After a long day of working on the flood wall on Wednesday, came the much anticipated day off. We left the hotel on the bus in the morning for a river-boat tour, featuring many of the DRs native plants and animals. A walk through the garden revealed many types of bananas, coconuts and many of our favourite tropical fruits in their natural environment. I have been forced against my will to mention the sauna tree (sauna pronounced SOW-nuh, where SOW rhymes with cow). I can’t believe Charlotte and Erin convinced me not only to mention the sauna tree, but also to explain how to properly pronounce sauna. (Yes, you’ve been saying it wrong your whole life. No, google doesn’t know how to pronounce it.) Many of the fruits held medicinal qualities I’d never heard of. Next came introductions to some native animals, namely the crocodile and the snake, followed by the river boat tour. On our way downstream, we witnessed some amazing trees, birds, and nausea (Faith). When we reached the ocean, we left the boat for some time in the sand, where we found seashells, bright colourful stones, and plastic. 

After the return trip up the river, we had lunch, and set off for the hotel, where we had the rest of the day to ourselves. We all had a break in our separate rooms, where we killed time and experienced more nausea (Emily) before supper. We ate before going back to our rooms where the leaders tended to Emily and the kids played cards. We played Dutch Blitz, and experienced nausea one final time (myself). While I was down and out, the rest of the team met for a group prayer time, where members prophesied over each other, and experienced the love of God through each other. I really have no idea what happened after (or during) the prayer meeting, but I assume everyone kinda just went to bed. So there you have it, everything I can remember or was told about Thursday. Only two days until our triumphant, exhausted return.

This is Peter, by the way.

 

 

 

 

Thursday was our fun day! After a good sleep-in for most of the kids and some morning yoga for the leaders we packed up and went on a quick day trip. Our destination was a garden kept by a local man whose desire is to educate about the local flora and fauna. We learned that there are 8 kinds of bananas and approximately 300 kinds of coconuts! Crazy! Many of the plants, he told us, are used as treatments for varying illnesses including diabetes and cancer. We learned about a plant that’s red pigment is commonly used as makeup, and we were encouraged to try some on. As the pictures can show, that pigment looked great on us! As well as plants this man also has a crocodile, iguana, and snakes. He told us that he wants to teach about these creatures so that people won’t be afraid and kill them needlessly. We can certainly say that we weren’t afraid as many of the kids got to hold the boa constrictor! After the tour we went on a river boat cruise ending at the ocean. We paused at a sand bank so that we could swim in the spot where fresh and salt water meet and explore the beach for a while. We then cruised back to the garden to have lunch in one of the tree houses on the property. Following a brief sun shower we made our way back to the bus and then the hotel.

The rest of the day was spent relaxing by the pool, at the beach, or in the hotel rooms. In the evening the group got to spend some intentional time in prayer. Each member of the group received a time of prayer from their peers. While I was unable to attend (due to some common travelling issues I can tell you about when I’m back) I heard from many that it was a beautiful and encouraging time, where the kids were able to pray for one another. As per Faith “It was interesting and fun” (Faith Pring, 2019).

Emily