Today was the second day of camp, and the third day in the Dominican
Republic. Despite the tiredness and heat, there are so many reasons to smile:
coloring at the craft station with the children, a little girl patiently pronouncing
and teaching me the names of colors in Spanish, playing volleyball with a group
of Dominican and American women, taking selfies as girls braid my hair. I have learned
more Spanish in three days than I have in my whole life! This morning I greeted
the kids at the gate before I headed off to work on construction throughout the
school. The girls taught me their handshake games and played with my hair. Then
a group of us worked on scraping and painting some of the classrooms. After a
lunch of Dominican rice, beans, and chicken, I helped with the older kids’
camp. I led a group of girls who are only a few years younger than me. It was interesting
to interact with kids closer to my age and see their relationships and
interactions with each other. Another benefit of mission trips is creating
friendships and memories with others who are on the mission. Waking up early in
90 degree weather with a cup of black coffee, sitting on Grace’s lap while too
many of us pack into too small of a car, playing Code Names on the porch,
dancing on the roof as the Dominican children watch and copy our moves. These
are little details that make trips like this so special. I can’t believe we are
already halfway done!
-Isabelle Riegle
This is my second trip to the Dominican Republic as I traveled from Haiti to the DR two years
ago. Although I have worked with the
teachers in Haiti for several years, this is the first year I have been able to
work with teachers in the DR. As in
Haiti, there are certain skills that we take for granted, like putting hole
punched papers in a binder. I was
concerned and wanted to help, but our translator remarked, “Let them figure it
out.” There were four of us who did the
teacher training seminars in the morning for 50-60 teachers. It was interesting to see how the lessons
built upon each other. In the afternoon,
we went back to the church to help with VBS where I lead the English
lessons. (I’m hoping some students were
able to pick up a little Appalachian American accent, so I will know I have left an impact.) In reality, it was great to see the kids again. Not only did a few remember the lessons on
slinkys from two years ago, but I also noticed many of the teens who were now working
so cooperatively playing volleyball, were the same ones who were fighting over
jump ropes not so very long ago. I am
trusting for more opportunities in the future to see the kids and teachers grow
physically and spiritually as a result of all Mission Possible does in Haiti
and the Dominican Republic.
-Jeanette Marshall
The second day of the DR was very similar to the first. We
started out with hash browns and assorted fruits for breakfast, with orange juice.
However the construction is becoming very tedious. We will peel paint, only to
find more that needs peeled. So far, we have nearly stripped an entire wall of
paint. Many working on stripping the wall left to help other groups because we
only had so many scrapers. Most went to the basketball court to help Owen
contain the little children. Teaching children is hard, and adding a language barrier
makes it much harder. After it had reached noon, we played basketball until
lunch. Most Dominicans seem very good at basketball. After lunch, we headed off
with our groups, and I got a mixed group. The first station of four was the
games station, where the boys played basketball, and the girls played
volleyball. Most basketball games are 4 on 4 or 5 on 5, however we occasionally
do a 3 on 3. Then, we moved onto to the English lesson, which was very
impressive. Some kids could say the color that was shown in English, before I could.
Following English was the science station, which my dad led. It was about chemical
reactions. We put Alka-Seltzer tablets in an airtight container to see how far
the lid could fly. Then, we brought out the Pop rocks. The children loved the
pop rocks. After Science, we went to the craft and bible lesson, which was
about how the devil tries to trick us. We made little pieces of paper, which
when you spin, looks different than when held still. After the craft lesson, we
went to the courtyard, which brought on more basketball (I’m thinking the kids
like basketball). Many games had a mix of Americans and Dominicans, but a couple
were “Americanos y Dominicanos.”. Sadly the kids had to go home, so we headed
upstairs and played “Codenames” on the porch, and then we had pizza sandwiches
for supper. Small things make huge differences in the lives of many.
-Cameron Criblez
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