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
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