The day began early, leaving Rachel's place around 2:30 in the morning. Groggy-eyed, the two of us piled in my Explorer bags packed, with the Dominican in our sights. Neither of us were able to sleep, each for different reasons. I was excited, nervous, anxious, and afraid that if I did sleep, I would not wake up in time to catch our early morning flight. My mind would not be still and all I could do was rest my head on the pillow watching the time quickly pass by. I couldn't tell you what was going through Rachel's mind, but I am certain we shared some of the same anxieties.
We had to intercept Amy on the way, so we would be together when we met up with Whitney and her parents. When we arrived to pick up Amy, we were suprised to see Amy so up and adam. Her hair was done and she had makeup on, while the bags under my eyes were as heavy as my packed luggage. Rachel and I joked with her commenting on how put together she looked. Amy is a beautiful woman- it doesn't take much effort for her beauty to be seen.
The plan was to meet up with Whitney and her parents in Shelbyville, and they would take us to the airport to drop us off for our flight. We met up with the family and were on our way to the airport. Like I mentioned earlier, it was very early. The conversation remained light, and honestly my mind was not focused on the topics of discussion. My mind was already in the Dominican Republic and the assignment God had called me to. Quietly, I began to pray to God and carry on my own conversation with Him. "God, I don't know what's ahead of me, but please let me bring glory to your name." I felt a lump in my throat as tears began to swell up in my eyes..."don't cry", I told myself. I knew God would search my heart and know the overwhelming feeling of emotions I was trying to contain. Even if I couldn't find the words to pray, God knew exactly where I was at.
We met up with the rest of the gang at the airport. We checked in and after we checked our bags, we all gathered as a group and prayed. That was a huge highlight of my morning, because our mission is about God, for God, and to God. I can't imagine not inviting Him to dwell with us as we go out to do His work. After an emotional goodbye from Whitney's parents, we were on our way to the security check point. Nathan was leading the pack, obviously on a mission and using his prior mission experience to pave the way. I followed close behind, like a dog who doesn't let their master out of their sight. I didn't want to be left behind.
The plane we boarded was TINY!! Honestly, after seeing the size of it, I placed my hand on it as I boarded and said, "In Jesus' name, let this be a safe flight." Christa is very afraid of flying, so I put on my game face for her, but this plane was so small. I spent most of this flight in quiet prayer and trying to encourage Christa to remain calm. I was thankful for the window seat I was assigned. For those of you who don't know me, I am a very visual person, so seeing the sights from the air added a sense of comfort to my uneasy nerves. I pulled out my ipod and began to journal in the air. I didn't want what I was feeling and thinking to fade away as time went on. I wrote, "sitting on the plane reflecting on the glory of the Lord. I see the beautiful sky and the fog that has rolled over the valleys and my heart is in awe. The same God that created all of this knows me by name. I am so insignificant in the entire scheme of things, but God has chosen me to be a vessel to be used to glorify His name. Father, I pray that I would honor you in every thought, work, deed, action, and purpose. Not only for this trip bur for all my life and all eternity. Please draw me closer than I have ever been to You, revealing who You really are and opening my mind, eyes, and heart to receive such revelation. I give this trip to You and lay every anxiety, worry, burden and weight that would hold me back from what I believe to be Your magnificent calling in my life. I ask that Your will be done in all things and that lives will forever be changed on this journey. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen."
We landed in Miami to catch our connecting flight to the Dominican. Thankfully, that plane was huge and felt more secure than the previous plane. As we prepared for take off, I looked at the group of people that had become my closest friends wondering the thoughts that were going through their minds. I took a deep breath and began to reflect as I looked out the window. As we got closer to the Dominican, the scenes outside my window were breath-taking. I will try to include pictures of what I was able to witness, because honestly, words would not be able to bring justice to the beauty that captivated me.
As we landed in the D.R., I felt a sense of great belonging. In fact, as we were pulling up to the airport, the thought, "I'm home" came in my heart. I don't know God's plan or His timing, but I certainly pray I am called to this place.
As I was reflecting, the song "Power of Your Name" by Lincoln Brewster came up in my heart. The song is phenomenal! The lyrics are so true to what Christians need to be doing. This life is not about us...period. Jesus did not say that we are to have great, wonderful, easy lives. In fact, he told us to be servants, which actually translates SLAVE. We need to be the ones reaching those who are hurting, broken, and lost. We are called to be the hands that reach out. We do this because it is what our master expects and that should be the primary reason. Not for a feel good story to share with others. This is what I have been called to.
We landed and getting through customs was a lot easier than I had expected. Maybe it's because we all had matching t-shirts, so we were less of a threat! Either way, I was thankful to be on our way. We were greeted by the Whites and two vehicles. We loaded up all our luggage in the back of the truck and most of the team piled in the Jeep. Nathan and I chose to ride in the back of the pickup truck because I didn't want any scene to escape me.
Let me just say that driving in the Dominican is NUTS!! There aren't really a lot of driving laws, so you kinda have to fend for yourself. Tailgating is expected as well as illegal passing and the marks of a seasoned driver include laying on the horn at least 20 times during your drive. Later, I found out that Jim explained to the girls in the Jeep that "you're not too close unless your mirrors touch"! Perfect, I was in a country that had no regard for my safety, but secretely I loved everything about it! Also, there is really no road rage there, which is suprising because we had a lot of "almost" accidents, but everyone honks and smiles, even if you cut them off. That's a far cry from our country which curses you for not going 5 miles over the speed limit!! I will try to include some video so you can see the craziness that I grew to love!!
After we arrived at the White House (hahaha), we settled in and met with Jim and Teresa. After a short introduction and rules, we headed off the the Discipleship Training Center or DTC for short. As I mentioned earlier, there are no driving rules really, so it was not even questioned when we all piled in the back of the pickup truck. Here we were, 8 white Americanos in the back of a Dodge pickup truck, trying not to draw attention to ourselves. Right! It seems everwhere we went we were being honked at, waved to, hollered at, and smiled at. Not the reaction I was expecting, but honestly it was a welcome reception. Keep in mind, that most of the group consists of women so it was not uncommon for the men of the D.R. to holler at us and blow us kisses. We tried to blow it off. A couple of times to dissipate the awkwardness of the situation, I would joke with the girls and Nathan about the warm welcome we were receiving. Later, we discovered that when they blew us kisses, it was not a friendly gesture, but that of a sexual connotation. Needless to say, whenever someone blew us kisses, we kindly looked the other way.
The ride the the DTC was just as breathtaking as the flight. Palm trees paved the roads that soon became dirt roads filled with holes. After we left the city, the scenery changed to something you would see in a movie. In fact, I remember commenting to Nathan that I half expected a velociraptor to jump out of the thick brush. It seriously looked like the scenery from Jurassic Park. The trees and vegetation were so thick, and the land was so uneven. Hills, valleys, and mountains could all be seen on our drive. It was beautiful! The roads were quite bumpy and in the back of that truck you felt every bump. Throughout the week, the bumps became the topics of discussion as well as our bodies being covered in bruises, but honestly, I grew to love our pickup truck rides. After a brief tour of the DTC and the land around it, we piled back in the truck and headed back to the house.
The Whites have a thing where you mention your highs and lows for the day. I really grew to love this time of sharing. I remember sharing that my low for the day was all the anxiety I had been experiencing prior to the trip and even on the plane. However, my high was the peace that instantly came in my heart the moment we landed in the Dominican Republic. After sharing we all got ready for bed, we had an early morning ahead of us and a lot of work to do at the DTC the next day.
No comments:
Post a Comment