Batey Nueve Here We Come...Slowly!

Feeling rested, perky, full of vim and vigor after a few hours of sleep, our team was up and eating scrambled eggs and hot dog buns with jelly and/or peanut butter at 4:15 a.m. Oh...and hot coffee!

The Wednesday note from my sister Janice held these words...
Isaiah 6:8...
I heard the voice of the Lord saying: "Whom shall I send, And who will go for us?" Then I said, "Here am I! Send me."

He sent me...and it would prove to be quite a ride!

After disassembling our beds and packing up our bags, the loading of the bags and the team took place with smooth efficiency. A series of van rides to haul us all to where our large bus was parked saved us from retracing our steps of the previous night. Breakfast got shaken up in our bellies, but we were all thankful for the lift! Todd and I smugly mentioned how great it was that it was six o'clock a.m. and we were already heading out.

Lesson of the day...don't count your chickens before they're hatched! Not too many miles into the six hour trip the bus had gas pedal sticking issues. Over to the roadside we went, with many of us exiting the bus and watching the traffic go by. 45 minutes later a replacement bus showed up. Not bad! Our patience was amazing.

I was soaking up a lesson on this first day of D.R. travel. It feels really good to let go of control!

If you know me well, you probably know I like to be in charge, like any good Montgomery woman does. And the more I talk to other women, the more I realize that's just women! We always know what's best for everyone around us and how things should work for everyone's benefit and enjoyment, right, ladies?

Well, sitting toward the front of the huge buses and watching as our driver swerved around motor bikes, honked at other vehicles to move over so he could pass, tailgated within an inch of a pickup truck's bumper (with three children sitting in the bed of the truck - at night!), and yes, breaking down and waiting for a rescue...all of these things would have me bracing my foot on the dashboard or asking the driver (usually my husband) to please back off from the car ahead, and getting upset because plans were getting messed up.

Somehow in the D.R., I was just an observer who was okay with whatever was happening. I didn't need to be anywhere at a certain time...it wasn't my schedule. I, for some strange reason, trusted the maniacal driver's skills, figuring he's been living here and driving like this his whole adult life, right?

And this lesson is one I planned to take home...my husband will be so pleased!

Back to the action...

A few more hours of driving, soaking up the sights, most of which were rather distressing. The biggest difficulty I had was accepting the amount of garbage I saw along the roads, sidewalks, near homes and businesses. Being a nature lover and outdoor person who works hard to clean up any garbage I find, it was one of the biggest challenges of the trip for me to see the pollution.

After a stop for lunch at a large open-air restaurant called Pollo Rey (Chicken Rey), we were back on the road until another pull-over that had us stumped. Some discussion amongst the leaders, then the announcement that we were headed slightly off course to go to a pharmacy. The Dominican doctor that was with us was just alerted to the fact that a patient of his had spinal meningitis. He was with that patient the day before. We needed to find out if our entire team would need preventative medication. All turned out well...we would be 'third party' exposure and only would need meds if the doctor showed signs of illness. He was fine, thankfully, by the way!

Somewhere around 4:00 p.m. (not sure...time lost it's importance now and then) we arrived at the Batey. Met Pastor William, a man who grew up in another Batey, was not always a Christian...actually followed the teachings of the area Witch Doctor at one point in his life! His home was the host house where all our meals were cooked, situated right below the women's dorm. He is a lovely, smiling man who is welcoming to all. Our church supports him financially and spiritually from way up north in Clarendon Hills! What a wonderful connection.

Besides settling into the dorms before dinner, there was a job to be done! 57 bags of medical supplies sat in the chapel awaiting our sorting help. Lots of yelling, questioning, tossing of bags and containers, putting as many of the same meds together as possible. Then pill counting into zip-lock baggies, usually thirty per bag, for ease of distributing in the clinic pharmacy.

7 p.m. / 7:20 p.m. were to be our dinner shifts for the most part. The area we ate was not large enough for our entire group. The food was always fresh and hot, the water always bottled, poured into a large Gatorade jug cooler, with ice!

I ended up in a level two bunk (three levels in all) with a new battery operated fan that decided it would not work for me. Finally somewhere after midnight I had a brainstorm. Got a washcloth out of my bag, soaked it with the coolest water I could get, and kept moving it to different parts of my body in order to cool myself down. It definitely helped.

I think I'm exhausted just detailing Wednesday...until my next installment, happy reading!