Rear View Mirror

I bought a car when I arrived in the DR in March, 2008. It came from Japan, a used 2000 Toyota Surf, kinda like a 4 Runner, only diesel fuel. And it came without a rear view mirror. No big deal; so the guy that sold the car to me said he’d get me one the next time he was in Santiago. He goes there about every week. Fast forward FIVE months. He finally got me the rear view mirror! So, for 5 months I’ve been driving in the crazy world of the DR without a rear view mirror. Always needing one; never having one. And, now that I have one, I forget to use it. There is a point to this story….

I’m back in the States for 3 weeks. And, I should be looking back on the last several weeks and months in the rear view mirror; evaluating what I did and didn’t do. Things have gone at such a different pace than I expected. Some things laboriously slow. Others lightening fast. But, I often failed to look back and learn the lessons that were pounding on my door. Like forgetting I had a rear view mirror. Forgetting to take the time to just ponder on the things around me. Forgetting to get the counsel I needed to process what I was experiencing and hearing. Trading the important for the apparent urgent.

This past week a small team from S Avenue came to visit. Tons of things happened. Some amazing things. And yet, in the midst of it, tragedy. I use the word in its literal form.

Anne Marie Soto has been an integral part of my former youth group, Dreambuilders; now a sophomore in college. She’s by far one of my closest friends from that time. She’s been with me to Haiti, and now came to the DR. But only 3 days into our trip, we got a call that her brother, Ruben, 16 years old, had been shot and killed by police while driving a stolen car. Jacynth Woodside and I were the ones that had to break the news to Annie. I did a horrible job. I was emotional when I told her that she needed to return home for a family emergency. And of course the term “family emergency” did not satisfy her need to know as she could read in my breaking voice it was bad news; so we had to tell her that her brother had been killed. She went into shock, to say the least. Fits of rage; denial; weeping; anger; bewilderment. I didn’t know what to do; what to say. As God would have it, Jacynth was there to help with the initial mental processing. It was so hard for Annie to get the news while in the DR; far from home; far from her family.

Despite the loss of Ruben, the week with the S Ave crew was great. Hot and tiring because of much work and even higher temperatures. But, in the end, it all went extremely well. We had two days of community events in the open air basketball court across from my apartment. We had done the same with my sisters group that visited 2 weeks prior; so we were expecting around 80 kids; like the time before. However, this time we had less volunteers, but more experience, so we thought we were prepared. Well, word had gotten out I guess. Because this time we have 220+ kids. We stopped counting at 220, but they didn’t stop coming! It was at best controlled chaos. We had a music concert and then played games; kids won tickets to purchase prices (in the theme of Chucky Cheese). Unbelievable. But we survived, and even thrived. And again learned a lot. And I hope and pray the kids got to know God a little better; and had a good time.

Part of last week was spent finalizing a purchase of a property. Yep, it looks like we’re actually going to purchase property. At the last minute, a guy, desperate to sell his colmado (store front with apartment above), offered us a price that seemed very good. So, I was rushing to meet with real estate agents and attorneys and our crew (Manna International) to get it all reviewed to insure a real opportunity. It’s not finalized yet, but perhaps this week, while I’m gone. I’m rating it about a 95% probability of sale now. Now the real work begins; finding people to help pay for it. Cost: around $100K.

And, I’ve moved. The landlord of my apartment started getting a little more anxious about the furniture in the apartment; the amount of water I was using; electricity I was using (fans on as much as possible!), and constant constant visitors. He was a good landlord but was honest to say that he had not anticipated the number of visitors to my house on a daily basis. I understood completely, so thought it best to find another place. Spent 3 weeks looking, and so far, the only option is the possible purchasing of the colmado (store front) with an apartment above it, for me to live. So, if the sale does not go through, I’ll be looking for something else when I get back.

Lastly my architect is trying to wrap up the initial plans for my house. I’m still not sure if I’m going to build. I want to, but financially things are getting much tighter for me. I’ve gotten bad news from many many of my anticipated revenue streams. So, I’m not sure I want to tie up my last chunk of money right now. But, at least the plans are nearly complete. That is another long story. Working with an architect that doesn’t speak English; and me speaking poor Spanish. Oh the stories I could tell! Another lesson in communication, or the lack there of.

So, between the visiting group, the purchase of the new property, the move out of my apartment, and the finalizing house plans all coming to a head last week, I was grateful to leave for a break.

So, what I really need to do is use my rear view mirror. I’ve got now less than 3 weeks. I hope I use the time wisely.