Day 3 RECAP!
This morning, a delicious traditional Dominican breakfast was served at 6:30 AM, just a little difficult for us high-schoolers. Following breakfast, we had our devotionals that was by led by freshman boy, Caleb Harris. We spoke about what we’re grateful for, any fears or anxieties we felt that morning, how we can be a light to others throughout the day, and what we were most excited about for the day ahead. After devotionals, we left to Villa Esperanza, the site where the kids live and go to church. Here we reconnected with the kids who we met the day before and also met new children who we were able to start new relationships with as we fed them breakfast. After breakfast, we split up into 3 teams: painting the church, home visits, and school visits. At these visits, we were able to connect on a deeper lever to these families and either introduce them to Christ or strengthen their already existing relationships with Him. Once all the groups were finished with their tasks of the day, we gathered for lunch and organized our next big activities. When the kids of all ages arrived at the church site, we established a comfortable environment for them by playing a multitude of games that they’re accustomed to. This was a great opportunity to have quality time with the children and excite them for the day. Following this time of fun, we kept them engaged and entertained by teaching them the Good Samaritan story through a skit we had planned and singing Spanish songs that they were familiar with. Next, we split up into 4 groups: younger girls, younger boys, older boys, and older girls. Each group participated in an art activity that we created to relate to this story that exemplified love. We asked the kids to write their names inside of heart cutouts and glue them to a drawn cloud that had “Amor” written in the center of it. After this art activity, we ran to the baseball field and had an amazing time once again. The older boys played with some of our leaders and students, while others had free time with the children. After an amazing day at the site, we sadly had to depart back to our apartments. However, we were brought back to being full of joy as we walked in and smelled the food that had ben prepared, “La Bandera Dominicana”. After eating an amazing meal, we enjoyed the sunset during our Wow! Time, where we shared our “wow” moments we experienced today. Through this time we shared the stories that impacted our day, worshipped our Lord, and prayed for each other and for those in need. To conclude our day, we sang happy birthday to our One More Child leader, Jimmy, and planned our activities for tomorrow. We can’t wait for what’s to come in the upcoming days, but we know that with the great and sturdy relationships we’ve already established, it’s only going up from here. Now we are writing this, overwhelmed with joy over the day we have had and winding down with the rest of our new “family”, whom we love very much.
Signing off,
Elizabeth Rios and James Alicea
