What I'll Miss

The things I'm going to miss the most about the Dominican Republic:

1. All the kids I have fallen in love with.
2. Guaguas and public transportation and motos. Everything about the crazy driving.
3. The uniquely Dominican words and phrases I have learned, such as "guagua," "chin" which means "a little bit," and "zafacón," the word for trashcan.
4. The Makarios house. The roof. Sleeping on the roof and getting to sleep under stars and wake up looking at mountains to the south and the Atlantic Ocean to the north.
5. Getting to go to Cabarete once a week and having that time for Sabbath.
6. Watching "Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights" with Robin and Camille.
7. The staff and interns, especially those who are staying for a year and not coming back to Austin, and the community we developed.
8. Chinola juice.
9. Fresh fruit.
10. Home cooking. Who knows if I will cook a single thing that I learned once I get home!
11. Dominican hospitality. People will give you, a complete stranger, the only chair they have just so you can sit down and be comfortable, even if you haven't even introduced yourself. How often do I even welcome in my neighbors in that manner?
12. The time I had to be away from the comforts I expect in the U.S. and spending that with the Lord.
13. Skim Ices.
14. Our crazy drivers full of Dominican machismo.
15. Dominican machismo (I guess I won't really miss this.)
16. Getting to meet new and amazing people each week to serve short-term.

Basically I'm just going to miss everything. The only thing I won't miss is this very long day of travel. I am sitting at the airport in Santiago right now. I have been up since 4 a.m. Texas time, but my flight does not leave here until noon, and I'm not getting in until midnight!

Saying Goodbye

I have spent my last days in the villages that have made up my entire summer, Pancho Mateo, Chichigua, and Tamarindo. My heart is overflowing with mixed emotions. I cannot wait to see everyone back home—all my friends and family, the girls I care for at Westwood HS, but each time I left a village, my heart ached for the kids who I have promised I will see again. I know I will, that I will be back here often, but I don’t know when, and I wish I could tell them I did know. It has really just hit me that I have learned so much from each child that I have grown to love, that they have humbled me through the way they have interacted with me, loved me, and given me when they had nothing. In Tamarindo, kids guard my backpack, carry it for me, and make sure no one takes anything from me. It’s ridiculous!

God gave me unreal amounts of energy these past few days. Two days ago it started pouring while we were in Tamarindo, playing out in this open field. Instead of not playing, Robin and Constance and I just started running around in the rain and dancing with the kids. We did cartwheels and I raced twenty kids, cheated, and won as the rain fell. It was just incredible.

I said good-bye to Jaina in Chichigua today. I got to carry her out to the field one last time and hear her beautiful laugh when we tickled her and her bright smile at all the attention she was getting. I brought some lotion for her and left it at her house. It was already inside when I brought it back so I have no idea if her family will ever use it on her or if they will just use it for themselves but I am thankful that I got to give it to her regardless.

There are two girls in Tamarindo, Amanda and Felicia, whom I met around a month ago. They are 13 and 12 and just amazing and I got to give them both Bibles and write in them. Even though we just barely communicate because my language skills are limited, we have gotten really close and I absolutely love them. Today we had a race across the fields with an awesome girl from the Austin Stone group, Ashley, and stopped to rest post-race. They started singing all these Christian songs they knew, and then all of a sudden, Amanda asked me if I wanted to pray. I was taken aback, and pretty certain I hadn’t heard her correctly – surely this 13-year-old girl isn’t asking me to pray in the middle of the day out of the blue? She was though, and I was terrified but said a basic prayer in Spanish solely because the Lord was right there with me, giving me words. After I finished, each girl in turn asked to pray and prayed the sweetest prayers I had ever heard, thanking God for our friendship and for his Word and that we could learn more and more about him. They prayed for my trip home and for our group.

Later on, we were all hanging out, and one of the boys whom I love, Ruben, said something completely mean to me because he was angry that someone else was playing with my camera instead of him. I guess Felicia could tell that he had kind of hurt me because she ran up to me and said, “Don’t listen to him. I love you so much!” in Spanish. Then Amanda chased him down and made him come apologize to me. I have been blessed to have these girls love me just as much as I love them. What a blessing it is!
With Tamarindo kids
Caught in the rain with the kids and Robin and Constance
Kids attacking me (I don't mind)
Playing clapping games with Felicia and Amanda and Ashley

One time...

...this kid, Esteven, peed on me when I was giving him a piggy back ride. And I was too sweaty to notice.

Haiti

I wish I could have written all last week but never could be by a computer long enough to do so. As I write this I realize I will be home (or at least on a plane) in exactly one week. I can't believe how my time here has flown by!

This last week gave me the exciting opportunity of going to Haiti for three days and two nights. Constance, Phillip, Chris and I went with Ben White, who is fluent in Creole after living in Haiti for years. Since he knows his way around the country and can make sure we aren't getting ripped off, he was invaluable to the trip.

We expected long days of traveling and the need to be flexible and that's just what we got. After the almost three hour trip to the Dominican border, Dajabon, we crossed over and had hardly any trouble at both borders. Ben seemed to know people everywhere so there was never a problem. Once we ccrossed the border into Ouanaminthe, we took motos to the bus station, then got onto a tiny "bus" with three long benches that we ended up sharing with lots of chickens. The ride to Cap Haitien took a long time, maybe three hours, partly because the cops on the road would see white faces in the bus, stop us, and make us show our passports. It was really interesting the way cops felt the desire to exercise their power over us as Americans.

I think I was most surprised by two things when I got to Haiti. First of all, it is much lusher than I imagined. I expected to not see any trees, and while a lot of the land is destroyed, it is still beautiful and green in the mountains especially. Then when we arrived in Cap Haitien, I don't think I could have been prepared for just how poor it is. The poverty is evident in every grey building, in the dirt kicked up in the roads, in the tall walls protecting the bigger buildings. We stayed on the edge of town in a mission house of friends of the Whites, which was a huge blessing in itself as it had electricity until ten, working bathrooms and showers, and they even had a fridge and water for us. Even though the fans went off at night and we would wake up sweating profusely, I slept well both nights there. Plus, they were so kind to let us stay for free!

