Dominican Republic

!Hola, amigos! ¿Que pasa?
As you can see, we have learned some Español since we have been here (You might think it is weird that I am not using any word contractions, but Henrys keyboard is different, and it is hard to figure out how to make commas. I apologize!)
Right now we are packing up and getting ready to leave at 4am tomorrow morning. I would say for most of us the feeling is bittersweet- we are ready to go home, but also want to stay here forever with the kids. We spent our last day with them on Saturday. We went once again to Pajarito, a Dominican and Haitin village. Orginally we were going to stay for the majority of the day, but something fell through with one of Henrys friends being there. So sadly, we were only able to be there from 10am to about noon. We had fun coloring, painting fingernails, throwing balls, making oragami, playing beisbol, and filling water balloons. Some of us had little friends we recognized from last time- it is so special when one of the kids actually remembers one of our names. A few of us have decided to sponsor the kids we have built relationships with.
Right before we left, we passed out clothing to the kids. We were able to make a lot of the kids happy with the new clothes we gave them, but we ran out towards the end. To make up for it, we gave toothpaste and toothbrushes to the ones who were not able to get clothes. I know- that does not really compare to new clothes...does it? We were sad that it had to be that way.
The past two days have been a break from our work week. On Sunday, we spent most of the day a la playa (at the beach). Though it was super fun, most of us ended up with pretty bad burns. I know so far Jenny and Jeff have reported blisters, and all the nastiness that come with it- ¡Gross! Other than that, the beach was awesome!!
Today was our shopping day. We went to about 10 different stores looking for different trinkets for our friends and families. I was a big fan of the DR coasters- I think I bought about 4 sets. By the end I think we were all pretty tired...and hot...and sunburned. I think we liked playing with the kids more than we liked shopping.
Anyway- We are at the end of our trip. I want to go home, and I want to stay here. We have made so many good friends. Some of which are Henry, Aneudy (his nephew), Juanita (his mother), Katherine (his neice), and Jasmine (a family friend). We are going to miss them soo much.
Thank you for praying for our team, and for those of you who have supported us financially.
From the Dominican Team- Rachel Reynolds