Girls Club Video

I am slowly but surely working on getting my videos up on youtube. With Internet that decides to go out every hour or so (thus stopping the uploading of my video), it is taking many tries! But I managed one tonight, and will work on more soon. This is a few weeks ago at the Girls Club. We had made glitter handprints that day for the craft. Most of the girls refused to do any of it on their own... they are like that. They will often say they can't do it, even the oldest girls. They always want someone right beside them, helping them. They are very unused to crafts and doing work independantly. I started the video as we were taking a group photo. Them mobbing me after the photo brings back so many memories, haha. Those girls LOVE hugs!!

Favourite Memories

I have been working on this list of my favourite memories for awhile now. Some (okay, a lot!) of these will make little or no sense to anyone reading, but I don't ever want to forget any detail so I am writing them all down! Some of these are really good memories, some are funny things that happened, and some are just things that I want to remember about this trip!

-Being able to see Arroyo Seco school completed and filled with students
-Seeing Frangelis again and her running into my arms, so excited to see me
-Chickendie, and all the daily jokes that go along with it, the best probably being Alberto acting out chickendie with Melissa and Sam as the chickens
-Being able to use my donation money to take Yoandi to the hospital for his infected hand, which is now completely healed. Going along with that, seeing the gratitude in his mom, Sonia's, eyes
-Hanging out on the Melacon with the boys- probably the most carefree and fun times I have ever had
-Making fun of the art teacher every time we pass his art center, covered in self portraits of himself
-Motoconchos!! And the trouble that goes along with them... ex. We ask to go to the Melacon and he takes us to a gas station. On the same day, we ask to go to the supermarket and he takes us home!
-Being hissed at by every single Dominican man we pass as we walk down the street. Okay, so this isn't really a 'best memory' and it definitely gets annoying, but it provides us with endless entertainment just waiting to see the things they will come up with! Similarly, me and Melissa "being Dominican" and hissing at people as we drive by to see if they will look.
-Going for ice cream at least once a day... usually one ice cream and one Skim Ice- Skim Ice is only 5 pesos!
-The boys made us these really adorable bracelets. I wear the 2 that Alberto made me every day and love all the thought they put into them
-The boys' obsession with Michael Jackson, and watching them try to BE Michael Jackson. Also, finding a renewed love for Michael Jackson thanks to them!
-The boys arguing over who is the Jefe, and hearing them all call themselves the Jefe
-Going to Yohan's house on his birthday and seeing his mother tear up when we gave her a framed picture of her and Yohan
-Kelvin's mom hugging us and saying 'hello pretty' (in spanish) every time she sees us
-Meeting Lola, the grandmother living alone with her 16 grandchildren, and being reminded of how strong Dominican women are
-Melissa (attempting) to teach me how to cook... step 1) how to peel a potato
-Getting to know the boys, especially Domingo, Alberto, Seliel, Jose, and Junior... they are really amazing kids and friends and I smile just thinking about them. They are definitely people I will never forget
-Seliel calling Melissa mafiosa for 'stealing' his dictionary we gave him (she actually just put it in her purse at the beach so it wouldn't get wet, and forgot to give it back).
-After all the work of planning the new club, getting to see it in action and seeing the happiness in the 50 kids in the club
-On the first day of the new club, having some of the girls bring us fresh cut up fruit with sweet little notes for us written on them
-Watching Melissa tell Hilda that she will be sponsoring her family, and seeing the pure gratitude in Hilda's eyes as she cried and thanked her. She is an amazing woman.
-On our down time, trying to "be Dominican" with Melissa and going people watching on the Malecon!
-Getting tackled to the ground by Chichi after threatening to go talk to the gringa girls they all had crushes on at the beach. And then getting sand thrown in my hair after telling them the girls were too young for them!
-Having a bedroom with a Strawberry Shortcake mural painted on the wall. And then taking a series of photos with it and making our sign for our bedroom and our guestbook!
-Making photo albums for the boys. Bossy as usual, they made a list of other photos they would like printed off asap to add to the albums (on Domingo's list- a picture of Liz and Bella!)! But it was fun looking through the photos of all our memories with them...
-Taking the Arroyo kids to the Rio, and shoving 4-5 of us per motoconcho so we wouldn't have to walk the half hour. They were so excited and asked us every time if we would go with them again.
-Watching Yoandi come out of his shell as I got to know him better. From the shy and scared little boy I first met (while at the hospital with his infected hand) he is now one of the sweetest and happiest kids I know. One time when my family was sitting in his house, he sat on my sister's lap, thinking it was me. He was so embarrased when he realized his mistake, and he buried his head in his mom's shoulder until we left! He is my little buddy :)
-Finding out that the older girls in our club wouldn't eat fruit because their moms told them if they did, their boobs wouldn't grow. Crazy Dominicans!
-Moving into Liz's new apartment, and the amazing people we met because of it. Like the family that lives below, who treat us like their own family, and the family across the street who run the colmado, with Casey, the teenage girl who was always so sweet to us, and the little naked baby!
-THe boys trying to teach us the words to the song El Sol y La Playa by Monkey Black... it didn't go so well, despite their attempts. Pretty funny listening to all of them rap every single word though, complete with gangster poses and hand signs.
-Going to Luperon beach with the boys for my birthday. I couldn't have imagined a better way to spend the day or anyone I would rather spend it with. The best part- my Mom taking everyone banana boating! They were so ecstatic.
-When it came time to leave, seeing the love and support from everyone. It was really touching to see how we had affected their lives. Especially Sonia's family (Yoandi, Andy, and Andrieli)- they are people I will never forget, and whom will be among the first I go visit when I head back to the DR this Christmas.

