Friday

Friday, February 13, 2015

Good morning!  Today is our last full day in the DR and we got an early start as we joined the Palo Blanco staff for worship at 7:30a.m.  Neil played guitar while we sang several of our favorite worship songs.  It was amazing to hear our favorite songs in Spanish and English at the same time.  As Neil has commented before, “at times like this, it is obvious that God is not American.”

 

After worship, we got to see the kiddos go through their daily routine of singing the national anthem before running off to class.  As usual, we enjoyed the many “holas” and hi-fives from all the kiddos as they ran in to their classes.  It is heart-warming to see so many children eager to attend school.

 

As we prepared for our final Valentine lesson, Chris B and Jason took care of the finishing touches for Ramon’s guard shack.  A custom sign was made with Ramon’s name as well as a reference to a verse in the bible.  We also took up a collection to be able to help Ramon and his family with funeral expenses for his mother who had passed away earlier in the week.  Our group was able to cover the unpaid portion of her casket as well as provide necessary food items for the family.  The Dominican culture celebrates for 11 days after someone passes and on the 11^th day, the family provides a meal for family and friends (which can be hundreds of people).  Our hope was that we were able to provide a little relief to this family during their time of grief.

 

Today we got a special treat for lunch….we were able to go downtown and enjoy lunch with Derrick and Katie Allen at one of their favorite places.  Most of us enjoyed a burger and fries (yes, American food).  Throughout the week, we ate rice and beans every day for lunch with the Palo Blanco kids and staff so the burgers and fries were a welcome change!  After lunch, we were able to do a little shopping for the usual coffee, vanilla and souvenirs for family and friends.  As we walked the streets amongst the vendors we got to experience another side of the Dominican culture.  It was not unusual to walk past dozens of people trying to sell clothing, fruit and vegetables and other services on the sidewalks.  A little Dominican boy was shining shoes on a corner as another one was begging for a peso in exchange for “guarding your car”.  How sad to think that there are so many young children who have to work the streets to earn enough money to eat. 

 

After shopping, we went back to the Ark for one last visit with the kiddos before heading home on Saturday.  There were many laughs as we watched the house fathers play baseball with the young boys. Jason and Tyler grabbed gloves and bats and joined in the fun (they are kids at heart).  Even though there was an obvious language barrier, there was a complete understanding of a team and they were able to play the game without any problems.

 

Although there was laughter, there were many, many tears when it came time to say goodbye.   Although the week was amazing and life-changing, the goodbyes were the worst part (goodbye is the worst part of every trip to the DR).  We are in a place where love is not Spanish or English.  Love is not material things or gifts.  Love is what we see in the smiles and the hugs of all the children to have captured our hearts and who are now a part of our lives.   Those of us who have made this trip before have left a piece of our hearts in the Dominican with every trip.  With this trip, Jenna and Jason are now a part of the brokenness that the rest of us feel from being a part of this experience.

 

 

 

Saturday, February 14, 2015

This morning Jenna, Neil, Jason, Tyler and Keith loaded their luggage into the van and headed to the airport for the trip back to the U.S.  We pray for safe travels as they return home and attempt to find some sort of normalcy in their lives.  Please continue to pray for each of them as they process their week and re-connect with their friends and family.

 

Chris, Rachel, Chris and Chris will remain in the DR another week.  As we will not have access to the internet, this will be the last blog posted.  Thank you for following our team and for the continued prayers and encouragement during our trip.