Monday

So today is Monday the start of another week of working and teaching. Today I was painting which turned into cleaning the floors with a scraper in one hand and a wet rag in the other. It seems that people don’t really know what drop cloths are. But oh well its not as bad as digging. So I have only done one half day of digging which is a big blessing from God! I have also taught English classes to young and old Dominican children and done VBS with the little ones! I had a hard time teaching English with out knowing how to translate from Spanish to English but God helped me. It is very different here then in the USA. When you wave and smile to someone down here they always wave back or smile and sometimes they even come up to you and hug you!!!! That is so different than the US. Also when you are in the shower you cant get water in your mouth or your stomach will be very mad at you! Also you always have to drink water or you will become dehydrated and I have already experienced that it’s not to fun. The people here are so amazing!

            Yesterday we had two church services. The first in the morning then one at night. They really take the Sabbath day seriously down here its awesome! Before church yesterday we went to a baptism down at a river. Six people got baptized there it was so amazing to see. Then we went to the first service then came upstairs and ate lunch and did NOTHING until the last service. I took advantage of that nothing time and took a nap, which felt very good. The second service was the best; there was a bunch of singing and dancing. We got to sing three songs in front of the church and did one skit. I really wish church were like that in Findlay. After church we just danced and played with the little kids in the front of the church, which was a blast.

            Today we were supposed to go to a waterfall but a lot of people got sick last night so we are waiting until tomorrow when hopefully everyone is better. Only two full days left in the Dominican Republic but hopefully they are as fun as the others have been. This has been an amazing first mission trip!

Lizzie Bookmyer

It’s safe to say I was not prepared for what this mission trip expected of me. We dig everyday for 3 hours, sweat, cover ourselves in a layer of dirt, nap from pure exhaustion, sweat some more, and then pray that we can get a full night of sleep without taking a trip to the dreaded bathrooms…with who knows what hiding in the toilet. I can honestly say I think I’ve sweat more here than I have lifeguarding at the pool on a hot day (note to self: NEVER take a vacation to the Dominican republic in the summer).

It’s also safe to say that I was not prepared to feel so amazing when I go to bed every night from the experiences here. For example, when you see these little Dominican children calling your name and wanting you to play with them, it’s all worth the pain, sweat, and exhaustion. I met a young girl named Nalia who wouldn’t let go of my neck as we were dancing at the church service last night. I almost choked to death from her massive grip (which was pretty impressive I might add), but I loved knowing that this made her so happy and I was honored to be on this mission trip for that reason. Another example was the church service we attended last night. I was pretty nervous yesterday morning that I was going to fall asleep during the 3 hour service, and I didn’t know if I was going to like being stuck in a room with a ton of people who do not speak even a little English. But, once again, I was surprised at the difference between American church services and Dominican church services. For one thing, they sing…A LOT. I didn’t know what the heck I was saying, but I sang right along the best I could. Another thing is their energy, who in the world can possibly have so much energy for 3 hours straight in a hot room full of stinky sweat? I’ll tell you who, these amazing people who love Jesus and love our heavenly Father that’s who! I enjoyed the dancing as well, I’m pretty sure I will never burn more calories at church than I did last night.

Well, I’m not sure I am totally ready to go home yet because I have had such a great time and getting closer to God, but I am ready for air conditioning and air fresheners in the bathroom. I have gotten close to the whole team and I love them all. Thanks Dave and the team for all your help and support and thank for being so freakin awesome! It’s been fantabulous J

Adrienne Hennessy

My day today consisted of digging, digging, and… well… more digging.  This, however, was self-inflicted.  Because of my lack of interest in painting I volunteered for a double shift of digging for the day and was not at all disappointed in my decision as the day progressed.  The morning air was moist as we walked into the walled property where the Creole church will one day stand.  The holes must be 5x5x5 feet and this is definitely a daunting size for even the most proficient of diggers.  But today it seemed to begin to come together.  Holes are beginning to be finished in numbers and this makes it easier to push on another day.  It is a very accomplishing feeling to know that the hard work we are taking part in is the beginning of a new chapter for God’s kingdom.  This trip has exceeded all expectations and is unique experience once again even from 2 years ago.  This is truly a life changing experience and I think I am safe in saying this goes for all of us!

