Day 4 - Sunday’s Rest

It’s rare to be able to sleep in, but today was one of those occurrences! We had a nice slow morning with breakfast in bed (creds to the thoughtful, personal service of one of our team members) and then we went to church in Jarabacoa. We attended a bilingual service that was almost half a hour away. Surprisingly, we met a group of mothers and daughters from Wheaton, Illinois. Even though the power would cut out at times during the service, we were all very much blessed by the sermon and the worship. We also had the chance to take communion!

Church: Iglesia La Vid, Comunidad Cristiana

After service, we went to a pizza place in town and got to spend more time in fellowship with Kimberley, our missionary host, local church leader Eduardo and his wife Miriam, and one of the church pastors - Fernando. 

Pictured above (left to right) First row: Kimberley, Karis, Grace, Maddie. Second row: Young Sung, Lauren, Fiona, Anna, Emma, Professor Vander Griend. 

We also took a short trip to a nearby place called La Confluencia - literally The Confluence, where two rivers meet. We took a group photo at the sign with the big Jarabacoa lettering, and some of us even took a dip in the river!

The afternoon was a good time to relax back at the casita - some of us made use of the pool at the back (think sunbathing!) while others took naps. Part two of learning to play bridge was continued, and we also learned how to play dominoes, Dominican-style. Dinner was a simple course of quesadillas, chips with salsa bean salad, and some soursop - a creamy, white local fruit with a mildly sweet taste. We followed up with our nightly ritual of group devotions (led by Professor Vander Griend), a short briefing on tomorrow’s activities, hot seat (20 minutes of Q&A with one person), and story time with Professor Vander Griend (or as we affectionately call him, DVG). 

That’s all for today, we look forward to tomorrow’s visits to two local villages!