3 more days left...

If you wanna check out this website, Brent, our director of the Study Abroad program put together a short video to show at our chapel to promote the trip and you can find it by clicking .....

http://www.bethelcollege.edu/academics/overseas/

Outta control and glad for it!

It's been a crazy ride these past 2 weeks of being sick and even though it hasn't been quite a bowl of cherries, I believe it's through the struggles and the more difficult times that we learn more. So there's been a lot of learning going on the last two weeks. If I could sum up the past 2 weeks all into one sentence I have realized more than anything "I am not in control." That's such a scary feeling at first, but after awhile you begin to realize it's the most freeing sentence you could ever experience.

Cool God moment: I had been back at my host house for one day after getting over "Dang-gay" fever and all the other fun stuff I had, and it was in the middle of the night where I started to get bad stomach cramps. Too make a long story short, they were pretty painful and I didn't know what to do about it, but I just decided to try and tough things out. That day I continued to battle these horrible pains, not knowing why they weren't going away. My parents called that night and being on my last string I let it all out and told them how sick I was feeling but didn't know whether to call the director again or if I should just tough it out or what. After about 10 minutes of frustration and indecision, Cheryl Troyer (the directors wife) walked into my house. What was she doing there!!?? I was SO relieved to see her but so confused at the same time! She told me she had been on the internet reading about a bacterial infection that a girl from our team had and she just got a strong impression from the Lord that she needed to go check on me. So in the night she drove out to El Callejon, to find me in need of some help. So after my Dominican family prayed over me (which was another God moment) we headed to the hospital. Even though I didn't end up having that serious bacteria, I will never forget how God took care of me that whole night. It's been amazing at how he has provided in every situation, throughout this semester. Seeing it in other people's lives while we've been here too has been incredible. We are SOO blessed to have a Creator that loves us and that we can call on in the midst of fear, frustration, helplessness...we have the ability to call on Him when things in our life are out of control because Praise the Lord, he's in control! There's no better feeling than knowing that and experiencing that.

We've been here at the base the past few days with half of our team while the rest of them climb the mountain, Pico Duarte. Even though it was a big bummer I couldn't go, looking back on these few days I am so glad I have been here. Being there for a friend who needed support was the first reason and last night was the second. The Troyers' church is having a retreat here at the base this weekend, so everyone from the church is staying in the dorms and then there are services that go on throughout the day. They brought in a guest speaker from Puerto Rico, so Monica and I had fun hanging out with the Troyers and people from their church last night. We went to the service but really fought to understand what he was saying. We understood the worship songs, but as soon as he started speaking it went over our head. It's weird because you can pick out all of these verbs and words that you know, but it's hard to make sense of it all when he's talking so fast and it's all in different tenses...craziness! We understood that the main thing he was talking about End Times. Later we asked Troyers what he was saying and boy did it blow me away. There is so much going on in the world presenstly that I was so unaware of. We had a really long conversation with them that was incredibly eye-opening. I went to bed last night once again feeling the amazing feeling that I am SO out of control, but Praise the Lord I know the one who's in control....and I am able to have a relationship with him!
Blows my mind...

The "Dang- gay" fever

Well since last time I wrote I thought I was healed and doing much better, but then that next morning I woke up and felt like I was right back where I had started and had another fever and headache all over again. After throwing up, Cheryl Troyer (the directors wife) took me back into the clinic and the doctors decided the medicines must have been too strong for my stomach to handle so they changed my antibiotics around and figured that would help. So I stayed another night at the Troyers house, which is actually pretty fun so it was nice to be there again, it has been my home away from home for the past week. Then this morning when I woke up I felt a lot better without a fever or headache, but my hands burned and itched really bad. As soon as Cheryl looked at my hands she coudln't believe it because it was the rash that you get when you are at the final stage of The Dangue Fever. So come to fine out this whole week I've had Dangue, which makes a lot of sense and explains why I couldn't break the fever, why my body ached so badly, etc. So I'm so glad that I'm in the last stages, because that wasn't any fun! I am so thankful to everyone that was praying for me because I know that's why I'm better now. Now all that's left is convincing the director that I can still climb a mountain in a week with the rest of the group, because I can't miss Pico! Thanks so much for your prayers, God is so good and so faithful when we call on His name!

