Dominican Republic

Wow...sooo I have had lots of requests for a new note/blog since returning from the DR...ya'll that makes me feel soooo special! But I think you are just being nice cuz you know that there was one coming whether you requested it or not! ha! hey, it's who God made me to be...I can't keep inside what He is teaching me, showing me, etc. sooo, here weeeeeeeee go.... (remember that a lot of you asked for it.)

Many of you have wondered how this trip compared to my trip to Ghana. Well, to be honest, it's kinda hard to compare the two. I feel like the experiences are completely different. My trip to Ghana will always be EXTREMELY special to me...it was the first time I had been overseas, I went alone (HUGE leap of faith for me), and it was the first time I got a real sense of God's heart for the world. My trip to the DR was a lot less scary for me travel wise, I went with a team of AMAZING people from my church (Crossroads peeps ROCK!!!), and this trip increased my heart for the world even more than I expected.

The trip started off great because I met three super fun girls on the plane who were from the DR but studying in Miami. (Sarah, Scarlet, & Laura) You gals were SUPER FUN and soooo helpful. Thanks for telling me more about the DR and for all the laughs! AND Thanks for speaking in English (some of the time) so that I could understand you! ha! When our team got off the plane we were met by two fantastic GO Ministries missionaries (John & Eric)! Seriously you guys were INCREDIBLE!!! Throughout the whole week they translated, took pics, shared their faith, encouraged us to be stretched in our spanish speaking ability (or lack there of), cheered us on at the construction site, worked at the construction site, talked about the DR and what things they have experienced, etc etc. I don't think there was anything that they didn't do! They seriously have the coooooolest "job" ever.... Lovin' the Lord and Lovin' people! Doesn't get any better than that!

Throughout the week we spent time lovin' on kids, worshipping with believers in 5 languages (crazy cool!), met and interacted with pastor Francisco and his family (as a church we are supporting him and committed to coming alongside his ministry in many ways), and began building a feeding center that will some day soon provide a meal for children 6 days a week. We also as a group got to know one another better and became a lil family (I LOVED getting to know all of you better and LOVED serving alongside of you too!!!)

I know this note/blog is kinda broad, but I am still overwhelmed at what I experienced on this trip. I have experienced anger, frustration, joy, thankfulness, confusion, love, peace, etc in my heart since the minute I stepped off that plane in the DR. It's been hard for me to "put my finger on" one thing that sticks out to me because it seems like everything we did hit me like a ton of bricks. I say that to warn you that there will be more notes/blogs to come as I continue to allow the Lord to work in my heart regarding this trip.

Here’s one specific moment on the trip that I will never forget. We went to a feeding center one day for lunch to help feed kids. (this would most likely be the only meal these kids would get that day.) It started off with us singing songs with the kids because the food wasn’t ready. It was a joy to see all their little faces, knowing that there were about to get a meal. (COME ON…..when do we EVER wonder if we are going to have a meal. The biggest concern we have is WHERE are we gonna go to get the meal – makes me sick!) Then the reality hit me….these kids get one meal a day IF there is enough food. I began looking at their faces in a new way…my heart was not filled with joy but rather with a deep sadness. We (the Americans) formed a line so that we could take plates of food to the kids….one problem, toooo many kids, not enough food. My heart just sunk…There was supposed to be enough food to feed about 50 kids, there were close to 90 in the room just waiting to see if they would get fed. As we started taking plates of food and passing them out, they separated the kids in 3 groups: kids sitting around the table, kids sitting on the back table, and then kids sitting along the wall. We were told to feed the kids sitting around the table first. DO YOU GET THAT….We had to walk to those kids first meanwhile that meant we had to pass others up.

I don’t know if you are getting a clear picture of this or not, but to say that it broke my heart is not saying enough of what it did to me. On one of my trips, I walked to the back of the room and as I passed a child that was sitting along the wall, he grabbed my pant leg, motioned his arms as if he was asking me for the plate, and motioned that he was hungry. I had to keep walking past him and give that plate of food to another child. That would be the moment that I LOST IT. I just got soooo angry. Angry that there are these wonderful, beautiful, amazing children that don’t know if they will get a meal. Why is this still happening in the world??? It just breaks my heart, it makes me want to go back and make a difference somehow, it makes me fall on my knees in the presence of the Lord, it makes me long for the day when there aren’t children starving, it stirs me to appreciate all that I have been blessed with, it allows me to see that I need to give more, be more, love more, it drives me closer to Him!

You know, I don’t know the answer, but I do know that I can respond to what I have seen. I am still unsure of what the Lord desires me to do, but I do know this, I am praying for those little faces, I am yearning for more of our heavenly Father, I am clinging to promises in His Word about how He will bless the poor, and I can’t wait to return to see those faces again!

You want to know the coolest thing that happened that day?? Do you?? Come on, you know you wanna know….the Lord provided enough food for every single child in that room to get fed! He is soooo incredibly good to provide the way He does. He is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!!!!!!!!! It was like a miracle right in front of our faces. INCREDIBLE!

Whew….OK this is like a novel, and friends, it’s just the beginning! YIKES! I promise to only tag you in this one though….

Crossroads peeps – You have such amazing hearts and it was a privilege and a blessing to go on this trip with each and every one of you!

John & Eric – YOU GUYS ROCK! Enough said!

My new DR gal pals Scarlet, Sarah, and Laura – You were such a joy to meet. Be looking for an e-mail from me!!

Everyone else who will bravely read my ramblings – thanks for cheering me on in my desire to go to the world, thanks for lifting this trip up in your prayers, and thanks for being super great friends who I love dearly!!!

"Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them."John 17:25-26