Both weeks have been awesome! Tomorrow we get to go to the beach
again! Volleyball, soccer, and
basketball camp was great! The Sunday
night church service was really cool. We
clapped and Daniel and I danced by kicking our legs out. It was so much fun! I wish every church service was like
that. I was so happy! We went to the sports complex again
today. The Dominicans were a little
better at soccer. They didn’t use their
hands as much and I scored a goal. We
also had track races which was fun. I
got 2nd place. Tonight at
dinner, we celebrated Sam and Jeremy’s birthdays, so we got cake. I love it here and I feel amazing!!!!
~Ian
Rath
The first thing that I noticed as soon as we arrived in the
Dominican was that the airport had become much more organized in the last two
years. The second thing that I noticed was that the bus ride from Santo Domingo
to Barahona was longer than I remembered.
The week as a whole has not been nearly as hot as I remember it being
here four years ago, but we were also digging holes for five hours a day in the
sun. The first day that we had sports camp I was teaching in the bible study. I was impressed with how my Spanish speaking
has progressed over the last two years. That day was the only day that we had
an American versus Dominican basketball game, which is disappointing because we
lost. Saturday was more of the same minus the basketball game of course. Sunday
was pretty amazing actually. It is really amazing how the Dominican people go
all out in their worship and are not afraid to look stupid or pull out all of
the stops. The second service in particular was more like a party than a church
service, if you were out of context you would have thought you were at a party.
Monday we
had more sports camps, and for the first time we had a soccer station so
Griffin and I lead that. Tuesday Griffin was sick so I was on my own at the
soccer station, but other than that it was pretty much the same. Tuesday going
into Wednesday was when I was not feeling so well, so on Wednesday during the
competitions I sat out most of the day.
Today I feel better and it was the day I had been looking forward to all
trip playing a legitimate soccer game against the Dominicans. It was nothing
like playing a high school soccer game in the U.S. For one, they have like twenty people playing
on their team and we only had eleven. We ended up tying 2-2 so nobody was too upset. Overall, the
experience has been different in some ways and better in some ways.
~Jake Bixler
Hello to all back home!
The past 7 days have been
absolutely amazing. June 12, the first
day we arrived, was a very long but exciting day full of travel. All the flights
went very smoothly. It was not until 7:45 pm that we finally arrived to the
school. It was great to be greeted by those who were staying for another week,
and old friends that I made last summer. After the first day, the rest have
flown by. We have been quite busy having the sports camp for the younger kids
until 12, and then lunch and one hour to spare before we start camp with the
older kids. It was awesome to see so many old friends at camp the first day,
and pick up with conversations as if a year had not even gone by! Sunday of
course has been one of my favorite days of the trip, because of the amazing
church services we attended. They are definitely full of lots and lots of
singing and dancing. From outside the church, it might sound similar to a party.
One song at the end of the service lasted for 17 minutes! In the US, that would
never happen. We don't have “enough time for that”. Our nightly devotionals
that have been held with only our group, have truly pressured us to think and
pray for what God wants us to do when we return back to the states. I know that
all of you will help and encourage each and everyone of us, which will help
tremendously.
Today was our last day with the
campers, and it was a great time. We took them to the Olympic Villia, and
played soccer with them. To get to the Villia we had a 20 minute walk. It was
great to see more of Barahona, and see some of the houses of the campers. Of
course the game of soccer we played was Americanos vs Dominicans. They played
with many different rules than what we do, played with 19 people on the field,
had four goalies, and called everything a handball. We were losing 2-1, with
only a few minutes to go when we scored to tie up the game. It was great to be
able to play a game of soccer while I was here, even if it was similar to
running in sand with a few patches of grass. To conclude the day we had a
homemade meal that Ruth and Carlota cooked for us, with birthday cake to
celebrate Sam and Jeremy’s birthdays. Tonight we will also have to say goodbye
to all of our older friends!
-Kayla Trevino
