You CANNOT drink the local water here as
it is full of bacteria and can make you VERY sick. So, they sell you clean water in 5 gallon jugs for about $1. At the stores you can buy a pump for the top of the jug to dispense your water. I no longer need those workout videos! haha
The next time you open up a carton of eggs I want you to appreciate the fact that they are CLEAN ... ours came directly out of the chicken’s booty!!!! Haha ... oh, AND they put them in a BAG for you to take them home. Needless to say with our horrible road conditions not all are fortunate to make it to Kelly’s plate :) (Seriously, who puts eggs in a bag??)
Our milk, now referred to as "Leche" comes in a cute little box. It sometimes has a pour spout and sometimes it doesn't. If you find a box WITH a pour spout, consider yourself BLESSED! haha
Do we have a washing machine and dryer? Oh yeah right, WHATEVER!!!!! Clothes are washed by hand (I have a new-found respect for my Grandparents generation, Bless Their Hearts!!) And yes, I have a clothes dryer, it’s called a barbed wire fence ...
What about electricity? Uhm yeah, sure we have it ... I think .... Oh yeah, that's right I do have electric ... sometimes .... No, seriously, I must have it because I get a bill each month for it, and its REALLY cheap - like $20 a month!!!! Maybe its so cheap because we only have it for a FEW HOURS A DAY!!!!!!!! Well when we moved here a lady told us that it was only off for a few hours a day I think she meant to say it was only ON for a few hours a day!!! They sell inverters here which is a battery charger. So, when the power is on it will charge the batteries so that when the power goes out you can still run your lights (nothing else, though). Needless to say, you do not use your refrigerator very much. You buy what you need for that day, and nothing else. Did I mention that I have to cook every meal???? Gah, I sure do miss McDonald's!!!!! We have had MAJOR issues here with our power. We have blown out numerous florescent lights and many many electronic items. It could be because of the power lines, I am not sure, as this is just an assumption :) (Check out those power lines)
How do we get around town? We do not have a car yet or the money to purchase one (as they are EXTREMELY expensive here), so we bought two motorcycles to get us to the store and back. A great big thanks goes out to my daddy, Jeff, for teaching me to ride one when I was little bitty - it has finally paid off! You’d be proud, haha!!! Oh yea, the kids LOVE LOVE LOVE it too ... Micah and Jonah want to drive us around since they see little bitty kids driving around. Uhm, I am just not ready for that yet ... Lord help me with this one :)
And if you happen to need anything really large, you can put it on the motorcycle too ... need a sheet of plywood?
How about a fan?
No problem ... they deliver!!! (You would NEVER believe the things you see - so I NEVER leave
the house without my camera!!) Gasoline is about $5 per gallon here, but praise the Lord ours only takes about a gallon and will last us over a week!!!!! And hey, if you run out of gas, someone will graciously push you to the nearest gas station (see picture) ...
You just better hope that our teeny tiny gas station actually “has” gas when you get there!
Oh and there’s a pretty good chance you will get stuck in a traffic jam with some pretty stubborn animals too...
What do you guys eat? Rice & Beans ... and more Rice and Beans!!! Ok, if you’re lucky you might get some Yucca & fried Plantanos (my favorites) and some boiled green bananas (another YUK).
When they cook a fish here -
they dont let ANYTHING go to waste! Same goes for the chickens, they eat feet and all!!!! I have found some things at our teeny tiny “Super Market” (haha ... whatever) that allows us to eat some “normal” things. We eat spaghetti ALOT!!! We have been able to find some good ol pork chops every once in a while. Its just scary as many pigs roam the streets and they eat and drink sewer water ... you do NOT want to eat one of these bad boys, thats fo sho!!!
Also you have to be VERY careful with our electrical issues as meat in the store has been frozen, thawed, frozen, thawed, etc etc ... Where is the FDA when you actually “need” them???
