This blog is from Beatriz (Central Baptist Church in Oakville).

Hey everyone, its, Beatriz!

Today is Wednesday, and we spent the entire day exploring the amazing nature that the Dominican has to offer. We went to see 2 waterfalls, and then swimming in the park where the waterfalls were at. The beauty that this country possesses is unreal. It is so incredibly beautiful here, that it just left me so dumbfounded at how gorgeous Gods work can be.

The Dominican Republic is my favourite country I have ever been to; it’s a place I don’t ever want to leave. But, it’s not my favourite country because of how gorgeous it is. The Dominican Republic is my favourite country because of the Dominican people. I have never met such welcoming, nice, and happy people in all of my life.

 

We are staying in Los Alcarrizos, and it isn’t the most beautiful place, but, the people here compensate for the “lack of beauty” in this city. I have fallen in love with the Dominican people; they are such a happy nation, where there is music playing the entire day, smiling people everywhere, and always happy to start a conversation with you. They have deeply touched me, especially the children.

What really surprised me the most about this trip, is how well I connected with the kids here. My first day here I went to school to teach English. I was in a group with about 10 girls, and all that had to happen for us to connect is when we found out we had the same interests. We started singing Spanish songs together, and dancing, to the point where other kids wanted to join my group. I was and still am really sad to have to leave them, because it is such a horrible feeling discovering something so amazing when you only have a limited amount of time to be with them.

The thing that touched my heart the most was when we went to church, and I was sitting beside my friend Enzo (guy on the right). The service was about to start, and I noticed there were 4 little girls looking at me; I waved at them, smiled, and they did it back. They ended up calling me over to sit with them, and I did. We started chatting, they would ask me where I’m from, why I can speak Spanish, and they started playing with my hair. What made me feel really welcomed is when at the end, the mother of one of the girls came up to me, gave me a hug and a kiss and said “bienvenida”.

I had such a warm feeling in my heart after that, being welcomed by at least one person from this country helped me not feel like such a foreigner; it made me feel accepted. Those little girls ended up walking me back to the compound I was staying at. They were both holding my hand and one of them gave me a flower, and now, one of those flower petals are inside my phone case, so I can keep a little piece of those little girls with me.

I am from Brazil, and I really like my country; it’s my favourite place in the world, where I have family, eat food that I love, etc. But, I can finally say that the Dominican Republic is my favourite place in the world, more than Brazil. It is a place I don’t want to leave. It makes me incredibly sad that I have to go home on Friday, to my old life, when I love this life so much more.

The little experience that I’ve had doing missionary work has really helped clear my mind in what I potentially want to do in the future. I have been considering doing missionary work for a year now, and I know now that God has called me to do missionary work with my life. It is something that makes me feel so full of life and so full of love that I want to give out. I feel like God is closer to me here. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God” (Matthew 5:8). The people here are the epitome of this Bible verse. They are happy with the little that they have, and it makes me see that I am not acting like someone who has a pure heart. I have so much but always want more, and that is wrong.

I will come back to Los Alcarizzos to continue doing missionary work. The Dominican Republic is a place very close to my heart, and they will see me again soon.