Off and running with Emma

I am blessed enough to have Emma visiting me for two weeks.    It's not the first time she's been to San Juan but we are exploring some new things together in this free time.    One of the most meaningful moments was returning to Bastida to visit a sweet little baby (yayyyy that I delivered in March!) and our friend Julian.   Baby Nicole is growing and beautiful and adorable and sleeeeeeepppppyyyy when I held her!   Her mother was beaming that I came to visit and I can't wait to go back.    We found Julian working outside of town far out in an onion field.   We took some friends and some of his family in the truck to find him and they all stood in the back of the truck and shouted his name until he looked up, noticed that some apparently crazy people were pulled over at the side of the road hollaring for him, and slowly made his way to us.   It is always good to see Julian.   I think about what it might mean to him, that we drive almost an hour to his town, fill up our truck with people who think they can find him in the fields, and then careen down the road until we locate him....and I hope he feels how much we love him.   During the trip I remarked to some of our friends in the truck that we should make a movie about our adventures in searching for Julian and others.   It seems that I am often looking here....for kids that I used to know, scanning the streets for them, wondering how they are,  giving fierce hugs when I do find them, a sense of relief that they are okay.

Emma and I went to a concert last weekend too.  Our friends Neftali and Jhonny are rock stars here in a band called Alientovivo (look them up on Facebook- they are awesome!) and so we are groupies and follow them around a little.  We sat in the back of the pickup under a full moon at the old casino in town (that is now a church) and ate crackers with our friend Fanelli and rocked out with the fellas.  Good times all around!

We play lots of games here (this should be hilarious to my family, esp my brother...who knows I am not a gamer).    We sometimes wake up and play dominos with Dan and Kari after breakfast.  I am now a huge fan of dominos.  Dominican dominos is not like we play in the States- it's a very serious business with lots of strategy.  So far I'm horrible but I have high hopes of eventually understanding the strategy and becoming a legit player.   I have been reassured that I am not there yet....by many many well-meaning folks.

We spent a day in El Cercado....hauling some milk to the clinic for the Infant Nutrition Program, visiting my awesome awesome family there, and then fishing with Pastor Morales.   We drove seemingly to the end of the world, Monte Mayor, and then waded across 3 rivers to get to our fishing spot, and then got DUMPED on with rain.  And it was a fabulous wonderful adventure.   We couldn't stop laughing.  I hitched a ride across the river at one point with a tractor full of workers who kindly rescued my floating flipflop and surely wondered what crazy americans were doing out in the middle of nowhere carrying fishing poles and sugar cane.  It was blissful.

We went to Barahona to spend one last day with our friend Jhonny before he leaves for the capital to continue his education.    Oh we will miss him!   Barahona is always a blast- even tho it did rain!   We played a lot of dominos, ate some fresh fried fish, laid in the rain, and fought the harsh surf and high waves.  I always laugh that there is no way this beach would be "safe" enough for the States.  There is a horrendous undertow, high crashing strong waves, trash everywhere, and not a lifeguard in sight.  In the States there would be red flags and warning signs everywhere.  And yet- I love it.  It's all part of the experience.

We spent a few hours visiting friends in Pueblo Nuevo.   I love visiting the fellas there, remembering my first times in San Juan and how deeply I felt pulled to this place even then, staying an extra week, sobbing when I left...all that good stuff.   And now they are part of my family here, part of my little community that I love so much.

And now Emma and I are outside the capital in Boca Chica.   We drove in yesterday to explore some new places today before we head to Higuey tomorrow to visit our friend Gary.   Of course we made it a whole 5 minutes outside of San Juan before the blue truck konked out.  It's a recurring theme in life here, that the blue truck fumbles frequently.  I stopped at the gas station to have them check the oil and then the truck wouldn't start.  Monchy to the rescue!   What would any of us do without Monchy, our fantastic friend, bus driver, second baseman, mechanic, and general "he knows everything" guy?  I think I have his number on speed dial.   I often call him and hand the phone to the first Dominican standing next to me to explain in great detail what I have done THIS time and then I take the phone back and he tells me what to do.  In this case, he showed up with Adia in about 5 minutes, laughed really hard at us standing next to the truck forlornly, took one look at the engine, wandered across the street to borrow a wrench, and had the engine running in about 2 minutes.   YAYYYYYY for Monchy!  