~Philip Jewett     

Caitlen being the victim of the worlds worst game. gang up on one person and tickle them

Brennan, Tom and Aaron giving some boys a lift

Tom getting his hair braided after VBS

The girls tackling a wall (Brook, Emily, Lizzie, Adrienne)

Rachel , Patti and Mackenzie working on their murals in the computer lab

The girls learning a dance from the girl who heads up the dancers/ tambourines in the church

Sunday!

Hola from the Dominican Republic. Today was Sunday and the church had two services that we participated in, one in the morning and one in the evening. Before church began, we rode a half an hour to the nearest river and witnessed five baptisms for different members of the church. It was awesome to be a part of such a special moment in those peoples' lives.

 During the evening service, a couple announced their engagement in front of the church. We did not understand everything they said but it was still moving to watch.  Instead of just having a few songs at the beginning and end of the service, they mixed a bunch of songs throughout. We sang three songs: Great I Am, Like a Lion, and Search My Heart, then performed a skit. The best part of the evening was the end when all the children and Americans danced together at the front of the room. The band was playing and people were singing/screaming to the music. Overall, the Dominican church service was a whole lot more upbeat and a much different experience compared to usual churches in Findlay.

Alex Distel and Caitlin Stahl!

Sunday has been the day all of the hard workers have been waiting for; the day of rest. It’s also been the day I’ve been waiting for. This is my second trip to Ebenezer and the most memorable part of my weeklong trip two years ago was the church service. The people had energy and passion I had never seen so openly expressed in the US. But like every other part of the experience, it was nowhere close to being the same. We started the day off early with a cramped bus ride to a crystal clear river where six new believers were baptized. Even though we didn’t understand all the words said, we felt the new connections being made as each person was brought out of the water and a pair of eyes were opened with a new vision. We came back to a church full of people with welcoming smiles. The majority of the service was taught by the pastor here, Moise, in Creole so a lot of it wasn’t completely understood but we understood what was necessary. David also took a turn at the pulpit and got the chance to confuse them with our crazy English language.  After church, Caitlin and I helped Ashley make 20 boxes of Kraft Mac and Cheese for lunch. That was an adventure. For the rest of the afternoon, I attempted to learn how to play euchre. At six o’clock we went back down to the church for the second service. We sang lots of songs in Spanish and Creole and watched their tambourine dancers do several routines. All of the performances were done by the teenagers in the church but the cool thing is that they were all excited to be doing it. It wasn’t something their parents forced them to do but a talent they wanted to share in order to serve the Lord. We sang three songs and performed a skit showing how to reach out to people. Also during the service, a couple announced their engagement, which was basically a ceremony for the pastor to make fun of them in front of the whole congregation. It was rather amusing, though our laughter was always a little delayed because we had to wait for Mrs. Speigel to translate what was said. The ending time was never said which was so unreal for us. I thought it was kind of cool to just “go with the flow” and finish when everyone was finished. We ended the service with a conga line around the church and a sweaty dance marathon with the little kids. It was such an awesome experience to be a part of and I do hope we can bring some of this passion back with us to Gateway. I’m determined to start a tambourine group before I graduate next year.

