Sometimes an opportunity comes along that lines up perfectly (providentially) and it just feels meant to be. In the spring of 2018 my sister Allison needed an intern to help manage missionary work teams at the young life camp in Jarabacoa, DR. Particularly because this would also be a busy couple of months leading up to her wedding! Well, I was between commitments so I threw my work boots in a bag and jumped on the opportunity. I was also eager for the chance to see her life and get to know her fiancé better. To fundraise for the trip I reached out to donors and asked them to support me by pre-purchasing a painting I would make while abroad.
Groups of Young Life students come for a week at a time from all over the United States to serve at the camp and complete work projects in anticipation of the summer camping season. My job was to help coordinate between the camp staff and work teams, while also helping facilitate the projects. We extended the ampetheater by cutting out more seats from the hillside, building rock walls, and then backfilling with concrete. We moved a mountain of soil all over the grounds, helped with landscaping, and various other projects. It was a ton of fun meeting students and leaders from Michigan, Texas, and Georgia to name a few. One of my highlights was waking up for devotions in the early morning and knowing the kitchen ladies would have a big jugs of coffee and hot chocolate waiting for you (which blend together perfectly.) Each week was a new group of workers, so we hosted a lot of activities repeatedly like waterfall hikes and evening dance lessons (parties.)
After the last work team we still had a week or two before the wedding so I got to shadow an art teacher at the local international Christian school, Zurdo and I built a wedding trellis, we ran a 10k race, and the groomsmen had custom suits made and enjoyed a Batchelor weekend at the beach.
Before leaving I build a Pochade box out of a pie keeper from the craft store and got to work making Plen Aire paintings as soon as I arrived. Most weekends I was able to make a painting or two, capturing interesting views around the camp or in the local area. I ended up with a delightful collection of 13 small paintings from the trip!
To cap the trip off, we welcomed many family and friends to town to celebrate the wedding. It was a beautiful and unforgettable memory.