Wednesday morning we got up pretty early to go see the Citadelle. Built by Henri Christophe between 1805 and 1820, the Citadelle is just outside of Milot, a town not 30 miles outside of Cap. We decided to walk up the seven mile trail to the top of the mountain where the fortress is. 20,000 people died building this fort in order to protect northern Haiti from an attack from France or from the south, but neither ever came and Christophe actually killed himself the same year the building was finished. It took us hours to climb up, and the whole way there were men on mules tempting us to just give in and take one up, but we didn't, and when we finally made it, I realized how worth it the trek was. We climbed to the very top of the fortress, where you can walk around without guadrails and see how beautiful Haiti is. I've never experienced anything like it!




We were about halfway down the mountain and I was starting to think the sun would go down before we even got to the bottom, when we heard a car coming down the road. Ben flagged it down, and it turns out the driver worked for the Ministry of Tourism and said he'd give us a ride the rest of the way down the mountain in his air-conditioned car. He ended up taking us all the way back to Cap (which was around 30 minute drive), ate dinner with us (where I tried goat meat), and took us to our house at the other side of town!

The next morning we set out to head back to Santiago. Our tap-tap, which are Haiti's form of public transportation -- tiny truck beds with seats on them, was supposed to take us back to downtown Cap so we could take a bus back to Ouanaminthe. Well, it got a flat tire so everyone had to get out. We flagged down a taxi who offered to take us all the way to the border for $75 American dollars. We decided to do it since it was more comfortable than the bus we had taken before. The taxi made it about 20 minutes outside of the city before it had a bad gas leak and we all had to get out. So there we were, stranded in the middle of Haiti, in between towns. Ben tried to stop every car but we had trouble finding one that would go all the way to Ouanaminthe. We sat out there for around half an hour until we found one truck that let us hitch a ride on the back. I can't believe my first time to hitchhike was in Haiti! So this truck was not going to Ouanaminthe, only about halfway, but offered to give us a ride the whole way there for $40 US dollars. It was hilarious. Phillip, Ben, and I were facing the road behind us, getting covered in dirt, suspended four feet at least above the truck bed and holding onto bundles of textiles that weren't exactly strapped down. It was definitely wild. I got incredibly dirty and feel like I'm still finding dirt on me days later. It was such a great experience, and we made it back alive, crossed the border, got ice cream at Bon, and caught a bus back to Santiago!
Me, the dirtiest I have ever been!

Now I am back at the Puerto Plata house after spending three more nights in Santiago. One at the Hub, and two at the White's with the second group from the Austin Stone! We have already been to Ruben's farm and fed kids at La Lomita, a really poor community near Ruben, and this group is incredible. Unfortunately, I am sick to my stomach today so I am stuck here at home while the group is starting English camp in the villages. This makes me so sad because it's one less day I get to spend with the kids in the villages that I love so much. I already feel better than I did yesterday so I am planning on going with them tomorrow. I can't wait to see all the kids I have missed this past week!

Jaina

One of the things to affect me most here in the Dominican Republic has been my relationship and interactions with a girl named Jaina. Jaina is an 11 or 12-year-old wheelchair bound girl who suffers from Cerebral Palsy. There’s a hut at the edge of the village in Chichigua where Jaina usually sits all day while everyone plays around her. She doesn’t really speak but seems to understand and can make some noises that sound like words. That said; she is one of the happiest girls I have ever met. I love getting to sit with her, or bring her into the schoolhouse when we are doing activities. One great memory of mine is when I brought some bubbles that a group had into her hut and blew bubbles for her. She tried so hard to blow them as well, and after about 15 tries, succeeded! Even the other kids, who often ignore her, cheered.

Yesterday, the group and Constance and I went to Chichigua for the afternoon. When I went to see Jaina, she was smiling as usual, but a complete and total mess. I think she had been eating sugar cane and so she had crumbs and drool all over her, plus her arms and legs were covered in dirt. She just smiles and squeals when people come in so of course she was excited. I had some antibacterial wipes on me that the family group left the other week (thank you guys for leaving those!) and so I took them out and cleaned her up. She loved it! She took one of the wipes once I was finished (I used at least three to get all the dirt off of her) and started wiping it up and down her leg the same way I had. Her skin is so cracked and dry and so I think I want to bring lotion another day to help her elbows and knees.

Many of the group members came to sit with this sweet girl as well, just to be there and to read some Bible stories we have in Spanish. She absolutely ate up every second, smiling and laughing and just enjoying the attention she so deserves but never receives. The group who is here this week has tons of energy and so they were running around playing tag with the kids and Jaina kept pointing outside, partly because we could see her horses, cows and her father, and partly because she wanted to be out there so badly having fun. So, I picked her up and ran around with her in my arms. It brought me so much joy to see her so happy and laughing! I loved seeing some of the guys from the group pick her up as well and run her around. I’ve never seen a smile so big. Overall, it was one of my best days in Chichigua.

I think part of why being with Jaina is so special to me is because of my own sister, Abi. I see a lot of parallels between the two of them. It kills me seeing Jaina’s legs, scrunched together and unable to be straightened, knowing that if she had the resources we have in the States, she might have been able to have the physical therapy to make her legs straighten out—maybe to even have walked. The way she moves and sits reminds me of a more rigid version of my sister. The same things even make them happy—Abi loves people and animals, as much or more as Jaina. You should have seen her when cows started walking by the hut; she was “mooing” like crazy! It reminds me just how much I have been blessed to live where I do and that my sister has had the opportunity to thrive under her circumstances. If she lived here, I can’t imagine what her life would be like.
Abi at Special Olympics
Abi on her birthday

Mosquitos and ants and wasps, oh my!

Well, here's a new first for me. I was taking a nap after a long day out in the villages, when I woke up suddenly and brushed something away from my eyes. That something struck me and immediately caused pain to shoot all through my face. I touched my cheek, or rather, the skin just below and to the right of my right eye, and could feel some sort of bump from a sting. Trying not to panic, I went next door to Alexia and Robin's room and asked for their help. Robin took tweezers and managed to pull out a really long stinger. Thank goodness it didn't sting my eye! It was huge! Too huge to be from a bee. And so close to my eye. I have iced it, rubbed garlic on it, and taken Benadryl, but even an hour or so later, it is still hurting. I guess you can pray for it to stop swelling and stop hurting! This is the most interesting thing to happen to me today so I think it merits writing about.

