Mission Possible Teams: Day 2

Ashley and David are all smiles before starting the work day!

We met in the church to go over the daily plans with Moise.

Moise talked with us about the spiritual battle we are entering here. whether we are digging, painting, teaching English, or playing with the kids we need to remember that we are Christ's ambassadors here.

Hey Mom and Dad, Rachel and I are alive. We miss you and love you. Today was definitely a fun day. We woke up really early at 7:00 AM so we could eat breakfast at 7:30. Breakfast was pancakes, bananas, milk, and orange juice. After breakfast we talked about all the different things that need to be done down here, painting, construction, teaching English, and VBS.
I was lucky and got to do VBS today with all the adorable little kids. A whole bunch of kids showed up and we ended up having to split them up into groups of 15, some upstairs, others in the courtyard. Rachel, Adrienne, and I had the kids play with chalk, jump ropes and bubbles and they loved it. At first they were shy but then they got used to things. It was crazy though, some of the kids were putting chalk in their pockets and not sharing so we took the chalk away and let them only have one at a time. It was a challenge to talk to the little ones since Rachel, Adrienne and I don't speak fluent Spanish, but we got by. The kids were so cute and happy. I got lots of pictures because they love getting their pictures taken.
Upstairs, Bekah and Lizzie were having the other group make bracelets. They had beads that were red, white and blue. The red beads stood for love, the white for peace, and the blue for joy. When they were done we switched groups.
There was this one girl who looked about 16 or 17 and she really stood out to me. She was carrying around a little baby girl that was adorable and had chubby cheeks. She showed me the baby and I told her the baby was very pretty and she just beamed. She was so proud of that baby. Rachel told me later that the baby was her little sister. It's so amazing how much she loves her sister and it makes me wonder if people would say the same about me and my siblings.
Right beside me, Jared and a man are communicating to each other through Google Translate and it's entertaining but it's working.
I still have yet to shower so I'm pretty dirty.
I'm having a great time and I'm so excited for what God has planned for the rest of this week.
See you when I get home!

-Shelby George

So, today I found out how much older I have grown, how much different I have become in my short life, and how much change has occurred in me from even my childhood to my early adulthood at eighteen. We dug, and dug, and then dug, and dug some more afterwards. Don't get me wrong, the labor was enjoyed to the best of its potential, considering the horrible heat and horrendous humidity, but it really made me think about how far I've come. In my childhood playing in the dirt, outside and on a warm day was a privilege and in any case, the moments that I would wish for, but today I saw it differently. Today, I considered it work, not even just work, but hard labor.
The labor consisted of grabbing the shovels and pick axes, driving to a fenced in lot, hearing Moise give a brief history of the Creole church, saying a prayer, and finally getting dirty. There was much confusion at the start, and I learned that the Dominican Republicans knew much better what they were doing as opposed to me, a silly Americano with a bloated head, and inflated ambition. Occasionally they would simply tap me, take the pick axe or shovel that I was wielding, and begin doing the work in what seemed like the same way. But to them it was completely different and my way of working was inefficient and unfit for their standards.
It was a humbling experience because all in all, they were better than me, and they didn't need a break every ten minutes to sit down, relax, and get some water, without which I very may well be in the hospital right now. Seeing that great wisdom and experience can come from a place that people in the United States think of as underdeveloped and not necessarily the best at what they do, besides baseball, really caused me to think higher of everyone around me. All people have potential and the Dominican Republicans I met today have reached their potential and even surpassed that potential a little bit.
It was also incredible to see how much work was done with almost no supplies. It was disheartening to know that a back-ho could have done the work in ten or fifteen minutes, but it isn't necessary to finish the job. The United States is a spoiled nation, plain and simple. I learned that about myself as I sat their thinking about how pointless it was to use human labor instead of the machines that were created to do the jobs themselves.
One of the most disappointing things about digging the holes for the columns, which are five feet wide, five feet long, and not sure how deep yet, was there was no retreat from the heat. There was no escape, almost no shade, no mist tents, no luxuries, not even air-conditioning. This last part is such a blessing that I can't even comprehend how people go without this ingenious device. I don't care how underprivileged any nation is, United Nations needs a mandate that every place in the world is to have air-conditioning available to all people. Like I said, we are spoiled.
Today's experience also made me think about how small and insignificant every person is. Not just every person but each one of their problems and successes as well. When we were on the ground digging the holes, I thought of how little we must seem from the air. The holes that we were digging could not even be seen from that high up, you wouldn't have even been able to see the people. That is only from within the atmosphere, there is so much more as well. The universe is indeed a vast place. The amazing part about this, is God still cares about me, someone so insignificant that I wouldn't even make up a speck on the universe. It's an incredible thought and a loving thought about the awesome power of our God and his word.

