restoration, relationships, and rapids

It seems like FOREVER since I've written. And I have SO much to say. But I'll try to just sum it up.

I had been doing great here. No problems. No culture shock. Life was good. It was too easy of an adjustment. It didn't last.

A week ago today, I was on my computer checking emails and all of a sudden the screen went black. And it wouldn't turn back on. All I could think of was that I'm in a foreign country, no hope of getting it fixed, just lost all of my pictures including the recent 1000 from Israel, and all my documents including half completed homework assignments for this semester. What's worse is that I didn't have any means to get a new one.

Back up 1 month. A week before I came here, I was at a Chicago Beach and got over 1000 dollars worth of stuff stolen from me, including my camera I bought for the DR. The good news is that God worked that all out. I was still out the money, but I had luckily forgotten to put my memory card in my camera the night before so I didn't lose all of my pictures. My mom had a free upgrade so I got a new phone. I didn't need a license because I was going out of the country and would need a new one after I turned 21 anyway. And I was so blessed with some help from a friend in paying for a new camera. The timing was bad, but God had layed out the groundwork for me to work through it. I've learned this lesson so many times. In times of despair, I freak out and think my world is crashing in. But in these times, God always softens the blow and calms the storm with so many blessings. I just need to trust him.

Back to my computer crashing. I could not deal with another 1000 dollar cost. And being in a foreign country left me completely helpless. This was a big burden, and little things started happening that same weekend. I finally hit culture shock. I finally broke down from missing people back home. It's in those times that I need someone to lean on that I realize no one is here. So I had a one day pity party. How easy it is to forget God's faithfulness when we're at our lowest points. When we need to trust Him most. I found out two days later that my Josh's roommate, Hartsell, had bought another computer two weeks ago, and in return Josh bought his old one off of him for super cheap only a few days before mine crashed(because, as a lot of you already know, my computer was already pretty jank before coming here). It was supposed to be a Christmas gift but guess I get that one a little early :-) It also worked out that our leader had to go back to the states for work last Sunday, so he was able to take my crashed computer home and return with a new one. Hartsell was able to transfer all of my files and pictures. God is good. Even when I forget it. And that happens all too often. He paves the way for us to get through rough situations.

Since then, this week has been truly wonderful! We've really deepened the relationships with our two brothers. On Monday, Amy and I made the infamous Dominican dessert avichuelas con dulce (sweet beans) with Alberto (our 30yr old brother). It was kind of a relief to hang out with someone more our age because our best friends are a 12 year old and a 5 year old. The dessert wasn't great. Anything that involves mixing blended beans, water, milk, brown sugar, raisins, and euka (a Dominican vegetable) is not too appetizing. But the company was great. We found out that the family had recently lost the youngest son in a drunk driving accident just 3 years ago. Alberto told us that our youngest brother Marcos hasn't talked a whole lot since then. Family means so much to the people here. Our sister lives in the house behind us, Alberto just built a house a few minutes away, and Marcos lives in a sweet treehouse above our family shop. I've found that the best way to get to know people is through cooking and eating. So we've been doing a lot of that recently. Last night, we had 2 friends from our group over to spend the night and we spent the whole day with Marcos (28yrs old). And he was so talkative! We learned that his favorite movie is Titanic and anything else romantic. So THAT's the movies we hear late at night all the way from his treehouse. It's so great to see people warming up to us and treating us like family. I feel like I've truly gained a mother, father, sister, brothers, grandma, and such close friends. They're going to have to drag me onto that plane come December.

Every Saturday, we go on excursions. Some are more hardcore than others. Today was beyond words...

"I thought I was going to die multiple times!" -Eric Miller last year in chapel reflecting on this excursion.

He was lying, I thought.

"I know some realy tough outdoors-ey guys that go white water rafting and kayaking all the time on super dangerous rivers. When I told them we did this excursion, they couldn't believe it and proceded to swear that we were competely crazy" -Our leader, Ryan

They must be thinking of another river, I thought. They wouldn't really risk our lives. We had a choice to go or not. Why not? I stepped up and wrote my name under the 'yes' column.

"Okay, you guys that signed up are going to have to sign a couple waivers here. I made another one, and made sure I added the phrase 'in case of death' after last year's experience. No promises" -Our leader, Josh

Those things are always overrated, I thought.

I was wrong. We arrived at the tour place today, and once we were all suited up in our wet suits, life vests, and helmets, I knew that they were serious.

We went tubing today down a river. And by tubing I mean a small rubber tire with no handles. And by river I mean mighty rushing rapids with jagged boulders poking up and hidden beneath the brown-green water. We had the choice of starting in 2 different places, and of course, feeling invincible and ready for the challenge, we leaped at the opportunity to take on the route with bigger and stronger rapids further upstream. Each cascade around a rock or down a fall sent you hurling from your tube and tossling around in the rapids gasping for air and trying with all your might to survive the next hit. The first rapids I went down on my back, head first, not able to see the boulders charging towards me. The second round, I flipped from my tube and ended up going head first on my stomach. I'm not sure seeing the boulders come was much better. Only more frantic. In an effort to protect my face and while flailing my arms to stay above water, my stomach took the hits of the harsh rocks, piercing into my vital organs. The third rapids wasn't rocky, but lucky me got hurled into a water cyclone that sucked me under and spit me out 15 feet down the river. The intermittent breaks were used for catching a breath and remounting my tube which was usually 20 feet away, without being swept away by the inevitable current. My roommte thought she broke her leg, but turns out it was just badly bruised. One girl can't use her ankle. I'm pretty sure I have internal bleeding. And another girl got stuck on a log in the middle of the worst rapid with pounds and pounds of water pressure cascading over her every second. I think got run over by other people in our group at least 3 times. She was stuck there for a good 20 minutes with guides throwing her ropes and when she made it through literally had no energy to lift a hand. I actually stayed on my tube for this rapid, which was the worst of it. But after this, half of us were too injured to go on, so we exited the river and took a 40 minute walk back to the tour place, each with a limp favoring a different part of our body.

Overall, it was a terrifying experience, but I'm almost glad I did it, just for the story and battle wounds. I thought I was going to die multiple times, but I'm proud of us for braving the storm and facing it head on. To me, we came out like champions. What a day.

From computer crashes to bean desserts to surviving a near death experience, this week has been packed with exciting things. And through it all, I know that God is so good for every experience we have been given in this beautiful country.