Our day started off this morning with a delicious breakfast of French toast, fruit, and cereal. Then we headed out to the village of Ascension for a day of work and SMT. When we arrived, we stopped at a house that my small group had worked in on Thursday. Then we split into two groups of eight. My group went further into town to start with SMT, while the other group stayed back to work on the house. Our group of eight then split in half with an intern and translator for each group. When we arrived we were immediately greeted by my young friend Robér.
My group (Mckenna, Grace, Michelle and I/our intern-Sam/our translator-Oliver) visited 5 houses. We met Alicia, Maria, Frankie and Family, Filomena, Anise and her children, and Llorena and her family. Filomena moved to the Dominican Republic from Haiti a while ago (she didn’t remember how many years). She has ten children, though five of them have passed away. The other five are living in Haiti and are unable to come to the Dominican Republic. Filomena has a hurt leg, especially her knee. Sometimes she is unable to walk and she always has to use her cane. She visits the doctor often because of her pain but she told us that her money is wasted because they say there is nothing wrong with her. We all laid our hands on her and prayed for her health and safety as well as her children. Llorena is the grandma of Rosa and Anayeli, they all live together. Anayeli (18) not even a month ago had her baby Ámamelady. Luckily everyone in the house spoke Spanish so I was able to communicate with them. I was even able to hold Ámamelady’s hand (she held my finger). I was able to pray for their family in Spanish! This concluded our SMT and we headed back to the house while singing (screaming) some worship songs on the caravan. We ate a delicious lunch made by Pastora Francisca (rice, beans, salad, and cherry juice).
After lunch we split up again and started working. Our project was to help build a new foundation for a house to go on. It was for an elderly woman and her family to live in. I was working at this house on Thursday and I was awestruck by the progress the Dominicans had made since then. My job was to help move dirt out of the spots they were going to put concrete in. I worked for about two hours shoveling dirt, moving rocks, and dumping buckets full of dirt. The phrase “Dame la pala” or give me the shovel, was used often. I was thrilled with how this day went because I feel like I made an impact on several lives.
My Dominican friends call me by many names. To John (one of the Mission of Hope workers) I am “Dominicana” because I have the characteristics of a true Dominican. To some I’m Kimberly or Kimber and to everyone else I’m Camber. I’m am truly blessed with my ability to speak Spanish and because of this I have made many amazing new friendships that I will never forget. Pastora Francisca’s husband Juan Pablo or Papito, told me that with my personality and work ethic I am a true Dominican. He said that I have found my people and I am welcome here whenever. I am so grateful for this spectacular experience.
Camber
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