Day 1-3

We arrived here in the Dominican Republic on June 27^th, and for the past three days we have been working at a kids camp. I haven’t had much time to write/start a journal until today. Literally from the moment we arrived we have been working at this camp entertaining and playing with the children. It is very hot and humid here, and everyone on the team sweats a lot.

At the camp we didn’t have very nice accommodations. We slept on rickety bunk beds in hot, stuffy, humid rooms. But we still managed to make it a very enjoyable experience. I played with the kids a lot today, especially in the pool. My neck hurts from playing chicken with them in the pool. They would get on my shoulders and try to push each other down. It was very entertaining. (well worth the neck pain) I also tried to teach most of them how to swim.

It is amazing how excited these kids are to receive something as simple as a picture of themselves…Wow…so much more I could say. This camp is extremely important/special to them because most of them have never been out of their villages. We were able to do a lot of fun activities with them even though there was a slight language barrier. Some of them were already Christian when they came to camp, but many of them accepted Christ while at camp. It was amazing to see how God works in these kids lives.

Today we made the four hour (plus) trip to Barahona from Santo Domingo. I say plus because in the stats it would only be a three hour trip, but here the road conditions and military checkpoints slow you down. These Dominican drivers are CRAZY! Our bus driver honked the horn at least 2000 times, and almost got in about 30 head-on collisions while passing other cars. I wasn’t nervous because I know he knows what he is doing because he does it all the time. It was actually rather exciting! Adrenaline rush! Yeah baby!

We arrived at the hotel at about 6 PM. This hotel is a resort. It is really super nice. We are talkin’ beach front, a pool with an in pool bar (which I’ll never get to use), Air-conditioning and really cool birds. I have never appreciated air-conditioning so much in my life. Right now is the first time I have had to reflect since my arrival. All 20 team members have not had a moment of time to themselves until now.

Tomorrow is going to be a busy day in Barahona. We begin our work on the computer skill center. This will be a ton of work and I will tell you about it once I have seen it and worked on it. I am sure that I will be writing lots about it in this journal later. Sorry about the mixed up confused thoughts about the past three days….I am lying in bed and I am really tired. I just wanted to get my thoughts out and de-brief myself before I went to bed…Mission succeeded….Peace out for now!