Dominican Trip - Singing, Sleeping, and Smores

Could it be?  Could it really be Day 5?  Friday?  It seemed like we had just arrived in the DR, but at the same time, it seemed that we had been there a month.  It was a good thing that I made myself keep a bullet point journal each night, because everything was all running together at this point. Yet all signs pointed to the fact that it really was Friday.

We met in the lobby at 7:20, loaded on the bus and headed to The Palms Christian School.  They were having back to back chapels all morning long, and we were to help.  I lost count, but I think we did five (maybe six) chapels.  Each chapel was for a different age group.  Our kids would do some songs with them to start things off.  Their youth pastor preached for the High School chapel, and I thought it was very sweet that one of the young ladies whose parents are missionaries got up and went over to where our kids were and translated the message for them.  Mrs. M gave a devotion for all of the other chapels. We changed things up a little bit each time.  Some of our kids gave short testimonies.  It was fun watching our kids.  A couple of them had to step out of their comfort zones to perform the songs. Many of them were in their element while performing.  The young prince played his guitar for a couple of the songs, and of course I was proud of him.

 The young lady second from the left in the blue shirt is H.  

She is the one who was so sweet and came over to translate for our kids.

 "If You're Happy and You Know It" Spanish version

 "These are the Stories of the Bible" We love Go Fish, and so do the students at the Palms.

 A sharing a short testimony

 S giving her testimony/favorite Bible verse

 The Oldest Princess sharing her favorite Bible verse

 The Young Prince doing his fish face during a song with the younger children

In between each chapel we would have a few minutes to catch our breath and regroup for the next one.

 Passing break time by playing "toss the rock".  Yes, we are easily amused.

Buddies

At one point, Mrs. L, the principal, came and asked if a couple of us could go and play with the first graders, and give their teacher a short break.  Her classroom was right next to where we were having chapel.  In the Dominican, the windows do not have glass.  They have built in blinds that you can crank open (to let the breeze blow through) or closed (for privacy or to keep the rain out).  The blinds do very little in the way of reducing sound.  So basically the sweet teacher was dealing with a class of rambunctious first graders, who were ready to be out for the summer, and she was battling the noise of back to back chapels (with fun things going on and really cool music), right outside of her window.  I completely understood her need for a break.  C and N volunteered to go, and I went with them to help.  Let me just tell you, that was probably the hardest thing I did all week!  Those kids were wound up!  Not knowing their names, and having the language barrier (they did speak a little English) made it even tougher. We did some races, we had them play tag, we attempted a number game that did not work at all, we played Simon Says, we tried to play a game they knew (Gatos and Ratons) that we did not completely understand, but mainly we just kept them moving and let them expend a tiny bit of all of their energy.  Not to mention that it was very hot, and we were out in the sun, and feeling the heat.  But we enjoyed playing with them, and we really appreciated the tent and the chairs when we were able to rejoin the rest of the group doing chapel.

 This is the first grade class that we played with.  

I did not get many pictures of this, because, um, well, they kept us too busy to take pictures.

I did make time to snap a selfie with my new sweet friend E.

At another time I looked up as a class was passing by, and the Young Prince was giving each child a "high five" as they passed by.

High fives all around

Mrs. J came and checked on us to be sure that everyone was still well stocked with breakfast foods. She was going to be making a run to the store and would get us more if we needed it.  I told her I would check with everyone and see.

When all of the chapels were completed, we headed back to the church for yet another delicious lunch.  While we were eating lunch, for some reason talk turned to chickens.  The Oldest Princess then prompted C to tell us all (some of us had heard the story before) her chicken story.  C finally obliged and told her story.  Pastor G told her  that he could tell that she was still traumatized by the events that took place, and he was glad that she was telling her story and working through it. And the rest of us hope that the hawk died of food poisoning and that the little baby chicken rests in peace.

 Lunch

C sharing her tragic chicken story

After lunch, the girls cut paper that would be made into beads.  The beads would then be used in making jewelry for MERCY jewelry.  MERCY jewelry is an "arm" of the women's ministry there in the DR.  They use it as a means to teach rescued women an honorable trade, and sales from the jewelry help to make it possible to reach and rescue even more women.  Look them up on Etsy if you are interested in helping them out by buying some of their jewelry.  They also do jewelry parties. Please feel free to contact me if you feel led to host a jewelry party.

