Leaving for service

The students have now scattered to service assignments across the Dominican Republic for the last half of the semester. The final week in Santo Domingo was spent wrapping up the city experience and getting ready for the switch to the countryside and service assignments.

One last lecture was by Giselle Scanlon on Women and domestic violence issues in the DR. While many facts were sobering, she also reminded us that slow progress is being made.

October 18, 19, and 20 were designated as "census days" when each household was supposed to be available for the census-takers. So, final evaluations and exams originally scheduled for Friday were given on Thursday.

We had one final time together at Casa Goshen on Friday afternoon. This time included a short worship/sendoff time, and many unofficial activities such as a final haircut and an early celebration of Christina's birthday (which she will celebrate during service), and a last game of dominoes. Last but not least, there were lots of hugs, goodbyes, and even a few tears until the group is reunited 6 weeks from now.