Hey Everybody!
Hope this all makes sense. I’m sure you are thinking to
yourself FINALLY BELINDA IS GOING TO BLOG!!! Yep... I am saying the same thing.
Each day I think ok... today is the day I going to sit down and start typing,
but then I think to myself ABOUT WHAT!!??!! So I begin…
As you all know Phyllis and I have been friends for quite
sometime. What brought us close was the day she was baptized. She had been
talking about it for, it seemed, like months. So… the big day had arrived and I
along with several other friends went to Ridge point Church to witness the
greatest moment of anyone’s life. In her video taped at least a week before,
she talked about all her friends and co-workers and how she was so grateful
they had come to her baptism. This was CRAZY!! It seemed has though God had
somehow told her that we would all be there. And… Tah-Dah… we were! From then
on out I had finally found a church home, which I had been searching for, but
honestly off and on, and when I felt like getting up.
So fast forward a couple of years and Phyllis had gone on
her first mission trip. I wanted to hear all about it, so we went Chillis
(shocker) alone and she told me all of these crazy and unreal stories. Dead
people that were shot in the head… little girls being sold as prostitutes….
Families and CHILDREN living in a “landfill”… TRASH DUMP! Seriously, this could
not be. A year went by and I kept
thinking to myself “well kiddo… you need to pray and see if this is what’s next
in your walk...” YEP! Going to Honduras!!
Since 2011 when I first visited Honduras things had became
more difficult. No one said being Christian was easy. MAN, THAT IS SO TRUE!! To
this very day I struggle in so many ways. I’m working on some areas and trying
to stronger but it’s very hard. I had always thought of myself as a Christian
but didn’t really know what that meant until that week in Honduras.
The next summer I planned on going to both trips, back to
Honduras to see the people I love and to the Dominican Republic to see what God
is up to there.
Side note: When you think of 3rd world countries,
you ask yourself, “How can God be there when it’s so poor and people are
suffering?” Let me just say that you will NEVER see God in so many ways until
you visit a 3rd world country. Everything people have, they say is a
blessing from God. Things that they hope and pray for in the present and the
future will always start with “If it is GOD’S will….” Not if I can get this
much money or do this and this and this… NOPE GOD’S WILL!! Their faith is SO
strong. Nothing goes unblessed.
Now… DR. So Phyllis left in March and I got to take her to
the airport which was the hardest thing to do. I didn’t realize until Heather
and I were in the elevator that I just left one of my best friends alone to
move to the DR and she had NEVER been there before. I got through the first
couple days and then it hit me like a ton a bricks on the Friday after she
left. I heard “Edge of Glory going to work... cried… got to work looked at my
calendar… oh Jesus Group (aka Family Group) no Phyllis… cried again… then
Heather walks in the door at work to give me Phyllis’ white jacket that she
gave me.. CRIED AGAIN!!! I’m not a crier people, so for this to happen to me 3
times in one day is ridiculous.
Phyllis is someone if you haven’t noticed to tell you how it is, which
was great for me because I’m a pain and I don’t like to listen to people so
when she told me things... she told me!!!
DR trip… when we landed my stomach went crazy… in a good
way. Nervous and anxious to see Phyllis, heather and Luke, When we walked out
of the airport it was SO awesome to see them all standing there. I screamed and
ran towards her. It was like I hadn’t seen her in forever, and I just saw her
in Honduras 3 weeks prior. I was ready for this mission now that I had my girls
together.
The first couple of days I spend getting to know the place.
It was very different from what I thought it would be. I thought it was going
to be like Honduras, unsafe for the majority of the trip. Not really… but a
little bit. DR was different. It is really hard to explain now. Of course I waited several weeks to
write my blog so my fault. BUT I do know that the school that we worked in was
like a jail but I felt safe ALL the time. It was nice being at the school and
playing with all the kids. Considering we had “crap” (to US kids), to play
with, we had SO Much fun! They loved to play and just sit and talk with us.
(Not that much talking going on due language barrier, but I did pretty good).
