Dominican Republic Trip 2017

Monday was a very full day for us, and a very positive one.  We ate breakfast at 7:00 and shortly after 8:00 we were headed through the busy streets of Cotui, stopping twice to pick up material and then heading out of town to the mountain village of Hernando Alonso.  Our entire group of 21, plus several guest translators, first stopped at the local K-8 elementary school, the site of our library project.  We assembled in the courtyard of the school, and were greeted by Juan Batuista, the Director of the school, who expressed words of welcome and gratitude. We then walked to the playground (the entire school compound is a compact one, fenced entirely on the outside) where the children were lined up to greet us. The Director introduced us, and then Rita Severinghaus spoke briefly to the children to tell them how happy we were to finally be with them.  The children then sang the Dominican Republic's national hymn, and did a superb job. Many of us noticed that every child was singing, a

We woke up on Sunday morning to find out that the Easter Bunny is alive and well in Cotui, and had left green plastic cups full of Easter grass and candy eggs at the doors of the eight students with us.  No hunting necessary!  We are breakfast and set out on foot to the center of town, about a 15-minute walk, and joined the many people filing into the Immaculate Conception cathedral on the town square.  We were ushered to seats right in front and to the side, where we could see everything.  The center seats in the first few rows were occupied by proud families and young boys and girls dressed all in white, there for their First Communion.  The altar area up filled with floral arrangements.  The windows were all open, allowing a warm but not oppressive breeze to fan us. The music started with several recorded songs, and the service began with the procession down the center aisle, priests and celebrants all in white led by young acolytes bearing the Bible, the crucifix, and the censer fi