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#7 End or Beginning?

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The last week of our time in Santiago was marked by a swim party and bittersweet goodbys to children, missionaries, and fellow participants.  We had spent two weeks serving, experiencing Dominican culture, and building relationships. Now what? In some ways, the work God is doing in our lives as a result of our mission trip has just begun. Our last week at the pre-school was busy with projects to help beautify the school.  We all painted... Susie and Maddie (from Bakersfield) and Pat painted a mural on the play-yard wall, while Gretchen painted with the children in the other room (and kept them busy!)   Reflections from Gretchen: We got back from the DR and I've been home for about a week now. It still feels weird to have AC all the time and to be able to brush my teeth in the sink water- is it really safe?   I miss the kids and the SI staff, but I'm so grateful for the time I had with them. They all taught me so much and I hope I made an impact on them as much as they did on me
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#6 Food!

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 The food we were served at the Students International base was satisfying and delicious.  Mostly we had typical Dominican food -- sancocho, casabe, tostones, la bandera, avena dominicana, arroz (amarillo, moro, blanco), habichuelas, arepitas, piña, café.  It seemed a banquet every night! But three meals stood out to us, not only becasue they were typical Dominican meals, but because of the friends with whom we shared them.   At the preschool each day, the smallest children that we had in the mornings went home and we ate lunch together berfore the older children came to school.  On one of those days, Vilma and Yocasta shared with us a Dominican treat called patacón.  Vilma showed Greta and Susie how to make this, so we can replicate it at home.  It's basically a "sandwich" with meat, cheese, avocado, lettuce, onion, pico de gallo, and mayonnaise.  But instead of bread, the ingredients are layered between fried plantains.  The girls had fun making this, and hearing the st
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#5 Typical school day

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Besides Bible stories and songs, we spent a lot of time playing with the children one on one, developing fine and gross motor skills. Last week was face-paint day.  We painted the kids' faces and they painted ours! A bit messy, but fun and to their delight!       Working with 3-5 year olds all day can be pretty tiring!  
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#4 El fin de semana (A Restful Weekend!)

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This weekend we had the opportunity to go to the beach on Saturday.  The water north of Santiago is so perfect!  Not too warm, and definitely not as cold as Central California Coast!  It was like relaxing in a spa. We enjoyed watching the kite-surfers race and do tricks in front of us!  Nice to have a cool respite for a few hours from the heat and humidity of the inland communities where we serve during the week.         Sunday we worshiped with the Iglesia Commuidad Multicultural (Multicultural commnity church) where we heard a challenging and biblically sound sermon from Pastor Stanley Philippe.  It was so much fun for me to again see friends whom I've grown to love over the past 4 years that I've been coming to Santiago.     After church we visited the Moument to the Heroes of the Restoration.  This was a monument that the former dictator, Rafael Trujillo, originally built in 1944 as a monument to himself, with the heavy taxes he collected from the citizens of Santiago.  Tru
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