The new group who is here for the week are mostly part of a youth group from Philadelphia, and I am again continously amazed at how these people cross language barriers to love kids well. Not only do they tackle the villages with new energy that those of us who are here day in and day out simply do not do, but they encourage the staff as well too. I am so thankful for them!

Please keep Evelina in your prayers. This is a woman who lives in Chichigua. She was an English student of Alexia's and has four sons, Junior, Ernesto, Jesmarco and Ambiolin, some of whom attend Camille's classes. On Sunday, her husband passed away suddenly. We have no idea what happened, as it was a completely unexpected death, in the middle of a game of dominoes. Haitians and Dominicans grieve differently than we do--after the death they mourn outwardly, wailing and screaming and crying, and then they bury the body and live moves on as though unchanged. But this woman is hurting and needs comfort that she will not find here, so pray for her. Pray for the four little sons this man left behind, the youngest of whom probably does not even realize that his daddy is gone. Sorry it's sideways, but this is picture of Ambiolin, Evelina's youngest son. He wears sweatshirts a lot.

A picture from last week: Rebecca, Camille, Robin and Alexia in Cabarete -- all the current and former Makarios teachers!

Things Spotted on Motos

This is a short list of a few of the random things we have seen on motoconchos (little motorcycles) here in the Dominican Republic:

Babies
Four people (including three male gringos: Brad, Drew, AND Barrett)
Television
Groceries
Chihuahua puppy
Bag of trash
Washing machine
Ladder
Chicken
Wheelbarrow
Skim-Ice popsicle cart
Pig (alive)
Pig (dead, see photo)

I hope to add more to this list.

Did you go white water rafting today?

…I did!

Brad and I woke up around 5 a.m. to head out to Jarabacoa and go white water rafting. The plan was to catch the 6 a.m. Caribe Tours bus to a town called La Vega, and from there take a guagua to Jarabacoa, where the white water rafting place is. Unfortunately, we had one of the most fun and best bonding nights last night, as the staff went dancing. That is another funny story in itself. We did wake up, just not quite as promptly as we had hoped. Constance is pretty much the most wonderful intern coordinator ever since she let me wake her up at 5:40 to drive us to the bus station. Small problem. None of the three of us knew exactly where the bus station was. We had to make that bus since the rafting trip started at 9 a.m. and Jarabacoa is far enough away to where we would need all three hours.

We missed the 6 a.m. bus, went to another station, took a Javilla Tours bus to Santiago, hopped on a guagua to La Vega, got on another guagua to Jarabacoa, took a moto up to Rancho Baiguate, and arrived just before 9:30 a.m.—amazingly, we were still able to pay for our trip and head out with the group! For the price we paid, we got to white water raft, rent all our gear, and had two all-you-can-eat, DELICIOUS meals.

Rafting the Yaque del Norte River was just amazing. I have been rafting once before, in Colorado, and that was one of the best experiences of my life. This was absolutely wild, especially because it poured last night, so the rapids were stronger than usual. For one rapid, we counted seven people who fell out of their respective rafts (this happens often, and really isn’t a big deal as the current pops you right back out of the water, but this is nothing like the US!) Brad and I headed up the front of our raft, with three other American girls whom we didn’t previously know and our guide behind us. Our guide likes his rides to be more interesting, so he would take us ways to make the ride rougher. At one point, Brad’s entire body weight was on my face when we went through a rapid. Don’t worry parents, my face is still fine!

One of the girls in our raft came into the ride pretty afraid. She and Brad were thrown out in the first ten minutes of our trip, and even though she was fine, she started to panic. We even had her sitting in the middle of the raft, where she was safe and didn’t even have to paddle (thus, we did all the work), but she started getting hysterical and insisting that we let her out of the raft. This was impossible, as we were in between two cliffs. She started crying and cursing and yelling that it was her right to be let out of the raft and no one was listening to her. It was quite the ordeal. We were able to get her out of the boat and to a place where the bus that had taken us from Rancho Baiguate’s property to the water could pick her up.

I have never felt fear like that! I am really thankful that I haven’t, because she was really distraught and it just seemed like a miserable place to be, stuck in a panic attack like that. Luckily, we were able to continue our ride and it was wonderful. I am continually in awe of the beauty that surrounds me. It is impossible for me to paddle down the longest river in the Caribbean, dodging massive rocks and watching the way the current moves the water in the most unique patterns, and think that all this creation came from nothing. Being in nature convinces me more and more that God made this world beautiful for us to enjoy and to show us his character.

Just pointing to some places we've been on this world map: Alexia, Brad, Rebecca, Camille, Robin, Constance, Phillip
Out dancing: Jennie, Alexia, Camille, Robin, Rebecca, Constance

This Week

Our internet has been going out every afternoon and evening, which is frustrating since it’s at those times when I want to write about our days! I haven’t gotten to write about what we’ve been doing with the Westlake Bible family group so I’ll debrief on that a little.

We started off by traveling from Puerto Plata to Ruben’s farm outside of Santiago for Saturday’s day trip. I visited Ruben’s farm on my first day in the country, but I didn’t really get to tour the actual farm. It was a neat experience to eat my way through with the group; we ate star fruit, passion fruit, bananas, coco beans, apple bananas (my favorite!), and sugar cane. I heard Ruben’s story once more and ate some delicious Dominican food, then we toured around the Makarios farm, which is just up the street from Ruben’s. The other week, when Sharla was here, we ate some sweet potato fries made from the first fruits of the Makarios farm and let me tell you, they were awesome!

Makarios has recently gotten the money to buy another house on Ruben’s street, which has made it possible for us to take in Marianela and her husband and six kids. I know I have mentioned her before, but this is the family where both parents are dying of AIDS and their youngest child, at just 18 months, is HIV positive. Robin, a new staff member who will be staying here for a year, will be caring for them, and so the coming year is going to be an interesting one and a huge time of transition. It was exciting for me to see these houses and know that God is going to do great things there through Robin and through Makarios!

