(this is what I wake up to every morning when I step outside of my tent!!!)
As I’m writing this blog, an adorable little Dominican boy is standing right beside me, gazing at my laptop, and rapidly speaking to me as though I understood him. I’m beginning to get used to this “no personal bubble” aspect of the Dominican culture!
It’s hard to fit into words the experience my team has had so far this month. We’ve been blessed to have amazing contacts who constantly love on us, both with coffee and delicious Dominican food as well as with the Father’s love. There is a sweet fragrance of God’s love that radiantly shines through our brothers and sisters in Christ. We’ve enjoyed learning how to teach English with the guidance of our brilliant translator, Ronnie. We’ve hiked to neighboring villages and have been welcomed with great hospitality into people’s homes. All in all, it has truly been a refreshing month and an awesome way to start out the World Race.
My team has also encountered several nights of worship and intercession for this village. Though the dedication of the Christians in Los Montacitos is evidently strong, there is also thick spiritual warfare we’ve sensed among these mountains. Deception has crippled many of the Dominicans into having ungodly mindsets, both in how they view God and one another. Sexual perversion has greatly seeped into their culture, destroying men and women’s views of one another. Catholism, the greatest religion in the DR, has blinded many people from knowing the intimacy of Jesus and having a personal relationship with Him. Our prayer is that the Holy Spirit will draw these people to know and experience the love of Christ, healing their wounds and restoring their minds and hearts.
Back to the little boy I mentioned earlier… his name is Jonaji and he is 5 years old. He lives with his two older siblings and parents behind an empty cement building in a “shack”, if you will. His family is one of the poorest I’ve seen so far in the community… we can almost daily hear his parents fighting, which probably explains why he and his siblings are always hanging around us. My heart breaks because I can sense the pain and abandonment in his face at such a young age. Yet through the relationship we’ve built with him, I can see God tendering his heart. There is a joy and hope that swells inside of him each time he interacts with us. And it daily brings a smile to my face, knowing that God brought us here to love on him and the rest of this community.
Here are some highlights I’ve had so far in the DR:
- Taking public transportation to San Juan (picture 30 people, 15 chickens, and sacks of fruit and coffee beans on the back of a very small truck for over 2 hours… it was quite the experience!)
- Teaching American worship songs to the kids at church
- Hiking 4 hours down the mountain to a neighbor village to have an outdoor church service
- Taking ice cold bucket showers
- Riding a motorcycle with Francis, our contact pastor’s brother- he’s the jokester around here and constantly keeps us laughing
- Frying bananas and making Dominican hot chocolate
- Hiking “10 minutes” (more like 30) to a neighboring village, Los Frios, to teach and English class
