San Pedro

I arrived in San Pedro de Macoris on Wednesday afternoon. I thought it would be nice to add this map to the blog so it can give you a better idea where I am at. San Pedro is along the coast, I can walk to the beach! But I haven’t done so…maybe on Sunday I can better explore the city. I am living with Angelita, her mom “mamá”, a maintenance older man, a Japanese nurse, a Seventh Day Adventist Pastor, and a few nephews and nieces of Angelita that sporadically come here and there. I have my own room with a bathroom. Angelita doesn’t have children of her own but she is like a mother to all of us. She taught us how to make dumplings, how to eat Dominican food properly, and random tips here and there. We are a large and very loving family.

On Wednesday I visited Consuelo. As you can see in the picture below there is not much room or proper roads for cars, we were traveling via motoconchos (motorcycles). I was a little scared at first but I didn’t want to tell anyone it was my first time on a bike… But I got on and soon enough got the hang of it, it was great :)
I was able to see how Esperanza goes about with their transactions. The first day I sat in on a capacitación (training for the loans), alphabetizing courses (well met with the teachers). On Thursday I experienced a graduation ceremony where the groups were approved to receive loans, how loans are distributed in the office, and the closing process when the loans are paid back. I was surprised how much traveling and office work one loan officer has to make! But Esperanza is really well organized; they get a lot done and do a great job at keeping up with relationships.

A lot of times we romanticize microfinance as being so great and easy. But the reality is that it is not. Microfinance, Christian Microfinance, takes a lot of dedication. It isn’t a job it’s a calling to change lives, a form of ministry. The loan officers are in the battle ground, literally putting their life at risk to go and help those in spiritual and economic need.

This picture above is a capacitacion course, their fourth one. They have five in total and on the sixth one the Director of the branch visits and quizes the participants to see if they qualify for the loan.

This picture above is a group of five that were approved to receive their loans. They will go into the office on Tuesday to retrieve the loan.

Well I think this is all for this week. Tonight I will attend a youth gathering at the Seventh Day Adventist Church, I have been invited by two pastors and the director here in Esperanza, so why not? :D On Saturday, I will also attend their service in the morning and then go explore the Mercado. On Sunday I will buy some necessities for my room like, a light bulb, a toilet seat cover, shower curtain, hand soap, and maybe something to cover the plain white walls.

So until next time,
Maira

A great Day!

I had one of those amazing days, one of those when you wake up and want to just conquer whatever the day brings your way. I think it was because I slept well last night, and woke up late and still had time to get ready and get to work on time. I had oatmeal and a remarkable cup of coffee in the morning.
We began our day with a devotional that included all the headquarter staff in Esperanza. We started by singing traditional Christian songs, and proceeded with a lecture that included group discussions questions, a pastor gave us some insight on the lecture, and then prayer opened up for all that wanted to express a need. This type of devotional is practiced every Monday to start the week off right. You might be wondering why this is necessary. Well, here in Esperanza, the heart that keeps the organization pumping is God.

And Esperanza believes that in order to try to find a solution to poverty alleviation one must first define poverty. Here is my translated definition of poverty according to Esperanza, “The state or condition of the human being as a result of broken relationships with God, with one’s self, with other people, and His creation, all caused by sin”. Several definitions of poverty were given, I was also moved by Bryant Myers definition, author of Walking with the Poor, “Poverty is a result of relationships that do not work, that are not just, that are not for life, that are not harmonious or enjoyable. Poverty is the absence of Shalom in all its meaning”. We also touched up on the definition of economic development, according to Esperanza it is the process of man’s reconciliation in which man is restored to bless and be blessed and thus become an instrument for the kingdom of God. Sorry is this sounds so academic! I really enjoyed learning about this and want to pass on the knowledge! Haha…

We also made groups and talked about what God’s purpose with humanity and what he expected before and after the fall, and to list a few:
The follwoing is how we envisioned our relationships needed to be with the following:
God--communication, trust, unity of directional purpose, not lacking anything, harmony, fullness of life, wholesomeness, happiness and obedience.
Others--Love, compassion, effective communication, encouragement, hope, support, comfort, learning, and transparency.
Creation—Sustainability, reciprocity, have dominion, responsibility and work.
Self—representatives of Him, inherent dignity & worth, calling, purpose, and vocation.

When I was a searching for my identity as a lost teenager I remember coming across this verse, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future’” Jeremiah 29:11. And periodically, as I journey through life, God keeps on reminding me of this. When Carlos, the President of Esperanza, said that this verse is one of the founding scriptures that gave birth to Esperanza I was moved to tears. God has a purpose for each and every one of us. He doesn’t forget us, and wants us to become whole in Him, only through that we can have good relationships with others, creation and ourselves. So really that means that we are all living in poverty. If you lack some perfection in one of these relationships, you too are bound by “poverty”.

To end this wonderful day, I had a virgin piña colada. Oh yeah!

