Pictures from Friday

The youngest kids enjoyed coloring on the last day.

Bridget working with the youngest kids.

The giant cake at the fiesta.

Everyone enjoyed the cake!

Kevin and his new friend

The kids with their new tote bags.

Tom's flower (left) and Zoe's flower (right). 

The Final Day of Bible School

   Hola todos! Apologies for not posting last night, but the internet service was spotty and not connecting. This morning it seems better though.


  Yesterday was our last day of Bible school, which was very bittersweet. We had a big fiesta for all the kids, including a giant cake from a nearby bakery. When we arrived, all the kids were excited and ready! All of them wanted pictures with every member of the team, and many of the kids were dressed up for the party. It looked like a Sunday morning or even maybe prom. The children were dressed up so nicely, with dresses and button-up shirts, and I felt quite under-dressed for the occasion. But, even in all the dress clothes, we all played like normal together on the playground and on the basketball court, before Bible school began for the day.


  One of the little girls (one of my favorites) who was there, Francisca, was dressed up in a lace dress with a beautiful sash and a bow in her hair. It was probably the best dress she owned, as were the clothes many of the kids were wearing. I gave her a piggy back ride, and told her she looked like a princess! She smiled a huge toothy smile and covered her face with her hands, giggling and embarrassed. It was so cute! The children were all so beautiful and sweet!! I have realized the best possible way to start off any day is with a million smiles and hugs from children.


  We started the day all gathered in "el templo", the sanctuary of the church, which was a big, loud experience, since everybody from the Bible school, including the very little ones, were all together in one place. Somehow there seemed to be even more kids than had been there throughout the week. During morning gathering, the kids sang all the songs they had learned, some old and some new, and when we asked for them to sing"mas fuerte" (stronger), they took it quite literally. The sound of all the voices singing praises together was tremendous!


   We then broke off into our individual groups for the daily lesson, which was "Jesus is my best friend". There were many crafts to do because we had many as back-ups for the whole week, that we hadn't done yet. Because some classrooms were not yet cleaned-up after the painting, we had two groups do their lessons and crafts in the church sanctuary. The youngest group, age 3-5, were one of those groups, and I stayed to work with them. It was a very interesting and chaotic experience! There was no way to keep control because kids were everywhere, all over the pews and altar steps. But, like many times during this week, we all realized we have to let go of our need-to-control side and just go with the flow. So, I tried to explain what I could, and we did the best we could at communicating the crafts to the teachers and the kids that listened, and we began handing out crayons to color. The children made cross necklaces from popsicle sticks -though the boys used them more as airplanes:P- and masks of Jesus (or of something through which they saw God, like flowers). They were messy crafts, but they made for an interesting experience. "Mas pintas! Mas colores!" (More crayons, more colors!) were the common phrases.


  Afterwards, we corralled all one hundred or more kids and all the teachers upstairs, which Rosa and many of the other girls had decorated with colorful streamers and bows. There was a huge cake and everyone was very excited! We sang some more and the Reverend Milquella said a prayer, and we began passing out plates of cake. All the kids were so excited! And most cleaned their plates:)


  Then it was time to leave. The teachers lined up their classes and handed out the bags for the last day, green tote bags with the Episcopal Church shield on the front and filled with construction paper, crayons, chalk, and an autograph book. And when the kids were leaving, our team truly felt like rock stars, as all the kids wanted us to sign their books and bags. It was so sad for me to see them all go because the church grounds were so quiet after they left. We all gave many hugs and kisses and autographs, and it was over way too soon!


  Later, we ate lunch all together, including leftover cake for dessert. It was delicious. Some members of the team had finished up the last of the painting while Bible school had gone on, so we didn't have too much left to do after lunch. The cafeteria was finished up, with the final touch-ups on flowers and paintings of foods. The room had transformed from plain yellow and green before, to a beautiful cafeteria with many colors and pictures. Every team member had the chance to paint a flower, and every one of them was unique.  We have pictures of each of the flowers and foods that were painted! The school truly looks transformed with all the new and fresh paint! It is true that many hands working together, including those of the Dominican kids, make the job go much faster!


