Visit from my Daddy/Thanksgiving in the DR

Sorry I haven’t posted anything in a while. I do have a good excuse though-my dad came to visit me last week! It was the COOLEST thing to be able to share my ministry experience with him and such an answer to prayer as he provided much needed love and support from home. It was so encouraging for me to have him by my side and to watch him interact with my teammates and the Dominican students. Sticking out like a sore thumb with his “gringoness” and not having much practice with the language, Dad was so brave as he marched onto campus with us everyday (sometimes with more energy than me!) and talked to students about what life is like here. How much does Jesus love me to send my daddy here for a visit like this!?

The best part is that he got to spend Thanksgiving with me and the rest of the team! We surprisingly had a pretty legit American holiday (although it was a little strange eating turkey while looking out the window at the Caribbean Sea!) We found boxes of stuffing, cranberry sauce, Dad and Jimmy cooked a juicy turkey, Rob made mashed potatoes (the good kind, not the box), and Bri satisfied those of us with a sweet tooth with candied yams (ok they were really a local type called batatas), and apple crisp. My favorite part of dinner was explaining to Leyla that the cranberries and pumpkin bread and yams weren’t quite dessert. She couldn’t believe that there was still more food! 

We even got everyone to play a good 'ole game of holiday football!

Other highlights from the week were going to see our first baseball game at Quisqueya Stadium (where Sammy Sosa and other stars got there start), trying new food with my dad (his favorite was a quipe which is basically a fried meatball), and attending a graduation ceremony for a few of our friends from UASD who finished a hard year of study in the English Immersion program. More pictures will be up on my facebook soon!

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving and are watching God provide for your needs. Never forget to thank Him! Thanks for reading and keep praying for us as we finish out our first semester!