Well! I had every good intention to update this little blog much more consistently than I’m afraid I have been. I could share the many excuses I have for my negligence in posting much of any update, but the reality is that when the overwhelm of life threatens to consume, my processing and writing goes right out the window.

It sometimes takes everything I have just to write up my monthly newsletter, somehow condensing into a few paragraphs the many aspects of life, ministry and culture. But it is truly my heart’s desire to grow and expand my ability to communicate effectively the ways the Lord is moving and working in people’s hearts as well as my own as I continue on this journey to seek and serve Him in Santiago.

After unexpectedly spending over a month in the states due to a family emergency, I have returned to my little home in the city and have begun to continue the work I left behind.

It feels good to be back in my own space, my own routines and to return to the slow-paced way of Caribbean living.

After spending time back in the states, I always return to the DR feeling a bit rusty and awkward as I start the transition period all over again. It takes a couple of days for my Spanish vocab to truly return and for me to “switch gears” mentally and emotionally. With this trip to the states being completely unexpected, I feel a bit of whiplash between culture and realities.

But alas, the Lord is gracious to hold me through my clumsy acclimatization and fumbling. 🙂

This week was a nice week to jump back into ministry, and I was able to enjoy spending some time with our medical site leaders as I continue to build relationships with women in our community. Due to some legality things that are currently being processed, our medical teams are currently unable to provide care in clinic. This means our doctors having been caring for patients from their homes! This opens doors for me to encounter and interact with many women who are already connected through the ministry and are receiving medical care through our doctors. However, this also has proven to be difficult for our doctors to locate patients and their homes since they usually always just show up at the clinic. Because many of the patients do not have a physical address and it’s impossible for the communities to name and mark each and every road, this can be QUITE the comical ordeal. While I was with Brendaliz, one of our amazing Dominican doctors, we were looking for a specific Haitian patient who was pregnant. She was given vague directions from another patient but they consisted of “near the Colmado, down the road with the red house and across the way from the house with the blue trash barrel”. Which pretty much describes EVERY road in Cienfuegos. I swear I drove Brendaliz and some of our giggling Global Bridge students up and down every road that fits that description while she stayed on the phone with the patient who supposedly knew where this other patient lived. Every person we encountered on the street, Brendaliz would call out, “aayyy! Do you know where the pregnant Haitian woman lives named Francine? She’s tall, brown and has a belly.”, as she mimes a tall woman with an extended mid-section. This description describes a large population of women living in this area. 🙂

After asking several people, one woman finally knew who we needed and where she lived and was able to take us to her house… down a road we had passed through multiple times. Oh, the adventures never cease to exist around here!

I parked my car on that dirt road and as we went to walk into Francine’s house, someone pointed below my car and said “oh, look!”. I turn back to look under my car and see two little eyes and a grey, fluffy, tiny, flea-infested kitten coming out towards me. “Well, shoot.” I think to myself. Anyone who knows me, knows I’m useless in these situations. Before I knew it, he was in my arms and Brendaliz was telling me I had to take it home and I shoved him in a trash can that happed to be in the trunk of my car and pretend to ignore my impulsive decision as we entered the home of Francine. She’s a sweet, mild-mannered Haitian woman that does seem to fit Brendaliz’s description as “tall, brown and pregnant”. She’s 36 years old, about 6 months pregnant with her 4th child and has experienced Gestational Hypertension with this pregnancy. We spend some time evaluating her and talking with her before her 16-year-old daughter also shows up for her own prenatal exam. The daughter is about 7 months pregnant and is expecting her first. Brendaliz takes the time to explain to them that while Francine cannot deliver safely in the public hospital due to immigration policies (undocumented Haitians will only be immediately deported if they go to receive care in a public hospital), the 16-year-old daughter COULD deliver in the public hospital since she is a minor and immigration officers are unable to legally deport minors.

A mother expecting her 4th child while her firstborn is expecting her 1st child at the same time, under the same roof.

The mother unable to deliver in a hospital, but the daughter able to deliver because she is but still a girl.

Both are strange realities that don’t sit well with me but are both extremely commonplace here.

We finish up our visits, say our goodbyes and head back to the base with the little squawky kitten meow-y all the way. (Don’t worry… the kitten ends up well fed and well loved at my house…)

Being in the middle of rainy season, we’ve had some pretty intense rainfall and flooding at times. I happened to be pushing around a cart getting some groceries in the city at PriceSmart (like an American Costco or Sam’s Club) when I heard torrential downpour on the tin roof of the massive supply store. I wait in line to pay for my groceries and look out the big sliding doors that lead outside. The doors are almost entirely blocked with people and their carts as they watch the downpour and wait for it to let up before loading up their groceries in their cars. If there’s one thing I’ve learned about Dominicans, it’s that they despise getting wet and some even think that rain can make you sick. I wasn’t about to wait with the crowd and have never minded the rain, so pushed my way past the many people and carts and made a run for it splashing water up to my knees the entire way to my car. I could hear the Dominicans talking to each other as they watched this, I’m sure, amusing spectacle. “Look at the American! She doesn’t even care!”. And I’m sure they all thought I was going to catch a death of a cold. And I did….

This is just a glimpse into my week and the things that amuse me, bring joy to me or make me pause and ponder. Stay tuned for next week’s stories. 🙂