By: Samantha Hoerger

Coming down to my last day here, I am starting to think about all the memories I will have to share about this amazing experience. From building a bridge, to going down 27 water falls; there are many experiences I had this week that many people will never have in a lifetime and I’m so thankful that God has given me this opportunity.

Today, I had the opportunity to sing at the chapel on CMA campus along with Madison, Taryn, Kate, and Nick. Not many people can say they have participated on a worship team in the Dominican Republic. It is always nice to see how different church services do things differently since I have not been to many other churches other than Chapel Rock. The neat part about that is even though it is thousands of miles away from home, they don’t do their service much different than how we do things in The Vine.

We also got to visit a nearby school today and play a big soccer game with our Chapel Rock team along with some CMA students and staff.  I don’t play sports that often so it was really fun to experience that type of teamwork. It reminded me of our teamwork from earlier this week in Majaguita.

One of the big things about today that I will always remember is hiking up two and a half miles to the top of a mountain. Not all of us had to do it, so only about nine of us came. Even though it was a hard journey to the top and an even harder journey back down, it was well worth it. The view was amazing and I was right about possibly regretting it if I hadn’t done it. I can say I literally hiked a mountain with my dad and all the other people who chose to come along.

This week has been all about making memories and seeing more of God’s great big beautiful creation. I can’t wait to share more of my journey this week when I get home.