“And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some,
evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;”
Ephesians 4:11
So
Phyllis asked me, or more so told me, to write an entry for her blog after my
visit to the Dominican Republic.
Her words were, “it is about time for me to write another entry, so you
can cover that.” LOL! On my
Facebook, I labeled my album of DR photos, “Visiting Phyllis in her new home.” This seemed fitting to me after my visit. While Phyllis screams at the top of her
lungs about not having reliable hot water and power, not being able to flush
toilet paper, getting milk out of a cardboard box, etc. – she is quick to
correct when someone asks “Americana?”
On several occasions I heard her say that she was Dominican and there
were only tres Americanas. After
only a year, Phyllis is home – permanently or until God tells her
otherwise. While I sarcastically
called her my hero, I do truly believe she is AMAZING for what she is doing! I would not have the strength to do and
give up half the things she does on a daily basis.
Our
trip began, Tuesday, with me arriving at Phyllis’ and within the hour puking my
guts out due to the anti-malaria medicine I was taking. Phyllis was right there with me holding
my hair and rubbing my back.
Luckily the next day I was feeling better and able to participate in the
planned itinerary- hiking in the mountains to the waterfalls. Heather kept commenting on how amazing
the whole thing is, because something as beautiful in America would have been
commercialized and turned into a profit.
By end of day Wednesday, rain had moved in and stayed for the duration
of our trip. We didn’t let the
rain dampen our fun though. Our
beach day, Thursday turned into go cart races in the pouring rain (there are no
regulations about rain and go cart tracks in the Dominican) and on Friday we
toured Jarabacoa on motos in the rain.
The
parts of the trip that stick out to me the most though were the times we spent with
the locals: the families, the children, the moto drivers. Wednesday night we had a birthday
celebration for the Plankenhorn’s children and on the invite list were their
neighbors. They came and ate
dinner, birthday cake, opened gifts, laughed and fellowshipped with us.
Everyone was included and everyone felt a part of the family during the
celebration.
On Thursday night, the Ostbergs took us out for a tour of Jarabacoa
after dinner. At night and in the
rain, children came running out to wave and say hi at the recognition of the
Ostbergs vehicle. We stopped and
were invited into a home of several of the families. The families sent their kids to the neighbor’s house to get
chairs so we all had somewhere to sit.
They talked with us, while Phyllis and the Ostbergs translated. The smiles on their faces as they
shared about themselves and showed photos to us gave me a little insight to the
impact these missionaries are having on the area they live in. The kids were all asking if we were
still going to play with them the next day even if it was raining. The answer was a unanimous YES!
Friday at 2:00 we showed up at the
field where FIGHT Ministries meets to play with the children, which after the
rain was a MUD PIT. About twenty
kids came out to interact and be loved on by the group. Games of baseball, soccer, and
volleyball were taking place.
Laughter could be heard all around and huge grins covered faces. The relationships these families; the Plankenhorns, the Ostbergs, and Phyllis Brady, are building with the locals is
laying the groundwork for the awesome work God has prepared them for.
Rain and all I had a memorable
trip. I cannot wait to go back and
visit Phyllis and the FIGHT Ministry Team again. I started my blog entry with a scripture – this group was
definitely called to the ministry on which they are embarking. The small steps they are taking now are
going to leave LARGE footprints on the hearts of all those they minister to.
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