Si Dios Quiere

Over Spring Break I traveled, along with 50 other Young Life leaders, to Jarabacoa. Jarabacoa in located in the center of the Dominican Republic. Vida Joven was founded in the Dominican Republic in 1986 and has since then spread to six different locations within the Dominican.

On Saturday, March 6th, we boarded flight 409 to fly from Atlanta to Puerto Plata. At the start of the week I could already tell that the Lord had many blessings in store for me and my fellow leaders. Upon arrival, we were dismissed from the bus to haul our luggage up a dark, muddy hill, to our then invisible destination, Pico Escondido. I laughed thinking of how the Lord delivered us safety to the foot of the hill but yet still required us to walk up the road to camp. Many of us giggled because we were all unaware of how long the road would be and just how muddy would be upon arrival.

I loved how rain-drenched and mud-covered we arrived. We were in perfect condition for the tasks set ahead of us. The next morning, we journeyed by what I would call, an original hummer-styled motor transporter, to church. A tarp was draped across the bars encompassing the back end of the truck. Spanish church was such a delight to experience. Worshipping the same God in an unknown language, or in my case- one I am attempting to learn- is thrilling. It just awakens a deep knowledge of God's infinite power. God is never limited by language barriers and neither should our love for Him. Love for the Lord cannot be defined by a certain culture or by certain customs. "Santo, Santo, Santo" translates into "Holy, Holy, Holy". There, 50 something Young Life leaders from Athens, Ga lifted up songs of praise in a tongue unbeknownst to them while knowing that worship transcends all barriers. The Lord hears our hearts. Not our words.
I used to think that our choice of words meant so much. I would search for the perfect prayer, the ideal way to express my heart. Singing in Spanish made me realize how little the correct choice of words matters...there, in a small outdoors church, the different between singing with my heart and singing with my mouth became apparent.

After church that Sunday a large group of us hiked up a mountain to jump off into a water fall. The water was freezing and absolutely liberating.


Monday through Thursday we all awoke at 6am- literally to roosters crowing- for devotional and hot chocolate or coffee. I was on the landscaping (flower planting) committee which I thoroughly enjoyed and felt extremely blessed to have. I was able to learn about gardening. My mother is an avid gardener and I wholeheartedly regret never taking the time to learn more from her while growing up. I usually simply picked, pulled, or planted what I was told- no questions asked. The quicker I completed my task the quicker I was free from garden work for the day.

One of my favorite memories from the week was the Vida Joven club performed for us by the Dominican leaders. It was absolutely hilarious.

Many girls showered in the river daily. For three days in a row they described the breath-taking beauty that accompanied the river. They spoke of the trip up the mountain with excitement that they could hardly contain. Finally, on the fourth day, I tried it out. I wish that I could say I developed a deep and newly founded love for "river showering" but I'm still extremely partial to hot, steamy showers. Plus, rocks got all inside my bathing suit. That was just unpleasant. I will remain a enthusiast for swimming in new waters....but strictly swimming...not bathing.

I also developed such a passion for learning Spanish. Speaking with natives is so drastically different than repeating after a professor inside the class room. The excitement of overcoming language barriers is thrilling.

I think this is one of those "absolutely-must-have-at-least-once-in-your-life" brunches

Eighteenth Sonnet

The Eighteenth Sonnet
by William Shakespeare (1564-1616)

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate;
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm'd
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance, or nature's changing course, untrimm'd
But thy eternal summer shall not fade,
Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest;
Nor shall Death brag thou wanderest in his shade
When in eternal lines to time thou growest
So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

Holiday Inn

I was riding the car a few days ago when I recalled a certain thought I possessed as a little girl. See, I thought that all “Inns” were connected and part of the same business but created specifically for your needs.

There was the Sleep Inn, which was designed for sleeping. I imagined you walked in, someone would come over, take your bags, and you would be escorted to a silent room with a large, white, and fluffy bed in which you would immediately start to slumber. I thought this would be an ideal place for grown-ups traveling. There was the Holiday Inn. I imagined this Inn to be festive and lively. I couldn’t decide if it was only open during the holidays for those traveling to visit families or summer vacations or if it was merely an Inn that pretended that every day was a holiday. I hoped for the latter. There was Days Inn. This Inn was one at which you stayed if you needed to be there for a few days. Staying just one night was not an option. The Quality Inn seemed pretentious to me. The mere fact that it only advertised “quality” seemed to imply an air of priggishness. The Comfort Inn would have been my Inn of choice. It seemed to be the only one that included the possibility of having everything I could ever desire in an overnight hotel stay.

Often, I would worry that if we checked into a hotel and then changed our minds that we no longer wanted a holiday but would prefer to rest for a while that we would have to pack up and switch the the Sleep Inn. I always took notice of the locations of these Inns while riding in the car, feeling it would always be better to stay in one surrounded by the other Inn options.