two months ago, and they said it would be installed within five days. A large part of life this month has been going to the local phone company office every few days to complain, and then waiting at home for the installer who never comes when he’s supposed to. A Dominican friend filed a complaint on our behalf with public utility commission, which seemed to get the phone company’s attention. But the installer still hasn’t come. And then our DVD player wouldn’t work because it was programmed to play only DVDs coded for Latin American—even though the DVD rental places here have DVDs coded for the US. It took several trips to the store to figure out the problem, and then a couple more to make an exchange. We keep reminding ourselves of the blessings that compensate—like the almost-ripe mangos hanging off our balcony and the bananas growing in the yard.

For several weeks April has been filling in at Ovejitas de la Epifanía, the pre-school run by our congregation. There were two full-time teachers, the head and her assistant, for nine children aged one to four. The assistant suddenly quit, leaving the head to keep the whole thing running by herself while also trying to find a new assistant. April stepped in to help in the mornings, when things are busiest. She’s been getting a good workout on her Spanish imperatives—“sit down!,” “don’t put the clay in your hair!” etc.

Life goes on, despite all these complications. There are still classes for Michael to prepare and sermons for him to write, and piles of library books for April to classify. It’s just that this work—which we usually expect to be the main thing—has had to take second place to all the other stuff. This has made us wonder whether this expectation isn’t another one of the luxuries that our culture makes us feel entitled to (see the October Chronicle). For most people here daily life is pretty much a juggling act, in which work that is hand-to-mouth, or nearly so, competes strongly for attention with whatever vocational work they may have. We can hardly feel sorry for ourselves, and we don’t want anyone else to. We would rather let this experience put the whole business of vocation—God’s call to one’s life work—in a new light.

We missed our usual Thanksgiving dinner with family and friends, but we didn’t go without Thanksgiving. Our yoga teacher, Michaela Tolentino Bonetti, who is Dominican, picked up the custom when she lived in the US for several years. She included us among her approximately twenty-five guests, and spread a sumptuous table that included the traditional foods, but gave some of them a Dominican twist (batata instead of yams, for example). It was a delightful evening. In addition, there was the Thanksgiving Day service annually sponsored by the English-speaking congregation of Epiphany, at which it is customary for someone from the US embassy to read the presidential proclamation. Michael preached to a small group—who were mostly “expats” from countries other than the US!

Our yoga teacher Micaela Tolington Bonetti with her daughter Ana Micaela (left)

Guests on the balcony at Thanksgiving dinner (below, left)

Enjoying ourselves at Micaela's Thanksgiving feast (below, right)

Meanwhile, here on the seminary compound our watchdog Michi has given birth to three pups. [photos 8, 9 and 10] We had wanted very much to have a dog of our own, but it just doesn’t seem feasible. Michi, who is now looked after by everyone since her owners, the Garcías, left (see the October Chronicle) has become our surrogate pet.

Michi taking a break from the pups	Cochorro explores the yard	Michi nursing the pups

We were graced by a visit from Charlie Cook, a former colleague at the Seminary of the Southwest in Austin, who was in Santo Domingo for an Episcopal Church meeting. We hope that other old friends will have similar opportunities to drop by.

Finally, as the church here was regrouping after the initial relief efforts in the wake of Noel, the need for a long-term recovery strategy became increasingly apparent. When it comes to physically rebuilding communities, government assistance will be primary. When it comes to ongoing care for the victims of trauma, the church can also contribute. To equip itself for this task, the Diocese sponsored a well-attended Taller de Consolación Pastoral on November 28. The aftereffects of the storm on both church and society will be felt for a long time.

Peace,
April and Michael