And even now that I am home...

-For the first week of being back, having some of my favourite Dominican people calling me and texting me to tell me they miss me. And getting to tell them the good news that I will be back for Christmas!

Future Plans

Like I said, I have been thinking a lot since I boarded the plane about when I would be back. I know that for sure I will be back for several months next May. But May is so far away! Not only for myself do I feel like I need to go back once before then, but also for the kids. I need them to know that I am always there for them and that I am not that person who says she will be back and never does. SO... here is my plan. Originally I was going to spend Christmas in Haiti. I am going to cancel that trip and spend two weeks over Christmas in the DR. I just need to start looking for cheap flights, as I have already confirmed with Liz that I can stay in my Strawberry Shortcake room in her house :) Starting on Monday I am going to start working as much as I can to make the money to make this happen. I am going to need to do some fundraising though, as it will be tight. If anyone has any fundraising ideas, please let me know. Flights are expensive at that time of the year, and it will likely be over $1000 for a return flight. I want to get my flight booked soon, so need to get on my money making! Although it is always tight money wise when it comes to these trips, I have learned now that it does always work out. It is just what I am meant to do with my life. Somehow I know things will work out so that I will be able to spend my Christmas on my favourite place on earth. It may be hard work to make it happen, but it will happen! If anyone is interested in supporting the trip, there is a paypal button on the sidebar of my blog. As I always do when I get home, I am feeling really emotional and anxiety is high. Beginning to plan to go back is the only thing that eases this for me... I so badly wish I was there right now. But I am just trying to focus my thoughts on working/fundraising to get there. Over the next few days/weeks I will try to get some more posts up and post some video footage and such.

Last Few Days

Well, I am home now. I have lots to write about my thougts on being home and my future plans, but first I will post about my last few days in the DR.

The last two days were spent with my favourite people! Sunday, we picked the boys up at 11:30 and we all headed to the resort my family was staying at. So there was Liz, me, Melissa, my Mom, my sisters, Alberto, Domingo, Seliel, Jose, Junior, Edwin, and Yordi. We headed to the beach first with huge bags of all the food and drinks we had bought (which they devoured). It wasn't long after we arrived at the beach that they realized the hotel had a huge, gorgoeus pool! The next four hours was spent there- swimming, playing volleyball, watching them do handstand dives into the water, getting attacked by chickendie bites, and just having FUN. You should have seen their reaction when they saw this pool- it was priceless! They did not want to leave!!

The next morning we picked the boys up in the morning and Liz dropped us off at Cabarete beach, about 40 minutes away, past Sosua. It is the more touristy area, known for its kiteboarding, and it's always nice for a change of scenery and to get out of Puerto Plata for something a little different. Transportation is cheap here, so to take us all home on a guagua it was only 40 pesos each, so for all 9 of us (me, Melissa, Alberto, Domingo, Seliel, Jose, Junior, Edwin, and Yordi) it cost 360 pesos (about 11 or 12 dollars Canadian). We brought big coolers of food again (juice, sandwiches, chips, trail mix, crackers, cookies, etc.) and once again they devoured it halfway through the day! We paid to use two lounge chairs in the shade and spent the next EIGHT hours on the beach (me, and espeically Melissa, came home very burnt!!) Even at 5:30 we had to drag the boys off the beach to get into the guagua. They knew it was our last day, and they kept asking questions about it, despite Melissa and I asking repeatedly not to talk about it because we so badly just wanted to forget we were leaving and enjoy our time with them. They know we are coming back though (more on that in my next post!) and seemed to understand. I just hate having to leave. So many people come into their lives, and the lives of all the kids here, and build a relationship with them and then leave with the promise to come back and never do. I so don't want to be that person. But I think they understand... I managed not to cry until we were in the car and had dropped them off, and the goodbye wasn't too bad. But it is hard... those boys so badly want to be educated and want to have fun and get out of their barrio, and I miss that happiness I feel when I am with them.

