Life in the DR: Part 2
- Sammy Mull
- Oct 24, 2017
- 8 min read
How unreal is it that I have been here for 5 weeks already?!? The past few weeks have been fairly eventful and I am so excited to tell you all about them. It's kind of a novel, so grab your pumpkin spice latte and cozy up!
Happy reading!
Home Update
My home stay officially ended this weekend as I moved in with two other girls from the States who are living here in Jarabacoa. I absolutely loved my home stay and my host family and wouldn't trade that experience for the world, but I must confess that it is so refreshing to have my own little space to call home!
Before I moved out of my homestay, I had just a few fun adventures I thought I'd share with you. Firstly, laundry day. What an experience! It was a full family affair (plus a few friends who happened to be over visiting)! Everyone was just so excited to get in on the fun of teaching me to do laundry and hang it on the line. They were so generous and helpful that I hardly even got to help. I did have to draw the line when Alexander (the family's 12-year-old son, my "host brother") wanted to help with my load of undies. I was extremely humbled- and slightly mortified- by the whole experience.
I was able to have a few conversations with the family before I moved out, which was so sweet. I was so excited to be able to get to know them and hear more of who they are. Last week, just a few days before I moved out, Susanna broke out their wedding photos and we ooo'd and ahhh'd over how beautiful she was, and then she pointed out each family member and how they were related. It was such a simple conversation, but it felt monumental: like she was letting me in. I am so thankful for the relationship I was able to build with this family- thank you for those of you who were praying for that! They made me promise to come back and visit regularly, so I'm excited to see it continue to grow.
My new roommates are great, and have made me feel so at home already. We are in a great apartment in town. It's a little more lively than my past few weeks spent in el campo (the countryside), with cars and motos driving by and neighbors right next door, but I'm really enjoying it so far. Plus, it came with warm showers and the cutest little pup named Cake! I already feel so refreshed to have this little sanctuary to come home to after time at my ministry site each day.
Ministry Update
Speaking of my ministry site, it's going amazingly well! I don't know how to begin to explain how I am seeing the Lord at work, but I will try.
As I have begun to pick up on the language, I have gotten the privilege of understanding a bit more about the community and gotten glimpses of the stories of those living within its (literal) walls. To give you an idea, day-to-day ministry includes Bible studies with women and girls from the community, relationship-building through crafting (we have been working on all kinds of fun projects!), home visits, and conversations with women who come in and just need a listening ear. It can get a bit crazy as there are women coming and going all day long, and I love it. I am learning so much from Daisy, who always has time for the ladies who need her. Nothing is more important to her than to be a listening ear and to take every opportunity to speak wisdom into these women's lives. I think she might be an actual angel.
I am now teaching 2 Bible studies weekly, and the Lord has provided in abundance! With the little girls, we have been discussing the Fruits of the Spirit, and we have finished up through patience. They seem to be doing well with these simple lessons. A few weeks ago, we talked about how, alone, we can only produce rotten fruit (I brought in a rotten banana as an illustration), but how when we have our roots deep in God's Word, we are able to produce good fruit that makes our hearts beautiful and our lives "taste good" to those around us. The girls have loved talking about the rotten banana ever since, but they do seem to be understanding the lessons, which I'm so thankful for!
With the teen girls, I have been going through the book of Ruth. I can see a desire in each of these girls to grow and learn, and I am so thankful to be able to do that alongside them this year. This study has been one of the more humbling ministry experiences of my time here so far. If you've ever led a small group, imagine teaching, and then asking questions for discussion/reflection, but not being able to understand most of the responses. It's definitely an exercise in trusting the Lord to reach their hearts, because I certainly have no control over how they are affected, or even really much control over which direction the conversation goes at that point. But I have been so grateful to see the girls get into (what seem like) deep conversations each week and really work through what it means to live lives of selflessness, generosity, and faithfulness. Today we will wrap up our study on Ruth, and will mainly focus on Boaz as Ruth's redeemer, and on how faithfulness allows us to be a part of God's bigger plan. If you think of it, you can definitely be in prayer that it would be clear what the Lord has to show us in our time together.
Another big part of ministry is home visits, and this has given me such a great opportunity to get to know the women in the community better. There is something amazing about hearing their stories in their own space. We are currently preparing to begin work on a video sharing a few of these women's stories and how God has been at work in their lives, and I would love your prayers for clear direction on this project!
Personal Update
I wanted to share a little with you about how God has been at work in my heart since I have been here. The Lord has placed me in an incredible community here. There are several ministries within Jarabacoa, and the missionaries here really become like family. This "family" has welcomed me with open arms and the most genuine, unassuming hearts.
