Week 7 - Julie Martin

My last week serving in the community was with Young Life as I followed up with everyone who had gone to Windy Gap Summer Camp. I created strong relationships between the girls especially during this time. All of the other female Young Life leaders could not make it to these gatherings times for the rest of the summer due to the distance from where they lived. It was great contact work for me to stay in these girls lives. It is shocking to see how quick these girls close back up. That is why it is so important to regularly stay in contact with them. We would meet on a regular basis for the rest of the summer and just hang out. We would talk, play games, and enjoy each others company. I also gave several of them rides. Sometimes I even had dinner with them. Being a Young Life leader really makes my feel special. I get to stay connected with today's youth. I know how much the people in my life who made a difference mean to me and knowing that I can be that person to someone else is empowering.

Week 6 - Julie Martin

Week six was very different from the work I had been doing in the Dominican. I went to Windy Gap in North Caroline with Young Life. Young Life leaders mentor high school students and walk with them in life. This was my first time attending camp at Windy Gap and my first time being a leader a high school camp for a week. There were four of us female leaders from Deland and we brought 13 high school girls with us. We also had three male leaders and a number of boys as well. The main thing is that girls mentor girls and guys mentor guys. I had no idea what was in store for this week. Basically, the goal is to have a blast and brake down the walls between the leaders and students. It is amazing to watch this happen at camp. All of us girls stayed together in one cabin. Before the camp at Windy Gap even started we all went white water rafting, which was actually my first time. That was definitely a bonding time. We all had to work together with the people in our boat. All of the games at camp were centered around those themes of working together in a fun way. We participated in numerous actives including a late night obstacle course to "protect your leader", volleyball tournaments, Nascar racing, water Olympics, horseback ridding, hiked Smokey Mountain, ropes course, clubs (games and songs), free time, big swing, blobbing, zip line, rock climbing, crafts and one on one time with one of their leaders. Everyone had the time of their life. The coolest part for me was to be a part of this awesome time in the high school students lives. It was a time for me to be there for them, listen to them and help guide them in their life. I did not know that many of them or too well, but I did by the end of the week. The barriers were broken down towards the middle of the week, especially by the end. It was incredible to hear all their personal stories. A lot of them very very deep and heavy. I was just so surprised to hear a lot of what they have experienced and how vulnerable they were being to share that information. The students came back changed, a completely different person from going to camp. I felt honored to be a part of it.

Week 5 - Julie Martin

My time in the Dominican was coming to a closure as this was my last week. It was hard thinking about it because I did not want to leave, but at the same time I was looking forward to going home to see my family. I could not wait to talk with my friends and family and share the great experience I had. Karen left at the beginning of this week to return to the states to have her arm looked at, which left Traci, Abbey, Mike, Bill, and me. All of us are independent and basically do our own thing. It was a little more challenging for me because I was not as familiar with the Dominican as they were. I usually had Keila along my side but she was on her honeymoon, but all worked out. There was plenty for me to do and I still had some things in mind that I wanted to experience. Keila's Children's Programs was my favorite and I wanted to go back there to see the kids. There was one girl I met the last time I was in the Dominican and I wanted to say hi to her. I brought almost 100 beanie babies and gave them out to the children. It was cool to watch the kids faces light up. They got so excited, running around with their new toy and could not be any happier. This made me feel good. The best part of my week though was towards the end. I went with Bill to evangelize for the first time. We went to a village and basically just sat to talk with the people who lived there. I honestly did not think I was going to enjoy it, but I was wrong. That was one of my favorite moments overall. Those kids were the best. I played several games with them and just ran around. I felt like crying when I left. All the children were hanging on me. I loved it so much I made room in my schedule to go back the following day. One of the girls was just entering into college and I wanted to give her a necklace I had brought. I played more games with the children and waiting for her to get home from school. Once again I did not want to leave. I also got to see the farm. That's where all of Bill's time is spent. It is an incredible place. Overall, I was blessed to have had the opportunity to spend the amount of time I did there and all the things I got to take part in. It definitely made on impact on my life and I learned a lot about myself. It was a time of personal growth. This trip taught me the value of life and helping those in need. It is not always going to be easy and the people are some times going to do things that are disrespectful to you, but do it anyways. The results will shock you in a positive way. This experience gave me hope for one of my dreams of opening an orphanage. The opportunities are all there and I have made the connections. I met with a person who is in the process of building one. He was an inspiration and offered me the opportunity to work with him once the building is up and running within the next two years. Then the ministry I worked with offered to assist me in making my dreams become a reality. They have the place and building started to run an orphanage, they just need someone to take it over. Once I have the experience, that person can be me. It will take time and hard work, but if that is where my passion and purpose truly lies, it will happen. I could not be where I am today without the help on the Bonner Program, which I am truly grateful for.

