We are nearing the end of our time here at HOPE DR, which is blowing my mind. While it feels like we have been here for months, it seems impossible at the same time that we have almost completed our first month of the World Race!
A new group of people just arrived here at Hope last night, and it took me back to our first night here and how I felt when we entered through the front gates for the first time. Here I was with a group of people who I still didn’t know super well, just having arrived to a country that I have never been to before, meeting what seemed like countless people who live/work here at Hope, beginning my first month of the World Race. There were a hundred thoughts running through my head and I was feeling a hundred different emotions.
And now here I am with just a few days left here.
As I journaled this morning, overlooking the surrounding mountains and this incredible view the Lord has given us this month, my heart was overwhelmed with thankfulness.
When we first arrived here I was afraid. I was preoccupied. I was worried. I was timid and shy. I was questionable. But in the midst of all this, I was exhilarated because here I was, in the Dominican Republic, a place I had never been before. My World Race journey had officially began! I look back and see how the Lord has answered prayer. He calmed me and gave me reassurance when I needed it. He reminded me that I am enough, and that He does have a plan for me. He captured my attention and turned my focus from myself, back to Him. I am so thankful for that.
I’m thankful for my teammates who I get to go alongside with on this journey. I love getting to know them more and more. I’m thankful for their heart to serve the Lord joyfully, even when ministry looks like going up and down the stairs over and over. I’m thankful for their desire to go deeper with one another, to not just be content with surface level relationships. That they aren’t afraid to push me and encourage me in areas that I need to be pushed. I’m thankful for the way that He is moving in my team, leading the way in showing us what it means to live in community with one another.
I’m also thankful that we can come together as a team and just have fun together. Side note — You should definitely watch this video we made to the Friends theme song the other day, just for the fun of it! 🙂 (Credit goes to Kelsey for putting it all together – she did a great job!!)
I’m thankful for our time here at Hope DR. The people that we have worked with and been able to serve, our walks through Lajas every morning and afternoon, the meals that are prepared for us every morning, noon, and evening. I’m thankful for my hammock, which I have slept in every night for almost a month now. Call me crazy, but I’m even thankful for the roosters that start crowing at ridiculous hours of the morning…it just feels like home now.
I’m thankful that every single day, God’s beautiful creation takes my breath away.
Team Trust Without Borders goes to the beach. (Photo Cred: Allison Edwards)
I’m thankful that what was once unfamiliar faces and strange noises here, are now home. “Home is where the heart is” has a whole new meaning in my life. Those words have never been more true. The unfamiliar has become familiar. The people whose faces were once unfamiliar, and whose names I struggled with remembering are now so familiar. New friendships have begun, new memories have been made, and there are new stories to be told.
And I am thankful that this is only the beginning. As our time here wraps up and comes to an end, I know that it’s only the beginning. It’s the beginning of new friendships that were made, the beginning of settling into life in a new country again, and the beginning of what the Lord is going to do in our lives and hearts this year.
I am looking forward to what else God has for us here in the DR over the next few days because I know that He isn’t done yet. God can do a lot in 4 days! Please be praying that our hearts and minds would stay focused on what is here in front of us, not what is next. Pray that we would be present, here, today.
With that being said, because my next update will be from Haiti, here is what I know about next month. Warning — it’s not much! 🙂 On the 31st we will be traveling back to Santo Domingo, DR (the capital city) where we have our first debrief. Our whole squad will be reunited again for a few days before we head to Haiti for all squad month. In Haiti we will be located just north of Port-au-Prince working with Mission of Hope, Haiti. Check out their website HERE!
I am so thankful for this beautiful life the Lord has called me to and allowed me to be a part of. It just keeps getting better and better!
Thank you for reading this, thank you for praying, thanks for being a part of this journey with me. My heart is overflowing with gratitude! If you haven’t done so yet, be sure to subscribe on the left hand side of the page so you don’t miss any updates.
Much love,
Kaci
