My Account on Hispaniola Trip in English and Chinese 個人伊斯帕尼奧拉島的經歷

The goal of the following posts is to present my trip from a first-person perspective of everything (as much as I recorded and remembered) through words and photos. Here is the outline of my posts:

終於有機會好好整理一下上個月的經歷。希望透過文字跟相片能夠盡量描述出當時的感想跟感受。我會嘗試用英文同中文來描述，好好練習自己的中文跟英文的寫作能力！

• Orientation (May 30 - May 31)
• Preparation for cross-cultural interactions
• 預備跨文化的交流與互動
• Santo Domingo, DR (June 1- 3)
• Lived with host family; Met with the ADEE Dominican College Students
• 認識當地接待我們的“家人”及將會與我們結伴同行的ADEE大學生們
• Leogane, Haiti (June 3 - 10)
• Taught in three schools and enjoyed the beautiful nature in Haiti
• 深入了解當地的文化跟現今面對的社會問題，及享受海地美麗的大自然
• Port-Au-Prince, Haiti (June 10 - 11)
• Stop by the capital for a day: met Micah students, visited Model School 
• 在海地的首都與彌迦學生進行討論會，探望海地一間重點學校
• Elias Pina, DR& Haiti Border (June 11 - 19)
• Home visits, built restrooms, Vacation Bible School 
• 去家訪，建廁所，教暑期聖經班
• Retreat Center, DR (June 19 - 22)
• Silent retreat, volleyball, swimming, eating lots of mangoes etc
• 安靜的退修會，打排球，常游泳，吃好多芒果！
• Santo Domingo, DR (June 22 - 30)
• Discussion on Immigration laws, Survey on the topic of Evil, Party
• 兩國移民條例的討論會, 以邪惡為主題的調查，大宴會

I can not imagine myself doing something else other than going on this trip. I really thank God for allowing me to further explore my passions in social justice, education, cross-cultural and interracial interactions, multilingualism, children, youth, woman empowerment, and the power of body language. Back in Urbana '12, the largest mission conference hosted by InterVarsity USA, I committed myself to go on a short-term mission. This trip was the answer to my prayer. Not only was it a short-term mission trip over sea, it was one that combined all my passions in life! Thank You God!!!

回望著過去這個月的短宣，心裡除了感恩跟讚美耶和華，我也不知道有甚麼方法能夠更加充分地表達我這次的經歷了。兩年前在一個大型的傳道會Urbana曾經禱告擺上，向 神表明自己願意短宣的心態。兩年後，神回應了我的禱告。這次的短宣融合了自己很多生命里熱愛的領域，例如對社會及人權公義的追求，對高質量的教育的要求，跨文化跨種族的交流互動相處，多語言的溝通，對小孩子們，青年，及女性人權平等的熱愛，體驗身體語言的力量等等。

Sharing Night With Friends 與可愛的朋友们一同分享

How wonderful would it be to have all my friends from different walks of life to come together and share moments of life together? This desire became stronger when I experienced the beauty, the challenges, and the different emotions of cross-cultural learning in Hispaniola. I started planning and praying for the event during the silent retreat in the DR. When I returned to Boston, I was so determined to share with my friends in person about what I experienced, and more importantly, to share God's work in Haiti and the DR!

That was how this event came about:
a desire to share God's goodness that I experienced from Hispaniola to my friends of different backgrounds in Boston. 

Before I go on to explain into details of how everything came together, I just want to give thanks to Mako who advised me on the seasoning part of the Haitian chicken, to my mother for her generous help in food preparation, and to my little bro Jin for his superb chicken tasting skills ;)

Spiritual Preparation:
Prayers, prayers, prayers! The excitement and peace that I got when I was praying for this event really helped me plan this event. God used the party we had in the DR to encourage me the joy of sharing meals and sharing life. Besides sharing my experience, I want to invite my friends to care for our neighbors in Haiti and the DR, countries we might not paid too much attention to in the past. I also want my sharing to bring people who are passionate for social justice and faith in Jesus to witness what God is doing in Haiti and the DR through organizations like Haiti Partners and Food for the Hungry. This is just the beginning of a very exciting journey that I want to embark on with my friends who are interested!

