It’s 10 o clock at night.
The power has been out for the last 5 hours. Which means I’ve been sitting in a dark house
with no internet to keep me busy, no functioning kitchen appliance to cook
dinner, and no fan to cool me down. This
is a typical night for many people here in the Dominican Republic, and for
people all over the world…but for me it’s just something that I will never get
used to. As I sit here in the darkness,
with my almost dying lap top as the only light I have, I have been able to look
back at my time here in La Romana and assess how much I have grown over this
past year.
As I relive the experiences that I have had, I can’t help but think about one thing that has affected me the most.
People. I love people. Old, young, American, Haitian, big, small,
Christian, Jewish, black, white, I just love people. When I think about a person, or a human being
for that matter, my mind is always blown away.
We were all made in the image of God, but yet we are all unique. We look different, we speak different
languages, and we believe different things.
Sometimes I wonder why God did it
this way. Why couldn't we all just speak
the same language? Wouldn't that make life so much easier? Or Why couldn't we all live in a place with
the same opportunities? The world would
be better that way, right? But as I look
back at the people I have met here, I realize that God did this for a
reason. I am the person I am today, not
because of the people that are like me, but because of the people in my life
that are different. The people that have
influenced me the most are the ones that come from totally different ways of
life. It is my neighbor down the street,
that always knows how to cheer me up. It is my students, that make it
impossible for me not to smile when I’m around them. It is the missionary from
New York, that inspires me to do what I love. It is my Haitian friend, that has
been through so much pain and loss, yet still is full of life and love. These are the people who have forever changed
me. The people that make me the person I am today.
This is why God created us the way He did.
So we can learn from others and be challenged to use what we learn to
better this world.
So as I sit here in the darkness, I continue to be astounded by
God’s creation. The bible says that
Jesus is the light of the world. We too,
can be lights in this world, and help make this world a better place by letting
our unique qualities and talents shine around us. I have one more month here in the Dominican
Republic, and my challenge for the rest of my time here is not only to be a
light, but to find the lights around me.
To love the people around me, but also to find those people that love
and appreciate me. I challenge you to
do the same thing. We are all
people. We might be different, but one
thing is for certain, we all have the ability to love.
