Ataraxia

Happy fall y’all!

Things are starting to slightly cool down here in San Juan. At least in the morning, the air is a little cooler, but heats up quite a bit during the day. I’m excited for it to get to where I can start wearing a sweatshirt in the mornings!

I’m writing this from my new favorite coffee shop in San Juan called Ataraxia. The owners are a couple – the guy is from San Juan and his wife is from Montenegro, a country I’d never heard of in Southeastern Europe. I asked if ataraxia was a word from Montenegro, but the owner explained to me that it is a philosophical term referring to a calm, unrushed state of being which is what they hope to create in this space here. I would say they’ve knocked it out of the park! My first time here, my friend Kailey and I sat and talked for about two and a half hours sipping on the first pumpkin spice drinks we’ve ever been able to order in San Juan!

I absolutely loved the concept of the term ataraxia and it’s something I’ve been praying for (without knowing the technical term for it) a lot lately – a slow, unhurried life in which I can take time for the people and things I love. So often life goes so fast. I felt it before I moved here and I have felt it since being here. And sometimes it can feel like neverending cycles. But when I move slower, stay longer, and have deeper conversations, I feel so much more full.

This season has started to slow down and I am relishing in it. When working with American teams, so much is on such a rigid schedule, meeting American standards and expectations. And I get it, we want to make the time off work and the trip worth it for the people coming to serve, but for those of us living here (or maybe I should just speak for myself), it has been a struggle to create relationships here. We don’t have the opportunity to stay and chat after church. Our working hours when teams are here are different from Dominicans’ normal working hours. And after working all week, I often don’t have the energy to catch up with friends on the weekends as I need some alone time to relax and unwind. So, in my last 3 years here, one of my biggest struggles has been building and maintaining friendships.

However, the past couple of Sundays, I have felt the embrace of many nights of praying for community. Not having the chance to always stay after church to get to know people has often left me feeling like I would never be able to fully integrate into our church’s community here. However, the past few Sundays being able to hug so many people at church has just filled me with gratitude for all of the friendships the Lord has allowed to slowly cultivate without me even recognizing it. Outside of church, I have been able to sit and have coffee with some ladies that I dearly love, watch one of my favorite series with Angel and Brayden, sit and just chat with Hannah or our visiting team members. And I am so, so thankful for a slower, more intentional and relational pace.

I have been taking salsa lessons more regularly and I have even noticed that I feel more confident and free in other areas of my life since diving into it a little more. After salsa class the other night, I went with a few of the people in the class to one of the guys’ houses. We ordered some fast food, played dominos, flip 7, and the TikTok game where you have to ask questions and guess a number randomly assigned to you. Some of these friends are Christian, some are not. But I left feeling so grateful. It was such a wholesome night of sitting on the roof under the stars talking, laughing, and singing Disney songs (which was surprisingly not my idea by the way).

A few friends have recently commented to me that I have gotten my sparkle back. And I truly have felt more like myself recently than I have in quite some time. I’m so thankful that the Lord has given me my own space outside of the guesthouse to separate a little from work, for a sweet, godly community that I get to do life with here, other sweet friendships, and some really precious, unhurried time with people I have grown to love so much here.

October Highlights:

As I said, I have been taking salsa classes more regularly. The Brookside team had a few people who wanted to learn and it was SO FUN to get to share this passion of mine with them!
I am a lover of all things old. Haha My house is pretty much empty still because I want to fill it with intentional, yet functional things that represent me. I would rather fill it slowly with really unique finds than fill it quickly with things that don’t create a cozy space. So, I have been searching and searching for some good antique shops here (there a rare gem), but was able to find one in the Colonial Zone and left with a few really unique pieces that I absolutely adore! I found a few more places on Instagram that I hope I get to visit soon!
We had Dr. Daisy Lara here with one of our teams who gave talks to students and staff at CCED, Lucille Rupp, and the University of Santo Domingo in San Juan about mental health and faith. They were fruitful conversations and I’m so glad we were able to have them! It also led to some really cool experiences and conversations with some of the Neumann University nursing students who helped her with the presentation!
I had a beach day with Bianca, her brother, her cousin, and Kelsi! It was nice to have a day to relax and soak up the sun and just hang out!

Prayer requests: