by Lynnsey Keener, Maddie Long and Lindsey Roddy
Howdy y'all!
What an amazing time it has been thus far in the DR! We started off the morning by celebrating our very own, Madeline Perrigo, who missed her graduation today to join us on this supercalifragilisticexpialidocious trip.
To follow, we loaded the bus for our game. One thing we have learned about island time is that your plans can start way earlier than you expect or way later, but never the intended time.
Our morning game was set for nine, but when we arrived to the Olympic Center the República Dominicana men's team was on the court practicing. We were not bothered by the delay because it was very entertaining to watch a professional team practice.
Once we got on the court, we had another great competition. The team soaked up the opportunity to play in the amazing arena. Everyone got the chance to play, including Maddie and Macy, who are both currently recovering from previous injuries.
After the team left the gym, we headed to a local Pizzeria. To say the least the pizza was muy deliciouso y fantástico!
Next, we traveled to an outdoor court deeper into the city of Santo Domingo. Here we hosted a basketball clinic for around 100 of the neighborhood children. Our team split up into groups of four to help lead the kids through stations and skill work. These stations included, defense, ball-handling, shooting, and passing.
The children were all very attentive and engaged through the duration of the entire clinic! It was amazing! Towards the end of the afternoon, Senior, Nicky Widenski, shared her testimony with the children. It was very meaningful to see, our typically shy and quite teammate come out of her shell to share the power of Christ in her life.
We couldn't help, but surround her in a team hug after she was done. As we were leaving, it was impossible not to notice the many children without socks and shoes. Several even approached us and asked for what we had on our own feet. It seemed like a small sacrifice considering the fortunate lives we have lived, so barefoot we loaded the bus back to the SCORE house.
In conclusion, it was another excellent day to share our love for Christ and the game with others. The Dominican has filled our hearts with great joy, and has given us an appreciation like never before! Can't wait to see what our last few days have in store.
Y'all come back now, ya' hear!!
