Part 2

(picture: a Sunday out at the Ark)

Being in a place long enough also introduces one to the stories and realities that some of the kids walk in. Back in the beginning of the year a girl from one of our programs decided that our rules dictating her approach to dating was unsuitable for her situation. Thus she left our program and temporarily went to live in her boyfriend and his mom’s house. Time went by and obviously Kids Alive cannot continue to support her in the decision to live with her boyfriend. Many hours from multiple parties were poured into finding a different arrangement that would be less compromising. A couple things to keep in mind: first, people here tend to assume the worst; second, they do not go by our American philosophy of ‘their own business’; third, living together as boy/girlfriend is not done. Once under the same roof a couple is thought to be ‘married’ whether with or without the ceremony (not that that keeps them from seeing others or separating). Because the church is very conservative, in a Christian home, the daughters will not leave home to live solo. They live under the protection of their family until they are married. Thus the situation at hand had to be walked rather finely. It seemed appropriate that she would come and live with Sonia and me for the time being. Well, she came, moved all her stuff in, and stayed for the evening. Sadly though, she made the decision around midnight that she really didn’t want to stay. So Sonia brought her back to her boyfriend’s house. What really hurts though isn’t that she is 16 (although she might actually be 18) and he is in his 30’s, or that when she came to us that night after living with him for months she didn’t own a toothbrush or more than 2 pairs of underwear, or a pair of running shoes (and she is known as the best athlete in our programs); no, rather it’s that she has been offered full payment for her university (the chance of a lifetime that hardly ever comes around) and she is choosing not to take the gift. She has a chance to break the cycle, but she doesn’t even realize that she’s in it. Live here and you realize that this cycle of poverty is everywhere and fairly easy to break with perseverance and hard work. We see the answer and we want to scream and shout and hit them over the head with it, but these kids are trapped in a sight and soundproof room that poverty has put them in. And it’s only a few who are able to make out the light coming from outside and are able to find the door and break free from their prison. And it’s hard to imagine that all the fight that we do is only for a few to struggle free. Many are quite happy to have the same life that they have always known. But we do have some who want a change. This year we have 9 who have graduated and hope to go on to university. I came across a writing by C.S. Lewis about five months ago…and it is only after watching people walk through the situation with the girl from our program, that I understood how significant his words are, in both the realities with kids here and the tastiness of our own sin.

We are half-hearted creatures fooling around about with drink, sex and ambition, when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased! -C.S. Lewis

Prayer request:

Please pray that the Lord will fight against thoughts of hopelessness in the situations of some of our hardest kids.

Please pray for open ears and changed hearts towards Jesus in our kids

I will be taking some vacation time starting June 12th, so for renewed vision and purpose for my time down here

Strength for all the missionaries as we enter into summer programs and summer teams (below: this morning looking down the street from my house)

Thoughts over May and June Part 1

So I don’t really have any big break-in stories or weird customs to report about this month. Life has been rapidly plowing along. Things always tend to be a bit chaotic at the end of the school year.

I have begun to notice that now when I go around town I actually see people I know. BUT the amazing thing is that it isn’t just gringos that I see. No, I see kids from school, I see friends from soccer, I even recognize family members of friends. It makes me feel less like an American tourist and more like a, hmmm…not really local…maybe the cousin or the couch surfing friend that never really takes a hint to get lost. Of course I’m still ‘Jessica’ (the last American girl here) to a few of the students and to one of my neighbors- but heck, can I blame em?- I’m sure all we white people just look white and pasty and the same to them. But in a way, the white pastiness (which to my standards is actually tan) is rather a nice identifier to friends. Any white person walking/driving by or seen in the store is most likely someone known. It makes grocery shopping always fun. Last week my grocery trip ended up getting me a wonderful chocolate cake recipe and an invite to a party (from two different stores and two different sets of friends that I ran into). Unfortunately I was unable to attend the party (which I heard had a steady flow of Meringue (the dance)! So sad!) due to a untimely stomach virus that directly followed the eating of the chocolate cake…

I know I am absurdly slow but I feel I am making real progress at tiptoeing my way into the Dominican lifestyle. For what felt like the first time, I was able to sit at a Dominican friend’s house and start a lengthy conversation with a neighbor. It turned out that I had been to her house for the last party and we ended up having a good laugh (at my sake of course). Pause a moment to briefly go over this last party. Picture the PE teacher. He’s about 30, married to the office accountant at school. They have a young daughter and live in a one bedroom place with a kitchen and small living room. Their alley is full of identical places, which are full of his nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, mothers, fathers, etc. The family goes up the street and around the block as well. It’s a lot of people in a little space; busy, if you haven’t gotten the picture. So when a party is happening, it really IS a party. With the entire block. And there is always a party. When I arrived that night I jumped on an empty seat inside next to the couch. On the couch were the high school musical prodigies flowing with their bachata (a Dominican music and dance). Inside count: maybe 15 people- directly outside the window: 30 or so. Plates of steamy food (yes rice and beans) are tossed out to the waiting crowd. Pop is flowing, and the music, oh the music! It was a riot. (below: pictures from a recent trip up to our Contanza site. Constanza is a agriculture town up in the mountains about 2 hours driving from Jarabacoa. Kids Alive is building a care center that will open in October. On the same site is the Constanza children's home as well. The truck with the carrots is a typical site on any road in the DR.