Food Preparation:
It was my first time cooking Haitian Chicken! I was reminded of baking ginger bread men with Jie for the Father's Day Event a few years ago. I found confidence partnering with God: where there is a will, there is a way! Everything will turn out just fine...as it has always been! God will take care of me! =)

The most enjoyable part of food preparation was putting all the mixed seasoning on top of the chicken, and the most challenging part was getting all the spices from four different supermarkets (three Chinese ones and Shaw's)!!! In the end, the Haitian Chicken was proven to be worthy of my time, money, and the efforts! :)

Song and Sharing Powerpoint Preparation: 
Since I wanted the event to be cross-cultural, I decided to pick songs in Creole, Spanish, English. :) As for the powerpoint, it was a bit stressful to dig up photos from my ocean of 3,000+ photos. I was really thankful that I organized my photos into different albums so I had an easier time picking photos! 

***

SATURDAY, JULY 5, 2014

On the Day of the Event:
Oh man, I don't know if I should be shock or be thankful that most of my friends were so on time! (Thankful ^^) I just made it to the church at 5:30pm, thanks to my lovely lady Mandy and Big T (I still find it difficult to spell your real name! haha) for transporting the food to the car and driving my lil bro and me to church!

Ice-breaker: Sharing!
I really love this part where I invited my friends to share their name, how we met, and why they accepted the invitation to come. God really showed me that He is a faithful God and He has and continues to bless the relationships that I have with each person. Even for Tykhia, whom I just met through Mandy on the day of the event, we were able to share those life moments because we both knew Mandy and we are both daughters of God! I don't know how she felt about the sharing, but I am sure that God would use that event to help her grow in creative and mysterious ways.

(Mandy sharing, Tykhia and I were listening attentively!)

Music Connects the World Together: Worship Songs!
I had an Haitian friend who was going to help me sing the Creole song but she was unable to come on the day of the event. But my God certainly provides! One of my Hispaniola teammates Isabel came and helped! Being the musically talented girl that she is, she helped me taught my friends Loue Loue and Sean a Ti. It was so much fun! I just spontaneously used Loue Loue as the gateway to share how I felt during the trip when I did not know either Creole or Spanish for the entire month! Although I did not feel very uncomfortable, but there was a point where I was yearning for English conversations to process my thoughts. I also missed speaking in Chinese and hearing Chinese sounds so much! I decided to journal in Chinese and listen to Chinese worship songs whenever I can. It helped me to feel refreshed! Anyway, I had fun learning Creole and Spanish. Learning Creole from the children in the school humbled me the most. My team and I did not just go there to give, we also received so much! 

(I looked so intense in this photo...for a worthy reason: I was explaining one of the schools that Haiti Partners sponsored. It was the school with restavec students shown in the background of this slide. Restavec children are children given away by their family to live with another family. However, some of these children often get mistreated and even sexually abused. I chose this specific photo because it gives me HOPE. Despite their backgrounds, these children are receiving an education. Even if the progress may be slow and they've already started school late, I truly believe that education is empowerment, at any time at any place. When these Haitians find their voice and combine it with the tools they learned from school, they are going to be the future of Haiti. We must not give up on people, regardless of their age or background.)

I thought it was a humble way to engage everyone through music. When we have a group of strangers coming together and learn something new together, there is solidarity in embracing the unknowns. That was how I felt when I went with the American team and the ADEE Dominican Team to Haiti. When we got to Haiti, I felt so much closer to the ADEE team despite the fact that we can't communicate that well. We all have to abandon the comfort zone of Knowing and embrace the Unknown: Haitian culture and Haitian Creole. Songs are always a very good bridge for cross-cultural interactions.

I really enjoyed the part where Isabel explained the lyrics to my friends. It added so much meaning to what we were singing. I personally love good lyrics more than good music. So to know what I was singing encouraged me to sing with more of my soul than just my voice. 

Sharing Trip Itinerary through Powerpoint: I was too excited to share so I started to get into details on my first slide of introduction. My bad! hahahaha. Anyway, I was really glad to walk my friends through Santo Domingo, DR -> Leogane, Haiti -> Port-Au-Prince, Haiti -> Elias Pina, DR & Haiti Border -> Retreat Center, DR -> Santo Doming, DR. (More details and photos to come in future posts)

My favorite part of sharing was sharing about the U.S. Farm Bill and how it affects third world countries like Haiti. (Wikipedia) I am personally still new to the topic, but I was glad that my friends asked many good questions.

