What? Mission trip
When? March 12th-19th, 2011
Where? Banica, Pilon, and Higuerito.
Who? Me and 11 amazing people from the Catholic Campus Ministry.
Why? Because.
Schedule: Early rise. Dug. Ate. Shower. Mass. Play with kids. Adoration. Repeat.
Bienvenidos a el hermoso pais de la Republica Dominicana!
The church in Banica.
Adoration at night.
Orange drink that tasted like Sunny D...but better.
Adoni. 8 years old. The little brother I wish I had.
And a friend whom I hope will never forget.
Sigh...
Latrine digging 101: Use "pico, paco, coba, cubo" to dig.
Dig a hole 3 feet wide and +9 ft tall. the rest to be continued...
Unfortunately, my group had dry clay on our assigned property.
It's okay though. We have muscles made of steel ;)
They say that no matter where you go, the moon will always be big as your thumb. True. But the sky does not fit the saying at all.
I want to go back.
I want to hug this little girl and I want to tell her how precious she is.
While the group worked on setting up the walls for the latrine. I was taking pictures of the little kids watching the progress. They were so adorable!
You know what is amazing? How flowers grow in the dry season.
The miracles in life!
The life in Pilon.
A mother and three kids share this bed.
Though it seems like the clothes are drying, this is actually where they hang their dry clothes. Their house is falling apart.
So that was my short version of the trip. I left a lot out, because I am making a movie.
In summary, I want to say that this was an eye opening experience for me. Some of the lessons came straight forward, but most of what I learned came in the most subtle ways. Even after the trip, when I reminisced the week, I kept realizing the little things the people did over there that now means so much to me. Coming back to the US made me question my goals in life. Specially on my long term goals. Yes, I am still a yellow-balloon trying my best to reach my goals. Yes, I still get anxious when it comes to deadlines and such. Yes, I am still a dreamer. But no, I do not think I can do it if I just have my mind up to it. No, I cannot do things by myself. My family and friends are all there for me, but the one thing that determines everything is God. I can do what might seem impossible with practice and dedication, but only when I pray for it and let God decide if it shall be. "Si Dios lo quiere". I know this might seem like I am switching subjects here, but what I am trying to say is that God has led me on path that made me realized that some of my goals need to be altered. If one choice that I make can change my life completely, how can I make a choice to change the life of someone else (for the better)? Maybe what I am typing sounds like gibberish, but my point here is that there is still a lesson that has not fully progressed in my head. Whenever it hits me, I hope to share it with everyone. Until then, I hope that everyone gets to go on a mission trip at some point in their life.
Sincerely,
YellowBalloon-Amy
P.S. Don't worry, I will go back to posting short quotes with photos. :)
I am not much of a writer. ehhhh. Chau.
Beautiful message! Thank you for sharing your experiences over there.
ReplyDeleteLOVED THIS. I shared it with Jenn and we started talking about how much we want to go there!:) Thanks for sharing, and I think your paragraphs are awesome ;)
ReplyDelete