Day 4
We set up clinic at a lady's house named Nancy. Her father lived next door and he was on his death bed. Marissa went to help Nancy clean him up. I took notes for Alba (DR doctor) today. That was interesting. So much Spanish. We ate at a house in the community. The food was very good. We played "spoons" to see who had to do the dishes. As we were all waiting for the truck/bus thing to come and pick us up, another girl and I were talking with some kids, and right before we left they gave us hugs. It's so amazing how open the kids are to people that they don't even know. Pic is of Myra (person's house where we ate), Cammy (summer intern), and Myra's sister.

Day 5
Set up clinic in a church today. I painted kids faces for the morning part. In the afternoon I actually got to put my spanish into use. The sumemr intern, Cammy, doesn't know any spanish, and I got to help her ask patients questions and translate the parts of the answers that I understood. I actually felt like I was helping out. So I decided that I wanted to take a shower first, BAD IDEA. I was minding my own business in the shower, then out of nowhere, a HUGE cockroach came basically flying into the shower. Of course, I screamed and ran out of there like no other. Then the brave Mrs. Finch killed the evil beast and thus, saved the day.

Day 6
We slept in till 730 today! Hoo Rah! The Finch team went whitewater rafting today. Mrs. Finch and Marissa managed to fall out of the raft during the first rapid. So funny. That night we went into Jarabacoa. We shopped around, ate at an actual DR restaurant, and got some ice cream. There were these two kids sitting outside the ice cream shop asking for ice cream. Marissa and I felt bad, so we let them have part of our ice cream. It's surprising how many people in the town are begging people for food outside of places. It's really sad.

Day 7
We road tripped it on a 3 mile walk. The countryside is very beautiful. Church services in the DR don't start until late in the afternoon. The one we went to didn't start until 4-ish. The service was really good. They were singing the song "Shout to the Lord"... and it was really neat because some sang it in spanish and the rest of us sang it in english at the same time. We had someone translating the service for us. Advice: Do your own laundry in the DR unless you want it to come back torn, smelly, and/or wet.

Day 8
We traveled to a church far away. 50 minutes to be exact. We were all crammed into a truck. It was a slow day.. and rather cold. That was refreshing because its usually ssoo hot where we usually go. A doctor from Puerto Rico came with us today. She was just visiting and decided to help us out. The scenery at this church was very beautiful.

I'll post pics later. Days 9-12 coming soon!

Dominican Trip Days 1-3

Day One
After a full day of traveling, we finally ended in Santiago, DR around 630pm. Lowell picked us up at the airport and drove us on our 35 min journey to the Students International base. There he gave us a brief orientation while we ate a late supper. He told us about all of the bugs and what to expect once we got to our rooms. We were the very first people to arrive for this outreach. Our room had 4 sets of bunk beds and a shower and toilet. We all took showers and went to bed early. Very late that night, our 2 roommates came, Elyse and Jaime.
Day Two
The whole morning was full of more orientations about the culture and the base. I ate breakfast for like the first time in quite a few months. The food was rather tasty. Then after lunch and some free time, we all went to our separate ministry sites. Marissa and I both were in Health Care. 2 other girls, Jaime and Alison, were also in our site. We went to the clinic and met Alba, the ministry doctor that we would be working with for the outreach. We prayed and she told us what to expect. Then we all learned how to take blood pressures. It was quite a challenge to learn, and I still don't fully know how to do it, lol. After supper, we played a Dominican game which involved us steering a tire with a "spoon" like stick thing. I was horrible at it. We then learned the Merengue, a popular dance in the DR. My partner and I tore up the dance floor, no doubt. Everyone in our room went to bed early, before the 10pm lights out rule. I was worn out by the end of that day.
Day Three
We had to be ready by 645, because that's when we started Praise and Worship time. Then we had our devotional/quiet time. After breakfast, we were off to our ministry sites for a full day. The Health Care team ended up setting up the clinic in a church. It was so much fun. I got to play a lot of games with the kids and work on my painting skills. It was fun to try and communicate with the kids, but not when they would stare at you like you're an idiot because your pronunciation was so far off that even kids couldn't even understand it. From about 1215-145, we have a siesta (nap time). We sat around and talked and then laid down on the pews in the church and slept. I wish we had siesta time back here in the states! The first official ministry site day was so much fun. The kids are really amazing and are so open to you.