Hey there! It’s Kaylee Fowler and Jessica Milbrandt! We are sad to say that tomorrow (Friday) is our very last day in the Dominican Republic, but God has really blessed us these past two weeks. Kaylee constantly tells everyone how she thinks her site is the best site, but is always getting told otherwise. Jessica, however, knows that her site is really the best! (Just kidding.) The truth is that we both got the best site for us.
Jessica: I am in the special education site, and it is truly amazing. The children really helped me grow, and fall in love with each and every one of them. The whole time here we got to play with them during recess, and read to them (in Spanish, which was really hard). Tuesdays and Thursdays we go to a student’s house, make food, and get to know them better. Instead of going to a house today, we stayed at the school and made food there. The most adventurous thing I’ve done this trip happened in that time slot… We killed, prepped, and cooked a chicken for lunch. It was an amazing experience, even if the intern at the site was about to throw up, and the director’s daughters (eight years old and five years old) were crying and trying to save the chicken. Lets not talk about killing animals anymore… Lets talk about the kids! They are so incredibly amazing! They all have so much happiness and laughter that the simple things like laughing and hugs show the love of Jesus in them that I am not used to. The language barrier can be hard at times, but the fact that these kids don’t care about how we are really bad at Spanish makes my heart swell.
Kaylee: I won the jackpot! I absolutely love Micro Financing. Every day is a new adventure; I not only get to go around to different communities and work with Dominican women, but I also get the opportunity to show them love in a way I’ve never known before. Today we went to the community of Los Higos. We spent our morning walking around the community and talking to the associates of our bank, La Esperanza. Los Higos is one of the poorest communities in Jaraboca, and it has the highest rate of sex trafficking in the Dominican. As we walked through the streets, we passed by ramshackle houses, emaciated animals, and broken hearts. One of the biggest things I’ve learned through being at this site is that we can have much and still know very little. We finished our day with a bank meeting, where I taught the group about tools of finance. As tomorrow approaches I find myself with mixed emotions. I am deeply saddened by the fact that it is our last day tomorrow, but I cannot deny the hope and happiness that God has put in my life. My site leaders, Raquel, Alvero, and Liz are true prayer warriors, who care more about the well being of the people they work with than the business that they run. They are truly inspiring. If I take one thing back with me, it would be the ability to love without fault.
“And now these things remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” 1 Corinthians 13:13
Kaylee says hi to mom and Kenady. I miss you bunches xoxo.
PSS. Jessica says I miss boots lots and lots. And my family I guess. Xoxo.
PPSS. It’s so cold here! I thought it was supposed to be tropical, but no! It’s like 50 degrees in the morning. We are currently sitting in hammocks and shaking, you know just chillin…
DR – Day 10 from Joshua Wilderness Institute on Vimeo.