The Oldest Princess sporting her MERCY jewelry necklace.

My necklace is MERCY jewelry as well.

Please ignore the windblown hairdo, and focus on the jewelry.

The paper cutting went pretty fast, and then we were told that we would have the afternoon off.  Which was great news considering that we had initially been told we would be helping to paint a wall.  So we thankfully went back to the hotel for a little rest and relaxation.  I was FINALLY able to connect with my Prince and the Youngest Princess on Face Time, and it was wonderful to be able to talk to them after so long.  Several of the kids took the opportunity to go swimming.  I went to the pool just to hang out.  The young prince helped me move a chair into the shade.  Then I walked to the other side to put my stuff down so that I could walk on the beach with the young prince, and a man came and sat in the chair that we had just moved into the shade.  You are welcome, sir.  So, I skipped sitting in the shade and walked down to the beach with the Young Prince instead.  We had a good time looking for coral and crabs and such.  We saw snails with interesting shells, and small fish, but not much else.

 The very rocky coast makes it impossible to go all the way to the water, but

it is absolutely beautiful.

 Some of the kids in the pool

 D on the beach, and a monkey...no wait that is N, in the tree.

I went in to rest for a little while.  I thought I would read, but I could not hold my eyes open long enough to do so.  Before I knew it, the girls were back to get ready for dinner.  We got ready and joined everyone else on the bus back to the church for a dinner of taco salad.  On the bus, I mentioned to Mrs. S that I had seen the picture she took of the the Young Prince and I taking our walk on the beach.  I told her thank you for taking it, and that it was just the kind of picture I liked...far away, and from the back.  She and I had a little conversation about that.  Little did we know that our precious daughters were listening to our conversation...

The picture Mrs. S took of the Young Prince and I

After dinner, we headed back to The Palms.  They had planned a bon fire and a service for the older students and their parents.  When we got there, we began preparing paper bags with a package of graham crackers, 1/2 a Hershey bar, some marshmallows, and a skewer, because what is a bon fire without S'mores right?  And we sat up chairs in the bon fire area.  The Young Prince met with Y and D (the youth pastor and his wife) to work on the worship music.  I was very proud of him for bringing his guitar and helping out.  They say that he learned the Spanish song they were going to do like a champ, and was even able to make changes last minute when needed.  I was a proud mom.

Worship

After a couple of worship songs, Y preached to the students and parents.  Then our kids did a couple of their black light songs.  We laughed, because several of the girls has on bright toenail polish, and sandals, so when the black lights came on, before they started their routine, their toes were the only things we could see.

 Glowing shoes and toenails...the picture gives you an idea, but does not do it justice.

The black light routine

Mrs. M had prepared a couple of black light games for the students to play, so we did those next.

Then it was time for the bon fire and the s'mores.  I enjoyed watching the kids trying to get close enough to the fire to roast their marshmallows.  Some of them were quite comical.  One little boy convinced the Young Prince to roast his for him.

 The Young Prince helping his new friend make a s'more

The Young Prince and the youth pastor chatting while watching the fire.

We had the photo booth set up under the tent, and people would stop by there and have their picture made before they left.  Our kids took many pictures with their Dominican friends there too.  Grammy and the Young Prince and Oldest Princess got in on the action and had some pictures made together. Fun times!  Again, it was sad to say goodbye to some of the kids we may not see again for a long time, but we are thankful for the time we did have together, and the new friendships that were formed.  Plus, many of them are on social media, so we will be able to stay in touch.

 Fun in the photo booth

We cleaned up, and headed back to the hotel.  The girls sang almost all the way home.  I closed my eyes and just listened and counted my blessing to be a part of such a sweet group of young people.
Back at the hotel, we had our nightly meeting to go over the day and find out the next day's schedule. After the meeting, the Oldest Princess and S pulled Mrs. S and I to the side.  They had been listening to our conversation earlier, and thought that we were sad that there weren't a lot of pictures of us (not what we said at all, but what the girls understood us to say), so they had clandestinely taken pictures of us throughout the evening.  Oh my!  They were beautiful pictures of us by the way.  They caught us in just the right light with just the right angles - NOT!  Our sweet girls!  Always thinking of their mothers!  We all got a laugh about it anyway.

I was again able to connect with my Prince via Face Time (as he was checking out of Target), for a few minutes, and that made my night even better.

