You're undeniable in this place...

So the month of December turned out to be a busy one, but one in which the Father taught me so much. He's been stripping me of myself. Showing me His face. Showing me how to follow Him. How to love people from the depths of my soul. How to overflow with a love that's not my own. How sometimes it may hurt. How these people are His beautiful children and how His hurt is broken for them in their pain. I almost don't even know where to begin explaining the past few weeks. I think that's why I have been putting off posting a blog. Because it's too much to write about, too much to explain, but in short, here's a glimpse of the past few weeks. We spent the week of Christmas in Jaibon at the orphanage there. God knew I needed to be there for Christmas. The first picture is of the boys doing a Christmas play. It was awesome... the best nativity skit I've ever seen. These boys have such a special place in my heart and I felt like their mom making sure Christmas Eve was perfect for them. I have been blessed enough to have spent the most consistent time in Jaibon and I truly have begun to feel a motherly role in their lives. They come show me things they have made, or tell me about what happened during their days, or run up to tell me what they are doing with another volunteer before scurrying back off to play. I love it and I'm not quite sure how I'll ever leave this country. Good thing I don't have to worry about that anytime soon :) So the week of Christmas was amazing and the Lord truly filled my soul to the brim with blessings. More so than ever before I felt Him revealing the importance and significance of Christmas. We spent Christmas day building and doing work projects before heading to the beach for the afternoon. All day I kept saying that it didn't feel like Christmas. But then I heard God's whispers across my soul asking what Christmas should feel like. And in my head I thought, well I'm not with my family. But the thing is, I was. I was with my brothers and sisters from the Dominican Republic. And maybe I wasn't with my blood family, but isn't Christmas about Christ? And while we may realize that it's not all about the presents, do we realize that it's not really all about family and friends either? That we could spend Christmas by ourselves, alone with God, and it is still Christmas... the day of Christ's birth. The day Salvation came to earth. So more and more God whispers to me that this story isn't about me at all. And for that, I am thankful.

So my week in Jaibon was far too short. I desperately want to go back and I shed some tears before leaving to come back to my home in Monte Cristi. God renewed my soul in Jaibon. Reminding me of my purposes here and filling my heart with an unending love for His Dominican children. Specifically these three very special women. Jaqueline, Betsaida, and Fefa cook and clean at the orphanage in Jaibon. And let me tell you, I have never met anyone who cooks like Jaqueline. She takes pride in everything she makes and asks the Lord to help her before she starts cooking a meal. She is such a precious child of God. These women were placed on my heart in an undeniable way. It's like I just knew that they were a huge reason why I was in Jaibon that week. So most days I looked for pockets of time where I could stop by the kitchen for a few minutes and spend time sharing in the lives of these awesome ladies. God could not have filled my heart more with love for them. I listened to them talk about their families, talk about their stories, about things in the past and things now. God's plans were so specific with placing me back in Jaibon again. And when Saturday morning rolled around, I could barely say goodbye. And so now, I can't wait to make it back to Jaibon again. God opened my eyes so much through my relationship with Jaqueline, Betsaida, and Fefa. Through their stories, I saw the realities that exist in this country. And though it may be easy to glance over the hard things, I want to bring life to people who are hurting.

By Saturday afternoon we were back in Monte Cristi. I can't explain how attached I am to both orphanages. One I have to leave Monte Cristi, I hate it. But when I have to leave Jaibon, I hate it as well. So much of my heart is attached to both places. And my purposes and roles are so different at each place. It was so good to see my brothers and sisters in Monte Cristi again. I had definitely missed them. The week of New Years, we spent some time out in rural bateyes (or little villages surrounding banana plantations). Life in the bateyes is completely different than in the towns. There isn't running water and people wait for a truck to arrive with their water for the week. Though the people live in poverty, I see promiscuity as the true oppression of these villages. We had a camp and most of the kids from the village came. I felt God pulling me towards the group of teenage girls, so I spent most of my time with them. Many of them had babies on their hips and were feeding their children while making bracelets and playing name games. The Dominican teenage boys had no respect for the Dominican girls and it made me want to take them all home with me.... to build a house and let them live there and help them develop skills and find a job and learn about the unending love and compassion of our relentless God. So God began to break my heart once again for the Dominican people. My eyes were opened to the realities of life here. I saw the chains that people are in. I saw where freedom needs to be proclaimed. I saw where darkness needs to be shattered by light. And I am burdened for the hearts of these girls. I want to see them freed from their bondage... to be able to truly live and be told of their worth in the sight of the King.

And then there are these girls :) My sisters, Yenny and Yessica. Even at the orphanage, I find myself wanting to spend all my time with them and Carolina and Nicol and Yulisa and Coral and Nicole... these teenage girls who are going through the same stages of life that I went through. I want to be a constant in their lives... to love them unconditionally... to show them that they can't do anything to make me not care... to show them that their Father loves them much more than I do. I feel the Father placing hurting girls and women on my heart. I want to release girls from the chains that they are in. And so I have no idea what God is going to bring in my future, but I know that I am in love with this place and these people and I just want to invest in their lives.

Hopefully that offers a small glimpse at what's been going on :) Sorry for the lack of updates. There is so much on my heart and I will try and be better about posting more often... although I won't make promises I can't keep :)

God is good! God is faithful! And God is undeniable in this place!