Bible study: My weekly Bible study group has become one of the highlights of my week. We are going through Priscilla Shirer's Armor of God study together, and WOAH. It's been amazing so far. This group is full of genuine, compassionate, honest women who have quickly become a safe place to share. Who they are is a reminder of truth and grace. I am beginning to see in myself a habit of feeling the need to prove myself, and these people have loved me in a way that frees me of that expectation. I am beyond grateful.
My heart: I am confident that the Lord has placed me here so intentionally, with these people for this season. I'm not sure how to communicate this so it may be a little clumsy, but here goes: I feel like my heart is coming alive. Not that it was dead before, but it's like the little corners that had grown cobwebs are making their way into the light. It's like the Lord is digging up things that have been buried away for a while: excitement and passion I had kind of forgotten I had for certain things. I'm not able to put this very eloquently into words yet, and this blog is already basically a chapter book, but if you'd like to hear more, please feel free to send a message or an email (sammy.mull@gmail.com) and I'd love to share more!
Culture shock: A lot of people have been asking me about culture shock, so I'll give it a little shoutout here. To be honest, adjusting to this new culture really has not been too terribly overwhelming. Of course, everything is different here, but it has felt fairly natural to roll with the punches so far. Although, I will say that during my first solo grocery shopping experience a few weeks ago, I almost cried when I found the oatmeal. I had been looking around the store for about 10 minutes, I couldn't ask anyone for help, it wasn't in the aisle where I felt like it would be, and I just kept walking in circles in the store and couldn't find it. When I finally found it, it's true, i almost cried. Like, literally got a little lump in my throat. You guys, I don't even like oatmeal that much! Also... IT'S OATMEAL! But culture shock is a strange thing and that's the only time I've gotten emotional so far, so I guess I'm probably doing alright?
Grad school: I just wanted to give a quick update on this. All of my initial applications were submitted just before I came, and I have now completed the second round of application with Loma Linda University (my first choice). I also finished my final prerequisite class a couple of weeks ago, so now it is officially just a waiting game to see if I am moved into the third round of applications! I should receive acceptance/rejection in January some time, so I am trying to be patient in the process.
Homesickness: Lastly, thank you to those who have been praying against homesickness. I have had a few moments of missing friends and fall weather- and wishing I could snuggle my puppy- but overall I have been doing really well. I am so looking forward to my visit home at Christmas, but I am so thankful that missing home hasn't become a distraction to what the Lord has for me here. Yet, at least. Please keep those prayers coming!
Support Update
A giant thank you to all who have given! This includes those of you who have supported me financially, in time, in encouragement, or in prayer.I wish I could explain in a blog post the ways I am getting to see the Lord's faithfulness with your generosity. I can't, but I'll keep the blog posts coming in hopes of giving you a glimpse of all He is doing here.
Counting ongoing monthly donations, I am currently only $200 from my goal for the year! $200! I can't even believe it. God is so faithful. Have I mentioned God is so faithful?
Prayer Requests
Relationships: Please continue to pray for deepening relationships with the women at the site, specifically with the group of teen girls. Please pray for my new relationships with the missionary community here, that we would continue to grow together. And lastly, for my relationships with my new roommates. The two of them have a great relationship and have been so gracious to welcome me into their home. We all know a new roommate has the capability to throw off equilibrium in a living situation, so please pray for healthy relationships and living environment!
Language: It is so fun to see progress as I am beginning to understand more and more of the language, but I obviously have a LONG way to go! Soon I will be transitioning from informal language classes with one of the teens in the community, to more formal Spanish classes with a professor in town. Please pray for a growing understanding, as language is the foundation for deeper relationships.
Video project: Please pray for the video I mentioned above. The intent of this project is to show that although there is a lot of brokenness in our community, God is at work and changing the lives of these women. This is not only amazing for the women themselves, but they will now break the cycle of broken relationships in their families! This is huge! We will be shooting the stories of 3 women over the next few weeks, so your prayer for direction and clear communication would be greatly appreciated.
El Callejon: This is the community where our ministry site is located. The people I have met here are so beautiful, yet I have not yet met one person here who has not experienced profound brokenness in their life. The physical and financial burdens here are most immediately obvious, but those are not the stories we hear most. The relational brokenness leaves deeper and more lasting scars than the physical and financial difficulties this community faces. Please pray with me for restored relationships and families transformed by Truth.
Wow, that was a long one. Thanks so much for reading, and I'd love to hear from YOU!
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