When I got back to the room, I noticed that the toilet was running.  I fixed it.  Or at least I thought I did.  Later when there was water dripping all over the floor, from the tank, I realized maybe I hadn't fixed it.  I took the top off, and water was shooting straight up, yes, all the way to the ceiling.  It was lovely.  I prayed for help, because I know nothing about toilets and I couldn't call my Prince to come to my rescue.  Then I realized that a little tube had come loose.  I popped it back into place.  And then it was fixed.  Woo Hoo!  I had done it, and managed to keep my cool in the process!  Because when the water was going everywhere, at the end of a long day, at the end of a long week, I had really just wanted to sit and cry.  But it was taken care of, with God's help.  I mopped up the water, and got ready for bed.

We still had work to do though.  Tomorrow, we were going to do the Bible club, and we were making picture frames as a craft.  We needed to partially assemble the picture frames to make it easier for the children the next day.  The Oldest Princess and I worked quickly to get those done, then we called it a day.

 Working on the picture frames

C decided that our pillows were just the greatest (insert a tiny amount of sarcasm here) pillows ever. In fact, she deemed hers the Hunchback of Pillow Dame.  Mine was comparable to C's, but it did not stop me from falling promptly into a wonderful, deep sleep.

Tomorrow...another one of my favorites!

Once again...not all of the photos are mine...some are borrowed from my wonderful, generous friends.

Dominican Trip - Playing, Praying, and Extreme Poverty

Thursday morning, we woke and had breakfast in our room.  I did my best to get up at least an hour earlier than the girls so I could get ready and go down to the beach or lobby while they got ready.  I loved going down in the morning and praying while watching the ocean.  Sometimes I walked, sometimes I sat, but it was always a peaceful start to a non-stop day.

My beautiful morning view.

The Dominican Republic Vision Team is just that.  It is a team of about 20 - some families with children of all ages, some couples, and some individuals.  Some of them are native Dominicans, some of them are missionaries from the United States.  But they all have a common goal, and that is to see the people of the Dominican Republic come to know the Lord, and live to serve Him.  The team has many different branches.  There is, of course, the church, and the Christian school, there is a Baseball ministry (because in the Dominican, "Baseball is LIFE"), there is a ministry to rescue women and help them to learn a reputable trade, there are mission teams, there is a youth ministry, there are people who take care of the mission teams that come to them (bus drivers, cooks, translators, etc.), and many other things I am sure I am missing.  Everyone works together to get it all done.  It really is amazing and inspiring to see.  I explain this so you can understand that we had many different people doing many different things with us for the next few days.  It was all very well organized and well planned out.

At 8:20, we met in the lobby and the bus was soon there.  It took us to The Palms Christian school. The kids who went last year were very excited to see some of the kids that they had made friends with the year before.  At The Palms, the children learn to speak English, and many of the teachers are from the United States, so there is not so much of a language barrier there. We split into groups, and some of us went to the Preschool classes to help them do a craft and to sing for them. After that, we would give them sunglasses, go out and take a group picture, and then start all over again with a different class.  Our other group hung out and played with the different groups of children who were having recess at that particular time.  There were games of basketball, volleyball, soccer, four square, and other games I did not recognize going on...children and balls going every which way.  It was a hub of activity.

A, giving us our instructions for the day.

Helping the little ones make their crafts.

A picture of some of the kids in their sunglasses.

A little picture of the recess happenings.

At one point in a soccer game, I looked up to see the Young Prince going over the top of the wall between the school yard and the property next door.  As he went over the top of the wall, every child on the soccer field moved away from the wall.  It was a mass exodus of children who did not want to be guilty by association.  I got the feeling that the Young Prince had just done something he was not supposed to do.  My brain was going a million different directions while I am hoping that I will see my son again.  In just a few seconds, he comes back over the wall, with the soccer ball.  The ball had been kicked over the wall.  The Young Prince did what came natural to him, and went over the wall to get the ball.  Little did he know he was entering "enemy" territory.  The property on the other side of the fence is another school.  They are not fond of The Palms being their neighbor, so the kids at The Palms have been told to steer clear of the property, and not to cause any undo trouble. Thankfully everything, and everyone was okay, and the soccer game continued without any more incidents.

The soccer game, and the wall/fence that The Young Prince went over.

On another note, T did almost everything in those flip flops without losing them, even played soccer in them.We were greatly impressed.