Here is a summary: The U.S. Farm Bill provides billions of dollars in subsidies for US farmers for their crop. This was originally intended to allocate excess crops and to control food supply during the Great Depression. In recent years, US rice has been exported to Haiti, a country with low tariff for imported goods (an agreement between the UN and back-then Haitian President in 1994). Haiti was self-sufficient in its rice production until the 1980s, when the US flooded Haiti with cheap rice imports. When the local Haitians farmers are unable to compete with cheap US subsidized rice, they eventually have to abandon their farm land and move to the capital, Port-Au-Prince, to seek for jobs. As many people might already know, there are not many jobs available in the capital and it is already over-population with migration, many Haitians are forced to move to the DR to seek for job. (Discussions from the Trip)

Below is a photo of our night reflection in Leogane, Haiti. Our director Mako pulled out a bag of US Premium rice from the kitchen of the place where we were staying. The discussion that night felt intense, as was my mind. It was a huge "OH WOW" moment for me as someone who lives in the US and visiting Haiti. (I will dedicate a whole new post to address this topic!)

***

Time flies by when we have a good time ya? or is it just because someone talks too much? Haha. Either way, after I went over the trip outline, I quickly shared how God's story in the bible called us to bring justice to the world. I also shared my personal story of encountering social injustice and joining God's mission of restoring social justice. My point was very simple: God is still in control. I was very privilege to learn and to be part of His mission of sharing His love and justice in this world. I invited my friends to think about their personal stories, whether that story includes their first time encountering God, or a story of their encounters with social injustice... there is a bigger Story outside of our personal experience that we all shall explore and invest.
 

***

After the sharing, we quickly transitioned to dinner! I was so hungry!!! Besides the Haitian Chicken being a bit/too spicy for some people, I guess everyone enjoyed their food. :) It was so rewarding to be able to cook for my friends! I loved it when I saw the food disappears from the dishes!!! Towards the end, I was also able to share Mako's poem "SWEAT" with my friends. It provided a very unique perspective into our trip and linked it back to Jesus' Sweat of Love for us! I am sure my friends all appreciated it, especially the poetic ones (ahem AJ*). To close the evening, we sang "Sean a Ti" and "God will make a way", to lift up to God all His goodness and to remember that He will always make a way for us! 

At the end, I was very thankful for the hands who helped setting tables, playing powerpoint, serving food, taking photos (Mei Hua ;)), taking down the tables, cleaning dishes and everything that I did not even notice! You all were so good to me :') 

*To my friends, love you all so much! When I was preparing for this event, I experienced the joy of preparation. What an honor it was to serve you all! The fact that you guys so voluntarily helped me made me felt so loved. I was served by you all and it felt sooooooo good! Thank you for reciprocating the service and love! #GoodFellowship*  

Tykhia, Lizzie, Big T, Jin, Ruo, David, Tony, AJ

Fly, Joe, Jodi, Sara, Christie, Isabel, Me, Mandy, Meihua

honorary Wendee and Gina ;)

Thank you all for coming, my dear friends!

A Land of Warmth: Dominican Republic

Finally I got wifi! Here is a brief update on what we did so far:

We got here safely  on Saturday afternoon. Thank God! We were picked up by our host family at evening. My host parents are super sweeeet and they have two daughters and two sons, most in college and one in high school. 

On Sunday we all dressed up and went to church early in the morning. Praising and worshipping God through Spanish songs reminded me of Urbana 2012, the mission-oriented Christian conference for college students. The music at church was overwhelmingly exciting. I really enjoyed clapping my hands and moving around. Although I did not understand Spanish, I was able to read off the powerful of the Spanish version of some familiar Christian songs, such as How Great Thou Art! :) 

Later on in the afternoon we went to visit the original colonial site. It was like the Quincy Market in  Boston. There were many historical buildings, memorials for Dominican heroes who fought for Independence , and many modern commercialized shops. After nearly two hours of walking around and photo taking, we went to a friend's house and sat on the rooftop to have dinner and discussion on what we observed at the colonial site. We talked about the relationships between the Natives and the Spainard, as well as the important role of history writer in regards to what actually happened. The day ended with us singing praise songs in Spanish, Creleo, English along with some sign language on the local bus. 

When my friend Brenda and I got back to the host family's home, one of the brothers asked me what my favorite bible verse was. I told him Jeremiah 29:11 and I shared my personal testimony of God's story in my life. I am normally the one translating for others, but being at DR requires others to translate for me. I thank my friend's patience so much! Also, not knowing the language allowed me to keep quiet and listen more, something that I am always bad at. Everday is a good opportunity for me to learn to listen well and be more patient. Good stuff! I was able to use my love of photography to serve the family by taking  family photos for them! It was so much fun!!! 

