Dominican Recap #6

This is Jenny Schumann's response after our amazing trip to the Dominican Republic. I hope that these words will help give you an idea of how amazing our trip was and how much of an impact it had on everyone who was on the team. Here is what she said,

As we were on the trip and even before we left, Coach B, and Mr. Bowers told us that when we got to the DR, we would be in shock by the things we saw. Well, I was just thinking "Yeah OK, we will deal with all that, it wont be so bad". Wow, was I wrong. It broke my heart. Seeing all those kids, compared to the children we see everyday in America, it's just like what happened? How does it get so bad like this? And how can we help? I am so thankful that we were able to go on a trip like this. It has changed my life. One of the biggest things, that was really hard on me was just realizing things about myself. Like for instance, how selfish I can really be or rude, or how I said I can be in a bad mood or act like a brat over not getting my way, when I have SO MUCH. The children in the Batays made there own toys, they made them out of trash they found laying around, like the kites we saw. One of the things that shocked me the most was how happy they are. They're probably the most happiest, sweetest kids you will ever meet, and they have close to nothing. I didn't think I would be able to build any type of relationship with these children because after all... We can really speak to them. Once again, I was so wrong. We spent time with the kids and got to know what they like, how old they were, how many siblings they had, but even if no words were spoken, just by the little kids taking your hand just wanting to sit with you or look at your story board, just being so into what you were doing there, just amazed me. I miss them all so much. I find myself wondering what they're doing right now as I'm sitting in my safe, nice house. It hurts. But it was amazing to see God work through each and every one of us. It truly was an amazing trip that I feel lucky to have gotten the chance to attend. :)