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| Katy Draper, Jonathan, Lambach, Meagan Moore |
As some mosquito bites are getting smaller and more are
appearing on my legs like night sky constellations, we are finishing our time
in the Dominican Republic
and at Centro Especial Génesis. It has
been a joy coming to work at the Center and glimpsing a bit into what life is
like here. I expected to enjoy seeing
the work here, and I haven’t been disappointed.
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| Site Orientation on the first day at the site. |
Our first half-week was filled with paint splattered on my
legs and shoes while we prepared for the kids to come back from Christmas
break. The Dominican culture is
definitely different than the American culture I’ve been in recently, but I am
reminded of the warm Latin culture similar to my upbringing in Brazil. Relationships are priority, which can be hard
for a task-driven person like myself, but it is good to be reminded of my need
to integrate tasks with relationships.
The teachers are dedicated to their kids, and it’s really cool to see
how they care for the children here.
Even though there are other jobs they could be working, they choose to
work here with the kids and work to develop themselves to be more effective
with the children. I’m encouraged with
what I see!
The second week was back to normal, so we got to help with
some math exercises and catch back up some from the month away from
school. I loved playing around with the
kids on the playground, engaging with them, and speaking Spanish to them. (My Spanish is really just my Portuguese in a
Spanish accent with some different vocab words thrown in. But, I’ve loved just trying to speak and
letting communication happen.) The kids
smile when they arrive and see us for the first time each day. It warms my heart, and I’m so grateful for
the chance to be in their lives for even just a small amount. Enmanuel was the first one I met. His persistence in teaching me Spanish words correctly
has been awesome, and the greeting of “Ola amigo” each morning is wonderful. The children I’ve met remember me, and I’m
amazed at their willingness and excitement to play with me.
Jonathan Lambach – Forge student 2013
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| Katy with Vanesa |
No expectations. That’s what I wanted to have coming into
our trip to the DR. Never having been on a trip outside of the US besides one vacation to the Bahamas, I had
absolutely no idea what to expect. But even in trying not to expect anything,
this week has far exceeded what I thought it could be.
This year, I am participating in a program called the Forge
based out of Tyler, TX. This trip was a part of our program. It
was supposed to be a kind of mission trip that would allow us to work in an
area we were passionate about. My major is special education, so I was
incredibly excited about the opportunity to work with Genesis. I’m still not
sure if I want to pursue a career working with disabled kids, but this week
taught me a lot.
Most of what I learned was not exactly about special
education. This week, I got the chance to observe and work with some incredible
people. Mike and Karen taught me about hospitality, sharing, and administration
through their example. They let us in on their lives and what God has done in
and through them. They eagerly shared everything they had- their family, their
time, what they were learning, and their job. They were so encouraging! The
teachers here were incredible. Their joy was contagious. Watching the way they
were with the kids showed me how to love yet be firm. They were so patient with
the students (and with my inability to speak Spanish… That meant a lot!). They
were all so beautiful, inside and out. The kids showed how to be genuine,
confident, and happy in their own skin.
This week also gave me a completely different view of the
world. This culture is beautiful, and I love it! The US could use a few lessons from the
DR. The relational nature of everyone here blew me away! Being a “get it done”
kind of person, it’s kind of hard for me to stop working and build
relationships. This taught me that it’s okay to slow down and spend time with
people. I also really liked the siesta time. It’s genius! Spending time
everyday to rest is such a gift, and it’s going to be hard to go back to US culture.
There are so many other things that I am going to miss from here. I hope to
return someday!
This trip has been incredible, and the time at Genesis has
far exceeded any expectation I tried not to have. Genesis has an awesome
mission, and I pray that it continues to affect lives in this community for
Christ. My time here has been nothing but a blessing, and I am thankful that
God allowed me to work here!
-Katy Draper
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| Katy and Meagan "not working" |
A few of the things that I have been extra grateful for this
week:
1.)
These past 2 weeks I have had the tremendous
blessing of working alongside Mike and Karen. They have been nothing short of a
blessing and have so graciously welcomed us into their life and their family
this week. I have also enjoyed all the time that I got to spend with their
beautiful daughters Nina, Jenee, and Marcie.
2.)
One of the cool opportunities we have had is
getting to tutoring the kids with their math homework- It’s been really cool to
communicate with these kids despite the language barrier. We laughed at the few
words with which we were able to share. These kids are smart and they try
really hard.
3.)
My conversations in Spanish don’t go very much
past “Hola. Como estas?” So, these last two weeks it has been really fun to
practice my Spanish and get more familiar with the beautiful language. A lot of
the vocabulary I learned back in high school has come back and I have been able
to remember bits and pieces while getting to practice with the most patient of
people.
4.)
One of the teachers here has a beautiful little
baby who had her first birthday this week. Little Raquel is a blessing to each
of the teachers here as well as the students. She always has a smile on her
face and I have greatly enjoyed all the time I have gotten to hold her and play
with her.
5.)
I have loved getting to run errands with Mike
and seeing what life here looks like for him and his family. We went to the
grocery store, the pharmacy, the meat market, and so many other places. It’s
neat to be immersed into a different culture and to learn from the people here.
6.)
I have gotten to spend a lot of time with two of
my teammates Katy and Jonathan while painting classrooms, writing out math
problems, and whatever ever other projects we found ourselves doing. We had
lots of great conversations and made lots of fun memories together.
7.)
The Dominican Republic is beautiful. We are so
blessed to be working with Mike who wants to show us all the beautiful places
in this country. He has taken us on drives through three beautiful mountains
and to see two different (and oh so beautiful) waterfalls. He also took us to a
river where we could jump in. I looked at the rushing water and the huge rocks
and I was a chicken. However I wasn’t going to let an opportunity pass me by-
so I jumped in, three times. And it was awesome and so much fun.
8.)
One of my favorite memories was dancing the
Meringue with Yunior, one of the students here. He can’t walk well and has to
use a walker, but he grabbed my hands and as I held him up he spun himself
around and then spun me as well. We danced and danced for a long time and he
was so happy, so joyful. It was really cool to see a boy who isn’t letting any
disability limit him or take any of his joy. How often do I let my
circumstances take away from my joy? Or how often do I think that because I
can’t do something perfectly I won’t do it at all?
9.)
The kids here don’t love me based on anything
that I do, but just because I am here. They eagerly grab my hand and reach for
a hug without hardly even knowing me. Over the past few months I have learned
that my love for others is based a lot on what people give me-how I can benefit from them. The kids here have
every reason to be selfish and full of self-pity yet they are so selfless and
giving.
10.) And lastly, I have absolutely loved feeling
the warmth of the Sun this week. Back home it is 28 degrees (yikes!) As my face
has gotten redder and my hair has gotten blonder, my heart has also been warmed
by the kindhearted and generous people here. I am returning home feeling the
warmth of the Sun in the sky, but also the love of the Son who has continually
blessed me with abundant gifts of grace.
Meagan Moore, Forge Student 2013
Like I said above, this was a great team. As we said our good byes tonight, all I could think of was I hope that the good byes wont be this hard for all the teams. But then again, I guess that just means that it was a great team and we didnt want them to leave. Thanks FORGE and Pine Grove Camp for sharing this team with us. Mike and Karen.
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