June 12, 2013-doles
today was our first day in the dominican republic on our mission trip and it was very new to me.
we traveled through the main city which was very unique in its own way, and it also made me want to climb on everything.
we then reached the small settlement of los cocoas, that was a very new experience to me as well.
the town was full of very young kids that didn’t care what color we were or where we came from all they wanted to do was welcome us and play.
it was kinda confusing at first because of the language barrier between us but when i was able to remember what i was taught it became very easy too connect with the kids and ask them about their hobbies and their life here.
after we met the kids and their VBS leaders we walked down a short path to a volleyball/basketball court the towns people made. we played a friendly but competitive game of americans -vs- dominican volleyball, and it really touched me to see how despite being impoverished they can still come together and laugh, play, and spread joy as if the things going on around them didn’t exist and they were in their own little world.
But the real joy came when we were leaving the vacation bible school location and a couple of the kids that i had interacted with earlier went out of their way to run up to me and give me a hug. This amazes me because i am not the one living in these conditions but i came to try to help them but they have seemed to impact my life way more then i could have done for them and this all came for the simple gesture of them trying to show their affection for me.so in short today was a good day