So here I am, chilling with some cafe, enjoying this free time now, trying to take it all in.  Knowing that we have a few weeks of downtime before the madness ensues again with 6-7 back to back groups.   And then another couple free weeks.  And then the insanity of winter.   I kinda love it.  That we go really hard for weeks on end, and then we have a couple weeks off.   Kari and I are trying to set some goals of how we can be "healthy" in the crazy times, trying to sneak to the track at least every other day to run or just bail on the guesthouse/clinic for 10 minutes a day, to catch a breath, to remember to continue to pour into each others lives.    It's a good thing to think about now....cuz there is no thinking when we have teams in town.  :)  And I've got 2 proposals to write this week...and some visits to the Solid Rock Schools to plan... and some time in Cercado at the clinic next week and the Scary Room is always awaiting me (horrors) ...and oh man, here we go.   Dan and Kari and I are going to spend some time exploring in another week or so too and I'm looking forward to learning more about this place, this gorgeous country that I will call home this year.   But for now, I'm going to sip my coffee and thank God that He got me here, sana y salva.   I'm thanking Him for Emma and how much she feels it too...that He is WORKING here with us..and our community here....and with Julian and  baby Nicole and Dan and Kari and Nef and Jhonny and Euclides and Santiago and Monchy and Adia and Margo and Fanelli and Ariel and all the others that are my people now.

un poco mas trankkkkilllo

So a group of 5 girls is a bit less hectic than a group of 50.  I had a great time watching some muchachas experience the DR for the first time.   And mi querida manita Emma is here with me chilling and living la vida dulce in San Juan.  This crew helped out in the clinic in El Cercado, watched some surgeries,  observed some consultations, and spent two days assisting with a Vacation Bible School up in the mountains.  The travel to the VBS was quite interesting, as we literally piled the gray truck FULL of folks and crept up the mountain through rock strewn goat paths,  washed out ruts, and through a river.  But yay- we made it every time!   Adventures in driving- I LOVE IT!

And now Emma and I will have some downtime to visit with some friends, do some sightseeing, and finish up some work around here.  I'm PSYCHED!   We were visiting with some pals today, and I spent most of the afternoon playing marbles with some young fellas.  Turns out its a super competitive game here and I do NOT have the mad skills.   But it was fun and there was shouting and pushing and laughing and encouragement.    Tonight we are getting tacos and jugo de limon from the taco joint and playing Monopoly with Dan.   Let the good times roll!

Here's our crew right before the girls and Kari left for the capital.  Awesome group!

Every Monday (usually) we watch (or play!) softball at Los Moros.  Here's our crew at the game!  

YAY me and Emma!

Who knew marbles was so intense!  These guys are SERIOUS! (and I'm terrible at marbles apparently!)

Emily Who?

So that big tropical storm so far was a big bust.   I mean, we sandbagged (excuse me, the goodhearted engineer students and ONU crew sandbagged) and got stuff off the floor and prepared as best we could.  But really.....total non-event in San Juan.   Looks like Barahona and some others are flooding and getting pummeled tho- so my heart goes out to those folks.

We're wrapping up Week 3 of the ONU crew.  They are still soooo much fun.   Last weekend while some of them went to the beach, Jeff and Kamanda and I spent part of Saturday driving to El Cercado.   I never get sick of that drive, cruising through the mountains, waiting with anticipation to see my friends and feel the mountain breeze (seriously its cooler up there!) and get the chillin vibe going.   So we feasted on rice and beans and fresh squeezed guayaba juice and sat and talked and did some visitin and just generally kicked back.   It was a phenom day.   Friday night was Pedro Burgers (unrivaled burgers- thats just the way it IS down here!) and so Saturday night we picked up pizza from Leonels (on the plaza) for the exhausted beach crew.   Picking up pizza makes me feel like an american for some reason..I still kinda giggle carrying in the take out box.  But then when you see the ketchup squirted across the top of the pizza you remember where you are and how much they love their sugar and ketchup in these parts.  Stilllllllll- delish.   Sunday around 1pm the rest of the 50+ group showed and it's been loony ever since.

But in such a good way.  We've sent 4 teams out to the barrios Mon-Wed and today we combined to two teams because some of the distant places may have had flooding.   I've worked with some excellent students and those who are overseeing them and I'm inspired by their passion and kindness.   Yesterday was a tough day for me.  I went with Group 2 to a place called Sobacon.....far away in Elias Pina.  It was a good 90 minutes from here and the last 30 minutes was a treacherous climb up a mountain.  Our guagua driver did a great job getting us there and when we finally arrived to a teeny tiny one room church- we were on top of the mountain and when we opened up the back door of the church....I think we could see to the capital.  Okay that may be an exaggeration but it was a stunning stunning view of a lush valley with mountains in the background.    The difference lies, of course, between the painful poverty of the people who live there and the beauty of the scenery around them.

