Ranas que croan - croaking frogs...

Let me set the scene here. As I sit and type this note to you on the porch sitting in a rocking chair, the frogs croak like ducks in the nearby grass and the secadas chirp in the trees surrounding the Children of the Nations property. A few of the interns are singing/guitaring some freestyle blues while others sit and chat in the dark. The more adventurous of the group are encouraging each other to flip into the pool from the raised gazebo. What a relaxing end to an incredible day!
We arrived on Saturday in Santo Domingo where we met up with the ten other interns ages nineteen to twenty-four. After waiting in the airport for everyone to be collected, we jumped into a yellow school bus which drove us to the most charmingly colorful inn run by a woman named Betty. The duration of our stay lasted four days. We spent our time getting acquainted with our team, doing some training for the following weeks, and exploring the city.
Tuesday we hopped on the schoolbus again in the direction of Barahona, the town of Children of the Nations. Upon arrival to the short-term missions house, we were greeted by the staff and were able to chat with them over a wonderful lunch prepared by the three women who call themselves the "CrazyCooks". We have been spending today and yesterday doing more training, riding mopeds around the city, and simply getting the know the people in and around this house. Tomorrow we are looking forward to meeting our host families who we are able to stay with and build relationships with over thesummer.This has been a wonderful week of learning all sorts of things about the genuine warmth, hospitality,and the slower pace of life of the people who we have met. On the other hand, we will be encountering some entirely different situations starting Friday when we begin to do our assigned projects in the surrounding schools. Please pray that God will give strength to love the people in the communities and to serve them unselfishly.
In Him,
Katie, Amy, Anna