Month 9. New country. New continent….North America.
The Dominican Republic.
The journey to our next destination on the Race was the longest yet. In total, it would be around a “50 hour travel day” with a layover in Dubai…and the Big Apple, USA. NYC.
This layover was special because I had the opportunity to see my parents for the first time in EIGHT months! It was great! I was ecstatic to see them and so blessed to spend time with them for a few hours! It was sweet of them to come and visit with me for such a short amount of time.
When we arrived to the DR, all of us were completely zonked. I felt like a walking zombie and I was just ready to crash and sleep. A part of me was thinking, “Why didn’t you just stay in America?” (Yup….I was that tired…haha)
We finally made it through customs and went into a bus that would take us to our ministry site for the month. A few minutes into the ride and I was knocked out! It was late when we arrived to where we would be staying for the month, and everyone still felt like zombies. We marched down steep stairs to go into our little cabin for the month to claim a bed so we could go to sleep. And that, we did.
The next morning we awoke and were amazed at how beautiful our location was. We were on top of a mountain in the Dominican Jungle and we would be working with a ministry called Hope for the Dominican Republic.
Our ministry varied week to week. Most days, we did physical labor creating paths and stairs in the jungle so people could walk more safely on the land when they would come. Every so often, the different churches started by MOH DR would come and fellowship with one another on the mountain. So our hosts, Vicki and Reuben wanted them to truly enjoy their time and be as safe as possible.
Another week we got together questions and researched different statistics about the DR and went to interview the people involved in their first church plant and/or the people that currently attended. We did this because they wanted to make a few short documentaries about what God is doing and has done through their ministry.
The next week was a mix between physical labor and prayer walking around Lajas de Yaora. We helped shovel off dirt that was blocking a path out of the way so people could walk to the baby waterfall that they have on their property safely.
My team was with three other teams this past month and it was interesting. We were served meals by staff and we usually worked with our own team instead of being split up. There were two squad leaders with us this past month and it was awesome. Every Tuesday night we would have a Bible Study of some sort which usually went along with what most of us were walking through.
Some challenges of last month was how physically fatigued we were at the beginning of the month from being jet lagged. Sometimes the food didn’t settle well with people’s stomachs due to allergies. A lot of people were battling to stay present and missing home.
Also, three squad mates went home last month for various reasons. One of them is one of the closest friends I had on the Race. When I found out, it was hard because I thought I would be able to see her at LDW during the end of the month. Going home is what the Lord wanted her to do, though, and she was obedient.
Some of the fun things I was able to do, was go to the 27 Water Falls. We were only able to do seven, but basically you hike to where they are, then wade/swim through the pools of water and then climb up the waterfalls. Once you’re at the top, you slide down them or jump off of them. All of this was in the jungle and it was absolutely fun. During our other off days, some of us would venture into town. One weekend, we ate at Wendy’s and Sweet Frog! It was awesome!
The last weekend was my friend, Sarah’s, birthday. We went into Sosua and stayed at a nice, super decently priced hotel and hung out at the beach and celebrated her. It was a lot of fun and precious. I got to spend time with the three ladies on my first World Race team!
Over all, last month was a pretty chill month. Our contacts were incredibly sweet. The encouraged us to get what we needed from the Lord while we were there. I am thankful that we were there last month!
Thank-you for reading! I love and miss you all! <3
Love,
Meraia
