I’ve written lots about the children in the Dominican Republic who stole bits of my heart. But I haven’t adequately explained my feelings for the people I traveled with. (Warning: Mush ahead). I had vague impressions about several of the people before I left home. I felt like I was...
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One of the things that I feared as I prepared for this Compassion trip is that my previous exposure to poverty in Ethiopia would make me feel less for the children in the Dominican Republic. I was afraid I would be jaded. If you’ve seen one tin shack, you’ve seen them all, right? I...
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In four days of Spanish class, otherwise known as the Compassion blog trip, I’ve managed to learn a few key phrases. I can ask children their names and ages. I can say, “How are you?” and “Which sport do you like?” I can say hello, goodbye, beautiful, and smile. If someone...
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This morning as I walked up an uneven set of stairs and stepped into the hubbub of my third Compassion project of the week, I didn’t know that this was the project that would touch me to the core. Kids jostled in rows of white plastic seats, expectantly facing the front of the room. As...
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In ten years of sponsoring Compassion kids and writing letters and sending pictures and praying for them, I’ve never actually met my child. Until today. Today we drove to a small village on a sugar cane plantation an hour or so from Santa Domingo. The homes were ramshackle and small, with peeling paint,...
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On Monday we were invited to lunch at the Compassion project, where we had the chance to chat with the pastor of the church. This pastor was a precious example of a servant pastor in action. This man led the mother’s devotions. He showed people around. He was even seen helping...
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I got a good solid four hours of sleep last night and was up and ready to get moving by 7. Beats me how. Must be all y’all praying back home. After a buffet style breakfast, where I had a cheese omelet and a pancake (and looked cross-eyed at the juice...
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We’ve made it to the Dominican Republic. It was a good flight- I got to sit next to Pioneer Woman’s daughters. In Santa Domingo so far I’ve seen palm trees and rain clouds and one roach. (Jennifer screamed– then I screamed– and she killed it. Bless the woman. She and I...
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I always imagine getting lots of actual writing done on an airplane. In reality the closeness and the noise and the early rising tends towards an inertia that makes it seem much easier to thumb through a magazine. My first flight was at 9 AM — not too early. But...
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It’s Friday, family movie night. I’m snuggled into the loveseat next to my husband, with my head on his chest and his arm curved around me. The living room looks like a mosh pit, with kids everywhere on chairs and beanbags and sprawled out on the floor. The closing credits are...
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