It sometimes feels very weird to no longer be living at the Guesthouse, but quiet times on the front balcony of my apartment help keep it all in perspective.
I am still in the always continuing journey of learning the balance of work and personal life, as here, in ministry, that really all gets mixed together. The only downside I've discovered so far of Nik's and my new pad are the wasps... yup, unfortunately, I'm of the allergic to wasp stings variety. Tally this year so far- 4 stings. Three of them occurred on a sunny Sunday afternoon as I was standing up in that grating of our front balcony, with a mop in my hand, trying to reach up to sweep my keys off the roof. I will leave you with the fun of imagining the reason why my keys were on the top of our 3-story apartment building to begin with. As I proudly heard the "clink" of my keys hitting the sidewalk below, I spun around in pride to jump down from my perch and right into a wasp nest. Oh the joy. Glad I live with a nurse ;)
But really, these first couple months of this year have been a mix of all that I love about work and life with SRI in the Dominican Republic. January started, and I got to play translator for this great group of folks from VIMM (Volunteers In Medical Missions) during their barrio clinics.
It is always inspiring to see our various programs feed into each other and compliment each other so well. During the VIMM week, a young albino teen with a lesion on his upper lip arrived with his family at the barrio clinic- the docs were concerned that the lesion was cancerous. The family was given counseling about the importance of skin and sun care, and the great news that a general surgery team was going to be at the guesthouse the following week-- Within a week's time, the lesion had been removed and sent for testing in the capital. Weeks later, the results returned and the lesion was benign. Praise! The team also travelled near the stomping grounds of the Child Nutrition Program, and we were able to refer a couple new families to the CNP in El Cercado.
I've also enjoyed time in El Cercado with the folks of the CNP, and some quality time with my family there. It is always a gift to spend time with Cora Hunse, as she worked with the Spartansburg teams, as well as Liz, our pharmacy intern extra-ordinaire. One afternoon we were able to follow-up with some CNP families, and provide in-home healthcare to some pretty sick kiddos who needed it.
I've gotten to tag along with Kamanda Bucher for craft time at the Lucille Rupp School, make visits out to all the sponsorship schools, translate sponsor letters to students, and organize activities for Sponsors and Sponsored Students. (Side note: If you are interested in Student Sponsorship and meeting your sponsored student is not one of your highest priorities, could I please interest you in looking into sponsoring a student at Eastern, the school that SRI partners with in Santo Domingo? The staff at this school are pouring love into their community, trying to fight against inner-city issues of teen pregnancy, drugs, and violence, and support the many grandparents in their area who are raising their grandchildren. Check them out here Eastern Evangelical School).
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| Little ones start the day singing at CCED |
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| Craft Time at Lucille Rupp |
We've celebrated birthdays! Miss Braegan Mae, our favorite little lady, turned 1! Nicole, our fabulous nurse and friend/sister, celebrated her birthday with a fun adventure to Hondo Valle. and my sweet Dominican nephew Jose Alfredo turned 3! These birthdays also gave me a chance to get back into cake decorating- thanks to the Christmas gift of decorating tools from my momma (She came to visit for the first time in December and it was SO fun!). I'm a little rusty, but it sure feels good.
I've been learning a lot about community and our little SRI team, and I like the direction we're headed. I am thankful for the sense of community that we are reclaiming, and I wish that blessing on each of you in your own communities as well. Happy March! May the snow in your yards quickly melt away as the promise of Spring nears :)
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| Getting a group picture is harder than you would think :) |