We had to be at the airport for 12:00 Tuesday morning, so we pushed the boys' club a half hour early so we could make it. The night before we had given Liz a thank you letter and a framed photo we got of the four of us, where we had written BEST MOM EVER on it (we always call her our Dominican mom). We spent the rest of the night finishing up loose ends of sponsorship and things we had to get to Liz, and trying not to think about having to leave! The club Tuesday morning was pretty emotional. Of all the families here, I have gotten closest to Sonia and her kids Yoandi, Andy, and Andrieli. Melissa and I just adore them all and they are so sweet. They all showed up at the club and Sonia and Andrieli were crying by the time we arrived! We managed to get through the class fine, but when it was time for goodbyes and Yoandi and Andy started balling, there was no way I could hold back my tears! Hilda, the teacher of the school we teach the club in, was crying as well and trying to comfort me as I said goodbye to all the kids. She is such a sweet lady. We gave her a thank you card and several spanish kids books for her school. Her granddaughter, Heidy, made us a really sweet card. Andy and Yoandi did as well. On the front of mine, there is a picture of Pooh Bear with his head in his hands. His Mom told me that Yoandi started crying the night before when he was making it, and he said that he was the Pooh Bear and his head was in his hands because he was sad we were leaving. I just had to keep reinforcing to the kids (and to Sonia and Hilda!) that we would be back. They have so few people who support them and it really means more than I knew to them, just to have that friendship and to know that people were working hard for their futures. We said our goodbyes to Liz at the airport, and then goodbye to Melissa as her flight left before mine. I flew from Puerto Plata to Miami, then Miami to Chicago, where I had an overnight layover in the freezing cold airport, and then Chicago to Buffalo, and then drove from Buffalo home. I am exhausted and emotional and already feeling anxiety about fundraising and getting back. Nothing I write can describe the trip though... and the kids, and the families. I hold them in my heart and think about them constantly.

Saturday = Club Day!

Saturday is our busy day here as we have the boys club at 10 and the girls club at 2. We start out with the boys as they tend to be more work than the girls. They are much more rambunctious! However, the girls can be exhausting too as you will constantly have at least three girls calling your name, and another three wrapped around you wanting a hug! We split the boys into age groups. We took about 10 of the oldest (11, 12, and 13 year olds) and Melissa and I worked on hemp bracelets with them. The pattern we had prepared turned out to be too complicated for most of them and many ended up doing simple beaded bracelets. Interestingly enough, the girls picked it up quite quickly! The little kids painted macaroni in red, blue, and white (the DR colours) and made macaroni necklaces. We have a treasure box with little gifts in it and each class we choose two kids who have stood out for us in terms of good behaviour. Yeuri was chosen for one (second class in a row) for being patient and calm and waiting his turn, and Dauri was chosen for the other for working hard to teach the other kids how to do a bracelet design he knew.

We went to have lunch (and ice cream- we have at least one a day here!) and then picked my family up at their hotel. On the way to the girls club, we passed a woman on the side of the road who was naked except for her shorts which were around her knees. Her teeth were knocked out and she was covered from head to toe in blood- it was clear that she had been brutally beat and violated. A crowd of men had gathered around her (no one helping) and some were even taking pictures. Because of the corruption in the police system here, we knew not to get involved, but Liz called the police and ran a towel over to her so she could wipe off some of the blood and cover up. The police arrived, looked at her, and left (just shows what the police are like here!) but we passed another police car on the way and they said they were going.