Bekah Shultis

Sunday, the day that I have been looking forward to all week.  My sister had gone on the mission trip here two years ago, and she always spoke greatly of their services.  We had the honor of being present at the baptism of six Dominicans.  As each person came out of the river, they were applauded for taking this vital step forward in their relationship with Christ.  The bus ride back went faster than the one to the river, and soon we were back at the church, greeted by smiles from the Dominicans.  After several songs, prayers, and a sermon from David, I went out into the courtyard with a few Americanos and some Dominican children.  I was surprised at the generosity of one little boy named Franklin.  He only had a few pieces of gum left, and was willing to give all of them away.  We decided to split a piece, and the Dominicans used the temporary tattoos inside the gum on each other, including on ones forehead.  They went home, and we all went upstairs to lay down and rest.  I woke up and went upstairs to play euchre with some other people.  When we went down to the evening church service, there were many Dominican children were we had sat before.  This service was full of energy, with many songs, prayers, and displays of talent.  We watched multiple dance routines, and the Dominicans played trombones/trumpets/saxophones.  During one of the more energetic songs, a few small children started a conga line and we all joined in.  After this there was an engagement that was announced, and the Dominican preacher Moise made a big show of presenting the ring.  The man, Sedrach sang a couple songs, and the last one lasted for at least fifteen minutes.  We started another conga line, and also big circles of spinning children and Americans.  After spinning and sweating, we all left for a supper of pure deliciousness.  All in all this was my favorite day so far.

Tim Reed

Baptism

David preaching

Benz

Tambourine troop

Gateway youth singing during the evening service

Sedrach presenting the engagement ring to Daniella

Carlee and Cody with their sponsorship child

Day Four

Hola everybody,

My name is Kayla Towell and I will be writing for the DR blog today! Today I had the priviledge to help with the VBS here at the Ebenezer school. We taught about Galatians 6:10-20 and how to ¨put on¨ the full armour of God. It was cute to see the drawings of themselves in full armour that they drew. Helping with VBS also refreshed me on some of my Spanish and gave me some practice. I enjoyed it very much! Otherwise, this week I personally have helped with digging the holes for the Creole church building and with scraping and painting classrooms. As you may have heard from the other blogs, forming and digging those holes at the church site is not exactly a walk in the park. It is hot, there is no shade other than a tarp we propped up in the corner, and the soil started off very hard. However, as usually, God never ceases to amaze me and remind me of just how fortunate and blessed my life is as well as this experience in itself. Every time I felt tired and felt like giving up, He would put a particular verse on my heart. Philippians 4:13... I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. That gave me the perseverance and the determination and the energy to keep going full force, with everything I have...through Christ who strengthens me! The experiences we are having and the relationships we are building with each other and with the Dominicans are unlike any other. We have amazing people on this team and outstanding members of the community here in Barahona. Some of the testimonies I have heard and just the joy I have seen from the locals is admirable and truly incredible. I am so blessed to have been able to come on this journey! Continue praying for strength for us all and for the love of a servants heart to continue strongly in all of us.

We can do all things through Christ who gives us strength!

P.S. A little shout out to my family! Dad, Mom, Cody, and Claudia – I miss you and love you guys so so much! Thank you so much for allowing me to come on this trip and supporting me and always being there for me! Also, to my bestfriend Joey – thank you for being such an incredible support with everything and for being my bestfriend centered completely at Christ!

Oh, and... Claudia – David and Ashley say hi! J

Adios and God bless!

In Christ,

Kayla Towell

This young man is really artistic in drawing  himself wearing the armor.

Brennan helping teach the English lesson

Hola, it is Tyler McGhee...so basically this whole time I have done one of two things for work, paint or dig the foundation for the Creole church!  It was really cool to paint this time because we are painting the same rooms I painted on my first trip here (two years ago).  So, its kinda like a redo!  Then the digging, well that has been going along nicely.  We are digging columns right now for a Creole church and the holes have to be five feet deep and five feet across...so they are quite big holes.  I think this trip, more than my previous two have made me appreciate what America gives us every day.  I can definately say I am increasingly appreciative for what we are just given every day. 

Adios, 
Tyler McGhee

Team Estrogen showing their strength!

