The Place in Which I Live

First, I will say that school has gotten off to a great start, and I am excited for what will be happening this school year! Second, I am now going to write about something other than ministry activities for a change...

I am blessed to be living on a dairy goat farm that requires a generator, and right by a school that requires internet. In these ways, my life here is not usually so very different from how it was in Georgia. Every once in a while, though, I get that reminder that I am, in fact, living in a third world country.

For example: I am currently enjoying "air conditioning" from a mechanism that has blades that whirl around in fast rotation (the fan). This may not sound like A/C to you, but it is. Any doubt of that fact is erased from the mind just as soon as the generator breaks down and we are stuck with public electricity. I am currently using the internet. The internet system, however, seems to be allergic to thunderstorms. These are small reminders of how most of the people here live: planning anything using electricity around certain (or uncertain) hours, going to a public internet center, and the like.

Perhaps the most constant reminder of WHERE it is that I live is when it comes to cooking. When I left Georgia over a year ago, I brought with me several simple and tasty recipes, looking forward to plugging in the crock pot in the mornings and coming in after school to a wonderful lunch. It didn't work out that way. As we are usually on public electricity in the mornings, the current is too low for the crock pot to bring anything to simmering point. Sadly, it has been reassigned to keep things warm AFTER they are cooked if so needed. Several of my recipes, too, include a very necessary cream of chicken soup. After looking at tiny cans with high prices, I reached the conclusion that anything requiring cream of chicken soup must inevitably be made from scratch. A week and a half ago, I got stuck in an interesting situation: no precooked leftovers left, raw meat thawed for cooking, no recipe for said meat, and the internet was out (and I forgot that I had very helpful neighbors). That was when "ranch chicken and potatoes" popped into my head -- a recipe that made it's debut in my life while my friends and I waited for it to cook 4 hours in a stove that wasn't turned on... (another story).

Despite these "reminders," I love the Dominican Republic and its people, and wouldn't trade these learning curves for anything! By the way, I owe a big THANK YOU to several of you who have given me cooking tips over the past couple of weeks -- it has really helped!

May God bless you this week! Thank you for your continued prayers and support.