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Print By Chelsea Miller The day had finally arrived—I was flying to the Dominican Republic with Apostolic Youth Corps (AYC) and about 25 other young people! I could hardly wait. Fortunately, I did not have to worry about a struggling night of sleep because my adoring father had thought only of my comfort when booking my flight for 6 a.m. Thank God I was up at 2:30 a.m., running on a full three hours of sleep so that I would be completely prepared for an arduous day of traveling. After two flights, I made it to Miami International Airport where I met up with the rest of the AYCers. As I began to talk to them, I realized just how much fun this trip was going to be. Everyone seemed to get along so well and we all connected really fast. It was June 15, 2007 and we’d be gone through June 25, 2007. We had even more time to connect as we sat on the runway for an hour and a half waiting for the pilot, whose previous aircraft had hit some pigeons, had delayed his arrival to our plane. (Do not worry. They informed us that none of the pigeons were severely injured.) Luckily, we had some wonderful entertainment during our downtime. Two elderly Dominican women liked none of the available seats on the plane and were complaining to the flight attendant, who spoke no Spanish. Furthermore, a woman (who was a little tipsy) offered Skittles to the grandchildren of the Dominican women if they would switch seats. I never imagined my trip would start out with such a bang. Very soon, though, we had landed, cleared customs, and were off! The Children’s Crusades The first two days in the Dominican Republic we hosted two children’s crusades. At the first one, there were over 1,000 children packed into a room that should have held only about 800 people. I do not think I have ever seen so many children in one place! It was so crazy that when it came time for altar call we could hardly pray for the kids because half of them were running around while the rest were actually trying to pray. However, the spirit of God moved anyway and children received the Holy Ghost! The second crusade was much smaller and much easier to control. There were about 300 children and everything was so organized. We all thanked God as we witnessed children giving their hearts to God. A Day of Rest Realizing that we were worn out after these two days, the missionaries decided to let us relax. We started our day by going into the market. Here we bought a ton of souvenirs! The minute we walked in, the shop owners began saying, “Come into my shop! I have what you need. You not need to look anymore!” That was understandable since everyone pretty much had the same thing. Everything was way over-priced, so we had to bargain with them to get their price down. Some of us had more fun with this than others, as we would not go up on the price no matter what! However, some of us were softies and just paid the sticker price because we felt bad. I decided that I was most definitely not paying more than necessary. So, I bartered them down as far as possible! My friend Joanna and I also had a blast trying on some of the millions of masks that were for sale. We then ate at a beautiful beachside restaurant. I have never seen such a beautiful beach in my life. The water was so clear and blue. We all just wanted to jump right in! The food was really good, too. They eat a lot of chicken and rice in Dominican, and most of us had that. We also had fried plantains and yucca. Village 106 This next day was probably the most influential for many of us. We visited a village that was so poor that their houses had dirt floors and looked as if they would collapse at any second. We passed out small sacks of rice and tracts to most of the people—and they were so grateful. No one appreciated America as much as we did in that moment. These people had hardly anything, and yet when we held a small church service, they seemed so much more thankful to God. It simply amazed me. Church in Puerto Plata Next, we went to a small church in Puerto Plata. We handed out tracks around the barrio (almost like a large neighborhood) about 30 minutes before church. As we walked along, the people and children were so friendly. The children wanted their pictures taken over and over and over again. They simply loved seeing what they looked like on the camera. It amazed me just how friendly they were, and they were not intimidated even though we were complete strangers. When it came time for church, we had several visitors and the church was so tiny. Some of us had to stand outside because there were not enough seats. The power of God moved, however, and the people began worshipping. Camp in the Mountains or My Brush with Death Our final destination was the summer youth camp. I have to admit that this was definitely the most fun part of the trip. Although the camp itself was awesome, the trip up the mountains has to be the most memorable. Because we were in a large tour bus, the driver had to turn off the air conditioning so that we could make it up the hills. We slowly crept up the mountain and as we progressed, the hills got larger and steeper. To our detriment, we came to one that we just could not go up. The bus stopped in the middle of one of the biggest hills I have ever seen in my life. He quickly told us that half of us needed to get off. Just as he said that, the bus began to slide backwards! The brakes had given out! We all screamed, as the bus driver remained unnervingly calm. It finally stopped and half of the AYCers jumped off the bus. Just as it was my turn, the bus began to slide again! I thought, “Oh, dear God, I’m gonna die!” It came to a halt and I was never happier to touch the dirt ground. The bus then proceeded up the hill with about 13 of us standing on the side of the road. We began to walk up and a small pick-up truck (which also happened to be going to the camp) picked us up. We all piled in the bed of the truck. Hanging on for dear life, none of us could decide if we liked sliding around in a huge bus or feeling like we were about to be thrown from the back of a truck better. After driving a few miles, we returned safely to our tour bus and shortly thereafter arrived at the campground. We had all prayed through several times by then. Upon arriving, we got to hang out with all the youth and get to know them. A few spoke English and were eager to practice. The few of us that spoke Spanish were also eager to practice, and we all learned from each other. The church services were the most astonishing and I wish that every service I went to was like those in Dominican. Throughout the entire worship service, they danced! And they sure could dance. They praised God with everything in them every single service. We always hear preachers say, “Worship God like this was your last service!” Well, these people actually did! The End of Our Trip, But Not My Travels It all came to an end way too fast. Had I not been so homesick for American pleasures, I could have stayed in Dominican for much longer. The people there truly make you feel at home and comfortable. I not only made great friends among the AYCers, but also in Dominican. I will definitely be going on another AYC trip. God transformed me in ways that I may have only let Him do in a foreign country. There is something about being so far away from everyone you know that gives you a certain freedom that you cannot possess in your hometown. I encourage everyone to expand your world and be an asset to the mission field—even if it is only for 10 days. It will change your life! ninetyandnine.com © 2007, Chelsea Miller ---------- Chelsea Miller is currently in her second year of college at the University of Missouri-St. Louis where she is studying Spanish and International Business. She enjoys reading and shopping in my spare time. |
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