God reigns over the Big and the little things.

Truth be told, returning to a rugged environment this semester with no mode of transportation and a bad leg was slightly unnerving. I knew that I would at least be spared from having to face crutches on icy driveways again.

My vulnerable and dependent state has been a chance to see some interesting blessings…..

The first blessing I received in January was to run into a slew of other Doulos teachers in the Miami airport. I had not been able to arrange a ride from the airport to my house in Jarabacoa prior to my departure from Champaign. I was going on good faith that there would be taxis available at the airport in Santiago, DR or I would meet some one I knew from Jarabacoa on the plane ride into the country that already had a ride and was willing to take me along. The director of Doulos happened to be in the Miami airport and has a satellite cell-phone. She called up a taxi and we all enjoyed sharing a taxi ride back to Jarabacoa and had a chance to catch-up.

The second and biggest blessing was already awaiting me in our apartment. Fortunately, my roommates were already home and could open the door for me. I had misplaced my key somewhere in the mess that was my room in our apartment. Being in a cast with a leaking ceiling and no crutches meant I took to throwing things around my room….I was not looking forward to dealing with the mess of dirty, dust clothes that was sure to be awaiting me in my bedroom. The open ceiling and massive amounts of rain in the fall were sure to have made most everything moldy. On top of that, all floors in this country seem to attract a layer of dust that is visible by the end of a week! I had been gone for three months. What gross floor would be awaiting me? How was I going to clean my room when it hurt to stand and I couldn’t bend down to clean anything?

I arrived at our apartment around 10PM and was floored to walk into a sparkling, clean bedroom that had fresh sheets on the bed and was far more tidy and organized than I had left it. Our neighbor Frilandia (the secretary for Doulos) had felt God speak to her about cleaning my room and had spent all morning mopping the floor and cleaning out the dust and mold. I was stressed and discouraged about returning to my apartment for no reason. God already had every detail covered!

The ongoing blessing of learning to depend on others has been to see how the community around me has been very aware of my need for transportation. There are days when I am running late for school and had forgotten to arrange a ride and some one has shown up at my door just in time. I was even walking through town and getting tired and my leg was starting to ache when the 4th grade teacher’s husband pulled up and offered me a ride. In addition, my student’s parents have driven me around town on various errands and helped with the planning of various fieldtrips.

What a blessing it is to take a risk and see how God has blessed my life through it and grown my faith. I am also learning a lot about what a truly godly community should look like. My leg continues to heal slowly, but surely and I continue to be blessed by the community around me.