Today was lit!

Wifi at our guest house is very scarce thus the limited blog posts. Thankfully all of us haven’t had time to realize it that much yet. Yesterday we started off the day with a two hour drive, to a new chapel. Down a dirt, to a desert community, we visited the COCREF school there, and then made our way to the chapel. And we painted for the next 4 hours. At first glance none of us thought that we would’ve been able to paint the whole outside and inside in one day, but we surprised ourselves. Covered in blue paint and plaster, we left this new church which will dedicated this coming Sunday. 

Today we visited Belen school for the first time. Walking into the chapel we were greeted by the school screaming our name. It was a greeting like none other.  They sang and danced for us, and we watched a six year old prodigy on the drums. This kid belongs in Juilliard! After chapel we walked down to the school, but they didn’t have any supplies yet, so we went on an adventure! Billy led us around the neighbourhood around Belen. In the Dominican they have basketball courts in the middle of intersections, so we decided to play. Billy yelled to some kids down the street who gladly gave up their basketball for us. It was a great game of girls against guys, with Autumn scoring for the guys, since they needed a little bit of help. 

Returning to the school, we quickly split off into different groups and went into the classrooms. Autumn, Claire, and Ashley went off into the grade 6 room, where there kids surrounded them asking for autographs. Their hands got tired after a bit. We learnt that the kids love cameras. Most of them came up asking for selfies, and we have some photos with 15 kids crowded around 1 person. After hanging with the kids we got to work. The kids went home at this point since they’re only there for half the day. We spent the day bending metal, for scaffolding. 

At two o'clock a new group of kids came and we soon started to hang out with them. The boys quickly bonded with the children. Joe had a push-up contest with a few of the boys, and Sid and Josh were chasing them throughout the school. It was cool to see how we are able to communicate with the children, without speaking a language. 

We went to chapel again, and learnt that the kids love to sing! They sang the alphabet song about 6 times in a row, but we still don’t know it. At 4 o'clock we left the school and headed back to the guest house. We love these car rides, where we can look out the windows and wave, yell “Hola”, joke around with one another, and Joe can sleep. 

Our afternoons have been spent relaxing and doing devotions. Today after dinner we decided to sing for half an hour and practise our songs for Sunday. On Sunday we’ll be singing for the congregation, and we really need the practice! 

So far we’ve been really bonding as a group. Our team is fairly diverse, but we’ve been able to talk about anything with one another. It’s cliche but true. We’re loving our time here, and especially the warmth. Thank you everyone for you continued support and prayers, and we continue you on this trip. We praise God everyday for His love and grace. Check out our instagram page guidodr2016 for more photos!

Gracias.