Friday, March 14

     Today, we woke up at 7 am and ate breakfast. For breakfast, we had fruit, cereal, and eggs. After breakfast, we met in the convent’s chapel to discuss our group's mission and purpose. We loaded into the van and drove thirty minutes to Maranatha’s shop. Maranatha has many shops worldwide in places such as India, Kenya, and, of course, the Dominican Republic. This shop has 10 workers who weld doors, windows, support beams, and vents for the buildings that Maranatha constructs. Maranatha hires local people to give them jobs and teach them skills that will be useful for their future.

After we toured the shop, we drove to the Ciudad del Cielo campus, a school Maranatha has been building for the past three years. The school is almost entirely constructed, and they aim to finish construction by June! I was really impressed by the quality of the structures. We ate lunch near the school, a woman who owns a restaurant in Santo Domingo made incredible food for us. After lunch, we drove three hours to Santiago, where we will stay for the next week. We had some free time before dinner, so I went out to explore. The place we are staying has a farm on the property with many fruit trees. I picked some fruit and tried it, and it was delicious! Finally, we ate dinner and met the pastor of the church that our group will be building this week. The pastor told us about himself and the importance of building a church in Santiago. (Most of the people I have met here do not speak English, so we have a translator). Now, we are going to bed early to prepare for another early morning! 

The view from where we are staying

The shop

A building on the Ciudad del Cielo campus

Fruit I collected

The pastor of the church







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