The girls club went much more smoothly than the boys! The older girls picked up the hemp pretty easily and the little girls loved the macaroni necklaces. We had Andy and Marcos, two of our boys, come to help teach the girls the hemp, but we turned out not really needing them as the girls picked it up much better than they had! I went home that day with three new necklaces and four new bracelets! It was our last girls club as we leave on Tuesday, and the next girls class isn’t until Thursday. The girls were all really affectionate and it took us awhile to get out the door as we had to exchange about five hugs and kisses with each girl (the class before, I had so many girls swarm me for hugs that I ended up getting trampled and so many stomped on my foot by accident that my entire toe nail fell off- no lie!). We promised several that we would visit them at their houses before we left, but it was still sad to say goodbye! One girl, Elizabeth, is 11 years old and she is one that has captured my heart. She is the sister of Jose Manuel, who I write about often, and their 7 year old sister Raysa is also in the club, and they have a 4 year old brother Riley. They come from a really awful family situation and they show huge signs of neglect and abuse. We are the closest to Jose Manuel, since we know him the best, but over the past few weeks we have been getting to know his sisters, and Elizabeth has really soaked up the love and attention. Every time I hug her, it is painful for me because I know that that is one of the only hugs she gets. I didn’t realize how attached she had gotten to us until her eyes filled up with tears when we told her we were leaving soon. It just makes me more motivated to come back and to be able to be a long term presence in their lives. When I tell some people that I do work in the DR, they give me skeptical looks and ask why- “the DR is rich”, they tell me, “why not go to Africa?” Well, I have been to Africa and yet I am drawn back to the DR. The poverty is different, that is for sure, but there are so many needs here. These kids need love, they need education, they need food and clean water, and a roof over their heads that doesn’t leak every night when it rains. Some, like Elizabeth, just need people to step in and tell her that they love her, when her mother will not. I just keep having to remind myself that it is not goodbye forever, and that I will be back soon…

My Favourite People

This already gets me teary watching it... SO many amazing memories!

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Arroyo Seco

One of the reasons I keep returning to this country is because of the people of Arroyo Seco. I have known them for years and have watched these kids grow up. With all the talking I do about them, my family was excited to go visit! In order to get there, they had to experience a few firsts! We took a guagua, and they learned how Dominicans can shove 20+ people into a 12 seater van. Because we got on the guagua at Playa Dorada, the resort area they are staying in, the driver assumed we are tourists who have never been on a guagua before and tried to rip us off big time- another thing that happens quite often to gringos here! We managed to work it out to pay the usual 30 pesos per person, and we got off at Bella Vista road in the Maranatha area before Sosua. This leads to the part my Mom was dreading- motoconchos! You can either get there for 50 pesos on a motoconcho, or pay 70 bucks American for a driver to take you and sit and wait while you visit. So of course, we take the motos. I went on one with my Mom, Meghan and Kristin went together (it wasn’t their first time, we had taken them on one the day before) and Melissa went alone. They all arrived alive!

As we arrived at the school, we noticed that Servant’s Heart Ministries, run by friends of ours, was there doing a medical clinic, so it was packed busy and there was lots going on. We showed them around the school we had built and they got to meet Donna, who runs Servant’s Heart, and Bernard, a good friend of ours whose house we had worked on building last year. And of course, they got to meet “our” kids! I had told Frangelis’ sister on the phone (when she called to wish me a happy birthday) that we would be coming on Friday, so they were all anticipating our arrival so they could meet my family. We went to Frangelis’ house, her aunt’s house, and the house where her mother, Daniela, works cleaning. We sat there for a half hour or so and Daniela brought us drinks and crackers and cheese, which was really sweet. My Mom had brought a bracelet to give her, and she was really touched and said that the kids always get gifts, but never her! We moved on to our usual benched area down the road in front of Jessica and Tata’s house, and we sat there with the kids for the remainder of the time and coloured and played with the toys that had been donated by a friend of my Mom’s. We had little necklaces for the girls that had hearts hanging on it that were filled with lipgloss. The girls loved them and smeared the bright purple lip gloss all over their lips- it was super adorable! Even the mothers were using this bright purple lip gloss!

Saying goodbye the past two years has always been painful for me, as I love these kids so much. But this time, I had a sort of peace about it, and Melissa felt that as well. There were no tears, no dramatic goodbyes… just a promise that I would see them soon. And they understood- they know now that we will always be back and they trust that we will see them again. So many missionaries have come in and out of their lives very quickly, so I know how important it is to them that we keep coming back and that we sustain our friendships. It was sad to leave and I am going to miss the peacefulness and happiness I feel when I visit Arroyo Seco, but at the same time, I know that when I come back I will be able to experience it all over again just like I do every other year.

