Sugar Cane Village

When you hear "Sugarcane Village" don't you picture a sweet little village filled with gingerbread houses and sugar cookie inhabitants carrying sugared gumdrops to and fro?

Oh okay. Just me.

In reality, it's nothing like that. Though the children were tan and extra sweet, it was an incredible culture shock to set foot in the batey. I will spare you my attempt at imitating a National Geographic Documentary (and you can read more about Dominican Batey's here) but essentially  they are the poorest villages in the DR. Brought over from Haiti and having been promised stable jobs, the workers find themselves unable to escape the vicious cycle of the sugar cane season, unreasonably low pay and, grueling 14 hour work days.

So yeah. 

Please slap me if I complain about anything in my life ever again.

the whole journey is below....

KRYN K GOES TO PUNTA CANA

A friend texted me while I was in the DR, asking where I was and if I would meet the crew at Starbucks later that night. And while Starbucks did sound wonderful (grande peach tea with 2 sugars and 2 splendas) I told him that I was busy suffering for Jesus with Strawberry mango tea and only one splenda.

Minus the part about the tea.

 "You're in the DR? That's SO cool! I've always wanted to go there. It's where the Kardashians go! " 

Well. Okay then.

I mean, Idk, I consider myself pretty on top of things as far as trendy travel destinations are concerned and I hadn't heard much about the Dominican Republic, aside from 8th grade geography class. And I currently couldn't picture Kim or Khloe strutting down the dirty, liter lined streets of Santo Domingo or helping in the orphanages or using a primitive outhouse miles from civilization.

But okay.

When we arrived at the white sandy beaches of Punta Cana, the Kardashians came to mind. This must be where they go! These are the beaches they tan at. This is where they prance around in little to no clothing. And though we had just returned from one of the poorest villages in the country and were clothed from shoulder to knee, we had our own little Kardashian moment, humble with a hint of Kanye.

In short, it was pretty fun being Kim Kardashian, albeit a much more modest version, for 3.4 hours.
And on that note, I can't figure out why people thought I was on vacation instead of a mission trip?

I'm sure the lounging on resort beaches has nothing to do with the confusion.
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SUNDAY MORNING IN SANTO DOMINGO

I attend like 4 different churches at home; I'm probably the only nondenominational, reformed-presbyterian, southern baptist you'll ever meet. So that being said, throwing a little spanish into the mix didn't mess up a thing. Besides understanding the entire service and everyone around me, but you know. Mere details!

KEEP READING FOR MORE OF OUR VERY SPANISH SUNDAY...

Borderless

We serve a God who has no borders,
a God whose love is not limited by language, 

and a God who relentlessly pursues a relationship with each soul on Earth.
I have traveled quite a lot, but this was the first trip where I had a purpose beyond taking instagram photos and trying new pastries. And even though I ended up with both of those, it was incredibly rewarding to be a part of the global church and share the love of Christ with others.

I nearly backed out of this trip 100 times. First of all, I had to leave my house at 3:30 am, which is a pretty ungodly hour for a mission trip, if you ask me. And then weird friendship dynamics had left me feeling less than enthusiastic. But as usual, all things worked together for good...and for God's glory! My roommates (which you may recognize!) were wonderful, the circumstances and experiences softened my heart and gave me a fresh perspective. And I also fell in love with Tostone, a really hot guy who also, occasionally, goes by fried plantains.

THERE IS POWER IN THE NAME OF JESUS.

And that power is evident in my life here and also in our work in the Dominican. I'm so thankful to have had the opportunity to experience that power in a whole new way. So grateful that His name can break every chain...

....and also that America has amoeba free water. More posts and a whole lot of Tostones to come!
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My mission trip moment

You guys, I finally have it.

That quintessential white-girl-holding-an-african child-, emotion evoking, heart wrenching, Jesus proclaiming photo. 

Only I prefer the term slightly-semi-tan, and the child wasn't African and the photo was taken three seconds before said not african child burst into tears.

 (So I guess it was emotion evoking after all)

It was such a letdown, my mission trip moment! Here I was, serving the Lord in a poor, remote village, miles away from civilization and working restrooms and this child just didn't have the decency to cooperate. Didn't she know what was at stake? How would anyone on Facebook know I gave up everything for a week to serve Jesus if I didn't post a photo of me holding a sweet little black baby?

 Apparently Dominican babies are not trained to make sure that semi-tan short term missionaries feel useful in the kingdom of God.

As I handed the uncooperative child back to her mother, I realized how stupid it all was, myself included. I don't know at what point stock photos of missionaries holding babies became the pinnacle of missionary greatness and successful sharing of the gospel, but that's what I had in my head. Because the only way to share the gospel is to hold children, right?

Serving the lord is different for everyone. And I know, we've heard that a million times in stuffy Sunday morning services, but it's true. Being a true missionary, whose sole purpose is to share the eternal Gospel of Christ, is not exactly. There is no "hold and african baby and smile" formula for spreading the good news. Some are called to build churches and some to pastor them, others to lead worship and others to clean up after church.

And some of us are not called to hold african babies, it turns out.

I held this child for three seconds and learned thirty million things about my faith, my savior and my mission here on earth.

And so we wonder, who is the actual missionary here?
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