Mission Trip to the DR 2016: Day 4: Children's Ministry in Hato Mayor

Tuesday, January 5, 2016

They blew the horn at 6:00am and I got up, got dressed, and did my morning devotion. At 6:40am we met in the Upper Room for morning worship and a speaker. We went down to the Dining Hall for breakfast and I had a roll, eggs, and some rice krispies. We loaded up on the cattle trucks and Children's Ministry headed off to a small village in Hato Mayor. We parked along the road and walked down this dirt alley to the church. Kids came running and before we knew it the small church room was filled with children of all different ages. We read them some stories and sang some songs. Then we went outside. There wasn't a big field to play in because it was in the middle of the city so we played limbo and jump rope in the alley. We had competitions and the kids loved it and were so happy to play with us. We went back inside the church room and did a craft and sang more songs. It was then time to leave to go back to the compound for lunch. When we got back the kitchen staff had sandwiches, fruit, and cookies ready for us. We finished eating, got back on the cattle trucks, and headed towards a small village just a mile away. We got there and kids started running towards us. The school was very small, but thankfully we could fit everyone in it. We sang songs and read some stories and then went outside to play since they had a big open field. The little boys kind of took over all of the balls so a big group of girls played "Pato, Pato, Gonso" which in English is "Duck, Duck, Goose". The little girl I was with didn't want to play that for long so we went off and ran around, spun in circles, and kept tickling each other. We played with nail polish and while I was painting the one little girl's nails an older girl took my pony tail out and started giving me corn rows. We went inside for a craft and then it was time to leave. The girl only got about half of my head done so we decided that she would come to the compound and finish my hair later. We got back and I got a shower and then it was time for dinner. I had a roll, salad, and pasta. Then Liz and I found the older girls and got them to finish giving us cornrows. It hurt while they did them because they had to pull our hair tight, but it looked really cool when they finished. A group of us played cards for a little and then it was time for group worship in the Upper Room. We sang a lot of great songs and then when it was over we went to bed.