The Cercadillo Project

Keith and Cyrus Phillips constructing one of five chicken coops (with Isaias "overseeing" the project)

Keith, Connie, Emily and Cyrus Phillips along with my niece Emily McAfee, came from my hometown of Kahoka, MO to Cercadillo with the hopes of helping our people to begin raising healthy laying hens.     Connie shared her expertise in raising chickens and then it was time to begin constructing the five new coops.

Names had previously been drawn for the five families that would receive a coop and five small laying hens.  The families were asked to pay a small portion of the cost for the coop with the understanding that if they decide to no longer try raising laying hens that the coop will be passed on to another family.  The families also paid half the cost of the chickens (approx $1.25 USD each).  They were given starter feed and will have the responsibility for paying for about 3/4 of the cost of the feed for their chickens.

Emily Mc and Emily P cutting chicken wire with a little help from some friends.

Marcelina and a few of her children beside a completed coop.

Connie teaching Nestor about the chicken feeder.

A great deal of interest was created with this project and several people asked if we would help them get chicks if they either built or fixed an existing coop.  We agreed to pay for half of their five chicks as well.   In all ELEVEN FAMILIES HAVE STARTED RAISING LAYING HENS!

Please pray with us that these little chicks will stay healthy and that our families will have the patience to feed and water the chicks for the approximately five to six months it will take for them to mature enough to produce eggs.

And a few more pictures, just for funzies! 🙂

Connie receiving a root vegetable as a thank you from Yolanda and Yaquelin.

The two "Ems" - Emily Phillips (left) and Emily McAfee, my niece (right)

I am SO thankful that my mom spent the last two and a half weeks with me here in the DR, especially sharing experiences in the village I’ve come to love so dearly.  She left with the Phillips but promised to come again as soon as she has an opportunity.  I’ve already been asked many times, “When will Abuelita (Little Grandmother) return?”

What a great time it was to have lifelong friends and family here working alongside the villagers!

So many, many people play a part in what we’re doing in Cercadillo.  How thankful I am for all who help:  some in up-front visible ways and some behind-the-scenes.

I couldn’t make it to the Labor Day Weekend fabric sales in the States this year, so I asked our trusted friend, Jessica Terpstra, to do the year’s fabric shopping for us.

Jessica enlisted her two friends, Caroline and Sara to join her in the adventure.

I would call that a successful weekend of shopping, wouldn’t you?

And after packing help from Nikki, another of our  Des Moines friends, the Rubbermaid tubs will soon be on their way to us in the DR via Agape Flights .

Thanks, Jessica and friends!

And speaking of Agape Flights . . . Cindy Darnell and her husband  Tom are Agape Flight missionaries stationed in Santiago, DR.  Cindy is very crafty (in a good way) and generously came to Cercadillo last week to help our women with beading.

We were so busy all day long that neither of us managed to take even one picture.  So  no pics of Cindy in action, but here are some of the finished products.  Thanks, Cindy!