Church, IKEA, and local food

Everything continues to go well here in sunny Santo Domingo!  Yesterday we all went to church at Iglesia Bueno Nueva (Good News Church).  The church service was all in Spanish but we had a translator.  Worship was lively and they had dancers up front.  It was a long service (we didn't get home until around 1:30).  The people were all very welcoming even though we couldn't communicate very well with most of them.
After church I went to IKEA with Aunt Lori and Uncle Glen to help them get some things they needed for their apartment.  I helped them pick out some pillows for their living room and some things they still needed for their kitchen.  We also found our way to a mall near them (my navigation skills have been coming in very handy...I had no idea until this year that I love maps).  Most of the stores were closed because it was Sunday but they now know how to get there (it's walking distance from their apartment) and we checked out the movie theatre there.
Today Aunt Lori is doing school work with the boys.  I have been journalling and enjoying some fresh air out on their balcony.
I thought I would take some time in this post to talk about the local food (anyone who know me knows that I love food).  We got to eat at a little local restaurant with missionary friends Diane and Fran Sabado.  The food was delicious!  We got roasted chicken with amazing seasoning on it, yucca (which is similar to potato), rice and beans, plantain, and the best avocado I've ever had!  The avocado here is amazing -- they are huge!  I've been enjoying trying some of the fruit that's indigenous to the area too. So far I have had mamey sapote and mango.  Mamey sapote is brown on the outside and a bright coral color on the inside.  It has a strange texture (pumpkin is the most similar thing I can compare it to).  The taste is not bad, similar to sweet potato, but most of us had a hard time getting passed the texture.  So it was okay but not our favorite.  The mango was delicious and gone very quickly!  Today Aunt Lori and I went to the grocery store and picked up some Guava (local name: guayabaont).  We have also made empanadas a couple times for lunch...they are so good!
Tomorrow we are going to spend the day at Zona Colonial (the historic section of town).  I think Aunt Lori and I will also walk to the Plaza de la Cultura to see some museums one day.  I will also go with Aunt Lori to help her find a school for the boys.  
Hope you are all doing well!  Cheers!