The group came so well prepared for the week! In Pancho Mateo they organized a VBS that included a puppet show, a story, crafts, a snack, and games on the cancha. Honestly, I was amazed at how well the kids behaved—sure there were a few bumps, but this village is full of wild children! The thing I really cherished about this group is the fact that there were fathers out there loving on Dominican and Haitian kids who don’t necessarily have fathers that love them. What blessing for them and for me to see these grown men holding children and swinging them around and showing them love! I also really enjoyed watching the American kids interact with the kids in the villages. Not only were they holding and playing with kids, but they also participated in the puppet show and helped with the games and crafts. It is so cool to see kids at such a young age wanting to make a difference.

Not only did the group love the kids in the villages, but the kids loved them! When we pulled up to Pancho Mateo the second day of VBS, there were already about thirty kids waiting, all wearing the little backpacks they had decorated the first day and cheering! We never get a welcome like that! It was amazing. As we left today (the group’s final day in the villages) I sat in the van between two of the mothers, in tears because they didn’t want to leave the kids.

Today we are taking another trip to Cabarete. Working hard pays off when you get to lie on the beach at the end of the week!
Robin, Camille and I

With two Tamarindo girls that I love, Lisana and Evie

Some adorable kids in Severé, a new village we visited.

Reflections on the First Month Here

The group is at church and I have opted to stay back and listen to a sermon here. I truly cannot believe that I have been here over a month, and I don't even want to think about how quickly this next month is going to pass. Before I know it, I am going to be back in Austin. That's exciting in some respects, but a lot of me doesn't ever want to leave! I am trying to enjoy every minute, to not be frustrated when I am exhausted, to love even the hardest to love well.

I think that one of the biggest lessons I have learned being here is just how little I need to survive. I was sending an e-mail to a Young Life girl of mine whom I love and I made a list of things I missed about Texas. Surprisingly, I found my list to be very small, comprised mainly of people--my family and friends and roommates, etc. All the comforts of the US -- my bed, air conditioning, reliable water, my car and cell phone and clothes; all those things are nice, but here I am, not just surviving but thriving without any of those comforts! Really, we are spoiled here in the MAK house. I am sitting here, on the Internet, with a fan pointing at me.

I am so thankful that the Lord is teaching me not to depend on my earthly possessions. I feel like he brought me here to break me of sin in my life and that each day he is forming me more and more into someone who possesses a joy not from anything this world can give, but solely from him.

Tamarindo Days

This has been a good week! Progress is being made at the schoolhouse and relationships are being built in the community of Tamarindo, where Makarios will have a strong presence this year and those that follow. The walls are getting taller around the schoolhouse and I can finally visualize what the school will look like! Yesterday the kids and Leticia, Anne and I used chalk to write on the schoolhouse walls (which are just bare block right now) prayers and blessings on the school. This basically turned into everyone writing their names on the walls with a few scattered hearts and crosses here and there, but it was neat all the same!

Although we were out in Tamarindo on Wednesday from just before 9 a.m. until around 6 p.m., which is a very long day, the time passed quickly because I really enjoyed interacting with the kids and the workers. I got to watch rain pour down, I mixed cement, I played with kids and I talked with adults.

This area is not quite as poor as Pancho Mateo, and the difference in the way the kids act is really amazing. They don’t fight as much and they’re still pretty blunt but somewhat less mean. While the kids in Pancho Mateo are jumping all over you and tearing your clothes and calling you bad if you don’t give them gifts, the kids in Tamarindo taught Anne and I every clapping game in existence and some versions of “Ring Around the Rosie” and we really had a blast with them. Even the boys, who were either playing with their handmade tops or with various balls, made sure that Anne and I got to toss the ball around (even though I am terrible at it!) and they spun the tops and would fight over who got to hand it to us to spin. Just the fact that they were so welcoming really blessed me.

With some Tamarindo kids

I met this sweet girl, Amanda, who asked me if she could borrow my Bible. It turns out that she and another girl had seen Leticia’s bracelet that says “1 John 3:18” on it – “Dear children, let us love not in words or tongue, but in action and in truth” and they wanted to look it up and see what the verse said. So the girls opened the Bible I had brought, found the verse, read it aloud, then immediately closed the Bible and said it from memory. I was amazed! I ended up giving her my Bible because although she could even sing me a song of a Bible verse she knew, she didn’t have a Bible of her own.

Unfortunately, I had a headache on Wednesday that continued through Thursday, so I only spent half the day out in the villages and the other half back at the house sleeping the pain off. We crossed the river into Pancho Mateo where Anne and I took a few kids to the cancha to color from a coloring book Leticia had brought. It was difficult for me because I wasn’t feeling well and the kids were climbing all over me but also insulting me and yelling at me to give them more crayons, more papers. One girl gave me her coloring page as a gift and another girl took it from me and ripped it to shreds. It broke my heart! I hate to get frustrated with these kids whom I really do love, but it’s hard at times when they don’t seem to appreciate you one bit! I know this isn’t the truth; I brought home at least five pages colored and signed by several different girls today. It’s little things like those precious pages that I need to cling to, and not the fact that one of the kids who usually loves me called me bad today because I didn’t let him keep the crayons!

We have had a lot of new people coming through this week but no groups, so it’s been nice to have some low-key days. We have taken to playing a lot of cards (I love the game Nertz so be forewarned that we will be playing it at home!) and have eaten well—grilled chicken and deep-fried fish along with various desserts. We never eat desserts with groups!

A family group from Westlake Bible Church just arrived today, and I got to welcome them at the airport and then we went to Cabarete for dinner. This week will look different (every week does!) but I'm excited for it!

La Huelga

It's very quiet in the Makarios house this afternoon. Unfortunately, this is because the Usry's have just left for the States. There is definitely a six-person-shaped hole here in their wake, and I am dearly going to miss them! From getting to listen to Rose's wisdom on life and cooking to playing Jurassic Jumble with the kids, life here will just not be the same without them! Thank goodness they live in Austin.
The Usry Family -- Zach, Bill, Blake, Sara, Rose, and Paige

We have a couple staying with us this week from Westlake Bible Church, Garrett and Anne Boon. They are great; Anne used to be a Young Life leader in Austin so of course we have tons of mutual friends, including a summer staff boss of mine, Angie, and my old Young Life leader, Sara! This week is fairly laid back since they are the only guests and because we have significantly less people to transport and feed.

