Been too long!

Hey friends and family, if you have been wondering, yes I am alive!  I hope you all are well wherever you are this wonderful summer!  First off I want to apologize for my lack of updates and letting you know how I am doing here in the Dominican Republic.  It's been a crazy few weeks since I have updated you all but it's been a great few weeks!

So what to start with???  There has been so much, well to start off with I finally was located in one place two weeks in a row, the first time since I've been down here! That helped me keep my sanity, for the past few weeks.  The location I was in was Hato Del Yaque, Santiago, such an awesome place and community!

This community was built after a hurricane came through and hurt the farming community and so this is where the farmers have come to be after their land was ruined.  So many family have come from farming families, and now are hard working people that head to the city to make a life's living.  Also a community where the normal age of a mother is 14-16 years old.  So for the ladies it's a pretty rough life for the girls in the town as they are usually single mothers at that age as well.  But it is an awesome place that Jen (one of the missionaries with G.O.) is located and have really poured her heart into and invests a lot of time there.

As I continue to finish this it has been a week since I've gotten back to this!  Meaning I've started then stopped this update! This update has been going on for 3 weeks, so you can kinda see how my weeks are... AKA CRAZY!!!!

Anyways within the week that I have not updated this I have gone to a new and exciting place!  It's in the Barahona district of the Dominican Republic check out where they are located! Batey 9, Barahona, Dominican Republic   This is basically the country side of the Dominican Republic... AKA like back home the with all the corn!  Anyways this place is the closest thing to going to Haiti without going there and it was a great week!  The community there is amazing as it's got a little bit of everything, even though it is one of the poorer districts that G.O. Partners with.

For everyone wanting to know, my spanish that I took 6 years ago, yeah not really helping me out here... My spanish is horrible down here, my vocab has suffered and still to this day is suffering.  I have learned a few words and can understand things but to be able to speak it is pretty hard, which has made it a bit more difficult.

Well this brings me to this beginning of this week for if you didn't know was my Birthday yesterday July 17th, and well it landed on a Tuesday which is the day that teams come into Santiago!  With that said it was my church coming down this week and my dad was on this flight, so what better Birthday present than seeing my dad after being away for 6 weeks!  I'm excited to see what God has planned for my group as they are here a week and will be doing a little of everything from medical, VBS, construction, and a few guys are heading to Haiti to drop some supplies off for the next two weeks where a team will be working out there to put a water purification system there for the teams!

Ok well I Figured I would get some pictures up of my trip a little bit and don't worry each photo will have a small where and when they were taken... so with out further a dew:

One of my first faves, just look at the joy and happiness in her face! This was with the St. Luke's Team my first week.

This is one of a girl in Hoya de Bartola "The Hole" which is the lowest point in Santiago and is an inactive landfill where people live in.  Pretty powerful place!

I was lucky to enjoy the first week at all the different events, and baseball was one of them.  They played a game that week and yeah he jumped from 4-5 feet away, so happy I got it captured!

This little guys was my second week here in the DR in San Marcos, and lets just say he is the biggest ham, but you almost couldn't just say no to him... Just look at that grin!

This was in the second week as well she was the cutest little girl, with the cutest little smile.  She didn't talk much to anyone but she became one of my fav's that's for sure! 

Ok please tell me doesn't this look like the next Cee Lo Green?  This was my third week and they did these sunglasses where the decorated them, and the big glasses with the chubby cheeks I instantly thought Cee Lo Green!

Say hello to Noemi! One of the cook's daughters in the Barahona District which I mentioned above.  She was the cutest little girl out there in the Batey's that played shy at times and other times was the most flintiest thing in the world!

This was pretty awesome/crazy soccer in the DR!  Never thought I would see this, but this is Batey Nueve vs. Batey Cinco.  This again being so close to Haiti there is a big Haitian population so Soccer is their sport!

No this is not any special effect or filter I used on my lens, this actually was real, a full circle rainbow at around 2 in the afternoon! Pretty awesome eh?

I love night photography it's so much fun being able to pull so much out of what seems to be nothing! Look at the sugar cane the clouds, and in the upper right and corner the night sky/stars! B-E-A-utiful!

And to end it all off a beautiful afternoon blue sky stitched photo of the sugarcane field just outside of the church!  Such an awesome view... isn't God amazing with his creation!