Answered Prayers!

Just wanted to say thank you so much for everyone that has prayed for me as I've been sick! Not sure if everyone knew but starting Thursday I didn't feel so great and by Friday I was in the clinic with the director's family (the Troyers) taking care of me. They are great people so it was really nice to get to stay in their home and be around english speaking people when you feel so bad. While I was at their house I kept getting worse so Lowell Troyer took me into the clinic and they got me hooked up to an IV which did the trick and got me feeling like a whole new person. Come to find out I ended up having strep throat, a bacterial infection, a urinary tract infection, dehydration, and amoebas! I was supposed to be in the clinic for 48 hours or more but Praise the Lord I got out of there in 24! Thank you so much for everyone that was praying. I'm so excited to be feeling better and to get back into my ministry site by Wed! God has healed me!

Don't Live for the dot

So a quick cool little thing that God has been teaching me is the importance of not living for the "dot" in my life. It's becoming more and more real to me how short life is but how important the decisions we make here are. Jesus is so clear about not living for what is, but for what is to come. The other night Monica and I were talking about this and we drew a dot and right next to the dot we drew a straight line with an arrow on the end of it. Our life is so short...it's a small dot. Eternity is a long line...that never ends. How foolish it would be to live a life for the dot, for myself, for things that would pass away. But how important the dot is because in the way we live in the dot- it affects the line that lasts forever. How crazy it is to realize the small little dot decides how we spend our eternal line. I guess it was some random thoughts on a late night, but God used it to teach me a good lesson.

El Callejon

Well it's been another amazing week in the DR. We got back from our week of travel and now are moved into our new homes and working in our ministry sites! I have been given the most wonderful family and I the best job, of getting to teach preschoolers everyday. The community we live in, El Callejon is one of the more poor areas of Jarabacoa and is known as a squatter community. (Basically a place where the people weren't supposed to start building houses, but they started a little community anyways and know there is a wall that was built to not let them go any furthur.) It is a dirt road, (more like red clay) of a community, that is covered in trash and sewage. The smell is pretty bad as you walk down the road of mostly wooden houses, with a couple that are cement. A lot of the little kids run around naked and are always barefoot. It is such a crazy cultural shock, but the coolest part is that not only do I get to see this place and be here, but I get to LIVE here. My neighbors are my students, and the community is our family. I love the fact that we aren't just visiting this community for a 1 week stay, swopping into their lives and then swopping out, but that we are living with them and among them, even 8 weeks seems like it's too short. It's been really neat because the whole group is taking a ministry class together and reading 2 different books, "The New Friars" (which I encourage anyone to read), and "Walking with the Poor." These books are going through a lot of training into helping the poor and ministering effectively among them. It's been life changing to embrace what we read and then to be right in a setting to live it out.
It's been really neat be working at a school where I'm at because it is more of an outreach than anything. There are two Dominican teachers that we work with and they have such a passion for the kids and the community as a whole. The go far above the call of being just a teacher and they are like mothers to these children. Everyday they check their hands and feet, nails and toe nails to make sure the kids are staying clean, make sure they all have socks to wear, give them toothbrushes to brush their teeth, give them soap to wash their faces, bandage up any new scraps and cuts, give them vitamins, and feed them lunch. They teach them manners and discipline and share a Bible lesson with them everyday, because they tell us the kids don't get this at home. Many of the people in the community don't know how to take care of themselves or can't afford to much less their kid as well. It's just been an amazing, eye-opening, God stretching experience that is changing a lot of the way I look at life.
The family that we live with is just great and Monica and I feel right at home. There are always so many kids to play with, that it makes the time fly by. God has really blessed us, and now we are starting to feel like 7 weeks is going to go by a little bit too fast, but were ready to embrace it!
Hopefully next time I can get some pictures up, but for now if you wanna see the kids I get to work with and love on it's at the www.stint.com website and then click on El Callejon.

