Lunes: El 10 de octubre de 2016

The team woke up this morning to the sound of someone playing Ellie’s guitar outside the church. We started the day with prayer, fellowship, and el desayuno (breakfast). After, we headed upstairs to the church to finish off our leadership conference. We talked about finances and how to manage money well. It was great that a conversation opened up between the Iowa team and the Dominican pastors about finances because the Dominicans learned more about the relationship they had and where the money was coming from. During these conversations, Rayona and Lucy talked with Tomasina about her and her husband’s ministry since coming to Monte Cristi. Tomasina shared that the community has become a great family for her and her husband.

After the conference, we broke up into groups for lunch. One group went to a restaurant to continue talks about finances. The other group stayed at the church to enjoy arroz (rice), carne asada (grilled beef) y platanos maduros.  The team that stayed behind was happy to hear that they had free time so they went on a walk to see more of Monte Cristi and get to know the community better. Lydia and Gina stayed behind to have a women’s conference on finances and possible solutions to fundraising. Our group that went out to visit the community stopped along the way to visit a park and take pictures. Then we stopped to get some ice cream at Bon Helados. There were children who wanted our attention so we took time to talk to them and take photos with them. On our walk home, more people stopped us because they wanted to talk to us. A group of men wanted photos with the team, and Teddy invited them for dinner and domino night later in the week. Also, two little girls named Luz del Mar and Ashley wanted pictures with Ellie and immediately embraced her when they saw her.

We returned from our walk for some downtime with the team. Some members used this time for sleep, journaling, playing music, talking, and showering. The Dominican women had to leave to return to their homes, but not without giving us a thousand hugs, kisses, and blessings. The men returned from their finance conversation at the restaurant. A few of those men were able to help cut and filet our lunch for tomorrow…a huge fish that was caught the day before by one of the pastors!

The day started with a “schedule” but by the end of the day, everything was changed. Most of the day was spent together and “in the moment.” There is a unified feeling that is building amongst the team, everyone is learning from each other and indescribable memories are being made. We definitely saw this act of community during dinner. After, we took a group trip to the souvenir shop to buy Dominican Republic goods and gifts. We ended the day in peace with testimonies and devotions from TJ and Lucy. We are hoping now for a good night’s sleep. Blessings. Que Dios los bendigan