Hope

It has been a busy last couple of days, but they have been greatly enjoyed. Here are some of my thoughts and highlights of the past few days.

-Since ´moving in´with Ariadna, I have gotton the chance to talk to her son, Manuel. He is 14 years old and has been learning English for a couple of years. It was very interesting to talk to him and get to know him better. Furthermore, one of the things that was most moving to me was the fact that he wanted to learn English. I admire his effort and willingness to do so. It reminded me the importance and value of learning a second language.

-On Monday, we visited Luiscito, a friend of Ariadna´s family. Luiscito was recently hit and severly hurt in a motoconcho accident. While driving his bike, he was hit buy another drunk biker. In the accident, they colided heads, but both survived. Luiscito has severe damage to his face and had to have many metal plates placed in to reconstrust it. He also broke his leg in two places. Luiscito´s accident is not an uncommen thing in the Dominican Republic- many people drive motoconchos as a means of making a living. I can´t imagine the great risk and dangers they face on a daily basis.

-Last night, after supper, the electricty went out for a couple of hours. Unfortunatly, this is not an uncommon acurrance in the Dominican Republic. Power outages usually occur for one of two reasons. One, the most obvious, is a physical problem with the power company. The second, is for the power companies to show that they are in control. Often times, power companies will turn off the power to remind its customers that the companies are in control and that the customers need to pay their bills. I think this is a sad abd horrible thing. How can they get away with such acts?

- Lastly, today, we visited a community along side of the highway. This community is highly povereshed. Here, we delivered any where from 30-50 packages with clothes and toys to the children. It was a very powerful and emotional experience. However, they most moving part for me was when we were walking back to the van. A older women, with false teeth, was on her porch and began to talk to us. She told us that the reason that she has faith in God, is because of people like us. She blessed us, and told us that God will be with us wherever we go. I wish I could have told the lady that she is the reason I have hope for the future. It is people like her, who stay strong and faithful in some of the most difficult situations, that give me the most hope. Her kind words were so simple and powerful.

Sorry about the randomess of the blog. I thought that it might be the easist was to share some of the groups experiences that have occured over the past few days.

peace- michael