A Day in the Dominican: New Experiences

A (New) Husband, New Church, New Home

This is my husband, Joselo Manuel Santana Jimenez. He's 29 years old and has lived in Hato Mayor most of his life. His mother lives in La Romana and his father lives in Santo Domingo. He spent a year or so living with each of them as a young adult. Joselo grew up in his grandmother's house (which is not too uncommon here in the Dominican Republic) with lots of cousins (his grandmother had 15 children!), his brother and sister.

One thing Joselo loved to do as a kid was make and fly kites in the street. He said he often got in trouble with his grandmother because he spent so much time flying kites -- in the hot sun and even in the rain on occasion.

Before we got married, Joselo said he would show me how to make a kite. He started saving the perfect materials, and one morning he got started.

Here is the finished project. His masterpiece!

Though it may sound strange, one thing that I'm adjusting with married life is having fun -- even in the middle of the day?! Sometimes I'm a pretty serious person, determined and focused on getting things done. Sometimes I forget that it's okay to take time to rest, laugh, play and just have fun.

Sometimes it frustrates me, and sometimes it's hard to tear myself away from the work that seems "so important", but it's so good for me. I don't need to feel guilty about it! One of the things I love about being married to Joselo is laughing and having fun together -- like flying a kite in the middle of the day!!

New Church

Joselo attends a church that is a daughter church to the one I was attending with Pastor Carlos. Since we've been married, I've started attending church with Joselo in Punta de Garza.

Punta de Garza church

Shalom church in Punta de Garza has a small congregation and meets in the house. They have the same services: Sunday School Sun am, Worship Sun night, prayer service Tues night and Teaching/Testimonies on Thursday night. The format of the services is basically the same. The main difference is the people. Pastor Erickson Rodriguez does a great job. He's a young, passionate pastor full of energy, hope and positivity that is contagious to the members of the congregation.

One of the responsibilities Joselo has had in the church for a few years has been teaching the children's Sunday School class. He's taken this a step further and personally goes to recruit kids from the community each Sunday for Sunday School.

He walks up and down the streets and invites many kids to come to Sunday School. Some are family members - nieces and nephews, others are neighbors and friends from the neighborhood.

This way even if their parents don't want to take them to Sunday School, they can still go with Joselo.

I'm enjoying the opportunity to meet new people, learn from a new pastor and learn how another church operates in the Dominican Republic. I'm not going to deny, though, even though I've been worshipping here for several years, there are still many times that I miss church in the United States -- the fellowship, the style of worship and of preaching, and the English language. Each church has it's strengths and weaknesses. I'm learning things from churches here in the Dominican Republic that I most likely would not be learning in the US, so I can appreciate that.

A New Home

This is the home that Joselo and I now live in. It's in a great neighborhood - 1.5 km away from the city. My favorite part: it's quiet. Where I lived before was on a much busier street - there were constantly dogs barking, loud trucks and motorcycles buzzing by and loud music from the neighbors and the park.

This neighborhood is much more peaceful. There are a few neighbors, but everyone here seems to appreciate the tranquility. I'm grateful!