Fun!

The public school system in the Dominican Republic is completely political - and ridiculous! Today none of the schools in the area, except for the parish school, had classes because they teachers are striking. The school in Pedro Santana, the next town over, has been striking for a month and the kids have not had the chance to even start school. If they do not get their act together those poor kids will be a year behind all of the other towns. So sad...

OK enough about my vent!

So today, with this strike in the campo I usually teach in on Tuesdays, I got to spend time with the kids outside of the school room. Five college students came with me (the ones I spoke of that are on a scholarship with the church to go to school two days a week and work the others) and we held a morning sports camp with the kids. Very impromptu! We brought footballs (yes - America!), soccer balls, baseballs and bats, and jump ropes and played games with the kids and passed out candy. The campo of Hato Viejo is incredibly poor and a lot of the kids we worked with were Hatian and only spoke Creole but we had a great time. I may have gotten a little tan, but it was all worth it. There was one girl in particular that I just adored. We went door to door inviting the kids to come out to the field and play with us and she was on the street walking with a box of empanadas that she was trying to sell. No one was buying. She kept watching the kids play as she stood on the sidelines with her little box of empanadas and kept smiling at the other kids. I asked her to join us and she said that she could not because she had to work. My heart was so filled with joy when she put the box down twenty minutes later and joined in! She could not have been older than 9 years old. She did not go to school because she "worked" and she did not even have a pair of shoes to walk in. The poverty here is beyond belief!

Just something I was thinking about. I hope everyone in the US is doing well and I hope that I get to see you all or hear from you soon - I miss you all dearly.

Prayer Request:  My uncle Jim has been fighting cancer and this week my mom and dad have been driving up to South Dakota to see him. My dad and my uncle have almost the exact same DNA and are going to do a transplant or something that is above and beyond my understanding. Please pray that it all works out! Thank you!