Snapples...

That's a rap for camp this week. We had such an amazing turnout of neighborhood kids this week. There were consistently 450 kids that came. Camp ran so smoothly for that many kids. Baseball camp was awesome too. Wednesday and Thursday I went to the Batey in the afternoon. Richard drove us so it was fun to get to hang out with him again. He hasn't been around much since he's been working with the rice plantations. Me, Erickson, and Richard had some fun jam sessions in the bus. Of course it was Spanish music so I didn't know much of the words but we still had fun. Oh Dominicans. Luis Alejandro (from Batey Woltario) came and visited me while we were at the other Batey. It was fun to catch up with him and chat for a little while. He's a good kid overall I just wish he could have more opportunities. We left for the Batey earlier Thursday so we could be back for the big baseball game (Americano vs Dominicano). They killed us of course. The game ended early though because of a huge downpour. The youth pastor of the church that was here this week started all the kids sliding into home in the mud. They had so much fun. It was a great way to end the afternoon. Then we had a huge revival for the community that night. Unfortunately not many people could get here because of the storm and the conditions of the road. We still had 150 or 200 people I think. It was a good night overall.

Friday morning was the best! We had our cultural day around Monte Cristi in the morning and then got ready for our beach trip. We went to Punta R. which was an incredible beach. The water was so clear and gorgeous. Very blue and green. We took our awesome Dominican friends that helped us out with camp this week. That made the trip so much more fun. They tried to make a huge human pyramid in the ocean. They almost got to 3 levels but Jose Luis kept slipping off Edwinson's shoulders. We had an awesome peanut butter/jelly picnic for lunch. After lunch Kelly, Allie, and I had handstand contests for a good 20 minutes. Dustin was our judge and made us all winners. He's a good sport. Bebo joined us for a little bit but then went back to making the pyramid. Right before we left, we burried Edwinson in the sand and while I was taking a picture I stepped on a stick and it's thorn went through my foot. Awesome feeling. On the way back home (2 hour drive) I tried to practice my Spanish with Andres our bis driver. It was rather amusing as that usually is. When we got back Edwinson and I played one on one basketball and I scored 4 points on him. Friday nights with the kids are fun too because everyone comes out to play. They are always so hyper and full of energy. I taught Nena some new hand games. She memorized them and now she's a pro. We had a small tarantula hunt also before dinner. It wasn't very successful but still I think they had fun. I played tag with Mineli, Nena, Yoanni, Yenifer, and the twins. They go crazy and run around like mad. After closing, we had our final intern meeting together. We then brought a bunch of mattresses to the roof and had a final bonding session. It was a lot of fun to just cut up and let loose with each other. It definitely made for a harder morning.

I had been dreading this morning all week. Every Saturday groups come and go but this week was different for me. I had to say goodbye to so many new friends. Some were heading back home to the States, others were heading to Jaibon for the remainder of the summer, and then of course Bebo left with Graystone for Georgia to start college. I'm used to people coming and going from here but this morning was harder. The interns that left were my family for this month. We did everything together literally. We ate all of our meals together, ran camps together, siesta-ed in the comodor together, spent time in God's Word together, and hung out on the roof every night together. It was the best community I've had for a while. I'm so thankful for the new friends I have. I'll definitely be in touch with several of them.

Campamento de la Biblia is here...

There is so much excitement for this week. A church from Georgia is volunteering for their sixth year in a row. When they come we put on a huge Bible Camp in the morning. It was awesome watching 450 kids line up outside the orphanage gates waiting to have the best day ever. There is so much energy and excitement. We divide the kids into 4 groups (older girls, older boys, younger girls, and younger boys) and then we rotate them through four stations (recreation, Bible, English, and crafts). Yesterday ran so smoothly for having as many people as we did. Today I got to play soccer with the older boys and they had so much fun. Some of them were from my class at the English Institute so it was fun to hang out with them in a different environment. We also have some AWESOME Dominican friends helping out. They are the same group that comes and plays basketball every night here. They are a blast to hang with. One of them, Bebo, has such an awesome opportunity. He is going back to Georgia with this group to get a college education. His dad is the pastor of the church and he is also the Director of the orphanage. I'm so happy for this chance for him but I'm definitely going to miss him. That will leave Marcos and the Manuels left to teach me some bball skills. Back to camps...

