A Day in Education, Los Higos

“Education Los Higos is a wonderful little school for 2, 3, and 4 year old kids. The plan is to educate them in the Bible before they graduate to a private school where the Word of God cannot be preached. 

Hector the site leader along with his wife and many of his new friends teach at this school, and they do an outstanding job. Sometimes they are just outside standing! (I’m sorry for the joke). They really pour into their students to make sure that the children come back changed. New. Closer to God. Not only do Hector and his “gang” pour into the international students lives, but also the lives of the children. They get exposed to the Gospel at such an early age that the plan is that they will keep it throughout their lives and want to grow closer to God in an environment that doesn’t approve. The work that Education Los Higos does is truly the work of God.“

-Justin Lew

A Day in Special Education, Genesis

“Every day at Genesis is exciting and new. A typical day starts off with a morning devotional. Then we split up and help in various classrooms, do office work, and assist with therapy. After working in the classrooms for a couple of hours we have lunch. After lunch, we read to the kids in Spanish and sing songs with them. Then we clean up and head back to base. Other days we have painted classrooms, visited houses in the community, and done art with the kids.

I have loved getting to know all the kids and play with them during recess. The kids vary from ages 4-19, and they have various disabilities from autism to cerebral palsy to learning disabilities. Everyone at Genesis has been a great blessing in my life from the staff to the kids. Their continuous joy in their own trials and difficulties has been a huge light in my Christian walk.”

-Grace Birgel

A Day in Community Health

“A day in the medic site is never the same but is always crazy. The students take blood pressure, pulses, blood sugar, and every other vital. We talk to the patients to understand their condition and develop relationships. My favorite patients are the kids because they are so full of life and patient with our attempts to speak Spanish. Whether we go to someone’s home to provide medical care or set up a clinic in the middle of a town, we always bond with the patients. 

Today, we saw into the life of a typical obgyn office. We felt a baby’s head and heard the heart beat. Fernando tells us the symptoms and explains what it means and how to treat it. While we’ve all learned so much about medicine, we have learned what it means to incorporate our faith into everything we do.”

- Kiley McCombs and Sam McCutcheon

Community Dinner (from last Thursday)

“We went back to the preschool and ate with some of the people from the community. After that, we played HeadsUp and attempted our best Spanish. It was the best time ever.” - Nona (Education, El Callejon)

“We ate at the house of one of the kids on the baseball team. His mom made us the traditional Hispanic rice, chicken, potato salad, and plantains. It was delicious and after, we talked outside of the house with members of the neighborhood and it was a good time with the amazing weather.” - Toby (Men’s Sports)

“Community dinner was absolutely fantastic. We met an amazing woman, and my new friend Ally left our host family a very special present.” - Kelsey (Education, Mata Gorda)

“We ate with Melvin who is on staff at Genesis. The dinner was delicious, and we enjoyed his wonderful view of the sunset over the mountains. It was an amazing time with amazing people.” - Grace (Genesis, Special Education)

“The moment we walked to meet the family, I could feel their hospitality. I’ve honestly never had a more delicious meal in my life, and I’ve never felt so pleasantly happy as I felt while I was with them. It really was an indescribably sweet moment.” - Cathy (Physical Therapy)

“The great food, welcoming people, and the unforgettable conversation were the essence of this community dinner. It was the epitome of the Dominican Hospitality.” - Justin (Education, Los Higos)

“Great family, great hospitality, great food, great dominoes!!!” - Mr. Chong (Appropriate Technology)

“Dominican food is amazing but the hospitality was life changing.” -Priscilla Kendrick (Women’s Sports)

“We have learned so much about involving culture and religion into medicine. We have overcome language barriers and have learned how to take vitals in the hopes to invest our love in the country that has been so hospitable to us.” -Kiley McCombs (Community Health)

“I ate so much food.” - Hannah (Dentistry)

A Day in Men’s Sports

“A day in the Men’s sport site is always an amazing but different experience. On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays we work with the 12-13 year olds and on Tuesdays and Thursdays we are with the 8-9 year olds. Also, on Tuesdays and Thursdays there is batting cages at the base in the afternoon for the advanced group. 

A typical day for our site is pretty simple. After breakfast, Dave drives us to the baseball field and on the way, we usually pick up 3-4 kids. We get to the field at around 9 where the majority of the team is waiting for us. The team then warms up and after, we do drills from 9 to 11 and then the last hour we scrimmage with the boys. After scrimmaging, one team member from our site gives their devotion for 5-10 mins. After, we go back to the base for lunch and “ciesta time” and meet back up again at around 2. Once it is 2, depending on the day, what we do varies. It could be batting cages, getting smoothies or haircuts, swimming with the boys, or just relaxing at the base. The boys and the site leaders have been amazing and changed our lives and perspectives. It has been an outstanding experience.”

- Toby Calilap and Gage Young

A Day in Women’s Sports

“A day in the Women’s Sport site is very unique in that we get to build relationships with the kids throughout our time here because we see them multiple times a week. First every morning we get to run a practice with one of our teams and play games with them. In the afternoon we spend our lunches at the children’s education site el Callejon and get to see others in our group. After lunch we practice again with the freshman, jv, and varsity teams at another site. 

One of our favorite times of the day is our siesta time at lunch because we get to take a nice nap, but the chairs and too small for us. A moment that we cherished is when our site leader Mabe took our group to a waterfall and we were able to spend some alone time with God and reflect on our trip and our purpose. Our site leader has made such a huge impact on our life and the lives of those in the community. She had 10 teams this year and pours into the kids daily with devotions and prayer. Not only is she a rock in her community but had also motivated and encouraged us. 

We are extremely sad to leave all of our new amigos behind but we can’t wait to tell you about everything !!!

-Priscilla Kendrick, Becca Neighbors, Cassidy Rosso, Natalia Hoyos

Worship Night