Hurricane Tomas

Hey everybody just wanted to check in and let you know that everyone is ok. Hurricane Tomas hit Puerto Plata in the form of tropical storms i.e. a ton of rain. This means while it isn't as bad as it could be there are still problems. Water is high in Agua Negra and Playa Oeste chest high in many areas.Our families are working hard to keep their homes in tact and their children dry. Everything will be ok, the rain just has a way of making life that much harder here. Keep everyone in your thoughts and hearts and we will let you know how things go as the days move on!

Love,

Dove

Girls Night In!

One of the many great memories I have of my childhood is slumber parties – and mostly for the event of someone’s birthday. Everyone who was invited got a little paper invitation (this has changed to “Facebook Events” now however), and was asked to respond by a certain date. The invitation said to bring your own pillow and sleeping bag and told you what time to have your parents pick you up. At the actual sleepover, everyone would eat pizza, cake and ice cream, and then cram together on the living room floor with to watch movies, talk about the new boy at school, and eat an obscene amount of junk food. Eventually, close to midnight, someone would have already called their Mom to come and get them because their tummy hurt, and at least three people would be arguing about something extremely significant. Oh, the good ol’ days.
Despite the girl drama and sore tummy’s, these slumber parties were something that I remember…a fond memory that almost every girl has etched in their memories somewhere.
Last night, we decided to have a sleepover at our kids centre with 12 of the oldest girls (ages 10-13). We prepared with nail polish, movies, a ton of junk food, music, and of course a pillow to attempt to sleep with. We started out with a dance party, nails, and chocolate fruit. The girls were SOOOO pumped for this party, they were almost, quite literally, bouncing off the walls. They had all set up their beds on the floor, but this is where we ended up having our dance party, so they didn’t last long. I asked the girls if they had ever had a slumber party, and every girl responded with no.

Next we attempted to watch a movie, and eat popcorn, chips, cookies and pop. The girls all kept running back and forth to the other room because they had very important things to talk about of course. This lasted for about two movies, until finally around 2AM the girls crashed.
The night was one to remember. The girls had a blast, and I am sure they all went back home to sleep this morning – as I did!

-Melissa Bazely
DOVE Missions Field Director

HALLOWEEN!!!!

Well everybody Halloween was a great success here! Halloween is not widely celebrated, but the kids love it. We did a Halloween party with everyone and it was a blast. They got their faces painted, ate tons of snacks and candy and got to go through a haunted house. In the haunted house they had to touch fake eyeballs and worms in a bowl of water, one of the teachers popped out of the bathroom and at the end they got a treat bag. It was very fun for most of them, some were very scared and didn't do the whole thing! Later that night we had a sleep over with the girls. They had never done anything like that before. It is hard to describe the excitement. We started the night with a dance party while the girls traded who got their nails done. After that it was movie time! Mostly, the girls talked and played, but some of the movie got watched. It was just great to be there together and to get to know them better and for them to all get to spend time with each other and just be girls and have fun. The kids here have so many worries that kids should never have. It was great to provide a day of stress free fun!

Raise the Roof

See Matt run. See Matt and Emma run. See Matt and Emma raise money to build new roofs for our families by running. When Matt and Emma came here to visit they were deeply moved at the state of our families homes. Most of the roofs are made of tin boards that are layered on top of one another. When it rains there is nothing to prevent the leaking or assortment of criters that make their way in.So Emma and Matt decided to do something about it. As Emma put it, "no child should have to go to school tired or unable to concentrate becuase their roof leaked." After trying to raise money through a blog, emhills1.blogspot.com, and not being very successful Emma and Matt came up with other ideas. Matt ran and was sponsored in a 10k and a half marathon and Emma did a 10k half marathon. People sponsored their run to raise money for new roofs; and it worked. They are now talking with Dove on how to best make this happen and looking into other marathon sponsorship to provide more funds. Emma and Matt are a great example of how to use your individual talents and interests to good. Our families will be so thankful for a new roof and dry place to rest their heads!

Be A Sponsor

There are 80+ children that attend the DOVE Missions Youth Development Center. Many of these children need a sponsor. A donation of $30 per month sponsors a child. Your donation helps pay for monthly food staples for the family, medicine, school supplies, and the overall costs of running the Youth development center.

Haiti sponsorship is $40 per month and covers nutritional , medical and operational needs of the orphanage.

Dominican Day

Welcome to Sunday! Here in the Dominican Republic people really do take the day off. Some things are open, but not a lot and most things that are open close early. Families go to the beach in Sosua or the beach on the Melachon. The Melachon gets ready for Sunday on Saturday night. People park their cars all along the street and play music, dance, eat and hang out with their families and neighbors. Everyone has a blast and enjoys their day off from work. There are literaly thousands of people. The weekend doesn't stop Sunday night just because the week starts on Monday morning. Melachon hang out goes all night long for everyone. It is great to see neighbors visiting with neighbors and families spending time together. It may only be one day , but Dominican Day is the best of the week!

New Website!

Dove is pleased to anounce a brand spankin new website! This site provides more up to date information , is easier to navigate and sports our beautiful new logo! There you will be able to find sponsor updates and news on upcoming opportunites to visit and support Dove. We are so appreciative of our team for putting it together and really excited for it to go live! Check it out dovemissions.org