Last blog for awhile...

Well I'm sad to say that this may be the last blog for awhile :( Since we are done with school and won't be coming to the base for classes we won't have access to the internet on the computers here! I'm hoping that I will still have a chance to get on maybe once every other week or so, so when i do I will be sure to update on everything God is doing here!!!

We are having our week of travel this week and then starting October 20, Monica and I will be moving into our next house in El Callejon! We are really excited to meet a new family and to start working in our ministry sites! I will be working in a preschool alongside of two really passionate Dominican women. I'm really excited to be with the kids! If you want to check out where I will be you can see it at www.stint.com and click on Education- El Callejon at the bottom.

I miss you guys a lot and will be praying that God is working up there just like he is down here!

Average

The other day Monica and I were laying in bed looking around our room at the dirty walls, tin roof, rats running across the rafters, the bedsheet that was our door, the concrete floor w/ geckos running across it, and just how different it was compared to homes in America We began talking about "could you imagine living with the rats for life?" and "this is home for our family, they've never known any different.." Then it hit us- this is home for most of the world. This is average. Right now we are living in normal conditions when compared with the rest of the world! In America, I used to think our 4 person/ 4 bathroom house was average- middle class. Now I'm begininng to see America is SO rich, and it makes me sick to think I was once in the mindset that I was a "poor college student."

I watched Rob Bell's Nooma video "RICH" before I left and it's never been more real to me than now. He talks about how Rich we are in American and we don't even realize it- infact we still want more even though we are in the top 1% of the worlds wealth, or some crazy statistic like that.

Then I think about our shower....and maybe it is out of a bucket....but I thought back to the end of this summer when my friend Candace got up in front of our church back home and talked about how she spent her summer at an organization that provides clean water because most thrid world countries don't have any. Well there's clean water in our bucket...so I'm feelin pretty rich even now.

So now when I look around this town and think "Wow, they are so poor," I'm going to remind myself that "No, this is AVERAGE..."

Culture!

My home away from home :)

The Dominican culture has been so interesting to experience. They definitely have the attitude of "people first and everything else second." Nothing else is important compared to relationships. It's so funny because in America if you have a problem with someone than you go and confront them on it, but here the Dominicans rahter just deal with the problem than go to you about it and possibly offend you. they are more about people than about business. It's so funny because here they go a lot by what they feel. It's very laid back. They might miss work a couple days if they don't feel like going (and only if they can afford it.)

We've found out that if you go somewhere like a restaurant or a colmado (little store on the streets)- it's very important not to just jump into what you want to order or buy because that would be extremely rude here. First you must ask how they are doing and talk to them a little about their life first and then you can talk business. Isn't tht how it should be? If you have an appointmen but you see a friend on the street and stop and talk to them making you late for your appointment- that is exremely acceptable. Relationships first. Business/tasks second. I wonder what America would look like if we embraced that.

Here it is very common for about 20 different people to stop in and out, off and on, either just to talk or eat a meal everyday. The cool thing is, is that its never planned...it's not "scheduled in" like what we do back home. I just can't get over how much I love the open community here, where home is open to all. (Reminds me of Brown City Camp!) The other day we had a barbeque and before you know it people from the whole street walked over and it was like a community barbeque before we knew it. It was awesome. Here's some other cool culture things that we've learned....

-they have no concept of "schedule," nobody has a calender here...there's really no need for one! (some haven't even seen one before)

-If you want chicken, you don't go to the grocery store- you kill whatever is in your backyard.

-you always greet EVERYONE cheek to cheek-even if they are complete strangers!

-It is totally acceptable for a women to have kids from 3 or 4 different guys but to not be married and to be a single mom (very common here).

