This is so weird.
Here I am, my first month on the Race, living in the Dominican Republic. I’m here and I still can’t believe it.
It feels like a month has been jam packed into two weeks, but at the same time, it’s hard to believe that we have been here for two weeks tomorrow. Our first few days here at H.O.P.E. DR consisted of doing manual labor things like passing buckets of dirt up the mountain to where they would then put it onto the bathroom floor that was being built. The second day we moved rock piles from one spot to another. All of this was to prepare for the 90 or so campers who came to stay here for a week for teen camp. Teen camp consisted of sessions that involved music, dancing, and a message, games, and different team building activities.
This week we began what will be our ministry for the rest of the month – manual labor. Each day we wake up not knowing what we will be doing for the day. So far this week my team and I have cleared a field of rocks, trees, and brush which will be land used in the future for another ministry through Hope DR. We also started working on a construction project that is already in the works, a dorm for people to stay at when they come to Hope.
It’s been a great two weeks. I’ve had so many amazing moments, so many moments full of joy. I’m loving getting to know my squad mates and teammates more and more, and going deeper in my relationships with them. I love our ministry contacts for the month. The Dominguez family, as well as all who are involved in this ministry in some way, are such amazing people. From the moment they picked us up at the airport, they have been so welcoming to us and have made us feel right at home. It’s been so fun getting to know them and getting to spend a month here.
But at the same time, I’ve also had moments of, “what the heck am I doing here?” A couple of days in, I remember thinking ‘Man, I’m on the World Race right now. I don’t want to miss anything the Lord has for me. I don’t want to waste any time.’ As the campers were about to arrive to Hope I remember being excited, but then they came, they spoke no english, and there were a lot of them. My introverted self came out in full force, and I got so overwhelmed. I remember thinking, Lord, I don’t know what I have to offer. What role am I supposed to play this week? And not just this week but these 11 months.
This is something I’ve struggled with in my life. Just knowing what my role and purpose is because I’ve never had a clear picture of what that looks like for me. I don’t feel like there is a specific ‘ministry’ the Lord has put on my heart. Not yet anyway. These thoughts and questions began to consume me.
After having a conversation with a couple of my squad mates though, I felt the Lord telling me to stop trying so hard to figure out what my “purpose” is and instead to just be present and open to what the Lord has for me every day. Whether our ministry is clearing a field, shoveling dirt, or leading english camp. Whether it looks like me reaching out to someone in the community, prayer walking through Lajas, or serving my teammates in some way. No matter what it looks like, little or small, I don’t want to miss it.
For whatever reason I had in my head that because I am on the Race now, I needed to figure out right away what my role is. But the reality is, I don’t have to figure it out on week 1 or week 2, or even month 4 or month 10. The Lord keeps telling me that right now my role is simply being open to whatever the Lord has for me, every single day. I want to learn how to be fully present in every moment. I want to live in the moment.
So if you could be praying for me to be obedient to the Lord, being completely open and aware to what the Lord has for me and my team every day, and learning to be fully present in each moment, that would be greatly appreciated.
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not human masters. Colossians 3:23
Y’all, I am loving life. Thank you all so much for your support and love. Thank you to all who have emailed or messaged me since being here. I can’t tell you how uplifting it is to get on the internet and have encouraging notes or just random messages from friends and family back home. And lastly, thank you so much for your continued prayers. I am truly blessed to not only be surrounded by so many incredible people in the Dominican, but to also have so many back home supporting me, loving me, and lifting me and my team up in prayer. You guys are incredible.
Also, internet is being dumb and not letting me upload pictures to this blog, but they are on my Facebook page. So if you want to see some pictures, check out my Facebook page. 🙂
Much love,
Kaci
