Dominican Republic 2024 Day Seven
First and foremost, an update on Pedro (the tarantula), he survived being in the pool for over 30 minutes. We went back to check on him and he was still kickin, so we scooped him out of the pool and put him back safely. We’ll let you decide if that is good news or bad news!
Well today was another day of hard work! Just like always, we started the day off on the roof for our morning devos. Sitting up there you could already tell today was going to be very very hot! (It felt like 42 and I think we all tanned 3 shades darker). We prayed, did our devos, and went on out on our way to get ready. We had again a delicious breakfast and left to the job site. Once we got to the job site, we started with doing concrete work and did that for the whole morning. Although were getting a little bit tired, we now have this down pat and were working as a well-oiled machine! Then before we knew it, we were heading home for the best lunch possible… TACOS!!!! We enjoyed our lunch and then had a bit of a longer rest time until we went back.
In the afternoon at the job site, we started again with concrete work but then switched to painting. Painting was for sure a nice change in pace and allowed us to spend some time working and chatting as a team. Getting to see the before and after was very cool as we put the finishing touches on the building that will be used for years to come. All throughout this week, it’s been incredible to witness and be a part of the process of building a school in which so many students are going to go though for many years. Thinking about how this school is going to help so many students to get jobs is amazing. Mitch and Kathryn painted a door which you need to go check out too (go see the before and after pictures)!
Before we got on the bus to go back, we did a short walk through the community of Los Alcarrizos. This experience was truly an amazing moment and for me personally, the highlight of the whole trip. The moment we stepped outside of the job site, children surrounded us to simply say “Hola!” and give us high fives. As we passed the houses, all the people in the community greeted us with a big smile and wave. The further we went along; the more children joined the group holding our hands and trying to communicate. This moment helped us to realize that although to us, it may be easy to assume that they have very little, they have so much joy and eagerness to meet new people and learn new things. As we talked about on our first devo, warm climate communities are much more focused on relationships than tasks and that was very evident in this moment. Through the little communication, we got to learn each others’ names and I even learned how to say some colours in Spanish! All of these kids were so friendly, it was amazing to see.
On the ride back, we confirmed the fact that Kathryn always loses at pharisees (“because the kids bully me” ~Kathryn -right now). We came back to more amazing food and a chill evening since we got back way later than normal. The night ended again talking about Pedro. Hunter and Cash are now going to start a business where they put a tarantula and a chicken in a ring and see who wins. A debate broke out between us where we were trying to decide who would win. More people were in favor of the tarantula winning. When we get back, I’m sure they would love to hear your thoughts about this.
Thanks for reading, I hope you dream of tarantulas tonight! ~Hunter, Abby, and Tymon