So morning camp runs from 9:30-11:30, lunch at 12:00, siesta (greatest invention ever), then we have two more camps that run in the afternoon. Half of the group will go to a Batey and the other half goes to baseball camp. I went to baseball camp yesterday and had so much fun. I had forgotten how much I missed the sport. Oscar (plays bball at OO) was catching for his team and I got to tell him all about my brothers, especially Tay because he catches. Lucky for me I've learned alot of family Spanish so I think he understood me. They all loved the fact that I was taking pictures of them. They felt like celebrities. I talked to Manuel 1 for a bit. Two months went by before I found out he speaks English pretty well. Now we get to talk alot more and he helps me with my Spanish. I got some good pics of Manuel 2 while he was batting and I think he really enjoyed seeing them. They love it when I can get them batting, the catcher, and the ball all in the same picture. He started talking about something else having to do with baseball but their were too many words I didn't understand so he just laughed at me instead. Sometimes I get so frustrated with not knowing more but then other times I think it's ok. Sure I still wish I was fluent but for the most part they help me understand. My new friend from the game yesterday came to camp today too. Him and Marcos' brother Amaury are awesome. I just love Dominicans. I'm excited for more baseball this affternoon and then I think tomorrow I'm going to the Batey (my other love).

Last night was movie night with the kids and so we try to keep them over on their side right up until it's time to start. I played with Nena for a while. I love that child so much. She is so fiesty, hardcore and sometimes mean but all at the same time she's the best. The kids for a while were calling me "loca fea mona" which translates to the crazy ugly monkey. Now I get up and walk away when they do that and they come running back saying Sara la linda or Sara la princesa. Last night Nena called me a bruha (witch) and so I called her hormiga (ant). We then continued with every word I knew in Spanish. I love that I know more now. I missed so much of their personalities before. Our movie for last night was the Game Plan. Mineli sat with me again. That little child makes me laugh. She does the craziest things.

We also had our one-on-ones after the movie. Twice a week we meet with whomever we've been assigned to and find out about them. I had mine with Emilee last night. She is such an awesome girl. I'm really going to miss her. This is the last week everyone (except Julie, Coco, and I) is in Monte Cristi. Most interns were only here for a month and this is their last week. Everyone else is moving to Jaibon. I'm glad they get to go see it I'm just going to miss them. Bryson's coming here though so that will be fun too. These last few weeks have flown by so fast. It's been so busy here AND FUN!

CAMP TIME!!!!!

Noche Especial!!!!

Twice a year there is a massive sleepover with the kids and the volunteers. The boys had their's two weeks ago and last Wednesday night we had ours. There was Culto (informal worship service) that night so we didn't really get started until around 8. All afternoon we had spent covering the 2nd floor of the education building with mattresses, baking cupcakes, setting up for special relays and events for the older and younger girls, picking out girlie movies to watch all night, and of course decorating. We set up tables on the roof and put a variety of snacks out for them. Around the ground we set up Christmas lights which made for a cool feel. After Culto, we lined the girls up to take them upstairs. They went crazy when they saw everything. They flipped on the mattresses and flung the blow beach balls we had everywhere. There were huge pillow and tickle fights along with dogpiles. I unfortunately was at the bottom twice. It was so fun though to be able to just let loose and have fun with the kids. We then went to the roof for some snacks and bonding time. Heather made a video of pictures of all of the girls and we showed that after snack. Then we had some relay games on the basketball court. The first one was popping a balloon on their chair which the little kids struggled with. It was funny watching them try to do it. Then the next relay was putting on all the clothes in the bags they were given and they had to run to the other side of the court and back. I think they enjoyed that one alot. Seeing the twins wearing an XXL shirt was great. They are 4 but are very small for their age. Then we split up the older and younger girls for their special activity. The older girls went with Heather to make tie-dye shirts and the younger girls stayed with Julie and played the present game. They would pass a present around the circle and once the music stopped, the person with the gift had ten seconds to open it. Once that was done they had to begin to pass it again. Whoever opened the present got to keep it. after everyone finished their special activity we went back to the roof to decorate cupcakes and goof off. Then we came back downstairs and started the movies. Some of the kids passed out right away others were up all night. Indiana and Lisy came and watched with me for a little while and then during the next movie I had Jennifer and Nena. They both fell asleep and stayed their the rest of the night. Poor Nena had a cold and was snoring incredibly loud. She's so precious though. Some of the older girls had a bingo stamper and stamped most everybody's face (not mine haha) and so there were a few unhappy people in the morning. I don't know how I lucked out without getting it on me. Probably because I was awake most of the night. As part of Noche Especial they get to come to our side of the compund and eat breakfast with us. Overall I think it went really well. I definitely thought it was a fun night. Tiring...but so fun!

Dame tus ojos!!