  This morning we all reflected on the moments that have impacted us most on this trip, and we realized the influence that this loving and accepting community has had on us all. We are all truly changed by this experience. We'll spend the next few days visiting with friends, relaxing, and traveling. Today we are going to the beach with the Reverend Milquella (pronouced Mil-kay-ah) and her friends and family.Tomorrow, we will go to our final church service and leave at noon to go to Santo Domingo to spend the next day and a half. Thank you all for your continued prayers and support. God is truly in this place, with the people of this community, and our team.


  Sending lots of love,


  Rachel :)


P.S. Feel free to leave any comments on this post for the team. I promise I will share them with everyone! :)

     

¡A mí, Tía!

Rosa: Even with all the movement of classrooms in order to keep painting, the Bible School went surprisingly smoothly today. We started off in the church singing every song we'd learned - in some cases even screaming. "Aleluya!" "Alaben al señor!" And the new favorite, El Ciego, more commonly known as "Blindman". After we finished singing, the kids filed out in lines by age, a miracle in itself. We sat down in the church expecting a bit of downtime while the kids listened to the Bible story, when in came the preschoolers!

There was painting going on in their classrooms, so the two groups of daycare kids were relocated outside. The elder of these got an extra dose of music. Let me tell you, three-year-olds don't have the longest attention span. They can't learn a whole new song the same way the older kids can - so when all else fails, resort to "Tengo una Finca" (I have a Farm - similar to Old McDonald). I never knew there were lions and wolves in farms! But we made animal noises for every creature in the animal kingdom whose name we knew in Spanish. Once our well of Spanish animals ran dry, we sang "We Are Marching in the Light of God", attempting to march in a conga line, while in fact mildly exploding about the church. Meanwhile, the two year olds played outside on the playground.

Allison: While Rosa sang with the three-year-olds, I was with Zoe and Wesleigh, playing with the two-year-olds on the playground. It was definitely interesting. While the teachers sat and supervised; we three were mildly attacked and tackled by the little kids to help them across the monkey bars, swing them, and play with them on the see-saws. Although, our plan was not well thought out. As we helped the kids across the monkey bars we found that as soon as we set one down another would tug at our shirts yelling "¡A mí, Tía, a mí!" Although it was hectic and not the ideal plan, it was extremely endearing that the called us their Aunts. To be called Aunt by these little children who barely know me, made me realise how much it means to them that we play with them. Sadly, I had to leave, but I did get to see them again later.

Rosa: After music time with the preschoolers, the older group headed out to the pavement. I played with the chalk while Allison was upstairs with crafts. The little boys mostly colored the walls and benches solid with chalk, managing to cover themselves head to toe with purple, blue, and green. Bridget played the "pick up and spin around in the air" game, while I kicked the ball around. "¡A mí, Tía! Tíramela!" Throw me the ball!

Allison: After playing with the two-year-olds, I went upstairs to help with crafts in the older classrooms, for most of the time I was with Alexander in his classroom, passing out scissors, glue, crayons, etc. But once the crafts were done, they all came up to me because I had a sharpie, because they wanted their name and my name  or the names of everyone in our group written on it. It was really sweet that even the kids that didn't know me very well wanted my name written on their project. Although, Alexander and I had a few miscommunications and misunderstandings about what each other was saying, we worked really well as a team, for a girl who doesn't speak a lot of Spanish and a boy who doesn't speak a lot of English. After the craft, I went outside to play with the kids. Yuliani and Grimerys were chasing each other when Grimerys fell. I ended up bandaging her arm and knee, although the way kids crowded around me, you would have thought I was performing CPR. But it was cute to see that they all cared to check if she was ok.

Rosa: I skipped around from classroom to classroom to church to playground for the remainder of the day, taking pictures and videos. But Yuliani and Grimerys, two little girls who have been my friends since day one the first time I came to Baní, kept dragging me off to play. "¡A la casita! ¡La tiza! ¡Mira!" To the playhouse! Chalk! Look! We wrote Rosa y Yuliani y Grimerys, best friends forever. I keep trying to capture their giggles on video, to capture the moments forever. Towards the end, Grimerys fell and skinned her knee, which caused quite a hullaballoo but turned out just fine.

