what's for dinner?

Today I was working with some kids on welcome cards for those who have new sponsors. I ask them a series of questions and they get to color the card. When I get to, “What’s your favorite food?” I can almost guarantee that any dish they say involves two things. RICE and BEANS.

Fortunately, I really like rice and beans. At the care center we have three excellent cooks- Zeneida, Ana, and Odesta. I honestly don’t know how they do it- day after day they crank out delicious meals for 300 people on a tight budget. Today we had a salad (lettuce, tomato, carrots with a oil/vinegar dressing) paired with the main dish. Today’s dish was a rice and bean mixture with hot dogs mixed in! You never know quite what the dish will be, but you can be confident it will involve rice. I’m glad to eat at the care center. Eating lunch is a good time to get to know other staff members and I think it’s really good to eat the same thing that the kids are eating.

 

As much as I appreciate rice and beans, I love getting creative in my kitchen with OTHER ingredients! J I know this is not a cooking blog, but it’s a blog about this adventure that I’m on, so let’s talk about what’s for dinner.

I feel like growing up I always enjoyed helping my mom out in the kitchen, but I never really embraced it. It was only after I moved out on my own that I realized how much I still needed to learn!  Well, after a lot of emergency cooking help over the phone from my mom, a Betty Crocker cookbook for a Christmas present, and lots of trial and error, I’ve ended up really really enjoying cooking and baking!

I never thought I would say this but now it has actually become a stress reliever. I super love finding new recipes ( I might be turning into a pinterest junkie), getting creative with ingredients I have, and tasting something new! The simple actions of chopping, measuring, stirring, and waiting all while listening to a great playlist bring me a lot of joy.

 

Some of my greatest successes lately have been fiesta avocado chicken, shrimp scampi, creamy quinoa primavera, cheeseburgers, chicken tortilla soup, avocado chicken salad, southwestern stuffed peppers and cowboy caviar. Most of my recipes include cilantro, cumin, avocado, and garlic- can you tell where my taste buds grew up?? ;) 

I LOVE fresh fruit and veggies. There’s a little produce stand at the end of my street and I love stopping by and getting a pineapple, a bunch of bananas, and a few avocados all for about $1.50. There is also a man who drives a pickup truck around town full of produce. While driving, he has a megaphone where he proudly announces to all the neighbors what he’s got! I can just run down my stairs and buy whatever I need right from his truck. There’s also the avocado lady who walks the street with a huge bucket of avocados (and other various fruits) on her head. She shouts what she is selling and I can just run down with my pesos J Side note- also sold from vendors on my street: rat poison, peanuts, chicken (dead or alive), corn on the cob, fish, and probably a host of other things that I just don’t know about yet!

 

So speaking of all this fresh fruit, let me introduce you to…..the NINJA. Do you know about the ninja? I wasn’t too familiar with it either, but my mom and sister brought it when they came- it was my Christmas present from my Grandparents. Let me tell you about the ninja if you don’t know about it. It is sortof like a blender/food processor, but way more magical. As long as I have electricity, I can make all sorts of things in it. I like to make homemade fresh salsa at least once a week- it is so delicious.  You would love it. If you come visit, I promise to make you some- or guacamole if you prefer. The other magic that comes out of my ninja is mostly in smoothie form. It’s fun to get mangoes right down the street, throw them in with some yogurt and voila-a delicious, refreshing drink!  With all the fresh produce, it’s been fun to invent lots of flavor combos J And probably the most magical part of all is that I can make ICED COFFEE in it!

 

Anyway, by this point you probably think I have turned into a cooking blogger…but now you know a little more about “what’s for dinner” and about my ninja magic (get one! I know you’ll love it)

With one voice we shout your praise!

The past few weeks at the care center have been a little….what’s the word? Heavy.

We had an incident that seemed to bring out the worst in our kids and our community that has taken a lot of time and prayers to resolve. Praise the Lord that He has brought his peace.

Due to this recent experience, I held off walking around in the village for a few weeks. But today, Karen and I walked home with the kids.

It is one of my favorite things about being here- to walk up the rocky muddy path that leads to the homes of these dear ones. Starting the treck up the hill, I might have one child holding my hand and along the way, the group always grows. Before I know it, Karen and I both have kids holding every available hand, arm, finger or sleeve. We all end up walking in a huge chain adding more kids the farther up we go.

Today I got to visit Felipe and Vladimir’s mom…see Jerson, Crisbel, Crismairi, and Maribel…walk by Katty and Ezequiel’s home…meet new little babies…follow Dudo through winding paths to find his house and his sisters…watch women gather water and wash their family’s clothes…and hear the most beautiful praises to our awesome God.

It was after leaving a child’s home when I stopped because I heard beautiful singing. I was up pretty high on the hill, but as I looked down on all the houses I realized that the singing was coming all the way from our Care Center!  Even though I was far away, I could hear the words of the praise song so clearly echoing all the way up the hills.

