Something about those Abilene Skies...

There's just something about West Texas that even the Dominican Republic can't beat. The ocean has unmatchable beauty and the landscape of this country is breathtaking...but it's missing something...Abilene skies. And although I LOVE Abilene skies...maybe, if I am really honest it has less to do with the sky and more to do with what is in Abilene....my incredible friends.
I feel so blessed to be thousands of miles away from some of my favorite people, but still be showered with all kinds of encouraging messages and emails and presents from people I love so much. I think that one of the best parts about being here is the realization that I have SO much to look forward to in my future and such wonderful people to share it with.

One Man's Trash is Another Man's Treasure

One of my favorite things I have done here in the Dominican is the time I have spent with the other interns and groups in Puerto Plata. On this day the group travels to first do a VBS at a school and sometimes even in the middle of a neighborhood. After the VBS, the group then goes to eat a picnic lunch together where we then make peanut butter sandwiches for the people who live and work at the dump. Then we head to the hospital where we hand out care packages and visit and pray with the patients there. It is a public hospital so the people don't have to pay to be there, but they mostly just stay there waiting until they have enough money to buy the blood they need for their transfusion or other surgery they need to have. There probably about 15 people in each room just laying there with absolutely nothing to do and usually in a lot of pain. There are always tons of people who have been in motor bike accidents- but their problems vary. Last week I met a man who had just woken up from having his foot amputated-I've never seen anything or smelled anything so terrible. It is really incredible to meet these people and pray with them. We often sing to them and try to bring some sort of joy or distraction as they sit and wait in pain without any television or music or magazines or airconditioning or the money for drugs to dull the pain-the people usually respond well to having someone come introduce themselves, offer to pray and hear a song or two about the Lord. Just being able to be there and give a smile makes this experience so wonderful. Although I can't give them the money they need, I still feel like I can make a difference just by interacting with them. The most heartbreaking is always the little children who lay in their little beds sweating from the heat- waiting to be seen by a doctor who may or may not decide to come that day. It is difficult to watch for sure.

After the time at the hospital, the group then goes to a dump nearby. At the dump, the group gets off and greets all of the people who either live or work there. The workers bascially spend all day every day going through the mounds of trash searching for anything they might be able to sell. They can get some money for bringing in bottles and cans to be recycled. They also find all kinds of other pieces of 'trash' that we throw away that somebody else might want. I guess what they say is true, "one man's trash is another man's treasure". Some of these workers have made their own homes which are basically just pieces of trash they put together as a sort of shelter. There are always a lot of people there- including lots of children running around without shoes, and several pregnant women working there in the blistering hot Dominican sun. It really is unbelievable that people are willing to work there, let alone live there and raise their children.

A lot of the workers at this dump are Haitian refugees who have come to the Dominican because of the awful circumstances that are going on in Haiti. They love to sing songs in Creole and the Dominicans there sing for us in Spanish. This video below is of the Levy Church of Christ from Little Rock doing what we would a "sing-off" between their youth group as well as the people at the dump! It is incredible and such a neat relationship between these people and the missionaries here. After the sing off, the group hands out sandwiches and juice to the people and sometimes left over packages from the hospital. It can be pretty wild and the people sometimes go out of control and then the group just has to jump in the Daihatsu and leave in case it gets too dangerous.

The girl in the beginning of this video who waves at the camera is my favorite. I always spend time with her when I go to the dump and I absolutely LOVE being with her. Her name is ChaiLynnie and she is so beautiful and so precious. I wish I could take her home with me!

WATER BALLOON FIGHT!

The girls of Las Princesas had a blast with the Lester family this past week in their first WATER BALLOON FIGHT! At first the girls couldn't stand the idea of getting wet, but after a few towel tosses between the two teams, our little divas decided it could be fun! These girls are truly the most precious young women I've ever met and I am blessed to watch them and see the joy of the Lord radiate from them. They find such joy in any and every opportunity- I LOVE working with them! I love the times when we can just have so much fun together!

27 Waterfalls

Last week I had the opportunity to do something that is easily one of my favorite experiences! I got to climb up and jump off of 27 waterfalls! It was so fun! I couldn't believe how beautiful it was and I enjoyed being out in the beautiful nature that God has given us. It was a nice break and we had a great time together along with TJ and Holly's friend Blair who they met in Antigua during language school. All I could think of while I was hiking up these waterfalls was how much I wish all of you were there to experience it with me! I am so blessed to have so many people whom I love and admire so much and wish to share my life with!