Hola! This trip has been such an amazing experience so far and many new things have been introduced to me along the way that have been so exciting. Most of my time has been filled with hard work in the hot weather, but in the middle of those times great things have been happening. One thing that ceases to amaze me is the barriers that are being broken between us and the Dominicans as we build relationships with them throughout the time we have spent here. We have interacted with the kids through teaching them English, VBS, playing sports, and playing games that they teach us. One large barrier that we have is the language that we speak. It is no secret that we cant communicate in words unless somebody is able to translate what they are saying. Even though that is something we have to work through we have learned to still build relationships with the Dominicans. Today a group of us came back from the digging site and walked in to a hallway with other people from our group and also Dominicans. What was happening was our group was singing songs that we know, such as How He Loves Us by David Crowder Band, and we all started to sing along since we knew the song. Now this may not be as exciting for you if you don´t like music as I do, but the Dominican, Jerry, started to play his piano right along with us. It is just so moving to see something like music break down the barrier. It is tremendous to realize the things that are universal because it shows how much we can still have in common. Although the digging holes and painting is extremely fun (not at all) my favorite activity so far is playing with the kids in VBS and when they come to play. They lighten your spirits immensely even if you are tired, sore, and very hot. All of them are so welcoming which makes it so easy to jump right in and have a good time. Lastly, the biggest thing that I have realized being here is how much we truly take for granted. Now to most of you that might seem cliche but you really do see things that we dont realize are something not everyone has. All of these things and more have been such amazing and new experiences that have been so exciting!

Michaela Long

Kristin painting the trim on a classroom on the third floor.

Caitlin and Mackenzie pose for a quick picture.

Alex and Matt take a picture, surrounded by joyful VBS students.

Hannah is reviewing the months of the year.

Marisa and Adrienne by Gigantor the Rock. Now this rock is in 1000 pieces, thanks to all the digging team!

Hola amigos. Me llamo Sam McGhee. This trip thus far  has been life changing.  I have learned a lot from the Dominicans despite the many challenges we face every day.  The language barrier between us is extremely challanging to overcome.  Despite my one year of Spanish 1 at Findlay High School,  I cannot communicate very well with the locals. Shocking I know.  All around the school we see poor and run-down houses and shacks.  People with barely any money or food compared to our luxurious American lifestyles. It is hard to imagine living here after being spoiled so greatly in our amazing country. The thought of me living in a shack with my entire family and not being able to move or better myself easily is unsettling. Despite these hardships, the people seem more than happy with their living arrangments.  Maybe it’s because they have never seen or even heard of the American dream.  Or maybe it is because God provides everything they need to live a happy life right here.  It is very hard to imagine a life in the Dominican Republic from an “Americano’s” perspective but from their perspective it is their life.  It is everything they deal with every day. It is fun to see the emotions of the little kids as we drive through the streets of Barahona. They light up and smile and even blow kisses at our bus.  The perception of Americans in this region seems to be positive.  We also have become very friendly with the children around our school.  We play imaginary catch with small kids from the 5^th story roof of our school to the streets of the village.  Little girls recite handshakes and clapping games to the girls in our group that they met that day at school. In the afternoon, we play basketball with the older boys from the area.  These games don’t always include friendly taps on the back and praises for the opponent doing something extravegant. They usually include arguing in languages the other person does not understand and push and shoving when someone enters the lane.  At the end of the day though we shake hands, have a laugh, and try to talk as much as we possibly can before the leave for the night.  It has been a great experience thus far and I am looking forward to the days ahead of me!

