Today was our first full day in the Dominican Republic. The time flew by and we were fully immersed in the Dominican culture. We praised like them, spoke their language almost all day and swam in their beautiful ocean. This morning we had a wonderful breakfast, prepared by our cooks. It consisted of pancakes, bacon and fruit. Unfortunately I woke up after breakfast began and only got a couple of pancakes (They say I had five, and I ate them off the serving platter. Who needs a plate?)
Shortly after, we loaded up and headed for church at the batey. We sang many songs and tried to figure out what was preached. While waiting for the bus to get back, we got a chance to walk around the village and meet the people. Their living conditions were unimaginable; they lived in tin shacks in a waste land (to us), the ground was very rocky and strewn with trash, with a small dirty stream running through the middle of their community. The people were shy but deep in their eyes you could tell their was passionate. We proceeded to head back to our bus while handing out toys.
After lunch, we headed to the beach; the waters are surprisingly blue. While throwing an American flag football, some native Dominicans came and played with us. They loved "Futbol Americano." A few others and myself talked to them for almost an hour while we roughly translated their Spanish. They were very friendly.
We headed home and ate dinner. Then walked down the street to a very enthusiastic church. Language was not important, only praising the Lord mattered. The Dominican culture is very energetic and passionate and the scenery is beautiful. Spanish life styles are very different from American but the differences are very interesting.
God Bless and we will be home soon!
-Blake Adams