-If someone comes to your house you ALWAYS give them something of yours (a lot of times food).

-Alone/privacy time is inheard of

-saying "your getting fat" is a major compliment!

-Dominicans are rest oriented. Everyday at noon, all businesses close down and everyone goes home (school sincluded) and has a big lunch with the family. Then everyone takes a siesta (a nap)....this has not been challenging to adjust to! :)

-when you say you will be there at 7, its not a big deal if you show up at 8 or 9.

-Our friends down the street, their Mama is 1 of 25 kids! Big families here! (I'm guessing there are a lot of half brothers/sisters involved)

-Electricity and running water comes and goes. Some days you have it, some days you don't.

-Not a lot of people (including Mama) know how to drive a car because all they use is motos.

-Kids aren't supervised like back home You see a lot of kids of all ages wlaking aorund the city, the streets, late at night/during the day it doesn't matter

-Kids act like adults. We see 11 and 12 year old girls cooking, cleaning, taking care of the little ones just like an adult!

-Dominicans want to have lighter skin- we wish we had darker skin (funny how you always want what you don't have)

-Lunch is their biggest meal, where dinner is ours.

Well here are just some of the cultural things that we've been learning and experiencing! It's been such a good learning experience! There is a lot to learn from the Dominican people!
-

Psalm 116

This passage in scripture has been AWESOME to me while I've been here.

"I was overcome by trouble and sorrow
then I called on the name of the Lord
the Lord is gracious and righteous
our God is full of compassion
because he turned his ear to me
I will call on him as long as I live
Be at rest once more, O my soul
For the Lord has been good to you."

The Weekend...

Happy birthday to my brother back home! Wish I could be there for it! One more week left of things as I know them and then it’s time to switch it all up again! We have one more week left of Spanish class so the teachers have been piling on the homework! It’s crazy how much we are learning and how much I understand but as soon as you try to speak it, it’s a different story! Today we spent mostly at the base, getting homework done, watching movies, hanging out with friends, trying to get on the internet, etc.

Yesterday was a lot of fun. It’s been raining here pretty much all day and a lot of the week, but after class two girls from my team and I went for a run in the rain and I loved it. After we finished the run we rewarded ourselves with pica pollo (which is a lot like KFC DR style) and a lot of our team members met us there. We met a guy that’s a missionary to Jarabacoa (they are all over the place) and that works at the Jarabacoa Christian School. Then we walked across town to get….ICECREAM! I was in heaven! It’s really cheap and really good here, but then we had a good half hour walk home in the dark! But we were safe because the guys stayed with us, so we were fine. Afterwards I spent the night with my friend Shelby and her Dominican family. It was a fun experience to meet a new family and see where they had been living! The Dominicans always amaze me with their hospitality. I walked in to their house and was immediately greeted with a kiss, hug, and then treated like royalty. So far if I’ve learned anything about the Dominican people it is that Dominicans love to love… which is exactly how it’s supposed to be.

It will be really sad to leave my family this week but we’ve made a lot of good memories and we will be within walking distance so we can still visit! Hope everyone’s doing well for everyone back home!!

Haha...this is my good friend Heraldo. He is a staff worker at SI. He likes to play jokes on me a lot so I'm pretending to strangle him in this picture....haha Heraldo is crazy!!

The other day we were traveling on our bus as a team and we were listing quotes that had really influenced our lives. My friend Jim threw one out there and it really stuck. He said...

"Go beyond being challenged, be changed."

That spoke right to me, and definitely fits for this semester...

Open the Eyes of My Heart....

This is a picture of my 2 beautiful Dominican friends Josie and Julia.













I realized that a lot of my life I spend my time looking at people out of my own eyes- my human eyes, that see human things.. (appearance, status, etc.)