This morning we did some crafts and played baseball in Pancho Mateo, which was chaos as usual. In the afternoon I did some manual labor at El Boss -- that is the land where the educational center is being built (See photo). Can you believe I mixed cement? It was actually a nice change; although it is equally as difficult as working with kids, I didn't have to be talking all the time and there weren't six kids tugging on all my limbs.

I'm not quite sure what is going on exactly, but there is a national strike (huelga) going on here in the DR. I know for sure that involves public transportation striking, but Miguel, who is Dominican and on Makarios staff, says that it is a strike against a lot of complaints that the people have, including taxes and such. Well, strikes can make things more violent in the cities. Although our neighborhood is very safe, in other areas there have been injuries and deaths because of protestors rioting in the streets. So we came home a little early to be off the roads and are staying in tonight (like every night)!

If you are praying for us, please pray for safe travel for everyone traveling to and from Puerto Plata and the DR this week. And be praying for me as this Friday we have a large family group coming from Westlake Bible Church and I might be translating for them. I know I can do it, but prayer is always good to have behind me to give me confidence! Thanks for reading!

Happy Weekend!

I'm usually more consistent about posting, but our internet always seems to go out right when I want to write about the day so I just haven't been doing it!

The Westlake Bible Group is on a plane back to Austin, and I am going to miss having them here. I got to build relationships with a lot of the girls who were on the trip, because some of them knew some of my roommates or other random friends of mine and I found that I saw myself when I was in that stage of life in them (most of them were starting their senior year of high school) so we could relate well. The interns and I didn't know what to expect from a high school group since our last big group was adults, and they truly blew me away. Although several of them didn't speak Spanish, they still threw themselves into serving and loving kids in the villages, whether through playing futbol or holding a child. What an example they should be to all of us!

I was really encouraged by this week in general. I mostly worked with Camille and the group in Pancho Mateo and Chichigua putting on a sort of VBS for the children. The kids in these villages don't know how to love each other, so we focused on friendship, forgiveness, and cooperation themes for each day. Sometimes it can feel like you are talking to a wall and that little to no progress is being made because kids seem to be running around, whining, and smacking each other while you are trying to teach them about love. The last day though, in Pancho Mateo, we did a review, and I was shocked to hear them recalling the story of the good Samaritan, the father's forgiveness in the prodigal son story, and even remembering what happened in the little skits and Camille and I had performed! I think that God was speaking to me specifically just in witnessing that; he was showing me that nothing we are doing here is in vain, and that he is working through us even when we don't see it.

I hope the 4th of July was fun for everyone back in the US! This was my first time to be out of the country on the holiday and I missed the fireworks. I am thinking that I'll have to set off double the fireworks on New Year's Eve this year. We had an all-American meal of burgers and fries, with apple pie that Rose made for dessert. I made sure we listened to country music beforehand and played "God Bless the U.S.A." on loop while the meal was being served. Not everyone appreciated that, but it helped me to get into the spirit! Then we went to the beach here in Puerto Plata.

Speaking of the beach, we spent another wonderful day in Cabarete yesterday! There's nothing like getting that day of relaxation after long, hot days in the villages. I'm so thankful to get the time to read and write and enjoy the country.


Lastly, I just wanted to tell you that my name has been graffitied onto one wall of la cancha, the basketball court in Pancho Mateo. This is a picture of it with Natalie, the artist. She wrote my name somewhere else on the wall too, with a heart. Please notice that my name is spelled "Rrebeca" and that this says "Rrebeca, I love you, Natalie." Don't be weirded out by her face paint--we had a lot of fun with face paint on the cancha that day.

Some Prayer Requests

It's nice to get to sit down and post this after I just took a shower and put in a load of laundry. Sometimes I feel like I have been holding my breath all day in the villages, from 9 to 4. Now that I'm home, I can finally sit down and exhale. It's not a bad thing; I get so focused on what I'm doing and being with kids though that once I'm here I realize how exhausted I am! It's a good thing we go to bed before 11 here.

The new group, a part of the Westlake Bible Church youth group, is here and falling into the swing of things. I personally love them because my whole ministry in Young Life is hanging out with high schoolers so I find them easy to get along with. They are doing a great job in the villages, too, and help around the house without complaining. What more could we ask for?


As we hit Wednesday, pray that we wouldn't not give into our exhaustion. Pray for energy and focus. For me, pray that I would not put the pressure on myself to say and do the right things and that God would use what Spanish I have to stretch across language barriers.

And finally, please be praying that we find someone who would be willing to help care for Dominic. This is the old, sick Haitian man that I wrote about last week. Each day that we visit him, it is like we had never been there before as he is usually naked again in his own filth. Dr. Santiago, who is here this week, believes that Dominic had a stroke about nine months ago, which makes sense. Since his family and neighbors don't seem to be caring for him, we are looking into finding somebody who we can pay to do so. It is a horrible thing to watch and I hope that we can figure something out.

Tres Dias Libres!

I apologize in advance if this post is a little long. Since the next group does not arrive until tomorrow, us lucky interns had Wednesday through Friday to travel, and I haven't been near a computer since Tuesday morning!

On Tuesday night, Robin, Grace, Barrett, Drew, Brad and I took a bus to Santiago. We arrived at the Hub, where we stayed the past four nights. The Hub is a Christian hostel that generally houses Peace Corps volunteers and is currently being run by Ben White, who is a friend of Makarios. This place definitely has a hippie feel to it, with quotes painted all over the walls, but it a nice, comfortable house with a great library. Not long after we got there, Constance and Holly brought in MK, Barrett's girlfriend who surprised him by coming here. He started yelling; it was a great surprise that we all got to be in on!

