…those are yet to come!
The last few days have gone all too quickly…as all good things seem to do! Tuesday we worked at Ina’s house in the morning to get ready for Wednesday and then headed down to eat and shop on El Conde, a pedestrian street through the Colonial Zone in the city. We finally ate at Restaurante El Conde, a restaurant with outdoor seating that Ina and I have always talked about going to. I ate my last traditional Dominican meal of arroz con pollo (rice with chicken), and it was excellent! After that, the guys headed out on an adventure while Ina and I enjoyed café con leche y postre and talked for a while. I could have sat there for quite a while just people-watching (lots of cultures intermingling at that intersection of the world), but we decided to walk off our dessert and strolled down the El Conde to do a bit of shopping. I found a couple of dresses that have a Dominican feel, however one was made in Italy and the other in India (but neither from China, as most things seem to be anymore). What a fun afternoon! We ended our time on El Conde with some Yogen Fruz, my favorite Dominican frozen yogurt treat ;)!
Wednesday, we enjoyed a time of discipleship with the women in the village followed with sewing and craft time. I worked with half of the women on making some anklets. There was a new style of bracelet this year that I thought would make a great anklet design…maybe some of you will receive one…hopefully Ina will be able to sell what I don’t buy in the coming weeks :). I had a lot of fun working with the women, and a little gal named Valentina (you may remember that she was the one pegged with a handwriting issue a couple of weeks ago) sat by my side most of the afternoon helping me cut string and sort beads. She goes by the nickname “Cheeky”, though I’m not sure how that’s spelled in Spanish.
Today we spent some time with preschoolers in the morning, working on shapes, colors, and listening skills. We worked in the story of the prophet Samuel and how he listened to God and said “Here I am!” In the pictures below, you may notice their cute green t-shirts that finally arrived after “I’ll get them to you in 2 days” became “I got them to you after 3 weeks”. Sometimes you just have to roll with it! When talking with David, the village taxi driver, about the t-shirt situation and Ina’s repeated efforts to schedule a time for a broken well to get worked on, Ina and I learned a new phrase: “en serio” which means something like “in cement”. I guess you say this when you say a deadline and really mean it :)! We’ll see if that works next time she orders shirts or tries to get the well people out to Cercadillo.
This afternoon we spent time with the jovenes (teenagers) in Cercadillo. Sticking with the American favorite foods theme, Ryan and Brian worked with the young men to build a fire and roast hot dogs. We ate them with ketchup, chips, Oreos, and soda pop…does it get more American than that? After lunch, we split up the guys and gals and had some time to talk with them about the importance of making godly choices about their futures, especially related to relationships and purity. I’m not entirely sure how the guys’ time went, but our time with the ladies was precious as Ina explained that God has huge plans for their lives, plans that include big dreams being fulfilled and the protection of their dignity. Joelina, one of the gals who just accepted Christ a few weeks ago, said she wants to be a missionary! How awesome is that?!? Please join me in praying that this generation of Cercadillo will really ponder what was said today and what God’s view is on purity and marriage!
Tomorrow I will leave the Dominican Republic. Please pray for my safe return to the States and that I will continue to ponder what God has opened my eyes to here. Thank you so much for your partnership through prayer, financial support, and encouraging notes and emails. Thank you for trusting me to represent you all and Our Lord in Cercadillo! I will try to post my final thoughts in the next couple of weeks as I process them!
Muchísimas Gracias,
Jess
Summers in Cercadillo 