to make a sale. The woman trailing behind him is selling phone cards to add minutes to cell phones. The name of this cell phone company is Orange.

Christmas with las niñas de Dios

We had a special Christmas celebration with the girls at the local orphanage that we visit each Thursday night. Usually we go there to teach an English lesson, but on this night we were there to celebrate Navidad with them. Their joy was contagious. It was so much fun to see their excitement.

There are four of us from Santiago Christian School that go to this orphange each week. This past Thursday night we arrived with cookies to decorate, Christmas music in Spanish, a craft, and gifts. Among the gifts we gave them were towels embroidered with each of their names. We also placed a personalized note in every gift box that included the words of Isaiah 43:1. "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine."

It is our prayer that each of these girls will embrace the love of God. Likewise, it is our hope that our interactions with students at Santiago Christian School will cause them to understand God's great love for mankind in sending the Christ-child, Immanuel, to earth. We are grateful to God for giving us the opportunity to share the gift of his son with others.

Click on the triangle to see the video of all their excitement.

Breakfast Time

Every morning we eat breakfast out on our little balcony. It takes several trips to get everything out there but it's worth it. There are window boxes on the ledge filled with beautiful flowers. A potted tree stands in the corner. We eat our yogurt and drink some juice and then a big glass of water while we listen to the quiet sounds of the morning. We watch our neighbor's dog in their yard. We see a few kids picked up in a van to head to school. A few ladies walk by on their way to work. It's a peaceful way to begin our day.

Will the Real Mrs. Hackert Please Stand Up?

Last week Brian was subbing for the art teacher while she was in the states for a funeral. Later that day a very excited class arrived in the library. One of the students ran up to me to tell me, "There's a boy who's a Mrs. Hackert, and he taught us art today." It made me smile.

The First Noel

A few weeks ago we went to the store and noticed that the Christmas decorations were already for sale. We weren't quite in the mood for Christmas purchasing on September 23.

Church in English

Tonight we went to an English church service. On the second Sunday of each month we'll be able to attend this service. It was a great time of fellowship, singing and praising God all in English. I can hardly wait until next month!

Our Farm

On our little balcony we have a beautiful potted tree.

This week we also added some pretty flowers in a windowbox. We enjoy our plants each morning as we eat our breakfast on the balcony.

Granola, Bugs and Mold

Today I began to make some homemade granola. The oatmeal comes in 4 cup bags which is just perfect for my recipe. I cut open the corner of the bag and poured the oats into the bowl as I was reading the recipe for the next ingredient. I took out the brown sugar and was beginning to measure it as Brian came into the room. He looked down into the bowl and said, "You have bugs in there." Sure enough, the whole bowl was swarming with busy little black bugs. They must have been living in the bag of oatmeal. After dumping out that oatmeal and getting out a new bowl, I opened another bag of oatmeal. The oats were greenish black and covered with mold. I was finally able to make some delicious granola with my third bag of oats. Some things are just more complicated here.

Shopping is Not Always Fun

Step #1: Walk to the grocery store with the hot sun beating down on you.
Step #2: Stop at the cash machine outside the store only to find out it isn't working.
Step #3: Go into the store and fill your cart with groceries while crossing all the items off the grocery list.
Step #4: Enter the last aisle of the store as the power flicks off.
Step #5: Get in line for the nearest cashier just as the cash registers are rebooting after the power outage.
Step #6: Watch the power flick off again.
Step #7: Wait for the cash registers to reboot again.
Step #8: Watch the power flick off again.
Step #9: Talk about leaving the store.
Step #10: Wait for the cash registers to reboot again.
Step #11: Watch the power flick off again.
Step #12: Wait for the cash registers to reboot again.
Step #13: Talk about leaving the store.
Step #14: Watch the power flick off again.
Step #15: Wait for the cash registers to reboot again.
Step #16: Watch the power flick off again.
Step #17: Realize we've stood in line for 30 minutes and not one single person has checked out.
Step #18: Leave the store and catch a cab to another grocery store.
Step #19: Decide we're too hungry to shop. Tell the taxi driver to take us to Burger King.
Step #20: Eat hamburgers while listening to the blaring music from a birthday party in the restaurant.
Step #21: Walk to the grocery store down the street.
Step #22: Try to decifer the grocery list with all the items that were crossed off earlier tonight.
Step #23: Stand in line and pay for the groceries.
Step #24: Take a taxi home.
Step #25: Haul all the groceries upstairs and put them away. Deep sigh.


