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Friday, September 12, 2008

Dominican Republic

There is so much to say & so many ideas & stories swirling through my head, that it is hard to know where or how to start sharing about this amazing country & my amazing experience there.  Aha!  I'll start at the beginning.  What a novel idea.

A phone call:
Me:  'hello Marv?  My name is Tracy and I'm interested in coming on Young Life staff to somewhere in latin america.'
Marv:  'Great!  Do you speak Spanish?'
Me: 'No.'
Marv: 'Have you been to a Spanish speaking country before?'
Me: 'Yes.  I went to Ecuador & Mexico for mission trips in high school.'
Marv: 'What are you doing now?'
Me: 'I am working as a therapeutic recreation specialist at a psych hospital, and I just took a summer job as a youth director at a local church.'
Marv: 'oh'
Me:  'Don't worry, the church job is just for the summer, and the other job I can give them notice anytime.'
Marv: 'Do you know that you will have to raise full financial support.'
Me: 'uh, ok.'
Marv: 'Where would you like to go?'
Me: 'I really don't have a preference - where is there a need?'
Marv: 'I am trying to get together a team to go to Santiago, Dominican Republic.'
Me: 'Great! I'm in.'
Marv: 'Can you come down for a week to see everything?'
Me: 'Sure!  I'll let you know when I get my ticket.'

Ok, that's a rough version, but not too far from the truth.  Gotta love the innocence of youth.  
I went down for my 'visit' and left 2 suitcases of stuff.  I guess I just knew that this was where God wanted me to be.
Marv arranged for me to live with Altagracia to learn Spanish.  She is AMAZING - and was very patient during my learning process.
I wanted until late to write this post & now little ones are crying & fussing - so I will write more later - hope this peaks an interest.
Bottom line - the Holy Spirit was amazing in guiding me & encouraging me.  God had a plan for me in the D.R. & I am eternally different!  More later.
Til then, here is a pic of our Spanish class.  Wow, there are some cooky stories there.
Bill (his wife Joy already knows Spanish), Chad, Daisy(teacher), Yusenny(teacher), Altagracia, Krista, Me, & (Kaylie -Bill's girl).

3 comments:

Jessica said...

Wow does that ever bring back memories..I went on a missions trip in college to the D.R. and adored the people there! It was a fabulous experience! I can't wait to hear more about yours.

Casey's trio said...

I can't wait to hear more about your travels. What an awesome experience!

Jocasta said...

Sometimes I wish I had the confidence I did in my younger years and just did it!

Looking forward to hearing more