Monday evening before I left, I got a phone call from American Airlines saying that my flight was cancelled and rescheduled for some crazy time…so after an hour and a half on hold and losing the connection, I finally got a new flight around the same time.
At the airport, I normally have to go through the tourist line, but this time, since I have my visa, I got to walk through the resident line. The guy looked at me, ready to tell me I had to go to the other line, so I showed him my visa, which shocked him and he waved me on. Helped make me feel like I belong here! I still have a lot of work to do for my visa now that I’m here, so pray about that!
Steph and Jared Clements picked me up at the airport and I arrived home to Barahona at 10pm, caught up with the Rineholts for a little bit and then dug for my pajamas and my extension cord so I could plug in my fan…only the essentials of course! I’m living with the same family that I was with last year!
I felt really out of place and my Spanish was a little lacking to say the least. Plus I was missing everyone in the US. It was definitely harder to say goodbye this time than ever before. It made it easier to handle when I woke up Wednesday morning and Kylie is staring at me with a huge smile on her face and then tells me they have people waiting outside to surprise them. The look on their faces were priceless. Some were completely shocked. Others gave me huge hugs. It was so good to see everyone again! At nights I’ve been sitting outside with the neighbor kids talking and playing. Definitely a great way to practice my Spanish! Dengue, the boy that always hung around, has been attached to my hip since I’ve been here. The one lady joked that his mother (me) was back again!
Thursday, we had the Christmas party at the school. When the kids saw me in the van, they came running for me and almost tackled me trying to hug me when I got out! It was so good to see them again. Many of them said they thought I wasn’t coming back like I had promised. At the party, we gave out donated boxes packed full of toys and a stuffed animal for every kid. While I was away, a kitchen was started right next to the school to cook one meal a day for the kids!
I got my bike running again, which made me really happy, although the roads are in pretty bad shape still. Guess I’ll definitely be wearing pants anytime I ride my bike so I don’t burn myself anymore…3 scars are enough! Kylie and I went for a ride down to the new skate park where we watched Seth and some of the local boys skating and riding their bikes. Some of them are really talented! 
We celebrated Kylie and Christian’s 14th birthday on Saturday…had a great time hanging out at the beach eating cupcakes and getting some sun! The weather here is perfect right now…I even have had to use a blanket at night!
Went to Calvary Chapel of Barahona this morning…loved singing all the Spanish worship songs and seeing old friends again! Now, Jen’s been busy baking cookies to give to the youth at their Christmas party tonight. Tomorrow will be spent making a traditional American Christmas feast. We are doing it tomorrow because that is when the Dominicans also make a large meal and share with their neighbors. Christmas morning, we are going to a local town to help with a children’s program.
It’s so weird/funny to compare the DR with the US and how both countries celebrate Christmas. We bought some Christmas wrapping paper and it says “Good Luck” or “Burp”…yeah we don’t even have an explanation for those! Tree decorations consist of tying string to CD’s and hanging them. The stores are chaotic too…worse than the US!
I’ll try to keep you updated more often than last year! Continue praying for wisdom, health, safety, good relations with the Dominicans, and our Spanish!
