Ohhh peace and quiet something that doesn't happen a lot in the DR. Something that I am thankful for…. I am sad. I am sad to leave this place that I have come to love. This community is amazing. The mountains are beautiful. The people so heart-warming. But sadly my time in the DR is coming to an end. 🙁 What I learned from my time here…. What has God shown me…. What was the DR like….
Ohhhh the DR…. Memories:
Hiking a 12k to a beautiful waterfall for Dania's birthday… Oh you know just 4 hours (2 there and 2 back)…. Through treacherous mountains with no water except the14 ozs in my water bottle in the heat of the day. Ohhhh but it was worth it. The falls were beautiful and cold…. We went swimming! And we had pb&j sandwiches (ohhhh the joy of American Food… It was a treat!) ohhh… On the way back we weren't sure if we would make it…. So the verse that played over and over again my head was: "even youth grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint." Isaiah 41:1
Going over to grandma and grandpa's on a regular basis. Because they are awesome and so loving. Having coffee and dulce de leche. Yum! A family of hospitality who loves the Lord and serves Him daily. Ohhhh grandma and grandpa…. I love them. One family that I will definitely miss.
Dance parties at night with the locals (mostly high schoolers)…. Yep I am learning to dance. Sort of …. Not really. If I don't dance, I just chill and talk with people. Yeah that means they talk to me in Spanish and I talk to them in English…. Good times. It's actually quite comical cause we never know what each other is saying but that is ok with me. Just sitting is fine with me. Lol.
Going horseback riding with my 'boyfriend' Alfonzo. Please note that I met him at the revival cause he is a member of the church and we were in the same truck. But yeah horseback riding was the bomb. I want to go again. Granted the boys, Alfonzo and Robert, showed up 2 hours late because they couldn't find their horses in the mountains… Lol… Good wild horses… Actually I had a really good horse. Fun day.
Going to the DR Revival in Padre las Casas. Two different days. Second time was way better cause it was just soooo comical. I laughed more that night than I have in quite a while. Soooo yeah 18 people in the bed of a pickup truck…. All adults too. Haha…. Ohhhh talk about no personal space. Being able to see Justin's team for the night…. Yay! Americans and English. Having popcorn and coke just chillin. Good times. Having a girl from the church accept Christ and have the gift of prophecy. See crazy things that got me thinking that night at the revival. Getting a flat tire on the way home. Trying to talk with locals on the truck with broken Spanish. Good times… What can you do in such a situation beside laugh. Good night…. Didn't get home till past midnight.
Getting up each morning at 730am to do my morning devotional before the craziness of the day starts. And grandma bringing me a cup of coffee each morning. I love grandma. She is the bomb. And I am now addictive to coffee. Yum… What am I going to do in Haiti.
Going to the local school and trying to teach English to the kids. what an experience. Sooo we were teaching the middle school and high school. Sooooo the first day I was in the middle school classroom with a teammate and a translator. It went really good. I really enjoyed it. The kids listened and they were engaged and taking notes. It was really good. Second day… Fail. I was in a high school classroom by myself with no translator and no team mate…. The kids didn't listen, they wanted to go home, they didn't care about school or learning English…. I felt defeated after trying to teach. It was hard and I felt like a failure. Third and final day: it was ok. I was in a senior (12th grade) classroom with two other teammates… Yay for being with people. The kids actually knew a good bit of English. Yeah they were slightly distracted because… I don't know. But it went much better and the students actually wanted to learn.
Going to a church which had extremely loud off key music…. it was rough yet good cause it was all for God. "Make a joyful noise unto God, all the earth: Sing forth the glory of his name: Make his praise glorious.". Psalm 66:1
Using a squatty potty and being perfectly fine with it. Cold bucket showers every few days. And washing my hair in the faucet. Washing clothes in a bucket… Yeah I don't think my clothes will ever get clean… Especially after 11 months. Eww… Lol.
Never being able to sleep due to the crazy noises of the village: people, music, and animals all night long… Or mice eating/chewing our food at night… Or cockroaches on our beds… Good times. But I am thankful for a roof over my head and a bed to sleep in. God is good.
Most Importantly: Learning to be still and know that God is God. "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." Psalm 46:10. Learning that peace is not the absence of crisis. Peace is the presence of Christ.