One of the fourth grade classes had won a pool party during spirit week (they have a pool on their school property - how awesome is that!), and it was scheduled for that afternoon.  We were recruited to help with the games.  We pulled out a few of the carnival games from the day before and let them play a while before they got into the pool.  Our kids swam with them for a few minutes before it was time for us to go.

Playing games at the pool party.

Finally - Swim time!

We went back to the church for lunch.  Lunch was chicken, rice, beans, and salad.  We later learned that this popular Dominican meal is called "the flag".

Lunch

After lunch we met with Pastor G.  He talked to us a little about how the ministry there works.  He shared a quick thought using his keyring as an example.  His keyring had many keys on it, but every key does not unlock every lock he encounters.  There are specific keys that fit specific locks, and no other key will work.  It is the same way with our hearts.  We all have "keys" that unlock our hearts and open us up to the possibility of accepting and serving the Lord. Their goal is to find the key that unlocks the hearts of the Dominican people within their sphere of influence.  They each use their separate talents to make that happen.  For example, "In the Dominican, Baseball is LIFE", so they have built a strong baseball ministry.  They minister to people through baseball that might not normally ever darken the door of a church.  They have a strong ministry to Dominican women who would not feel worthy to come to church on Sunday morning, but they meet them where they are and teach them who they are in Christ, and that through Christ, they can be pure and whole again.  Pastor G encouraged us to use our talent - whatever it may be - as the key to help unlock someone's heart for Christ.

We then loaded the bus and went to the property that the ministry owns, affectionately known as "Vision Land".  Last year, our team had gone out and spent some time praying for a pavilion that the DR team had hoped to have built soon.  The girls said that at that time, there were only stakes in the ground where they hoped to build it.  This time, we stood under the completed pavilion, as Pastor G pointed out where they hoped to build each part of the ministry.  The ultimate goal is to bring all of the "legs" of the ministry together at this one spot.  The pavilion has been built, and while we were there, there were men working on the foundation of what will be The Mercy Center, a home used in the women's ministry.  We were able to walk over and spend time praying over the building as the work was being done.  The next time we go, it will be completed, and hopefully we will be able to pray around a baseball field in the works.  At least that is my prayer now.  More about that later though.

Pastor G, sharing the vision of "Vision Land" with us, under the very pavilion they prayed for last year on their trip.

The ground work for the Mercy Center.  Yes, he is doing that work by hand.

Praying for the Mercy Center construction and the lives that will be touched through this ministry.

More of the ground work for the Mercy Center.

We left Vision Land, and made a quick run to Jumbo (the Dominican version of Wal-Mart) so the kids could grab a new supply of snacks.

The Oldest Princess doing a remake of her Jumbo picture from last year's trip.

Then it was back to the church for what they called the Dominican Experience.  It was a slideshow taught by D.  She taught us different aspects of Dominican culture, so that we might better minister to (and less likely offend) the people.  One of the things that stood out to me and made sense because it seems that everyone everywhere is trying to sell something, was the average income, and the cost of living and how they are nowhere close to each other.  They have to supplement their income in some way in order to survive.  There are small stores all over the place.  She explained that they go to the small stores and buy what they can, with what money they have, for that day.  They can't afford to go and buy a week's worth of groceries like we do.  But despite their poverty, they are a warm, happy, loving people.  She explained that there are several items that you would find in every Dominican home.  A pot for cooking rice, a coffee pot (it's definitely not a Keurig), and a pilon (a tool used to grind spices), to name a few.  She told us that in the Dominican, "Baseball is LIFE", and the boys are pressured to play and do well, because they see it as a way out of their poverty. She also told us what I already knew...Dominican's do not have "personal space".  The whole lesson was very interesting to me, and I think that the kids really enjoyed it as well.  When it was over, D explained that we had several tasks to complete using the information that she had just taught us.  Eeekkkk!!!  We were going to split up into groups and take public transportation (and pay for it) to a neighborhood, where we would talk to people, buy something from one of the little stores, ask a homeowner to show us one of the items that would be found in every Dominican home and take a picture of them with it, ask a child to tell us their name, etc.  All the while we would pass out tracts to people we met.  I was nervous and excited at the same time.  It worked out that we all pretty much went together, until we got to the neighborhood, where we split up and went different ways and then met back together at a certain time.  Each group had a leader.  D was our group leader, and two of the team member's older children were the leaders of the other groups, so each group had someone who was fluent in Spanish...just in case.  How I wish that I could transport you all back to the Dominican with me, so that you could walk with us and see, hear, feel, and smell, exactly what we experienced on that afternoon...but the closest I can come to doing that is to share pictures so that is what I will do.

