The Highway to Haiti

Of all athletes in American sports today, two of the three highest paid professionals are Dominican-Americans. Alex Rodriguez and Manny Ramirez, who both lived in the Dominican Republic, are under contract to earn a combined $435 million.

We kept up with the Olympics and it was intriguing that Caribbean sprinters dominated the track. The men’s 100m dash final—won by a Jamaican—featured two American and six Caribbean sprinters. In the women’s 100m dash, Jamaicans took gold, silver, and bronze.

The Dominican Republic and Haiti have few things in common, but they are on the same Caribbean island: Hispaniola. Isn’t it fishy that one side of Hispaniola produces the highest paid athletes in the world, the rest of the Caribbean produces the fastest men and women in the world, and Haiti barely produces a competitor?

The following letter was mailed last week:

August 12th, 2008

Dear Family and Friends,

Three generations ago it was common for missionaries to pack their belongings in caskets and leave for the field quite aware of the challenges ahead. Times have changed, and one of the challenges today, ironically, may be a lack of awareness of the complex environments in which missionaries serve. (more…)

This week we spent a day with our dear friends: Mark, Ruth & Elianna Brucato. The Brucatos are preparing to be missionaries in Italy with TEAM sent from College Church in Wheaton. Click here to visit their website (insideitaly.org), their writings in the Current Reflections link are exceptional.

Silas has always loved music, but recently he has taken interest in guitars. On a few occasions we have sat and watched Phil Keaggy on YouTube. Urban legend has it that Rolling Stone Magazine once asked Eddie Van Halen, “Who is the best guitar player in the world?” Eddie replied, “I don’t know, ask Phil Keaggy.” Whether or not that ever happened, why not learn from the best?

Luke, meanwhile, has been preparing for his Uncle Nick and Aunt Jill’s wedding by sporting the latest fashions for 3-to-6 month olds.

Also, Silas & Luke finally met Wilshire. Wilshire was featured on Dog Whisperer with Cesar Milan presented by the National Geographic Channel. This is extra special because Wilshire “works” at LAFD Station 29 where Silas & Luke’s “papa” doubles as Capt. McLaren. Papa can be seen 1 minute 49 seconds into the video podcast.