My cell phone rang. My youth pastor anxiously awaiting for me to answer. As he began to tell me that my church was willing to pay for my trip to the Dominican Republic as a missionary, my eyes began to water. I had always dreamt of visiting another place that was less fortunate than I, to not only help them but to experience the needy first hand. When I attended the meeting for all of those who were participating in this mission trip we received a packet with a list of things that were necessary to bring and things that were not.
Being the girl that I am, seeing the big bold letters at the top of the paper saying “DO NOT BRING” and the list of items that followed was absolutely shocking to me. A few of the items from this list was a hairdryer, straightener, make-up, cell phone, etc. As I scanned this list of items I am thinking to myself “What have I gotten myself into?” I began to feel really nervous about this trip. Sleeping miles away from home in one hundred degree weather on a bunk bed surrounded by a mosquito net. Unable to brush my teeth with the water for fear of getting sick if I swallowed a small amount, was not how I expected to spend my summer. Leaving my comfort zone for a place where you have to be cautious of your surroundings was a huge risk for me to take.
In the beginning of the week, things were most definitely hard to get use to. However, as it progressed, I began to realize how much I took for granted. Any one of those orphans would have gladly taken the shoes off my feet and the clothes off my body without a care in the world about the color, the brand, the size, or how it made them look. Even the tiniest bit of attention and interaction brightened their day. I am very blessed that I had this opportunity and that the risk I took did not only benefit the kids we were reaching out to but it showed me a view of the world I had never been exposed to.
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