MDJ Mission DR

Home Sweet Home

noreply@blogger.com (Melanie) — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 21:14:00 +0000

Buenas mi familia!

I am happy to report that I made it home to Cali safely! I came home a few days early because my dear Uncle Bill, my father's brother, passed away. He actually died on my birthday, January 12th. Needless to say, it was a sad day for me and my family. I changed my flight on that day and was able to attend the viewing on Thursday and the burial and memorial service on Friday. It was so strange to see him in the coffin... It wasn't him. He struggled for the last month of his life in ICU and enduring 4 surgeries. God performed a miracle of healing so for the last few days of his life he was able to breathe on his own and was able to speak with his wife (of 57 years) and children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. What a gift for him to be able to say goodbye to so many that he had loved so greatly!

Because I had to leave earlier than expected, I still have some things to do to complete my mission. I am working on treatment plans (for further care) for all the kids and families I was working with and will be sending them to Dr. Silvia in this week. In two weeks, I have two presentations at my parents' church, First United Reformed Church in Chino, CA, where i will be sharing stories and photos of my mission trip. I cannot tell you how much this wonderful church supported me with prayers, donations, emails, and an offering! I will be forever grateful!

I plan to post more photos and stories on this site for a while...well until all the stories are told, i suppose. So, keep checking for updates!

My love and gratitude to all of you who kept me in your thoughts and prayers during this awesome experience. God is SO GOOD!

Josefina, Joselin, Me and Claudia at my birthday party

Same ladies with Pamela, Carla, and Fanny too

Wandeir, Veronica, Papo, Jilly y yo last days at El Cacique

Ahh, mi amigo, mi hermano, mi taxi driver, Freddy! What a great man!

My last day at the Desayuno Program in El Cacique

Quieren mas Fotos? Hay mas!

noreply@blogger.com (Melanie) — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 18:58:00 +0000

These are a few of the "not so good" guys of El Cacique with Josefina. I have a heart for these and know He loves them too! I have worked with two families who live the criminal life. It is difficult and dangerous at times. In front of this very house, 2 young men were killed by police in a shoot out last month. The policia's idea of "protect and serve" is to kill "delinquents" with no bother for a trial.

My boy Jason and the water truck. You wouldn't believe how loud the horn is on these trucks! And then, they add a megaphone with a guy screaming "Agua!"

My sweet girl.

This is Erikson. I wrote about him early on. He is a 10-year-old twin who was born with twisted legs and has significant mental retardation. His twin brother, Wilman, is the one responsible for his care while the other family members work. Neither boy has ever attended school. He is sitting in front of his house waiting for his mother to return from work. He sits here nearly every day waiting for her or his father for hours. He is able to "crawl" but needs to be carried most of the time. Sociedad Lucas provided him with pampers so this day he actually has a diaper. Most other days, he sits naked in this spot.

The Info

noreply@blogger.com (Melanie) — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 01:37:00 +0000

Food:
Good. The fruit is fantastic! And the avocados are HUGE! They don’t have honey dew here and I haven’t seen a watermelon either. Nectarines, peaches, apricots, and plums have yet to be on the menu but the pineapple, papaya, kiwis, mandarin oranges, bananas, mangos, and a few more I don’t remember their names are delicious. Vegetables have been limited to plantains (and a TON of them, almost everyday and I am not really sure if these are a vegetable or a fruit), avocados, and what they call sweet potatoes, carrots (but only in salads), beets, and a cucumber here and there. Tomatoes (especially the green ones) are good here but I feel a battle within to label them either a fruit or veggie (I know the truth but don’t really like it) .

Rice and beans are BANDERA de DOMINICANA “ flag of Republica Dominicana” and they/we eat them everyday. The beans are prepared a specific way to be called Habicuelas (I like them a lot). And chicken, I am sure, is part of the “flag” as well. I argue with the locals that plantains need to be included considering they are a feature of every meal and snack and afterthought. But alas, they won’t change a thing for this Americana!

I finally asked people to stop calling me that and reminded them of my name more than once. I blamed the ones who decided to call me Americana instead of Melanie, when talking to other people, for the mosquitoes eating me alive while the locals sat comfortably beside me with not a bite on their bodies!

