Friday, February 15, 2013

Thank you.

My parents left early in the morning last Saturday.  It had been over two weeks with my mom, and Ruth, and then my dad.  The week with the grannies was really busy.  We were constantly changing the schedule to fit more and more in.  Then we had a few days at the beach with my parents.  We had a great time relaxing and spending time as a family.   

After they left, Saturday and Sunday were a little bit difficult for me.  I had said three goodbyes in less than a week and I was facing a week that was sure to be very busy catching up on the things that I had not had time to do when they were here and getting ready for our next work team that arrives Sunday.  I was kind of stressed but mostly I was just sad.  I felt like I was alone again.

But God didn't let me feel sorry for myself for very long.  Over the last couple of days, He has reminded me that I am not alone.  He has given me an appreciation for my husband and for his love for me.  (I actually have been thinking about writing a whole blog post about how great Eddy is... but I don't know if anyone wants to read that.)  God has also opened my eyes even more to my staff at the preschool and how amazing they are and how much I care about them and they care about me.

God has also been filling me with a joy and an excitement for the ministry and for my life here in the DR that I haven't felt in a long time.

This past weekend, I was too busy feeling bad for my self that I didn't pray for joy or for a contentment with my life, but I think somebody did.  I don't know who, but somebody was praying for me.  And God answered.  So I just want to say that if it was you...

THANK YOU.

 

Thursday, February 14, 2013

The Grannies

"The Grannies"

That's not just the name of their blog, it is really what we call them.

Example:
Me: "The Grannies want to ride in the back of the truck on the way to the grocery store."
Eddy:  sighs and shakes his head and laughs "ok"

The people here have a name for them as well.  They call them "Las Doñas".

The Grannies are very entertaining.  They have a lot of fun.  They laugh a lot.  They are not afraid of looking like the crazy American grannies.  The people here really respond to their energy and had a lot of fun with them as well.  

 

This was Ruth's third trip and my mom's fourth.  But it was their second trip coming down as "the Grannies."  (just them, no group)

The DR is my home.  This is where I live, work, serve.  The best thing about this place is the people.  One of my greatest desires is for my family and friends (from the states) to have the opportunity to experience the hospitality, warmth, and love of the people here.  Unfortunately, the people here get a little shy around Americans (especially in big groups).

Since the Grannies are just a group of two, they have had the opportunity to experience some things that the work teams don't.  Last year, they were able to get to know and form relationships with some of the people here.  It was fun for me to see how those relationships grew this year, and new relationships were formed.  It was also interesting to see how the people here continued to get more comfortable and relax and joke with them and that the Grannies were more comfortable as well.  We left them on their own a few times where nobody spoke English (and they do not speak Spanish) but they were ok.  I think they can tell you it is amazing how deep of a relationships you can form with people who do not speak your same language.   I already have people reminding me that next year the Grannies need to go to their house for dinner or lunch or a cooking lesson, etc. 

It meant so much to me to see my mom and Ruth (who both are very important people in my life) being accepted, welcomed, loved by all of the people here who are also very important to me.  The people here (including me) are so appreciative of them and the love that they show by serving and helping here.  I am also appreciative to all of the people here who showed them a little bit of what my life is like here and why I love it so much.

We all can't wait for the Grannies to come back next year.