Our last days here
Today is bittersweet. As we write this we are bouncing along the road to Santo Domingo to catch our flight home.
Our last few days were filled to the brim with activities. The 4th of July festivities were a grand success for all in attendance! (Four Dominicans showed up, but we had a blast.) Our one “firework” lit up the Dominican sky for 15 seconds and made Lady Liberty proud. Saturday we delivered our last two garbage talks in Don Bosco and Algodon. Because we have built relationships with kids in each community everyone there was more attentive. Showing that we cared for them personally allowed the lesson to be received as more than just a lecture. Rather, it was evident we are genuinely concerned for their health and well-being.
Sunday morning was a powerful time of fellowship at small local church. Similar to the other two churches we have visited on our trip, the worship had strong singing and praise dancing. Naomi was called upon once again to sing Hosanna, and, without any experience with this new band, made our entire group very proud. The rest of Sunday was spent recharging at the casa and the beach.
Monday and Tuesday were jam packed as we made the final push to finish our assignments. Jack worked with Tony, the latrine builder, to lay flooring for three new latrines. Another team is coming within the week to complete each of these latrines. Sarah and Candice continued on with house-to-house patient histories and presenting their health lesson. Their last scheduled talk was to the guys at I Love Baseball. Taking what we’ve learned about the multitude of career ending injuries, they decided to focus on arm injury care and prevention. Even the coach noted the importance of, and lack of, these practices. Naomi and Cierra delivered 3 more bible lessons, focusing on forgiveness, identity and integrity. Naomi said that it was rewarding to see the same smiling faces returning, listening attentively and contributing to discussions. It was difficult to explain to our friends, who had become our brothers and sisters, that we weren’t returning the next day. The reality set in: that our trip was coming to a close.
Last night COTN threw us a going away party complete with food, a tres leches cake, merengue dancing, lots of pictures, and our last goodbyes to our friends here. It was truly a special night and the perfect way to end our trip. This morning, we all woke up early to catch our last Dominican sunrise and then head off to the airport.
Each of us are eternally grateful for this trip-the relationships we’ve built, the lessons we’ve learned, and the second home we gained at Casa Betesda. I know we will all deeply cherish our memories here in Barahona and return as soon as we can.
Thanks for coming along with us on our journey!
Team DR