Hasta Luego Chicas!

Today was my last day with the girls - who I have become quite close with. I love them all so much, and it was hard to say goodbye. They all wrote little love notes as a parting gift.

We ended the class with a fun girls only dance party - and let me tell you - those girls can dance! We also had a fun game of Stella Ella Hola - I taught the girls this game last summer, and they LOVE it. Generally, the girls love any kind of hand clapping game, but it is funny because they just slur all of the English words of the song together.

After a heart wrenching goodbye with a ton of hugs, and too many tears for me to handle, all of the girls left.

We stayed at the club for the rest of the afternoon sorting through our suitcases full of supplies. Things like sheets, towels, clothing, shoes, toiletries, candles, all stuff that we were saving for our emergency relief fund. We sorted it into bags with a bit of everything in each package and we will be flying it over within the next few days. With the donations that DOVE has raised so far, we were able to buy some medical supplies. Our good friend Jorge, who owns a pharmacy matched what we bought in supplies from him as donation. We will also be flying this over ASAP.

DOVE is still accepting donations. This relief effort is not going to be a one time thing. It will be a long journey for Haiti.

What a day...

So today started out as a typical day. We woke up to more rain, and headed to the club to clean up the water from our much leaking roof. The boys were waiting for us when we got there, wanting a dry place to come to. So we had the club, and not all of the boys were there, due to the hammering rain. Three of the boys decided that they were going to try and give me a new hair - do today. They pulled, tugged, and by the time they were finished, Yordi in particular, were so proud of what they had done - just a different style ponytail. It was pretty funny, because I had all these different hands through my hair, working together to make it nice.


Today was the last boys club before I leave to go home. I do not like goodbye's, I always say see you later. So this time, I was able to say, see you in May! I still hate leaving, and I actually didnt cry this time...I guess because I know I will be back in a few months.

So later on when we got home, around 6, we were all sitting in Liz's room on our laptops. I was writing an email, when Liz says, "hey you guys, is the house moving?" And I was like ya right, thinking she was just being silly. But I looked up, and realized the bed I was sitting on was shaking hard. We got up, and went into the living room, to see the ceiling fan shaking like crazy. We quickly went downstairs to stand outside. The whole neighbourhood was out on the streets, and we stood out there for about 15 minutes. It was raining, so we came back in to get on the internet and find out what the heck just happened, while staying on the watch for after effects. It was a 7.0 Earthquake that hit Puerto Prince, Haiti the worst. They have buildings and homes collapsing right now. I am grateful that we didnt feel the worst of it, but also praying and hoping that Haiti can survive this.

2010 Programs Begin!

Saturday, January 9, 2010

Today was the first time we saw in the sun in 6 days - and it was wonderful - hot and sunny with not a cloud in sight. Today was also the first day of DOVE's music program and puppetry program. So let me explain a little about each program.

The music program is being run by a Brazilian man, who has worked with the age group of kids we have many times over, and created some awesome music. He starts with putting the band together - 10 singers, 10 dancers, and 15 musicians. Since we have more kids than that in the club, he did auditions - and this is what he spent hours doing on Saturday at the club. Next, Tadao (the music teacher)will teach the kids how to make the instruments out of recycled and natural materials. And then of course, he will teach them the actual music, and by the end the kids will hopefully be doing gigs around the city - and THEN, if we can raise enough money, the kids band will be able to record their own CD! This program will take 6 months - which will take the kids right into the summer. They are super excited about it, and we learned through the auditions that the kids you least expect seem to have the most talent. I can't wait to see how it turns out - when I come back in May, they program will be four months in progress.

The puppetry program is more than most might think - the kids are being taught by the teacher how to make these puppets out of paper mache and recycled materials.

They will write their own plays, and create their own shows. This program is GREAT for the kids, and they will really have the chance to showcase their creativity.

There are so many great opportunities for these kids at the club. It will really give them skills and knowledge to take into the world. It is funny, I was gone only 5months, and I can already see a HUGE difference in most of the kids. They have come out of their shells, and are really starting to show their true colours. This vocational school run by DOVE Missions is so great for them, and I am very proud to be a part of this organization.

The Day of Epiphany in the Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic is a very Catholic country - in fact Roman Catholicism is the official religion. Well in the Catholic religion, January 6, is the day of Epiphany -and the day of gift giving. Well today was a huge holiday and Dominicans take it very seriously.
So as were about to drive home from the club, we saw four of our kids, all brothers and sisters, walking down the street, dressed in their very best (without their parents). We stopped and asked them where they were going, and they said that they were on thier way to church. We thought it was really sweet that the kids were all going to church together, and let them go on their way. We drove a little further down the street and came to the church where they were going - it was packed - and very loud. The sound of excitement and laughter filled the air, and so we decided to stop and go to mass. Liz knew the priest who would be doing the mass, and as we walked further in the doors, we saw more than half of our kids from the club. We were bombarded with hugs and smiles. It was quite clear that we were the only gringos, and we drew a lot of attention as we walked through this small, busy church to find a place to stand along the side.
The church was hot, absolutely packed with people, loud, and as I looked around everyone was smiling; everyone was genuienly happy to be there.
The mass started and it took the priest some extra effort to get everyone quiet and calm; there were mostly kids there, and not a lot of adults which really surprised me. The mass is in session, and I look across the church to see Elizabeth (one of the girls we saw walking), looking at me. I motioned for her to come over and stand with me, and so she politely made her way through the crowd. I know that Elizabeth comes from a very rough family life, and she is one of the kids that really gets to me sometimes. So we stood there, hugging while mass went on.
A lot of the kids were sitting on the floor at the front of the church, right in front of the alter; including Elizabeth's siblings, and some other kids from the club. So we decided to go and sit down.
It wasnt long until I had two more kids sitting with me, just wanting the love and affection. And as I realized what was happening here, the fact that I was sitting in church, surrounded by kids who I love so much, celebrating such a special day, it was such an emotional experience for me. It is hard to even describe in words.
After the mass was over, the church was giving out gifts - since today is the day of gift giving. So the church basically turned into a crazy scene and we decided that was the time to leave. We all left feeling so great, and loving the way life works - it was such a spontanious and unexpected experience but such a meaningful one.