It is not every day that you get to see the fruit of the work you put into things especially those of us who went on the world race. We pour ourselves into projects and relationships for a month and then we head on to the next country. Yes, we did see God move in each place we were in while we were there but then there are times that we were just planting a seed. We were the ones starting things… and in those cases, it is often we won’t see or even know the outcome of what we have put in.
One thing I have tried to do since coming home is to stay in contact with some of the missionaries we worked with along the way. To continue to support them through prayer and encouragement. And I love getting updates to know what is going on in there.
First, I want to take you back to the DR, my first month on the race. My team was serving in Guachupita, as some of you may remember. For those that don’t, Guachupita is one of the slums in San Juan. It is actually a small piece of land that is considered a “green zone” which means that it is not a piece of land that is good for sustaining life. It is surrounded by two small rivers, both of which are highly polluted and which easily flood across the entire community. The people that take residence there do not actually own the land, which basically makes them squatters but they have nowhere else to go. Since the land isn’t supposed to be lived on, people come and dump their trash there. Trash is everywhere. Lots of broken glass, needles, and things that can harm the children as they run around barefoot. The children play in the river, as well as, standing water from when it rains. The standing water breeds sickness and the children are found with worms, parasites, diarrhea, etc. Additionally, because of the tropical weather in the DR, every 3-5 years the whole community is usually wiped out because of a major tropical storm.
Our contact had shared with us his vision to dig a trench to have a place for the rainwater to go and drain into the river. This would get rid the community of the issue of standing water and cut down on the sickness. His hope was for us to complete this and at a later time pour cement to make it permanent.
There was some semblance of an existing trench but it was cluttered with trash and even without the trash the water did not flow through it. We worked hard to clean up the trash and rocks before we began digging. Armed with pick axes and shovels, we began our task of widening, deepening, and leveling the trench out to make sure that the water would flow through it.
We accomplished the task we set out to do. Yet we wondered if and when they would have the money to actually pour the cement. Would our contacts vision be fulfilled? Or would the trench just become another place that trash is continually dumped?
And now…
In the DR, there was a difference that we could see at the end of the month but it is exciting to know that the work we started was completed and is now permanent and it has already made a difference and will continue to make a difference in the lives of people we built relationships with while we were there.
Not long after we got word about the trench in the DR, I also found out that ICC (the organization I worked with in China) had made a new video about the work that they do. Included in the video are two girls that I directly worked with on the 2nd floor. I don’t know if you will appreciate it as much as my team and I because I cannot show you what their life was like or even what they looked like before but my best attempt would be to have you read blogs about our time spent with these girls. Read about Valerie or Harmony for more on our time with them.
Our blogs do not use their real names but having read the stories you should be able to connect who is who on the video. And in the video when talking about these girls, they mention a “short-term team” which refers to a couple of my teammates and I.
After seeing the video, I think my teammate, Jessica, expressed it best… “Look at the beauty of this video. Our babies are GROWING and LIVING!! They are talking about OUR MONTH there!!! Jesus is still working!!”
Seeing how well these girls are doing now is amazing. I would not have recognized Yuan Yuan if they hadn’t put her name. To be able to physically see how our love impacted those girls’ lives brought tears to my eyes. And to think those are only 2 of the kids we worked with that month.
God is definitely still working and it is truly a blessing to get updates like this to see how God has been using seeds that we planted during our time in both of these countries. Thank you for being a part of that journey. And praise God for what is being done seen or unseen!