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Our Apartment Building

Our apartment complex is getting a facelift. Each of the four buildings is being painted on the outside. They're even painting the awnings. Today our apartment building hallway was painted too. Everything looks bright and clean.

Look Where You're Walking

The other day we went for a walk in our neighborhood. I was busy talking to Brian when I saw a flurry of movement on the ground. A rat ran across the road about a foot in front of me. I nearly jumped in Brian's arms.

Wednesday Night Walk

Last night we went for a walk so we thought we'd tell you about a few of the things that we saw along the way. About a block from our apartment we saw a man wearing exactly the same t-shirt as Brian: a t-shirt from the men's retreat he went to a few months ago. As we walked along they talked a bit about the retreat before we parted ways. As we passed a trash can near a big field, we saw four rats run out. We often see one or two. Four was a record. Later we heard some accordian music coming from a big house. There was an advertisement for an accordian player on the side of a truck along the street, and the accordian player was sitting in the living room playing a song. We saw a pizza stand along the side of the road. We saw beautiful tropical flowers and lots of palm trees. It was a good walk.

The Votes Have Been Counted

We recently had a special staff banquet for everyone who works at Santiago Christian School. Near the close of every school year the staff members vote for their colleagues who they feel have exhibited outstanding dedication and service to the students and school community throughout the school year. A wide number of awards are given to a variety of people: grounds crew members, cafeteria workers, office staff, and teachers. It was hard to vote for these awards because many people are so dedicated to the school and deserving of recognition.

Amy was honored to receive the Teacher of the Year Award for specials (art, music, PE, computer, and library) this year. The plaque reads: "In special recognition for: Outstanding service to students, dedication and love for the SCS community and for being a Christian example to all of us." Amy is grateful that God has given her the opportunity to serve the staff and students at Santiago Christian School.

Encouraging Words

Brian recently received a special note from one of the first graders. It said:

Dear Mr. Haket,
You are the best. I like you. You take ckar of us.
Love
(student's name) ,

Of course, this was written in first-grade fashion with lines slanting down the paper and a cute little drawing of something indiscernible at the bottom. Yes, he wrote the comma after his name rather than after the word love.

We never know the full impact we have on kids, but we pray that they will see God's love through us. It's encouraging to see a note such as this because we know Brian's care for the students is touching their lives.

Great Saying

The Dominicans use an interesting expression to refer to speed bumps which we recently learned from Luis, a taxi driver we frequently use. They call a speed bump "policia acostado," which literally means "policeman lying down." We think that's a great way to refer to speed bumps. They also assign ranks to them, depending on the size. For example, a "general" (this is also a Spanish word) is a larger speed bump than a "teniente" (a lieutenant).

Diego Columbus's House

We got to see Diego Columbus's house while we were in the Colonial Zone of the capital. Brian is standing outside the building in one picture. I'm sitting in a window seat thinking about the possibility of Columbus himself sitting there long ago.

Oldest Church in the New World

This weekend we got to see the oldest church in the New World. It's called Catedral Primada de America. Its foundation stone was laid by Diego Columbus, Christopher's firstborn son in 1510. It was completed in 1540.

Where is Christopher Columbus buried anyway?

This weekend we went to the capital to see some of the historic sites. One place we visited was the place where Christopher Columbus' remains are. You can see the black box in the photos above. It was interesting to us because when we were in Spain a few years ago, we saw Christopher Columbus' remains there too! Both countries claim to have his remains. Our tour guide this weekend assured us that the actual remains are here, and that Spain has his son's remains instead. We assume we've seen his resting place in one of the two spots!

First Graders Writing Acrostics

The first graders in Brian's class are learning about acrostics. Check out what they wrote about him.

Empanadas

Every once in a while we walk down to the local park and enjoy some empanadas for supper. An empanada is a wonderful deep fried treat. My friend Sara took this picture when she came to visit. On the left you can see an empanada. On the right is a quipe. Empanadas can be filled with cheese, chicken, or pizza filling. Our favorite is pizza. A quipe is also deep fried. It's made from whole wheat, cheese, and ground meat.