Music: It is clear within the first few days of being in this country that Merengue (??) is the national genre. And I have to be honest; I don’t like it very much. I can enjoy 5 or 6 songs (which I have heard probably 2,000 times) but day after day playing until early in the morning at bone shaking high volumes is almost more than I can take. I thank God every day for my ipod and really good earphones (thank you again Dad!)! There are a few really good Christian artists from DR that I have burned onto my ipod…Marcos Yaroide is one of them…Cielos Abierto is a great album! And, El Nuevo Padrino is a talented hip hop artist who ministers quite powerfully in his raps and in his talks. I recommend him to any fan of hip hop. He is mi hermano. This man quickly became one of my most favorite people on the planet. Thank you Lord for him! There are no words for what, through him, was given to me!

What I have learned: patience is golden and I need to pray constantly for more of it. While waiting for one thing to occur many other things (of importance) are happening and you might be missing them. Patience has been necessary for life here in DR because everyone’s clock, it seems, runs quite a bit late; sometimes an hour or hour and a half late. Yeah, it is difficult to get used to. I have also had to relinquish my independence all times except for when I take a weekend break. This has been a struggle for me as any of you who know me would expect. I cannot drive myself because it scares me to death! Nothing but chaos on these streets! Therefore I need to rely on others. I did raise much money for daily transportation for work and he, my taxi driver, Freddy is almost always on time! Praise the Lord. So to relieve myself of the wait, I call Freddy. Sad thing is it costs me! J

So… I have to be honest, I attached this. I have not the ability to write so much so clearly in such a short time. I will post more later.
Love to you all…
mjoy

One day at El Cacique

noreply@blogger.com (Melanie) — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 01:30:00 +0000

It is so not done...

noreply@blogger.com (Melanie) — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 01:07:00 +0000

My Marisol and her siblings in their back door

This is what lies beyond their back door. The dump burning. The smoke burns your throat and eyes here.
He speaks in this...

Grandparents of Perla the sweet.

My Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (Melanie) — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 01:03:00 +0000

What? Que? Como?

noreply@blogger.com (Melanie) — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 00:28:00 +0000

Okay so here goes the blogging. Really, i don't know what to say. Just kidding! You all know i ALWAYS have something to say. I am working on speaking only about what is kind and uplifting; but you know at times IT IS HARD!! :) Now i have to report my surroundings... there is a guy trying really hard to take "professional" and "natural" photos of the lobby/bar i am sitting in. The guests are not working with him and it appears the ones at the bar are now a little pissed because he asked some of them to move (apparently the not so pretty ones). Hum... i notice now that the woman he chose is the manager of guest services who didn't do well by a few of us guests earlier today! FUNNY. I waited for 2 hours to ask for my door to lock properly. Now i wonder what she was doing while i was waiting for her.

Anyway, i am trying to blog but am having a difficult time doing it. The internet keeps cutting out. Maybe this will post. Ok i think i have it now. more later!

Look Out!

noreply@blogger.com (Melanie) — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 23:52:00 +0000

So sorry for the time between posts...but i have to say i am happy at least some people are checking it out! ;) I want to prepare you (the two who are reading it) that i will be posting a ton in the next four days. HOPEFULLY. I take my last pequeño vacaciones mañana y llegar a la miercoles. So... Look out!

I hope everyone had a great christmas and a fun and safe new year celebration!

Peace,
Mjoy

Mas fotos

noreply@blogger.com (Melanie) — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 18:47:00 +0000

Shanty if ever there was one.

Christmas lunch in the batays (approx 400 kids were there). This pic captures just a section of one group of kids from one batay. Aye!

Doesn't my boy in the middle look chill. :) This is his own interprtation of hip hop style...respect!

Y Mas

noreply@blogger.com (Melanie) — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 18:24:00 +0000

Mi ultima dia viviendo con Yoseline, Carlito, Jean-Carlos, y Carla

I am quickly becoming a vegetarian again! Look, this meat sits out for a long time and i mean LONG. Ugg, no me gusta. Mira!

Shanty Town

noreply@blogger.com (Melanie) — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 17:59:00 +0000

Ahh...my buddies! Mijos dulce!

One of the few vehicles that drive into El Cacique. The "road" conditions are horrible and extremely dangerous.

A playhouse even in the slum ... Nice!

Notice the road... this is clearly not El Cacique or the Batay. This is Haina where the more fortunate live (I being one of them).

I absolutely LOVE this shot!!! My little guy in the foreground looks like an apparition who suddenly appeared. He is not, but he is a dear who had to be in the front! I usually have to sneak my camera out to get a natural shot because the moment they see the camera they all come running to it!