-Brennan Bookmyer

Hola, americanos, it's Monica. Today was a little nerve-racking for me because Mackenzie and I were called to teach English to children of all ages, from preschool to teenagers older than us. Worrying as much as I did was something I knew I didn't have to do.. God had us the whole time. With no lessons plans and no chalk to write on the boards, Mackenzie and I taught the elementary kids colors, numbers, animals, songs, and little sayings, like "Your shirt is blue." I had no idea that I could step up and do a job like that, to the point where I almost backed out. And no, it was not as bad as I thought it was going to be. There were just some moments of not understanding what they want and my forgetting what to say in return. I'm very confident in my Spanish, so it didn't fail me entirely. Huge props to Mackenzie for being amicable, helpful, and amazingly bilingual. We just toughed through the longest hour of our lives.. you should have been there! I'm so happy. Braving that made it easier to have conversations with the older kids later on in the day.
What an entirely different world this is. I mean, I've seen contrast before, but wow, the ocean is the bluest blue in the bluest of blues I have ever seen, so inviting and scenic, and then to look before the ocean to see run down houses, rusty shacks, roosters hangin out on tin scraps, and litter embeded into the dirt. This view from the fifth floor has me seeing paradise and poverty in the same big picture and it's astounding. I cannot wait to see what else is in store as I humbly discover what life is like outside of the world I know.
I need a shower. It's been two days. Two full days. No more pictures of me until I'm clean.

-Monica Gupta

Monica and Mackenzie are teaching basic Eglish vocabulary to the little ones.

After each session we sang Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes with them...at the top of their voices!!

Bekah is helping to tie a VBS bracelet.

Bekah and Lizzie sang La BIBLIA with the VBS group... the B I B L E song.

Caitlin and Allyson hard at work!

Hannah, Michaela amd Marisa are sanding and prepping the walls to paint.

Well hey, I am in the DR right now. Its just now starting to sink in. At first it all was so unreal, even for me and this is my second trip. Today I had an amazing experience. I was just sitting on a step after working multiple hours on the foundation of the church, and there were some kids playing basketball. I decided to go ask if I could play since my 2 years of Spanish has at least taught me that much. But when I got over there I was truly amazed at my own ability to understand the kids and converse with them. I felt like I could talk to anyone. I felt like 2 years of straining over learning the language actually paid off. The kids were younger and just shooting around. I walked up to them and asked "tres y tres" they shook their head and so it was me and two Dominican kids vs. Aaron, Jake, and one other Dominican kid. They relied on me too much so I always tried to pass it instead of shooting. Dominican rules for basketball are different. No taking it back so you can shoot right off the rebound and then make it take it. That took a while to get used to. When we were playing I learned that "shoot" is tira in Spanish which is also throw. I kept laughing at the kids because they were just like the older Dominican students. They took sports so seriously. They got mad when they messed up and really wanted to win. We had a lot of fun and the kids were funny. I kept saying that Aaron doesn't speak any Spanish so they would say El es mal which means he is bad. They were laughing which made us laugh too. It was a fun experience that I hope to be able to have again. Pues... Adios!

-Griffin Rath