Day 10/11
Our last full day in the DR. Plans were made for us to visit a few of the COCREF schools in the area and to meet some of the staff and students. After breakfast, we loaded ourselves on the minibus and headed out. Mario, the director of COCREF was planning to meet us at each of the schools we planned to visit.
First stop was Lasperenza, a school that Bill, Jack, Olivia and John had worked on a year ago. A lot of work was done after they left last year and the students are using the second floor that was finished. Some friendships with staff and students were reestablished. A positive sign that God is at work here; the enrolment here has increased this past year.
Espaciode Gracia was our next stop. This small school is not part of COCREF but run by a former staff member who felt the need to continue this school that assists children in primary grades with learning disabilities. Next we paid a visit to San Pablo. Another smaller school but with a lively group of children. Our last school we visited was Neuva Creacion De Fe. Another large school in an area that has a high crime rate.
Our last stop was at the COCREF offices where we met staff of COCREF as well as many of the principals who were attending training sessions as part of the "Walking Together" program of Edudeo Ministries. For Bill it was a great opportunity to reconnect with staff he had met over the many years that he has worked with teams in the DR. We were treated to a delicious lunch with the COCREF staff/principals and after lunch we had \ more time for interaction with some of them. Since the pricincipal for Renacer was present we took the opportunity for a photo with her and our team.
After heading back to camp, we had a brief time to relax before heading out to the home of the director of COCREF, who had invited the team and some staff for dinner at his home. Mario and his wife had prepared a delicious meal for us. We had a beautiful evening with them. After an wonderful evening of fellowship, as everyone shared positve comments about other team members as well as staff from COCREF who also got involved in this uplifting process of building each other up in the LORD. We then said our goodbyes and headed back to camp to pack up and get some rest before heading home in the morning.
Thursday morning we got up and had our last Dominican breakfast. We had a few hours to pack before our ride would be arriving to pick us up to head off to the airport in La Romana for our trip home. The wait gave us opportunity to reflect on the past 10 days on how this trip had impacted us and though we may feel that we had only played a small part here in the DR, it was all to God's glory and to the buidling of His kingdom.
Alas it was time to go back to the cold and snow of Canada and our loved ones.
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