We had another amazing day here in the Dominican Republic.  Our camp is very nice.  This morning when I woke up I thought I saw a rock sitting on our blinds.  Even though I was a little groggy and not quite thinking straight, that didn’t make any sense.  Then the rock blinked. 

The kids here are adorable.  They yell the songs at the top of their lungs.  Their favorites are “Father Abraham” and “I’m in the Lord’s Army.”  Carol, one of our translators, taught Renae and me how to sing them in Spanish.  We thought Brittany was taking our picture while we were singing, but she was actually making a movie of us.  It is so embarrassing!  We are doing the hand actions and everything.  I hope that it doesn’t end up on the church projectors when we get back.

  At VBS I help lead the red group.  I love it because I get to move around with the kids from station to station, so I am getting to know some of them pretty well.  I was surprised at how outgoing some of them are.  They smile and want to hold our hands and play with us.  One of the boys at our morning VBS, Joeldy, thinks it is hilarious when we speak in English.  I can carry on small talk with the kids, but sometimes they try to tell me stories and ask me for things, and I have no idea what they are saying.  But in spite of our communication difficulties we still are able to praise the Lord together.

I’ve become good friends with one of our translators for the afternoon VBS, Oliver, who is nine.  He told me long stories all of the way up the winding mountain road to Salto.  I learned all about how his dog tried to bite off his sister’s head and how he fell off the top of a very tall slide.  It was very entertaining.  But not quite as entertaining as when Kevin cranked up the radio in the van and showed us his dance moves.

I got to go into Jarabacoa with about fifteen other members of our group tonight.  We stopped at the ice cream shop.  It tasted delicious after a day of hard work.  We walked across the street to a picturesque park.  There is an enormous tree in the center that has been there for over 500 years.  We met three boys who wanted to shine our shoes.  They posed so Renae could take their picture.

So far this trip has been really fun.  God has been using our team to spread His love to the Dominican people, and in the process we have really bonded together.  Several of the children at VBS have accepted Jesus Christ as their savior and Lord this week.  The setbacks we face bring us closer together as a group and closer together with God.

Katherine Stammer