So i’ve been in the Dominican Republic for about 3 weeks now and I have already…
* Prayed for rain.. and received a downpour
* Prophesied and been prophesied over
* Showered with a lizard, my roomies and I appropriately named cha-chi
- Adjusted to using pesos
- Accepted my Dominican name of Raquel.. I love it! Especially off the lips of the ridiculously beautiful children I see everyday!
- Become obsessed with Yogen-Fruz and Jugo natural.. Fresa y Naranja are mi favorito
- Had many a broken conversation in spanish, but I’m learning ( fluent by month three!)
- Become accustomed to having a constant layer of dust over my entire body. For a split second when I look down at my feet I get excited because I think I’m tan, and then I realize, nope I’m just dirty. My hair looks awesome, but I literally have fingernails (unas) full of dirt just from scratching my head.. lol
- Learned some useful phrases….
1.) Yo tengo muy cansada= I am very tired
2.) Yo tengo hambre= I have hunger!
3.) in e’ nombre de Jesu, quieremos mas espirit santo aqui, por favor senor= In the name of Jesus, we desire more holy spirit here, please God.
4.) Te Gusta/Quieres jugar con nosotros? = Would you like/want to play with us?
- I have had my hair completely braided (trenza)in platts, and it was bomb. The little girls did not understand gentle, or that tangles hurt, and the wads of hair they were ripping out were actually attached to my head at one point. I loved every minute though, they had so much fun, so I’ll be their barbie doll if necessary.
- Been in my underwear in front of my entire team, boys and girls alike, because it was impossible to wear pants due to jelly fish stings covering my quads… pictures to come soon.. OUCH! ” Day 5 and I have already seen my leader in her undies..” -Jeremiah
- Cried a lot for the people here, in prayer, through experiencing the Holy spirit, I am a weeper, and not ashamed of it. The Lord has brought me through JOY and now is bringing me through COMPASSION.
- Hiked through a jungle of sorts in the mountains amidst mango and coconut trees to see a waterfall. ( It was beautiful, but in all honesty nothing compared to Oregon’s mountains and waterfalls.. I love you Oregon)
- Been sunburnt, now tan, and freckled ( pecas). Last year I had pretty much no summer, this year will be summer all year round.. hot beautiful sunshine.
- Heard God speak through children, yet again to me. One little girl, Natasia, told me ” Mi Corazon y tu corazon.” And another, Paola, argued with me about the fact that I am American. Her mother, and our translator, Kelvin, explained to her that I am from America, and she insisted I was Dominican. She accepted that our group was from America, minus me. It was only when I looked at her and said “Sono Dominicana”, that she smiled and said “si” and went on with her business.
- Become addicted to riding on the outside of a car instead of the inside
- Experienced medical care in the DR.. and I was treated well…. no bueno. Definitely gave me new perspective and thankfulness for American medical facilities!
The way I’m seeing Heaven break through a little bit at a time on earth is incredible. Nothing necessarily crazy happening.. yet. Just trying to be obedient to God’s word, and listening to his voice one day at a time. I already see him breaking things off of me and my team that were holding us back from experiencing all He is, and seeing the world from His point of view. It’s craziness I have only been with my team for a couple weeks, and we are already a family. Not perfect by any means, and still a lot to know about each other, but plenty of time:)
