home again, home again, jiggity jog

Levi and I are back in State College, safe and sound. We had a great week of hard work, hot sun, and hugs/holding hands with the boys at the orphanage. Our team was healthy all week, gelled quickly, and got most of the intended work projects done. There was time for lots of hanging out with the boys--and 4 girls at the recently completed girls' house across the street.

We got to attend the wedding of Oscar, the principal of the school the boys attend. Like most things in the DR, the 5:00 wedding started 2.5 hours late! But we had a great 3 hour bus ride up into the mountains...and back to the hotel. While we were waiting for the wedding to start I got into a conversation with one of the Dominicans who rode with us. He was a sharp young man who teaches English and French at a private school in San Juan de la Maguana. Here's a snippet from our conversation:
him: Where are you from in the United States?
me: Pennsylvania.
him: Are you from the same church as the other people here?
me: Yes I am.
him: Do you know Stacy Sublett?
me: I am Stacy Sublett!

Is that too weird? He was the teenager that I met 9 years ago--Juan Carlos Tejeda. Neither one of us recognized the other, but we remembered each other well. He has a picture of me on his cell phone from my visit to his house in 1999, and my name and address in his wallet. He asked about my young son and wife, remembered their names...amazing. He works with the youth in his church and leads a worship team. Pretty cool.

You can see our pictures here. There are lots of pictures to be posted on facebook. Stephanie Ohlson has a page of pics and videos here, including a goofy video of Levi wearing a mop on his head and dancing around like a chica...

Levi did really well on the trip. I am glad that we got to experience the DR together. I am asking God to continue to re-shape our hearts, to transform us. The re-immersion into USAmerican culture, values, and priorities is shocking and disturbing. I am struggling with how much stuff I have...

Thanks for praying and supporting us in this adventure. We're looking into the possibility of taking high school seniors on a trip to the DR in June, as an alternative to the typical Senior Week Beach Trip. We'll see...there are a couple of projects left on the table that we could wrap up before the rainy season hits the DR.