First Post, Week One!

Hey guys so it is Saturday June 8th and we are just wrapping up week one here in the Dominican Republic. This week we spent must of our time getting to learn about life in the DR and what we can expect when it comes to working with teams. We started our week on Saturday with traveling to the Dominican Republic from Austin, TX. For those for you how know me you know I am terrified of flying and this was my first time flying without my family, but with a lots of praying and a little bit of medicine I made it safe and sound in the Puerto Plata. Sunday with going to church and getting to enjoy lunch with some of the missionaries who are on staff with Makarios. Church was different but in a great way. Although I did not understand much what was being said you could really see God working in so many amazing ways with the people of the church. Even though I had a hard time understanding all that was being said I could see how passionate the pastor and members were about the message. We spent the rest of the day going through some orientation stuff. Monday started off with a bang we had an amazing breakfast and later took an hour and a half hike up this amazing waterfall. Where we spent about an hour swimming and jumping off of the cliffs. It was absolutely beautiful and the water felt so good. Especially after not being in AC all day. It has been great getting to see two of the other interns who have never been here get to explore the country and see why we all love this place so much. Tuesday was the first day we actually got to go into on of the communities which is my favorite part of being here. We took a tour of Pancho Mateo. I had the sweetest little girl walk up to me and just grab my hand. She walked with us through the rest of the community until it was time for us to move on to our next activity of the day. It is fun getting to just love on those kids. We then headed to the school where I got to see my sponsor child Engll, his mom who works at the school and his two sisters. I am looking forward to growing my relationship with him and his family. They are such an amazing family and their relationship with Christ is ever better. Wednesday morning we went and got our DR phones which ended up not working for the first two days but al lis good now. Later we took a tour of Tamarindo which was lead by Migue who for works for Makarios and lives in the community. We also got to take a tour of Chicihigua which is another village in the DR. The kids were so amazing; we spent our time coloring and hanging out under a big tree. In the evening I got the chance to attend English School with the team. It is a small school that teaches some of the younger people of community. We got to sit and talk and ask each other questions. I learned that a lot of them are learning english because they want to have the chance to get better jobs and hopefully at some point come to America. They also talked about their faith and what God means to them. I heard a girl talk about how God is her comfort because she is away from her family and another boy told me God is his best friend. The lord is moving in such powerful ways her in the DR and it was so beautiful how even though we speak different languages the way we see and feel about God are exactly the same. Once we got back to the MAK house(where I am living for those of you who don’t know) the Makarios band which is made up of staff members of Makarios. Watching them sing was so moving and absolutely beautiful and I also got to eat pizza 🙂 We spent Thursday and Friday both at the beach and I somehow managed to not get burned with is a miracle all in of itself. Saturday I went to lunch with the Denton’s, Anthony, and one of the other interns, Nate. Around 3 o’clock are next team for the upcoming week. Getting to be here has been such a blessing and being able to hand out with both the Camacho and Denton families who are so dear to my heart has been absolutely amazing. Although I am far away from my home and my family having them here makes it feel a little more like it. My family arrives in the DR in just a few shorts weeks and I could not be more excited to see them. God is working in such amazing ways here not only in my heart but the hearts of so many others here. I ask that you guys continue to pray more me and my journey here in the DR but also with Christ. Thank you so much for all your support and love.