So many things have been running through my mind the last week or two. The main thing was my experience at Batey Woltario. This particular Batey is about 45 minutes outside of Monte Cristi. As I explained in one of my earlier posts, a batey is a small community surrounded by rice, sugar cane, and banana plantations. Corporations would hire workers to work in these plantations and they would then build these communities for them in the middle of the plantation making it convenient for work. After a while the workers went on strike because they weren't making a fair amount of money. Instead of dealing with the problem the large companies backed out and left all these people without a means to support themselves. I had been to two other Batey's when I first got here but the one we went to a few weeks back was different. I think it's because God has changed my heart so much since I've been here that this experience hit me differently. I fell in love with the people. They were at times challenging and the kids were so misbehaved because of the lack of structure and discipline they have but I still hated to leave. I've been so torn the last few weeks. I feel like everything is perfect here. Everyone makes fun of me because I always talk about how it's "the best day ever." September is going to come before I know it and then what? Come back and serve here? Find a new country to become a part of? Stay in the States? But there is only one problem; the Batey's are still so fresh in my mind. What if someone took the time to serve that community? What if the abondoned church had a pastor and bible studies during the week? What if the local school could be improved and students were given more of a chance to go to college or at least given a chance at a better education? What if the younger boys and men were taught to respect women? What if the women were taught how to respect themselves? Teen pregnancy would for sure go down. Women could be taught how to manage small businesses by selling jewelry they produce or other goods. Food and clean water is also a necessity for the Bateys. Most important of all though would be the fact that they could have a chance at having a relationship with God. Most Dominicans believe in God. The only difference is that they don't have a relationship with him. By no means do I want to go in and change their culture. I don't necessarily agree that Americans have it right. I do however think Jesus had it right. I want to see not just the Batey but also the world through his eyes. I want so badly to see the plan he has for my life. With that I would need to pray for the patience to wait for his timing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xz3HodXOSiY

Right where I belong...

Forgot to post this entry here:

Several nights ago, I went in the orphanage's common room where the kids can watch tv and be crazy at night. I love hanging out with them right before they get ready for bed. Shortly after I rocked Luis to sleep chaos began. Nena(8), Indiana(10), and Luz Maria(4) decided they wanted to mop the floors since they were pretty dirty from dinner. They poured water everywhere and began their task. Ariel(12) and David(5) came and sat in the rocking chairs on both sides of me and we chatted about their day. At some point during the mopping process, Ari(4) got mad and pitched a fit throwing herself into the middle of the floor. This made Indiana mad because that was the area she was mopping for the third time. Indiana decided to pull Ari to the other side of the room by her feet and go back to mopping. Ari, being super fast and sneaky, ran back to her spot, threw herself onto the ground, and wailed. That didn't stop Indiana. She decided to just mop over Ari. While this is going on, Carmello and Edison come running in from outside and made it halfway across the room before they hit the ground. They of course laughed alot once they realized they survived the fall and then decided it would be fun to do it again. They quickly turned it into a game. As the chaos continues to break out, I noticed sweet little Jennifer(5ish) sound asleep at one of the tables. I sat back and took it all in and thought this chaos was absolutely beautiful. It was loud, crazy, and hectic but I am so thankful for being there during those moments. Through all of that going on I realized not only was I in the right place, but that these kids all have a piece of my heart. Soon Negra(one of the caretakers) came in and yelled at all of them. Apparently they weren't supposed to be mopping. I couldn't help but laugh. Negra saw me and she began to laugh too. It was at that time that I felt like I was part of this huge commnuity. A family.

Bleeding Feet

Yesterday I experienced my third trip to Dajabon. Words can't even describe this place. It is the bordertown between the Dominican Republic and Haiti. There is a river that separates the two countries. There are two bridges that connects the countries - the north bridge and the south bridge. Right before you get to the bridge there is a huge market. You can find anything from vegetables, food, chairs, diapers, jewelry, shoes, etc. On Mondays and Fridays from 9-12 the border is open for Haitians to cross into the DR and buy the supplies they need. Every time I go to this place, God shows me something different.

Well, yesterday was no different. We woke up, put on our required long pants and closed toed shoes, and went to breakfast. During breakfast I spent a good 10 minutes complaining about the fact that it was 100 degrees outside and I was wearing jeans and sneakers a combination I hate. After breakfast we loaded up the bus and set out for our hour drive to Dajabon.

We have a routine that we follow very closely to ensure everyone's safety. Once we get off the bus, we all form a single file line with leaders at the front, tail, and dispersed in between. There are sweet little Haitian shoe shiners that meet us every week. They see it as their responsibility to help us through the market. There are about five of them. My favorite one is blind in one eye and deaf. He is always checking through our whole line to make sure we don't get separated from each other. There have been several times where I've been too far behind in his eyes so he runs up and drags me back up to the rest of the group.

