We have a little catching up to do! Yesterday we were able to take a day of rest! So thankful for that time to allow our sore muscles and backs to take some time off and enjoy conversations with each other and the Dominicans. We started the day off by sleeping in - only and additional hour but when your mixing cement all day we will take what they allow. Then we took the morning to hike up to the near by waterfall - the same hike we took last year - and it was just as awesome! There's nothing like better to allow for some team bonding then wading thru a river, climbing up and down rocks, and encouraging one another along the way. All of which is summed up by a wonderful waterfall with some low cliff jumping into the deep pool below. Watching some of students encourage our teammate who is afraid of heights was awesome - Caroline, with the others encouraging and helping her, climbed up the short path and took the plunge. It was a great memory for Caroline and our team included. We finished the day by attending a local church that is in Spanish and English. An experience that many our team said they really enjoyed and where impacted by! Do remember to ask them about this - about the worship, the people in the congregation, the message, and the overall experience.
Today we started off another work day. The crazy twist to today was that some people had the option to hike up to the top of the mountain to watch the sunrise - which meant a 3:30 wake up time! It was a extremely exhausting experience I'm told. Turned out to be a 4hr round trip hike for some. I'm told it was comparable to hiking the incline at it's hardest point...twice...and for 2hrs. Yikes. Our learning curve for this next year is to plan it on a day that we don't have hard work to do - our team was exhausted by cookie break (10:00am) :). Lesson learned. After our work day ended we headed to the much anticipated chicken man and ice cream run. Some other highlights of the day were getting to spend some time with Aldo and Raffa - two important people in the life of Vida Joven and two people that have made a few trips out to HSM on Sunday mornings. Finally we finished the night by learning a few cultural dances.
It truly has been a blessed two additional days. Our students each morning have been the ones leading our devotions and they have rocked. Seriously! Your kids are amazing! I'd encourage you to allow them to lead you in a devotional time some day. In addition to our devo time in the morning, we also close each day in a group discussion and debrief. It has been rich discussion focused on many topics centered around our pursuit of following Christ. Last nights discussion was on the call to produce fruit and what that looks like/why it's difficult. And I was yet again blown away at their honesty and ability to look into their lives at where fruit is or isn't happening. A time of reflection focused upon Gods work and our willingness is a powerful thing.
I know that I and Christy are both extremely blessed to be a part of these students journey. Thank you for that honor and trust. With that I must go - missing out on the dancing lessons. And looking ahead, just one more day of work before we get to so life with Chulo in La Vega during our home stay.
-Scott
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