It has FINALLY started raining in San Juan, about a month too late. The topic on everyone's lips has been the severe drought, leading to hysteria over the dam going dry and San Juan losing all access to water in less than 2 months. It really has been no joke. The dam that supplies water to our town has been at an all time low. Monch and I frequently have had no water inside of our apartment and have resorted to carrying in buckets from a spigot outside. Of course this makes showering, toilet flushing, laundry and washing dishes So Much More Fun (that is sarcasm). However, the drops are beginning to fall and the hysteria is hopefully dying down. And NOW I can start to plant more veggies in our yard which makes me very very happy.
In other very important personal news, Lazzy (our chick) is a girl. Therefore Lararus isn't exactly a suitable name. But it fits her and we are sticking to it. Lazzy still isn't aware of her "chicken-ness" and believes she is a very small person, leading to strange behaviors such as attempting to sleep in our bed and attempting to eat off of our plates, etc. It's the small things that lead to the richness in life, isn't it? Laughing at our chicken is certainly one of them.
May has been a busy month for both Monchy and I. We have barrio teams nearly every week, with groups arriving from several colleges such as Ohio Northern, Cleveland State, St. Francis, Southern Utah, etc. I often wonder what lasting effects a mission trip can have on a college student. I remember my first trip to Haiti when I was 18 years old. It blew my mind wide open and I believe that it planted a seed that led to the life that I currently lead. I sometimes wonder if some of the college students will be/could be teachers or social workers or nurses, doctors or surgeons that will come to the DR in 10 or so years to offer their services to our patients. :)
And the Paramedic Program is underway! It's been so very very exciting to watch this happen. Monchy is a student in this very very intense program and I was able to have a very small role in the planning. I must say it is the most exciting program that I have had the honor of helping with in a long time. Michael Trompak is the Paramedic Instructor working with EMT trainer Nick Maxwell and they are doing an awesome job with their 25 students. It's a very intense program, with approximately a year of classes being combined in a 9 hour-a day 7 week time frame. The paramedics also have clinicals in the public hospital here in San Juan and it's a great joy for me to see our organization and Dr. Canario working together with those in Public Health who affect decisions over the entire region. So far Monchy is really enjoying the program along with 24 other students and they are learning an incredible amount of information. We post pictures on our web site (www.solidrockinternational.org) as well as our Solid Rock Facebook page and Instagram account. Check out these incredible innovations to healthcare here in San Juan.
In our free time we are often visiting family and friends. Of special note recently were two visits to our friend Felix. Felix has Huntington's Disease and is rapidly declining. I visited him about 2 weeks ago and was really concerned about him. However, I was able to connect him to a local pastor and I left feeling as though he had a bit more support around him. We spent some time praying for him and the Pastor promised to check in on him. Monchy went to see Felix last weekend. He took him some groceries and reported that his spirits were much improved and that Felix felt that his medications were "working better". Huntington's is a tough disease in the DR with very little support. Please pray for Feliz and that he will be surrounded by love in these difficult times.
My other favorite patient is Baby Nicole and she is growing like a weed! She's 4 years old and still can't wrap her head around the fact that we have the same name. She continues to call me "Americana!". Tragically both her 18 year old brother and her brother-in-law were killed in a motorcycle accident on Mother's Day weekend. Laura and I spent Mother's Day morning sitting by Baby Nicole's mother as she grieved for her oldest son and her oldest daughter's husband. It is beyond humbling for me to know that she stood up in the midst of the funeral to be sure that we were given tomatoes, sweet potatoes and mangos that they had picked for us during the week. Gifts for ME in the middle of such profound sadness and weeping? I just had no words.
And that is often my response here. I have no words for many things that I see or experience or hear here. I wish that I could share them with you- how my heart sings to see a mother breast-feeding her new baby, how triumphant I feel playing dominos with my elderly neighbors, how Jesus speaks to me when the translators sing together, how helpless I am when Feliz can't control his arms or legs and has to lie down to talk to me, how terrified I am when we need blood at the clinic, how my tears slid down while I rubbed Baby Nicole's mother's shoulders as she cried at her son's funeral, how loved I feel when my husband does the laundry, how frustrated I get when another 15 year old has a c-section for no reason..... Ahhhh life in the DR. Many many times I have no words.
Recently I've realized that I'm approaching my 5 year mark here. I have nearly 4 1/2 years living in the DR. And I'm humbled by knowing how many of you have contributed to my ability to be here. For 4 1/2 years you guys have walked this road with me, encouraging me, praying for me, sending cash and hair dye and M&Ms and birthday cards. THANK YOU. Again, words just don't do it. In either language. But THANK YOU. I could never do this without you. Or without Jesus. He continues to sustain me in the tough moments and the tears...and in the celebrations. May you feel His arms around you in all of your tears and celebrations too!
