The following was written by Rachel Snider, my dear friend who is serving with Students International in the Dominican Republic. (Read her blog here!) I was able to spend the past week and a half with her as she ran clinics in 5 different communities. I had no idea how to put this time into words, so she did it for me, in a much better way than I ever could have. 
To say this time together was a blessing is a huge understatement. Working alongside each other in her country - finally, finally! - was something I wasn't sure would ever happen. We spent so much time talking about this place and to be part of it with her has been incredible. My heart is still and will always be in Mexico, but I have to say...I love Rachel's home in a way I never thought I would! 

"As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another." Proverbs 27:17
What a verse to start with, you may say. But, as I sit here, in my living room in the hot and sweaty Dominican Republic next to my best friend Hilary, there is no better way to describe our friendship. 
It is absolutely surreal to be serving together in the DR. It was less than three short years ago we were both living in Poughkeepsie, NY dreaming of the places so near and dear to our hearts. She would share her sorrow over being separated from the sweet kids at Gabriel House and I would share my conflicted heart about feeling led to practice medicine in the DR. 
To think that God would provide the opportunity for her to spend Sabbath time volunteering at my clinics while we both are living on a missionary's salary was beyond our expectations. But, as God continues to move within our friendship, He continues to sharpen our faith in Him through each other. 
The past week I have been amazed by how my dear friend loves so fearlessly each and every person she meets. And this love clearly does not just apply to Mexicans. I tangibly see the hands of Christ working in her, as she offers prayer in Spanish, laughs with my patients while taking a history or jumps at the opportunity to evangelize to our non-Christian Dominican hiking tour guide. 
After working together, I can officially say Hilary has entered the world of medicine. She has assisted me in translating for some very difficult to understand Spanish, taking vital signs, fitting people for glasses, removing sutures, taking histories, holding babies but most of all shining that Hilary smile that captures the hearts of many. I would be lying to say I didn't wish she could stay forever. 
In the past, we have often dreamed that God would call us to serve Him together, and even though these 10 days aren't permanent I can't tell you what a breath of fresh air they have been. And so on Friday when I drive Hilary to the airport, broken hearted that once again we will be serving so far from each other, I will bask in the radiant joy these days offered both of us. And that I am so blessed to have such a friend. 

En Cristo!
Rachel Snider

Top 10 differences between the DR and Mexico

1. Nothing in the DR is spicy, and everything in Mexico is picante...even lollipops!

2. Dominicans pronounce "y" and "ll" as a j; Mexicans use the y sound.

3. Everyone in the DR drives a moto and uses it for transportation of both animate and inanimate objects - roosters, propane tanks, children, washing machines, etc.

4. The DR is lush and green with tropical vegetation and Mexico is dry and arid. 

5. In Mexico most residents are Mexican while in the DR there are many people from all over Latin America cohabiting the island. For instance, within Rachel's group of friends there is a Colombian, Venezuelan, Honduran, and Haitian.

6. Coffee is its own language in the DR. People take it very seriously and it's delicious. Mexicans, sadly, only drink instant coffee. It's not delicious.

7. There are many common items that are completely inaccessible in the DR but due to Mexico's proximity to the States these items are more easy to find...like any frozen product. 

8. Some Spanish words are completely different. For example - banana in the DR is enero (yes like January) and in Mexico, it's platano, which is an entirely different fruit in the DR. 

9. Hilary thought her Mexican world was small in the city of Ensenada until she saw the tiny and remote village Rachel lives in that's part of an island in the middle of the ocean. 

10. The DR temporarily ran out of gasoline while Hilary was visiting; that is highly unlikely to ever happen in Mexico. 

This is just a small taste of the countless surprises we encountered while bringing together our adopted cultures...not to mention how often I was told I speak with a Dominican dialect and Hilary with a Mexican!

Lunch with Dr. Fernando and his wife and son

Dinner on top of a mountain in Jarabacoa!

Our guide told us Jurassic Park was filmed here...I'll have to watch the movie again to figure out if that's true or not.

Parts of this country look like they belong on a postcard. 

This is Rachel's clinic in Coracito. No electricity, no tables, plastic stools, and she sewed the curtain herself for privacy for her patients! 

One of Rachel's nicest clinics in, ironically, the most remote place she works in and the area that has the most unbelievable, barely drive able roads. 

Rachel taught me how to take blood pressure! I was ready :)

A Dominican staple - rice, beans, and plantains.  

Yvenor, Rachel's incredible Creole translator, holding a baby as her mom listened to her heartbeat for the first time!

Yvenor is THE MAN. 

Taking patient histories (in Spanish!) - this was my favorite job.

Jugo! An almost daily ritual - the DR knows how to make some delicious juice. Pineapple, orange, mango, cherry, strawberry, lime....mmmm. I will definitely miss this.

This is very normal. 4 people crammed on a moto, flying down the road. I saw SO many infants sandwiched between two people - no helmets, nothing. 

Some pretty impressive craftsmanship in Buenos Aires - a village where Rachel has a clinic. 

Rachel's most adorable patient of the day! Haitian babies win for being the cutest ever.