A few additional updates

Thought #1: Swim practice went really well!!  We had a lot of fun in the workout itself (it was more short distance and kick work this time, whereas last practice was more endurance, heart rate control, and pulling-- not my favorite parts of swimming), and before practice itself, both the guys and the girls had somewhat of a chance to put ourselves out there with the local swimmers.  The guys were able to talk with their newly made friends while they lifted before practice, and Jean and myself were able to talk to our new friend about what we were doing in the Dominican itself.  We learned a lot about the culture from her and how much of a stark contrast there is between the city life in Santo Domingo (where the country club at which we swim is located) and the village life nearer to Juan Dolio (where we are staying at SCORE).  Who knows, some seeds could have been planted.  Softball, however, didn't have such a great practice, as apparently a bunch of drunk men decided to take over their softball field and chaos ensued.  The Dominican coach was somewhat concerned for our girls safety and thought it would be best that they leave for the day, just in case, as, obviously, this was not a part of the plans.  The girls are totally okay, though, as they just got back on the bus and met the wrestlers at their facility to watch them wrestle.  The wrestlers themselves seemed to have really enjoyed their practice too, although they say the facility feels like 130 degrees!

Thought #2:  Tonight consisted of a torrential downpour (and I mean TORRENTIAL!),  and, ironically enough, now our plumbing is not working.  So we have no running water and can't flush the toilets or shower, a pretty large problem with all of the athletes having tried to stay hydrated at practice.  Prayers on that whole situation would be amazing!  We're not too concerned about it, but tomorrow is our free day during which we get to visit Catalina Island and sight-see [I told you all that the itinerary would probably change :) ], so it would be kind of more enjoyable to be able to do that in a clean, un-chlorinated, un-sweaty, and un-wrestling-mat-ed condition.

Everyone says hi and THANK YOU for reading and keeping up with us!!  We get about 100+ views every day, and that is just SO encouraging to be able to physically see how people care about what and how we are doing.  Also, another big shout out to our 3 new followers- Linda Sagaser, Terri Hatt, and Gina Mosley (whose son is actually on the PANAMA trip!!!)!  Thank you so much guys :)