We stick together...

Well I got a great surprise last night when I heard a familiar voice and looked behind me to see Ryan, Erin and little Micah Vandelinde walking in! What joy filled my heart to have friends here from the States! I truly love my Dominican friends and family, but there is just this indescribable feeling I get when there's someone else nearby who can relate to what I've been thinking and feeling. It's exciting to me to see other young missionaries-in-training who have the same desires and passions that I have, it gives me the fuel I need to keep on, keeping on. ... Ryan and Erin also have a love and passion for the D.R. and have a desire to serve, they are leaving in January with their son to live in Costa Rica for a year. They will undergo language training before coming back to work with Eastern Dominican Christian Mission. It was great to talk to Erin and to have someone listen who truly understands the joy, the excitement, as well as the moments of frustration when you want so desperately to share your heart with someone, but the language becomes a barrier that you can't ignore. Sure I get by with speaking and listening in Spanish, but do I truly want to live the rest of my life with just "getting by?" //

After church last night, we were all standing around trying to talk to one another, and I realized how much I value the relationships I have with these people. My dear friend Euri is always there for me, in the moments I'm lost he says its written all over my face, so he tries to fill me in. I've enjoyed getting to know more of the other youth here as well, Omar and Jeffrey the unbelievably talented twins who are the musicians on Ricardo's album, worship leaders at the church, and all around nice guys. Rhode who is a beautiful girl inside and out, she has teamed up with Euri and a few others to preform some amazing mime acts to christian music and I learned last night that they have been invited to a church across town to preform (yay!!!). Benjamin and his sister Marleen are my favorite goofballs here, Marleen simply amazes me at how she carries herself, always welcomes people, and truly enjoys life. Benjamin is constantly picking at people and joking as is Jhoan who strives to be the class clown in every situation but they are also kind-hearted, funny, and talented people. I could go on and on but I'll spare you having to read much further. 

The point to all this is that no matter how well I have thought these relationships were going, I realized that there's still so much we don't understand about one another. I also realized that it is our tendency as humans to bond with people who have the same background, Ryan, Erin and I can kinda clung to one another in the moments of not understanding, just as some of the Dominicans clung together when they were trying to search for the words to say in English. Every moment is a learning experience, and I must admit I am jealous of the language training the Vandelinde's will receive next year. I truly dread/anticipate the year it will be my turn to spend in language training as I know it will be the most difficult thing I've ever done but will also be such an amazing blessing. I look forward to the day I can walk up to Benjamin, Marleen, Rhode, Euri, Omar, or Jeffrey and truly tell them how great the love of God is and how grateful I am to each of them as they welcomed me even when they couldn't understand me. And how amazing it will be to stand there after church and understand Everything they say! I will be praising God and jumping for joy on that day! 

So the next conversation you find yourself in, soak in every word, don't just hear the person speak, but truly listen___ as Listening, and Understanding are two huge gifts from God. 

Thank you for taking the time to "listen" and I hope God speaks to your heart as much as he has spoken to mine. God Bless.