 The beginning of the slide show in our class about Dominican culture.

 Our list of things to do.

Our first public transportation ride.  I was one of the last ones in because I was trying to get this picture.  That turned out to be a mistake.

The only spot left was the edge of A and Mrs. S's bench. Right in front of the missing side door, and the little Dominican man hanging out the side.  I held on the the seat behind us, braced myself with one foot behind the passenger side seat, and A wrapped her arm around me and acted as my seatbelt.  Oh, the memories!

 These were the children that we "talked" to and asked them their names.  The little boy in the gray shorts was Christian.  The striped bags that they were playing with were kites made out of plastic bags and string.  The children were very kind and friendly.  They talked with us and answered our questions without a bit of fear.

 When we walked up to this home, several people were sitting outside in plastic chairs.  We greeted them the best we could, and they immediately got up and offered us their chairs.  C asked the lady if she had any of the items we were supposed to ask for, and she gladly went inside and brought back out her caldero that she uses to cook rice for her family.

 Right to the right of C and the lady in the picture above, was this.  It was a shoe shop.  The man was working to hand sew the soles on a pair of shoes as we visited.

 The green building in the background is the colmado (small store) where we made our purchase of several bottles of water.

 One of the other groups were invited into a home, to see the items on the list that we were supposed to ask for.  

 One of the homes.

Another group making their purchases from a different colmado.

 Public transportation take two.  Notice it was much better this time, and I was sure to be one of the first ones in.

With our tasks completed, we met back together and again took public transportation (a much newer, nicer version of it this time) to a different neighborhood closer to where we would hold a children's Bible club on Saturday morning.  This time we all stuck together, but we passed out tracts and invitations to our Bible club.  It was just as interesting, and touching as the first neighborhood.  We went until we ran out of time and had to return to the church for dinner.

 Passing out tracts, candy, and invitations to our Bible club in the second neighborhood.

 We came across some little boys playing basketball (with a flat basketball and a home made goal - check it out).  S joined in and played with them for a minute.  I didn't see it, but I was told after the group walked on, that the Young Prince picked up the little boys and let them "dunk" the ball.

How do you leave this, and not leave a piece of your heart there.

You don't.  You just don't.

On the walk back to the church D pointed out the first three story building built in the country (she had told us about it in her lesson before we left).  Even in ruins, it was beautiful.  As we continued, there was an American man on his second story porch.  He noticed us and came down to talk.  He had just moved back to the country (he had to return to the US because of health issues) to reopen his barbecue restaurant.  We asked him if he went to church.  He knew of IBEM.  Said he had been there when he had lived in the Dominican before.  We invited him to come on Sunday.  He said he might.

This is the first 3 story building that was built in the country.  The bottom floor was a store, the top two floors were home to the family who owned the store.  It was beautiful.  So sad that it is empty and in disrepair now.

We had spaghetti for dinner that night, and then headed back to the hotel.  We all gathered in the lobby to take advantage of the wifi and post our pictures and attempt to talk to our loved ones at home.  At this point, I still had not talked to my Prince, and I was about to loose it.  We were able to message each other a little through Facebook that night, but it just was not the same as actually talking to him.

At one point the Oldest Princess and I were alone in the lobby and just outside of the hotel fence there was a loud bang and a huge flash of light.  Some sort of small explosion.  We found out later that it was a cable that had snapped.  After we went to our room, some of the people in our group said that another cable snapped.  I was glad that was all it was.  Grammy found out for us by asking the man at the hotel desk.  His name was Mariano, but Grammy could never remember that, so like Dory in "Finding Nemo",  she called him Juan, or José, or whatever name came to her mind, and he would answer her.  We thought it was amusing.

It was getting late, and we headed to our rooms to call it a night.  We had precious little time to get some sleep and be back in the lobby by 7:20 the next morning.  Day 5 was coming fast...

Once again, I have borrowed some pictures from E, and Mrs. B and Mrs. S as well this time.  Thank you all so much for taking great pictures and allowing me to use them!