First Week

  It's officially been one week since I arrived in the Dominican Republic.  Already I feel right at home.  It's so great to be back the culture and around Spanish. Somethings are just like I remember them, but at times I notice differences between Jarabacoa and where I am now, Juan Dolio.  Although  I suppose that part of that may because I have a lot more opportunies to spend free time (and even ministry times) with Dominicans rather than American missionarries.  I've quickly settled into the routine here.  Generally, each week I'll be paired with a group to help with and translate what I can.  This week I was with Bethel Baptist from Alabama. Throughout the week we visited several different sugar cane villages, called Bateys. The group had prepared a VBS type program for the kids in each village--songs, a Bible story, and crafts.

In addition to the villages there are two ministries we visited the week that I especially enjoyed.  On Monday we went to San Jose were SCORE Craig and Joanna live.  I hadn't planned it but these are the same missionaries whose blog I read last semester after a friend shared it on Facebook. It's an amazing story of what God's doing here in the DR. If you'd like to read that blog follow this link.  Craig and Joanna have built a house in the village of San Jose and live right among the people they serve. There's a group of kids from the village that practically live on their front porch. Craig pastors the church, they've begun a pre-school, and have a feeding program. They also reach out to the surrounding villages and are hoping to plant churches in those as well. Our ministry on Monday consisted of building benches to be used in the church or school and playing with the kids. Soccer, baseball, Frisbee, swings, etc. During the afternoon it rained, even poured for a while; Craig passed out shampoo to the kids and they all took showers! I was especially drawn to one boy, Mudo. He can't hear and as a result can't speak either. It was amazing to see how the kids had learned to communicate with him. At first, I though how devastating it was that he had no assistance or
interventions. Even if someone would teach him Sign Language there's no one in his village who could understand that.  However, after watching them I began to wonder if it was actually easier to live with his handicap here than it would be in the States. In this village much of the economy is farming. Even young boys know how to drive cattle and ride horses. I realized there's many farming activities one could learn just by watching. Even Craig is able to communicate very similar things to Mudo, such as distinguishing between Coke and water. Yet Craig doesn't know how Mudo is able to understand the difference. I definitely hope to return to San Jose many times this summer.

The second ministry I want to share about in the Lily House.  This ministry serves women who had previously worked as prositutes and their children.  There are two parts to this. First the house where the women can live with their children and the day care for the children while thier mothers are at work. Second there is the training program.  The women work during the day learning skills such as jewelry making, sewing, cooking, and spa/salon.  Much of the jewelry is already bein sold here at the SCORE store.  Recently a family donated to the Lily House to build several shops/business for the ladies to work in.  They are just about ready to open a salon/spa, a store (for jewelry, etc.) and a cafe. All three are absolutely beautiful and once its done the entrance will open up right to the main street; perfect for business not just from SCORE groups but from the public and the tourists from the nearby hotels. I'm so excited to see how this ministry continues to grow during my summer here.

Besides to ministries that the groups do for the Dominicans, is especially encouraging to get to know the individual group members and hear what God has used their trip to teach them.  I was able to have several very good conversations with a member of the team this week. Some of the biggest lessons are the ones least expected. It's amaing to see how God uses a trip to a foreign country to teach something no one could have intended.

As always, thanks for your prayers and support!