“I could go to the Dominican Republic and teach music for a couple weeks at Cafe’ con Leche School,” I nonchalantly expressed, not ever expecting that my comment would actually be taken seriously. So be it this unexpected trip turned into one of the most fantastic experiences I’ve ever had,” says Diane Gregory,former member of the Gen Verde Performing Arts Band, and who now lives in the United States. Before I knew it, I was on the plane heading for Santo Domingo. It was a chilly morning last April 9^th. With snow still on the ground, I left New York’s JFK airport heading towards the Caribbean Island that welcomed me with its warm tropical climate and turquois sea. Along the drive to the colonial zone of the city where I would be staying, I was “taking in” everything, from the beautiful seashore with its coconut trees, to the automobiles, surprised at the number of people they can fit into those vehicles and, most strongly of all, I was being struck by the many impoverished neighborhoods that we passed along the way. The morning after I arrived I was on the Guaguita (a 9-seater van that I’ve seen holding up to 23 people!) with Kathi, a young German girl who is also volunteering at the school. Our stop was the town El Café. We were told of the violence that exists but also that we need not worry for our safety since it was “assumed” that we were there to help in the school. In fact, suffering, violence, unemployment and abandonment, are common amongst many of the families. Café con Leche, one of the many social projects of the Focolare Movement, amazes us with its warmth, liveliness, color and vibrancy. The classrooms are not like the ones I was used to in the US but more creative and just perfect for these 570 students from 1^st – 8^th grade. And to think that twenty years ago the school had begun in a wooden building with 20 students! Now, with the help of many people there is a school building and a gym that is able to welcome students providing them with a good education and nourishing daily meal – but not only. There is an atmosphere that is difficult to describe, a harmony of relationships that provides the students a very wholesome environment in which to study and grow. The 10 days that I spent at the school were extremely dynamic. Together with Marisol Jimenez, the founding director, there was a continual flourishing of ideas that we implemented immediately in the classrooms:   saxophone and piano lessons; we formed a choir; did musical games and exercises, lessons on reading music; we made our own percussion instruments; put on skits; danced and even had macramé classes. Marisol’s dream is to have a school band. They had already received the instruments from Switzerland and the students are amazing with such a desire to learn (they have a natural rhythm and so much enthusiasm) but, unfortunately, they do not have the funds to hire music teachers on an ongoing basis. We hope that will happen soon! Café con leche is no longer a place that I’ve read about and heard so much about; it has become an “experience”. Now this school, the children, the teachers and everyone here have a name, a face, a story. I left convinced that everything is possible when we “catch the moment” and give it our all.