Preparing

Just over 6 weeks until we're in Azua. After experiencing the bitter cold in Wisconsin last week the warm temperatures are very inviting but that part of the trip is so far removed from our purpose and focus. All of us look forward to warm vacations and getting away from the cold and the snow when we can. Azua, however, is different. Yes, it's warm but when we think of Azua our first thoughts are not of vacations or the temperature. It's the sights, the sounds, the smells, the people.

The city of Azua is busy and noisy and smells of exhaust. The sounds of large trucks and scooters is intermingled with various horns and the occasional blasting of music from speakers mounted in the back of pickups. The marketplace is crowded with people sometimes shoulder to shoulder picking through piles of used clothes or household goods. The smells vary from the beautiful fresh produce to the pungent fish and meat prepared under standards different than our own. While better than years ago, it is not clean. Vendors take positions along the streets selling fish, fried food, cashews, fruit and bootlegged dvd's. Intersections are crowded with young men on scooters looking for a fare (taxis). It seems chaotic to the uninitiated. 

Outside of the city is a bit slower but not rural to our definition. Village after village with tens of thousands of people live within 20 miles of the center of town. The sounds of scooters is nearly always present at least in the background and loud music from bars not uncommon but the crowdedness is gone. While still heavily populated to our sense of country living, the people of the city are replaced by other living things: like pigs, and chickens, and goats. 

This is where we spend much of our time. The dusty dirt streets littered with broken glass and garbage. Homes made out of plywood with tin roofs, a concrete floor and a single light bulb hanging from the support structure made of hewn branches. Lumber is expensive in the DR. Privacy in the homes is often-times just a hanging bed sheet. Beds themselves are some times a luxury only for the adults. 

While becoming more available, electricity in the rural areas can not always be depended on. Even in the nice house where we stay in the city we sometimes find it difficult for our American eyes to focus as the bulb wattage is so low. 

Further yet outside of town is where the poverty becomes shocking to the unwary. Small, isolated villages where the men work in the nearby fields. Little to no access to clean water. Limited to no electricity. Single room homes made of scrap lumber and tin with dirt floors. Children running around naked until they are about 2 or 3 years old. No sanitation to speak of.

We've seen it before. Three of us have been down there yearly for 8 years or more. We fear we have gotten accustomed to it but we pray with intensity that we do not become callous to it. They are no different than us. They only live under different circumstances. They, like us, are image-bearers of the Creator. They need a savior the same as us. In fact, an argument could be made that because of their humbleness they have a heart more open to receiving that savior. They don't have the trappings of busyness or the distractions of wealth. While a different skin color and language, as a people they are much more open and inviting than Americans.

It's more than the sights and the sounds or the smells, however. It's always the people. The people and their stories. Not one person can go on these trips and not return home without having a story touch their heart. Thirty-two separate Americans have been on this trip in the last 8 years. While I can't say for sure I would find it hard to believe that any left the DR without shedding tears at least once. 

The stories of heartache, pain or suffering are numerous in a third-world country. But it doesn't end there. The story of Christ didn't end with His suffering and death. The many stories we witness of sacrifice, redemption, repentance and salvation are the ones that bring the most emotion. These are the stories of Christ's power as He is alive and working in those who have accepted Him. May our hearts be prepared to serve Him and may the hearts of those in the DR be prepared to hear His message.