In New York, I was all too familiar with the signs of a foreigner.
They would flock to the city on vacation/business/etc and assume they could get around by simply holding up fingers, gesturing wildly or asking questions in their native French, Spanish, Italian which we would all magically understand.
It was frustrating.
Mostly because it made everything take longer – and I had the pleasure of both serving them lunch and being behind them in line at Duane Reade on a regular basis.
At 3:00 this morning, my squad began the journey from Chicago to Miami, then on to Santo Domingo for our first month of this year-long journey. This being my first time out of the country, I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect.
The first thing I noticed about the Dominican Republic is – this country is beautiful.
Just seeing it from above as we descended told me that much. And the airport is surprisingly Americanized – pizza counters, coffee shops and American toilets in the bathroom.
But even with these familiar comforts, it only took about two minutes before I realized with staggering clarity: I’m a foreigner.
As I walked up to the customs counter, smiled at the gentleman and said “Hi! How are you?”, his response was a blank-faced stare. I then proceeded to do to him the exact thing that always annoyed me so much in others – wild gestures and all.
I expected this would happen. I’m fully aware that English is the only language I speak fluently. But being a typical American, it still took me by surprise. We’ve only been in the DR for a few hours and communicating even the simplest of things has already been a challenge.
The fact that’s beginning to sink in is – this is day one.
This is the very tip of the iceberg. We will have translators with us in almost every country, but talking to people and hearing their stories is such a part of how I connect with others that I already feel the Lord challenging me to explore the ways in which I can show His love without my biggest asset: my words.
I’m excited to explore ministry in different ways and I know God will shape me in this area as time goes by, but one thing I already know for sure is that after this year I will never look at a “foreigner” in the same way again.