Then the other day some of us were sitting around with a guitar singing the song (an oldie but a goodie) "Open the Eyes of my Heart" and it hit me...open the eyes of my heart. I'm sick of seeing out of my human eyes, it's time to see people, ALL people out of the eyes of my heart....Dominican, American, poor, sick, homeless, rich. It's time to look past human things and look into what God sees. God help me to see people as you see them, to love them liek you love them....open the eyes of my heart.

A Weekend Update...

It's already October! I can't believe it! Time is going by fast down here! Friday was a fun day, Monica and I and a couple other Americans from our team decided to have dinner by the river. One of our team members had brought a camp stove so we set up camp in the pitch dark and used flashlights to cook some homemade pizzas and cinnamin rolls. It was a lot of fun and the food actually turned out good!

Saturday we traveled to Santiago. The city was packed full of people and it was really hot. We went to two different museums which was interesting because out tours were in Sapnish! So I stuck by Brent (our director) and together we could get most of what he was saying. Then we went to their independance statue that we called "The Woman" and got to walk up to the top. After racing up all of the flights of stairs we got to the top and had a great veiw of the city.

Sunday was a blast. I went to church and met some Americans that were missionaries to jarabacoa and taught in the Christian school here. Come to find out she graduated from Taylor, and was friends with Kyle Lantz (my boyfriends brother!) It's such a small world. Then we realized that our Spanish teacher (Serai who is about our age) is good friends with them so she invited us to all hang out next week! It will be fun getting to know them better.

Monica and I have become really good friends with the family that lives down the road from us. They are also hosting 2 of the Americans from our team. They are a really strong Christian family and their nephew, Alberto, is a teacher for SI. We love going over there because you feel right at home. Last night a girl from our team had a birthday party so the Dominican family threw a fiesta and showed us Americans how to have fun! It was a blast. Dominicas think its so funny when we try to dance, because compared to them we just look bad. So we decided after an hour of humiliating ourselves at the merengue we would teach them some American moves-so we did and they loved it! Monica and I showed the girls Julia (15), and Genesis (9), how to do the electric slide, line dancing, and the YMCA for 2 hours straight (they had American music- we couldn't believe it!) It was so much fun....we laughed a lot, danced a lot, as always ATE a lot :) (The Dominicans loove to feed us!)

Hope all is going well back home! Miss you!

Meet Mama....

Here she is...."crazy Mama" we call her. This was from the night that she wanted us to go running through the streets with her in the pouring rain. (which was a blast) The other picture is her cooking us chicken feet soup! Mama is a servant that will never let you do anything but sit back and relax. She cooks some interesting things, cleans, takes care of us, and will not let us go a night without playing a game of Dominos, which she is very competitive in! She laughs everytime Monica and I try to talk in Spanish and laughs even harder when we say something we didn't mean. She is a woman full of joy and a love for life. She unfortunatley doesn't know the Lord, but is open to it.

Whenever we get home from school we ay "Hola Mama," and she always responds with "Ohhh my hijas" (Oh my daughters) and runs out to greet us with a kiss.

Today Monica and I told her we wanted to practice our Spanish and read to her, so we read out of the Spanish Bible I had. We started in John and we are going to continue reading to her everyday. She's an amazing lady... (and makes me miss my mom from home!)

Wish you could all have the chance to meet crazy Mama...

Why I'm Here..

Lately I've been thinking a lot of why I'm here. Why am I out in the middle of the Dominican Republic for a whole semester of my college career anyways? This song that I found on my ipod sums it up to a tee.... (I wish I knew the artist or title but I don't!)

"I'm here to meet with you
Come and meet with me
I'm here to find you
Reveal yourself to me

As I wait, you make me strong
As I long, you draw me to your arms
As I stand, and sing your praise
You come and fill this place"

I'm here to find God. Well, I've found God....But there's something about finding him away from what you know. I want to find him for who he is to ME- not who he is because of what people have told me he is. It was interesting to come down here and realized that God wasn't going to be spoonfed to me. There was no chapel, no spiritual emphasis week, no Wed night church...even church on Sunday was in a different language! But it's been so good to seek God on my own....and that's why I'm here!!

