We have made it safely back to the United States. Currently we are riding back to New Wilmington with Ralph Hawkins and Dave Dawson. There are a few quick observations we have made in our short time back in the USA:
- It isn't hot here. Not even close
- we can flush our toilet paper
- people don't seem to be as kind...
- the roads are smoother
- it's quieter here (and not in a good way)
- most of us have caught ourselves trying to speak Spanish to people...
We are happy to be back, but also extremely sad to have left the Republica Dominicana. We had a wonderful time and made many memories that will not be soon forgotten.
Rob
Monday, July 17, 2017
Friday, July 14, 2017
Undertow
As an avid swimmer in Lake Michigan I have definitely dealt with the undertow and waves quite a bit. Water is amazing and powerful, but definitely not safe. We need water to live and the Earth and our bodies are over 75% water. But that doesn't mean that water is not able to surprise us at times. And that time for me was yesterday.
After cleaning up garbage in a neighborhood with the local members of CHE (community health evangelism) and Jenny and Mark, our team headed to the beach. We were accompanied by seven of the Dominican members of CHE who we worked alongside earlier in the day. This beach was phenomenal. We drove up a mountain and then down to the water. There were no tourists there, so it was clearly a spot for locals. The beauty on the ocean and the waves did have one downside - rocks. There was not a sandy beach, but instead a rocky beach and rocks in the water. The rocks, the waves, and the undertow made swimming difficult, but not impossible. We all got in the water immediately and started playing in the waves. Within 5 minutes Lolo, one of the Dominicans, came out toward the water and asked me to get out so he could talk to me (he wanted to remind me to tell the team to be safe - the Dominicans were always worried about our safety. It was very thoughtful). As I was getting out of the water to go talk to Lolo I was hit by a rather large wave and I decided walking out on the rocks was silly, so I started to swim/crawl to him. Of course, I was immediately hit by another wave, but I continued on. I made it to Lolo, talked for a minute and sat in the waves near the shore. I saw another wave coming, but being a Lake Michigan enthusiast I sat there and anticipated the fun of the wave hitting me in the face. As the wave crashed over my body and past me, I loved it. But then the water was drawn back into the ocean and attempted to take me with it. I held my ground and my body remained safe. But somehow I left my hands open. I felt it happening, but it was as if it were in slow motion. I was not able to stop the pull. The water was powerful and although my body was firmly planted, my wedding ring was not fully planted on my left ring finger. It slipped past my first knuckle and I made a lame attempt at snagging it as it slipped past my second knuckle. It was gone. A gem lost to the sea. I can only hope that it's picked up someday and added to a collection of dinglehoppers and snarfblatts.
Rob
After cleaning up garbage in a neighborhood with the local members of CHE (community health evangelism) and Jenny and Mark, our team headed to the beach. We were accompanied by seven of the Dominican members of CHE who we worked alongside earlier in the day. This beach was phenomenal. We drove up a mountain and then down to the water. There were no tourists there, so it was clearly a spot for locals. The beauty on the ocean and the waves did have one downside - rocks. There was not a sandy beach, but instead a rocky beach and rocks in the water. The rocks, the waves, and the undertow made swimming difficult, but not impossible. We all got in the water immediately and started playing in the waves. Within 5 minutes Lolo, one of the Dominicans, came out toward the water and asked me to get out so he could talk to me (he wanted to remind me to tell the team to be safe - the Dominicans were always worried about our safety. It was very thoughtful). As I was getting out of the water to go talk to Lolo I was hit by a rather large wave and I decided walking out on the rocks was silly, so I started to swim/crawl to him. Of course, I was immediately hit by another wave, but I continued on. I made it to Lolo, talked for a minute and sat in the waves near the shore. I saw another wave coming, but being a Lake Michigan enthusiast I sat there and anticipated the fun of the wave hitting me in the face. As the wave crashed over my body and past me, I loved it. But then the water was drawn back into the ocean and attempted to take me with it. I held my ground and my body remained safe. But somehow I left my hands open. I felt it happening, but it was as if it were in slow motion. I was not able to stop the pull. The water was powerful and although my body was firmly planted, my wedding ring was not fully planted on my left ring finger. It slipped past my first knuckle and I made a lame attempt at snagging it as it slipped past my second knuckle. It was gone. A gem lost to the sea. I can only hope that it's picked up someday and added to a collection of dinglehoppers and snarfblatts.
Rob
Tuesday, July 11, 2017
Barahona
Today was a tough day. But not in the normal sense. During the day we worked with a local church and Mark Hare and Jenny Bent (the two PCUSA mission coworkers) doing health checks for the children. They have a program already in. Place where they teach about healthy living and healthy eating. They also check the children's height, weight, and hemoglobin levels twice a year. We worked through about 75 children today. It went well (not smoothly, but well!)
It was after that when we had a rough experience....we found our way to the basketball courts in Barahona. We found our first real challenge. Our first game was a breeze, but then the real players walked on the court. I am not exaggerating when I say one guy was 6'8", one was 6'5", and another was 6'6", 250 pounds with shoulders that could be confused with basketballs due to the similarity in size. They whooped us. Three times in a row. They made us keep playing and we were exhausted. But it was a lot of fun! And Jimmy went into the fetal position midair after unsuccessfully trying to defend an alley-oop and I saw the whole thing! (translation - HE GOT DUNKED ON!) Oh, and andrew had a sweet dunk as well. Overall, it was a lot of fun, but they definitely let us know it was their court!! We will study some film and go over our defensive rotations to be ready for a rematch tomorrow.