I haven't been anywhere here where the people were so poor.  And so sick.  And yet so very very lovely.    There was not so much spanish and a whole lotta creole, which made things tough for our translators and our doctor.  But we all worked together well and saw lots and lots and lots of patients.   I think it was a difficult day for me because I knew we couldn't stay long, that the "Tropical Storm Emily" was on her way and we were to be back at the Guesthouse by 1:30.   To look outside and see these people waiting for ANY medical care (since it's barely accessible to them) and to see kids with terrible infections and awful scabies and no shoes and no parents..... it was HARD for me.   One of the last folks that I saw was a 17 or 18 year guy who brought his brother or his nephew or whoever this dear little 4 year old was.  And the kid had pus just oozing out of his head EVERYWHERE from these open sores all over it.  And a sick fungus around his mouth.   And he was absolutely filthy.  I almost threw up.  And then I cried a little, asking the teenager where the mother was ("not in the house") or where the father was (huh?  "no hay") or who was helping to take care of them.   His response was "There's another one too" and he ran to the door and brought in a YOUNGER kid, maybe two or three, with some of the same nasty infections all over HIS head.  Oh why!  

And I got this frantic feeling in me...like WE HAVE TO HELP THESE PEOPLE.    We HAVE to.  And then I realize there is no way we have enough meds for all of them, enough vitamins for all the kids, enough clothes or shoes or anything.   So I sit there and think.   And I can't even talk to that teenager without my voice shaking.    That its important that those kids get bathed..and that the infection is SERIOUS and they need to see a doctor.   And I send them to Dr. Auris (who ROCKS!) and run outside to try to hand out more vitamins.    And I think we saw about 200 people in 2 hours.  Gracious.  And I'm quiet on the ride home, thinking again that days like this are the reason that I'm here, even if it hurts.     I WANT to cry over pus-filled heads.  I WANT to give out vitamins and love and flipflops.   I WANT these awesome ONU kids to get their lives and worlds and schedules and agendas rocked.    I WANT to be a part of it all, one day at a time, Sweet Jesus.

So here's to little babies with scabies...and 4 year olds with pus-filled heads... and pregnant girls who have no idea of their due date..and 50 year olds with blood pressures of 220/115.  Here's to crazy ONU students, who sweat it out on mountain tops playing with kids, getting chewed up by mosquitos, and handing out meds with kind and gentle instructions.  Here's to our awesome Dominican docs who teach and explain and give out shoes.   Here's to our translators who kick butt and take names and work their tails off.   But most of all...Here's to Jesus, who loves the little children, all the children of the world.   I want to too.

lindddiiiisimmmmaaa

So this place is beautiful.  I mean, it's BEAUTIFUL.   We drive around and I see new stuff and I literally cannot believe that these fabulous jungles and waterfalls and mountains and rivers, etc. are my new homeland.  Stunning.

At the guesthouse right now we have (and have had) the most amazing students from ONU that are working in the barrios.  Last week there were 22ish and this week I think there are over 40.  And they are awesome.   They love on the patients and play with the kids and are excited and on fire and ready to go.  And it's infectious.   I LOVE working with them.   They couldn't BE any more organized (yayyyy thanks Kyle and crew!) and we are handing out lots of vitamins and toothbrushes and pain meds and goodies to the folks who live in these gorgeous places where we hold clinics.

A couple of them hung out over the weekend and we drove up some mountains to a phenom waterfall and hiked (ummmm some of them hiked- i lounged with the kindle by the waterfall) and chilled and took zillions of pix of the stunning landscape.   Seriously- do I LIVE here?  Ridiculous!

 Friday night we caught a most excellent concert at the Central Menonita Church of two worship bands and then Alientovivo, Nef and Jhonny's band.  They were AWESOME and the church was literally shaking at its seams.    Rock on, fellas!