Girls Club and "English Class"

This morning began with a girls’ club. We started with English songs, which none of the girls had learned before. They picked it up very quickly and were really eager to learn their body parts (head, shoulders, feet, knees, eyes, ears, mouth, nose, and cheeks) and colours. We moved on to a craft and the girls made butterflies with glitter and markers. They are very self conscious about their abilities. Many of the girls are very behind in school and are not used to working hard and being proud of what they accomplish. I was told time after time by them that they couldn’t do it and they needed help and wanted me to draw their butterfly for them. I would take their hands and we would draw part of it together and then I would try to get them to finish it on their own. They all turned out really cute!

During the club my Mom and sisters had decided that they were going to sponsor a child. There are 29 families in the DOVE Missions girls and boys club, and another 10 on the waiting list. We need sponsors for these kids to get food. The 30 dollars a month will go towards vouchers for their families that they will receive monthly to go to La Sirena to buy food for their family. My Mom and sisters decided to sponsor Loreina and Kathiana, sisters aged 10 and 6. They live with their parents and 4 other siblings (there were 2 other siblings who passed away). Kathiana is the 6 year old who is super sweet and very shy. Loreina is 10 and is a natural leader. She has the most beautiful smile and is very outgoing and was drawn quickly to my family. I took them to visit Loreina’s house and see the conditions that she lives in, so they can see how badly the need is here. Loreina was very excited for us to come see her house, and she was so proud to show us around. I have printed the pictures, like she asked me to, so she can look at them and remember the people in Canada who care for her.

In the afternoon we had “English class” with our older boys- Seliel, Alberto, Jose, Domingo, Junior, and Edwin. I say it with quotations because they very badly wanted to see us, but they figured they would have a better chance of getting to do this if they said they wanted to learn English. We were on to them pretty quickly though, as they asked to meet at Long Beach!! We sat down by the beach and tried for all of two minutes to teach them English. As usual, Seliel was the only one paying attention as the rest of them begged to go swimming! So that was the end of that English class! We were able to teach them a few new words though… like “creeper” as we complained about the Dominican men staring and hissing at us. We ended up walking all the way to Central Park (which took about a gazillion hours) and then treating them all to dinner at the Provocon as it is our favourite place to eat with them, where we share constant chicken die jokes (Alberto was saying he was hungry before he went, so Domingo decided it would be really funny for them to ‘eat’ our arms to relive the hunger… weird boys!). Okay, so a few funny stories. First, all the boys showed up except Chichi, who we had given the guagua money to the day before. We asked the boys where he was and got several different answers (he wasn’t at home when they left, he is on his way but walking, he got hit by a car and died, etc.) As it turned out, he fell asleep on the guagua and went all the way to Playa Dorada before waking up and coming back. He did make it eventually though! We are giving each of the boys photo albums of pictures of the past 2 months for when we go away, and other little gifts. For Seliel, we gave him an English-Spanish dictionary (it was Melissa’s). He is SO smart and is always wanting to learn more… this kid will sit by himself reading the dictionary for an hour while all the other boys swim or play. So we gave him the dictionary but he put it back in Melissa’s bag at the beach so it wouldn’t get wet. We accidently took it home with us, and when we saw him the next morning he pulled Melissa aside with a look on his face like he had something very important to say. “You are mafiosa to me” he told her. When she asked why, he told her it was because we stole his dictionary. If anyone knows Seliel, you would find this very funny! He is just the cutest! There are a ton of other equally hilarious/adorable things that happened, I think I am going to have to write a post devoted to just all the funny things these kids do! This is exactly why I can’t even begin to think about going home (seriously, Melissa and I both are having trouble sleeping from the anxiety of leaving)… I am just SO happy here!

Best Birthday Ever!

Well, today is my 20th birthday, and it was pretty much amazing! My day began with a call from Frangelis’ family in Arroyo Seco, wishing me a happy birthday, which I thought was really sweet. My Mom hired a driver for us to take the boys to Luperon beach with her and my sisters. It is a pretty secluded beach about 45 minutes or an hour from our house. We picked my family up at 10 and then the boys (Alberto, Domingo, Seliel, Jose, Junior, Yordi, and Edwin) a little after, and then we headed on our way. When we pulled up at our meeting spot with the guagua, they all started cheering and running to the car- they were over the top excited. When we told them the day before to meet us at 10, Seliel said he was going to be there at 9! An hour long ride would usually be pretty boring, but nothing is boring with these boys, and we just laughed the entire time. Domingo spent the entire ride looking out the window for cows. Every time he would see one, he would yell “Looky! It’s Melissa and her bambinos!” We got to the beach and had a snack first. We had packed about 25 sandwiches, 3 bags of chips, two packages of cookies, several packages of candy, one big juice, and two bottles of pop- it was all gone pretty quickly!