La Cucaracha

noreply@blogger.com (Melanie) — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 23:29:00 +0000

For your enjoyment:

So one day I was visiting with a woman whose son was killed by police in front of her house last September. She continues to experience depression, extreme anxiety, and loneliness. So, I (with Cisco, my translator) went to speak and pray with her. After a nice session, she thanked us and gave me pan de papo (a sweet desert-like bread) which i accepted. I happened to forget one of the golden rules of home-based services…don’t accept gifts, including food, from clients. This is good practice for several reasons; one being you don’t really know what is in the food you are receiving.

Well, I thanked her and headed to another home of twin brothers I have been working with. I offered them one of the cakes and they happily accepted. Once we arrived back at the Desayuno Program, I asked Cisco, Iesha, and another sweet girl there if they would like to share the second cake with me. All agreed. I tasted this same cake, from the same woman, the day prior after she gave it to the women taking the nursing class provided by Sociedad Lucas; I didn’t like it much but thought to give it another try.

We found a knife and Cisco began to cut it in 4 equal pieces as the girls anxiously awaited. When suddenly, Cisco gasped and quickly put his hand behind his back. He said, “Dios Mio, Melanie we ARE NOT eating this cake!” He had a look of horror on his face and I asked him, “what is wrong with you?!” He said he didn’t want to tell me but couldn’t stop himself from showing me… a HUGE (approx. 2 ½ inches long), STICKY (from the sticky treat), DEAD COCKROACH!!!! It was safely tucked away inside the sweet and sticky cake and died there. Oh Dios Mio… I still get the creeps just typing this!

Let this be a reminder to you all...ya just never know! :)

Merry Christmas!!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Melanie) — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 18:11:00 +0000

Feliz Navidad! Gloria! JOY TO THE WORLD!!! Oh that He abandoned His heavenly throne to become a simple infant born in a lowly manger. And that He knew the cup that would not pass from Him; He came even knowing His death on the cross would happen. What Love is This???? It is an incredible mystery! Grasias Christo!

May you all feel the blessed gift of His birth today, tomorrow, and all the days that follow. Much love mi familia,
Mjoy

The Library

noreply@blogger.com (Melanie) — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 17:01:00 +0000

Ahh... finally some forward movement on the start up of a small library in El Cacique! We presented the Book Drive to 4 churches yesterday (with one more to get to at their Tuesday service) and handed out the flyers I made. Each congregation's response was very positive. We will be picking books up on the next two fridays! Pray that the turn out will be more than we could have imagined! I believe it for i know Anything is possible with our Lord! We also had a really affordable bid to build shelves in the Desayuno program for the first stage of the library. I have a feeling it will grow quickly. We also have a meeting with a influential man in another community who has started a library which has grown quite well in the last few years. We hope to learn a lot from him about how to effectively start this project and how to keep it growing.

I will keep you updated. thank you all for the emails and prayers!!! I am so very blessed to have you all in my family! :)

Dios les bendiga,
mjoy

I am Tired

noreply@blogger.com (Melanie) — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 01:06:00 +0000

And again i will say...I am TIRED. I am approaching the last month of my trip and am feeling a bit home sick. I miss my own language! Spanish is coming easier and easier, yet to speak and the understand most things takes a ton of concentration and thought. I am sick of thinking so hard. I joked with some of my friends here that my level of intelligence has dropped considerably while in DR because i cannot use the "big words" and piece sentences together like a 7 year old would!!

We have had a few meetings regarding the start up of the library. It feels so slow moving, but i know anything worth while is never easy. Can i get an Amen?! I am just praying that I can be here to see it start to build. I will have to wait and see. Dios sabe. (God Knows)

Yesterday (Saturday) 30 or so staff and volunteers took the trip out to the Batays again for the annual "End of the Year" fiesta with the children of 6 Batays that Sociedad Lucas serves. We sang songs, had a group of teenagers from a local church in Haina perform some skits, fed all the kids lunch (approx 400 of them), and then handed out goody bags. It was a great day but extremely long!

I moved into Silvia and Samuel's home last Tuesday and everything has been great. I feel a little spoiled as i have my own "apartment" upstairs which includes a fridge, a tv (with American cable), a balcony that overlooks a very busy neighborhood basketball court and a view of the ocean in the distance, and my very own bathroom with a functioning shower head and warm water (but only when there is electricity). Here, people say "Hay Luz!!!!" (There is light) when the electricity is working. It is not uncommon to hear shouts of joy along with it (usually mine). ;) It is not normal for me to watch a lot of TV; and that remains, however i have it on quite a bit just to hear English! Ahh.