And then, Jun! Jun (pronounced yoon) is a cross between tag and hopscotch, involving chalk lines and quick thinking. We played for perhaps an hour before lunch. The Dominican and our group really played well together. Last year, we had the Garcías, but without them, it's been an adventure to connect with the new clergy family. Milquella's daughters and her extended family are very sweet, and it's nice to finally get to know them. After lunch, Allison and I helped decorate the room above the church for the fiesta tomorrow.

We all can't wait for cake!

Allison & Rosa

Allison swinging on the playground

Rosa with Rafaelito

Pictures from Wednesday, June 27

Bridget updating the blog. Notice the electrical situation on the wall.

Zoe helping with the preschoolers.

Deb showing the preschoolers which pages to color.

Wesleigh found a drum to play.

The children loved the craft, wind socks, today.

Hello,


Zoe and Wesleigh here. The Dominican Republic has been quite the adventure so far. Working at the Bible School has been great, and of course the food has been carb-filled and delicious (we went for ice-cream last night, too). Today, we're going to change things up a bit. We will be interviewing one-another about the day and also the trip as a whole. Hope you enjoy, Winchestarians and other loyal followers. 


First, let's see how Zoe is holding up..........


W: So, Zoe, what has been your overall impression of the Dominican Republic thus far?
Z: The DR is a very welcoming place. I love working with the children everyday and the people of the church have welcomed us quite graciously. 


W: What has been the coolest experience so far?
Z: Going on a moped around Bani was very cool. I liked seeing the town and the people.


W: What will you miss most about your experience here?
Z: I'm going to miss being able to make the kids smile. Most children don't smile when you give a simple hello, but here they are full of smiles!


W: What does a typical day of Bible School consist of?
Z: There is no typical Bible School day! It is inconsistent and unpredictable, which is what makes it so fun. So far I have helped with the outside games with the classes, read stories to the youngest group, and also helped them with their crafts. 


W: How is painting? 
Z: It's very hot and difficult to stay in a small room with paint fumes, but it is very rewarding to see the school painted and help the kids. 


W: Gracias para todos, Zoe!
Z: De nada (You're welcome).




Z: Enough about me, let's move on to Wesleigh. We will see if the paint fumes have gone to her head yet. 


Z:  What has been your favorite thing about the Bible School?
W: Playing games with the children on the playground and helping them with their crafts. It's really great to be able to use and practice my Spanish!


 Z: What food do you like the most?
W: I really like the rice and beans, which is awesome cause we eat it with almost every meal! It's pretty easy to stay on my vegetarian diet because there are lots of carbohydrates. 


Z: What has this trip shown you so far?
W: This trip has shown me that I have the ability to impact someone's life for the better, even if it is only for five short days.


Z: What was your favorite part about today?
W: My favorite part was when you and I read the bible story of Abraham and Isaac to the little kids in the daycare. I think they really enjoyed it!




Z and W: Being part of the Bible school is more than just helping kids. We are learning to better appreciate our lives and what we have. It truly is amazing how children with so little are able to teach us so much. 


Hasta Pronto (See you soon)!

Zoe and Wesleigh reading the Bible lesson in Spanish to the kids.

Tuesday Pictures

Before picture of one of the classrooms

Before picture of ceiling in the classroom

Getting ready to paint

The walls need new coats of paint

Cinder block walls ready for painting

We need lots of paint

Gathering in the church for morning songs and praise

Alexander leading the kids in the day's lesson 

The kids get to use the newly painted classroom!

The children are working in their lesson books

Mary Margaret "Mym" working hard to paint the classrooms

VBS Day Two in the Dominican Republic

We started day two with a brief rain shower as we arrived at the church. While welcomed because it has not rained much here, unfortunately it was not enough rain to amount to anything but it increased the humidity for the day. Little did I know that would be somewhat of a foretaste of the rest of the day.


