Dominican 2012

We were picked up at the airport by the missionary who took care of us. Gary was amazing and I think I speak for all of us when I say that, the path God has given him is not easy, but, this is a man who is blessed. God's hand is all over his mission center, his churches, his transportation. Speaking of transportation, we spent most of our time being toted around in a bus. There were more than 30 of us (when you add in Gary, his wife Cindy, their daughter Sarah, their two sons, a local pastor, and another kid who helped us out some along the way). Anyway, these pics were taken as we journeyed from the airport (through the city of Santo Domingo) out into the mountains to Mucha Agua Mission Center. This first picture is of Christopher Columbus' house. Did you know that when Columbus discovered the new world it was at this very spot in the Dominican Republic where he landed?! Pretty cool, I think.

Before we could make the long trip to the mission center (think 2-2 1/2 hours), we had to stop for gas. I took a picture of the gas sign because it struck me as funny....if you think gas is bad here, consider seeing this everyday! Of course, it's labeled for Spanish Money which is like .38 to our $1, but still......it looks serious! It was at this stop that Gary said that we might want to use the restroom (the last good toilet we would see for the week), and that we may want to get snacks for the long drive. You would not believe the amount of chips on that bus.....I think we all thought we may not see them again for a week, so we stocked up. Ha!


I snapped this little photo of the smallest kids along for the trip. They, of course, liked to ride in back of the bus! This is Bleu, Bay, Olivia, and Kyla. Another picture of what we saw on the drive through the city. Keep in mind, this is the city. This is where the money is. And this is what a lot of the city looked like. If you look close, you'll see trash cans in the picture. The city was cleaner because they actually had trash cans and picked up their trash. The Dominican is beautiful. The scenery is amazing. But the people there- they just don't pick up trash. It's just kind of thrown everywhere.