Ok well there is it a full update sorry it's taken so long... Only 2 weeks left once my church returns home on this coming Tuesday!  Miss you all and Love you all!  Until next time...

Keep on Living

~Doug

Why hello there!

Well friends and family,  it's been a week since I had internet to be able to update most any of you all!  I sit here having my day off this afternoon, after meeting my new group for this week last night and today as they did their first day of construction!  Great group 11 girls and 2 guys... should be a great time!

Well that is this week so far, but ur prob asking yourself... what about the week last week, where was he, what did he do, and how was his team?  Well here comes the week, which started off on Tuesday around 11:00 as I headed out to Puerto Plata, which is about a 2 hour drive from my apartment I have been in.  The team was from Greenville Christian Church from Henryville, IN.  It was an awesome group and a FUN time!  The group was a great outdoorsy group that loved to camp and just was willing for what ever!  The place we were at, was remote and the guys had to sleep in the church, and the girls were sleeping in the pastors house.

Our whole week we worked on building a wall in front of the church that the group supports, they also did kid ministry everyday before the feeding center and kids get their meal for the day.  The other things they did where community clean up day and VBS on Saturday where they had two different sessions, one in the morning with the younger kids with 4 stations, from coloring to story time to even an interactive fun activity that was learning how to use a sling to kill goliath, as their VBS story was David & Goliath!  The Kids had a blast with all of this, and they got to take home their coloring pages and everything else!  The other thing VBS was for the older kids later in the day, where they played the Minute to Win it games which they all had a blast competing against each other!  It was a great week and a lot of fun, if you have about 4 min or so check out the link below which is the blog with the slideshow I did!

I was told when coming into this week that it would be fun & fairly easy.  To be honest it was a very easy and fun week, but in the end we still did a lot and I needed a day off which I am thankful for amazing Missionaries that give you ur days off and let u get a bit of rest as I am getting today!

I did find a great verse that really made me think and is a great life verse for me as I'm looking to find where God wants me to go, and what's in store for me...  Check it out, it's Jeremiah 1:5-7.  What a powerful, yet great verse to ponder on yet having know that God has a plan for you no matter what, and he will help u through life!

Oh, and one update, I'm getting close to having all my money in for the summer, but what that means is that I am not 100% supported yet for my last 4-5 weeks!  So if you are feeling generous please help support me and even if it is only $10 it's a huge support.  Plus it's Tax Deductible, can't beat that can you!  Jump on over to my Facebook as Pictures may be posted there later today.

Until next time.

Keep on Living

~Doug

http://goministries-teams.blogspot.com/2012/06/greenville-christian-church-2012.html

Week one down!

Hello all,

Well it's Monday around 8:30, and I will be putting my first video together fairly soon!  With that said a sneak peak at some of my favorite photo's from the past week to come!

This week has been fun yet tiring.  This internship is a go, go, go, type of internship, but it's so much fun getting to see everything and the whole group loving on everyone down here.  My first group that I was with was a total of 64 people, it was a youth group and their leaders!  They had a great week and right now are at a resort at the beach, and I was left behind... No big deal, it's nice to be left behind so I can get a little rest and relaxation.

The group that was down here this week had 3 different groups, which included a VBS group, a construction team, and a sports group (whom helped played and taught Baseball all week).  They did some awesome stuff down here from digging holes for a new foundation at the medical building, to playing with kids and loving on them a VBS, to feeding kids at feeding clinics, and playing and teaching kids baseball and the different techniques.

So far it has been great, busy but great!  While in Santiago I'll be living in an apartment with one of the missionaries that had just started with G.O.  While in santiago I will have internet fairly often, but when it comes to me traveling to the other locations that I'll be at like for next week I will not have access to internet.  So updates won't always happen but will at times when I come back into the city.  Well I better get ready for the day, gotta be over at the head media missionaries house to work on the video with my photo's and her's! So with that said check out some of these photos' and enjoy!

Greenville Group:

Headed to Feeding Center:

 Construction:

VBS:

Baseball Clinic:

Keep on living!

~Doug

Off to new adventures!