We all gathered in the church with the children to sing the Bible School songs. I am not sure what I find more entertaining during this time. Ashley and Rachel are very animated as they lead the children and the children are very wide-eyed as they try to keep up with the lyrics and the hand motions. It all makes for a very entertaining sight from my vantage point as I hold the poster with the words to the songs.  -The rest of the group heard me sing and thought it would be best if I just held the poster :-)


I spent the entire day painting on the second floor of the school. Yesterday we had a wonderful breeze blowing through the top floor but not so today. This coupled with the higher humidity kept us running for water all morning. It sounds strange but there is something soothing about painting a ceiling with a four inch brush, especially when all the children come back together in the church as the Bible School is ending to sing their songs once again. I did not hear it yesterday but today the voices of the 100 or so children came flowing across the courtyard and into the windows of the school. What a wonderful way to end a morning of painting!


I was back painting in the afternoon with the rest of the team and we had some of the older children of the church helping us paint. I have taken a liking to a young man named Randy. He is a good kid and really wants to help and he sure makes a tremendous effort at it. I speak little Spanish and he speaks almost no English but we were able to paint side-by-side for most of the day and communicate very well. He really wants to please and seems to like praise for his work. I get the sense he does not get much praise for what he does. He does however like his music and his cell phone - both of which were going all the time we were painting. I guess teenagers are very much the same no matter where we are.


I will be painting tomorrow and I expect I will work with Randy and many of the other children from here. I will be tired, sweaty and sore when we are done but it does not seem to matter. This is what I need to be doing at this moment.

Peace,

Tom

Monday Pictures

Making Nametags

Waiting for Bible School to start

Learning new songs

Donde? Aqui!

Enjoying music

Playing house

Making telephones

Gato, gato, perro (a.k.a. Duck, duck, goose)

Friends talking

Relaxing after lunch

Before

Everyone wants to help

Wrapping up day one

Evelyn preparing a wall for tomorrow's paint

A little detail painting

Decorating the Nursery School cafeteria

The First Day of School: El Primero Dia de Escuela

Today I got my first taste of Vacation Bible School Dominican style.  What a wonderful and exhilarating feeling it was!  As soon as we arrived, children were lined up outside of the gate ready to come in.  We set up a name tag station and were swarmed with eager faces ready to introduce themselves and start their Bible School experience.  We had about 110 enthusiastic children filling the church this morning ready to sing songs and start off the week.  I was very impressed by their ability to remember the songs from last year.  In addition, they quickly picked up a beautiful new song that we started to teach them "Eres Santo" (You are Holy).  From there, we split into groups to discuss today's Bible lesson - the story of David and Jonathan.  Our theme for this week is "Being the Friends of Jesus" and it was really great to see them already embodying the themes as they played together on the playground.  Our craft involved making a telephone out of plastic cups.  We decorated them with foam stickers.  I think one of today's greatest moments was seeing how such a small craft was so important to the children.  They truly treasured their telephones and several of them were playing with them all the way out of the church.


In the afternoon, we got right into painting as a large group.  With some help from several of the local Dominican boys, we tackled repainting several of the upstairs classrooms.  Many of the classrooms hadn't been painted in several years and needed a good sprucing up.  We finished two classrooms and it already looks much brighter and is ready for students tomorrow!


Our mission team is having a wonderful time both helping those we can in Bani and learning about each other as well.  We have had terrific bonding experiences as we rely on each other for each one of our unique talents.  There are those who excel in Spanish, others who lead us in music, and still others who are perfect at directing the children on the playground.  As a fairly recent transplant to Winchester and Christ Church (coming in August of last year for pharmacy school), this trip has really offered me a wonderful sense of community and fellowship.  I had previously traveled to the Dominican Republic with my Canterbury Club in undergrad and this experience has lived up to and exceeded my expectations in terms of fellowship.  We are working together and learning so much about ourselves at the same time as we learn about those here.


We are starting the week off on the right foot and look forward to a great continuation!

Kevin

Sunday Pictures

Playing Games

Singing and Playing

Spending time with one another

Playing Baseball

Girls love to play hairdresser

Family Love