Much work left to do before I leave. I am beginning to believe God has more planned for me in the DR. I'm just not sure what that is at this point. But, i am confident that He will reveal to me what i must know when He decides it is best. Living by faith is exciting to say the least. Most days i awake with joyful uncertainty; anxious to see what He will reveal. Grasias Christo!

Dios les bendiga,
mjoy

"We cannot do great things only small things with great love." Mother Teresa

Some shots of the Batay near the Haitian Border

noreply@blogger.com (Melanie) — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 22:29:00 +0000

This is poverty.

Meet the Mayor... and his wife

noreply@blogger.com (Melanie) — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 22:06:00 +0000

Ok... i really am not that tall! Everyone here is just short... really I am only 5'9!

This is all of us after our long meeting which went great!

Here he is talking with Silvia in the Desayuno Program. See the food set out behind them? For many of the kids, this is the only meal they eat each day.

Funny, the kids were OUT OF CONTROL on this morning... Isn't that how it always goes?!

Back to work

noreply@blogger.com (Melanie) — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 19:43:00 +0000

Buena~
Again, i just have a minute but wanted to give a quick update and ask for prayer. First, i have to say God has been SO GOOD... i fell ill for about 36 hours and was beginning to feel completely overwhelmed with the work, the poverty, the death....ect. I prayed, and He released me of both the depressive and anxious thoughts as well as the intense headache and slight fever i was experiencing! Thank You Lord!

Amazingly, the mayor of Haina (the city in which El Cacique is located) has learned of the census we conducted and has requested a meeting with Dr. Silvia and I. He has never shown interest in this part of his city! He will visit the Desayuno program tomorrow morning and will meet with us and Samuel after. I told Silvia i would hold my tounge as best as possible... and she invited me to say whatever my heart, mind, and experience led me! I wonder if she really knows what that means... I hold him and other politicians responsible for many of the problems in this community! I am excited to meet with him and hopefully build an alliance with the local government to address the great needs in this community.

I will let you all know asap.
:Love to you all

Las Galeras Part two

noreply@blogger.com (Melanie) — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 02:20:00 +0000

This is on the wall of a local cafe/shop. I want to translate but can't now... my time is running out!

Not a pretty pic of me but wanted to PROVE i was here! I don't have too many pics of me. I prefer to take the photos!

Las Galeras

noreply@blogger.com (Melanie) — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 22:31:00 +0000

Quick note

noreply@blogger.com (Melanie) — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 22:19:00 +0000

Greetings!
I wanted to clarify something. The mini trips i take are on my own dime! I want everyone who donated money to my mission trip to know all the money is going toward my expences here and NOTHING more. Just wanted to clarify.

I have alot of work to do in the next few weeks and am having a difficult time relaxing in this beautiful place because i can't stop thinking about it! However God is good and knows. I believe He will make me strong enough to do the work He has called me to do!

My love goes out to all of you, my family and friends!

Mjoy

One Saturday Night

noreply@blogger.com (Melanie) — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 22:06:00 +0000

Albertina
A friend of mine, Albertina, took me took a concert last Saturday night. I was excited to do something social, something other than work, something involving music, something with a person who speaks English well. WOW, so much to be excited about…I should have known… First, the weather was, for the first time, cool and rain clouds loomed. This, by itself, is not a problem for me. Actually, I enjoyed it UNTIL it began to rain hard and I learned the concert was in an outside stadium with no cover in sight! I was wearing my usual tank top, skirt, sandal outfit minus a jacket, an umbrella, and mosquito repellant. I must add that the concert had 4 acts (of course all in Spanish) and Albertina did not translate a word. It rained for 2 hours of a show I couldn’t understand when finally I said I had to go (after I began to sneeze like crazy and shake from the wetness that was me). Aly laughed and told me she had been ready to leave for a while but didn’t want to tell me in case I was enjoying myself. It was clear to me then that she had not looked at me for at least an hour as I covered myself with the chair that sat next to me! We walked to her car to discover that another car blocked our exit. Honestly, out of hundreds of cars, ours was the only one blocked! I wanted to go home, yes, but was happy enough to be in shelter from the storm and thought it just fine to sleep there until a way was made for us to leave. Aly thought different and walked back to the stadium to ask security to assist. I said “go with God” and fell asleep in the dry car…my hair and clothes beginning to dry. I expected her to arrive back at the car alone. To my surprise mixed with a bit of fear, I awoke to men knocking on the windows asking if I was okay. I told them I was fine and then they (5 security guards) picked up the car blocking ours and carried it away to rest behind another car (poor people)! I couldn’t believe my sleepy eyes! WHAT JUST HAPPENED? Aly told me as we were driving out of the parking lot that she tried many tactics but only one had the security running… An AMERICAN woman needed help. I was glad to get out of there, but not sure I like the reason we were able to leave! I told her she had one free pass to use my citizenship as a way to get something she otherwise wouldn’t get! :)

