Thank you so much for praying for my trip to the Dominican Republic. God truly answered those prayers! I looked forward to clinic each day (which is not always the case in the U.S.!) and the chance to work with the medical students and catch their enthusiasm both for learning anything related to patient care (they're at the beginning of med school and mostly are in the classroom at this point) as well as their enthusiasm for sharing the gospel with each patient. Truly medicine is a great way to minister to people's physical and spiritual needs in a holistic way. And the amazing thing about the gospel is that even when you explain it 20 times a day, it doesn't get old - if anything it becomes more incredible! Thanks to your prayers, my Spanish came back to me more and more each day. I remembered how much I like speaking Spanish - I'll be kind of sad to put that aside for the next couple years while I learn Swahili!
Though I was a bit nervous, I actually really enjoyed having the opportunity to share my testimony with the team. It's encouraging to have the motivation from time to time to review my life and the many experiences, good and bad, God has brought me through faithfully, especially those related to missions. And, as was evident from the feedback I received, my story is not unique - many people have had the same struggles and joys I have. I appreciated the chance to encourage others in sharing how God's plan for my life has been so much better than my plan.
One of the highlights of the week for me was visiting an orphanage for handicapped children in Santo Domingo (the capital). As this is a government-run facility, they unfortunately did not allow us to take pictures, but it was very fun just to play with the children for a few hours. Heartbreaking, too, though, as they seemed to mostly just lie in their beds and receive little attention. Our team included physical therapists and they worked with some of the kids while we were there. Most memorable was a little boy about 4-5 years old who was scooting around the floor on his bottom when we got there. By the time we left, after PT worked with him, he was walking while pushing a chair. The orphanage staff explained he had not walked before! Hopefully the staff will be able to continue some of the exercises the physical therapists taught them for the children. Regardless, it was amazing to see the image of God in the little children's smiles and giggles and to be able to love on them for a brief time.
The team had a great time together - lots of fun playing games, swimming, and hanging out. That's always one of my favorite parts of these trips - team fellowship and fun! And most of you know how much I love playing games! We even ate ice cream several nights - what more could I want?! We enjoyed our afternoon in the capital doing the tourist thing - Christopher Columbus's fort and the oldest cathedral in the Western Hemisphere, etc. We even happened to see part of the TV show "The Amazing Race" at the cathedral - random!
Anyways, thanks again for all your support, encouragement, and prayers.
