Tomatoes
everywhere.
David, Logan
and I, are picking tomatoes in a greenhouse that is about half an hour away
from our base in Jarabacoa. Our purpose for picking the tomatoes is to help our
client, Amarilis, who owns the greenhouse for her agricultural micro-business. One of the ministries that Student International does is helping the local people climb out of the cycle of poverty by training them to develop and run their own sustainable business.
We finished after working for about
two hours and were invited to Amarilis’ house. The house was very modest, small
and not excessive in decorations. We were served cherry and cranberry juice
with crackers. Refreshing!
When it was
time to leave we headed back to our base for lunch. After finishing our packed
lunch, I asked Miriam, “What’s next?”
Siesta! Nap
time!
I don’t take
naps often, but when I do I never regret it. The next thing on our agenda was
our weekly bank meeting. The one thing I really enjoyed about our weekly bank
meetings was the brief worship session we did every time we met with our
clients. I didn’t clearly understand what we sang, but I knew the presence of
the Lord was with us every time. Now it’s payment time. Loans were paid,
withdrawals were made, records were filed on Excel and receipts were written.
Our work has finished.
Two things
were on my mind when I hopped into our Jeep; I wonder if it was hard for our
clients not to laugh at my Spanish singing skills, and dinner. Dominicans really
know how to cook.
Ring-Ring-Ring!
The dinner
bell rang, and everyone rushed to dinner. Announcements were made, prayers were
said and lines were formed quickly. Dinner was full of life and stomachs were
satisfied. Now it’s time to go to our chapel building for the event Student
International (SI) prepared for us, a time to learn more about Dominican culture. The focus
was on learning how to do the common dance, the Merengue, then play some Dominican games. Awkward smiles and laughter were shared as we
LIFTers were allowed to dance together for the first time. Everyone learned
something, either about themselves or about their dance partner. I found out it
was not my forte, maybe this next game with cups on the tables would be achievable
for me.
We learned the phrase, "Don Ramon salió de su casa a compas de la rutina con el tique tique ta!" and kept the rhythm with movement of cups on the table without messing up. This was a
Dominican game that I liked. Annie
McConnell is now the Don Ramon LIFT 34 champion! Soon after
the game ended I headed to bed but I just couldn’t fall asleep. All I kept
hearing in my head was...
"Don Ramon salió
de…"
Thank you so much for taking the time to stay updated with us through
our blog. It has almost been a full week here at the Dominican Republic and
everyone moment has been an absolute blessing. We would like to ask for your continual prayer for
our time here in Jarabacoa. Please pray for our safety, attitudes that would
stay positive and wisdom in learning this beautiful language.
In Him,
Chakris Noel Sirikul
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