Busy day again today. Left for tour of local hospital around eight. Very interesting experience. The health care system here is run completely by the government. We were guided through the different units of the hospital by the assistant director, Dr. Cruz Travarez. The facilities where clean but very small and dated compared to hospitals back home.

After the hospital we were dropped off at the local market and divided into teams of four or five to search for items in a scavenger hunt. The scavenger hunt was fun because it forced us to use the Spanish we knew while also allowing us to interact with the culture. The market here is nothing like the grocery stores we have at home. Here the market is laid out over about five blocks with fruits, vegetables, grains, spices, and juices for sale. Once we had finished our cultural experience of shopping in the market we were told we would be performing our mime dramas in the market. So, we headed back to the bus, unloaded our sound equipment, and set up in the middle of the open air market. The mimes were a challenge due to the very tight space were were confined to for a stage (8ft x 8ft). Praise God, we did have lot of people stop to watch and here the dramas.

Once we finished the dramas in the market we loaded everything back into the bus and traveled back to the guest house. After lunch we worked on the projects we'd started yesterday. The brick wall around the guesthouse is now about 1/4of the way done! Around 4:30 we loaded everyone into the bus and set out across the town dropping off teams of 4-5 at Dominican homes. This was a real fun time to see what a middle class home looks like on the inside and observe how Dominican families function. My team was dropped of at an apartment building and we spent the evening conversing with a family (who Paul Krueger stayed with two years ago). They'd prepared a meal for us and we spent several hours talking to them.

After diner we went out into one of the local parks and put on an outreach. Josiah and Nathan juggled to some music to draw people in. However, right as we started it began to rain so quite a few of the people left. The team handled this challenge great and invited people to come and stand under the gazebo where where were performing our puppets and dramas. We were still able to perform all the puppet skits and mimes without and serious problems. Praise God for the people who stayed and heard the gospel message.

PRAISES:

• Apart from a few minor bugs and injuries the team remains in good health
• Safe travel around town (no small task with 25 people)
• Opportunities to meet and talk to local families
• Drama and puppet teams were flexible with heat, stage size, and rain
• Rest and siesta this afternoon
• Those who heard the gospel presentation during the mimes and puppets

PRAYER:

• Weather would be suitable for our planned work (It's still raining as I right this)
• Those we ministered to today and those who we'll come into contact with tomorrow
• Compassion as we work with orphans tomorrow
• Flexibility due to weather and other circumstances
• Energy and strength to accomplish our goals
• That the team would stay spiritually hydrated and allow quiet time in the midst of the bustle
• Continued health