This Weekend..

This weekend was definately a fun one. We got together as a team (all 21 of the students) and spent the weekend ogether at the SI (students interntional) base. Saturday we traveled up to the city of Costanza in a 20 passenger van, up the side of a winding mountain road, driven by Heraldo (a crazy Dominican driver that works for SI). It was a lot of fun, and Heraldo definately made things interesting- and scary! haha! That night we ate in an authentic Dominican restaurant and I decided to take after my brother and try some crazy food...so I had GOAT! It was surprisingly really good.

That night we stayed at the base and three other girls and I decided it would be fun to take our sleeping bags and sleep out under the Dominican sky. So we did, we camped right under the plam trees (hoping the coconuts wouldn't fall on us in the night). There's something about laying under the stars, talking about life with the girls that it just doens't get much better than that.

Sunday morning our team headed up to a village in the mountains to have church on the river and a Dominican style cokout. It was a lot of fun. The river had a prety strong current-but the didn't stop any of us. We swam across the river and found some big rocks to climb on. Then we just sat on the rocks and took in the scenery around us. I've realized on this trip how much I love being in nature. Itis so easy to connect with God when you sit back, amazed at His creation.

After that we found a rock wall to climb up and then jump off into the water. This one was about 15 feet high, about the same as last time. It was so funny because after you jumped the current would carry you down the river, so a few of us formed a chain of people holding hands so as you floated away you could grab their hands and be pulled back to the rocks. It sounds more dangerous that what it was, but it was definately a RUSH!

The weekend was a lot of fun, but Sunday night was by far the best. We got home from the base and Monica and I decided to go on a walk around the area where we live. As we were walking, we passed by "El Arca" which is an orphanage for the Dominican children. We peeked through the gate and saw kids playing in the yard, and Monica and I both looked at each other with the same idea in mind.."Let's go in!" So we did! In America if we did this we would probably get some awkward stares and asked to leave-but not in the DR! The kids were warm and friendly and wanted us to play with them. So Monica and I showed off our volleyball skills and it was a lot of fun. One girl in particular I will not forget. Out of the blue I saw the cutest Dominican girl come running out of nowhere right at me, so I reached out my arms and she jumped up in them. She would not let go and I didn't want to. As soon and she got down she went and jumped on Monica. We fell in love with her. After awhile all the kids had to go back inside, but the girls came up to us and communicated through some Spanglish for us to come back tomorrow. I can't wait. Standing in the middle of that orphanage with beautiful kids running around me- I felt like I was right where God wanted me and it was so good to feel His peace again.

Life is SO Simple

The other day Mama came running out to tell Monica and I that we had hot water today!! Monica and I were shocked because we showered out of the water that was in the bucket- we didn't even have running water how could it be hot? Thats when we realized Mama had moved the bucket outside and it had been sitting in the sun all morning... therefore we have hot water! Haha! Sometimes life is so simple here and it just makes me laugh....

