Dominican Republic Trip 2013: Part Three

{If you would like, catch up on parts one and two first.}

Today was our first full day at Villa, and it was positively breathtaking in more ways than one. The most obvious breathtaking aspect of the trip was the work they put us to do. We showed up to find a shortage of pick-axes and shovels, but a few pesos (Dominican currency) resolved that problem rather quickly. Soon, the gang of us were carving up the ground with big knives and scooping up the ground with big spoons for the purpose of simultaneously digging a hole for a bathroom and filling up the church floor with dirt. Tomorrow we will probably be laying cement over the stones and earth. The soil there is this wet but hard clay mixed with stone, plus a few patches of the reddest earth you will ever see. I got to use both pick-axe and shovel, and finally resorted to my hands to move the large lumps of clay across the floor. Needless to say, I was probably the dirtiest gal around, what with the dirt they were tossing on me and the dirt I was tossing myself. That will most certainly be a highlight of the trip.
 Of course, it was not all back-breaking work. I am, remember, a girl, and Dominicans, unlike some other people, like to treat girls like ladies. And there were a group of children who followed us four girls around wherever we went. Erica, Genesis, Emaire, Lisa-Maire, and Mercedes, some of the girls of the village who were all under twelve years old, got a kick out of braiding our hair. And they were very good at it, too! To top it off, they placed the traditional hibiscus behind our ears, and we all felt like dolls being prettied by other dolls. The children were so welcoming, bright, and mature, so you could tell they interacted with adults and mothered the younger kids. Then, we gathered everyone non-adult and taught them a variety of clapping games and enjoyed a few rounds of Ninja. By then it was time to go. The work and the beauty and the laughter ~ they were all breathtaking. 

Upon our return to the apartment, Tio honked his car horn to let us know that our food had arrived. Today Tia went American on us, but made it yummy by Dominicanising it. We had pork chops with olives and chicken scented with orange, mashed potatoes, a mashed mixture of corn, carrots, and Dominican squash, along with a cooked salad of broccoli and cauliflower and homemade dressing. Oh, and Daddy’s contact in Haiti came to join us over dinner and updated Daddy on the state of our micro-loan operation in that country. Praise God, things are going great and we are moving to the next stage of building the facilities for a natural egg farm. It is so neat to see the Haitians working for themselves rather than waiting around for the handouts that someone always ends up shoving into their open palms. Teaching these people a Biblical work ethic it another part of helping them think Biblically, and God has blessed this venture so far. Yay!

Anyway.

Once we were full and satisfied and the dishes had been done, Daddy made us our essential Dominican coffee, which is really strong like an espresso, and then we gathered around the table for our second study in 1 Peter. So we only got through verse three of chapter one, but, again, the discussion was great and worth it. After the study, we made ourselves cleaner than we had been and readied ourselves for the mid-week prayer meeting at Pastor Santana’s church, Iglesia Biblica del Nuevo Pacto (New Covenant Bible Church). Alright, so maybe the “readying” involved Daddy playing “Yesterday” and “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” with his own lyrics commentating on the crazy moves of the chess players in the house, but, hey, that is what we do. 

We set off to church on foot, talked about Narnia, saw a few rats, cats, and dogs, and were blessed by a very warm, close, fervent meeting where God’s people came together to praise and glorify. I am seeing so many glimpses of the love of God that the truth of God inspires, and am very thankful for those glimpses. Hopefully it will not stay just a glimpse.

Now we are back at the apartment and have just finished eating a light supper of sandwiches, leftovers, and freshly squeezed juices. Which reminds. You cannot stop reading without knowing a sampling of the fruits we have here. In all truth and honesty, we have counters full of mangoes, chinola (passion fruit), aguacate (avocado), as well as zapote juice and freshfromthetree coconuts. For now I have no pictures just because we have not put them on our computers yet, but I will be adding photos as they arrive. 

Oh, and one last technical note, I am not editing these posts because of limited internet access. Sorry! Maybe, if I am feeling very good, I will go back and edit them, but do not count on it. I must leave for we are about to start our second class on Biblical Thinking. That might be one of my favourite times of study so far. More updates are on the way!