Punta Cana and Back

We had a great few days in Punta Cana.  The weather was beautiful and hot.  We had so much fun just playing.  We spent hours boogie boarding in the crystal clear water.  Charlie and Phil went deep sea fishing and played off the bad luck that they each have with this activity.  They didn't catch anything and they both got sick--well worth the money, huh?!  Oh well, it is the experience that counts!  Morgyn, Nicole and Denise went horseback riding yesterday afternoon on the beach and loved that, too.  It was so nice to be away and relax for a few days.  We have some great pictures (that we can't upload) and I will post them all this weekend when we get home.  This is the 3rd time I have been here, and I have loved the country and the people (most of them :) since the first trip.  This is Charlie and Nicole's first experience here and in the Caribbean.  I think it is safe to say that if someone were to buy them a house here, they would move right in!  Charlie was excited when Denise told him that both of his names could be changed to Spanish--Charles=Carlos, May=Mayo=Carlos de Mayo.  He loves that!  We've been calling him Carlos ever since, I keep forgetting his real name is Charlie! Phil (Denise's husband) took this a step further and told everyone at the resort that he is the famous Carlos de Mayo.  You would not believe the service and discounts one can get when traveling with the famous Carlos de Mayo from the United States.  Now that I am typing this, I am not sure why we didn't use the "famous Carlos de Mayo" card last night in the hotel when we needed our air conditioning fixed!  We called last night when it wouldn't work, and the guy came to fix it this morning....that's helpful.  Oh well though! Can't really complain about being in the Caribbean.

We arrived home in Santo Domingo tonight after a loooong car ride in a packed car, on Dominican highways (unpaved roads) for a good part of the trip.  We had to go through all of the bags that we had brought with us and start to get things organized.  There are 60 children in the project we're visiting on Thursday.  This is great news, because we have enough supplies for each child to have a backpack filled with supplies and a new article of clothing and a toothbrush.  We even have a list of the kids at the project with their names and ages, so tomorrow we will go through and pick out a backpack for each child and label it with their name.  It will be special for these children to know that these backpacks were especially chosen and picked out just for them, complete with their name on it (on a piece of tape, that they will likely rip off in 5 seconds, because let's face it they are still just like every other child, but it is the thought that counts :) )

Following this on Thursday we will visit the project working with the women who have come out of prostitution.  For each of these women we have a brand new journal and pen.  We hope this gives them even a small sense of dignity, value, and hope.

We will update soon, thanks for checking in on us!