We got caught in a rain storm on the way to themission site on Sunday morning. I was sure
glad that I had chosen to ride "inside" this morning!
Sunday work included the wall around the school
Work continues with the walls around the statue and painting.
The area will be landscaped on a future trip.
A donor gave many fruit trees that were planted on Sunday.
The trees will bear fruit to help feed the familiesof the village and also provide needed shade from the intense sun.
Towards the end of the day on Sunday, the walls around the school and playground get a coat of paint.
Missionaries gather near the statue as the day winds down.
Dale and Marie George (Marie is a nurse) pose with a family they worked with all week.
Sunday afternoon would be our last in the mission community. We had been warned that long goodbyes were not good for either the missionaries or the village residents. A couple of the villagers had set up tables trying to sell some handcrafted items. We also had been advised that it was not good to "give" things to individuals in the community. They would surely ask us for things. I had eight different men during the week ask for my tennis shoes.
We were told that any items that we were willing to donate, should be left at the hotel. The local convent would gather them, launder them and distribute them fairly among the village. It made sense. I knew this in advance and left most of the clothing I had brought for the nuns to distribute.
We all gathered in the community center for a wrap-up of our day's work. Our last day of work. The bus pulled up to the back door, we got on, and off we went. It was tough, but I understood why we did it.
We were told that we could go to the beach for about an hour and a half on Sunday afternoon. We went back to the hotel, changed into our bathing suits and off we went to the public beaches at Punta Cana.
The beaches were beautiful! The public beaches were adjacent to the private beaches of the luxury resorts in Punta Cana. There was a rope dividing the two beaches and guards there to keep "us" off of the private areas.
On Sunday evening, we were scheduled to have Mass at the Basilica with the Bishop saying the mass. We arrived and the doors were all closed and locked. There was an area outside the Basilica that was covered and there were hundreds of candles being lit by an old woman.
Steph, Jon and Kathy admiring the candles!
The Bishop never arrived so we had mass on the steps of the Basilica with Father Bob and Father Andy celebrating. The rain held off so we could finish the mass.
We were just getting ready to leave when Father Bob heard from the Bishop. He apologized and said he had someone on the way to open the Basilica for us to be able to look inside. I am glad that we waited. It was very modern, but very beautiful. Pope John Paul visited this church and named it a Basilica in the 1992. The Basilica is dedicated to the Blessed Mother and a small oil painting of the Blessed Mother is enshrined on the alter. The architect for the Basilica used this painting as the inspiration for the design.
The large arches covering the Basilica represent praying hands. The Basilica is located in the center of Higuey and can be seen from almost everywhere in the city.
The Christmas decorations were still up in the Basilica and this life- sized manger scene was beautiful.
We walked from the Basilica to a beautiful restaurant where we would be served our last dinner in the Dominican Republic. We ate on an outdoor garden patio covered with palms. The dinner was buffet style and included, steak, chicken, seafood.
Justin loves his spaghetti!
The guard at the hotel was friendly but we struggled to communicate. You can't see it,
but he also carried a sawed-off shotgun. We all felt well protected!
One of the sad things to see were all of the "Lottery" stores located on almost every street corner. The word "Banca" means lottery. This one was located adjacent to our mission. These people struggle every day to feed themselves - among the temptation to make it "big" by winning the government-run lottery.
I had an opportunity Sunday night to go back to the mission with Father Bob, Jake and Jon Lawrence. Jon and I had questioned each other several times during the week about what the mission area might be like at night. When we arrived I was surprised at how much light there was and we felt very safe. It was very peaceful. Several of the residents came out and gave us some very special hugs goodbye. It was a good end to the day.
Or what I thought was the end of the day. haha I was asleep about a half hour when I heard what I thought was loud pounding on the hotel wall that separated Jon and me and the guys next door. I sat up in bed - half asleep - when the window above my head opened and just about scared me to death! It was Justin - he had crawled out on the third floor roof and was trying to get into our room! haha I was sure I was going to be trounced with a bucket of cold water! When I told Justin that - he said he wished he would have thought of it!