“A feeling most precious

That comes from the Lord

It’s the love

From those who know Jesus

Hallelujah!!”

This song is one of our anthems as I would call it. The kids sing their hearts out and clap their hands with the best rhythm I’ve ever heard.  In that moment, I was almost in tears. It was a beautiful gift to hear the voices of children who live at risk-who live in pain- who live in fear- who live with hunger- praising our Father who knows each of them intimately. What a testimony. What a light to this community. The echoes of the praises of God’s children being heard all the way up the hills is just about the most beautiful thing I can think of.

I was incredibly grateful to God for this opportunity I had today. Not only to visit the kids homes and know their lives better, but to have that moment on the hill hearing the praises of his children.  Even though things have been hard here the last few weeks, God is here. He is present among his children. He inhabits the praise of His people.

 

a glimpse into public transporation

Living here requires taking advantage of lots of public transportation opportunities. Although this type of getting around is SO different than what I was used to from living in small town Iowa, it has become the new normal.

That is, until today. I was riding in a public car with my roommate Karen and we just busted up laughing realizing how crazy this new normal is. Let me do my best to try to capture the moment for you!

I live in Montellano on the North Coast of the DR. There is a main highway, the “autopista” that runs along the coast connecting the bigger cities- Puerto Plata to the west of us and Sosua and Cabarete to our east.  I live off of this main highway on a street called Maria Agramonte.

Anytime I want to go to one of these bigger cities, I walk down my street-my lovely narrow street filled with friendly neighbors, kids playing baseball right in the middle of the road, women sitting on their porches with their hair in rollers waiting until their hair reaches perfection, a motorcycle “gang” reving their engines (really it’s a group of guys who apparently fix broken motorcycles) women selling fruit from buckets on their heads , little grocery stores called colmados selling anything from individual rolls or toilet paper to cans of black beans, and barking dogs…lots of them. At the end of my street is that main highway. I just wait on the side of the highway for……

A “GUA GUA”, a “MOTOCONCHO” or a “CARRITO”.  

Today I was looking for a guagua or a carrito. The guagua is a van type vehicle that is probably built to seat 12, but easily fits at least 20 here.  If I see a guagua I can just put my arm out and if there is space, they will honk and flash their lights as they pull over to let me get in. Now, let me tell you, this is almost never graceful or comfortable. Hilarious actually. You never quite know where you will be sitting or how you will be sitting. One time I ended up in the very back row and when anyone would need to get off, they opened the trunk of the van and had the person crawl over the seat and hop out! In a gua gua there is a driver (who hopefully went through some type of driver’s ed) and a “cobrador”. This guy is the drivers sidekick. He sits in a seat nearest the door- or he just hangs out the guagua holding on. He is the one that tells you where to sit and he is the one you pay. He’s also the one you tell when you want to get off and he just hits the metal roof of the guagua and suddenly the whole thing comes to a screeching halt so that you can very graciously climb over people to try to get out! Enough about the guagua…today I was fortunate enough to get in a carrito.

Carritos are usually my favorite way to travel here. Picture this. A Toyota sedan circa 1992 or so- various colors and pieces of metal making up the bumper- a felt ceiling hanging down almost touching your head-super loud Merengue music- tinted windows (some of which roll down)- the gas gauge dangerously close to E-sticky leather seats- a sometimes friendly driver- passengers- and me!

Its close to the same routine as with the guagua. I stand on the highway and stick out my arm. Today one stopped that had room in the backseat for Karen and I. Also in the backseat was a woman with her 5 year old daughter.  There was one man in the front seat with the driver. So lets see that’s 6 people.  So we begin flying down the highway as the driver is scanning the side of the road for more passengers. Along the way, we pick up 2 more. A lady squeezes in next to Karen and I in the back and her son climbs in the front with the other passenger and the driver.( A little side note- the smell of the carrito is constantly changing based on who gets in and who gets out. When son got in the front seat, I saw that he had so much gel in his hair that it was dripping down his neck. Although the rest of us were looking completely windblown as we drove at high speeds down this racetrack, I noticed that his hair did not move at all! That gel was really working for him! His mom was definetly not lacking in the perfume department either! Wow!) We’re up to 8 now. As we approach the city, lady and son get out.  We all get a little relief as we try to unstick ourselves from whoever is next to us-but to no use- before I know it, we’ve stopped again and picked up a lady and her 3 sons! The driver says there is plenty of room! Mom gets in the front and all three boys load up in the back seat. That’s 10!!! New record- I’ve never been in a carrito that had 10 people in it at one time. It was a hoot- this is when Karen and I just busted up laughing. The three boys were having a grand old time next to us, but soon their mom yelled at them to be quiet. This was so ironic to me because I couldn’t even hear myself think because the merengue music was blasting from the speakers behind the seat!

