love them...

Yesterday was one of my favorite days of being here. We took ten of the older kids at the orphanage on a little field trip to some of the cities in the interior of the Dominican. We got to see a lot of places that are rich in Dominican history. It was sooo much fun! We left at 7 in the morning and all piled onto the OO bus. All the Americans were sitting by themselves before we picked up the kids at their door joking that we couldn't wait to see who we would get to sit next to. The first 2 1/2 hours were spent on the bus, but even that was a lot of fun.

Carolina, Nicol, and I on the bus.

The first stop we made was at a park to eat snacks and then visit a local Catholic church. It was beautiful with stained glass windows made from glass brought back from Italy. The Dominican is 95% Catholic so most churches you see are old but not necessarily extremely active.

Afterwards, we headed to another city where there is a museum dedicated to the Maribel sisters who played a vital role in what brought Dominicans the freedom they have today. The country used to be run by a dictator of sorts and these women helped bring restoration to the D.R. We also had the huge privelege of meeting (and taking a picture with!) the only sister who survived the overthrow of the old goverment.

Yessica, Yenny, and I at the house of the Maribel sisters.

The gardens at the house were beautiful!

After this we headed to a nearby town that has a store similar to Walmart. It was crazy big and something I have never seen in the Dominican Republic. We took the kids inside and actually ate at a "food court" that was located in the store. They had a Domino's! So we ordered a whole lot of pizza and pushed together some tables for all 27 of us to sit down and eat. Everyone loved the pizza and getting to roam around the aisles. It almost didn't even feel like we were in the same country. Here's just a glimpse of some of the pizza we ate...

We then headed to a different park with some gardens to hang out a take a group picture. We then headed to the next stop on our list (which I can't remember the city name) which was the sister city to Atlanta, GA! Crazy! We stopped at a big playground. I have never seen anything like it here. It was a wooden playground painted all kinds of bright colors. We had tons of fun running around on everything and taking some more pictures.

We left this city and drove about a half hour to a monument in Santiago in memory of the heroes of Dominican history. The monument sits on top of a big hill and overlooks Santiago (the second largest city in the D.R.). By this time it was dark so it was neat to see all of the city lights. We left here to begin the 2 1/2 hour drive home... which true to Dominican culture turned into a lot longer than that. That's another story in and of itself, but it took us over four hours to get back home. However, even that was so much fun, just hanging out with the kids, playing a little mafia, and arguing over who has the best music. By the last hour or so of the drive, everyone was asleep. I was sitting with Carolina and Nicol... Nicol was leaning against the window, I was sleeping against her, and Carolina was sleeping against me the rest of the drive. I couldn't help but think about how these kids have become so much a part of my family. I have shared life with them the last 2 1/2 years and watched a lot of them grow up. I love sharing special moments like yesterday with them. It reminds me of the beauty of community and the way God intended life to be. All barriers are broken and we are simply living life together. I love them so much!

Yessica posing with a butterfly at the park. Thank you Jesus for new life :)