Home is where the heart is...

If home is where the heart is, then, I'm home. Almost.

In some ways it's been a hard transition back to the US, and in other ways it's been surprisingly easy - depending on how you look at it. But, in any event, I'm here, I'm safe, I'm healthy, and I'm slowly but surely gearing up for the beginning of the school year!

.....if only my suitcase were here to "be home" with me... (I'm not a big fan of American Airlines at the moment!) But, somewhere in Miami sits one lonely piece of lost luggage (or "delayed", if you're the woman who continues to use this word in an effort to trick me into thinking that this really isn't a big deal..."it's only delayed a bit"). Really, it's lost. But at least it's enjoying much warmer weather than I am, that's for sure!

More than complain about "delayed" luggage, I wanted to thank those of you who have traveled with me - through reading my blog. Thanks for the encouraging comments, the up-lifting emails, the phone calls, the packages (Jen Rowe wins the gold in this event!), the prayers, and the wonderful welcome home! I'm so blessed to have people like you in my life. If you're reading this, give yourself a hug for me - or give me a call and we'll see what we can do to make it happen in real life! :)

As for now - I'm off (in my LONG PANTS and SWEATSHIRT) to figure out how to function again in a society that flushes their toilet paper, actually likes dogs, doesn't greet everyone they come across, and - for the most part - speaks English. Phew.

5 more sleeps.

Can you believe it?! Only five more nights in the Dominican Republic! I feel as if I got here, turned around and - whoa - there it was; the end of the summer. I also feel as if this post should be some long essay on all that I've learned, or the profound discoveries I made regarding my ultimate purpose in life.....but....

......well.......I got nothin'.....

....except a non-exclusive list of the things I will surely miss once I'm back in the United States. (in no particular order)

1. My own bathroom.
2. Hot, sweaty, long Dominican church services on Sunday night - that I can't understand the half of.
3. Oatmeal juice.
4. Limonada.
5. Sitting (and sleeping) under a ceiling fan.
6. Speaking "Spanglish", because I'm still not good enough to speak solamente en español. (I guess that will carry over to when I'm home...)
7. Watching the sunrise over the ocean.
8. The ocean.
9. Waving to everyone I know (and don't know) on our walks into town.
10. Riding in an air-conditioned bus.
11. Falling asleep to loud music.
12. Waking up to loud music.
13. Franchesca.
14. Nena.
15. Jochi.
16. Luz Maria.
17. Yenny.
18. Lisy.
19. Señor Peguero.
20. Jaury.
21. Domingo.
22. Indiana.
23. Joanni.
24. Yanina.
25. Christopher.
26. .......everyone at the orphanage, really.
27. Roosters making noise at 2:30am, 3:30am, 4:30am, 5:30am....
28. 2 hour siestas.
29. Star gazing.
30. The beach.
31. The "Banana Song".
32. Wearing a skirt. Cada dia. (Every day.)
33. Yucca frita. (Fried Yucca.)
34. Cristina, the woman from Walterio.
35. Swinging.
36. Coloring.
37. Jumping rope.
38. Teeter-tottering (is that a word?)
39. Sweating.
40. Mosquitoes. Oh, wait. Nope. Not gonna miss those...
41. Sitting on my roof.
42. Not blow-drying my hair. (Guess that could carry over too...)
43. Barking dogs right outside my bedroom window.....always barking.
44. Buying fruit from vendors on the street.
45. Not buying gas.
46. Living in the moment.

..............y, hay tanto más, pero no sé decirlo todo en Inglés.

If you read this far, thanks. I know a lot of those things don't really make sense - like why I would miss fried yucca or barking dogs - but, trust me. I will. And, maybe it will be a good way to start a conversation when I return.

In the end, this summer has turned out to be such a blessing. Not one full of answers, or direction, or revealed "callings" necessarily, but one full of love, and laughter, and trials, and challenges, and....life, I guess. And the thought of leaving has me a little "messed up" - a little unsure of how to "carry over" the bulk of how I lived and what I learned down here. I want to come home, but I don't want to be completely back to "life as usual" in the next 6-8 weeks.

I'm not sure how to do that. I'm not sure what that looks like. But, poco a poco, I guess.

Little by little. I think if I'm going to bring anything home with me this would be it. I want to live my life little by little. Not in such a rush to "figure everything out" or "do everything" - but, rather, in a way that I don't miss what's going on right now. I want to live in a way that I enjoy the "little" progress; each step, each moment, each chapter.

I'll need help. It will be challenging to go against the product-driven, schedule-oriented, five-year plan kind of society we live in. It will be difficult not having an answer for everyone who wants to know about the "next" step in my life. I don't know what's next! I don't know that I'll meet "the boy", or get married, or have babies, or move to the Dominican, or not come back at all, or stay at my current job, or get a "real" job, or stay in Michigan, or....or.....wake up tomorrow. (Of course, I want to wake up tomorrow. I'm just saying...) I simply don't know.

