Apparently we have been in the Dominican Republic for 12 days. (I say apparently because it feels more like we have been here for months!!)
In the past few days, I have established a route for my runs, my favorite colmado (little store), as well as a morning routine of watching the sunrise and having time with God. I also now have made friends with two local families, who ask me and my friends to come everyday and are near tears when we leave!
One family has a colmado in front of their house. Debbie, the mom, makes the most amazing ginger tea and thick, heavy tortas of yuca, maiz, or potato. They are so, SO delicious and I promise you, we never leave hungry. Her children play basketball with us, and we teach each other about our cultures.
The other family is very different, but just as dear to me. We met Maria at a government-organized meeting for poor mothers so that they can buy house supplies cheaply and be educated. After leading the mothers in an exercise about our worth in God’s eyes, as part of my role in empowering women through Beauty for Ashes, she invited my group to come to her house. Laughing the entire time we were there, she and her adult son made for us little coffees and shared fruits from their garden. After a while, we had to leave, but promised we would be back.
The next afternoon, we returned and, again, were treated to cafecitos. Her son shared with us his desire to live in America and learn English, and so we practiced with him. Slowly he learned some words in English as members of my team learned some Spanish.
Yesterday, we had some free time to go visit them again. However, when we knocked, neither Maria or her son were there. Instead, the friendly face that greeted us was her other son, whom we had only heard about. After explaining that Maria and the other son were out, he ran to a colmado to buy us cookies (galletas) and put a pot of coffee on. He clearly had the host genes of his mother, because he welcomed us in and prepared everything before we even got to exchanging our names.
As we settled into their beautiful orange couches with our dulce cafecitos and galletas, we began a wild roller coaster of a conversation. Starting with the proper pronunciations of our names (his included), we moved on to our favorite musicians… which turned into a conversation about Christianity (shout out to Stefany Gretzinger). He told us that although his family is Christian, and he participates in the religion with them, he has not yet made his own decision. When we told him that we were all Christians, he asked each of the six of us what we had learned from reading the Bible. For me, this was a beautiful opportunity to get to know the girls I was with a little more and to understand their heart position, and share the Lord with him; however, as the sole Spanish speaker in the group, translating all of these truths was HARD. Somehow, I found the words for everything we said, and was able to tell him that God tells us in the Bible that, among many other truths: we are his children, we are worthy, we are loved, and that we are free from our sins through Jesus’s death.
Then he asked an even harder question: what do we think of Muslims, especially the radical ones who kill Christians?
… !!!!! AH!!!!!…
This is hardly a question I feel confident in addressing in English!! Much less Spanish, where my vocabulary is like an 11-year old and when in doubt, I say words in Italian (which are usually incorrect)…
I began by saying that we believe in a similar God, but as I struggled to think of the words to explain that we believe Jesus is the Son of God and in Islam, he is only a prophet, I had another idea.
So, I said to him: “In Islam, they are taught to only love fellow Muslims, but as Christians, we have a full love that enables us to love all other people completely”.
The Holy Spirit was 999% there, giving me those words. I have no idea where that all came from, but it was a perfect answer. He seemed really happy to hear that, and we chatted for a few more minutes until dinnertime.
I have never been so tired from acting as translator and engaging in conversation. I don’t know how what we shared impacted this man, but I am praying that God will use it to change his heart to want follow God, instead of merely participating. In the next few weeks here, I fully intend to continue conversation with him, and intercede on his behalf. Please also be praying for him and his young son to believe!
Please also be praying for:
– My remaining funds to be raised (about $3000)
– Our ministry next month in HAITI! (yeah, you heard me! We are going to Haiti!)
– The communities around us, who are battling legal prostitution, gangs, and hard drugs.
– My squad, especially for the physical health of a few and the mental health of us all!
One of the beautiful sunrises
