These last couple of weeks have been extremely challenging
with all the science lesson planning (typing A LOT) I’ve been doing at work for
5 different grades in middle school. If you know me, you can tell writing is
not necessarily my strongest suit, mostly because I’m a perfectionist and I’m
always looking for little details (mistakes) in my writing which causes me to
take longer in any task that I perform (like the two paragraphs that I just
deleted from this post because I didn’t like them). On top of that, my best
half is at home resting due to medical license. She provides mental stability
to my world when she is around (when I’m at work of course, like right now). Oh
well, the thing is that I’ve been seriously focused trying to meet all the
deadlines I was given before the classes begin. However, a few days ago
something happened to me at work that prompted this post and I want to share
some of that.
On one of my breaks, some co-workers asked about Mary and
her condition. After I answered some of their concerns, the same question
everyone asks us came back again: “is she going to have the baby here (in the
DR they mean)?” My answer while I smile is “yes, we are”. Interestingly, the
following question has been a trend since February when we found out about the
pregnancy: “Why?” Now, that question normally comes with a great emphasis of
disappointment in the voice tone, like when you don’t understand the
irrationality of a situation, and you ask “But WHYYYY?” Initially, this kind of
interrogation hacked me off. I would get upset for being questioned about a
personal decision Mary and I made. I often thought people were being
disrespectful about our ability to decide what to do for our family. But later
on I started putting myself in most Dominicans shoes to understand the way they
look at us. Something must be triggering these questions implying that we are
making a mistake by having the baby in the DR – or even the fact we decided to
live our lives here. When I looked at the situation from their perspective, I
realized they have reasons to believe we are making the wrong choices.
First, a great number of Dominicans look at the United
States as a pinnacle of a civilization. We tend to import so many things from
the States that even our culture and identity is molded after the U.S. Second,
the economic system in the U.S. make most Dominicans feel attracted to the
culture of having more. For most Dominicans, U.S. citizens have a lot of money
and although this is a misconception due to the equivalency between both
economies, you need to know that minimum wage in the DR equals 215 US$ A
MONTH. Third, the organization, education level, services, opportunities,
technology, health assistance, and other “good” things are more accessible in
the U.S. if compared to the “chaotic” life style of the DR. Fourth, the comfort
of the U.S. overshadows any comfort found in the DR. Most Dominican’s
perception is that as soon as you step into U.S. territory, your life will be
changed and improved immediately. I can keep going multiple paragraphs about
things that are “good” in the States and “horrible” in the Dominican, but I
will start hitting common trends related to those four categories I just listed
here.
That brings us back to the question, why are we here? Do the
Dominicans’ question to us make sense now? Hmmm, maybe a little. If you have
been involved in short term mission trips before, you can have an idea why many
Dominicans would have such a mindset. However, it’s only when you immerse
yourself in the culture of everyday life situations and conditions (like public
transportation, traffic, noise, heat, short funds) when you understand why
Dominicans look up to U.S. citizens (or anyone from around the world with a
stronger economy) as someone of higher value. Now, a warning on this. I was
hesitant to write this post because it could make us (Mary and I) look like we
are doing this huge sacrifice in coming to the DR, or just as a way to receive
some pity on us. The purpose of this writing is just to state clearly why we
are here.
In spite of most Dominican’s perception, we have a stronger
reason to disagree with their thoughts. We are learning to respect their
thoughts and at the same time we are searching for ways to convey that our
reasons to be here are stronger. We are looking for opportunities to share with
them the other side of the story they don’t know.
A little more than 3 years ago, I (Jonathan) left the DR
with the purpose of attending to Seminary at Cincinnati Christian University.
This time has been one of the most transforming experiences in my life after my
conversion when I was 9 years old and meeting the second love of my life, Mary
(Christ is my first by the way). I left with the mentality “I will go to get
trained and then will return to train leaders and pastors.” The case is that my
heart found the spiritual transformation I needed to love like Christ those
potential leaders and pastors. That is the reason why we are here. Every day we
are falling in love with people around us. Christ is teaching us to love them
the way He loves them. Still, we have a long way to go in this learning
process. But the important thing is that we feel called to this land, to this
holy place, to learn how to love like Christ did.
We pray that our presence here in the DR will be a sign of Christ’s
story being told. My DR fellows need to know Him as that side of our story and
our stronger reason to be here.
With that note I will stop here and let Mary take over her
space again. God bless!
Living for Him,
The Espacio-Hardin Tribe
