Dominican Republic 2

Well, it's the beginning of week 8 here in the Dominican Republic. I can't believe its been that long.
I apologize that I haven't been able to blog lately, I didn't have any time this week, because it was incredibly busy, and I also was quarantined for 24 hours and was told not to be on the computer for a week. That is a whole different story, that I will get to shortly.

Today we moved to the orphanage in Jaibon, it was difficult to move from Monte Cristi because of the relationships I built over there and the friends I made in the community and so forth. But this place should be awesome. It's an all boys orphanage, and I'm really hoping to establish a great relationship with them in these next and last 4 weeks.

So come along with me through the voyage that was the past 2 weeks.

2 weeks ago we had camp at the institute as well as put on a camp in Monte Cristi. It was a great week, and I had one of my kids that I taught during my first weeks there in my group. His name was Yimmy, pronounced Jimmy, and he memorized John 3:16 in English and in Spanish, so that was definitely the highlight of that week. But then as you all saw I was having eye problems... Friday morning I woke up with my eye sealed shut again, and so this time I went to see the doctor. He told me that I had an eye cornia infection, and a rare viral case of pink eye. He seemed to know what he was talking about, so I went with it. So he gave me eye drops, an eye patch and the whole 9 yards, and told me that I was to keep both eyes shut for 24 hours so that they could heal without them working on concentrating on whatever it was I was looking at. So I did that, missed out on a day trip to the beach, but I'm ok with that. So I had to put drops in every 2 hours and take pills and everything else. It was crazy, but I'm all healed up now, I just won't be putting my contacts in again until I get back to the States. That was really all that happened two weeks ago. It all blurs together now though, since time is flying and I've been here for so long.
This past week was a completely different story. We had a church from Atlanta come into Monte Cristi, and it is a big deal for them to come here. The community puts it this way, "There are two big days in Monte Cristi, Christmas and when Graystone comes to do camp." So the entire community was pumped for them to be here, and so were we. We had over 400 kids on the orphanage property and it was great. The kids were crazy, but they had an awesome time, learned bible verses in english, played some basketball and made some crafts. Then in the afternoon we went out to a Batay which is a Banana plantation and did camp there. Both were like nothing I have ever done before. The camp in the morning was just an abundance of kids, and the camp in the afternoon was so chill, yet crazy since they have 0 interaction with Americans. So they were mocking the females especially, but I was able to gain their respect somehow, and it ended up being a great camp.
The most incredible thing about this past week was Graystone coming down. That church is absolutely incredible. The staff they have there and their willingness to serve one another, as well as serve a country is a rarity among churches today in the United States. They have programs 5 minutes from their house that are for Latin American communities and They have come down to work with OO for the past 7 years. That church just almost adopted me this week, and brought me into one of their own. It was absolutely incredible. I am so thankful that they were there this week, and that I was able to share my last week in Monte Cristi with them. If you are from Graystone, and you're reading this, thank you so much for the impact you made on me, and I'm sure I'll see you soon.

As for me, I'm doing well. I'm looking forward to my new home, and to the new relationships I will build here. It was so tough leaving Monte Cristi because of those kids. Domingo, my best bud from there, cried last night because I was leaving, but I told him I'd see him again. I'll miss all those kids so much, its awesome to see what you can do in 7 weeks in one place, and see the impact that you can have just by showing love to them. My time here has been fantastic. Though I've been sick lately, I can't complain at all. My current living conditions here in Jaibon will be in a tent with a mattress inside the tent. I'm looking forward to it very much.

Well, I will try and get on again, but you never know what might happen to me.

Thanks for reading.

Dominican Republic Part 1

Well, I've never had a blog before, but I feel it necessary that if people want to know whats going on down here, and what I'm doing down here, what better thing to have than a blog of my own?
Well I'm here in Monte Cristi, which is about 2 hours from Santiago, and 5 hours from Santo Domingo, which is the capital. It's about a 10 minute drive from the beach, and I live here on an orphanage with other volunteers, interns as well as the orphans from the orphanage. I only have 2 weeks left here at this orphanage and it is sad to think about that, but I'm also excited to go over to the other orphanage as well. I hear that place is awesome. I live in what we call a ramada, and it is just a wide open covered area surrounded by a fence. I sleep on a top bunk of a bunk bed, with a mosquito net surrounding me at all times while I sleep. I take "Navy Showers", which means that I get wet, then soap and shampoo, then rinse off. Turning off the water inbetween. Also, we live by the moto, "If its brown, flush it down, if it's yellow, let it mellow". I have authentic Dominican food everyday, along with the occasional American meal, like today we had grilled cheese and french fries.
I've met some incredible people down here that have come and gone, and some that are still here. It truly has been an incredible summer so far. The kids here at the orphanage are probably my favorite part about the entire experience though. I can hopefully have a positive impact in their life as well as speak Spanish to them all day long and play basketball with them or help them with their homework. I absolutely love the kids here. If I've said it before, then this just emphasizes the fact. They are all incredible, and I admire them all for being able to just be so joyous and happy even though the conditions they live in.
As for what I am "here for", I have been leading camps all summer long. I taught at the English Institute while I was here for the 1st two weeks I was down here, but then I helped lead a English camp and now have done two Vacation Bible School camps as well. This is what I'll be doing the rest of the summer. So we do that from Monday to Thursday and Friday is normally a cultural day which is one of my favorite days of the week, and then Saturday is a day of rest and Sunday is a day to plan and get ready for the week.
I wish I had more time to tell you all about everything that I am experiencing down here, but just know that I absolutely love it here. Though this week I have hit a bunch of stumbling blocks, nothing will stop me from loving this culture, these people, or this place. (I had an extreme allergic reaction to something, had to go to the clinic hospital thing and get 2 shots, I've had pink eye twice this week, my phone charger broke and so did my ipod). So this week has been rough, but I'm going to stick through it and focus on my Spanish speaking skills, and just loving the heck out of the kids here and at camp.