2005 Dominican Republic Trip: Saturday, August 20

After breakfast, it was time for the annual baseball game: Americans and Food for the Hungry against the players of Los Botadas! It was very hot, and there was little shade in the field where we played. We practiced pitching and catching for a while, and played with the children, until enough people showed up to play baseball. Almonte set the batting lineup. Since the women were not in the lineup, we stayed in the shade as much as possible and visited with the children.

A few of us needed to use a bano, so we walked to where we saw one and asked permission to make use of the facilities. While we were there, we saw a rope making factory behind the house, and asked permission to take pictures of the process. They were happy to demonstrate how they take shredded plastic and “spin” it into ropes.

It wasn’t long until the players of Los Botadas had defeated our team – the first time in four years! Some of the women said it was because they weren’t included this year, when they had played in the games that we won.

We drove back to the church, where Millie had prepared sandwiches for our trip to Santo Domingo. The Pastor and church members surprised us with another farewell ceremony in which they presented each of us with a certificate thanking us for our service, a souvenir keychain drum, and a tee shirt with a map of the Dominican Republic on one side, and the words “With great love from La iglesia “Senda”, Los Botadas, RD” We took more pictures, and then we played with the children and waited for Maximo to come with the van. It’s okay to ride in the back of the truck around Los Botadas and from the camp to the worksite or church, but from Los Botadas to Santo Domingo would be quite dangerous.

On the way, we passed the Phillies training camp. So Rick, an avid baseball fan, was thrilled when we stopped and he was able to take some pictures. There was a game in process, and the coach invited him inside the fence to take more pictures.

In Santo Domingo, we visited the market. Dr. James helped me find a gift for the white elephant exchange that evening (I’d forgotten to pack something from home), and I found a good souvenir for Melanie and another for my grandson.

Then we went to the hotel. On the drive over, Rick and I were curious about Andres’ age. He looks young enough to have just finished college, but he shared enough of his experiences that we didn’t think he could be that young. We asked him, and he’s older than he looks – and we’ll leave it at that!

Martires’ family joined us. It was great to see Christy again, and Isaac, Steven, and Chrismar have gotten so tall since I saw them two years ago! Victor’s wife, Lucy, also joined us.

There were four people to a room at the hotel, so Susan, Roxy, Carol and I shared a room. The first room we were assigned was flooded, so we had to get a different room. The humidity was so high, that the floor was quite wet in this room. Carol went on a walk to the beach with some of the others, and Susan, Roxy and I went for the pool. The water temperature was perfect! It felt so relaxing. Some others came down, and were going to walk to the beach, so Susan decided to go with them. Roxy and I stayed by the pool.

We each showered, and headed for the dining room to join the rest of the group. Supper was in the hotel, which has a buffet included in the price of the room. At the entrance are more opportunities for souvenirs. We bought a few things from Victor’s cousin, who had a stand there. The buffet was good, but not as good as Millie’s spaghetti!

After supper, we gathered near another of the hotel pools. Martires presented us with a plaque from Food for the Hungry, and each of us with a souvenir plate with our name on it, as well as a certificate. Then we began the gift exchange. The best was pair of oversized, star-shaped sunglasses from Noranne. Christy drew those, and they were perfectly coordinated with her earrings, which were also star-shaped. The mortar and pestals (there were two – one small and one larger) were very popular. Annie drew the first, and it was taken from her by a subsequent player. I think at least three of Annie’s gifts were “stolen” during the exchange.

Then it was off to bed. It took a while to get organized so that we were all ready to go in the morning, but we got to bed before midnight.