Dominican Republic | Part 2

So we've made it to the beautiful little town of La Guazara 
(which resides in Barahona, Dominican Republic).
This building below is the local church turned 'bunk room' during our stay. 

Everyone on our team slept here with a tarp dividing the women from the men.

This is what our sleeping quarters look like.

p.s. It's a special treat to sit under a canopy in bed, reading a book, while listening to a rainstorm, feeling a slight breeze, and drinking some of the best cocoa you've ever had. 

(It turns out they put cinnamon in it. Who knew?!)

All 16 of us (plus other workers) share two showers and one toilet behind the church.

Here's the shower (which is really just a metal closet.)

We scoop water to flush the toilet and to bathe. Boy, it is cold!

We stand outside the bathroom and brush our teeth on this hill. 

This is the best sunset we saw (but standing in the same spot). 

It was pretty overcast the whole week.

Here's a big ole frog I rescued a mate from so that she could pee in the dark. haha

(The picture was for Jackson.)

This area is across from the church. It is the common area.

All of the cooking is done in the yellow building which is a lady’s house. 
She reserves space for the Food for the Hungry team. 

And boy, do we eat some amazing food here!

Seriously, it's so good everyone wiggles when they eat. 

I'm not the only one. 

This is how we wash our hands before meals; 

another bucket, a scoop, and a friend.

Between meals, we also have meetings here. 

(The shot below was with the 'Elders' of the town 

and Food for the Hungry team during the first night.)

We also have crafts for VBS, devotions, and at night we play games like Jenga and Dominoes. They are HUGE domino players here. 

(This was the best sunrise from the common area.)

The street between the church and tent is always active. 

We sit on this wall at various times throughout the day. At any given moment there are multiple footballs, soccer balls, and frisbees flying. ALL AT THE SAME TIME! 
-Overlapping and crashing. You’d better have your game face on and your eyes open! And even with that, you WILL get pegged.

I have finally been able to successfully throw and catch a football. 
Ethan would be proud. 

It just turns out that I need a fake plastic one. haha

Dominoes on the other hand... not so much. 

In fact, this guy in the picture below is Cici (misspelled?). The lady is Esperanza. Both of them speak about as much English as I do Spanish. But two things are clear. The first is that they are incredibly hard workers! They also exude sweetness and a desire to connect with us too. The second thing is regarding Cici’s giggle... The locals are so good at dominoes that they can tell what everyone has before it’s played. Esperanza tried to help me play. She might be sharper at it than Cici. She gets really feisty and it sounds like she’s telling him how things are getting ready to go down. But his giggle lets me know that even her magic doesn't help me. 

Each time I would pick up a new set, they would share looks with each other and groan. haha 

In fact, I am so 'good' at it that during the first hand of another game with a group of boys; my partner threw his dominoes on the table and walked away. The team we played against pushed their seats back and wouldn’t look at me. So, I gestured to them that I could leave so that another team could play. They both lit up and nodded in agreement that was a terrific idea. Haha. 
I’m THAT good! #CrushedAndDevastated (Just kidding)

We even got to face paint a little while we were here. YAY

Dean wanted to give it a try too.  You can tell by our expressions that it's getting ready to be good!

Would ya look at that! He even got my teeth!

Good job Dean!

This lady is 'Otto' and I hope I spelled that right. 

It would be hard to tell the story without her. 

She is like the town Matriarch.

She lives closest to the common area. 

She's related to many of the families here.

She is part of the elder's team.

She is always dressed her best and was first to sing & pray at church service.

She's also frequently seen with a 2' machete on her hip while she goes to work with some of the men.

We all got up at 5:00am one morning to hike the mountain to see where the farmers go to work and where their closest water source is. She was our fearless leader!

We divided our team into groups of three for prayer partners. 

We met several times before the trip to pray, then each morning during the trip, and as needed throughout.

This was my team. <3

We split our group into two teams for the actual construction that needed to be done.
We built latrines (bathrooms like our team uses) during the day. This was my crew. <3

This is one of the families that received a latrine.

Remember there is no plumbing here. But there is a well/septic-like system for it to flow to.

You just pour the water into the toilet and you can't flush the paper. 

(Even in the fancier parts of the DR, you can't flush paper.)

-To give you a better view of things, this is what many of the kitchens are like.