Adios, Sam McGhee

Day 3

Caitlen teaching the Dominicans English 

Good morning fellow Americans! It´s the beginning of day three here in the Dominican Republic and things are going well! The past three days have really been inspirational and eye opening. Because I have had the pleasure of being in the Dominican before I thought I would know what to expect. Well I couldn't have been more wrong to be completely honest. Leaving everyone back home was difficult and I still miss them very much, but i wish they could see what I see. Every person I see has a smile on their face and not a complaint to spare. I look around and see poverty, but to our American standard. To them, they have all they need, and more.
   Having three years experience in the language of Spanish, talking to the people here is probably the most entertaining thing I have done yet. All ever want to do is make conversation, even though I am probably not the best and they probably make fun of my spanish as soon as I walk away. They are all friendly and welcoming; though, and love to teach us new games.
   Today, I taught English to the Domincan students. Marisa, Griffin, Lizzie, and I taught three classes of mostly elementary aged children. Most of them were very involved with the class and some of them surprised us at their English knowledge. I have more classes of older students tonight and I am really looking forward to attempting Spanglish conversation with them.
   Over all this trip so far has been incredible, heart warming, and life changing. I cannot wait to come home and share all of my stories to my friends and family. For now, I am going to go play with the children!  (: For everyone back home, I miss you, and I love you! I hope you are having fun in boring Findlay ;)
    ¡Adios!                                                                                                                                                           
    -Caitlen

Ricardo had a smile that brightened everyones day ! 

Some of the students with their new English teachers 

Cody & Carlee on day one after working hard digging the footers for the Creole church.

The children are so precious,  here she was showing  Emilee lots of love.

This is the second time I have been to the Dominican Republic.  Both times, my favorite part of the trip has been interacting with the Dominicans.  So I was extremely excited when I got to help with the VBS this morning.   We got to play games and talk with the kids, okay I blankly stared at the kids and tried to understand their extremely fast Spanish chatter.  

The best part of my day was when a little girl ran up and started talking at me.  I couldn’t understand everything she was saying but I heard her saying my name.  I thought she was saying that her name was Emilee, but after finding someone to translate, I found out she remembered me from the last time I was here.  It was just amazing to me that she remembered not only my face but also my name.  So while my morning was great, my afternoon was a bit more difficult.  I had already been to the site of the Creole church to dig, but this afternoon I got to go again.  Yes Dad, I actually worked two days in a row.  Yesterday, digging was exhausting, but today it was just plain hard.  There may have been a million rocks in the dirt we were trying to dig in, and the sun was relentless.  But it’s awesome to think that our hard work is going to help with building the Creole church.  

After we got back from digging, we got to play at the school with the kids again.   We learned a bunch of games from the Dominican girls, and spent most of the night playing them.  The girl from earlier in the day came and I was excited to spend some more time with her.   Hopefully I get to see her again, but even if I don’t, I can’t wait to hang out with the kids again.  Even if we don’t speak the same language, we somehow manage to have fun and learn from each other.

Emilee Reed

The kids were so proud of the papers they decorated for the VBS.

Kristin & Brooke posing with this sweet little girl.

Hello, it’s the third day of the Dominican Republic mission trip with Gateway church. We woke up at about seven thirty, I do not know for sure because no one has their phones. After that we ate breakfast and had a small prayer session. Then we found out what we were doing today, for me it digging in the morning and painting in the afternoon. We started digging at around nine in the morning and finished around noon. Most of the time we talked about food because we were so hungry. After that it was lunch time where we had peanut butter and jelly sandwiches which helped my hunger. Later, it was down stairs for some painting, and honestly I think I would rather dig. When we were done painting I went outside and played soccer with the little Dominican kids for about two hours. Then it was dinner time with a meal of great tacos. After waiting an hour for the women to all take showers I finally got to rinse off. Overall it was a pretty good day, but very exhausting.

Jake Bixler

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

Jake Ballin' it up

 Griffin and Jake post game

Sam digging...

Alex still digging....

Hannah getting her hair done by some of the students

Monica, Mackenzie, and Marisa teaching the adult English lesson

Day 1 (travel and arrival)

We were very happy to see Moise and our bus when we arrived into Santo Domingo.

The bus was air-conditioned!!

Some of the scenery we enjoyed along the drive!

Beautiful Caribbean sea!!

After 18+ hours of travel we finally made it!

Gateway Youth DR Trip

Here you will find updates for the trip once we are in country.  We will try to update daily if possible but its hard to tell how much internet access we will have. Please do not post any links to this blog on Facebook.

80 hours until we leave!!!