DR recap

We are back from the Dominican!

Our two weeks in the Caribbean was a mixture of challenging and exciting times.
Straight off the plane we were greeted with palm trees, coconuts and warm weather. The Dominican Republic is definitely the tropical getaway as far as missions goes.

The Joshua class partnered up with students international, an established missionary organization in the Dominican, and work alongside these other missionaries around the DR.
The SI(Student International, not Sports Illustrated) headquarters were amazing and provided a comfortable and relaxing place to stay when we were not at our missions sites.
All 56 Joshua Students and some staff were divided up into groups to go out every day on trucks to work at different mission sites. There were medical, dental, education, construction and sports sites to name a few. I was on the construction team building a new school for a poor community called El Callejon.
We only finished the foundation for the property, but that is the nature of SI's two week student mission groups. It was hard labor out in the sun going back tot he basics of building. Everything we did was hand crafted from the re-bar pillars to mixing concrete. Initially it was difficult doing this ministry with the right attitude and not getting upset when things didn't work out, but God worked on our hearts, and we came to do everything with great attitudes for His glory. At that point it was easy to see God in everything. The Kids would "help" us and we could see the joy they had because we were there serving and loving them, and everyone in the Dominican were incredibly hospitable, and the work soon became easy.

It was a really great trip and I can see how God has worked through us to impact the families in the DR (Dominican Republic) and also how he has worked in us to help us grow into who he wants us to be.
Much of the trip was work, but missionaries need breaks too. We did a few hikes around the DR and saw some of the most spectacular sights I have ever seen.
We had a night where we went into town and had a cultural dinner with a host family. Other fun stuff included exploring the city of Jarabacoa and the shops, going to a Dominican Church( I was very thankful I could understand a little of their Spanish), And not to mention an awesome dodge ball tournament! Who ever said Christians cant have fun?


Oh yeah! I don't want to forget the one time a cow ran through the base and sent everyone screaming in every direction. I calmly walked over, grabbed a rope, and roped the heifer just to make Grandpa proud. Then it decided it didn't like that very much, picked me up and gave me a fun little 8 second ride. All while in flip-flops and my Sunday best! I am very thankful we use horses in the US.
Well, Back in the states is different, but I am enjoying water pressure and flushing my toilet paper. I have definitely learned to be content and bring glory to God wherever I am, and to enjoy the little things.

This last week Fred Blackburn, a worldview teacher at San Diego Christian College, was our speaker. This awesome short round man with a beard who reminded me of Santa taught us all about Hinduism, Buddhism, the Tao and Atheism. However it wasn’t just the content that kept us intrigued, but the way he taught. He would assume the role of whichever belief he was teaching and would be that person for the rest of the night allowing us to ask questions and defend our own faith as if it was an actual Buddhist or Hindu.
Adjusting to a new roommate has been interesting, but I like Matt a lot and we get along really well. It’s just nice having a roommate who is as clean as I am.
This weekend I worked in the Ponderosa dish room and surprisingly had alot of fun. The two girls I worked with stretched my patience but I think it was a good growing experience and a great way to be a servant leader from the bottom.
It was the first weekend of winter camp and everyone was excited about the cool stuff to do, and the great thing about working at Hume is that on your breaks you can do all that cool stuff! So Friday afternoon I went snowboarding for 2 hours then back to work, Saturday I rode the mechanical bull in between shifts and played paintball, and at the end of the day was able to test the tube run and watch the Box Sled Blitz: where the campers build cardboard sleds, fly down the tube run and off a jump. Pretty crazy stuff. I’m not to sure why Hume still lets them do that….

NEW YEAR!

I arrived safely back at Hume! It was snowing pretty hard but was not bad to drive in. It has been snowing non-stop since we have been home and has made for a really fun weekend of work. This weekend we ran paintball in the snow and tandem screamer. Throwing two people off a 45 foot cliff into snow and watching kids slide around while playing paintball made for a great weekend. Friday night the Joshua students worked at the dining hall and threw a New Years party for all the conferees. We learned the pizza train, where all 56 of us lined up and ran out of the kitchen carrying pizzas and dancing. The whole new year party was a lot of fun and it was awesome that we could welcome the new year with all of our Joshua family together.
Sunday morning we had a family meeting where Rich announced that we would all be changing rooms and roommates. We spent the rest of the day moving into our new rooms and getting situated. I have room 211 no which is on the 2nd floor, has a great view, a loft, and 2 windows- pretty much the best room at Joshua. My roommate is Matt Waters and we have been getting along really well.
Here’s the view from our room…