A Rough Day

Today was a rough day. It started out well as I got up, did a yoga video and spent some time with the Lord. Then, I made my first mistake of doing my laundry. Doing laundry here is a strategic thing as it always rains, even if it's only for 3 minutes (just enough to get your clothes wet), on laundry days. I thought, "well, the sun is peeking out so why don't I do it and then come home during lunch to take my clothes down before the afternoon rain."

So after doing my laundry and getting ready I headed to Anija. At 9am it started to rain, oh well. As for class, let's just say the kiddos got bored of coloring, crafts, activities, stories, etc. and we ran out of things to do within the days' curriculum. That left me with a handful of restless kindergarteners which didn't make the morning go so smoothly.

After lunch time I thought, "well, it stopped raining a couple of hours ago, my laundry is probably fairly dry, why don't I go home and take it down before it really starts to pour." As I started to leave Anija on my pasola (like a scooter), I debated whether to turn right or left to go back to my house. Mistake number two, turning left (my usual path to and from home). LONG STORY SHORT, THE POLICE STOPPED ME AND CONFISCATED MY PASOLA BECAUSE I WASN'T WEARING A HELMET. Now you have to know a little bit about the Dominican Republic. I've lived here for more than 10 months and have probably seen a total of 10 people (n0n-missionaries) wearing helmets throughout that time. I was so confused about what was going on, although I've heard they do this randomly- the police randomly choose a day and start pulling people over and giving them fines for things that are not enforced the other 364 days of the year to make a little money. So, as I walked the rest of the way home, I of course saw every other person on a motorcycle not wearing a helmet, motorcycles with two adults and a baby without helmets, and people who had helmets on but not buckled. Needless to say, the police really don't care about safety when it comes to wearing helmets. They care about money.

So I finally got home and needed to go to the bathroom as well as make some copies but of course there was no power. I took down my clothes (they were fairly dry) and started to walk back to Anija for the afternoon program. Of course it started raining hard.

Throughout the next hour I had all these emotions about the Dominican culture. I felt angry. I was angry at the fact that I heard one of the police yell "gringa!" (meaning there's a white female) before they pulled me over. I was angry that it really wasn't about wearing a helmet for safety and that I kept seeing others not wearing helmets and not being pulled over. I was upset that instead of being able to drive quickly past all those comments and "cat calls" from Dominican men, I had to walk by them and hear them. And I didn't like that I had to go back to Anija, knowing that I looked like I had been crying and that I wouldn't be able to explain all that in Spanish when people ask me what was wrong.

But you know what, even though it was a rough day, I can honestly say that I know God was right there by me, reminding me that He is GOOD no matter what happens, even when I'm really upset. At the end of the day, God is good and He is faithful and will work things out. I'm grateful for our summer interns at Anija who listened to and encouraged me this afternoon. I had a fun time tutoring a couple sixth graders in math. My roommate Katie happened to drive by as I was walking home and gave me a ride. And I got to have dinner and Bible study with some great people tonight. As for my pasola, it's a little complicated. Usually, you could go to the police station, pay a fine and show documents for your pasola, motorcycle, etc. But, I've been using a former missionaries pasola (from a few years ago) and we don't have her documents and haven't been able to get a hold of her since I started using her pasola. So, please pray with me that things get cleared up with having papers for the pasola or that other transportation would work out such as purchasing another motorcycle.

Thanks for your prayers and for reading this! GOD IS GOOD!