Itinerary!!!!- and group meeting thoughts

We've finally managed to assemble a rough estimate of an itinerary.  From what we've heard from those who've been before (the softball team has done a mission to DR before), detailed plans and any concept of "4:00 sharp" is not as crucial down there as it is here.  With that being said, we might switch plans here or there, but our group seems to be just fine with going with the flow of things.

Here's what we're expecting:

Saturday:
7:30 AM Leave Messiah
8:25 PM Arrive in DR

Sunday:
7:30 AM Breakfast
9:00 AM Church
Free afternoon/evening in true "day of rest" fashion
6:00 PM Dinner
Devotions by Coach Weaver after dinner

Monday:
7:30 AM Breakfast
8:30 AM Leave for Sugarcane Village (we'll be playing games with and giving donated items to the kids of this village)
12:30 PM Lunch
Afternoon Clinics (teaching our respective sports to the local kids)
6:00 PM Dinner
Devotions by the team after dinner

Tuesday:
7:30 AM Breakfast
Ministry morning!  (We'll be handing out and demonstrating the Sawyer water filters)
12:30 PM Lunch
Ministry afternoon!
6:00 PM Dinner
7:30 PM Devotions by the SCORE staff

Wednesday:
8:00 AM Breakfast
9:00 AM Leave for La Romana Orphanage (We'll be spending the morning playing with the children at the orphanage)
12:30 PM Lunch
Afternoon clinics
6:00 PM Dinner
Devotions by the team after dinner

Thursday:
7:30 AM Breakfast
8:30 AM Leave for Santo Domingo (We'll be shopping and sightseeing at a straw market!)
12:30 PM Lunch
Afternoon clinics
6:00 PM Dinner
7:30 PM Devotions by the SCORE staff

Friday:
7:30 AM Breakfast
Free day at Catalina Island! (Beach day... check out this picture!)
6:00 PM Dinner
Devotions by the team after dinner

Saturday:
7:30 AM Breakfast
1:00 PM Leave for the airport


After discussing the schedule as a group, there were a few things everyone seemed to be nervous about so here are some things to pray about that we're specifically concerned about:

• Local food... and potential sickness to follow.  We've heard that if it looks questionable, it probably is, but there's always that aspect of wanting to be adventurous.  Please pray for good discernment as well as relatively harmful bacteria-free food selection.
• Local drivers!  This may sound silly, but after hearing stories from those who've been before, I think we all got a little bit nervous about our rides from the airport to the SCORE facility and vice versa.  Apparently many drivers are very, very reckless and we all would like to stay safe :)
• Language barriers.  Obviously, there is some level of love that can be transmitted without words, but we would still so appreciate prayer for this nonverbal aspect of our trip to go smoothly, and for our translator to be blessed throughout the trip.
• Emotions.  Many of us don't know what to expect, and realize that seeing orphanages and villages is going to drastically change our perspective.  We know that our eyes are certainly going to be opened, and there is surely an emotional aspect of this to follow.

I should be able to have computer access through the SCORE office in the DR, so hopefully there will be more updates to follow! In the meantime, here is a picture of our group- Messiah wrestling, swimming, and softball representatives [except Jean... she was having passport issues and couldn't make the photo :( ].

Team pictured left to right:

Coaches (back row): Derek (swimming), Amy (softball), Bryan (wrestling)

Guys (middle row): Chris (wrestling), Zach (swimming), Matt (wrestling), Tim (wrestling), Ty (wrestling), and Brad (swimming)

Ladies (front row): Taylor (softball), Jacki (softball), Abi (softball), Katie (swimming)