Wednesday morning we headed out on a different bus to Llano de Perez to 27 Charcos--that means 27 Waterfalls. What happens is two guides take you out into the mountains and you climb through streams and rivers, up ledges and dirt and rocks and waterfalls, and then head back and jump off of or slide down all 27 waterfalls. This is the most amazing thing I think I have done so far in my life I think. It's so frustrating to write about; no words can describe how much fun we had and how much beauty we saw. It took us close to five hours to get through the whole thing and our guides were great--they would literally pull us up if we had trouble climbing, and one of the guides even gave Holly a piggyback ride for half the walk back just because her shoes were too slippery. Let me interject right here and say thanks to Jordan and Mom for talking me into buying a pair of Chacos! I didn't fall once even though I climbed up tons of steep and slippery rocks. We took a cheap disposable camera with us, and I hope the pictures do it justice. We swam through caves and got to witness firsthand God's amazing creation!

Parents, you may not like this as much, but I definitely had a close call on one of the jumps. We all wore helmets and life vests, and since I love thrills and felt pretty confident jumping off of these ledges into the water, I went first often. Well, one of the first waterfalls was one that you couldn't just step off of, because the rocks jutted out further than the ledge below. I don't know what happened, but I guess I needed to watch somebody do it first because I jumped out WAY too close to the rocks. Everyone thought that I was going to clip my ankle on my way down! Don't worry, the only thing that happened is that I face-planted a little when I hit the water, so now I have a cut under my lip. Aside from a few bruises and being a little sore the next day, I would do that whole thing again in a split second. It was breathtaking!

Thursday was a big tourist day for us. Brad, Drew, Barrett, MK and I took a bus out to Santo Domingo, the capital of the DR. When I say that we took a bus out there, I don't mean all together. Sure, we thought we were all getting on the same bus, and we all had tickets for the same bus, but Barrett ran to buy some fruit just minutes before the bus arrived and Drew and MK went to look for him as Brad and I got on the bus, and then I watched as the bus pulled away with my friends still on the curb! Santo Domingo is a two hour trip and the next bus would not be arriving for another hour, and we were running late in the first place (we weren't getting to the city until after 1 -- we aren't morning people!), so things were looking pretty interesting. It turns out that another bus ended up getting to the station in Santiago just ten minutes after the one Brad and I were on left, so the stragglers hopped that one and we met up in Santo Domingo. Good thing, since none of us have cell phones!

We took a taxi into the colonial part of Santo Domingo, on the way passing the capitol building (it's pink!). I didn't realize how much American history lies here in the DR. We saw the first church of the Americas, what is known as the first street of the Americas (called "Calle de las Damas," or "Street of the Women"), the Alcazar de Colon (Christopher Columbus's Fortress), and other various sites dedicated to Dominican history. I don't think I was prepared for all the cool things I got to see. It ended up being a great day, complete with a couple of terrible American movies on our charter bus back!

Friday has to be one of the wildest days of my life! Mondays and Fridays are market days at the Haitian border, so basically everyone can make a mad dash across during the day. All I had was a paper copy of my passport, but we were told that wouldn't be an issue as long as we just tried to blend in walking across (Yeah right. Blend in? A bunch of gringos crossing into Haiti?) We left in the morning for Dajabon, a Dominican border town. The feel there is instantly different, already overwhelming. People are lining the streets selling goods, with blue tarps hung across the walkways to provide some shade. Walking was tight; people pushing wheelbarrows will run into your heels yelling "Permiso!" to get through. It reminded me of my time in Morocco; not asthetically but in the smells and the heat--the smell of the spices made me remember how sick I felt during my trip there last year!

We made sure to get in pairs and then went to cross the border. I went across first, with Drew following behind and Barrett and MK behind him. You cross over a long bridge lined with armed UN officers who seemed like they could not care less what you were doing. We set foot in Haiti and thought we were free until a Haitian man ran up to us and made us turn around. The odd thing was that he was simply wearing a straw hat and a University of Miami t-shirt and he wasn't armed. We think it's because we were white and they wanted to try to make us pay, or that they were telling us it was unsafe. Meanwhile, the other four people from our group got through without a hitch.

Back in Dajabon we ended up running into two girls who stayed with us at the Hub who are volunteering with the Peace Corps. Molly speaks great Creole and said she would sweet talk the man and get us across. Unfortunately, he insisted that those of us with passports (or paper copies of passports) go stamp our passports on the DR side and then come back across. Drew, Molly, and Tildon waited with him, while MK, Barrett, and I walked over. I spoke with one of the guards who said it was no problem, he'd even stamp my copy, for $25 a person. No, not pesos, like we thought at first, but dollars. So I said no way and we headed back to Haiti. Well, the Miami man had a change of heart because he had let the other three in, so a bunch of Haitians guided us over to them where we stood around for a while and talked. It was so funny; none of them meant us harm, they were just completely curious about us. Honestly, there was not even a single Dominican across the border, much less any Americans. It is absolutely shocking to see the change in the landscape just crossing over the line between the DR and Haiti. It is desolate there, stricken with poverty. A few of us speculated that this was a glimpse of how the rural areas in Africa look.

Crossing back over, we cross a river that is now called the "Massacre River," because during Trujillo's reign, he demanded that all Haitians trying to cross over into the DR be killed, and with machetes, not guns. Thousands died in that river; it was haunting to see it. I felt a burden going back into the DR, as it is absolutely rich compared to Haiti. I can't even imagine being back in the US after seeing it. Taking the bus back, we were stopped at least five or six times by armed guards who would get on the bus and check to make sure there were no Haitians on board.

So I am back, safe and resting in Puerto Plata. I am so thankful that I got to see all that I saw this week!


With some guards in Santo Domingo


The First Church of the New World, Santo Domingo


Crossing into Haiti from the DR


Drew, Rebecca, Barrett, MK, and our crazy friend in Haiti! My favorite photo.


The "Massacre River" separating the Dominican Republic and Haiti

Pictures if you don't have Facebook

The Makarios house!


Most of the interns and staff in Cabarete on Saturday
From left to right: Constance, Chris, Barrett, Leticia, Brad, Holly, me, Alexia, and Grace! Not pictured: Robin, Drew, Johanna, Camille, Jennie, Miguel, and Sharla of course! (Okay, so a lot of people are missing)


The time the boys decided they needed to take pictures without their shirts on. Barrett, Blake, Drew, Brad


Everybody on the roof! We used a self timer.