This is our local empanada man, Francisco. He cooks the empanadas while he talks to Brian. He's a Christian and loves to talk about his church, mission work, and things that he's learning. We sit on white plastic chairs near his stand to enjoy our delicious supper. Yumm!

A Simple Errand...Is Not So Simple After All

Today after school we wanted to pick up the painting that we were getting framed. The frame shop is not too far from school, and it's right along the bus route. This was our simple plan: Brian would get a ride to the frame shop to pay for the frame. I would ride the school bus at 4:00. The bus driver would stop, Brian would hand me the framed picture, and I would take it home. Brian would then head over to the allergist. It all seemed so simple.

Brian arrived at the frame shop, but the framing wasn't done yet. He hurried the people along, all the while watching out the door for the school bus. Brian waved to me from the frame shop, the bus stopped, but Brian didn't come out to give me the frame. I'm on a bus with a bunch of tired, hot teachers who are eager to get home. So when Brian still doesn't come running out with the frame, I get off the bus, letting the driver know that he can head on his way. I figure that I'll just take a taxi home with the picture. Once I get into the frame shop, I notice that the entire shop is empty. The lady finally comes running from a back area, carrying the newly framed painting just as the bus pulls away.

We decide that it will be most cost effective for me to take a concho home instead of a taxi. A concho is a car that runs a route, somewhat like a bus route. For just 13 pesos you can get in the concho and then you just call out when you want him to stop and let you out. If you pay double the price, you can get the front passenger seat all to yourself rather than squeezing two people in the single bucket seat. I could pay double, and sit up front with the painting on my lap. However, all the conchos that pass by are full. Finally one drives up that has one passenger in the front but the whole back seat is empty. This seems promising. I can't pay double to ride alone in the front seat, but I figure it won't get too crowded in the back seat. We head off down the road and pull over in about a block to pick up two soldiers. One squeezes up front with the other passenger while the other one joins me in the back seat. This is still very workable. We start down the road again, but get hailed by two women needing a ride. The soldier slides over next to me and the two women squeeze into the tiny back seat with us. I am now holding the painting in front of me, trying not to rest it on the soldier's leg, when I realize that I can't see where we are because the painting is blocking my view. I keep peering out the left passenger window, but I don't really recognize things on that side of the road. I continue to try to balance the painting but my arms are starting to get tired. I finally give up and let the one corner of the painting drop down onto the soldier's leg. We continue to drive down the road in the hot, crowded car. As I try to peer for landmarks from behind the painting, I spot the grocery store where I want to be let off. We've zipped past it by the time I yell out, "Esta aqui!" That translates to "It's here!" Even though it wasn't exactly what I meant to say, everyone seemed to understand. The driver pulled over, the two women and the soldier climbed out of the back seat, and the soldier took the painting so that I could get out.

I'm rather hot and sweaty, but I'm relieved to be out of the concho with the painting intact. I now begin to walk home from the grocery store area. Dogs bark, people stare, and the sun beats down on me, but I finally arrive home with the painting. It seemed like such a simple errand...

How Many People Fit in a Guagua?

Last Saturday we headed downtown Santiago to shop for some candles to give as gifts. When we arrived at the candle shop, it was closed up with a sign on the door. The sign was partially ripped so it was hard to decifer. It mentioned a date in July and listed three phone numbers. At first we thought that the shop was going to open up in another town during the month of July. However, Brian called one of the phone numbers and realized that the shop was already open. Here in the Dominican Republic, streets are often named after important dates in history. For example, almost every city has a street named 27 de febrero (February 27th), which is the independence day here. The date in July wasn't the date the shop was going to be opening. It was the address of the candle shop in the town of Moca. The man on the phone told Brian that we could take a "guagua" to Moca. A guagua is a large van that travels from one town to another picking up passengers along the way. For just 35 pesos each, we could ride the guagua to Moca in about 30 minutes. This van would comfortably hold about 15 people. At one point there were 27 people in our guagua. Every time someone wanted to get out of the vehicle, a bunch of people would have to pile out so that the person could exit the guagua. It was quite a trip!

Sharing Faith

Brian led staff devotions recently on a Wednesday morning for the teachers. On his way out the door, the high school Bible teacher caught him and asked if he'd share his story with the senior Bible classes. On Tuesday Brian went to each of the classes and told the story of how God reached out to him during the darkest time of his life. The classes listened, asked a few questions, and later responded in their journals. We pray that God will bring his words back to them in their own times of darkness or despair.

