Home is where the heart is

Some use the word "home" when referring to the place they rest their head at night. I look at "home" as to wherever my heart rests its head at night. Now I do not know if the Dominican Republic will be the place I live in for the rest of my life, but I'm positive that at this moment, my heart has made itself home here. This is my home. In a place where poverty meets passion. A place where blessings overflow the broken. A place where there are odd smells, bugs around every corner, no air condition, water every other day, children begging on the street, dogs and cats roaming all over, and even a place where a white person is rarely present for more than a day. That is what I call home.

Today has been filled with many emotions. I spent my morning through afternoon playing and spending time with the kids of Villa Hermosa. What stands out the most to me is how seperated the street kids and the school kids are. I would spend every second with all of them if I could, but the neighborhood kids aren't aloud in the school and the school kids aren't aloud in the streets until school lets out. I had to go back and forth from talking and playing with the street kids to doing the same with the school children.

Even though at times today it was difficult, I enjoyed every minute of it. I met some old faces and even some new faces today. I said some goodbyes in my heart to some who had moved away in the last couple of months as well. To be away from children who stole your heart hurts, but to return to find that some had moved away broke my heart completely. I can only pray that God had impacted them through me in some way.

I am once again very thankful to those who helped raise money for me to be here this summer. It has been only one week and I have already been moved in many ways. I do not know what lies in my future completely after high school, but what I do know is that once I hit 18, I am moving out of the United States. my home will then be decided on wherever God and my heart takes me. It may be here.... or Africa... or Russia.... or Haiti.... who knows... but I do know that after living so long in a country where everyone feels too comfortable with their life, it's time I stand up and find a place outside of my comfort zone. You see, God did not call us to be safe. He did not call us to feel comfort. He called us to go make disciples of the nations.