July 20

Today, we went to a local church and spent the entire day working on a building that the church uses for their children's programs. We worked on putting a ceiling up, framing an interior wall and demolishing a section of a concrete block wall. We ended up having quite a bit of idle time during the work, due to not having all of the neccesary supplies for the project. Once we were missing items, the Dominicans we were working with would run out to get the neccesary item, which happened several different times throughout the day. We also had to make do with the tools we had available to perform the work. The block wall we ended up taking down with framing hammers. We ended up having paint rollers but no trays. Throughout the challenges, each of the team members kept a good attitude and worked hard, when there was work to do. The weather today was clear in the morning and a little more humid than yesterday. After lunch it rained hard several times. This actually helps to relieve the humidity some during the rain, but when it stops raining it is more humid. Many of us run outside when it begins to rain to cool off a bit. We are adjusting to the weather, but it does tire us out quicker than we would like. We all have a greater appreciation for air conditioning. We have also learned that cold showers are a blessing. Not much need for hot water here. At the end of the day we returned to the base to a nearly full swimming pool and enjoyed a refreshing swim in the pool. During our evening session we spent time in small groups praying for the 7 spheres of the Dominican Nation. The 7 spheres were: Business; Family; Media & Communications; Arts & Entertainment; Government & Law; Education and Church. We followed up the prayer time with worship. After worship we and the Ywam staff prayed over a young man by the name of Bobby who had come to the base a couple of days before us. He is 20 years old and will soon be starting his third year at Indiana. He left out earlier today to head home to Chicago. We are looking forward to a day off tomorrow to go explore the beach and some of the city here. After a long hot days work, this will be very refreshing.