Thursday Nights With the Girls

On Thursday nights we've been going to an orphanage for girls that's right in our neighborhood. When we walk in the door, we're greeted with hugs from the littlest girls. The older girls are eager to learn English and see what we've brought to do with them. We had lots of fun teaching them clothing words today. Then we played a game to review the words. The room was filled with laughter. When we come home, I'm already starting to think about next Thursday with the girls.

Mmmm... Supper Smells Good

We made chicken enchiladas tonight. While we were waiting for them to bake we went into the living room. After a while I mentioned that it sure was smelling good. When I went into the kitchen to check on it, I realized that the supper I was smelling was our neighbor's not ours. The two apartment buildings are so close that we could smell their supper cooking through our open window!

Did you Give Your Rooster a Ride Today?

Today we were walking down a road when a motorbike passed us. Two men were riding on it, and the one in the back was holding a rooster. As they rode by, the rooster began to crow. It certainly let everyone know they were coming down the road!

Girls of God

There is an orphanage near our apartment. It's less than a 10 minute walk from where we live. We saw it one night when we were going for a walk. The name on the building is "Hogar de Ninas de Dios" which means Home of the Girls of God. We stopped by there one night to ask if we could volunteer in some way. The director suggested that we spend time teaching the girls English. There are about fifteen girls living there. Two of them are little and the others are middle school or high school age.

Tonight was our first official visit. We brought along some picture books from our school library as well as a game. We listened to them read, talked with them, and played games. We were going to be there for an hour but ended up staying for two! We can hardly wait to go again.

Valentines Day

Candy, cookies, and chocolate were enjoyed by all. This holiday celebrates love, and we pray that our students see God's love this school year.

Pied Piper, Where are You?

The other day when we were going on a walk after school, we noticed a totally flattened rat in the middle of the road. This was not my favorite sight along the way. Then to make matters worse, we saw a small rat run across the road and into a field when we were on our way back home. When Brian was trying to show me where the rat was in the field, he spotted a giant rat. Three rats in one day... we need a pied piper!

Buying Allergy Meds

On Tuesday we went into the tiny drug store near our grocery store so that Brian could buy some Zyrtec-D. You don't need to buy a whole box here. You tell them how many pills you want, and they'll add up the cost for you. Then they take a scrap of paper, fold the paper around the pills, put on a piece of tape to seal up the tiny package, and send you on your way. This time she had only one pill. Brian paid 43 pesos. She wrapped up the pill, taped it shut, and we headed home.

Last night he called a different pharmacy. He ordered ten Zyrtec-D. After about twenty minutes we heard a motorbike heading down our road. It was the pharmacy delivery man. He came right up the steps to our door and delivered the pills through our gate. Now, that's service.

Being Transformed

Over the weekend Amy went to a women's retreat in Jarabacoa. It's in the mountains about 45 minutes from Santiago. The retreat center was beautiful.

This area of the retreat center was where we slept at night. Two people shared each tiny room.

Saturday afternoon was free time, and I opted to go on an excursion to a waterfall. It was very pretty.

At the retreat there were over one hundred women. We met as a whole group in the chapel several different times. The theme of the retreat was "Becoming Transformed." We also had times when we met with our small groups. You can see my small group in the above picture. There were also time periods when we would meditate and reflect on our own. It was a good time of learning and growing for me.

Need a Prescription?

Brian's been having trouble with his allergies so he went to see an allergist one day after school. The school nurse gave him a ride to the hospital, the allergist was able to see him, some tests were set up, and the doctor wrote two prescriptions on a piece of paper.

The next day Brian and I set out on a walk to get the prescriptions filled. The first pharmacy we walked to only had one of the prescriptions. This was a problem because both prescriptions needed to be filled at the same time to get them covered by insurance. We headed out the door and walked about a mile to the next pharmacy. They also had only one of the drugs, but said that they could call and have the other one delivered to the store in about 10-15 minutes. This was great news... until we found out that this pharmacy doesn't take our insurance. It was too late to walk to another pharmacy so the prescriptions wait for another day.

Another example of how everything takes longer here...