It’s my last week in the DR (my computer and the internet haven’t been friends so I wrote this last Saturday, but haven’t been able to post it until now) and being the list person I am, I decided to make some lists for you all.
Some things I will not miss about the Dominican Republic:
*All the sugarcane (during house visits people often give us sugarcane, it’s very nice of them, but I am just not a fan!)
*All the crazy barking dogs
*Random car alarms going off in the middle of the night
*Excessively loud car music
*The heat (I realize this isn’t my only hot country, but I’m just not a fan)
*Men hissing at us as we walk by (this is apparently equivalent to whistling in the US)
Some things I will miss about the Dominican Republic:
*The welcoming people
*Our wonderful contacts who speak perfect English
*The Dominican Rising students who have been so great to us
*Our amazing guest house and everything that it came with
*Having a legit mattress to sleep on
*Riding in the back of the truck up to Cativo
* The beautiful mountains
* Living with two other wonderful teams
Me, Connie (one of our translators and new friend), and Hannah with new little kittens
Some of my favorite moments:
*”Walking” down the mountain and swimming in a beautiful river (pictured above)
*Seeing Cristino smile after my teammates gave him toy cars for his birthday
* Praying for healing over Cristino in Cativo (he hasn’t been healed yet, but we continue to pray for him and have faith that someday God will heal him)
*Hitchhiking in the bed of a little truck (that happened to be full of rice) with 11 other people (both American and Dominican)
*Helping Hannah understand that her half birthday is in December not January
*Getting followed by a donkey in Cativo
*Walking down the little stream with JC while praying for the people of Cativo
*Driving a truck so me and Greg could shovel mulch
*Having worship with the three teams living in my house
*Having great conversations while swinging in our hammocks
* All the amazing conversations we had with the people of Cativo and Mojatos
*The hilarious conversation I had with Sarah and Hannah about rice and my teammate getting married (don’t worry, no one’s actually getting married)…
*When the kids in Mojatos gave me some earrings and a note that says “para Jana (they spelled my name wrong, but that’s how they pronounce it) we love you” (pictured below)
Overall, this was a great first month. We had a great place to stay, great contacts, and most importantly, great ministry. I loved working with Dominican Rising and am thankful that we worked for an amazing ministry that is continually working for the Kingdom. We were only here for a month, but all the people we met and befriended helped open up new doors for Dominican Rising. All our visits allow them to continue to grow those friendships and to grow those people and ultimately raise up a leadership team in those villages to spread the gospel and disciple their neighbors.
Sarah, JC, and me after we climbed up from the river
I’m not very excited to leave the DR, but I am very excited to see what God has in store for my team and the people of Haiti!
