Day 5 - Saturday

Today when I woke up it was pouring out, which was different than usual, considering it is normally extremely hot! It was cool which was nice, and I ate breakfast inside with Sarai. She put the TV on because the lights were on, and I was amazed to see her watch an entire episode of Mickey Mouse Club House. I found this very odd considering it’s a show targeted towards children, but I guess things are just different here. She also watched Spongebob, Wizards of Waverly Place, and Madagascar, for three straight hours! I was shocked! I read and sat with her, and when the rain let up, I went over to the Pastor’s house. I played with Franchellis all morning, and went over to the school to play Hula Hoop with she and Natalie. The boys there were drying off the basketball courts the same way my dad dries the tennis courts, with a broom! Afterwards I watched Franchellis get her hair redone, quite the process! Overall, a good day : )

Prayer Requests:
*Strength to finish each day (it is becoming tiring to try and communicate all day long)
*I would not get frustrated by the language barrier

Masters of the Hula Hoop

Franchellis, showing off, of course

Genesis, Baby, and Nagelli

Drying off the courts

In between stages of getting hair done!

Side view...

Day 4 - July 8th

                Today I came to the realization that for most people reading this, they don’t want a play by play of everything that I do… from now on, I’m only going to include things that are very different from the ordinary day, because one thing I have noticed is this lifestyle is all about routine. Another thing I have taken notice of is just how hard these people work at everything. The women spend the entire day preparing food for the family, and even random neighbors that stop by (and they always stop by or pass through the house). Every single thing you eat is fresh, hence the reason why it is so good. I am learning a lot about their cooking, and it’s actually a lot of fun. (Tuesday night dinners!!) After preparing all the food and serving it, they spend time thoroughly cleaning all the dishes. At first glance, when we see that the kitchen is mostly outdoors, it seems unsanitary, the way they eat and do things. However, I have never seen people clean the way they do. Today, Sarai and I cleaned all the dishes from the meal by hand. (Shout out to my roommates) It made me realize how lucky I am to have a dishwasher. I think of it as a burden to have to put the dishes in there, and even to take them out after they are clean. I also watched as three different women today did laundry. They have a small machine that is similar to a washer, but really just moves the clothes around in soapy water. They thoroughly cleaned each article of clothes by hand several times, and then found a spot for them to air dry. I was thinking about how much I love to do laundry, but the truth is, I have never really done the laundry before. I’ve simply thrown the clothes into a machine. I feel like I don’t really know the true meaning of work when I see the way the Dominicans do things. I don’t really work for anything, and today made me feel extremely fortunate, but also extremely lazy. Even though Sarai is only fifteen years old, she is wise beyond her years and an inspiration to me. I feel as if there is so much I can learn from this girl, and I am so blessed by her presence in my life right now. She is so selfless and driven, and truly exemplifies living life for Christ and placing others before herself. Truly amazing!

Ingrid doing laundry

Chita making me breakfast! She is the best Dominican Grandma I could ever ask for!

Helping Eudocia clean the house

Franchellis being her normal self

Day 3 - July 7th

Today was really cool because I got to spend the day talking with several different people, and had nice time spent with each of them. I got to spend the morning with Nelson, a member of the church who is 30 years old. His life is very sad, because he lost both of his parents at a young age, and has many younger brothers and sisters. However, he still has a love for others and the Lord like I have never before seen in someone. We had breakfast together and talked a bit, and I almost cried when I saw that he was wearing my shoes I had left over spring break! It made me so happy that what I left in Peralta went to such good use! When I went over to the pastor’s house, Eudocia (the pastor’s wife) and I spoke a lot while I ate lunch. She told me about how women in Peralta get married extremely young, and that she married Francisco when she was 18 years old. She also told me that women marry older men (the pastor is eight years older than she is). We talked about the clothing I brought to donate and how she will teach me one day to make the hot chocolate they drink. In the afternoon I spent a lot of time talking with Jacques, a man who actually speaks quite a bit of English. We practiced talking together, and I exchanged information with him. It was nice to help someone with English while he helped me with Spanish. He told me that he actually lives in Santo Domingo, and is only in Peralta for a few days. After he left I went on an outing with Wendy to another part of Peralta. She is in charge of a ministry through the church that has different branches, where women have school in the summer for young kids. It is similar to a vacation bible school, but they also learn basic things, such as the days of the week and the months of the year. It was a lot of fun to see how devoted she is to the church and the passion she has for this ministry. I came back to the pastor’s house and had dinner with Franchellis, then went back to Wendy’s and went to sleep for the night!

                Prayer Requests:

                * I would seek ways to serve the people here and offer them anything I can give

               * That I would continue to grow in my relationships here

Zedekias, Franchellis, Me, and Luciana (Daniella's little sister)

Johnny and I

Eudocia (the pastor's wife) and I

p.s. she's the coolest!

Wendy and I on the way to the meetings in a

makeshift taxi bus thing

                

Day 2 - July 6th [Peralta!]

Today was crazy! Because the Pastor is doing construction on his house, I need to stay in Wendy's house (a member of the church) for three days while they finish. They are adding two more bedrooms onto the house, which is almost doubling the space they have. Big changes for the family! I woke up and felt like I had slept the entire morning through.. when I came out of my room it was only 7:15! Wendy made me delicious coffee (I normally don't even drink coffee) and then I watched and learned as she and Sarai made lunch. The meal consisted of pasta, meat, and tostones, all of which I learned how to make! After they let me try some, and I then went over to the pastors house. The entire day I played with the pastors two youngest kids, Zedekias and Franchellis, which was so much fun because they are adorable! The water at Wendy's house went out, so I could not shower, but they got water for me to wash my hair in which was kind of hilarious. After dinner, I went with some of the younger members of the church to an open area on the street, where they set up all their music equipment with amps and microphones, and had a small worship service in a random part of Peralta to share the gospel with nonbelievers in the community. It was really cool to see how bold they are about sharing their faith with others and loving the people around them that they don't know. Afterwards, I played a board game with Daniella and Franchesca (the pastor's oldest daughter and best friend) while we ate dinner together. Zedekias brought me over to the basketball courts where a volleyball league was going on. We watched a game together, and the girls playing are actually extremely good.. it was fun to watch. So far, all the people are being extremely loving and welcoming, and very patient when speaking to me. I am struggling to communicate right now, but there are certain people I find it's much easier with. I do however, realize that I am already starting to think things a bit in Spanish; I even typed on here in Spanish accidentally a few times, and then had to erase and change to English! Hopefully I'll be much better at it by the end of the trip!

            Prayer Requests:
  * That I would not be shy and reserved with speaking to people here
  * That I would learn to be consistent throughout the day in my communication with God

My room in Wendy's house!

Day 1 - July 5th [Leaving Home]

I woke up this morning, packed all my bags in the car, and headed out for the Newark Airport. Thankfully, Bob was able to drive me up, because I think Sue started to cry after we said our goodbyes at the curb! (love ya Sue!) So far, smooth sailing as I make my way down to Santo Domingo. I am eagerly anticipating what God has to offer me through this trip, and the ways I will be challenged to grow!

            

                       Prayer Requests:

                                *Safe travels not only for me, but for Francisco as he drives to Santo Domingo to              
                                   pick me up and take me back to Peralta.

                                *That my nerves would be calmed and I would find comfort in GOD’S presence!

Franchellis and I in the car on the way to Peralta!

Again...

Zedekias and I in the car