And so it is.  It's 6:25 AM on June 5th, and I'll be leaving the house in an hour and a half to head to Ft. Wayne to make my journey to the DR for the summer!  I was cruising Facebook this morning and well saw my internship director say they had a crazy storm last night, which he is hoping to have it cool things off.  He said it has been wicked hot down there in the DR so this will make for a fun and exciting trip! Well I wish everyone the best of luck with your summer and summer plans, and all the weddings and fun things I'll be missing this summer.  Well that is it for today, I'll hopefully get a little bit of internet when I get down there to say I made it but as of now I'm packing up the computer and get some breakfast before I have to deal with overprices not so good airport food!!!! MY FAVORITE... NOT!  Ok see you all in August.

Keep on living,

~Doug

P.S. If you are wondering here are my flight numbers and what not if you want to see where I am and if I have landed.

American Airlines:
Ft. Wayne (FWA) to Chicago (ORD): 3920
Chicago (ORD) to Miami (MIA): 2074
Miami (MIA) to Santiago (STI): 749

All Packed!

Well everyone, it's been a long day, but I am typing this at 5:30 so not to long!  I figured I would post this last post of the day sharing my progress for the day, and that progress would be I'm packed between 3 bags, and I only packed it like 4-5 times, pulling stuff out and then repacking it!  Got it all in one checked and 2 carry ons.  With that said a few more errands for the evening then I'll be ready to head out tomorrow morning around 8ish for Ft. Wayne airport!  So if you all could think about it keep me in your prayers as you all are either on ur way to work or waking up getting ready for work!  I appreciate again all the prayers and amazing support I have had from each and everyone of you that is keeping updated with my blogs and Facebook group!  Well check this photo out and maybe.... just maybe one more post before I take off tomorrow depends on how I sleep and what my plan is! ok two photo's if you didn't look at my post earlier...

Before:

After:

Well I guess all there is from here is...

Keep on living,

~Doug

1 Day Then 2 Months!

Hello all!  Well it has come time to get packed and make sure I have everything, as I have only today to get packed! I'm getting really excited, but some what nervous at the same time.  I'm not to nervous about the travel and getting down there, just making sure I have everything!

I can't believe it, I feel like it was just yesterday I had the interview for this internship and was waiting to hear back from Eric about if I got the internship!  Well here is the update, I have about made it to the first month cost raised being $2,100. What this means, is that I still need another $800 for the last 4 weeks that I will be down there.  So as I have asked in the past, please be in prayer and if you feel lead to help donate for my internship check out this link: https://interland3.donorperfect.net/weblink/weblink.aspx?name=gomi&id=1.


So an update and fun of packing in my house is our pool table turns into a layout table!  Check it out...

Yeah and that's not all of it, I'm still working on getting more out there to get packed, but also plan to put to much out and slowly take away!  Well, better get back to setting stuff out and packing the bag it'll be a long day/short day as I'm getting the bags packed and ready!  Again I thank you all for what you all have done and I appreciate the prayers as I head out tomorrow!

Keep on living,

~Doug

A Kentucky Weekend!

Well after driving for a total of 10 hours combined I have made my journey down to Kentucky and back! It was a long but short weekend for me.  I found out where I will be at for the days, well as of right now... it could all change when I get down to the DR.

So this weekend consisted of driving down to Louisville on Friday for our first meeting as an internship team, and getting to finally meet everyone.  Friday consisted of meet and greet/get to know each other better.  We talked a small bit about G.O. Ministries, and then went out to dinner & then off to Putt-Putt, cause what better way than to get to know each other than Putt-Putt!  After all the fun activities we headed back to the G.O. Ministries office where we spent the night.

Second day... Woke up early to go for a 2 mile run, (trying to get back in shape/running again!). Came back and enjoyed a nice breakfast from one of the staff members who brought it in for us that morning.  After that was a full day in the conference room again bonding with the other interns and learning about what we will be doing and what's expected of us/learning about G.O. Ministries. After a long day of learning, we headed out again in the evening to enjoy another dinner and activity, this time it was Bowling!  Again this weekend was about bonding and getting to know each other so that we have some familiar faces when we get down there.

