‘Toy aquí // I’m here!

Hola amigos!

I made it to the Dominican Republic on the 16th. I have been here for almost two weeks! It has been amazing to connect with my dear friends from last year as well as meet so many new people. I am living in a mountain town called Jarabacoa (har-uh-ba-coa) which is an hour away from where I lived last year.

I have been working in a Microfinance site. It helps women learn about finances, set up small loans and bank accounts, support opening a small business, help them find jobs, and study the Bible. We work in 7 different communities and have group meetings with each community of specific days. This has been absolutely amazing to watch my two leaders encourage and support the women. I am so blessed to learn from them and teach along side them. This year I will have the opportunity to teach bible studies, finance lessons, and grow deep relationships. I am so excited to be in this role for the next year!

One of the biggest challenges has been getting used to doing life in Spanish again. I have had a passion for learning Spanish since I was 16, and now it makes sense why the Lord put it on my heart. The Spanish in the Dominican is full of lots of slang and a very strong accent. Instead of saying I am- (estoy), Dominicans say “toy.” There is a lot of words that are just pronounced with half of the letters missing! It makes it a challenge to communicate at times, yet I have grown so much from where I started last year- glory to God!

The photos show above show my past two weeks- my roomies, the beautiful mountains, and a woman from Microfinance with her embroidered sign reflecting scripture!

So much gratitude to everyone who has and is supporting me! Thank you for the prayers and financial support! I am still $3,000 away from being fully funded.

With love,

Brooke