I love the Dominican Republic! This island nation is beautiful and hot! It’s been a little more than a week since I launched on the world race but it seems more like a month has passed. The location and ministry our team is at is a place that a world race team has never been to before. We are in the heart of Santiago, a large mountain city full of lively people and we are staying in a house that the church we’re working with owns. The church we work with is called Iglesia Comunidad Multicultural (multicultural community church) and they’ve been guiding us in doing door to door ministry and simply familiarizing us with the city. They’re mission statement is awesome and simple: Love God, love people, make disciples. The pastor and his family are incredible! They’ve told us their story and have been great at helping us and instructing us all while giving us plenty of room and flexibility. One thing I didn’t realize the World Race would be like is that a lot of things we do are up to us! We provide our own meals (this can vary on locations), we figure out our own finances, we schedule things ourselves, we get to know the ministry the church is doing and we start heading it up on our own, and we just do a lot…on our own. It’s nice. We’re all adults, so maybe it is fitting. This is also the first of eleven months so things could look different ahead.
I like the city we are in a lot: Santiago de Los Caballeros. It is really humid, rains sporadically, and reminds me a lot of the Philippines when I visited there in 2008. The streets can be really dirty and smelly, and they’re lined with schools, stores, hair salons, and empanada stands. The houses are a mixture of small, simple shacks and beautiful homes with quaint courtyards. The feel is very tropical here even though we are an hour drive from the coast/the beach. There are palm trees and banana leaves around every corner.
Some times I can’t believe that this is the life I’ll be living for almost a year, with different homes, different people, and a different place to lay my head…every month. And I am living out of a back pack essentially! I’m not really comfortable or fully settled in my mind and in my heart. I don’t know what exactly lies ahead and it is scary and makes me feel uneasy. I do know that I love God though! I was longing for something more back home. I asked Jesus to bring me out in to the waters and to go ever deeper with him. I said “here am I, send me,” and there’s no looking back.
Through these moments of change in my life, I have loved getting to know the team I am with. We come from all over and at first glance we all seem really different but as time goes on I’ve noticed our teamwork is incredible and we collectively mesh really well together (in spite of all our quirky traits). Thank you Jesus!
I miss everyone back home in Virginia and in Nashville so much, but I do have to remember that my heart desired so much more back home. I wasn’t fulfilled and I needed more. I had a job and lived in a fun place but deep down my soul cried out for adventure and experiences. God answered the call and brought me through to where I am in this very moment. His timing is precise and he knows what he is doing with me. His perfect love drives out all fear! And thinking of all the people and kids I’ve met so far – I wouldn’t trade anything.
Talk to yall later!
Kev
