Sunday

Today was the last day of painting for us. We kept painting on the church, putting on the final coats of paint. Everyone was painting hard today, trying to get everything done before church that night and we would be heading back to the cold. Today was interesting from the standpoint of watching two different cultures handle the stress of getting everything done on time. The first thing we did was verbalize what needed to be done and organize some kind of a game plan. I sensed a lot of stress from some of the guys on our team. I also sensed a lot of stress from some of the Dominicans, though it didn’t seem to agitate them much, just prompted them to work harder.

Well, we gave her a good attempt today, but alas we ran out of paint again later in the afternoon and had to call it good for now. One of the walls inside still needed another coat of paint, but I’m sure that has probably been taken care of by now. We were really hoping to get in a game of basketball with some of the guys from the church, but never seemed to have to opportunity. I was hoping we might be able to that day, but they weren’t around when we left. I’m not sure how good I would have played in my work boots and shooting at the 11 foot rim they have. It was pretty hot too.

Church that night was good. This was the first time I got to listen to Pasquel preach, though this time we didn’t have a translator and he can get pretty fast and excited when he preaches. I hear there was a really good super bowl on that night, but I wouldn’t have wanted to miss the opportunity to see Pasquel preach and worship with fellow Christians from the Dominican, no matter how good the game might have been. I really enjoyed being able to see the way God is working in the Dominican.

(Good times of fellowship)

Saturday

We painted…again. The mornings are getting pretty unproductive, I must say. It seems like the paint rollers are never clean, or when we do clean them we find them swimming in a bucket of water the next day. No one seems to know what paint goes where, or what paint is in each can. We also always seem to be out of the paint we need. With all this going on, it’s tough getting started in the mornings. A simple task of finding a certain color paint, a bucket, and paint brush can seem to drag on due to a feeling of total lack of organization. The kitchen was done though, and we were all working on the church, one part or another of it.

Eric, one of the guys with us was sick today. This was sad news for me because I bet that he wasn’t going to get sick till Saturday night or after. Me and Matt had made bets on when the food was going to get to him, mostly based on the knowledge that he had never been out of the country before. He kept blaming it on the salsa, but I knew the bet was lost. Oh well, he is still alive though, nothing but his body getting used to the food I suppose, in case you’re wondering about his health. Aside from that short stint, everyone was healthy the rest of the time there, thanks for the prayers!
After we went home and ate that night, we headed back to the church for the youth service. It was good being there and seeing so many young adults there. I must admit that I was getting a little tired at the service though. My brain tends to get tired much faster when I’m trying to keep up with what is being said in another language, even though they did have someone translating the sermon for us that night.