As we began to head in I noticed it wasn't as crowded as it has been the past few times. We walked down our normal path to the bridge. When we got to the bridge we noticed a huge traffic jam. All throughout the market you have to be aware of people carrying huge baskets on their heads, motorcycles, and huge carts full of supplies. The Haitians go back and forth between the country as many times as they can to get the merchandise they need. Alot of times you will see a single man weighing 100 lbs pushing a cart 10 times his weight and twice his height. They yell beep beep when they are coming up behind you because most of the time they can't stop the carts. When we saw the huge traffic jam on the bridge we decided to only go on one side. All of a sudden, we saw a pickup truck trying to cross at the same time. We quickly decided to evacuate before it got worse. Once we leave the bridge we go down deeper into the market. That's when things get real intense. You have all kinds of people grabbing you and pushing you. There are always pick-pocketers checking your pockets looking for anything they can find. After our first turn, we got stopped briefly to allow some wheelbarrows through. I looked down at that moment and I noticed this small weak man pushing his cart in his bare feet. Not only were his feet bare but they were bleeding. Here I spent 10 minutes complaining about the heat and that I was "forced" to wear sneakers for my safety and this man didn't have anything to cover his feet. There is no telling how many miles he had gone or how many trips he had made back and forth with supplies. My heart sank. How could I have been so selfish? Not only do I have the option of wearing sneakers, but I got to debate about which pair I wore. We continued on and within the time it took us to get to the next turn I saw 10 people without shoes. For a momentI forgot about the crowd, all the people that had forced their way inside my bubble, the intense smell of the market, and my desire to it in front of a fan for hours. I was only feeling one millionth of what these people fight for every day. I pray that God changes my heart and shows me the things that should consume my mind. As if those ten weren't enough, I counted fifteen more by the time we had left.

As we headed back toward the bus the shoe shiners noticed that an additional bus had pulled up behind ours. He got super excited because he put together that the rest of group from Jaibon (the other orphanage site) was inside. His face lit up, he waived goodbye to us, he grabbed his friends, and into the market they went.

long overdue

It's so hard to believe that I've lived in the Dominican Republic for almost three months. Time has flown. So many things have happened since I've been here. Most of you know by now that I have decided to stay here until Septemeber 1 and train for leadership. I'm super excited to see where this will lead. Here's a summary of my time here so far:
March - May: I taught Level 2 kids at our English Institute. The English Institute is a school the organization runs. Here kids go to school for half days. If they want to learn English they can come to the Institute for an additional hour of schooling. My first few months I taught alone which was madness. They tried me everyday and knew just how to get on my nerves. My first week I didn't think I'd make it to the end of May. Well, I did. I am so glad I didn't quit. I am also thankful that Joe co-taught with me the last two weeks. He was a huge help. I learned so much during those few months of teaching. I didn't realize how much the kids meant to me until graduation night. They were the first graduating class from the Institute. Two of the kids that live here, Christopher (18) and Jessica (12) were in that Level 4 class. I was so proud of them. Various other awards were also given out to the other level students. I have so many pictures from that night haha. Bryson made a slideshow of pictures from the whole year. Watching that video reminded me of how awesome it was teaching the kids and what an amazing experience it was even through the rough days.
Summer: Summer has officially begin. We just finished our first week of the summer program. The Christian program is here in Monte Cristi for four weeks and then switches to the other site in Jaibon. At that time, the Secular and Social Work programs, who are in Jaibon now, will switch to this site. This week (M-Th) we did VBS camps at a sister church of the church we attend here in Monte Cristi in the mornings. We have four different stations (rec, art, english vocab, and reading/story time) set up and we divide the kids into four groups: younger boys, younger girls, older boys, and older girls. The kids all go to each section for 20-25 minutes. Overall the camp was amazing. It was awesome to watch how the numbers grew from the first day. There was unfortunately a tragedy one day right after camp had ended. Two lives were lost after a moto accident occured, one being one of the chidren who had been attending the camp. The rest of the children were sent to Santiago for treatmeat and are bad condition. Please pray that God be with the families involved. After some debate, about whether it was appropriate to return, we went and finished the last day. The funeral was that morning so many attended that service instead but while the people were walking by the church we were at to the burial site, some waived and smiled at us. I was glad they did that. In the afternoon, we went to a Batey. A Batey is a small community of families who live off of plantation farms. Workers were hired to field the rice and banana plantations. The companies they worked for made these communities for the workers to stay. Many of the companies have left but the communities still remain. We would pull up in our bus and kids would coming running from every direction. They basically see this camp as what we would see Disney as. I had been to two other Bateys before but for some reason this one was my favorite. I hung out with the two boys groups alot. They were absolutely crazy but so much fun. I jumped in with the younger boys (around 8yro) and played soccer with them. It was fun to run around and be crazy with them.
Dajabon y la playa: Fridays are culture/fun days. In the morning we go to Dajabon and tour through the market. It's about an hour away from Monte Cristi and we spend about an hour there observing and becoming part of the market. (I'll write a separate entry to elaborate more on this later.) After the border, we go to lunch and then head for the beach.

Gotta run for now but I'll try and update more soon. Updates hopefully will be more frequent. Thanks for reading. Oh and random adventure for the week...I went tarantula hunting. Maybe this week I'll catch one!