DR: Day 3 - Community day, grumpy me

It’s 5am and it’s useless to continue pretending to sleep. I don’t know if it’s because of the humidity, my stomach or the uncomfortable bed (the mattress and the fact I’m too tall for it), but the result is the same. I haven’t slept more than 1 hour in a row and I’ve basically been waiting for it to be time to get up. I thank God for the rain that makes noise on the tin roof, that drowns out the occasional snore and the roosters’ crowing, which are all over the place, and that allows one to use the bathroom without waking everyone else up. I think the rain lowers the temperature a bit too. I also give thanks for my little fan and I pray that the batteries last. I give thanks for my brothers and sisters here who don’t complain about the conditions and whose love for Christ has brought them all the way here. I give thanks for what I have at home, mostly for my family and for all Jeff does (even washes dishes! J) and all the luxury of “privacy”. But most of all, I give thanks for Jesus who loved us so much – who loves me so much in spite of being so spoiled – and gives us such a strong bond, true family, in such distant and different places such as this. As I look back at this, it almost makes me laugh to see how I'm so obviously counting my blessings instead of focusing on what I'm really thinking and feeling. I'm not even sure I realized I was doing it at the time. I suppose it's a good habit to be in though!

Today is Sierrah’s birthday. I know it will be one she’ll never forget. I hope she can truly celebrate it, not by focusing on herself, rather on the work here. I bought her some “birthday edition” Oreos se we could all celebrate with her. I should have brought more – there weren’t enough even for one per person. Reflecting about it now, I see that even with all the chores and work, Sierrah didn’t expect any special treatment. She came to serve, not be served, even on her special day. She has the heart of a servant and I admire her so much.

 Last night I showed Jarisa the list of Dominican slang phrases that I printed from the internet and she confirmed several of them. That is, there weren’t any specifically that she disagreed with, but she laughed and affirmed several, such as ¿ta nítido?, ¿cómo tú tá?, ¿qué lo qué?, bacano, ta to, and I don’t remember what else. Here they say “chancletas” for flip-flops and they don’t say “maceta”, rather “florero” or “jarrón” for flower pot. Also, a swing is “columpio” but also “hamaca”.

By the way, they have us divided into 4 groups and in my group, C, are Meredith, Lauren, Logan, Jeremy and Zach. I already see in this group people who desire to serve and with tender hearts. In this way, it will be easy to focus more on concentrating myself instead of being such a chaperone; that is, I can serve the people here without having to babysit the kids under my charge. Looking back, it was hard to remember who were the chaperones and who were the kids. Jeremy remarked that we were the best group he’d ever had, that we worked the hardest without any direction necessary.

When I woke up this morning I realized that I had lost the cross from my necklace. I found it in my bed with my flashlight and was able to fix it with a small amount of effort, but I fear that it might happen again, so I’m not going to wear it anymore here. Jesus is in my heart so it’s not necessary to wear Him around my neck, right?

We are in quiet time, which is a little difficult for me to enjoy, since there is no place where the bugs will leave me alone. I have changed location 3 times, but it doesn’t matter. I read today the first 6 chapters of Romans (well, I read chapter 1 yesterday) and decided that it would be better to reflect a bit instead of reading more. What stood out to me was the part about grace. We are children of God, not by blood, nor our own will, rather His. We will not ever be able to deserve nor earn God’s favor. Believing this is one thing and accepting that it is not only for you but for others whose sins are “uglier than yours” is another. What does matter is faith, not any good “works” that we do. One must obey, of course, but faith is what justifies us, or rather, He justifies us by means of faith.

The morning started out with another flat tire, this time on the Daihatsu itself, which delayed Community Day a bit. We took advantage of the opportunity to visit the children’s home, more or less a block from here. The kids were crazy about playing with the teens and one of them who was about 4 years old, Gibbons, jumped into Logan's arms. It was precious! Some of them were shy but the grand majority seemed to trust us almost immediately.

After maybe an hour, we went to Río San Juan where our group ate at one of the Manna student's houses. His mother and little brother (who lives with his father, at his parents’ house) were there too. His mother is pregnant with twins – a boy and a girl, due in November. She is not at all thrilled about having one more child much less two, since she does not have the means to care for them. They served us moro, which here means rice with pigeon peas. It was really good, and was served with delicious chicken too.

It seemed like we spent quite a while there, probably just because I was sweating profusely and there was no breeze. At some point we all had to use the restroom, which was pretty primitive and it was a good thing I brought kleenex and germ-ex. Afterwards, we went for ice-cream at Bon. I couldn’t decide which flavor to order, so I asked the lady what the best one was and her response was “ron pasa” (rum raisin). That’s also what Jeremy said before. They were all right! It was so yummy! The owner came out to greet us and was so kind. She hugged and kissed me and even took a picture with me, taking off her hair net.

It turns out she is a retired teacher! Everyone here opens their homes and hearts to us, it’s just incredible. Then, Jeremy and I walked to a few stores and then the Gri Gri lagoon. It felt so good to dip my feet in, so cool and refreshing. I felt so sweaty, more disgusting than ever and I didn’t want to leave. Poor Lauren cut her foot and there was blood everywhere – and someone stole her flip-flops, or as she said involuntarily donated them.

Then, we went to the Manna Community Center for the “Princesas y pescadores” program for teens. They play games and connect with them, like mentors. Our teens behaved so normally, sweating a ton but having fun with the Dominican teens. It goes without saying that I was miserable and it was tough for me to think of anything except a cold shower. On the way back, we sang to pass the time.

When we finally got back, the teens went to the children’s home. I, the utmost in selfishness, drained, sweaty, almost in tears, and if I'm being honest, just wanted to go home. I was thinking maybe I'm just not cut out for this. Perhaps I'm just too shallow of a person that I can't get past the little things like bugs, sweat and discomfort, filth, no privacy, like everyone else seems to. I finally showered and it was the most luxurious I have had, even though it was cold water and the smallest amount I could. God renewed my spirit too, and I came out to the pad to journal.

However, as I sat down near Jim, he struck up a conversation, which quite frankly I always prefer. Then, we played a bit of volleyball and then had chili dogs for dinner, which really hit the spot. After dinner, it was our turn to clean the bathroom, then it was time for devotional.

At devo, we sang and talked about our experiences today. I shared how impressed I was with these teens, who love so mucn and offered themselves so freely to service when I had nothing left. I just felt in such awe of how they were reflecting God's love when I was failing so miserably at it. I even started to cry (something I never do!). The kids have such tender hearts. Ethan was the first of the teens to share, then Miranda, neither of them are the first 2 I would think of for opening up to the group. I am so proud of them, truly.

Tomorrow is going to be difficult emotionally and physically. We are going to Puerto Plata – first to the hospital, then lunch and then the dump. After the devotional tonight, we prepared 150 bags to distribute (with soap, shampoo, toothbrushes, toothpaste, granola bars and for the kids: Joseph books, crayons and fruit snacks). We are going to pray with the people at the hospital. I wanted to be completely done journaling tonight because I want all of quiet time tomorrow to think about what I’ll say. I don't know, I just feel a heaviness, a sort of dread about it. I'm a little scared about all the strong emotions I might feel tomorrow and want to be available for God to use me to minister to these, likely the neediest we've yet met. I'm just praying and looking to God to provide the words of comfort and to mold my heart and will.