But, I'm ok with that. Here. And I want to be ok with it in the United States.

So, I suppose I was wrong. I do have something. I did learn something. I did have a revelation to the ultimate purpose of my life...

I just want to live it. Cada dia. Poco a poco. Con Dios. (Every day. Little by little. With God.)

The heavens declare

I decided that since I've been rambling on about how beautiful it is here, I should actually show you what I'm talking about. So, here it is. I didn't invent it, I didn't cause it to happen, I didn't even photograph it (photo courtesy of Brook Willis), but I wanted to share it.




"The heavens praise your wonders, O Lord, your faithfulness too, in the assembly of the holy ones." ~ Psalms 89:5

One more thing...

I totally forgot to tell you...

I'm coming home early! Isn't that great?! Without going into a long explanation, let me just reassure you that it IS, in fact, great. I'll have a whole week to gather myself before going back to work - to spend with my family and loved ones. It was such an unexpected, yet welcomed gift from God (and my boss here). I'm stoked.

So, in case you were wondering, my flight comes in to Detroit on August 16th. See you then - or sometime soon after!

Neverland

As I sit on my roof, I'm watching the sunset. It's beautiful. Indescribable. And, as if it weren't great enough on its own; in the distance I can also see a storm progressing over the ocean. It's not raining here, but less than three miles away I can see the rain connecting the sky and the sea, under an umbrella of brilliant colors. How incredible!

Over the summer I've experienced countless moments like this, and each have reminded me of how great our God is, and what a blessing it is to be alive. In my opinion, there is no greater lesson to be learned. And in spite of all the other challenges, difficulties, emotions, and circumstances I've encountered, I'm so glad to be here; so humbled by my summer, and so excited about life.

When I think about it, I realize that God has revealed Himself to me in such simple ways while living here. At times, so much so that I'm dumbstruck. Because while I have faith that He could DO more to show Himself, I'm humbled and my spirit is quieted when, instead of speaking through a "booming voice" from heaven, He speaks through a spontaneous hug from a child or a refreshing breeze.

There's a new kind of joy that comes from learning this, I've found. It's the kind of joy where teeter-tottering, and star-gazing, and being dirty, and finding sea shells, and playing dress-up, and singing in the shower, and Saturday night puppet shows, are elevated above the satisfaction of earning money, or owning things, or completing check-lists, or being "important". It's the kind of joy that bubbles up when you hear kids laugh, and it continues to grow when you find yourself laughing with them.

A perfect example of this happened one afternoon last week. With the end of our summer VBS program, most of the interns had returned to the United States and we were left with a very small team of people. It was hard to see them go, as I had invested in relationships and experienced so much with my new friends! With so few people left, it was a fairly laid-back week, and we had a lot more "unstructured" time. It was a challenge to think up activities for the kids (and new volunteers)! Brooke, a remaining intern, suggested we have a "fashion show" for the girls - complete with costumes, music, and a runway. I wasn't sure how, exactly, this was going to work (or translate), but I surely didn't have any other ideas. So, we ran with it. And with a suitcase full of random of fabric pieces, a few old cardboard New Year's Eve hats, some donated clothes and a whole lot of imagination, we pulled off our first annual costume party/fashion show! :)

Needless to say, we had SO much fun!! (Even though Sarah doesn't look like it in this picture, she did too!) Not only did the girls dress up, but some of the boys joined in - along with some of the women who work at the orphanage! We paraded around the comedor (dining room), danced, laughed, took pictures, and were sweaty all afternoon!! I don't think I've ever had so much fun being silly - and watching women twice my age join in! No language barrier could stop us. :)

It's during moments like these when I realize that this kind of joy is not "Dominican Republic" specific. I don't have to travel all the way around the world to play dress up. I don't have to go to a different country to see a beautiful sunset. I don't have to learn a different language to share the love of Jesus with His people. This kind of joy just comes from being alive. In Christ. Anywhere. It comes from knowing that you are free to experience life because Jesus took your punishment when He died on the cross.

And even though I don't need to be anywhere other than my own living room in order to accept this, or experience it, what an HONOR it is to know that He allows me to travel; that He provides ways for me to go and experience what I probably wouldn't take the time to experience in Michigan.

In the book of Matthew (in the Bible) Jesus says that in order to enter the kingdom of heaven, one must be like a little child. And, like a child, I think one must live simply, and love simply in order to escape the lies and snares of our world; in order to enter into God's kingdom of peace and joy. And after experiencing a taste of the freedom that comes from living in the moment and enjoying the simple life; I think I know what He's talking about now, and I agree.

And I never want to grow up...