Almost Halfway Through...

"pray continually;"

These are the only two words in 1 Thesselonians 5:17. A verse that I would usually overlook and dismiss.

My lovely best friend Hope bought me a devotional for Christmas and it's amazing how relevant it has been to what I'm going through while I'm here. It's obvious to me that God knew what would happen each day during my time in Santo Domingo and he placed the right verses and words in the devotionals to match what would happen to me that day. Lately, the devotionals have been dealing with prayer, anxiety, and trust.
Probably by looking at this picture of the gorgeous beach in Samana, Dominican Republic, that I went to on Saturday, it's hard to believe that I have struggled with anxiety. However, this past week I've experienced one of the biggest downsides of studying abroad in a "developing country". Getting sick. I've been sick for a full week now, and as many of you probably know I HATE being sick. I'm such a baby when I'm sick. It didn't help that I needed to go to the emergency room and attempt to communicate with the doctor in Spanish. I've never been more frustrated by a language barrier than I was then. Although being in a Dominican emergency room with doctors I could barely understand was not my ideal, I remembered one of the verses I had read that morning. "Pray continually". Prayer is something that can be done at all hours of the day, it doesn't need to always be long and drawn-out but just a simple sentence offered to God.
It's looking like I should be coming onto the healing end soon which is a good thing because I'm almost at the halfway mark. Pretty hard to believe! I still have so much more of this country that I want to experience and enjoy in my remaining time! Sometimes I need to just stop and smile as I'm walking or taking the "guagua" (the Dominican version of a public bus) through Santo Domingo by myself and I feel comfortable and like I know where I'm going. It's a simple thing but it makes me realize how much more comfortable I've grown in this city and with myself. I know that in the remaining half of my semester abroad I will face hardships and homesickness; but I also know that I'll experience things that I'll never experience again in my life and that I need to savor all those small moments while I have them, because before I know it they'll be gone and I'll be back to my normal New England life! So, it's time for this sickness to go away so I can enjoy each adventure that comes my way!

"The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing." Zephaniah 3:17

"Jehová está en medio de ti, poderoso, él salvará; se gozará sobre ti con alegría, callará de amor, se regocijará sobre ti con cánticos."  Sofonías 3:17

Unexpected Blessings

A couple of weeks ago I went to a gorgeous beach called Juan Dolio with a couple of my friends. On our way there we were standing in a very busy, popular area of Santo Domingo while we waited for our “guagua” (bus) to come by. As we were standing there I noticed a little boy who was sitting on a street corner wearing tattered-looking clothing and two different shoes. He was all by himself and had tears rolling down his cheeks. I watched as everyone who walked by him, including the police, didn’t even take a second glance at him. Of course, my heart instantly went out to him and I felt obligated to approach him. I went over to him and asked if he wanted my Oreos (the only food I had on me at the time) or my bottle of water. He said no to both. I asked him what was wrong and unfortunately with the language barrier I wasn’t able to understand all of what he said, but what I did understand was that he was lost and he didn’t know where his parents were. I offered him some money for a taxi or guagua and he refused that as well.

            As I went to a gorgeous, Caribbean beach afterwards I couldn’t forget the sad look on his face and how frustrating it was to not be able to be of more help to him. I know that I can’t help everyone, but I kept regretting that I was at the beach while this helpless little boy was lost. Maybe I should have stayed with him to just give him company and show him love if nothing else. I’ll probably never see him again, but I pray that he is safe and off the streets.

            Before I encountered this child, I had been kicking around the idea of volunteering with Operation Christmas Child. I had the contact information that I needed to begin my involvement but I was still unsure if it was something that I really wanted to do. I knew that it would mean a sacrifice of time, an added responsibility to my already overwhelming list of new experiences and challenges. However, after that experience I knew that I needed to attempt making contact to see if they needed volunteers. I have a heart for children and there’s no way I can pass up an opportunity to bless some very adorable Dominican children with Christmas presents.

            So after a few very confusing calls that were mostly lost in translation, I found myself in a taxi by myself headed to an unknown destination. The director for Operation Christmas Child had called a taxi for me and told the driver the address. So I had no idea where I was going or why I was going there. After about a half hour the driver dropped me off on the other side of the city at a house. I quickly learned that an American missions team was here for the week to work with the director of OCC in the Dominican Republic, Fidel, and his son, John. Shortly after I was introduced to everyone I was told to climb into the back of a pickup truck with the American missions team. I still had no idea where we were going. To my surprise, we were headed to an orphanage that was for children who are deaf for a distribution of the OCC shoeboxes. As you can imagine, this was a very welcome surprise. The distribution was more challenging than the ones that I went to in Panama. Since the children were deaf, communication was impossible. We needed two different translators to go from English to Spanish to Sign Language! I found that smiles go a long way. Language was not necessary to see their excitement over the candy, toys, school supplies, and clothing. I wish I had my camera with me so that I could have captured their adorable faces for all of you!

            It was such a wonderful experience to be a part of the shoebox distribution and today I was able to be part of another distribution! I had so much fun playing with the children and watching their excitement and smiles over their gifts, as well as their attention and interest in our presentation of “The Greatest Gift”. I hope that everyone in America who has made an Operation Christmas Child gift is able to recognize the impact of their gift-not only on the child but also on the parents. Most of the children’s mothers attend the distributions and are able to hear the gospel message as well. They are so thankful to see their child’s happiness and excitement over the shoeboxes. I’ve been able to see this impact on person, but I hope that you can all have faith that your giving is truly rewarding someone else!

Today marks one month that I’ve been in Santo Domingo…it’s kind of hard to believe. It really has gone by fast. God has already moved in so many ways, both in my personal life and just in experiences that I’ve had since being here. I plan on beginning to blog more often about my experiences and stories. Vaya con Dios!

“Go forth seeking adventure. Open your eyes, your ears, your mind, you heart, your spirit and you’ll find adventure everywhere.” Wilfred A. Peterson