Today we drove about an hour up into the hills near the Presa (dam) to a remote little town where the people hugged us and shook our hands when they stepped to our little consultation stations.  They smiled while they told us about their headaches (that have lasted 12 years) or stomachaches (since 1982).    They seemed to be a very kind and resilient community that also brought us bags of avocados and chinolas.   I LOVED it.    I walked with the translators to a woman's house where she probably cooked us all of the food for that day.   It was delicious and I ate rice and beans in her front yard staring at the mountains in front of me thinking again that I can't believe I live here and get to experience this and why-am-I-the-idiot-who-always-forgets-her-camera.    But whatever- pictures could never do it justice anyway.  It wouldn't ever capture that kid's ear that had pus spilling out of it, or the guy with pneumonia that Sam saw, or the quiet 19 year old that broke the lock on a door so we could use two rooms at the school (we reimbursed him!).    Pictures couldn't tell you how happy I was climbing the hill back to the clinic site with Nef and Jeff eating this sweet little fruit thing that I forget the name but they almost look like acorns and kinda pop in your mouth and you have to spit the seed out before you choke on it and I spit it all over my scrub top anyway.   Yeah.  

And we saw 90-some patients and then drove to the dam and looked out over the water that kinda feels like someplace in Switzerland with mountains rising out of it.    And then we climbed into a cave and saw bats flapping around and ran back to the bus and laughed and then slept (some of them slept, anyway!) most of the way back to the Guesthouse.    That's how today went.   There's some book out now- I think it's called 13 or 1000 Gifts or something like that.    And I feel like I'm living that book- that my life is full lleno full lleno of these gifts and they are handed to me like the avocados today.    I SOOOOO don't deserve it but I'm not taking it for granted.  I'm taking this all in and loving it.

It's a little overwhelming and breathtaking and craziness.   And sometimes I stress out at night reliving my day thinking of everything I wish I had done better or changed or said differently.    But mostly I sigh and think that I have the greatest life of anyone that I know..that I love Jesus and He loves me too...that I have the most wonderful community down here already...and that it's only just beginning.......  

Game on.  Here we go.

Week 2 and the beat goes on

Sometimes it feels like I never left here.  

I stare out the windows at the mountains and fields of rice and palm trees and I can't believe that I was gone for 3 months.    I'm still settling in in some sense.   I remember at home how it felt like everyone was going much faster than me and I was in slow motion with everything.   It almost sort of feels that way on a tinier scale here sometimes....but mostly I'm just soaking it all in.   Finding and seeing familiar faces, hugs, kisses, chilling with friends, sorting through stuff in supply rooms hoping to find what I need....you know...all that good stuff.  :)   I definitely have some catch up to do.   But its going to happen.   This will be my home for the next year and I love it.

I loved baseball last night.   Loved watching the little boys dance around and carry on to the blasting reggaeton from some guy's trunk speakers.   Loved watching the big shortstop swagger around.   Loved the locals stopping in and checking out the americanos doing their thang.   Didn't quite love the hour it took to rev up the generator to turn on the field lights but other than that- truly a perfect baseball experience down here in the Sur of the DR.  

I love the sweet little old people that we see in the barrio clinics.   They roll in, sometimes hobbling pretty seriously, at like 80-99 years of age, and they are adorable and when you ask them a question, they start off with "bueno......." and then start a litany of health problems.    I love the babies that scream their heads off when they see our scary americano faces.  

What I was reminded of today that I had forgotten about....is how heartbreaking some stuff is.   It was heartbreaking today to see an 18 year old that we could fix so easily in the States but he won't make it another 10 years here.    It's heartbreaking to try to educate him on some things to attempt to prolong his life or his quality of life and know that it will most likely be in vain.    18 years old.  One of the last to come through this morning.  Humble.  Poor.   Uneducated.   He let us pray over him and I was a little teary when Nef prayed because it's FRUSTRATING.    And it's treatable....but not here...in his condition..in his pueblo....in enough time.    So we pray.   And we offer kind words and hopefully some education that makes sense to him.    Ugh.      Yeah, I kinda forgot about that stuff.  And here it is in my face again, reminding me that God has given me so much and therefore He is expecting much from me.

So I've got to get it together here.   I want to do a really good job.    I'd like to excel, in fact, so there is much to learn and even more to do.   Pray for me in this!   I love being here and I'd love to LEARN more, SERVE more, DO more,  LOVE more.  

"He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."   Micah 6:8

Nik

Plan B...or C..or Huh?

So it always cracks me up here that no matter what the original plan is....my day never turns out like I thought it would.

I THOUGHT I'd be here Friday night around 10 pm...but my flight was 4 hours late and I didn't go to bed til 3:15...but part of that is because I was SO excited that I had finally made it here that I couldn't sleep.

