Day 10 - Thursday

             Today I woke up and Wendy told me we were going to work on stuff for “La Semana de los Jovenes”, which is a camp the church is having for kids in the community next week. It was fun, we created portfolios for all of the kids with construction paper, had lunch and just hung out with some people from a church further up the mountain. Aftwards Estelle and I left and went to the prayer gathering, and then I came home to the Pastor’s and saw my new room! It was beautiful! They also have a bathroom inside of there house now 
which is very nice. Tonight, I will sleep in their house for the first time! I am very excited!

Alisa and I

Finished making the file folders

Estelle looking beautiful

All the file folders! (made to look like bags)

The new kitchen! so much more space!

My room!

The new bathroom!

Day 9 - Wednesday

            I was sick the entire day with a stomach virus, (awful), and literally couldn’t get out of bed. Wendy and Chita made me soup and Saday made me the lemonade. They were so good to me. Lots of people stopped by to see that I was okay, which was extremely nice. The pastor called and told me to eat fruit, so Wendy made me a fruit bowl. She also gave me medicine to help with my upset stomach. The “Oracion” today was at Saday’s so I went out on the porch when everyone came over and joined them. They sang Open the Eyes of My Heart so that I could sing in English which was really nice of them. I love spending time in prayer with them, it is very refreshing. When I felt a bit better, I went with Wendy over to the Pastor’s to work on some stuff for “La Semana de los Jovenes”, or week of the children.  That was fun, and I shared with Wendy some things I learned at SB2W like the I’m Third motto and other little things. I like being able to help out in that way and spend time with her. I went back to Wendy’s to sleep for one more night because I wasn’t feeling well still. 

Day 8 - Tuesday

When I woke up today, Chita told me I was all hers, and that I could not go over to the Pastor’s because they were cleaning the house for me… I was very excited to see it and the new parts! While I hung out at Wendy’s for the morning, Johnny came over to hang out, and talked to me a lot about his story, and how he came to know Christ. He told me that he is great friends with Cheito, and when Cheito was saved, he noticed such a difference in his life. He wanted to know more. He said he got talking to the Pastor, and that the Pastor had confidence in him when nobody else did. He started to cry, and although I didn’t understand everything he was saying, I understood his tears and how he felt about his relationship with God, and the radical change it caused in his life. It was a really special time we had together. He had me videotape it so that I could share it when I get home, which I am glad about. We then went to an “Oracion” or a prayer gathering of all the younger members in the church, such as Melody, Melanie, Estelle, Saday, Ezekiel, Raphalito, Kika, Genesis, and more. It was cool to see how eager they are to grow in their faith and support one another at such a young age. Most of them are only 15 years old, and I was really moved by that. The girls needed to practice their dance for the Camboya game, so we went to the church. While we were there it started to downpour like I have never seen in my life, and continued for about two hours. I watched as a bunch of kids had a fight throwing tennis balls at one another in the street, while other people were bathing out in the rain. It was crazy! We were stuck in the church, and finally Estelle and I decided to leave. We ran to her house in the rain. I showered in Wendy’s backyard in the rain (first time for everything), and then some people came over to the house. I talked for a long while with Raphalito and one of his friends about the differences between the US and the DR. He told me how badly he wants to move to the US and go to school at PBA. It really hit home how lucky I am to live where I do and have the opportunity to study at a Christian University. I want to talk with Mark a bit about the posibillity of Raphalito coming to the US. Overall, it was an amazing day, and I never could have anticipated so many events! 

Day 7 - Monday

This morning I hung out with Saday and Estelle, and looked through some magazines with them. They were talking about wanted different types of makeup, and told me it was very expensive and they could only buy it in the capital, and that they only go to Santo Domingo once a year! I decided that I could give them each a mascara and eye liner of my own, and they were so extremely excited. It made me very appreciative of the things that I have, and the access I have to virtually anything I could ever want. I went to the Pastor’s house, and took a ride with Johnny on his motorcycle! It was so much fun! He took me on a tour of the part of Peralta that is further up the mountain, and said soon he would take me down the mountain and show me things down there. At first I was pretty nervous but it was actually really fun. When we got back, Calvin was making a door out of metal pieces for the new part of the pastor’s house. Quite the handyman, I think he knows how to do absolutely everything. I let Daicey borrow the Alchemist to read, and I hope she likes it as much as I did!

Genesis making me 'breakfast' with water (her friend to the left)

Johnny and Franchellis on the motorcycle

Calvin the toolman

Zedekias, Jonny, Myself, and a bunch of kids!