Punta Cana D.R. has always been on my bucket list of places to vacation! Since God has placed us in a financial situation to be able to take a nice tropical vacation, why not (this was the discussion Lowell and I had in October 2018)?!?! And since we're going, let's try to time it for when Britt's home from medical school! That would be an AMAZING family vacation! Fast forward to April 2019, 2 months before our departure and 2 months after our trip has been booked and paid for. Everyday on the news was a story of somebody from the United States that misteriously ended up dead! Needless to say, my mind started to get the best of me. I finally have the opportunity to take a vacation with my family, it's booked/paid for, vacation time is in, and now this?!?! And it's progressively getting worse with more reports of people turning up dead or severely ill. Well, I decided to STOP allowing the media to waiver my thoughts and TRUST GOD! He said He'd never leave us nor forsake us, right! So with prayer and faith, Lowell & I decided it was still safe to go as we planned!
Today is the last day of our amazing vacation, and here are some take aways that I got from all of this trip:
1. Like I said, we shouldn't have any earthly fear if we truly trust and believe God. Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. Proverbs 3:5-6. Once I leaned off of my own understanding, my mindset changed.
2. Reflecting and hearing the reports of all of the people dying and falling sick, while it is tragic for the families having to grieve the loss of their loved ones, I realized that their are more people dying around me in my own city, compared to 10 people within the past year in Punta Cana. The LA Times reported 31 homicides in Long Beach CA ALONE over the past year. In comparison, that in itself was an eye opener!
3. The culture here is ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!! Seeing so many black people in another country (coincidentally the same week as Juneteenth) is living proof that we were literally just dropped off on another island. It's one thing to learn about it, but to see it in person is a trip. While I'm sure there are some socio economic differences between myself and the Afro-Dominican community, everyone I met was so kind and polite. They even helped me brush up on the little Spanish I do know. But everyone here is so friendly!!! Now what I will say is that there is obvious colorism here, but not quite enough to bother me. Truth be told, I'm kinda immune to it because of my colorful houshold.
4. And yes, I understand the political dynamics and history between the Dominican Republic and Haiti, and some feel I've wasted my money coming here. And while this in my opinion may be partially true, the people here are so kind and beautiful. Not to mention, we have issues on our own turf in the U.S. with Agent Orange (President Trump) and his/our governments agenda. I can't control the politics of the world, and I will not allow it to stop me from traveling where I want to go.
There's so much more that I can say, but long story short, this trip has been great. My family has made new memories, we ate wayyyyy too much, got plenty of sun, reflected on how amazing God truly is, and we've had the opportunity to just disconnect from reality. This will go down as one of the best vacays yet, and I'm so glad we didn't allow fear to keep us from coming. Hasta la proxima Punta Cana!