What are the people like there? I will use one word to describe the Dominicans ... LOUD!!!! They talk loud, their music is loud, and their motorcycles are loud! Honestly I am surprised that we dont have many more deaf kids here. And dont think that their churches are any different ... One time Jonah was talking VERY loudly to me right in the middle of the service and NOBODY heard him. It is ridiculous! At 6:30 every morning people are in the streets talking (loudly), driving like crazy on their motorcycles, blaring their music ... most of you know that I am NOT a morning person, and my bedroom window is very close to the road ... thank God I dont own a gun! (just kidding) All joking aside, the Dominicans are very patient and loving people. We have been welcomed in as family here, and for that we are grateful.
Even with all that we have had to deal with on a daily basis, the Lord has truly showed us Grace unmeasurable. He has blessed us with patience (somedays more than others, haha) and He has given us so many reasons to be thankful that we wont let all of the hoopla of everyday living drag us down. We have WAY too much to be thankful for. He has truly blessed us with a wonderful home here, wonderful friends and a wonderful building to teach the deaf (for FREE)!!! We could definitely focus on the negative, but we’d rather PRAISE HIS HOLY NAME!!!!
He called us to Manzanillo to start a school for the deaf ... and one look into these kids eyes and their eagerness to learn ... well, it sure does make it all worth it!
Noodles, Noodles, Noodles...That is what we stuck to...Oh I will tell ya a funny story. When we were in Mexico, John (my husband) and Christian walks to a taco stand. John was ordering when Christian bumped his dad and pointed to a guy that was preparing the tacos, This poor man was having a seizure. John says, "hey, do we need to get ambulancia...so the gentleman who was named Gabriela, say, "NO NO" and take the guy having a seizure and drags him behind the tent, so nobody could see and comes back to help John and Christian with thier order. Needless, to say they came home empty handed. Totally different cultures and ways of doing things than we are used to for sure. But we ate lots of noodles,lots of fresh fruit. Maybe ramen noodles would come in handy for yall. We always went and got only what we needed for the day at the local Soriana, because it always freaked me out when I would go and there was a human head on a stick as I was pulling in...yep, cartels, crazy! All the locals never noticed, they were so used to it. We were blessed though we did have a home close to the ocean which drowned out the noise, and the church we assisted there was walking distance from our house.Something I learned is to never pray for patience, because the Lord will teach you that anyways. But, He will NEVER give you more than you can handle! How are the children adjusting? My kids have been home schooled, so change has never been an issue with mine, they have asked me several times in the past few months to move for good back to Mexico. We are just waiting and praying. Love you guys, and know that we are praying. Oh and Shawn, can we mail items to you where you are? I know where we were in Mexico, only certain items could be brought in and nothing from China.
ReplyDeleteDawn, I am SO mad, I just wrote a big long letter here and lost it all!!!!! Ugh ...
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for the words of encouragement! The DR is no where near as dangerous as Mexico, but sounds like you guys lived a lot like we do. Our kids LOVE it here!!!!! The Lord will lead you back into missions when the time is right ... until then, ENJOY McDonalds and 24 hour electricity!!!! hahaha We have major issues with our mail - but we are working on it!!!
Thanks again (sorry my detailed message got deleted and this one is so short, haha)
Maybe, I will have to fly to volunteer my services where they may be needed sometime. Well, I say I, but it would be Alley 14, with me. She loves missions and she sings, so I know that she would love to lead some worship. She is actually teaching me sign language, so we will def. be able to communicate with all the kids you are helping. Thinking of your family everyday.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing what life is like in the DR for you guys. It sure makes you appreciate the good 'ole USA.
ReplyDeleteLOVED THE STORY OF YOUR NEW LIFE..IT TAKES SPECIAL PEOPLE TO DO WHAT YOU AND KELLY DO...WE MISS U GUYS...GIVE MICAH AND JONAH..A BIG KISS AND HUG FROM AUNT TERI...LOVE U ALL....HUGS
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