I was asked to give a little talk at church today, to let everyone know about the amazing time I had in Dominica. I thought I might as well put it up here for all to view - as a sort of reflective summary of the whole experience.
"As you may already now I just recently came back from a 7 month trip to the tiny Caribbean island of Dominica, also known as God’s garden - you would understand the nickname if you witness the incredible views, gorgeous rainforests and the natural beauty. It is truly stunning.
On a day to day basis I worked in a local primary school, teaching Kindergarten. I was given lots of responsibility and was able to teach lessons on my own and organise projects. The children were adorable, but very disciplined, and from a young age the classes had an academic focus rather than learning through play: very different from the reception classes in the UK. My biggest achievement at the school was setting up a musical theatre class and single handedly putting on a production of the musical Annie. There was a lot of work involved but the kids loved it and the parents were grateful for the opportunity for their children to try something new. The girls performed absolutely brilliantly and all the parents were so impressed with what we had been able to do.
Outside of school, I helped with the charity I was based at, called Lifeline Ministries. This involved visiting different projects such as the homeless shelter, the HIV support home, and the prison. I helped Jahaida, who has spina bifida, with her homework and I delivered meals to homeless people, for the church soup kitchen. Of course there was also opportunities to enjoy the island, we went to lots of rivers and waterfalls and basking in the Caribbean sun!
Sunday’s were taken up almost entirely by going to church with services running for around 4 hours - with an hour preach! I attended New Day Fellowship & Deliverance Ministry Church which I guess you could say was a pentecostal community church. I immediately became part of the family and it became a massive part of my life, I regularly went to prayer night and youth events and even sang with the worship band. I made some incredible friendships and met some inspirational, enthusiastic Christians.
The whole country is entirely God focused, which was a slightly shocking change - coming from a somewhat secularised society. For example one of the most popular radio stations was a Christian channel and worship songs were big hits. On a more personal level for the first time ever I experienced living with a Christian family - we would sometimes have bible studies together and they were a constant encouragement and have most definitely strengthened my faith. The trip was a massive step along my spiritual journey and an opportunity to meet with God in a different but brilliant way.
I have to say that the best thing about the whole experience was the people I met and the friendships I made. They may live 4000 miles away but I feel like they are my family and the memories I made will stay with me for life. I will be back for a holiday as soon as possible - and I would recommend Dominica to anyone fancying a interesting trip to the Caribbean! For now, I am heading off up to Durham to experience the other extreme in temperature and to study for my degree in Education & Theology. My trip was the perfect stepping stone to this next chapter, thank you to all those who helped me get there and for your prayers and support."
Here is the link to an online album of a small selection of photos from the whole 7 months: https://picasaweb.google.com/105595072843847991957/Dominica?authkey=Gv1sRgCJHr94C4wfOeUg
Writing this really made me realise how truly incredible the whole experience was, and how much I miss all the friends I made! Starting to save for a holiday back!
