home.

And it made sense to me on my last night in the Dominican Republic as I descended the hill into the village: I still haven't found what I'm looking for. It's been this idea that's followed me around for a while, the first time it came across me was the first night we had stayed here at The House Famous, this idea that no matter what we accomplish in the name of Jesus will not compare to the Glory that awaits us, it's a feeling that always leaves me with this craving for more and more and it always reminds me that we truly are refugees from our Father, looking to fill the void with whatever we can until the day of Judgement.

But this really doesn't explain my trip too well...

I was in the Dominican Republic for 2 months, I was with my friends Katie, Amber and Taylor and we lived a Haitian village called Ascension. My official "project" while there was to work at the Mustard Seed orphanage and to work with Rachel at the fair trade co-op known by everyone as La Tienda.
The Mustard Seed is a beautiful place. They are an international organization and have many orphanages in the Carribean and elsewhere and they house abandoned children with severe mental and physical handicaps. Without using words or other means of normal social interaction it was amazing to make connections with these kids and to see their personalities come out in ways I wasn't used to. The great thing about this place is that they also hire locals to work in the orphanage as well which is a great way to employ the people living there.
Everything you've heard about La Tienda is true. It was odd finally going to a place that I had heard about for 2 years, but it was a joy to be there. And working alongside Rachel was a particularly great job to have, I learned much from her.

I realize as I type these words down how limited I am in explaining this trip to you. It is frustrating to have feelings that can't be named or described. But I experienced a new culture and the new temptations that came with it, I experienced real community in that Haitian village, I experienced real beauty in the children's faces and their laughs, I was pushed to my limits, I experienced more of God's truth, I fed widows and orphans, I witnessed a people who have had to leave their country and live in a place that's not their home. In other words, I was changed.

I have been blessed with what I have seen, and maybe one day I can make sense of it all...