Fun Fun Fun

I can't believe I'm in the Dominican Republic! Why is it so easy for us to slip into routine and so easily forget the blessings that God has given us! Sometimes I just sit back, stare at the mountains and the banana trees and think "Wow, I'm here in the Dominican Republic" and I just let it sink in.
I've been trying for awhile to get pictures loaded on here- but everytime I've tried it's been giving me trouble (partially because everything online is in Spanish!) So I'll keep trying and hopefully soon you will be able to see some pictures of the beautiful Dominican people here.
The weekend was a lot of fun. Friday night a small group of us went up to Jarabacoa Christian School and played soccer with the people there. I have never had so much fun playing soccer in my life. They are really aggressive and since I was 1 of the 3 girls playing it made things interesting (especially when I had to be goalie...Ahh!) After that our team went out for pizza and I got to experience corn pizza which was surprisingly really good!
On Saturday we hiked to two of Jarabacoa's waterfalls and I was deifinitely my element. We actually got to swim out to the waterfall, go behind it and everything!! I'm really glad that we have a pretty adventerous group! Lots of us climbed up the wall of the waterfall (maybe only 15 or 20 ft.) and jumped off into the water- it was awesome!! At the second waterfall we spent all our time trying to swim through it and it was Sooo powerful! (only a few of us made it)
All of these experiences were fun but nothing topped last night. Last night has got to be my favorite night so far. It all started when Monica and I were playing a game of dominos with Mama and Papa after dinner and i noticed that it started pouring rain outside. We kept playing and it kept raining harder and harder. Finally I had to go check it out, I have never seen rain fall so hard in my life. Then Mama gets the best idea in the world- she went and put on a shower cap over her head and took our hands and drug Monica and I out with her into the pouring rain! It was one of those God- moments that I'll never forget. We ran down the street in the pouring rain, holding hands, shouting and laughing. It was awesome. the best part was that Mama had her shower cap on! All of a sudden the power went out (what a surprise) and the whole street was pitch dark. But that didn't stop us, we kept dancing in the rain and Mama was loving it- so were we.
It's been amazing how people that just a week ago were strangers are now such close people to Monica and I. Last Sunday Mama came to church with us, so that was really encouraging!
God is so faithful. Being out of your comfort zone, I think, is the best place to be as a Christian in your walk with Christ. It lets God be God in your life. He is now in control. I will definitely be the first to say that IT's NOT EASY, but little by little, day by day it's slowly becoming worth it.

The Power of His Love

It's awesome how God speaks to us through music and lyrics. A simple song that I used to like at home has now become the cry of my heart here in the DR......


Lord I come to you
Let my heart be changed, renewed
Flowing from the grace that I've found in You
Lord I've come to know
The weaknesses I see in me
Will be stripped away
By the Power of your love

HOld me close, let your love surround me
Bring me near draw me to your side
As I wait, I 'll rise up liek the eagle and I will soar with you
Your spirit leads me on
By the power of you love

Lord unveil my eyes
Let me see you face to face
Knowledge of your love as you live in me
Lord renew my mind
As your will unfolds in my life
Living everyday in the power of your love

One week down...

A week has gone by and so far I have swam in a river, spoken more Spanish than EVER before, kissed many strangers on the cheek, seen my first rat in the house, learned how to cook some Dominican food with "Mama," and learned to merengue and bachata with the family!
We have been with our family since Saturday and they treat us like we are one of their own. mama introduces us to her friends as her American daughters. She always wants to feed us! We have learned to say "No tengo hambre!" (I'm not hungry) Yesterday for lunch we had chicken soup-which seemed normal until we realized Dominican style chicken soup includes the WHOLE chicken-feet and all!
It's fun to think of ways to interact becuase there aren't many words that can be shared. Language barrier has got to be the hardest yet coolest things I've experienced so far. It kills me to be with these people, wanting to know their stories and ask them questions but not being able to communicate much. The cool part about it is that I'm begininng to learn you don't alway need words to love. All I've had to give is a smile, an embrace, and my prescence. Sometimes the best thing to do is to just sit in the rocking chair next to Mama, both of us in silence but being ok with that.
Monica and I have tried to not let the language barrier hinder our relationships with them so we try to interact in other ways. Last night Mama, Papa, and Nathalie (a girl our age) were all laying on their bed watching TV and Monica and I ran in and jumped on them and they LOVED it. then Nathalie let us curl her hair-except she kept re-fixing what we would do. Another time we hid in Nathalie's toom and when she came in we jumped out and scared her. it's really neat that those little things help to bond us.
Every night after school Nathalie helps us with our Spanish homework and that is a great bonding time too. It's so humbling when 8 year old Miguel helps me with my homework!
They are a great family but in all honesty the first couple days were a struggle for me. I realized I cam into this sesmster with expectations. I cam in with the idea of how I wanted my semester to go and what I wanted it to look like. But God has a way of changing our plans and showing us that His plans are much different. I was thinking I would be with an inspiring old Dominican lady that had faith in God like I had never seem before, and instead I was placed in a family that didn't ever serve God. But it's been absolutley amazing to see how God is already moving. This morning Mama told us she's coming to church with us on Sunday and then she showed us a small New testement Bible that she had found. SHe said she doesn't look at it much. Then tonight at dinner MOnica and I prayed before we ate and when I opened my eyes she was just staring at me- so I hope we are showing Jesus to them.
This week has been a great week, but when I think about 3 1/2 months I get overwhelmed! Last night Monica and I were doing night-time devotions and we came across a verse in Matt. that we decided to dedicate to this semester.
Matt 6:34 says "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself." So I'm not going to worry about the next 3 1/2 months- but I'm going to go one day at a time.
After class today some of us are going to the feild in the city to play soccer with the locals. I am SO excited! then on Saturday we are going as a team to hike to some waterfalls in Jarabacoa, so it's gonna be a really fun weekend! I'll try to write on a more regular basis and to get some pictures up soon! I miss you all!!!!