-Maira

P.S. Probably following next week when I move to San Pedro, in the more rural, I will only post once a week. So I hope fore now you are enjoying these daily updates, since they wont stay for long :)

Dominican Republic: Nice and Hot, and a little rainy too :)

Saturday:
We arrived in Santiago airport at 10:45pm last night after an hour delay. We went out for juices and sandwiches; I had a cheese sandwich with tomato and a zapote juice, both were pretty amazing :D

I am staying at The Residence Hotel in Santo Domingo with another intern, David (different rooms). After a failed attempt to get wireless last night I decided to go to bed.

Sunday:
I woke up today at 8am, took a shower, and then went back to bed. David and I went to get breakfast at a local stand. I had the same thing as last night except I tried the Chilmol natural juice, it is kind of like orange juice, it gives you that same kick that you need to wake up. After a little rest we caught up with the rest of the interns, we had some more juices and afterwards walk to their apartment. While walking there I tried to study the way so I could walk myself back. After two hours or so of seeing their cutesy apartment and talking with Coina, their landlord, I decided to walk back because I had a minor headache. Yeah probably not a good idea. I was seriously lost, somehow I ended up by the shore and honestly having no clue what direction to head. It was a little frightening because everywhere I turned guys would whistle or say inappropriate comments (including security and police!) I ended up stopping at a shop and calling a taxi. The taxi began to take me to another location in town, so that was a little nerve wrecking as well, but after I cleared up our miscommunication he turned around and dropped me off in front of the right hotel.

But the best of my day was going to church. We went to “La Comunidad Cristiana” which translated means The Christian Community. It is large contemporary church with about 300 members, maybe more. They are a sister church with a church in Chicago. The message was quite powerful; it was about acknowledging that you are not perfect. What we used to enjoy when we were part of the world gave us joy but when we came to know Christ what we once enjoy turned into disgust. Disgust not because we didn’t like it but because we knew with our new self and conscious that we were offending our Creator that loved us. I really enjoyed the way he put it, that we will always have struggles, yet what changes is our reaction to sin. When we come to know Christ we want to change because we love Him. And when you are in love you hate what the other person hates, and you love what the other person loves. The church concluded with the song “Sumerjemer”. It is an old Spanish song that I used to sing when I was growing up, the message is basically asking the Lord to submerge you in his Holy Spirit.

Oh I forgot to mention that it is hot, humid, and it’s raining. I don’t really mind the rain but it is causing a few leaks in my room…

Tomorrow I will have my first day of training in the Santo Domingo office, can’t wait.
-Maira

Second Day of training

Yesterday's blog was a little long, so today I will try to keep it short this time.

Today we discussed more in dept some of the challenges of microfinance. I could name a couple here, but it might be more interesting if some of you asked me about this when I came back to the States.

Today I was challenged to think about development. I have never really felt comfortable asking for support. Every trip that I go to I try to pay for it myself, through my family, or close friends who willingly give without me asking. Yet something that I have noticed is that people always have and always will have a heart for giving to something that is impacting lives in a positive manner. That giving could be of time, money, resources, prayer and in other creative ways. So I I didn’t want to continue blogging without thanking Pathway Christian Fellowship for their generous and unasked support, thank you. May God continue to bless your ministry. To say this I also want to open the doors to those that want to be part of this journey with me. I want you to pray for me but I also don’t want to have a limited view on how you can help. Some of you might want to contribute financially to cover some of the cost associated with this trip (my rough estimate of total cost is close to $1700, this covers two plane tickets, housing and food for three months). If you are able and feel you want to serve in this way to support this trip or HOPE’s programs financially, your donations are welcomed. They would be sent directly to HOPE’s office and you will get a tax deductible receipt. Please contact me via email if this is something you are interested in: mairaflores1033@pointloma.edu

On a different note! I will head to the Dominican Republic tomorrow at 6pm! It is about a 4hour flight from here. We will be in the capital Santo Domingo for 4 days receiving training more on the specific roles that we will fill this summer. After training I will leave to San Pedro, there I will live with a host mom, Angelita. Angelita is in her mid-fifties, owns her own home, and then rents several units out that are located behind her home. I’ll have access to the refrigerator, and all common areas of the house. I will also have my own bedroom, with a bathroom, bed, furniture, fan, lock and key. Angelita lives about ten minutes walking distance from the San Pedro office. She is in a calm and quiet section of the town, and located directly across the street from a school. For weekend recreation I am about twenty minute bus ride to San Pedro/Juan Dolio, where there are some great easy-access beaches, an hour bus ride to Santo Domingo where other volunteers are placed, and about an half hour to the Hato Mayor region, where additional volunteers are located.

Yeah this blog isn’t getting shorter…haha

So what have I taken away today? In short terms, don’t let opportunities pass you, because they might never again turn around to look you in the eyes. Wow that sounded profound, it just came out of me, haha… No but seriously I am sometimes overwhelmed with choices in this life and sometimes am too afraid to choose that I miss out on what could have been great opportunities. While I am not trying to have many expectations for the DR I do hope to fulfill God’s expectations for me this summer. Help me pray for wisdom so I can have the inner strength to be bold in pursuing God’s will.

