A favorite place for everyone who visits is Los Calabazos. Imagine driving up into the mountains. The road weaves it's way along the side of a mountain ridge. There are incredible views to the right. You are able to see another mountain range that follows alongside the one we are on. Way down between these ridges is the river Yaque de Norte. At one point along this river is a small community called Los Calabazos (also called Majaguita).
After a 20 minute drive from Jarabacoa, we park the car along the road. We stop in a colmado (small neighborhood store) to get something to drink for our little hike. You ask "where is the commity?" and I tell you "It's below us." That might seem crazy but it's true. We leave the colmado and descent down about 200 steep steps to Los Calabazos. The walk is hot because for all but a small part, you can feel the sun beating down you. But the views are great as we approach the community below. Once in the community, you are surprised to see what you find...
Los Calabazos is a community that has learned how to work together. They are camposinos - farmers, not very educated in a formal way. And yet, the more time spent...you realize they are very smart. They know how to live, to survive, in ways that "formal education" tends to ignore. Here in this community they have a number of businesses. They all work together to run a small hotel, a restaurant, and a farm. They have worked hard to beautify the community - flowers are plentiul and some trees/plants have signs telling what they are in 3 languages. If you look around, you may find they use the river water to power the community. Or you may see that they are building a fish hatchery as well as other things. It is a very interesting community.
The church in Los Calabazos was started in the 90's and it struggles. When started, there were two communities involved. The church was built up on the road, a spot that was thought convenient for both communities. Today, few people attend. A typical Sunday will see 10 adults in the church.
I, Rick, go to Los Calabazos every other Sunday. I alternate with Nicolus, an elder from the central church in Jarabacoa. At times, it is discouraging. I wonder if I am making a difference. It's so easy to relate success with seeing greater numbers at the church.
As I have prayed about Los Calabazos...a few things have consistently come to mind -
1. Strengthen the believers that are there.
2. If he is willing, spend more time with Nicolus, investigating how we can help one another.
For this, this is our focus in Los Calabazos. We see other opportunities but feel that what we are doing now is necessary to build a foundation for new ministries in Los Calabazos.
Pray for this community. Pray for Nicolaus. Pray for us as well!
Now we get to climb back out of Los Calabazos. About 200 steps...take your time!
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