I started to write this blog when I didn’t have internet. I hadn’t even been on the race for a full week. The only thing I could think to write about was the organization I am working with this month; H.O.P.E. Dominican Republic. It’s in the mountains of the Dominican Republic, this is what I wrote just a few days in.
“I have been here for 5 days and I still can’t believe this is my life. I feel extremely fortunate to be blessed by our contact this month. The whole family we are working with is really such a blessing to so many people. Their hearts for Dominicans are showing through in so many ways. The fact that they are so selfless with everything they own shows that they truly understand that everything is a gift from God.”
This ministry is legit. I really don’t know how else to put it. The first week I worked at a teen camp they had at their residence. They opened up their home, not only to us as World Racers but to children from all around Santiago. It’s what they do, it’s their ministry, it’s how they show God’s love.
I was able to co-facilitate a “station” at this camp called The Decision. Each day we gave the teens a different scenario from every day life, which helped them parallel their lives with biblical truths. They had to do a skit to communicate what their decision was, I was surprised by how much they got into acting and really learned from our station.
For the rest of the month, I moved off the mountain to a town called Los Cerritos with my team to do an English camp. At the beginning of the month our team thought we were going to one place, half way through teen camp we were told we would actually not be going there but staying on the mountain doing English camp. The next day, our location changed again. All this change was confusing but ultimately we knew God had a plan and He knew all along that we would settle in Los Cerritos. We are actually staying in the same community as the children that come to our camp. Some of them hang around our porch even when we aren’t teaching. They want to hang out with us even though we don’t speak their language and they see us during the day. I am falling in love with all the kids here and I couldn’t imagine being in any other place.
As far as pictures go, check Facebook…if you’re not friends with me on Facebook, add me. (Facebook.com/ashley.loucks1) Until I can figure out how to get my pictures from my phone to my computer without blue tooth.
Some things you might be wondering: How are the shower situations? On the mountain, showers and water are pretty regular, and glorious…they just finished an additional bathhouse with 3 more showers (on top of the 3 they already had) and a river with a waterfall you can always shower in as well. Here, in town…you can shower if the water is on (it goes on and off at what seems to be random times…) otherwise, it’s a bucket shower for you. So far I’ve managed to shower while the water is on, but was probably a bit more stinky than my teammates would have liked.
How does it work washing clothes? On the mountain, you hand wash with a bucket and detergent. Here in the city, I’ve been lucky enough to use a simple wash machine. You add water, clothes, and detergent…it swishes them around for 15 minutes, you take them out, rinse them and put them in the spinner for 5 minutes. This thing is glorious, I wish I could pack it in my pack and take it with me…or even use one in the states….so simple and my clothes come out of the spin cycle so dry.
How are you handling living in community? I actually love it. Pray that I can be completely open and vulnerable with my teammates. My team is awesome though and I already feel like they have been able to speak truth to me that I haven’t necessarily been able to notice on my own.
If you have any other questions I didn’t answer, comment and perhaps it’ll be answered in the next blog.
