Dear Dominican Republic,
Thank you for being my first home on the race. Words cannot express enough how much of my heart you have and how I will always look back at month one with so much love and adoration.
Nothing about you reminded me of home, but quickly became another version of home. Your mountain tops that the clouds would cover, the cool breeze that was always a pleasant feature to the third floor, the variation of trees and fruits, the chickens in the morning, the humble mountain villages, and the chaotic city streets, all of the music played, the motos and honks of cars driving by, the lizards everywhere, the frog that accompanied many of us in the shower, all of the mosquito bites, the rain storms, all of the village dogs that would join us on walks, — all of the life that seemed to breathe out of those mountains. Everything about you became a comfort and a reason to call you home, especially your people.
Your people became my people, friends and family that welcomed me and my squad with excited, open arms. Thank you for showing me love and kindness in a place I never thought I’d call home.
Thank you for being a place where I could work on, nurture, and have serious conversations to water my relationship with The Lord; a place I could see Him breathe and move. Thank you for allowing me space to grow myself and come one step closer to the true person that God has planned for me to be.
God, thank you for the DR and for the love and work/growth you have for them. Thank you for revealing your self piece by piece in everything from the beauty of nature to the smiles from everyone we got to interact with. I know this is just step one on the journey of seeing how much you love and care for all of us. Seeing your beauty in everything is an incredible and eye opening experience that I Never forget
