Day 7 – Thursday – Tymon & Kathryn
Hi everyone from Tymon and Kathryn! Today was a very different, and yet still rewarding day. For about half of our team we started off bright and early at 6am to be able to catch the sunrise from the roof. It was an amazing time of reflection and worship. Each of us settled into our own spots to pray, journal, and/or sing along to the music. Honestly, it was the best morning I’ve had so far (Kathryn). I had a chance to reflect upon Psalm 98:4-6 “shout for joy to the lord, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music; make music to the lord with the harp, with the harp and the sound of singing, with trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn – shout for joy before the lord, the King”. This verse along with the sounds of the city just solidified that our God should be praised and worshiped especially when tied to the beauty of creation around me.
After lots of hard work over the last few days and with more construction to come, our team enjoyed a day of restoration by site seeing and learning more about the Dominican Republic, leaving at the same time as always (8:30am). We drove into Santo Domingo to visit the Old City, go to an open market, and to the Three Eyes. The Three Eyes are a giant catacomb of caves that was featured in one of the opening scenes of Jurassic Park. At the market the students got to experience how to bargain for souvenirs, which included an encased tarantula that one of the students spooked Kathryn with on the bus… multiple times. The opportunity of bargaining in the Dominican Republic afforded the students a chance to engross themselves in the culture. Then we went through a grocery store to buy local treats and obviously coffee (even though it’s a thousand degrees here…for Tymon). As we were heading back to the bus, we passed through Christopher Columbus’ son’s house which was a part of one of the oldest forts in the America’s. It was beautiful to watch the team bond as we partook in all these adventures.
Our day ended with whatever resort we were at where we were treated to a very delicious lunch (Kathryn was very excited for the hamburgers which did not disappoint). God Bless spell check! Sheesh! The patio overlooked the Caribbean Sea which was a first for many. The water was gorgeous, clear, and turquois in colour and contained many critters (some were very excited by this, others… not so much). This included lots of fish, crabs, supposedly a jellyfish, and even an octopus made an appearance. Laughs were also had over a game of tips (with a frisbee) as nobody could conquer the game much to the frustration of Rodney.
Overall, it was a very restful day where we got too much sun, ate too much (Tymon doesn’t think we could ever eat enough here), and laughed too much. We deeply appreciate your continued prayers as the students prepare for another couple of full days of construction in the blistering heat.
God bless, Tymon and Kathryn
** Internet was not cooperating tonight. Check back tomorrow for more pictures
