Long time, no see. I'm back and ready to share.
Six months ago, I took a leap of faith and left all my
family and friends at home to go live in the Dominican Republic. There has been ups and downs, highs and lows,
moments of extreme happiness and moments of absolute exhaustion. However, I couldn’t be happier with how my
time here in La Romana has gone. God has
challenged me in so many ways and I can honestly say that I have grown so much
as a person.
About a month ago, I was blessed to take a quick trip home
to visit my family. It was an unexpected
trip, but something that I very much needed.
Before I left I had to say good-bye to all my friends here. I knew I would be seeing them again in a few
weeks, but I didn’t realize it would be so hard. During this time it truly hit me how blessed
I am. I have people in two countries
that love me in ways I never thought was possible. No matter if I’m in California or the DR, I
feel like I’m home. Not many people can
say that they feel like home in two different places, let alone just one…but I
am so grateful that I can.
My time at home was wonderful. I spent some good quality time with my
family, and just enjoyed the luxuries that I don’t have while I am in La Romana
(hot showers, air conditioning, food, a car).
Being home gave me the chance to regroup and reflect on everything that
I have been experiencing. Sometimes when
you are in a place for so long, it is easy to lose perspective on things. My time at home allowed me to gather that
perspective back so I could go back and serve the people in a more effective
way.
I’m back in La Romana and I am absolutely loving it. Despite the sometimes unbearable heat, I have
been keeping busy and making the most of my summer here. Just recently, the first graders who now know
how to read, graduated from the
school. It was a beautiful ceremony and
all the kids wore traditional graduation gowns.
I sat there at the ceremony in tears, in awe of God’s work and
faithfulness. A few years ago an amazing
Pastor had a vision of a school in this barrio, and a few years later children
are attending the school and finding success.
This is something that will always affect me and I just hope that it
impacts everyone that comes visits.
Since school finished, I have been helping out with some of
the other mission groups that are doing work at the school. So much has been accomplished in the last few
weeks. The school was repainted and
looks amazing. Many items have been
donated and the library organized.
Almost a hundred children participated in a week long VBS. Like I always say, God is truly at work in La
Romana. I’ve also found time to have
fun. I have had friends visit, taken
quite a few trips to the beach, and spent some quality time with my Dominican
families.
I will be back home in September, so my goal before I
leave….make the most of my time here.
Dios es bueno!