Each day as we headed back to the hotel it was amazing to hear how many kids
were treated that day, which means that’s how many kids I got to see, smile at
and reassure that they would be ok at the clinic. Those couple days there were
fun but then came the hard work which was working at the trade school. I was
climbing in the rafters putting electrical stuff through the insulation with
Luke. I think I lost 10 lbs of sweat doing that because I was a little nervous
to not let my feet slip because I was going through the roof and it was HOT as
you know what. I don’t think the people of the other churches there knew how
intense we Ridge point girls are. (Not crazy and we talk really quiet) ha-ha!
Just Joking! We were CRAZY! Screaming at nails that (Rated R) sucked and pretty
much went to “Do-It-Girl-self” when putting up the walls. We were measuring
walls using a tape measure (not easy btw), Phyllis running the saw, doing
cheerleading lifts to get the high nails in the wall. It was awesome! Food was
VERY scary. I thought I had lost weight from not eating most of the meals, but
let me just say that if there was a meal that I could and wanted to eat, I ate…
I ate A LOT!!! Can anyone say “Mas papas fritas” (more French fries). J I
lived on French fries. They were so good.
After all the work and hanging out with the kids we go to
have a free day, so we went to see Phyllis and Luke’s homes. They were very
nice. Looked like expensive apartments from outside. Then you go to the inside
and it was really simple. Not much on the walls and very little furniture, but
there was just enough to make it seem like home. It was so peaceful there.
Seemed like there was nothing to worry about except for the random people
stopping at the outside gate and it being loud when cars go by but it was yet
peaceful. I could see now why Phyllis told me in Honduras, the DR was her home
and she missed her home (DR). It was very nice in Jarabacoa. When we went
shopping to the stores in the “downtown” area, it was just like walking into
stores at an outside mall or like going antiquing with my mom in Dade City. It
was easy. We didn’t have to worry too much about crazy people attacking you with a machete. Oh
that’s right… we had the 2 crazies that bought machetes. So awesome, RPC girls.
We saw quite a few Americans in Jarabacoa, which made me think it was a great
place to live. This made me feel a little bit better about saying Good-bye to
Phyllis the following day. After shopping, we were able to lay out by a pool at
a near by hotel and then visit 2 waterfalls. They were so beautiful. I even got
to jump off a small cliff that was near the waterfall, and I didn’t throw-up,
chip a tooth or lose a contact like the time I jumped into the 8th
largest hole in the Bahamas. Yeah… you would think I would have learned from
that experience but I’m a daredevil. I like to walk on the wild side. Mom would
have had a heart attack. J
So fun day over and church the next day… I haven’t read any
of the other girls blogs but I will get to them one day. I’m still trying to
catch up on Phyllis’ blogs since this is only day 2 that I have read her blogs.
I know… I SUCK AT LIFE and AS A FRIEND!! I’ve been in denial about her living
in the DR. I just think… yes I know what’s going…. And I really don’t. I’m
getting better. So… church… Church was AMAZING!! This blows any church service
I have been to out of the water. Sorry Pastor Timm, but the music and the
atmosphere were so awesome that God was there looking at us and speaking to us.
A couple of times I thought I was going to loose it. It was either going to be
a ridiculous laugh, which I usually do instead of crying or just let the tears
come. This time it was a combo. I laughed at appropriate times and got a little
bit teary most of the time. (I’m
weird I know… and sorry Dana for laughing when you were reading that one night
from Crazy Love to the team in your room… it was either laugh or cry and at
that moment it was laugh… super sorry, it was not at you) But the hardest thing
I hard that entire day was on the bus that morning riding next to Phyllis. She told
me that it was really hard for her to see and hang out with us. It had been the
best week ever, which laughing and jokes and just fun, but she knew it was
ending on this very day. Of course not forever but for a good bit until we were
able to go and visit. This time I cried... oh and I also yelled at her for
making me cry. (Sorry, Phyllis) lol!!!
But that Sunday was the best day ever. We were all together,
worshiping, and enjoying our time
together. It was a very tough evening but we all made it through with our
good-byes. I still think about that day and tears come to my eyes. I miss my
Phyllis, my rock. She helped me stay on my toes and kept me straight on my
path. I’m a little bit curvy sometimes, but there was one more thing that she
said that Sunday morning that I always think and remember, “they are looking up
to you” (referencing the ones we lead in Christ; whether it be friends or in a
small group setting).
Love you, Phyllis!!!
Your,
Bee!
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