Let me add another detail. When you get in, you tell the driver where you are going and hand him your pesos. Lucky for him if you have exact change, but if you don’t its not a big deal- He will pull out his wad of money or drawer of coins and make change while he is speeding down the autopista. Then he hands your change back to you- or to another passenger who hands it back to you- it all depends on what nook and cranny of the carrito you are squished into.

So that’s my funny story for today. All this to get to the grocery store. Of course another carrito is involved in getting home with all the bags of groceries….but that’s another story for another day J

 

Update

Hello blogging world and Happy February!
I have been such a delinquent blogger but I will be trying to have some more activity on here so I can better share my DR life with you! Below is my most recent update letter that went out via snail mail and email, so I figure it's time for it to hit the blogspot too! Enjoy :)

 

Saludos! (Greetings)                                                                    1/16/13

 I’m in the middle of my fourth month here in the Dominican Republic and sometimes can’t believe that this is really my life! Just to recap, I am ministering at the Park Care Center that serves close to 300 kids in an area called Caraballo on the North Coast of the DR. The Lord has been so gracious to me as I have prayed and dreamed for an opportunity like this and he has put me in just the right place. Every day I thank Him for the joy, peace, and confidence that He gives me. It is an honor and joy to be serving Him in a variety of ways.  I am the Sponsorship Coordinator and I facilitate communication between children and their sponsors, provide up to date information for our home office and sponsors, and I am an advocate for the children still waiting to be sponsored.  I love my job; especially when I read cards to kids and see their faces light up when they hear that someone loves them and is praying for them! Some American families have asked me to find a child for them to sponsor.  Seeing these children every day and now knowing who sponsors them is so exciting. Being a missionary is never exactly what you thought it was going to be. When I arrived I found out from my supervisors that the care center also needed a school nurse- so that is now me! Even though I have no formal medical training, the Lord is using what I do know and magnifying Himself even when I feel inadequate in this area. It’s amazing how far a hug and a bandaid go! J Just recently, I was given the role of team host. I am in charge of receiving short term work teams and helping them connect to our ministry here. Please pray for me as I learn all the new details of these jobs!

 On January 2^nd, I went to the airport to pick up a short term team who came to help at our care center. It was amazing to be at the same airport waiting for the same flight exactly three months after I arrived here on October 2^nd. As I celebrated Christmas here this year, away from my friends and family, I was struck with the beauty that Jesus is Emmanuel- God with us. This theme was especially meaningful to me this Christmas, but also as I reflect on my first months the meaning of Emmanuel has become so clear to me.

When I arrived here I was filled with excitement and anticipation but also overwhelmed by all things new and feelings of inadequacy. God has been with me through all the transitions- making friends, learning my role at the care center, loving on kids, buying groceries, riding on motorcycle taxis…the list goes on. I realize every day that even though I am doing things I’ve never done before and some things that bring a lot of fear, God is with me every step.

Before moving to the DR, I went to a missionary training program in North Carolina where I met a Dominican woman who helped with culture and language. She shared with me about growing up as a young girl in the DR never knowing that God was with her. She told me she wished that someone would have told her that He was with her- it would have made all the difference. That story has stuck with me and it is heavy on my heart to share with these kids that they are never alone- God is always with them. I get a lot of opportunities to share these words of life when I am working with kids one on one with sponsorship projects and when I am serving as the school nurse.

The lives that these children lead are almost unimaginable- most live with pain and darkness- of many forms. My heart breaks every day as I hear new stories, see new scars, visit homes, and share life with these precious ones. The evidence of abuse, neglect, violence and extreme poverty is a daily reality. The Care Center director, Alberto, reminds me often that our work here is a spiritual battle but to never give up- to keep serving the Lord with everything we have and to keep loving the kids with all the love that He gives. When the questions are unending and I can’t reconcile what I see with what I know- I stop and remind myself that Jesus is Emmanuel- God with us. He is here with me every moment and He is here with each child-He walks with them on these muddy roads, He comforts them in their homes, He is their Father when there is no other, He sustains them when resources are so few- and He loves them more than I could ever dream of.  God with us- I can think of nothing more beautiful.

Emily Bill Unit 3049 KAIDR 3170 Airmans Drive Ft. Pierce, FL 34946

  I feel so blessed to have YOU as a partner in this ministry. Thank you for giving and praying so that I can be here. I know that I am not alone because God is always with me and because I have all of you prayer warriors holding me up every day.  It is an honor to serve here and I look forward to seeing God’s kingdom continue to advance here in the DR!

Love,

Emily Bill

I would love to stay in touch!
emilyrbill@gmail.com

emilyrbill.blogspot.com

Kids Alive International- 2507 Cumberland Dr. Valparaiso, IN 46383- www.kidsalive.org- 1-800-KIDS-330