Days 11-12 - Performing in Santiago & Coming Home to Virginia

Day 11 – Singing throughout the City of Santiago

Saturday morning we were able to sleep in an extra half hour and it was much needed because most people were pretty sore from all the hard work during the past four days.  We had our devotions led by Sarah and she encouraged us to be the "God Flavoring" in people's lives and to see the "God Colors" in others.  After devotions, Zak awarded the FFP button to Emily Crawford.

We headed into the dining hall to sing the blessing and eat one of our last breakfasts at La Islita.  The food here has been tremendous and it's definitely going to be missed once we're back in the US.  Once breakfast was over, we cleaned up and packed our lunches before going on an adventure in the city.

Our first trip was to the church to pick up Estella.  Then the plan was to sing where Estella lived and a couple of the universities in the city, handing out flyers for the concert.  The weather had been very cooperative all week but Saturday it decided to rain quite a bit yet that wasn't going to stop us from seeing the city.  We got to where Estella lived and started singing out in the street.  We sang "The Storm Is Passing Over" and it definitely started to pass over.  We had to end our concert a bit early due to the heavy rainfall.  We did manage to pick up Estella's son, Juan Roberto, before we left.

The next destinations were two universities in the city.  We went out in the rain and sang our hearts out.  Some people looked at us like we were crazy but most of the students and passersby really seemed to appreciate it.  Those who looked especially interested received a flyer with information about the concert that night.  Once we completed our performances, it was time to go back to the church for lunch and a rehearsal.

When we returned to the church, we found our friends Katie, Kristie, Ali, and Marissa had been cutting out letters and notes to decorate the church for the concert.  We were extremely appreciative and all of us stopped for lunch and a bit of time to rest.

A quick rehearsal took place after lunch to make sure everything was ready for Saturday night's big performance.  Everyone seemed to be ready and so we headed back to La Islita to pack, eat dinner, clean up and change before the concert.  Packing early was a necessity as we were all told that our bags needed to be ready and outside by 7 a.m. the next morning.  Some were able to take a short siesta and the rest just enjoyed the leisurely afternoon before the concert.  We also gave our friends their gifts from Virginia including peanuts for several of them and books about Colonial Churches of Virginia for Sairy.

We had another amazing meal for dinner and then it was time to change for the concert.  Once everyone had put on their concert attire and reported back downstairs, we made our way to the church.  We joined the Haitian choir upstairs for a time of prayer and song to prepare our hearts and minds for the concert.  It was truly a moving experience, one that was quite unique for most of the group and continued to strengthen the bonds between the two choirs.

While the concert was scheduled to start at 7:30, we were dealing with people on Dominican and Haitian time so the concert started around 8 p.m. with a full church.  The choirs opened the concert singing "Total Praise" together and did a wonderful job.  Each group sang their own pieces in the middle, separated by a men's quartet and then closed the song singing "Perfect Praise" together again.  It was wonderful to have both groups be able to come together and praise God through their music.  When the concert was over, everyone began taking lots and lots of pictures.  The concert had even been recorded and they were playing the recording of the last song and it sounded great.  We're supposed to be receiving a copy of that via e-mail so maybe I'll be able to share it with you once that happens.

We were then patient and waited while Johnny and Frank took the Haitian choir back to their office in the bus.  Finally the bus returned and we all headed home to La Islita for the last night.  Before heading to bed, Chad led us in a foot-washing service.  Our whole group joined in this activity as we humbled ourselves to serve each other in this special way.  We split up into family groups and each group ended up having every person help wash the feet of the one who was being served instead of just one person.  Jim led us in music on the melodica throughout the service with Drew picking different songs to sing.  The "God Colors" we had discussed earlier in the day had been revealed in many ways today but they were really shining bright as everyone washed each others' feet.  After the service, everyone headed off to bed but some got distracted by a dance party that included lessons!  What a great way to end a long and emotional week.

Day 12 – Church in Santiago & Traveling Back Home

The last morning in the Dominican Republic had arrived.  We were definitely excited to go home but sad to be leaving the amazing community of friends we had encountered.

The logistics for our departure were a bit crazy as we had to arrange for our luggage to arrive at the church before we did as there was not space enough in the bus for all of us and our bags.  Luckily, Sarah had planned ahead to have our friends Luis, Frank, and Jenry load the bags on the bus with the help of our two bus drivers Johnny and Juan at 7 a.m.  They took the luggage over to the church, unloaded it for us, and were even back in time to eat breakfast with us.

We had another great breakfast, packed our lunches, said our goodbyes to La Islita and were off to the church to experience a Sunday morning worship service in the D.R.   

 Being a bit ahead of schedule, we arrived in time to attend their pre-worship service including prayers and songs giving glory to God.  Although most of the service was in Spanish, we were able to understand a lot of what was being communicated through prayer and song.  Once the actual worship service began, the Pastor welcomed us, said a prayer and then allowed the Voices of Youth to offer a few songs.  We sang “The Storm is Passing Over”, “Santo, Santo, Santo”, and “We Are Marching in the Light of God” with all of the improvised verses in Spanish.  Then there were some prayers and a lot of music in Spanish but we clapped, moved and sang as best we could, enjoying every minute of it.

 After the service was over, it was time to start saying goodbyes to our friends from Florida and Santiago.  There were lots of pictures, hugs, and tears as we said goodbye.  The bags were loaded on into the mini-van and bus and then we were off.

We arrived at the airport and then started through customs and security.  Unfortunately some lost their duct tape but for the most part, everyone made it through without too many problems.  There was a enough time to look at the items for sale in the airport gift shop and purchase drinks before boarding the plane for Miami.

The flight went smoothly and we landed in Miami a little earlier than expected.  Everyone got off the plane and began the long journey through customs and security.  After a few incidents, the whole group made it to the gate and had time to go buy some dinner.  We gathered back at the gate and boarded the plane for D.C.  

About two and a half hours later, we were in Virginia and ready to pick up our bags and head for the hotel.  Everyone's luggage made it safely and once we collected it all, we went to wait for the hotel shuttle.  The first group went pretty soon after we arrived but the second half of the group had to wait quite some time before they were able to get a ride to the hotel.  We all made it to the hotel by 1 a.m. and everyone went to their rooms ready to get some much needed sleep!