After this weekend it really got me even more excited about my trip!  I can't believe it but I leave in just one week.  Crazy how fast this has all come... I'm working this whole week, but lucky it's for my rents which means I'll spend some time at the house getting stuff ready as well!  This weekend will be the last minute stops and runs to pick up those last minute essentials before I leave for 2 months.  Yes they will have some of the same stuff as we do here, just a bit more expensive down there than here so might as well get it cheaper and not worry about paying a pretty penny for those items while I'm down there.

Last thing is my support, I thank you all for supporting me and the prayers and money that you have given me!  I want to put an update on here on where I am for raising support for the trip, currently I am at $1,520 of my $2,100 for the first month, and then I will need an additional $900 for the second month.  I am able to raise that second month money while I'm down there but I am needing that $2,100 before I head down to be in.  If you feel God telling you to give even if it's $10 that will go along way, and greatly appreciated.  Again if you would like to donate the fastest way to get me the money is going here:

https://interland3.donorperfect.net/weblink/weblink.aspx?name=gomi&id=1

Once on the website under program select intern and then put my name in the recipients name!  Again thank you so much for everything you all have done!

Lastly if you have donated please e-mail me at doug.eubank@me.com, so that I can make sure that I have received the money you have donated and also put you on the e-mail list of updates!  And I will make sure to give you guys sneak peaks of what I have done down there so far before blog posts or even the Facebook group!

Keep on Living

Doug

Kentucky & Gear

Hey guys another day closer to my take off date! Wanted update u all as I'm slowly getting ready to head to Louisville, KY for my internship retreat where I'll get to meet most the other interns that'll be down there at the same time! So that's this weekend, getting pretty excited, a little bit of a long drive for just Friday-Sunday but I'll be visiting a friend on the way home in Indy!

Funds are slowly coming in for my internship and in about $500 away from getting the first month taken care of which needs to be in next Tuesday May 29. So if u still have not donated and are looking to help fund me for this internship, which the donation is tax deductible! Please let me know or go to this link: https://interland3.donorperfect.net/weblink/weblink.aspx?name=gomi&id=1

Lastly thought about doing this so here is one part of my gear I'll be taking for the media side of things! It is missing my 17" MacBook Pro, and external harddrives but check it out.

I can't believe it's only two weeks away before I fly out!

Keep on living!

Doug

Next Steps!

Well well well, If you haven't checked it out I updated my blog, aka the look!  Hope you like it, that is a picture from last year when I was in the DR at what we call the Hole, a dump where people live in, as cool and nice as it looks, it's a pretty sad place.  This is just one of the places I will be working in!  I head to Louisville, KY in a week from Friday for an intern retreat where I will meet the rest of the intern's there, and find a bit more about what I will be doing for sure while down there!


I'm def getting excited as my equipment is all here, and money is slowly trickling in for my raising of funds!  Pictures of my packing and setting everything out to come soon!  Also pictures of intern retreat!

Oh and incase you were curious, I have finally been informed on my flight path down there!  I will drive to Ft. Wayne, then from there I will head to Chicago, the get on my next flight to Miami,and from Miami I head to Santiago!!!  Then the flight home will be Santiago, to Miami, to Dallas, and then to Ft. Wayne.  First time In the Dallas airport, should be a good time minus the Miami airport, never have been a fan of that airport.

Ok well that is all for now, updates to follow more and more as I get closer to leaving and while I'm down there and not working,  editing photo's & video, or I guess having fun too! ;)

Keep on living!

~Doug

A new Adventure

Why hello all! Well since my last post, I have had the opportunity to work with Apple and also go on a few missions trips to the Dominican Republic. Well with that said, while I was down in the DR i had the opportunity to talk about an internship with G.O. Ministries. Well one year went by and I did not want to leave my job at Apple. Well another year putting us at this year, I have taken the internship and been accepted so I will be heading to the Dominican Republic this summer for two months!

Well you may ask what is this crazy internship you will be doing down in the DR? Well I'm posting this to tell ya, It's a photography internship. I'll be taking photo's for missions teams that come down for missions trips, and then putting photo's into a slideshow for those groups! It's going to be a 2 month internship from June 5 - July 31. I'm very excited to get the opportunity to do this, doing two of my favorite things, Art through photography and travel. I will also be working alongside the groups down there and helping in some areas and times plus recording their memories! It's a really exciting time and please leave a message or let me know if you have any questions more about my internship!


Keep on living!

-Doug