countdown to the dominican:

14 days.
that's just 2 weeks, people.

i leave for the Dominican Republic in TWO WEEKS.

you have no idea how excited i am...

around this time last year,

i was excited.
but i was nervous.

i was eager to be there.

but i was worried.

i had no idea what to expect, and that was [a little bit] scary.

it didn't take long for those worries to fade.

i was completely overwhelmed on that first day, when we went and visited all five villages. i don't remember what all was running through my mind.

what i do remember is the hunger i saw in the lives of these children.

a hunger for love -- for love that is greater than anything i could ever give to them.

i remember when i walked into Los Robles for the first time.

as soon as the bus doors were opened, hands were swarming towards us, trying to find another hand to hold. and once they found a hand, they didn't let it go until we had to get back on the bus to leave.

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i remember one day last year that it rained while we were outside playing.

as soon as it started raining, the little girls who were sitting with me stood up and pulled my hood up over my head, tucking in my hair so that it wouldn't get wet. 

these beautiful children were wearing dirty clothes and shoes.

they were covered in mud and dirt.

but what did they do?

...they tried to clean off the little bit of mud that had gotten on my hands.

what humility - to want to serve those who were meant to be serving you.

i had traveled all the way to the Dominican to be with these kids.

to serve them & to love them,

all in hopes that they would see God

and learn about His unconditional, abundant love for them.

but God used these precious children to reveal more of Himself to me and to teach me more about His love and His greatness.

i can't wait to go back to this place. back to these people.

i am so excited to be able to serve them and share God's love with them...