I THOUGHT I'd rent a car and drive to San Pedro on Saturday to visit friends but I got to the airport to late to rent anything and ended up taking a bus to San Pedro.   And the bus was way better anyway.  I made about 10 new friends and laughed the whole way there.   San Pedro was awesome!  I visited with Cristhian and Zaidy and walked all over town and met some extended family.   Great times!  Oh and by the way, I THOUGHT that I had been calling Cristian to tell him that I was coming but instead apparently I was speaking with someone else (NOT Cristian- who told me it was completely a wrong number) and he had no idea that I was there.  Thankfully I found my way to their apartment and he was there.   Yet another beautiful moment of my pathetic Spanish NONskills.  

I THOUGHT I wanted to hang back here at the Guesthouse Sunday night and unpack and chill and not goto church but I went anyway and it was so great.   I keep humming the worship songs that we sang.   The whole night just confirmed how GOOD it was to finally be here.  

I THOUGHT I was going to work in the scary med room yesterday and today.  However, yesterday turned into a morning of some great conversations and catching up with Drs. Canario and Perdomo and then led to a last minute taxi driving experience (me being the taxi driver) to El Cercado.    And oh- how beautiful it was to drive up those mountains again.    Now it should be noted that basically the whole country went on strike yesterday to protest a bunch of things, like the frequent power outages, etc.   We were wondering if there would be riots in the street with burning tires and such but we didn't see anything of the sort.   However, there WAS a heavy police presence which I found reassuring (I think?). We were in El Cercado for almost 2 hours with a great group of folks who are here to investigate installing some Clean Water systems (stay posted on this with Solid Rock) and were testing the water at the El Cercado clinic and at Pastor Morales's house.    So cool to see some familiar faces and sneak over to Yudi's house and run in for quick hugs and reassurances that Laura and I would return this weekend (ojala!).

And today turned into an interesting scene.  Although I THOUGHT I'd be in the med room organizing, that only lasted about 30 minutes.   One of our group guys got kinda sick and has a pretty significant heart history and we ended up in the clinic with IVs and EKGs and phone calls to cardiologists and all that....  You know, just everything that is oh so familiar to me with my obstetrical background (haha).  But I am learning.  And the docs and nurses at our clinic are so wonderful!  And gracias a Dios, our guy is now safely tucked into his own room and resting comfortable here at the old Casa Huesped (Guest House).    And bless their hearts,  Kari and Laura helped me bang out the med room and then we made a dump run.  YAYYYY.    

So- I'm here.  And it's fabulous.  I love Room 16.   I'm so glad things are never like I think they'll be.  It's part of the adventure living here.  And I'm having a blast with Laura and we giggle at night in our beds talking about our day and learning new words and sinking into the scene and lovin every minute of it.   And once again- I feel God's hand here leading us among the dogs and careening vehicles and blaring music and laughing chilluns.  

A few pix of the first day or two (more to follow!)

me and Cristhian....

Me, Sara Theresa, Zaidy and baby Jose Miguel

Apparently Laura and I were so excited to finally be here and in S. Domingo that we put on the hotel robes and leapt from bed to bed.  I know, maturity at its finest.  

Room 16 is now complete.   And make no mistake.  Chooch is now on the cover of Sports Illustrated, a mere two days after he was placed on the door of Room 16.   I just don't think it's a coincidence.

mark...set....GO

So I'm pretty much packed...and i guess this is kinda it.  I'm bout to jump in with both feet and I'm PSYCHED.  Assuming that US Airways doesn't fumble too much, I'm flying to the DR on Friday evening for the beginning of a YEAR spent in San Juan working with Solid Rock Missions.   

But I should say again...that it takes a village to build an adventure..or whatever the saying is.  I am again humbled by all the folks who have helped make this happen, from my parents (who really are the best folks I know) to the prayer warriors who prayed me through this....to my friend peeps who contributed money and time and energy and love.    I love my life.   I love it here and I love it there.   I love Jesus.   I love Chester County, PA...and I love San Juan..and I'm just blessed enough to share life with amazing community in both places.   THANK YOU dear ones...for doing this thing called life with me.  Friends and family- I LOVE YOU.   

Someone on Facebook (go figure) had this great quote that I wrote down and kinda read over every once in a while and it seems awesome for this moment:  "Sometimes you have to let go of the life you had planned in order to see the life you have waiting for you".    Never thought I'd be doing this now...never thought (as my dear friend Rhonda says) that I'd be so excited at nearly 40 years old to be moving into Room 16 at the Guesthouse.   But I AM.   And it's TIME.  And I'm READY.   Vamonos.  

 And now a few pix that wrap up my season here and will carry me into the next season.