Still Searching

We thought we had found a place to call home, then thought twice about it when half of the group didn’t want to send pictures home or describe the place in great detail for fear of what our parents might think. While it was easy on the budget, it was definitely not the safest place for us to live, especially being “extranjeros” or foreigners (I still can’t get over that that word comes from the Spanish word “extrana” which means “weird,” so I can only infer what that means about us).

On the complete other side of the spectrum, though, was my experience riding the metro for the first time! It is very new and super clean. Many of the passengers are students which makes me feel more comfortable. Hopefully we can find a place closer to campus. Keep praying.

As promised, here are a few pictures. The first is of the church radio station…so cool! Then a pic of our team with Leyla and Prospero, Dominican Pesos, and my super tasty meal described in the previous post :)

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Don't worry guys...the food is awesome!

Ok so the title of this one isn't representative of this whole blog, however it is a HUGE praise that I can safely say that I am loving Dominican cuisine. And it's not just like, "Yeah, that McDonald's in Santo Domingo was great," we were actually blessed to have one of the women from the church we are partnering with cook us a meal for lunch as we met with the church leaders for the first time. She prepared such a feast: roast beef, potato salad, avocados, beans, rice, fried plantains (a traditional and VERY tasty dish), and served us candied papaya for dessert AND gave us our first taste of Dominican coffee...yum! Needless to say, we were all dragging a little after stuffing ourselves on a great meal. Braulio (the national director of CCC here) told me that I'll have to owe him a dollar for every pound I gain here because it means they've fed us too well!
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The other adventure of our day was scouting apartments. Leyla and Prospero (lead student ministries thru CCC at the church) were more than helpful during this process. They spent all day explaining our options, warning us about common scams and concerns, and showing us different apartments around the city. They are really taking care of us like our parents would if we needed help moving to a different part of the US. We'll likely be moving into the same complex that they live in which really puts us at ease, knowing that if there ever was anything we needed, they'd only be a few doors away! Praise God!
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Some of the crazier things that we've experienced today:
--driving through town in crazy traffic (the cars get within inches of one another!)
--checking out the RADIO STATION that the church runs (they also run tv programs..how cool is that?! And they are totally open to us participating in the future!)
--Walking a few miles in the sweaty heat of the day (thank God for waterproof eyeliner/mascara!)
--Hearing la musica that everyone blares through their homes (this is totally normal for the daytime...shouldn't be a problem though, it's got a fun beat!)
--Watched my teammates communicate brilliantly in Spanish with the nationals about getting an apartment that will suit our needs (fyi these are NOT on our list of needs: AC, dish washer, hot water. We do need: safe location, proximity to ministry/transit, 2 apartments within our budget). We're pretty sure the girls have found one and are praying that all works out well with the one below that one that's available for the guys. Please pray about this.
--Saw many of the lids from manholes on the street were stolen. Don't wanna fall in one of those!
--Experienced shopping at "Jumbo," which is equivalent to a Super Walmart with major appliances. It is weird getting used to seeing pricing in Dominican Pesos. For example, $50 US dollars looks like $1,800!
--Took our first ride in a private taxi that fits 7 people...btw it's a compact car. Four in the back and two can sit in the passenger's seat! Let's just say we're getting more comfortable with each other faster than we expected ;)
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Anyways, I'll be uploading pictures soon but hope you're enjoying the stories in the mean time!

Leaving today!

Well, it’s about 2 am Chicago time…our shuttle leaves in about 2 hours. I can’t sleep, but it’s not so bad as Brianna can’t either. I’m not sure if it’s nerves, being tired, or excitement, but we’re pretty slap happy. It was a nice relief from the stress that this week has brought on. We’ve been receiving great coaching here at briefing, but it’s been a busy week. I’m sure things will settle down once we find apartments in country, but at the moment, I feel like I’m sprinting through a marathon. I know that being up this late is not really helping that, but I am pretty sure this is just one of those nights I’m not going to get much rest anyways.

We’ll be greeting at the airport by Leyla tomorrow and taken to a hotel where we’ll stay for a few days until we can find housing. I’m really looking forward to the lunch that Braulio has invited our team to the following day. We’ll get to meet others who will be working along side us in our mission and they’ll hopefully be a lot of help as we try to make Santo Domingo our new home.

