LuSo in the DR

Somewhere at my parents' house, there's a scrapbook from my junior year at Lutheran High School South (LHSS) called "Spring Break in Spain." Seventeen fellow Spanish students & I traipsed from Madrid to Barcelona with some tour outfitter, watching our textbooks come to life as we fluttered our language wings for the first time outside the nest of our basement classroom. 

You might imagine, then, that I was beyond thrilled when LAC regional leadership approved a similar yet fundamentally different "Mission education" trip to the Dominican Republic for LHSS's current Spanish students. Culture: check. Opportunities to practice listening and speaking in an immersive context with native speakers: check. 

Experiencing the church in another part of the world: also check. 

Ten students + the two Spanish teachers + the Head of School joined me in the DR for a week that brought things full circle similarly to hosting my home congregation as a missionary at Ysleta Lutheran Mission.  

It started like this [schedule arrival time: 1:46 am]. While I felt awful for them, I wasn't mad about getting a full-ish night's sleep. 

Within minutes of arriving at the seminary, I fed them a continental breakfast, briefed them on the essentials, and sent them down a level to the 8 am church service on the 2nd floor. 

Pica pollo was on the menu for dinner after everyone had a chance to settle in (read: nap!) that afternoon. They closed a full, long day (2 days?) with a devotion but stayed up long after I left playing basketball with neighborhood kids - my first lesson in the indefatigable energy stores of teenagers. Truly though, they invested in the community of Palmar more than any other team, being Christian role models, cementing lasting intercultural friendships, and ultimately solidifying the church's respected role. 

Not every mission education itinerary includes a work project, but I wanted to capitalize on said energy. Monday, the students carried extra library shelving, painted the metalwork in the front staircase, and organized conference T-shirts by family.

Their hard work earned them a homemade Mexican meal courtesy of seminarian Oscar and his wife May. Mía helped me set the table, starting with homemade salsa and guac, while we waited for the bus to arrive. 

Savi's 17th birthday celebration in conjunction with Tuesday morning activities at Concordia Lutheran School was the first time I've ever stuck a candle in pineapple (I was told she liked it better than cake). 

The students led a Bible lesson on the story of Joseph - in Spanish! - that they'd rehearsed, then divided the kids into groups of 4 or 5 to read Spanish Arch Books they'd brought. Each kid got to take one home at the end of the day. 

No interpreters needed, so I made sure there were quality photos of everything. 

The Directors: Mercedes Gil (Concordia Lutheran School) and Dr. Jonathan Butterfield (LHSS). 

On the docket for Tuesday afternoon was a visit to the group home (where the chicos sang to Savi again!), another brilliant devotion by Sem grad Carlos in Cienfuegos, and paletas!

I snapped a quick pic of Team LHSS before dashing off to place our dinner order and get a table. Go Lancers!

Our Wednesday plans changed at the last minute, so Rev. Joel Fritsche pinch hit by giving the group a more formal introduction to the seminary they'd been staying at for a few days than I really had. We ended with a general discussion about different missionary vocations. 

Our alternative morning actually meant no backtracking between our next activities: a grocery store scavenger hunt and ordering lunch from the menu at Centro León's café. 

Devotions at the baseball field remains one of the coolest ministry activities I've been part of in this country. 

We played a spontaneous pick-up game and were mid-goodbye when the dance party commenced!

Thursday was the most perfect beach day with the group home chicos. First, they were waiting for us on the bus by 9:11 am. Second, although it was a national holiday, it wasn't TOO crowded or loud. Third, it was sunny all day and not windy. And fourth, I was rocking my new LuSo beach towel!

Friday morning, we made our way south and east from Santiago to Santo Domingo, but I was pretty shutter-happy with this group for obvious reasons, so the markedly different 2nd "half" of the trip will be its own post. 

Until next time, blessings in Christ!