On Tuesday of last week I got to go on a Monster Truck Safari from Higuey into the country side. It was wonderful to see the beauty of the Dominican, but terribly depressing to see the poverty. The trucks we were in are like this. We had a police escort with us throughout the trip, thankfully.The company that runs the excursions uses the money from the tourism to open schools to educate the impovrished.
The truck would stop every so often to offer us
tourists beverages and the occasional photo
opportunity. The first time we stopped we had
some visitors hoping to get candy or money.
What a cute group. We had MANY more visitors
along the road, however.
As we stopped in this area where many locals and escaped Haitians work in the sugar cane fields we had a throng come begging. This was the last stop on the tour and I knew that it must be the visit to the witch doctor. Being a Christian I was not looking forward to this part of the trip and so I stayed on the truck with the security guard and the driver. I was so overwhelmed by the faces and the desperation that I was a sobbing mess. I had no money with me at all and no food. All I could offer was my hat.
This woman gladly accepted my hat and did her
best to get me to stop crying. I managed to
eventually, but I pray that my heart will not
stop crying when faced with the pleas of those
who are less fortunate than I am.
This has had a great impact on me. I pray that
it will not just be something I've experienced and
seen, but that it will continue to dwell in me. My
intention is to live a simpler life. We are so very blessed to live in this country.
May we truly be mindful of the needs of others!
