I am kinda' stuck inside today here in the Dominican cuz' I have a tummy bug.  You need not hear the details...suffice it to say that I best stay close to home.

Seems like a good time to share with you some more pics, etc.  I may also put them on my FB page because I know they will be seen by many more folk but first, I just thought I would share some thoughts about these with those of you who are kind enough to let me.

This is Pancho Mateo where my little 'happy-hatted' girl lives.  It is absolutely one of the poorest places that we have been to date.  We were there last week to follow along as one packet of soup with extra nutrients was given to each family of four.  Each family has a small tin hut with one or two rooms all built connected to each other.  

When we arrived, it was clear that some were cooking (I tasted VERY good homemade peanut butter from a GIANT bowl) but this was a corn mix done outside her room as that is how one must cook,
open fire and big pot.

Others were doing their wash by hand outside and, clearly,
it's waaay whiter than mine!

They were just doing the daily things that need to be done in a family, like we all do wherever we may be. They just do it with so much less than I have. That ALWAYS makes me meander.  I continue to feel conflicted because I know that I have so much more in what I see materially yet I do not believe that I have so much more in the ways that go unseen...family, love, faith, friendship, the stuff of life.  I am very careful to remember that and to strike a balance in myself.  It would be very wrong to not remember how much more I have at the same time that it would be wrong to presume that I am closer to contentment because of it.  I believe that I am, indeed, more COMFORTABLE and so feel humbled beyond words when I walk their village but all those comforts do not mean one is more CONTENT.

 Maybe and maybe not!

I was, indeed, pondering all that when one of the group said, "Cheryl, look at that home"'.  I turned around and there was this tin-roofed hut painted pink
with potted plants adorning it.

Exquisite!

Might even be one of the loveliest outdoor decors I have ever seen.  The owner of this home had pride in his/her home and it deserved to be photographed.  I hope to print this photo out and give it to them because I want them to know how much I appreciate the beauty they have shared.

Don't get me wrong, I am pretty sure these folk would be happy for more comforts and I shall continue to be conflicted by the inequity of it all but there is beauty to be seen here, inside and out ,and I am humbled and grateful to be able to behold it!



"He has made everything beautiful in its time." Ecclesiastes 3:11