On Monday, we stayed in the church for most of the day. We did bible study on Luke 3:1-20 and focused Jesus not only bringing salvation to the Jews but everyone as John the Baptist prepares the way. We had discussion about it afterward. We also went over the basics of the Gospel. After lunch at the new mall, we did more preparation on cross-cultural interactions. Eventually, we all took a nap for 30 minutes at the church because we were all tired.  We ended the afternoon session with us sharing team covenant to Christ, to each other, and to the people around us during the trip. 

The night spent with the host family was very lovely. We had lots of laughters trying to figure out what each other was trying to say, sharing funny stories, and semi-cooking. The second Brother eventually took out his bible and started to share favorite bible verse again. Not only that, we also got to share about our experience at DR and with the host family. We got to read Psalm 46 in Spanish and English. I was so surprised when I read the line "be still and know that I am God" it was exactly the line that I put on the photo I posted in facebook before I depart Boston! God  indeed works in His own wonderful ways, constantly reminding me of His love and His promises! 

It is getting late (12:22am) and we have to wake up early (5am!) in the morning to catch a bus to head to Port-Au-Prince, Haiti. We will be working with Haiti Partners, the organization that the donation was for. I can not wait to see what God has prepared for me and my group. Please keep my group and me in your prayers and thoughts as we take the 6 hour long bus from DR to Haiti. In addition, we heard there might be a strike in Haiti, please pray for our safety and the country's stability! 

P.S. I've been taking lots of photos and keeping up with my journal. When I return to the states, I will share more in short stories along with photos!!! That would be the fulfillment iof my photojournalist dream and my gift for you all! 😊

Count Down 5 Days

Counting down 5 days until my team and I leave for Hispaniola. I do not feel physically ready yet. I just caught a flu a few days ago and I've been coughing for a while now. Please pray for me!

On a spiritual level, I've been preparing my heart for this trip since the moment I signed up. It just felt so right: social justice and faith. This service trip combines what I learned at BC, my passion for social justice, and my faith in God. I will document this journey with a journal (of course) and my new camera! I can not wait to compile all the stories and photos as a presentation! My secret dream of being a photojournalist is coming true!!! :)

Here is a summary of our trip: 
May 28-May 30: conference with NEGII Institute to prepare ourselves for the trip
May 31: Fly to Santo Domingo, DR. Meet ADEE students. Meet host families. 
June 1-2: Orientation 
June 3: Bus to Port Au Prince and Leogane, Haiti
June 4-10: Work with Haiti Partners in local schools. Meet local community. Meet seminary students. 
June 11: Bus to Elias Pina, DR
June 12-18: Work with Food for the Hungry in community development. Meet local community.
June 19-22: mid project retreat.
June 23-27: Outreach with ADEE at Universidad Autonoma de Santo Domingo 
June 28: Clean up and fare well. Fly to Boston.
June 29: arrive in Boston (AM)

Counting down and pray with me!

This June in Hispaniola: a journey to witness racial reconciliation through the lenses of Jesus' love and the commitment to common service.

一年多過後，再次來到這裡。感觸良多。記錄的不僅是回憶，還有曾經努力的點點滴滴跟神提醒我不曾言棄的時時刻刻。人生中的dash，讓它繼續為愛而延續吧。

This is my first time officially coming back to this blog and making it alive again. It's always interesting to look back at the past and see where I am at today. I was reminded of the moments when I set my eyes on the goal and kept running. I was reminded of the moments when God, through His own special ways, told me to never give up. I was reminded of the moments when I checked my email and someone had donated to my cause. There was so much community, so much communications, so much willingness to give. I was truly humbled by all.

This past January, I had the opportunity to go to Jamaica with BC Arrupe Program. What an experience it was! To sum everything up in three phrases: violence there are, love still, hope always.

On this upcoming service trip to Haiti and DR in June, I can not wait to see what God has in stored for us. I truly believe that God is the Alpha who started the mission and we are just part of the mission to advocate for justice. One day, Jesus will come back and accomplish the mission of the Kingdom work. For now, I just want to offer myself to be a part of this mission by serving others.

Besides God's Words, I will carry these two quotes with me:

“If you've come here to help me, you're wasting your time. But if you've come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.”

― Australian Aboriginal Elder Lilla Watson

"I am only one, but I am one. I can't do everything, but I can do something. The something I ought to do, I can do. And by the grace of God, I will."
―  E.E. Hale