Rob
It was after that when we had a rough experience....we found our way to the basketball courts in Barahona. We found our first real challenge. Our first game was a breeze, but then the real players walked on the court. I am not exaggerating when I say one guy was 6'8", one was 6'5", and another was 6'6", 250 pounds with shoulders that could be confused with basketballs due to the similarity in size. They whooped us. Three times in a row. They made us keep playing and we were exhausted. But it was a lot of fun! And Jimmy went into the fetal position midair after unsuccessfully trying to defend an alley-oop and I saw the whole thing! (translation - HE GOT DUNKED ON!) Oh, and andrew had a sweet dunk as well. Overall, it was a lot of fun, but they definitely let us know it was their court!! We will study some film and go over our defensive rotations to be ready for a rematch tomorrow.
Rob
Saturday, July 1, 2017
Traveling to Bani
Eleven people and all of their luggage in a ten person van. That is how we started our day. We crammed all of our luggage into the back row and then crammed ourselves into space for six individuals (there are nine of us). But there were eleven of us total in the van this morning. Luckily, we all know and love each other so much, because to say we were crowded would be an understatement.
We were able to cram ourselves and our luggage into the vehicle (with a guitar literally in my lap) and we started on our way. The A/C was working in the van, so everything was totally okay. First we stopped for gas and made it through that without any hiccups. We pulled out and were officially on our way. We drove for about 3 kilometers and then it happened. We all heard it and we all felt it. The driver quickly pulled over and we all climbed out of the van to inspect the damage. Yep. It was an extremely flat tire. It had been completely punctured by something and there was a 6 inch rip on the top of the tire. We attempted to change the tire, but we could not find a spare. Luckily "la pastora" was with us and she made a few phone calls. After about 45 minutes someone in the large, off roading, tourist truck showed up to drive us back to the mission house in Samana. It was 11am - exactly two hours from we left in the morning to start our trip. We were told we would wait until 2pm and head over to the bus station to take public transportation to Santo Domingo. So, we got comfortable and starting lounging and hanging out.
But then at 11:50am a large charter bus showed up outside of the mission house - our ride had arrived. We loaded up got onto an empty charter bus. We immediately began discussing whether or not we would have the whole bus to ourselves for the whole ride and what we do if we did...but alas, only a few minutes later we arrived at a bus station and more people got on the charter.
We continued to chat and hang out on the charter as we waited for our departure. Then we heard it. We looked around at each other to confirm what we heard. Were we going crazy? Was it a ringtone? Then we heard it again, this time louder. As we laughed we continued to discuss the veracity of what our ears told us they heard. Then we heard it again. It had to be real. Then we heard two at the same time. Andrew had had enough. He had to get up to check. He walked up to the front of the bus to investigate. We anxiously waited for him to return with the verdict. He checked, walked back towards us with a smile on his face and said, "Yep. It's in a bag up there." We all responded, "WHAT?!" He looked at us incredulously and said, "Imagine taking your laundry bag and throwing a couple of roosters in it and getting on a bus. Yep."
We were able to cram ourselves and our luggage into the vehicle (with a guitar literally in my lap) and we started on our way. The A/C was working in the van, so everything was totally okay. First we stopped for gas and made it through that without any hiccups. We pulled out and were officially on our way. We drove for about 3 kilometers and then it happened. We all heard it and we all felt it. The driver quickly pulled over and we all climbed out of the van to inspect the damage. Yep. It was an extremely flat tire. It had been completely punctured by something and there was a 6 inch rip on the top of the tire. We attempted to change the tire, but we could not find a spare. Luckily "la pastora" was with us and she made a few phone calls. After about 45 minutes someone in the large, off roading, tourist truck showed up to drive us back to the mission house in Samana. It was 11am - exactly two hours from we left in the morning to start our trip. We were told we would wait until 2pm and head over to the bus station to take public transportation to Santo Domingo. So, we got comfortable and starting lounging and hanging out.
But then at 11:50am a large charter bus showed up outside of the mission house - our ride had arrived. We loaded up got onto an empty charter bus. We immediately began discussing whether or not we would have the whole bus to ourselves for the whole ride and what we do if we did...but alas, only a few minutes later we arrived at a bus station and more people got on the charter.
We continued to chat and hang out on the charter as we waited for our departure. Then we heard it. We looked around at each other to confirm what we heard. Were we going crazy? Was it a ringtone? Then we heard it again, this time louder. As we laughed we continued to discuss the veracity of what our ears told us they heard. Then we heard it again. It had to be real. Then we heard two at the same time. Andrew had had enough. He had to get up to check. He walked up to the front of the bus to investigate. We anxiously waited for him to return with the verdict. He checked, walked back towards us with a smile on his face and said, "Yep. It's in a bag up there." We all responded, "WHAT?!" He looked at us incredulously and said, "Imagine taking your laundry bag and throwing a couple of roosters in it and getting on a bus. Yep."
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