Week 4 - Julie Martin

Week four started with a celebration for Mike's birthday as we had a delicious home made cake and ordered pizza from a popular restaurant. Another intern (named Abbey) also arrived on this day. She is from Ohio, which is actually where the owners of the ministry are from. This week was completely different from the previous. We had a lot of work to accomplish around the mission house. One day was spent organizing 61 bins in a room. It was just Abbey and me. A few days were spent going through a ton of receipts from the previous year for tax purposes. Keila (Dominican translator) got married at the end of this week at the mission house so we had are hands full. She also moved in to her house and will all helped with that process. I felt like a wedding planner, making sure everything was ready and in place for her wedding. I went with Keila to pick everything up for her special day and assisted in setting it all up. Traci and Karen were actually in the wedding so I made sure everything was going well. There were a few issues, but they were all dealt with. One exciting thing I go to do was a bridesmaid's makeup. Dominican weddings are very similar to ours in the US. One difference was the Dominicans throw rice. I found it fascinating to learn that in their culture they keep both last names and end with the women's. Her wedding was beautiful even though they started two hours late as it is just a part of their culture. I had a wonderful time and was truly happy to be a part of it.

Week 3 - Julie Martin

My second week in the Dominican Republic became busier. Some days even exceed 10 hours. This was the most organized week as the team of two ladies had a schedule and I joined them. Karen (owner) injured her arm so I gave her an extra hand. That made me become more of a leader to the two ladies with what was going on during the day. At the beginning of the week, our time mainly consisted of organizing for the week. They brought a lot of donations that needed to sorted. They also had several crafts in mind for the children to make and even something to teach the widows. One of my highlights this week was going to the Children's Program. There were four different Children's Programs that I got to interact with and two of them actually had two different classes within their program. Each one was unique. I loved getting to mingle with so many children. I did not to all of them this week, but a good amount. The two ladies taught and I helped with the crafts. Grace and Peace Missionary Fellowship has a Widows Program of 60 women. We held several sessions this week in different towns where the widows would come to one place (usually a church or some one's house) and we would provide all the material to teach the widows how to make hot pads and rugs for their homes. Another factor that made this week so fabulous was that Traci (one of my best friends) arrived. She is so loved and well respected in the Dominican, it is a blessing to see because I know how much of her life she has dedicated to those people. It was amazing to see her passion and light up in a new way, especially towards the end of the week when we went to a hospital. One of the ladies was a doctor and want to visit a Dominican hospital. There were two young children who had been burnt really bad the day we went. Everyone was wondering if the little boy would survive. The two children had been playing outside and knocked over the boiling pot of beans. It poured all over them. The biggest concern was the fact that they were Haitians and the reputation Dominicans have with treat Haitian patients. They tend to not want to help them and literally will let them die. I had a hard time hearing this, but I needed to learn the reality of their culture. The two ladies then left at the end of this week.

Week 2 - Julie Martin

I flew to the Dominican Republic to spend 29 days as an intern for Grace and Peace Missionary Fellowship in Casandra, Barahona. I was so excited to begin this journey of seeing and assisting all areas in their ministry. Everyday was a new experience. I absolutely loved having the opportunity to live in their culture, getting to see how they lived on a day to day basis. I spent most of my first week observing. I went on numerous errands into town. One of my favorite times this week was visiting the widows. We went to about 30 widow's houses. We dropped off beans and rice and took their blood pressure as most of the widows were on medication or had high blood pressure. It was really cool to have conversations with them in their own homes. All the ladies were characters. They were so sweet, appreciative, and hospitable. Everyone would offer us a seat upon our arrival. These people do not have much, but they are willing to give all they have to others. It was an extremely humbling experience. One widow claimed to be over 100 years old. We are not sure if that is true though. During this first week I met a lot of new people, which was awesome. I really liked how the ministry was set up. Americans run it, but Dominicans are involved in the operation as well. Most of my time this first week was with one of the Dominican translators named Keila. I spent the majority of my time planning and preparing for her wedding day. Also, I assisted Bill and Karen (owners) along with their son Mike in any way I could. A small team of two ladies were on their way so I did a lot of that prep-work too. It was a very refreshing and rewarding week to see some familiar faces from when I was visiting on a short-term missions trip of one week earlier this year. Overall it was a successful week.

Week 1 - Julie Martin

I began my first week of Summer of Service working with Young Life. We had a few clubs (gatherings) left before Deland High School students were out of school so I stayed around to help. Since summer was approaching, we decided to change things up a bit and have fun. We came up with having a flash mob. Everyone was to meet at Tom's restaurant at an exact time. One of the leaders purchased a birthday cake and we randomly sang happy birthday to a stranger eating in the restaurant. A downtown conga line immediately followed. We had a good turn out of participants. After the conga line with a boom box, we headed back to Tom's for pizza. It was a great time to bond with high school students. Our last club of the year was messy. All of us leaders spent the entire day preparing for it. We blew a ton of water balloons, made a bunch of flour balls, and set up all the games. That day consisted of having a food fight (threw rice, beans, and tomato sauce), throwing water balloons and flour balls, and playing twister with tomato sauce, relish, mustard, and mayonnaise. It was a blast. Another way I dedicated my time to high school students at the beginning of my summer was taking a few girls to Islands of Adventure. One spent the night at my house the night before and then we went the next day. It was actually my first time going. I was really looking forward to it as I love roller coasters. It was a wonderful day listening to the girls about their life stories and guiding them along the way. Spending my time this way made my summer more meaningful and special.