Snapshot of life in Poverty: Carmencita bonita

noreply@blogger.com (Melanie) — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 22:01:00 +0000

Carmencita:
I first met her during my time interviewing people in El Cacique for the survey/census. She was very thin, didn’t make eye contact with close face to face contact, and couldn’t hold her head up on her own for more than a few seconds; she was 9 months old. She is in advanced stages of malnutrition. She is the youngest of four children to a 25 year old mother and a 54 year old father who are both unemployed. Her parents owned a small colmado (tiny neighborhood food store) before she was born. Her father was shot in the head during a robbery which caused him to lose one eye and left him to suffer seizures, headaches, and impaired mobility. Her family struggles to find food to feed each person.
It was two weeks ago when I first met her. That first day, Dr. Silvia had her and her mother taken to the clinic and then the hospital for rehydration, food, and tests. The hospital sent her home. The Luke Society clinic sent her home with medicine and food. Less than 5 days later, her parents stopped giving her the medicine and took her to a local witch doctor. This person apparently told her mother to stop breast feeding her because the “sickness” would infect the mother. Carmencita was dying.
For three or four days, her mother took her to the Desayuno program for us to feed her, see her, and encourage her mom. On Friday, November 21st, I (with Francisco) went to visit her. She was given some small corn cakes and mashed potatoes to eat. She wouldn’t eat the cakes and pushed away any thing (food or fingers) that touched her face. She showed facial expression finally, but only that of pain. Her mom said that she was teething and ate the cake herself. Oh God, this whole family is starving, I thought. How can a mother take food and give only to one when 3 other children and she are hungry? We told her it was necessary that she give the potatoes and fruit juice to Carmencita only; to build her strength. She agreed. Later that day, Dr. Silvia told us that we were to take Carmencita into our care from the morning, when her mother took her to the Desayuno program, until I left El Cacique in the afternoon so to monitor her eating and sleeping. I thought of this task on Friday night and Saturday. It could prove to be difficult to care for Carmencita and attend to my other tasks; but truthfully, I couldn’t help but be a bit happy to have this baby in my arms for most of the day.
On Sunday morning, I received a call from Francisco. He told me Carmencita had died at midnight. She was buried at 4 in the afternoon the same day. My heart broke. Dios Sabe, is all I can say…God knows.

NO time!

noreply@blogger.com (Melanie) — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 21:55:00 +0000

Okay so i only have a few more minutes before I lose the internet. Quick update. I arrived in Las Galeras on the Samana Peninsula on Thursday early afternoon for my Thanksgiving vacation. It is incredible here! I will post some pictures later, i hope. I am staying at an all-inclusive resort again. I know...it sounds a bit over the top for a missionary. But WAIT...i'll explain! It is very affordable and as the title states...it includes everything. Well, except for free internet. I was a bit bummed about that part. But, it is lovely and calm and beautiful. The calm part might change now that it is the weekend. But no matter. I have taken 2 long naps, wrote in my journal, took a long walk along the beach, went to town to buy calling cards for my cell phone and some Coke light (it is a challenge to find here), laid out at the beach and even swam for a while (i know... surprize surprize). I am using sun block like it grows on trees and REPELLENT as if my life depended on it. Sad to say the repellent hasn't stopped those horrible mosquitos from eating me alive! My poor legs look as if i have leporsy. Oh well! Dios Sabe. Got to go before the authorities come and confiscate mi computer!

Feliz Dia de Grasias!

noreply@blogger.com (Melanie) — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 21:51:00 +0000

Happy Thanksgiving Mi Familia!!
I am thankful for so many things I am incapable of numbering them. Thank You Jesus! His sacrifice on Calvary means I have life and it is the culmination of my gratitude. Truly, everything else is extra sweetness of life; evidence of His grace given to me.
I am grateful for this awesome opportunity He has given me to use my skills, gifts, and abilities to provide help to those less fortunate than myself. What an indescribable experience this has been… and I have yet to meet the end of my time in this lovely country! I live each day in breathless uncertainty, not knowing what God will do next. I LOVE living this way! I know I am in His hands… what better place is there to be?

I hope you all had a lovely day with your friends and family! We all have so much to be thankful for, don't we?

Love to you all and Dios les Bendiga