Day Two — DR Trip 2026
Another day of seeing God at work in and through our group in the Dominican Republic. After a good, hearty breakfast our group got right to work doing some painting and cement work around Hota de Yaque.
Of course, most of the boys wanted to focus their efforts on the cement work. So, they spent the morning shoveling sand, gravel, and concrete mix
into a mixing tub. The first project was finishing a pour on the roof of the facility we were working on—we think it will be a bathroom eventually. They filled buckets of wet cement and made a fire line up a scaffolding and onto the roof. The empty buckets were tossed back down to be refilled and passed back up to the roof. It was quite a project. Once they finished the roof pour, they helped lay down some rebar and then hauled wheelbarrows full of wet cement to help pour the floor of the facility. After a few difficulties with the engine on the cement mixer, we were able to finish the roof and half of the floor of the facility. The boys worked hard the entire time.
The rest of the group worked on painting the parsonage and the church buildings. They took time to scrape off the old paint on the building and then we painted everything a cool grey color with some sand white accents. I would guess that we got about 80% of the painting job done today. So, not too bad for how large the building are. They’re both looking nice.
After eating a traditional Dominican meal (chicken, rice, and beans), we had some down time and a siesta. None of the students took the opportunity for a nap/siesta that I know of. Some of the immediately found themselves playing a basketball game with a bunch of the local boys and building some relationships. Others took the opportunity to walk with some leaders down to one of the local Colmados (small grocery stores). They got to try out a bunch of new candies and sports drinks that they’ve never heard of. It was quite the ordeal having 20-30 students in this small store, but we made it work and they were glad for the business.
We had the opportunity to take a ride on a new cable car system in the afternoon called the Teleferico. It’s basically an enclosed ski lift that takes you above the city as a means of transportation. It’s very nice and modern and was a great way to get a view of the city and get an overall feel for what it’s like. Many of the students mentioned the contrasts in the community between fairly wealthy and poor. You can see very nice places with new cars who have next door neighbors with a home that may not even have a roof on it yet. This is very much what it’s like throughout the Dominican Republic.
From here we had our first volleyball and soccer camps with local kids from Hota de Yaque. We had some delays on the drive home from the Teleferica (you can ask more about that experience later), so the kids were lined up at the gates and filling the courts when we got they. They were so excited to be interacting and practicing with our students. The students mentioned that they were surprised how excited they were and how eager they were to have conversations with them and build relationships. I stayed with the volleyball teams and had the joy of watching all of the interactions between the teams throughout the various activities. The soccer boys came back saying, “Those guys are REALLY talented soccer players!!” It’s only been a day and I can already see many new relationships forming and foundations being laid for some good, gospel conversations later in the week.
We also were able to wrap up the evening with a trip to Helado Bon—an ice cream shop. Once again, it was a little chaotic with 58 people in a small ice cream shop, but it was worth the wait. Everyone enjoyed their ice cream after a long, hot, busy day. It was a great way to wrap up the day.
Actually, an even better end to the day was the debrief after we got back to Hota de Yaque. We took some time to talk about how we saw God at work throughout the day. Student shared storied about how they took time to pray in the middle of a difficult moment and saw God open a way and bring peace and calm and joy in difficult moment. Students shared how incredible it was to see God at work opening up doors for relationships through the sports camps. Others shared how they could clearly see God’s hand in the beautiful creation and landscape of the Dominican Republic. There were others, but this gives you a flavor of what we’re already seeing from God on this first day.
Pray for students to get a good nights sleep tonight after a long, tiring day. Pray for doors to continually be opened for relationships with the local children and athletes throughout the week. Pray that God would continue to reveal himself to our students and the people we encounter throughout the week. And as always, Pray that as a result of these relationships, and the work we’re doing, that God’s kingdom would continue to come and His will would be done. Amen.