Today we weren't able to serve because the country was on strike (angry at their government). But apparently this is a scheduled strike and work will continue, as normal, tomorrow. So this morning we did cross cultural orientation (CCO) and some other team building activities. The first thing we did was cut different pictures out of magazines that represented us, who we are or things from our past. Once we cut them out and glued them on to our posters, we had to split into groups of 3-4 (of people we didn't know) and tell them why you chose the pictures you did. I was in a group with one of the Pastor's from Tennessee, Steve, as well as Steve Berg and Karen Subah. Both of whom I 'know' but I learned more about them through this activity.
The next thing we did was count off by fours. Then we split into groups and had to come up with various greetings, and mannerisms for our 'cultures'. Each group was a different culture (defined on a handout) and then we had to intermingle - acting in character.
In short:
Group 1: Jerks (my group)
Group 2: Humble Servants
Group 3: Too relaxed and laid back
Group 4: OCD/frightened of the unknown
We had a lot of fun with this one. Thinking that we were above the other groups was a fun roll to play because some of the girls got really into it. I guess not that we were 'above' them - but we needed everything to be perfect and none of them could do things 'correctly'.
The last activity we did - we split up into teams of 6-7 people and were given a bag of legos. They were only blue and yellow and all different sizes. Each team member had to take a minimum of 6 pieces. We had five minutes to talk about our strategy. Then one at a time, each group member could go up front and look at a model of 'a person' that was built out of the exact pieces we were given. Once the team member came back, we had to construct the person without talking! This was extremely hard. Especially since we had a 10 year old and a 6 year old in our group.
We saw many strategies - some people tried to write down where each piece went. Which was hard when you only had one minute to study the model. Others brought a camera to take a picture (which didn't always help). Finally, at the end, they allowed one team member to speak. We wrote "White Flag" on a piece of paper and surrendered! Some groups finished, some came close. We barely finished the mans legs! It really was a tough task.
By now it was lunch time. We had soft tacos and french fries. Then at one o'clock we left for a house down the road. Rumor has it, it was the vacation home of the brother of a man who owns a Professional Dominican Baseball team. (Did you follow all that?!) Regardless, this place was amazing! At the top of the hill was a big gazebo with a nice pool table and about 12-15 huge rocking chairs under it.
The 'Gazebo'
The Rocking Chair Circle
Down the hill was a baseball field, a basketball court (with a volleyball net), a soccer field and a huge 'natural pool'. I didn't know what a natural pool was. It was basically a fairly big stream that they must have dammed off at one point and covered the sides with concrete and rocks. They also made steps and a little 'island' that you could sit on where the water would only cover your legs. The water was pretty deep in the middle - it came above the men's shoulders. At the far end of the pool there was a waterfall and the stream continued around the property. It looked like a lot fun. I didn't swim. I was going to play basketball, but I forgot my sneakers at the camp. So I stuck to taking pictures and chatting with Jim.
Isaiah was in heaven :)
We stayed at this place for a few hours and came back to the camp around 4:30. Dinner was at 6.
Dinner: Rice and beans with beef and broth on top, Carrot and potato salad, Avocados, Plantains and Bread.
After dinner, Daniel, leader of World Servants in the Dominican talked to us about why they choose the communities they do, to work with. He also explained that 24 years ago - an American, had to show him how bad the poverty was just 30 minutes from his house. He said that there are parts of the D.R. that are very rich and do not even know the needs of their country. There are also others who know, but don't want to do anything about it. Their government allows the wealthy people to give up to 5% of their income to charity without being taxed - yet on average they give 1.5%.
That's really heart breaking to me. Especially after our home visits. One of the ladies asked us to pray for her daughter's health as she just had an 'attack'. It's terribly sad to think that people could help kids like her and help her get medical attention, yet they choose not to.
After Daniel spoke the FBC Group got together on the "basketball court". (It's basically a pavilion with a portable basketball hoop). we did power claps for good things that happened that day. Then we threw together an impromptu worship set. We sang 4 songs a capella. It was really awesome.
I can hear a lot of chaos in the dining room from the safety of my magnificently mosquito netted bed! But I think I may call it a night. There's only half hour until the generator goes off and we're about to have a thunder storm for the third night in a row. Thank you Jesus for giving us a break from the heat at night!
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