I'm Here!

The adventure has begun! Thursday night we arrived in Jarabacoa after a day of smooth and safe travel. I knew right away that I was in the DR because the electricity went off while we were in the middle of the airport! Of course the girls screamed which made us look even more like out of place tourists but it was pretty funny. Then we took a 45 minute van ride into the city and lets just say I'm glad we never have to drive here because they are crazy! Stop signs are more of a suggestion then a mandatory rule! We got to stay the night at the new Students International base and it was really nice. The team we have is great! Everyone is getting along great (but I do realize it's only been 2 days ;)
The first night went really well. I had such a peace and I knew it was because people back home were praying. Thank you! It's awesome how you can fell the support of prayer when your awa. On Friday we went through a day of orientatio, touring the city, and a fun night getting used to the Dominican culture. Touring the city was a huge eye opener. Little boys (probably 4 or 5) were walking around the street trying to shine shoes for money, everyone rode mopeds, I saw a man with no legs but with a smile on his face and so much more. I expected to see poverty, I've heard about it, seen pictures, but when you are right there among it it blows you away. It's starting to sink in that this will be my home for the next 3 1/2 months and in all honesty I'm just as nervous as I am excited. Adapting to the language and culture is going to be harder than I thought but I am more than ready to dive in and pour myself into it.
The night ended with learning how to play dominos, cutting open a coconut (drinking the juice and eating it), and dancing Dominican' style!
This trip has started off well which is very encouraging! there are so many unknowns but God has been reminiding me that He is the All-knowing, and if that's not security I don't know what is. So am I'm faced with unknowns of who my host family is, where I'll live, if I'll get sick, how to speak the language, how I will make it through 3 1/2 months without seeing family/friends- God knows all those answers, so I rest in that. I think a lot of times we feel so much better when we know all the answers. Before I left I was shown this quote from Rob Bell's Velvet Elvis and I am going to hold onto it all semester...
"This is an important thinkg to remember
I can jump and still have questions and doubts.
I often meet people who are waiting to follow
God until they have all their questions answered.
They will be waiting for a long time, because if we
knew everything, we'd be....God.
So the invitation to jump is an invitation to follow
Jesus with all of our doubts and questions right
here with us."

Well, I've jumped and I'm here. Do I have doubts and questions? Yep. More than I realzied. WIll they be answered? I dont know. Am I ok with that yet? I'm getting there. But the invitation isn't to have them answered. It isn't to be comfortable. It isn't to "feel good" or to be safe. The invitation is to follow Jesus where he calls.
This morning my friend Shelby and I were able to wake up early, hike up the hillside, and watch a beautiful Dominican sunrise.We had a beautiful view of the city of Jarabacoa under a blanket of fog, mostly still asleep. It was one of those "I'm so small, God is so big" moments and I'm looking forward to more of those.
For now I have to go meet my host family! Adios!