Oh yeah, as this was my first time in Chicago, here’s a picture of our team during our free time (plus Joel, a friend from ASU who will be spending a year in East Asia)

Meet my team!

Now that I am in Chicago at briefing, I have finally had the opportunity to meet everyone on my team! I’ll tell you a little bit about them so you know who you’ll be praying for this year :)

(Stole most of this from Natasha’s--of my teammates--blog…she wrote everyone’s biographies so well! I did write her biography though)

-- Jimmy (23) is from University of Arizona (Tuscon) and studied math. He went to DR for a summer project last year, so he knows the church leadership we are going to be working with and some of the students. He has amazing stories about how he got to share the gospel with students there... in a nutshell, the professors allowed them to take up class time, take the students outside, and talk to them... and then bring them back to class! How cool is that?

--Robert (23) is from Arizona State University (ASU). He has already worked for one year at ASU with Campus Crusade and for the last year and a half, he and I led freshmen small groups together.  Rob answered the call to STiNT in DR at a training weekend in April. Rob had thought to continue serving at ASU, but the DR team needed another man (so Jimmy wouldn't be alone), so Rob stepped up. This story is super amazing too! God used crazy circumstances and calls to get Rob to commit to DR.

--Brianna (25) (pronounced Brye-anna--> the anna as in banana... she is very particular about this!) is a highschool Spanish teacher in Georgia. She has been teaching for 3 years and loves everything Spanish! She is the sweetest and most encouraging girl ever. And she laughs a lot. She likes to exercise (so glad to have workout buddies!) and I know that I’ll learn alot about how to share my faith in another language from her as she reads from and memorizes Scripture in Spanish!

--Natasha (21) is from Rice University in Houston, TX and received her undergraduate degree in biochemistry in just 3 years! She comes from a bilingual home as her parents are from Latin America, so she has excellent Spanish skills as well. She is creative, likes to cook (which I’m super excited about), and loves to dance. She’s very insightful and humble and I’m looking forward to learning from her tenderness!

--Jessica (Me, 22) is also from ASU and have had my heart set on serving in DR since November of 2009 when I heard about how fruitful that year’s summer project was (the same one that Jimmy went on!) While I’ve had 6 years of Spanish education, I am really excited to coming home fluent (hopefully).

Other people we'll be getting to know:
--Braulio is the pastor of the church that has played a critical role in casting vision throughout their community to reach college students in Santo Domingo. They have been praying Matthew 9:37, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few,” in anticipation of the formation of our team.

--Leyla has works for the local church we are working with and has partnered with Campus Crusade during last summer and this summer to reach out to students on campus. She will play an integral part in getting us up to speed on what the campus is like and what needs the people have.

--Prospero is Leyla's husband and a lawyer for the church. He is also involved in the ministry.

Chicago!

I will be leaving Tempe at 6 am tomorrow for briefing in Chicago! Please pray that my 70 lb and 50 lb checked bags get on the plane ok, my new Visa card works properly, and that we make it there safely! I’ve got to get some rest now, but I’ll say this: I can really relate to Owen Wilson’s character in Armageddon when he says, “It's like I'm 98% excited and 2% scared. Or...or maybe it's 2% excited 98% scared...I dunno, that's what makes it so intense!” 

One hundred percent!

Great news! As of today, I am fully supported for this year of ministry! Praise God! And thank you all for your prayerful consideration to help me meet this need. Whether you gave $10 a month, $20, or $1,000, I couldn’t have done it without you. I thank you sincerely for your part in sending me. As I ponder your generosity, I am reminded of the believers in 2 Corinthians 8:1-5:

¹ Now I want you to know, dear brothers and sisters, what God in his kindness has done through the churches in Macedonia. ² They are being tested by many troubles, and they are very poor. But they are also filled with abundant joy, which has overflowed in rich generosity.

³ For I can testify that they gave not only what they could afford, but far more. And they did it of their own free will. ⁴ They begged us again and again for the privilege of sharing in the gift for the believers in Jerusalem. ⁵ They even did more than we had hoped, for their first action was to give themselves to the Lord and to us, just as God wanted them to do.

I’m in Phoenix now, saying goodbye to friends, then will be leaving for briefing in Chicago later this week where our team will come together for the first time! Keep us in your prayers. Please be praying that I enjoy the next few days with my family and friends and that I am able to leave bravely and step forward with courage!