Monday

Today was one of the most different days I have had, but it was just as good as all the others.

A couple days ago, Jennie found an old man in the Haitian side of Pancho Mateo who was basically wasting away in his own filth. Makarios is not an organization that does any sort of medical missions, but when we see a desperate need, we help where we can. So today a few of us took the tough task of cleaning out this man's small tin home, basically by throwing out all his clothes and mattresses and pretty much everything in there, as a lot of it was covered in feces. We fed him a protein drink and water, because apparently he did not eat unless the neighbors (some of which are his own family members) had extra. He could barely hold his head up to drink from the straw yet devoured two drinks worth. We bathed him (he had no clothes, just a towel covering him) and cleaned his floor. We have a bed for him and a new chair and are bringing him sheets and a set of clothes tomorrow. This man seems near death but at least we can give him his dignity back.

The great thing is, as I was bathing this man, I didn't feel grossed out or miserable. I truly felt the joy that I think is only possible to feel when you finally die to yourself and live for others. It may have been the most humbling experience of my life up to this point. I am so thankful for it. Now reflecting back on that moment, it is apparent to me that this act of dying to myself daily is something that I want to implement in my life back in Austin. I don't want to be the same. I want that moment to be in my mind and I want to be that for the people I love and serve them the way I served an old man I don't even know.

In the afternoon I made my first trip to Chichigua. This village is tiny, much smaller than Pancho Mateo, and completely Haitian. It was harder for me because the children spoke more Creole than Spanish so they were not as easy to communicate with, but just as loving. Camille had class and they all sang "I Could Sing of Your Love Forever" in Spanish and I loved it. One of the neatest things was meeting Jaina. She has cerebral palsy and is in a wheelchair, but Camille carried her inside for class and I got to sit with her and help her participate. I don't think she understands Spanish, which made me want to learn Creole right then and there.

Although I loved the Austin Stone group and miss having lots of people here, it is great to be here and spending time with the other interns and to have a little peace and quiet. Although I was thinking about it today; it is never truly quiet here in the DR. There's always some sort of noise, whether it be a motocoche, a rooster, or some Reggaeton music blasting somewhere in the neighborhood. But I love it!

Weekend

The interns went with the Austin Stone group to Cabarete on Saturday. It was another relaxing day on the beach (man, life can be tough here!). Well, when I say relaxing, I am not including our trip on the guagua, where we fit 23 people into the smallest van I have been in yet! It was one that should have fit maybe 11, but was actually smaller than the last one we were in that was crowded. Grace got a picture, so hopefully I can post it soon. The trip to Cabarete is longer than our usual public transportation trips so we spent a good 30 or 40 minutes stuffed in there.

I don't know if I have mentioned the German bakery, but the German bakery in Cabarete is fabulous. And cheap. Each time we go, we get the most amazing pastries. So once we got to town, we immediately went to the German bakery and ate, then straight to the beach. I made the conscious mistake of not wearing much sunscreen in order to get some color on my fair skin, completely disregarding the way kids crawl all over me. So tomorrow I might have to suffer a little bit with my sunburned skin in the villages. That was bad deciscion number one. Bad decision number two involved an attempt at windsurfing. Standing on the board is easy, but trying to point the sail in the right direction is much harder. Let's just say I fell forward at one point and I have a bruise on my face that may or may not develop into a black eye. I will keep you posted on that. But the night finished with several of us sleeping on the roof after the Austin Stone group had their last devotions here and prayed for the staff staying. It was neat to have them lay hands on us.

Today started off great in that we went to church in Monte Llano and they asked us to sing for them. We got to go on stage and sing "Amazing Grace" and "I Love You Lord" and honestly, I was choked up singing. It was one of the coolest experiences. We serve a God that is bigger than our language barriers, and the people in this church truly worship. They sing without inhibition and they more than welcomed us, a bunch of Americans, most of whom did not understand a word, into their church. After, as many as possible greeted us with handshakes and kisses on the cheek. What a blessing!

The Austin Stone group left for Santiago after church because they are flying out in the morning, and the interns and staff came back to the Makarios house and had time to relax, dance, hang out, eat breakfast for dinner, and pray and love each other. It was awesome! Rose's pancakes tasted like funnel cake, I kid you not. I also got to video chat with Whitney for over an hour! That was just what I needed. It was great just to see her and Esco and her room and it made me excited for when I'm home. However, I'm in no rush. These past 11 days have flown by! It's unbelievable! By the way, our dance party was sweet. Lots of Michael Jackson.

My Babies

Here are some pictures from Pancho Mateo. The little girl in the last picture is named Melisa and she is one of the girls who is attached at the hip to me. The other two pictures basically describe my life in Pancho Mateo.

Casual Friday

I have a pretty urgent prayer request. Sharla has come into contact with a woman who is dying of AIDS. She has six kids ranging from the age of 18 months to 14 years old and it is possible that we might be taking them in for the summer if she passes away. If we did do this, we would only be caring for them until we found a family for them. Nothing is certain, as Sharla is still getting all the facts and we aren't sure how urgent the woman's need is. She has a husband who is also dying of AIDS. Please pray for guidance for Sharla and the Makarios staff in getting the correct information and for what this might look like for the rest of the summer and for Makarios. This may not be the only possibility for the woman, as she is seeking out other possibilities for her children, so pray for her and for God's will with these children.

Today was a great day! Barrett, Grace and I took public transportation to the village, as usual. Let's just say, our guagua experience was my favorite so far. They piled 20 people into a van that should have only seated 11 or 12 at the most. I was pretty much sitting on a Haitian man's lap. We could not stop laughing.

We had our second day of Camp Pancho Mateo today, and I would say it was another success! Of course, it was still organized chaos, but a success nonetheless. The best part about the kids is that when we pray, they repeat every word you say. I loved it! After we prayed, we sang several songs--the Spanish versions of "Father Abraham" and the song that goes, "I've got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart" among others. They absolutely love to sing and they already knew all the songs so that was great. We taught them this rap that Barrett had made up and they danced around to it and that moment is probably one of my favorites so far!

