La Isla Bonita

A typical view in the D.R.

This post is dedicated to my former babysitter whose son just got called to my exact mission--the greatest mission on Earth.  So if you don't have a kid going on a mission to the Dominican Republic or aren't going there yourself, feel free to skip this post.  :-)

The Dominican Republic ("D.R." for short) is a beautiful country, but it is (or was) very different from what I had grown accustomed to as a kid growing up in the U.S.  I got my first taste of what the D.R. would be like when we flew there from the MTC.  The last leg was from Puerto Rico to Santo Domingo and I was shocked when some of the passengers boarded the plane with their chickens--yes live chickens!

Your friendly neighborhood "huelga"

The next adjustment that I had to make was to the vocabulary of the D.R.  It was not what we had been taught in the MTC.

First of all, Dominicans have an unspoken language.  They don't point with their fingers--they point with their lips.  If they don't understand something or don't know something, they will wrinkle their nose.

I got more than a few odd glances when I came home from people who didn't understand why I was wrinkling my nose up at them.

Other words are more Dominican specific:  a bus is a "guagua".  A bench on that bus that might seat 3 in the U.S. will accommodate about 7 in the D.R.  Not because Dominicans are any smaller.  Just because you will get squished in that tight.  Not so much fun.

Forget supermarkets.  You will get all your food from the neighborhood "colmado".  It's like a convenience store or 7-11 if 7-11 decided to start opening up shop in people's dirty garages.  I still have some nightmares about some of the food I saw there.  (Don't think I can ever eat "Bacalao" a "specialty made from mummified codfish.  Colmados don't bother to refrigerate most things like butter and eggs.  Think how much energy we could save here in the U.S. if we stopped needlessly (and wastefully) refrigerating such items.

A "huelga" is a riot.  You will know that a huelga has been called when the aromatic scent of freshly deployed tear gas wafts into the church parking lot or when you wake up in the morning to the acrid smell of burning tires in the middle of the intersection.  The "huelga" is enforced by the burning tires in the middle of the street and by spikes that are thrown into the middle of the highway/street.  All commerce grinds to a halt in the face of a huelga.

Note the picture above.  A typical Dominican neighborhood out in the "campo" (campo = anywhere outside the capital).  Yes, it's the middle of the day and no it's not P-Day.  I'm in my spiffy attire because you're not supposed to work during a huelga--it's not really safe.  (I know, I'm walking on the wild side by daring to get that shot.)

Speaking of safety, get used to military checkpoints and soldiers who look like they're about 16 years old handling M-16s.  It won't phase you.  My mom still hasn't gotten over the shock from when they came down to pick me up and take me home.

Note the word "Mormones" on the basketball

Dominicans love sports.  Everyone thinks that they love baseball and they do, but basketball is actually much more popular in the southwest portion of the country.  Even the tiniest towns have an outdoor basketball court at the center of the town.  Usually with a Michael Jordan "Jumpman" silhouette drawn on center court or the backboards or both.  MJ was very big down there. I remember watching one Bulls playoff game, but not because I was slacking off and watching the game instead of tracting.  I was able to watch it because as I walked down the street every house had the game on in the front room with the windows open.  The ratings to see MJ playing must have been astronomical.

One of the scarier moments of my mission

Some towns had had little contact with cars or white people.  My companion thought it was hilarious to snap this shot.  We had pulled into some little tiny town to get some directions or something and our truck was almost instantly swarmed with these kids.  I don't think they had ever seen an American before.  One of them actually reached into the truck to touch the back of my head.  Needless to say, it was very disconcerting and I got out of there as fast as I could.

P-Day in the jungle.  I'm sure I was having a very deep doctrinal discussion in this picture...

The beauty of the land is off the charts.  These pictures really don't do it justice.  We worked hard and on P-Day we would play hard by going to visit some amazingly beautiful locations.

Seatbelts anyone?  The whole district in the back of a truck.
This is how we usually got around.  It's a lot safer than it looks!

Exploring the D.R.

District meeting under a mango tree

But I digress.  Despite the natural beauty of the D.R., the people are even more beautiful--spiritually speaking.  They are a humble people of faith and accepted us into their homes on a daily basis.  I literally had people share their last bowl of rice and scrap off chicken with us.  I felt guilty many times knowing that I had so much and gave so little, yet Dominicans were willing to give so freely despite their humble circumstances.

This couple is getting married so they can get baptized.  I'm making myself useful by keeping the kids entertained.

You will work with people to help them change their lives, repent, be baptized, and become disciples of the Savior.  You may see a marriage to two (see above).

Carlos Cesar, middle, is baptized by his best friend (left) Reino.  Reino was also the ward mission leader.

The Feliz Family (with Hanlet in front) in the town of Neiba

They say that a mission is the best two years of your life.  That may be true, but I also think it's the hardest two years.  You will get out of it what you put into it.  You will be happy.  You will be sad.  You will be frustrated.  You will be excited.  You will share the burdens and sorrows of the people you teach and you will experience joy as you grow closer to the Savior and feel His love.  In turn, you will want to share that love with the Dominican people.

Deanna, your son is going to have an amazing experience in the D.R. I will never forget my time there and hope to be able to go back to visit some day.  I hope that his missionary service among the Dominican people will be as great a blessing in his life as it was in mine.

El evangelio es verdadero!