Disenchantment

Two days ago, I absentmindedly left the door to my apartment open as I came up to eat dinner and TJ was finishing up his night with Los Pescadores. In the span of an hour, my laptop was stolen. I really thought I was dreaming at first when I realized it was gone, but unfortunately it was absolutely true. TJ spent the majority of yesterday running around town talking to kids and other Dominicans to hopefully track down the culprits. As Holly says, a Dominican pastime is gossip- and everybody knows everything about everyone in this small town. Sure enough, when TJ offered a reward to whomever could retrieve the laptop, little kids were running all around town searching for the missing "La Manzana" as they call my Apple computer.

As of now, there are several different groups of kids that claim several different people are responsible. It is difficult to know who is telling the truth- and what's more, it is nearly impossible to get the kids to tell where it is. No amount of money or bribery seems to get them to break, these kids really don't understand. They cannot even imagine $30, let alone a few thousand for a computer. Even the people who have the computer stores in town have never even seen a computer like mine. The kids will literally never be able to do ANYTHING with my computer. They live in homes with dirt floors and no power and no way to be able to charge it or use the internet, let alone even know how to turn it on. It is purely for the thrill of it all, which is what makes it so difficult for me. It is difficult to know that my computer will sit somewhere, unable to be used by 10 year old Dominican children while it posseses the pictures and papers and other personal things that have filled it for the past three years.

However, in reality it has nothing to do with the money and everything to do with the memories. I feel violated and attacked and it is frustrating to me that I am even upset in the first place. I wish I could just brush it off and not care- but it is much more difficult than that.

I learned in school about the disenchantment stage of culture shock- i think this must be part of it- Thanks Dr. Roper

Please pray that God eases my frustration and anger with these children. I came here to serve and I don't want Satan to use something like this to harden my heart.

Animemonos

Last week we kicked off the summer with Las Princesas with a fun night making flower pens! The girls loved making their own pens and every girl fought over "rosada" which is pink in Spanish...I guess some things are no different when it comes to a girl's favorite color- young girls love pink in the Dominican too!

Last summer the other girl intern and I used flowers as an analogy as we encouraged the girls to become more like " SONflowers". Each week we talked about the process of a flower growing and related it to our spiritual lives as we encouraged one another to grow deeper with the Lord and to learn to be more like His SON. Holly liked this idea and we decided to do this with Las Princesas this summer. We made the flower pens as something to kick off the idea of growing this summer and the girls seemed to like it. Holly helped translate for me and it was really awesome to be able to have her do that so the girls could hear from my heart.

After we made our pens, we told the girls that one way we can grow to be more like Jesus is to learn to encourage one another. Encouragement is rather obsolete in this culture and the kids absolutely crave attention and affirmation (just as we all do!) So we created our own little encouragement board in the Outreach Center. The girls wrote encouraging notecards to each other and used the clothespins to hang them up on the rope! The word above "animemonos" means " Let us encourage one another" in Spanish.

This letter writing proved to be absolutely contagious. Once the girls wrote and received these notes, Holly and I were bombarded with girls wanting more and more cards to write more letters to their friends and families. I believe God makes things contagious, those things that are of Him. Once people have gotten a taste of Him, the can do nothing more but crave it and fight for it. I hope this continues to be something the kids really enjoy this summer!

I love teaching because it reminds me of how I want to live and it helps hold me accountable. In just one word, I believe the Spanish language captures so much of what the gospel is about.

Animemonos.

Let's do just that and encourage one another.

Mango Mania

In America, the ultimate treat for a 7 year-old kid is their favorite kind of ice cream, a candy bar or some other sugar-loaded treat but here in the Dominican, kids are absolutely NUTS about mangos. TJ and Holly have several mango trees outside of their apartment and everyday, without fail you can hear " Tomas! Tomas!" at the gate as they call for TJ to come give them permission to search for mangos that are ripe and ready to eat! There is absolutely nothing else these kids would rather do than climb up high in the trees and look for their delicious snack! I love simple way these kids live and the excitement they have over something as small as a mango. Alfredo and Nino happily posed for pictures to show off their prized snack!