Well, I am back from yet another trip to the DR. It's funny. I truly have lost count on how many times I've been there. The place has definitely become a second home for me though. It was like returning to family and friends, to familiar surroundings, almost to a home town... But it was different too.
I can't quite put my finger on it yet. I don't know why it was different. Maybe it is because last time I went it was such a traumatic time with the earthquake and I was nervous to re-ignite some of those memories. Maybe it is getting harder to leave Caitlyn now that she is so active and learning new things everyday. Maybe it is the fact that my little sister was coming into town with my nieces and nephew, and that everyone except me would be at one of my favorite places - the beach. Or, maybe it was the fact that this is the first time I lead a team that had no college students on it. I was definitely nervous to lead both those older than me and those younger then college. I kept wondering how I would connect. I can truly say that when it came to time to pack and get on the plane I found myself telling Shannon that I did not want to go. I don't know why. But that's how it was.
Yet now here I sit once again at home looking back on a trip that was so fun and so rewarding. One of the great parts of the trip is the work we did. One of the ministers at my church, Keith Ferrin, raised a bunch of money last year for his 40th birthday. He gave it all to COTN to apply to their cement floor project in the Haitian bateyes. The team I took, from my church, used that money to work alongside some Dominica craftsmen in building those floors. It was a great job. Basically our team would do most of the mixing and loading, then the craftsmen would do the pouring and smoothing. We were scheduled do lay 8 floors that week. Due to some weather delays we only accomplished 7. But the workers were going to finish the other one. It was a week of tiring and sweaty work. But the whole team jumped in. Every single member mixed and shoveled. There were a lot of t-shirts and pants that will never be the same again. I haven't sweated that much since... well I don't even remember when. (I didn't even sweat that much when I ran a half marathon in July!)
Friday morning as we got up to head back to Santo Domingo we were greeted by sheets of rain from tropical storm Bonnie. The streets of Barahona looked like little rivers and the phone line at Casa Bethesda was knocked down by drooping palm leaves. But the biggest shock was when we hit the road. As you hit the road back to Santo Domingo you have to pass one of the bateyes, Algodon, that we'd worked in over the week. As we drove by we could see probably 3 or 4 inches of water and mud covering the entire village. It was a hard sight to see but it was also truly a sense of accomplishment to know that there were four families that weren't standing on muddy floors at that moment because f the work we had just done. We had actually made a quick and lasting difference. That's something you don't always get to see on trips like this. To know that me, 3 high-school girls, a buddy of mine and some of the people at our church that I really look up to could all come together to make that happen was a true joy.
I don't know when the next time I will be in the DR is. I had a feeling this time that it might e awhile. If that is so then I'm glad I got to leave with a feeling like that. A sense of accomplishment and connection. I'm also glad I was able to come back to a church family that I now know more. At Creekside I have always kinda been Shannon's husband. As one of my teammates said, I'm not just Shannon's husband anymore. That, to, is a great step. UPC was the only church I ever felt like I belonged. Now, I have another.
So, to my supporters I want to say thank you. Thank you for allowing me to do the ministry I have done for the last couple years. Your support, both financially and relationally, has allowed me to truly feel like I'm doing things to build God's kingdom. Thank you for blessing me with your partnership and encouragement.
A few prayers: please pray for my team. Every single one returned with some sort of stomach sickness. We must have ate something bad. So please pray that they would feel better soon. Also, pray for all the interns that I have out in the DR, Malawi, Sierra Leone and Uganda. The interns are entering the last two weeks of their summer experience. This is a time that they are getting tired and ready to go home. Please pray that they will finish strong and accomplish what they set out to do. Then pray for their debriefing time as they return home.
Thank you so much!
In Him,
Brandon
In the below posts are a few pictures of our trip. I will post more soon.
Also, if you would like to hear the impressions of one of my teammates experiences check out Aaron's blog: http://asod.wordpress.com/
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