Dominican Journeys: Monday, February 10

This morning the team was taken to the facilities run by Servant's Heart Ministries - The Pregnancy Education Centre, Kairos de Christo School and the Loma Community Centre. A five minute video introduced the staff members and their roles and we got to meet each of them during the morning and ask questions. We were given a short tour and overview of the programs offered at each location. At the school, Wendy explained how the Hugs for Kids Child Sponsorship program works. She said that each child has a 'personal story' that she tries to learn so that their education can meet specific needs.

Back to the resort for lunch and then returned to Loma to go over plans for the week and do some preparation. Following the afternoon, John, Peter and Dario went to the lumber yard, while the ladies and Vic were taken back to the resort. Obtaining wood, screws and nails turned into an adventure as I tried to get specific dimensions of lumber and lengths of fasteners. I wanted 1 1/4 inch drywall screws but they only had 1 inch or 1 12/ inch. I ended up with 1 1/2 inch nails, which will work by putting them in at a slight angle. I wanted 1x6x10 foot planed pine boards but they didn't have any, so I had to get 1x12s cut down the centre. Plus, they had to be cut to 5 foot to fit into the van under the seats. What should have taken 20 minutes quickly became an hour.