We were pretty wiped out on Friday when we arrived at Las Palmas and were glad that we didn´t have any responsibilities right away. After some delicious Dominican food prepared by the Adventist University just down the road from the Las Palmas home, we took a little walk around campus. We saw few people, as everyone was in the houses--perhaps due to the heat or preparing for Sabbath.
After dinner, we joined the Las Palmas family for worship in the little campus church. After visiting with a few people, we were happy to get back to our house and go to bed.
We began our day on Sabbath with our individual "quiet time" with God and then circled up to share what we had read. After that we headed to Sabbath School. This was a special World Youth Day for the SDA church and there some special presentations. They singled out several children and teens for affirmation and then gave Fernando and me a chance to introduce our students. I asked people to raise their hands if they were there for my last visit 8 years ago. It has been fun to meet the few teens and young adults who were kids at my last visit. I was so surprised that a couple of them could recite my schtick from the clown show I ended that visit with. They had better not give anything away when I do the show this time!
After lunch it was quiet on campus, as many families use the warm afternoon for a siesta or other quiet indoor activities. We noticed a few people were sitting under a large acacia tree in front of the house next to us. We had already met the house father on Friday and I decided to go visit. A few of my students decided the siesta sounded pretty good, but half of the students went with me to visit. The mom of the house of nine children (two of her own) was fixing various girls´ hair as we chatted. Then several girls decided to fix Ana´s hair. I went back to the house to encourage the siesta crew to join us. Soon all of the girls were getting hair parlor treatment. We ended up spending several hours there, talking, reading, reading letters kids had received from sponsors (including one in German, that I was able to translate), running and doing cartwheels and handstands.
Mike and I sponsor a nine-year-old girl who happens to live in that house and she brought out the cards I had sent her to show me. It amazed me how much the cards are treasured and I felt embarrassed how little I have written. After all the girls had had their hair done and redone several times, our little girl shyly said she want to do mine, too. Mind you, I just got my already short hair cut boy-short just last week. After my turn in the impromptu hair parlor, I looked like a Rugratz girl, with little sprouts all over my head. And no, I am NOT going to post a photo. Of course, I had to leave my hairdo in until we left, so as not to break my little girl´s heart.
The children at the neighboring house insisted we come back after dinner for worship. Afterward, we headed down to the basketball court where a couple dozen children were playing. About 10:00, I had to remind my students of our early morning and pulled them away from their new little friends. It was a full and delightful day.
Photo note: The picture that looks like mostly grass and blue sky lets you see the distance between our house and the neighbor´s. If you click on the photos, you can see them larger and you will see the group sitting outside the house visiting. By the way, we are not allowed to post photos of the children on social media, so we will limit ourselves to shots that do not clearly distinguish kids. Sorry. They are adorable, but it is rule for their protection.
After dinner, we joined the Las Palmas family for worship in the little campus church. After visiting with a few people, we were happy to get back to our house and go to bed.
We began our day on Sabbath with our individual "quiet time" with God and then circled up to share what we had read. After that we headed to Sabbath School. This was a special World Youth Day for the SDA church and there some special presentations. They singled out several children and teens for affirmation and then gave Fernando and me a chance to introduce our students. I asked people to raise their hands if they were there for my last visit 8 years ago. It has been fun to meet the few teens and young adults who were kids at my last visit. I was so surprised that a couple of them could recite my schtick from the clown show I ended that visit with. They had better not give anything away when I do the show this time!
After lunch it was quiet on campus, as many families use the warm afternoon for a siesta or other quiet indoor activities. We noticed a few people were sitting under a large acacia tree in front of the house next to us. We had already met the house father on Friday and I decided to go visit. A few of my students decided the siesta sounded pretty good, but half of the students went with me to visit. The mom of the house of nine children (two of her own) was fixing various girls´ hair as we chatted. Then several girls decided to fix Ana´s hair. I went back to the house to encourage the siesta crew to join us. Soon all of the girls were getting hair parlor treatment. We ended up spending several hours there, talking, reading, reading letters kids had received from sponsors (including one in German, that I was able to translate), running and doing cartwheels and handstands.
Mike and I sponsor a nine-year-old girl who happens to live in that house and she brought out the cards I had sent her to show me. It amazed me how much the cards are treasured and I felt embarrassed how little I have written. After all the girls had had their hair done and redone several times, our little girl shyly said she want to do mine, too. Mind you, I just got my already short hair cut boy-short just last week. After my turn in the impromptu hair parlor, I looked like a Rugratz girl, with little sprouts all over my head. And no, I am NOT going to post a photo. Of course, I had to leave my hairdo in until we left, so as not to break my little girl´s heart.
The children at the neighboring house insisted we come back after dinner for worship. Afterward, we headed down to the basketball court where a couple dozen children were playing. About 10:00, I had to remind my students of our early morning and pulled them away from their new little friends. It was a full and delightful day.
Photo note: The picture that looks like mostly grass and blue sky lets you see the distance between our house and the neighbor´s. If you click on the photos, you can see them larger and you will see the group sitting outside the house visiting. By the way, we are not allowed to post photos of the children on social media, so we will limit ourselves to shots that do not clearly distinguish kids. Sorry. They are adorable, but it is rule for their protection.