Saturday, March 20th

We had a great day today. Beautiful sunshine and our first chance to really see the city of Santo Domingo. It is late here, so my writing will be short (and probably with loads of errors), but wanted to add plenty of photos. :)

Enjoying breakfast and devotions on the rooftop this morning....

"Ice Breaker" games and conversations at the Nueva Vida church... we were BEYOND proud of the Willow students. They jumped right in with 100%- they made friends so quickly with the Dominican youths.

Dominican and American youth groups...

Playing games- the kids had a blast....

The language barrier didn't stop these kids from talking. :)

Showing off some dancing skills!!!

Our first serving project for the trip. 100's of chairs needed to make their way down 3 flights of stairs to be loaded into a truck and driven to another church. Our students made a big line going down the stairs and passed the chairs one by one to each other. Although it was hot and humid, they got to work without hesitation and without a single complaint. We love this group of kids!

One of the Dominican boys checking out the stacks of chairs once they made it all the way down.

The children LOVED our students, the boys especially. They got to "rough house" all afternoon and play big brother to several of the children. What joy they brought us with their smiles!

Some intense games of basketball this afternoon!!

Our lunch arrived 2 and a half hours late today. Although the kids were hot and hungry, they continued to show patience. Later we all realized that this was a perfect way for God to show us just a tiny sample of what our Dominican friends feel like on a daily basis. I loved seeing the character growth in our teens.
Here we are chatting while we wait...

After lunch it was time to divide up into teams for a performance we have on Tuesday night. Again, I was so proud of our students, jumping in with two feet.

Our flags team is: Cory, Greg, Carson, McCallister, Evan and Payson...

Dance team: Emily, Christine, Emily and Jamie

Because I was busy learning the dance (wow- not so easy!!), I didn't get to photograph the singers or the drama team. They are:

Singers: Katie, Tyler, Lindsey, Carlos, and Miles.
Drama Team: Lauren, Jennifer, J.T., Megan, and Andy

We ended our evening with a great dinner out (Carson won a free t-shirt for finishing a GIANT burger) and then back to our hotel for journaling, bible study and reflection on our day on the rooftop. We love the insight these students already have. I know they can't wait to tell you all about it.
Good Night!
(and hugs and kisses to Emma and Isabel!)