One step at a time

While the coast we live next to in Santo Domingo isn’t what I’d call a beach, the paved sidewalks that line rocky cliffs hugging the water make an ideal running trail. Normally when I run, I can’t think of anything except for what’s playing on my iPod, but today I actually learned something.

I was on my return from the halfway point and still had yet to pass Adrian Tropical, this restaurant that serves as my “only ten minutes to go” landmark. I had already been running for fifteen minutes, I was tired, and wanted to give myself a break by walking for a bit. I tried to justify it by saying to myself, “I’ve already ran for twenty minutes…I worked out yesterday…what would stopping for a few minutes do to me?”

I even tried thinking of the satisfaction finishing a thirty minute run having given it my all the entire time would bring me (I’ve never been much of a long distance runner, so for me thirty minutes is plenty). But fifteen more minutes of giving it my all seemed too overwhelming to attempt.

Then Matthew 6:34 came to mind:

Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.

As I meditated for a moment on how Jesus tells us to live life one day at a time, I was encouraged to complete my run the same way—one step at a time.

Literally, for the next full minute I kept mentally repeating after each step, “That one wasn’t so bad.” Before I knew it, I was back to my starting point and as I stretched out my sore muscles, I thanked the Lord for empowering me to attain that satisfaction of finishing well.

It may seem silly to find such victory in completing a half hour morning run this way, but I write about it because it really helped me make the connection between what we are incapable of doing on our own strength and what we can do in God’s when we walk with Him one day—or step—at a time.

A glimpse of the sunrise from the Malecon is worth waking up early for

Little Things That Bring Me Joy #2

Finally bought a toaster for our apartment. That’s another thing I went without last year. It’s just easier to put a slice of bread in there and wait a few seconds for evenly cooked toast.

The fact that we now have a toaster is great, but it’s the way that it springs the toast out of the machine like those guns that launch  free t-shirts into the crowd at sporting events that makes me giggle.

It’s like it wants me to play hide and go seek with the toast. As I look into the toaster for my two slices of bread for my sandwich and only spot one, I can almost hear it taunting me: “Oh ho, gotcha this time. You’re probably wondering if you’ve lost your mind and really did put two pieces in or not. Sure try and find it if you think it’s really there…”

About 10 seconds later—which is really 9 seconds too long—I find the previously launched toast laying inside a bowl we keep by the microwave.

Though it’s not something I spend my whole day laughing about, those few moments of searching for my food from the springy toaster brings a smile to my face.

And anything that can do that is worthy of being added to my joy.

Little Things That Bring Me Joy #1

I decided to add this section to my blog as seeking and valuing the good things in life—no matter how small—has been a recent objective of mine. The challenge was inspired by Ann Voskamp’s book 1,000 Gifts.

Worth the watch, here’s a four minute trailer for the book that has helped me recognize God’s blessings in the mundane.

Ann Voskamp’s book inspires the blessings of gratitude

Now on to my joyful experience for the day.

I’ve never bought a dragon fruit before. In fact, I didn’t know what it was called until I Googled it when I got home from the local Domincan super market. It was an impulse buy; I was curious to find out what this artichoke gone pepto bismol tasted like:

Laying forgotten in my refrigerator for a few days, I realized I still needed to figure out how to eat this thing. I asked my roommate to look into the proper way to cut and eat a dragon fruit as I placed it on the cutting board. “Slice it vertically like a kiwi,” she says from the dining room.

I can’t explain why, but I got this unexpected rush of anticipation as I prepared to reveal the insides of this intriguing fruit. What color would it be? Would it have seeds like an orange? Would it hold its form when cut open, or gush juices all over the place?

I can’t remember ever reacting this way to a simple task as cutting open a piece of fruit, but as the two halves fell open I gasped in awe of what I saw. Shocking fuchsia brilliantly complemented with beady black seeds and a texture like sherbet.

This experience of seeing the inside of a fruit for the first time may seem trivial to some, but to me it was like God sharing with me His wonder and tenderness through His creativity.

I am thankful for the reminder that the dragon fruit brought me:

God is good.

He makes beautiful things.

He loves to bring us joy through his creation.

He loves to bring us joy through our experiences.

He loves me.

What brings you joy today?

Music makes you well

One of my favorite stories in the Bible (or at least makes the top 20 list) is in 1 Samuel 16 where King Saul’s soul had been troubled by a spirit that made him feel depressed and full of fear. His servants encouraged him with the following advice:

“Find a good musician to play the harp whenever the tormenting spirit troubles you. He will play soothing music, and you will soon be well again.”     1 Samuel 16:16

David, a God fearing man, shepherd, and harpist, was appointed for the job and as the King’s men suggested, Saul’s spirits would be lifted whenever he played the harp for him.

I love this story because it confirms why sometimes listening to music brings me comfort, encouragement, perseverance, and peace. Music can be a very powerful ailment for our sufferings when the words are edifying and promote wholeness.

I’ve often been one to benefit from others’ music recommendations, so here’s one for you guys that has inspired me to remember the important stuff in life. It’s by one of my favorite artists—Francesca Battistelli—and the rest of her songs are just as awesome. Buen provecho!

This is the Stuff

Do you have to speak Spanish?

A lot of people ask this question when I tell them that our team will be working full time with college students in the Dominican Republic. One reason why I chose this country to do my Stint over others was for the opportunity to use the Spanish I had studied for five years while in Jr/Sr High.

Even with my plethora of book knowledge, I found listening and speaking a bit beyond my capabilities upon my initial arrival to the DR last year. Thankfully, my vocabulary and verb tense skills sharpened up throughout those first ten months as I spent more time doing life amongst Dominicans.

I’m pretty fluent now (someone even thought I was Dominican the other day!) However, half of our team is just beginning to add Spanish to their language repertoire.

Though it’s only been two weeks since our team has been in country, I’ve been delighted to find evidence that supports one doesn’t need to know Spanish right off the bat to make an impact in the Dominican Republic. One teammate has made connections with over a dozen students already by simply picking up a basketball or tennis racket and communicating through his actions on the court. One girl asks lots of questions and carries a small notebook with her where she jots down new words, phrases, and even Dominican recipes! Another teammate has an incredible ability to understand the gist of what is going on in a conversation and ask insightful questions that help spur the discussion further.

While I wouldn’t tell my teammates that developing their language skills isn’t important, I would say that humility and compassion for Dominicans are two qualities that would go a long way as they seek to demonstrate Christ’s love at UASD.

I can’t write this entry without thinking about the 90 students we received in spring break and summer project teams. The majority of them were not Spanish speakers, yet we are currently ministering to students that they initially reached out to!

So shout out to my three teammates who are kicking butt and taking names as they combat tropical heat plus cultural overload, yet still manage to build solid relationships with students; and another to all those that have come to serve the people of the DR and found a way to love them when you couldn’t speak their language. To me, you all have lived out what Paul encourages the Corinthians to be to the lost:

I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some. I do everything to spread the Good News and share in its blessings.   1 Corinthians 9:22b,23

Ricardo getting to know the guys in a tennis match on campus