A new kind of challenge!

Hola!!!

 

  I’ve lived in the DR now for a little over a month and i must admit that every other day i still pause for a few minutes and repeat to myself, “I live in the DR. I am living in the DR.” I feel like i will never stop being amazed at the beauty of the mountains or hospitality of the people. Why i was chosen to experience this powerful adventure i will never know.

 

  Okay, so what has been going on lately. Well, i have had intense food poisoning for the last three days. That’s been pretty intense… The story is that i was reading Brother Yun’s “Heavenly Man” (incredible book) and one of the questions that i have been struggling with in my quiet time is, “What is the one thing right now that you couldn’t give up. After reading about Brother Yun I realized that it was food. I have found great comfort in being able to prepare “Americanized food”. After this discovery i considered fasting until food wasn’t something that i thought about all of the time. Well, I did not follow this idea through and for the past few days now i have been able to eat toast, crackers and gator aid. Next time i will choose to fast!

 

  Well, yesterday afternoon was the first time i could get out of the house and so my team went down to the parque centeral to minister. We do not typically just walk up to people and insert Jesus at every moment of the conversation. But it is a good thing to know how to do so we foraged on to get a little practice. At the park there were life-size photos of the Dominican hero Duarte (revolutionist) and the history of his time so Isabel, kristen and I walked around looking at these while the others talked to a young girl. Then it was our turn, Isabel and i started a conversation with a young guy that was just hanging out and it got pretty deep i was surprised. It is pretty typical of people here to consider themselves Christian when they go to church and not if they don’t. His story was that his family was so he must be. What was really interesting was that after discovering he really had no basis in his faith he started publicly bashing Catholics and other religious denominations. It was a little sad, by this time i was feeling desperately uncomfortable (intestinally) and as soon as this guy took off (a little abruptly)we headed to talk to someone else.

 

Immediately i lost control and vomited in the large cement planter right behind (guess who) Duarte. The countries revolutionaries. I tried not to look at the groups of school children that, up to that point, had been studiously copying down information on the countries hero’s. We got out of there a little sooner than expected.

 

  So, pray for the people we talked to and please pray for the sicknesses that have been affecting our team.

 

 Thankyou so much, love emily