Hello Everyone!!!!
I have arrived safely in Monte Cristi! The flight was a little rough. The flight from Miami to the D.R. made me motion sick, and when we were on the bus traveling to Monte Cristi we had to pull over :(. It last for a day or two, but I am wayyyyyyyyyyy better now.
So far everything has been great!!! The first couple days were hard for me because I felt timid, but I have slowly come out of my shell. The other interns here, which are all girls, are really nice. There aren't really any cliques or anything, so it has been a very cohesive environment.
The first week, we stayed in ramadas, which are kind of like human chicken coops with bunk beds and mosquito nets. It was just like camping in the sense that you could hear everything outside, including the chickens, dogs, the discotec, and whatever else. When you had to go to bathroom, you would have to get up and go outside to the next building over. In order to conserve water, the stalls say "If it's yellow let it mellow. If it's brown flush it down." You also can't put toilet paper into the toilet because their septics aren't very good and it would eventually come up through the showers. If you accidently put toilet paper in it, you would have to go get a stick and fish it out! ha! I actually had to do that a couple times.
The food they prepare for us has been amazing. For breakfast we either have pancakes, french toast, cereal, eggs, oatmeal, or corn meal depending on the day. Corn meal is probably the best. I had never had it until I came down here. Lunch is usually the best. They tend to make more traditional food for lunch. We have eaten a lot of rice and beans, chicken, fried plantains, fried eggplant, vegetables, and fruit. I have discovered that the rice here has a lot of sodium in it though because my hands have been swelling up lol. So, I'm not really sure what to do about that. For dinner, we typically have more of an American dish. We have had spaghetti, pizza, Mexican night, etc. I definitely drink a lot of water down here. They provide clean water and juice to drink.
The weather is very humid here. It has been raining a lot as well. We tend to walk everywhere so when it rains the streets are real nasty. They become very muddy and there's already a lot of trash everywhere so you have to be careful. Clean shoes do not last. =) We typically walk about 4 miles a day on the days we have camp in town. Monday we didn't have camp because the kids had a "rain day" which is like our snow day in the states. We had camp this last week at our English Institute building in town. We had 4 different stations and two camps, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. The stations were actitivies, English, arts and crafts, and Bible. Me and another girl, Abby, led Bible. Tuesday was a crazy day. We only had a few children in the morning, and they were well-behaved. However, in the afternoon the orphanage kids came and many other community kids came. The girls were nuts. They were climbing on the walls and doors and weren't listening at all. It was chaotic. Most of them were kids from the orphanage. We were told that they probably behaved so poorly because they don't get a lot of interaction with the other kids in the community so they wanted attention. They certainly got it. But since they didn't behave the orphanage wouldn't let them come back the next day, which was sad.
During the first couple days, my mind refused to switch over to Spanish, so I found it hard to communicate. Once we started camps, though, it clicked! Thank God! Many of the other volunteers who don't know Spanish have had a really hard time figuring out how to serve the kids since they can't communicate with them verbally. I admit it would be really hard if you couldn't speak the language. Nonetheless, it is awesome when you can break through that barrier.
It has been really neat to see how God has been moving since I've been here. I have been learning that what I think my purpose for being down here is may not actually be His purpose for having me here. In other words, the children are not the only ones I think He is moving me to minister to. I'm really excited to see how the summer unfolds. While I'm here, I really want to grow and fall even deeper in love with Him. He is my Creator and my All, and I can do nothing without Him. Praise be to Him! It has been difficult, but I've been trying to get up early each morning to read my Bible and be fed for the day. At night, me and a couple girls have been getting good fellowship together and praying. I am really thankful to have others with me who have the same heart for the Lord. Please pray that God would teach me how to best minister to those I come in contact with.
This weekend we have moved inside, which seems like a palace compared to the ramadas. All long term interns move inside, but for the first week they want everyone to experience the short-term volunteer housing.
This week we are going to hold camp in the slums, which will be really interesting. We are all very excited!!! Please be praying for the kids we will encounter. Please also keep the other children at the orphanage in your prayers as well.
I'll try to update this every weekend, but I'll warn you, I don't really like to journal.
Love to all of you from the D.R.!!!!
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