WE MADE IT! Yes, we reached Jarabacoa (say ha-rah-bah-co-ah) yesterday evening, safe and sound. The bus ride was quite enjoyable and we got to see the beautiful countryside here in the DR. Jarabacoa is a busy town. There are motos everywhere so you've really gotta move it to cross the street; it is a big change in comparison to the sleepy village of Juan Dolio that we have spent the past two weeks in.
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| view from hotel balcony |
Another welcome change is the temperature. Jarabacoa is in the mountains so it enjoys a cooler, less humid climate due to its elevation. After the sweltering heat in Juan Dolio it was nice to spend this morning in the ministry and not have my shirt sticking to me after a couple of hours out :-) The climate here is very moderate, this area is called the Land of Eternal Spring. There were some modest rain showers and misting throughout the day which explains why everything is so lush and green here. We are surrounded by mountains and it is quite impressive to look all around you and see mountains and clouds all about. Being here you cannot help but be reminded of Jehovah's creative works.
Well, enough about that how about the ministry you ask? Okay, I'll tell you. We met many new friends this morning at the meeting for service and got to work with a couple who are also from Florida; Alexandra and Jason from Key Largo. They are here for 5 or 6 weeks. Alexandra is a school teacher and each summer for the past few years they have spent time as needgreaters in a different land. They have been to Panama, The Bahamas, and now are spending this summer here in Jarabacoa. We worked with them this morning and got to know them a bit. We didn't find many English speakers home today but did get to talk to one interesting fellow named Michael. He was guarding one of the homes on the street and asked if we were lost. We told him no, explained who we were and he pointed out to us a few of the homes that he knew of where people spoke English. He also told us no one was at the home he was guarding and jokingly offered to let us in to use the Jacuzzi. We passed on the offer but I was able to place a magazine with him.
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| Michael the Security Man |
After service we joined Alexandra and Jason for a takeout lunch and ate it in a park in the center of town. We were approached by several young men offering to shine our shoes but declined. One though, caught our attention I guess because he was so young. Alexandra was talking to him in Spanish and he said his name was Daniel and that he was 11 years old. He said he had 7 brothers and sisters and that he had been shining shoes for 5 years. According to Daniel his mother has a bad foot and can't work and his father lives in Santiago. So there we sat eating our lunch and little Daniel with sad puppy dog eyes watching us and we all melted. We let him shine our shoes and I told him that I would "buy the rights" to tell his story in my blog for 10 pesos. Man could this kid work, you should have seen him go at it. So was his story for real? Who knows he probably made the whole thing up to make us feel sorry for him. But for us we got to feel good about helping the kid out and got a nice shine for less than a buck to boot! Get it-shoe shine- to boot-lol, I'm so funny(looking)
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| five minutes later, they were dirty again |
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| 25 pesos senorita, por favor |
After lunch we headed out to do a little sight seeing in the area. We went to a well known waterfalls in the area called Salto de Jimenoa. There was lush scenery heading up to the falls. When we arrived there the falls were equally attractive. Leading up to the falls we crossed over a rickety almost "Indiana Jones" type wooden bridge which passed over a river and some huge multi-colored rocks. The whole sight was really pretty. Taking it in along with the other views around here makes me appreciate the saying they have about Jarabacoa. It says that "God is everywhere, but he sleeps in Jarabacoa". When I think about not only the natural beauty and mild climate of the area, but also the fine work our brothers are doing in the congregations here, I would have to agree.
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Daniel the little con-artist err shoe shine boy |
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| Dani Stylin' @ Salto de Jimeno Falls |
I have been shining shoes for 37 years (my own shoes, that is) and I haven't worked since this past Wednesday (vacation, weekend and the holiday, you know).
ReplyDeleteDaniel had a great story, true or not. ;-) You were very loving to let him shine your shoes. Your reward will be great in the heavens, and your shoes appreciated it, too.