We took a trip to see the water filtration system here that the church has been putting in.

The water here is not clean. This filtration system will make clean water more affordable but it will also spare them from having to travel so far in order to it.

It is 'almost' ready to go.

In the afternoon, we have a little VBS with the kids.

Then we do home visits.

Unlike the 'door to door' visits you can imagine here in the states, these families are happy to meet us and they are excited about the work that is being done in their community.

(The Food for the Hungry team does work out the families that are visited in advance though. So that helps.)

During the visits, we try to get to know the families. 

We pray with them, share pictures of our families, and pass out Bibles if needed. 

Some of the team members sponsor children here and so they get to visit with them too! How cool!

David visiting his sponsored child, Eddie. <3

I love the ‘community’ here. The kids run the town like many of us did when we were younger. Even 3-year-olds are still out at 10:00pm, blocks away, without an adult. There doesn't seem to be anything to be afraid of (in a safety or 'people' sense) and everyone is looking out for each other. Even during home visits. Little ones that don’t live at the houses we were visiting just walk in and make themselves comfortable. No one flenches or even acknowledges it.

The mommas just fill in where needed.

Most of the doors and windows are open in every house. 

People are visible everywhere throughout the day.  

Many are harvesting onions, the local crop.

Others are hanging out, working in other ways, and doing life.

(Isn't she beautiful!!)

This guy might be dinner. He's got two onions with that chicken... uh oh.

That's laundry drying on the sidewalk.

There’s a little bar in the center of the town. We told them that we liked their music, so they played it for us almost every day from at least 9:00am-10:00pm. <3

Our common area is at the top of this hill. 
So you can see the whole little town in the valley below. 
The music fills the place up! 

But really all of the sounds carry- kids laughing, animals working, more motorcycles, people talking... 
Even in the morning while the town is asleep, I get up before everyone else to take a shower and I can hear the farmers getting ready for work down the hill.

Yet, it is so.very.quiet. 

Between the sounds and nature, everything so open, it's impossible to forget that you're all connected and a part of 'community'. 

There is more than what we see at work.

For example, David and his mother each sponsored a child here. 

We learned during the home visits that they 'just so happened' to get sisters.

But also that David is a poet and so is his child.

AND

During one of my visits, I asked a lady where her favorite place was in La Guazara.

She replied 'Under any tree.'

It just so happens that I am a tree lover too and well, I agree. 

And the trees here ARE pretty amazing.

Then during another of my visits, I knew the minute that I saw this lady, it was going to be a good one. Not only did she look like a strong woman, she had on a well-worn rosary (which I have a thing for) and it just so happened to be turquoise, my favorite color.

So, I asked her what kind of advice she would give a young person.

ALL of us gasped when we heard the translator say 

'Why are you asking me? I am whole.' 

'Whole' has been my word for this year and my prayer team knew it. <3

(It turns out that she said 'Why are you asking me, I am old,'

which is sad because our elders often know far more than we do.)

But because we all heard the same thing, we knew it was meant for me.

So, we all had a moment and then leaned in closer.

She paused and leaned in too then said 'Take care of yourself.'

This is a message that has been a reoccurring theme for me lately.

-

-

'Coincidentally', I’m even reading a book right now called 'The Power of Now' that was given to me by a dear friend. It is impeccably timed in my personal life; but also during this trip I read a passage that said: 

‘True communication is communion. The realization of oneness, which is love. Usually, this is quickly lost again, unless you are able to stay present enough to keep out of the mind and it’s old patterns.’

And boy is it hard to recognize our patterns and then keep the mind out of them...

While there is nothing more liberating than sharing what is on your heart in a sacred connection. There are also ways to communicate that do not need words. 

That quote describes the things we've witnessed on this trip. It is in sitting, in waiting together, in sharing burdens, breaking bread, and in laughing. There is indeed a lot of laughter.

It is also in spirit but you must be present to see and hear it- to connect.
Sometimes, we need to leave our routines and way of life to do this, even if it's only for a moment.

We are indeed, all connected.

EVERYONE has something to give and we do it in different ways. 
But it is just as important that we receive all that is offered.

Thank you to all who helped make this trip possible. 
It has touched me and so many others more than you will ever know.

If you would like to continue praying for La Guazara, here is a list of some of the needs collected during our visits.