Mother's Day

Sunday, May 25 was Mother's Day here in the Domincan Repulic. We invited all the mothers to come to our Sunday service so that we could honor them and we held a "Spa Day" the Friday before to pamper them just a little bit (and give them a bit of rest from their work).

These women lead a hard life caring for their families. First of all, there is no running water or electricity in Batey Concho Primo, so every day chores are a lot of work! They spend hours washing clothes by hand, with water that has been retrieved from a nearby pump. Every day, two to three times a day, they cook over an open fire outside of their house. Then, when it is time to clean the dishes, someone has to get more water to clean those! (It is a good thing they train the kids to help from a young age!) In addition to the chores, however, relationships are a struggle too. With the exception of a few, you will not find a father leading any of these families. Several of these women are grandmothers. It is very common here for the grandmothers to care for their grandkids because the parents are either unable to provide for their children or have chosen not to fulfill that responsibility. 

Needless to say, the women loved the idea of a break from the routine when we announced the “Spa Day.” We had about a dozen women come. It wasn’t quite as big of a turnout as we had expected, but it was a great opportunity to get to know these women better. (Sometimes smaller is better). Annie shared a few truths from God’s Word, before heading into the manicures, pedicures, massages, and makeup time. The spa day was nothing profound or extraordinary (Annie, the teenage girls of the batey, and I worked each of the stations, and we are by no means “professional” :)), but it was a great time of relaxation and relationship building. 

One of the most interesting parts of the day, was actually our icebreaker activity. I put a list of “Mom” questions on the board, then we passed out some jelly beans (thank you Pastor and Mrs. Wright for sending the jelly beans:)). Each woman was to choose a question, corresponding to the color of one of their jelly beans. The question that majority chose to answer was: “What is something that you want for your child that you never had?” Their answers were enlightening: every single mom who chose this question said happiness. Wow! I was floored by their honesty (I really had thought that their answers would be something material), and saddened by the fact that, though they all appear so happy on the outside, they are missing out on the joy of knowing Jesus. My prayer request is that we will be able to follow up with these women and see them come to know true happiness. 

On Sunday, we had 15-20 moms and grandmas show up for the Mother’s Day service!  We gave each one a rose, and had the kids deliver cards that they had made for their mothers the day before in our kid’s club, “Niños para Cristo.” It was a great time for them to attend a church service in a "non-threatening way and also to see what their kids have been learning every Saturday and Sunday. (I have to say, though, I think that since the kids have been attending regularly, they are quieter and can still sit still longer than their parents!)

Please pray for wisdom as we try to follow up with these women. And pray that some will come back to church another week. (Imagine what a change we will see in a family when the mother comes to know Christ. Each mother has such a strong influence on their child’s life, imagine what would happen if one mother chose to influence her children in a God-fearing and loving manner!)