Dominican Republic 2026 Day Two
BANG BANG BANG.. goodmorningggggggg! This was the lovely wake up call at 6:30am this morning from our very enthusiastic leader Olivia A. We hopped out of bed, some of us in our shorts and tank top, others in a hoodie and sweatpants, (we went a little crazy with the air conditioning) and went up to the roof for our morning Devos, and learned how to spend time in prayer with God. After spending a very peaceful spiritual connection time on the roof, it was finally time for the most important meal of the day… BREAKFAST!!! After putting an unreasonable amount of cinnamon in our oatmeal and having the best mango EVER, we got ready, then walked over to the ESL classes (English as a second language). We split up into 4 groups of 5 and headed into classes of all different levels of English speaking ability. We were able to make many connections with all the children in the classes. We spent their lunch break outside with them, played some keep up, had conversations, and made new friends! We had time before lunch so we went to a few more classes then made our way back to the compound. We had the BEST pasta ever for lunch, followed by a break where some of us went swimming, others took naps, and some of us just hung out.
At around 2, we packed ourselves into the bus (like a pack of sardines) and headed over to Villa Altagracia and split off into two teams; one team was painting, the other was sifting sand. The painting team then split into two; one team added varnish to the wall strip with all the basketball team logos, while being accompanied by all the super cool horses trotting by, and the other adding anti-rust paint to metal doors. Some of the kids nearby came up and sat with us! (they were super cute and so sweet!) While the painters were painting, the sifting team.. was sifting! No way!! We smoothed out two piles of sand, one outside the medical center and one upstairs. We took a quick water break and then went back to do... more sifting! All jokes aside this was a super important job because it means after we return to the compound for the night, the workers will use the sand to make concrete, that they then smooth on the walls as a finishing touch!
For dinner we had more mango’s! (can NEVER forget about the mangos!) After our delicious meal, which of course included, you guessed it… MANGOS (yes they’re that good!). (Tymon here… don’t worry they also had a legit meal of chicken with rice and salad that is safe to eat).
We did our nightly devos poolside, so bougie! We learned about the importance of teamwork! Then no time was wasted before we jumped into the pool to end our day with a SPLASH!
Sincerely your favorite mango loving girls,
Julia & Olivia. B