Together in this journey,
Maira

First Day of Training

Our first day of official training started today at 7:45am. After we met the staff we made intern introductions. We basically told our story of how we became passionate about serving others and end up applying to HOPE. It was nice to hear the other input from the interns. It humbled me to know that there are qualified people that are willing to dedicate a whole summer at no pay like myself; I am not the only crazy one here! There are people in the process of receiving their MBA, some that are married, or have years of work experience, and they too want to dedicate as much time as myself. That is quite sacrificial on their part since they could be making money or spending their time elsewhere, yet they choose to serve.

Another great aspect of today that I really enjoyed was HOPE President, Peter Greer’s presentation. He seems like such a down to earth and passionate person. His mission and vision are so clearly defined and he serves with such enthusiasm. Even though he holds such a prestigious position in the organization he still takes time out of his day to come speak to us, sit in at presentations and really tries to get to know us. He shared that his passion started by wanting to combine both compassion and action, and the tool he uses for that now is micro-enterprise.

So what is the culture here in HOPE: well to sum it up check out their acronym: PASSION

Prayer: On your knees, please
Allegiance: Hope by choice
Service: We’ll wash feet
Stewardship: To whom much is given…
Innovation: We find solutions
Optimism: A cheerful heart is good medicine
Nurturing: Love one another as I have loved you

So their mission in their statement of faith is: We believe God calls us, and all Christians, to help people in need. We work to meet both practical human needs and eternal, spiritual needs.

So what makes HOPE different than other Christian based micro-finance organizations?
Well again to summarize I’ll use one of their acronyms:
Focus- Christ centered micro-enterprise
Intentional witness- an intentional witness to Jesus Christ
Stewardship- 100% of donations go directly to program expenses
Hard places- Emphasis on challenging and underserved areas

Okay so the real reason I am typing this is because I have a quiz…haha…not kidding, we get quizzed on this stuff :)

Deep thoughts of the day:
The reason I joined Hope this summer was because I wanted to bridge the gap between my charitable heart and long for a solution to poverty. I wanted to be a part of something that was helping people but also bringing hope to them, a sustainable way of living. I would not consider myself a pessimist but I am not entirely an optimist. Many times I question God’s promises and lean towards a Buddhist type of view on life “All life is suffering”. I don’t really understand why millions have to die of preventable diseases, I don’t understand why some faithful Christians in developing countries still see their children die of starvation, and I don’t think I’ll I ever understand that. But right now I am in the process of accepting that I was given more than others and that I don’t have to live with guilt because of it. But I also can’t turn around and ignore that extreme poverty still exists. And to be frank I think that as Christians we should be ashamed and offended at our gospel that we preach knowing that there is still an immense amount of people in need today. I still get chills knowing that half the population in the world still lives on less than $2 a day. I challenge you to live on that budget, not very comfortable, huh? There is no reason why we as a community of faith cannot come together as one and fulfill God’s mission to clothe the naked, feed the hungry, and take care of the widows and orphans. Many of us have heard the phrase, “Live simply, so others can simply live”, I hope you can take this phrase and meditate as I am doing here in Lancaster. What are we doing to help those that are living in the outskirts of society? How are we living to impact their lives?

So as you can see, this is a journey for me. Please continue to pray for God’s guidance in my life, safety, and so that my work in the Dominican Republic can actually make a difference. And I too will pray that the difference doesn’t only come in the DR but also in the hearts of my local loved ones. I want you to be in this journey with me, learning with me, laughing, weeping, and hoping with me.

Warm regards,
Maira

Lancaster

I was supposed to catch an early flight from San Diego to Las Vegas, from Las Vegas to Philadelphia @ 7am. The line for security check was extremely long. After I saw that I still had a good 25 people in front of me and 20 minutes till departure I decided to see if security could help me through the line.

Mission failed. Security had me running around the airport while time continued to click. After I went through security, I didn’t even bother to put my shoes on I ran like no other. I arrive at the gate at 6:55am only to find that the airplane doors were closed. They would not open them for me. I missed my flight. Luckily there was one more seat left on the next flight to Philly @ 10am. So I had a short layover in Phoenix and finally arrived in Philadelphia. Everyone was there waiting for me.

So what am I doing in Philly?

No not eating the Philly cheese steak sandwiches. I am actually here just for pick up, then I am off to Lancaster, PA.

I am in Pennslyvania for training with Hope International. I will be here for two days absorbing good knowledge about microfinance and discussing our mission for this summer internship. Then I am off to the Dominican Republic for 11 weeks where I will serve as a liaison between Esperanza and Kiva.

So what a little bit about HOPE: (actually just click on this link) http://www.hopeinternational.org/site/PageServer?pagename=about_history

But for those who want the glimpse this is their mission, method, and motivation:

Mission:
To invest in the dreams of the poor in the world's underserved communities so that they might be released from physical and spiritual poverty.

Method:
We offer small business loans, savings services, biblically-based business training, and mentoring and coaching from a Christ-centered perspective.

Motivation:
The love of Jesus Christ motivates us to identify with the poor and care for their physical and spiritual condition.