We swam in the water, the boys buried each other in sand, searched for crabs and other things to scare us with, and just had a great time. We laughed SO hard. Melissa even had tan lines on her face from constantly smiling! As we were swimming, the banana boats were passing with people on them. Alberto and Seliel would swim to them each time, hoping to get on, but of course they never could. My Mom decided to treat us all to a banana boat ride, and the boys were so excited. They are always happy and laughing when we take them places and have fun with them, but just to hear their pure joy on these banana boats was probably the best part of the day. Melissa went first with Junior, Jose, Yordi, and Edwin. Of course the little daredevils decided to do it all standing up, and Melissa said Edwin was standing behind her grabbing her by the life jacket the whole time trying to get her to stand too! I went next with Alberto, Domingo, Seliel, and Meghan, and the other boys went in the boat and watched us. It was really fun, and halfway through the boys all decided to dive off. Jose used the opportunity to jump off the boat and hitch a ride back on the banana boat, and the guy running it didn’t notice so he got an extra ride! We spent pretty much all day there, and it was so much fun- a birthday I will never forget with people I will never forget. Alberto made me a necklace for my birthday (with his name on it!) and Domingo got me a little painting with all our names written on the back. I told him I am going to hang it up in my house in Canada next to his picture- he was very proud! I couldn’t have imagined a better way to spend my birthday!

My Family Is Here!

My family is here! But let me start with yesterday (sorry, have had no Internet which is why I haven’t been posting!) We have put together photo albums for a lot of the kids. We had one special one with tons of photos for Sonia and her kids, Andy, Andrieli, and Yoandi. We stopped by their house yesterday to drop it off, and they were SO excited. The photos were a huge hit and it was really nice to just spend 45 minutes or so sitting in their house and enjoying their company. We are getting a little better at Spanish, and we were able to sit and make conversation- enough to understand what was being said to us! Sonia is so sweet and is always so excited for us to spend time with her. When I told her my family would be coming the next day, she started cheering! She told us that when the kids were opening the gift bag we had handed out the other day, they were screaming and loved everything so much, especially the books and toy cars. Poor Andy had stepped on a nail the other day and his foot is so infected, just like Yoandi’s hand was infected last month. It is so easy to get an infection here, as the place they live is basically a garbage dump. Liz was able to arrange for him to get the medicine that was prescribed to him (but that they didn’t have enough money to fill). It was still looking not so great when we saw him today, but hopefully it kicks in soon and the swelling goes down- he is having a hard time walking and is in a lot of pain. At night we went with Jorge and Liz to a Chinese restaurant. Halfway through our dinner two street boys came in to get out of the rain. Sonny was 9 and Jimmy was only 6. They were both Haitian and work and live on the street. Sonny was the leader, three years older, and he sat down eagerly to offer the food we offered. Jimmy accepted the food as well, although he wouldn’t smile like Sonny would. It hit me really hard seeing them, especially Jimmy at only six years old. To imagine my life at six years old, and then to compare it with Jimmy’s… who has seen so much and gone through such difficult times that he can’t even smile. It is unimaginable.

My Mom and sisters arrived late last night and we picked them up this morning to go to the boys’ club. I was so excited for them to see the conditions of the barrio and meet all of the kids I have talked about so much. They helped to prepare the peanut butter buns and orange juice and watched as we welcomed all the kids in and sang the English songs. We handed out a ton of craft supplies and we all helped the kids to make paper crowns. They got so creative and it was hilarious to watch what they came up with (especially as they were showing off for the new people!!) We had Sauri, who made long “dreads” out of the pipe cleaners and pretended to be Bob Marley. Marco actually glued a piece of paper onto his lip for a mustache! We drove to Sonia’s house after, as we didn’t want Andy to walk home on his sore foot, and we got to show my family around the beach area of Playa Oeste, and see Sonia’s house and meet some of our girls and little boys who were hanging around. I haven’t gotten a lot of time to talk to them about what they thought of it all, but we decided to cut their day there, as most people go into some culture shock seeing all of this stuff. We dropped them off, and then Melissa and I did some prep for my big fiesta tomorrow, and went into Aguas Negras to see the boys and do some paperwork with three mothers, whose boys are joining the new club (Yohan, Yeffri, and Leuri). It was a really good and busy day. I have been talking to my family for so many years about how passionate I am about my work here, and so I am so excited for them to be here and to see and understand what I am talking about.