Happy Things

Many of you have been requesting more photos on my blog. It's understandable. It just took me a while to remember to buy batteries for my camera, but I finally did and so here are a few brief glimpses of life here in DR: (1) -at the bottom-meet Shiloh. Two nights ago, Amy and I were eating spaghetti when we heard some incredibly loud and very pathetic yowling. I tried very hard to ignore it because I know that this country is full of homeless animals. In fact, a month ago we had a stray puppy crying in front of our house that I rescued. She was SO cute and I named her Ella and she lived at the art school. But, one day she found her way off the property and never returned. My heart has been broken over it. Anyway, so there we were, eating spaghetti, when I couldn't stand it any more. We walked down the street and lo and behold, there was this tiny, tiny kitten crying in front of a neighbor's house. We both instantly agreed that it needed to be ours, so I went back with a plate of tuna and lured him home with me. He's a little lover. (2) above Shiloh is a plate of tostones, garlic rice and fresh avocado. This is a typical Dominican dish. Tostones are fried and pressed slices of green plantain. To make them, you have to peel the plantains which skins are very tough, slice them in rounds and then toss the rounds into a pan with about a half inch of very hot oil. You cook 'em for a few minutes, then scoop them out and put them into a wooden press thing (also pictured above-#3), one at a time, to smush them. Then you put them back into the hot oil for a few more minutes, take them out, salt and eat. I took this photo because, well, it was the first time I have ever made garlic rice and tostones and was very proud of myself. (4) last night, Amy and I had a group of 9 girls over for pizza, brownies and a movie. 7 of the ladies are part of the group of semester students who are here from Bethel College in Indiana. They will be here in Jarabacoa until December 11. Their first 5 weeks are spent in Spanish class, then they have a week of traveling around the island, then they work at our ministry sites (I'll have two of them at art!) for 8 weeks. They are all delightful. The other two girls are Mary Emily (8 yrs. old) and Isabelle (6) who are the daughters of two on our staff, Sissy and Brian. Sissy and my roommate work together. It was a very fun evening. (5) second to last, a photo of my bed replete with mosquito net. In the beginning, I did not sleep with the net because, really, we don't get too many moquitos in the house and when you sleep with a fan on (every single night), they can't land too easily. However, we have another pest problem: lizards, geckos and anoles. These guys are absolutley colorful, beautiful, quaint. They also leave their droppings EVERYWHERE. One night, I was sitting on my bed, reading, when a fresh lizard dropping fell on me. That was the last straw. Up went the moquito net. The way many of the houses are designed here, our house included, is with tin rooves that are not secured against the top of the walls. Between the roof and the wall is like a 4 inch gap that things like lizards, bugs and mice can crawl through and leave a trail behind them. I don't like to sleep underneath the net, but it gives me a semblance of peace and therefore is included in the 'happy things'. Last, but not least, the happiness of paint. One of the many joys of being here is the time I get to spend making art. I don't do it everyday, but I have the freedom to do so whenever the mood strikes. Yesterday, Francisco and I were discussing the Great Comission: "Go into all the world and preach the gospel, make disciples and baptize them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, teaching them all I have commanded you." That is an Amy paraphrase. Anyway, I asked Fran: "There are like an abundance of missionaries here. And, there are enough Dominican believers to share the gospel with their neighbors. So, why am I here and not in some jungle where they've NEVER heard?" He just smiled and said (in Spanish), "Yes, we have many believers here and many missionaries. But we don't have art missionaries." Then he threw back his head and laughed with pure joy. That is the happiest thing of all.