DR: Day 4 (part 2) - the turning point

Yesterday I left off at the hospital. We then headed to San Felipe Fort, or as they say “the Fort.” We had lunch outside underneath the trees on a plastic tarp. Ivette carved my name on a tree – what a sweet girl. Estefany was also precious. We chatted a lot and she kept telling me how wonderful it was to have me as her friend and we even held hands as we walked. Someone asked her how old she was and she said 13. What? I couldn’t believe it, I thought she was much older. I bought her a pop and insisted on eating with her. I don’t know why, but the Dominicans always eat after the gringos, but I am pretty stubborn and swore I wouldn’t eat until she did. We ate with a view of the ocean and a nice breeze on the hill, shaded by the trees. What a lovely lunch!

So for the first time, we all did the "tourist thing" and took a tour of the fort. I translated a few things that were written on the walls for our group. They gave us headphones which gave us a tour in English. It was pretty neat. We got a group picture in front of the wall with the ocean in the background, when the wind took Renay’s hat! She was going to write it off, but when I looked over the wall, I thought I could get it with someone to hold my hand. With the help of Phillip, I was able to climb down and back up. There were 2 protrusions from the wall (the lowest being about up to my hips). I may have been able to do it without holding onto Phillip’s hand, but I definitely would be very susceptible to a fall, and a dangerous one at that. Phillip braced himself and really deserves as much credit as anyone for the hat rescue. All that climbing in Colorado came in a bit handy too!
 

Next we went to the dump. When we got there, we saw the multitude of children come running down the hill. It really was overwhelming emotionally to see.

Then came the women and men. We took out volleyballs, soccer balls and Frisbees and began to play with the kids. The women chatted in the shade provided by the Daihatsu. The smallest children jumped into our arms. When there were no more arms to jump into, some of the kids sat together in a circle. I spent most of my time chatting with the moms. The boys and some girls played volleyball and Frisbee with the kids too.

Troy particularly spent a good deal of time lifting kids up onto the truck that was for hauling trash, to play, then helping them down when they were done. The kids LOVE Troy! The great love and total trust the kids had for us really made an impression on me, on all of us. We pretty much gave them anything we had, bracelets, gum, etc. I met a 15 year old girl named Jamie Michelle.  Seriously, it was so strange to meet someone with the same first and middle name as my sister. Moved, I gave her my shoes before we left.

After playing a while, they began to line the children up behind the truck. It was a constant battle to get them to peacefully and orderly form lines. The children went first and we gave them a cup of punch, a PBJ and a small bag we prepared the night before (soap, toothpaste, toothbrush, shampoo, tootsie rolls, the Joseph book from VBS and 3-4 crayons). We got through all the kids, but after barely getting through any of the women, some got so out of hand that we had to leave. We still had several of the bags left (30-40?). Kailey and Keelia cried and were totally distraught, I cried too, but quietly and no one noticed. We were all very quiet for a while. When we stopped for our snack on the way back, I stayed in the Daihatsu (no shoes) and chatted with Jeff, discussing whether it was a good thing we’re doing going to the dump. Are we helping or hurting them? Are we inspiring fights by coming with a limited amount of bags/snacks? How could we know how many will come? We concluded that we were doing our best and to continue to pray for God’s guidance and forgiveness if need be, as our intentions are to glorify Him and share His love.
 

As I noted before, we were all silent on the trip home, but soon we began to sing. We sang songs of comfort and joy at first, then as the trip went on, it just got silly. We moved from slower Spanish and English songs like En momentos así, 10,000 reasons, to pop songs like Lean on Me, All-Star, then (not kidding) Feliz Navidad.

There was no water to shower, so we played volleyball. For dinner, Jeff grilled chicken and Carmen made mashed potatoes and green beans. I ate like a 17 year old boy! I think Jeff’s chicken is as good as my dad’s, but don’t tell him that! Someone told me that Jeff’s dad’s chicken is even better – wow! After chores, there was enough water, so I showered and even washed my hair – only to go play volleyball afterwards lol. I never can resist it.

Franklin and I were talking and he was agonizing a bit about preparing the devo for that night. I shared a little about what the Holy Spirit showed me this morning and the beatitudes in Luke. At the devo, Franklin read the beatitudes and I think it touched us all deeply. I don’t say this to point out he got the idea from me – on the contrary! – I say it to give credit to the Spirit who showed us both the right words to console us and focus us on Him. Kylie declared that she had decided to become a missionary. I was so moved that I started to cry and I think that some others did too.

Yesterday was so different from today. I do NOT want to leave. God uses us so much and there are so many who need Him. As Keely said, they say the people are Catholic and believe in God, in Jesus, but not so. The youth especially seem to lack faith and hope. My initial reaction was doubt, thinking perhaps culturally they may just be expressing their faith differently, but I’m more convinced that isn’t the case, that a great number of people feel abandoned, or like church is for someone else.

That being said, in general, people here seem happy and especially generous with food when you are a guest in their home. However, they don’t eat with you – not with guests in general. Last night after sharing a jar of Nutella that I brought and playing Egyptian Rat Killer, I sat and chatted with Washy. We talked about poverty in both countries, then I asked him why Dominicans don’t eat with gringos. He laughed at my brazenness and said he didn’t know, it like embarrasses them. I gathered it was a matter of politeness. Before turning into complete mosquito fodder, I went to bed at midnight (I’m writing this “tomorrow”). I should note that when I don’t come in until late, Meredith comes looking for me to make sure I’m ok. She is a good friend!