At 5:30 am we got up and checked out of our sweet resort so we could go catch the bus into Higuey and meet up with the team. The $3 dollar bus ride sounded super appealing compared to a $70 taxi. So we threw all our bags on (at this point we still have our carry-on bags and two check in bags each with 50 pounds of medicines and supplies). This wasn't a nice traveling bus so we just had to throw all the bags in the aisle and watch as more and more people crammed on. It definitely brought back memories of the buses in Guatemala. Just as we pulled into Higuey it started to pour and pretty much rained the rest of the day. But we made it to Don Carlos, our slightly ghetto hotel, with plenty of time to walk to church with the others.
Church was fantastic!!! I loved every minute of it. I made a new friend named Jacquelin. She was so sweet. She has a little 8 year old son. The members were so welcoming and appreciative to us for being there. 
It's the only ward in the whole city with only 2 missionaries, so they have their hands full. There was a confirmation of a man who had been baptized the day before. What an incredible experience to see that ordinance take place. I went up to congratulate him after the meeting and asked how long he had been meeting with the missionaries. He said he was actually from a different city and had met the missionaries there. He believed and wanted to be baptised but his wife didn't want anything to do with it. So he decided to leave and move to Higuey. He got all choked up and began crying about how he had moved here three weeks ago and was all alone, but now he has a family in the church. It was so touching to see the sacrifices he had made to come unto Christ. What a great example.
After church we grabbed some food then went to see the Basilica. It's a cathedral that holds a painting of the Virgin de la Altagracia which the Spaniards brought over in the 1500's. I guess in January tens of thousands of Pilgrims visit the cathedral.
That evening Emily and her group showed up. It was fun to have a familiar face there.
This is the A team. There were over 50 of us so we were split into 2 teams to go out to different Bateys each day. 
These are the interpreters. We met Sunday night at the church to get organized and understand a little better what was going to be happening that week. Basically every day we would be going out to a different Batey. Bateys are housing communities that the sugar cane companies have their workers live it. They pay them about $3 a day depending on how much work they get done. There's not running water and only some houses have electricity. It's pretty much slavery and was heartbreaking to see.
That night we sorted suitcases full of medicine to get ready to take out the next day. This is just one of the bags full of Tylenol.
Church was fantastic!!! I loved every minute of it. I made a new friend named Jacquelin. She was so sweet. She has a little 8 year old son. The members were so welcoming and appreciative to us for being there. It's the only ward in the whole city with only 2 missionaries, so they have their hands full. There was a confirmation of a man who had been baptized the day before. What an incredible experience to see that ordinance take place. I went up to congratulate him after the meeting and asked how long he had been meeting with the missionaries. He said he was actually from a different city and had met the missionaries there. He believed and wanted to be baptised but his wife didn't want anything to do with it. So he decided to leave and move to Higuey. He got all choked up and began crying about how he had moved here three weeks ago and was all alone, but now he has a family in the church. It was so touching to see the sacrifices he had made to come unto Christ. What a great example.
After church we grabbed some food then went to see the Basilica. It's a cathedral that holds a painting of the Virgin de la Altagracia which the Spaniards brought over in the 1500's. I guess in January tens of thousands of Pilgrims visit the cathedral.That evening Emily and her group showed up. It was fun to have a familiar face there.This is the A team. There were over 50 of us so we were split into 2 teams to go out to different Bateys each day. These are the interpreters. We met Sunday night at the church to get organized and understand a little better what was going to be happening that week. Basically every day we would be going out to a different Batey. Bateys are housing communities that the sugar cane companies have their workers live it. They pay them about $3 a day depending on how much work they get done. There's not running water and only some houses have electricity. It's pretty much slavery and was heartbreaking to see.That night we sorted suitcases full of medicine to get ready to take out the next day. This is just one of the bags full of Tylenol.
No comments:
Post a Comment