We had some Bible stories to read them so I split into a smaller group with about six kids and read to them. God blessed that time because I was able to communicate with them and they understood and quickly answered some of the questions I asked them about Jesus.

Oh, and it was SO HOT! I'm getting used to it.
This is the view from our roof.

Camp Pancho Mateo

Today has been an abnormally hot and humid day. I mean, we are all pretty used to the heat, but this is just ridiculous. Sweat is dripping down my forehead and I'm just sitting here. To make matters worse, it is about to start raining, which means the group can't do devotionals on the roof and we can't sleep up there!

We had a lot of fun though in Pancho Mateo. The interns and I took public transportation guaguas to Montellano (the village next to Pancho Mateo, basically) and then walked to the village. This can be a long walk but Luz, our housekeeper, lives in Montellano and right across the street from a little shop with awesome juice, Colmado Luis. We got juice and then found a short cut through the river into Pancho Mateo which was very exciting!

In the morning we just hung out and played with kids in Pancho Mateo. It was a great feeling to have a couple kids come up and greet me by name and then drag me into la cancha (the basketball court) and tell their friends, "Rebecca's here! Rebecca's here!" We went to El Campito for lunch, which is pretty far outside of the village, but it's very authentic and Dominican. When we came back, we started the first day of Camp Pancho Mateo, an attempt to have a little bit of structured play and Bible teaching. It was hard! We wanted to have a kind of "bird" theme--we used the verse from Matthew 6: "Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more evaluable than they?" and simplified it, then described it and played games involving it, such as a "verse scramble" and we made birds out of paper bags. It was difficult for me to correctly explain what I wanted to about the verse, but I think we got the message across in general. The paper bag craft was fun but it was frustrating to see some of these kids, completely ungrateful and demanding more and more from us: they didn't have enough feathers, or their bird's eyes were crooked, just normal kid stuff. It's hard when you put a lot of work into something not to get frustrated, but I know that they don't understand and all I can do is love them. Overall, I think our first day turned out to be a success!

I'm more worn out than normal! This is going to be a tiring, but wonderful summer! Pray again for health and for us to not grow tired and weary and to realize that we are simply serving the Lord and that's what matters.

Sick Day

We had a day to sleep in today which was wonderful. I got to get up late (although I am waking up with the sun now anyway), sit on the roof and spend some time reading the word and praying for everyone here and back home.

However, my headache was worse than before, so I took some of Holly's migraine medicine, and because of that we thought I should just sleep on it for awhile and give my headache a day to heal. I'm glad I did because I was out for four hours straight with people coming in and out of my room! I was upset about this though because I really wanted to be in the village. All of the Austin Stone group girls were going there to play games with the kids and I just didn't want to stay back. Overall it was a good thing. When the group came back they told me that some kids were asking for me by name! Pretty amazing since I had only been to Pancho Mateo twice. How well are they going to know me in two months!

The other big thing about yesterday is that I learned to do a few things. Those of you who know me (all of you) know that I can hardly cook a Hot Pocket. Well, I was on breakfast duty and was assigned the seemingly easy task of cutting the papaya and cantelope, and of course I had no idea how to go about doing it! But I learned, and now I feel confident that I can cut most any fruit. Since I stayed back during the day, I helped Rose prepare dinner as well. We cooked stir fry, and I cannot believe I cooked chicken and vegetables and it actually tasted good! I want to bring my skills home but who knows.

A lot of people are getting sick so please be praying for the health of the group and of the interns. Pray that my headaches stop!

Loving it!

I am in such a good mood and I think that's because, for one, God has answered even some of the smallest prayers I have had, and also because I opened my e-mail to e-mails from several roommates. It's such a blessing to have friends back home who I truly love and trust and pray for me and I cannot wait to get back to them!

It has been less than a week and I already feel more comfortable speaking. I'm starting to love Pancho Mateo and I find it pretty easy to talk to kids and somewhat less difficult to talk to adults. Today we sat in at least three different people's homes. One woman who runs a small little shop where we get juice from insisted we come inside so we just sat in her living room and drank our juice while she kept working. When we got up to leave, she said, "This is your house!" I just love little things like that.

One of the hardest things I have seen so far I saw in Pancho Mateo today. There is a man who is paralyzed because he fell from a tree about fourteen years ago. He lies on his front porch on his stomach in a cot because recently he has contracted what his family believes is amoebic dysentary, which basically means he has some sort of parasite that is stopping him from keeping any of his food down. The way they "treat" this is pretty much to give him diapers, and they claim that the diapers gave him what is now keeping him from lying on his back--this huge sore/rash on his lower back. The worst part was that he was literally all bones. By far this is the skinniest man I have ever seen--there is no way that he is that thin just because of a recent sickness; it looks like years of undernourishment. It doesn't make sense though because both his father and sister were caring for him constantly. The sore on his back looks like those that are common for AIDS victims, so we think that it might be something more than just dysentary that is affecting him. Luckily, there are some American doctors around that we might be able to get in contact with, just to bring a fresh opinion as he has already been to the hospital here in town.

The old woman that Chris, Holly and I talked to yesterday let Barrett, Leticia and I sit on her porch to eat our lunches today. She had at least five other family members sitting around, and this woman just starts praying out loud. For at least five minutes, maybe more. I mean, she prayed for EVERYTHING. Her family, the world, the country, her village. It was amazing. I have never prayed like that. I can't even describe it, this poor woman with such faith. I hope I get to spend more time with her!

I have a pretty bad headache. If you are praying for my team and me, please pray that we will continue to build our community and to love and serve each other as a family. Pray for our group from the Austin Stone that is here this week, that God would be teaching and using them! And pray that God would keep me healthy and motivated and spending time with him, because I am going to crash if I don't!

Finally, some pictures! They are (1) the view from my balcony at the Makarios house, (2) a child in Pancho Mateo doing what every kid does outside the school house, (3) a view of the river that the villagers bathe, wash clothes and dishes, and throw their trash and sewage in, (4) me taking a nap next to the basketball court with some girls, (5) and me with some kids from Pancho Mateo and Sara, Rose's daughter. I'm putting all my pictures up on Facebook so feel free to look at those as well. Mom and Dad, this would be a good time to get Facebook!