About Life as a Missionary

Following is a collection of observations and experiences from past years. They will provide you with a snap shots of Bob and Ellen's life and work in the Episcopal Diocese of the Dominican Republic.

CAN AN OLD DOG really learn new tricks? Yes, if the new trick is in the will of God. Learning Spanish at age 50 was a trick, but I (Bob) prefer to call it a miracle. It took me four years at the University to pass a required two years of French. When I graduated, I told Ellen that there were two things I would never do again - take language lessons and go back to school. I did both. My Spanish isn't perfect, but neither is my English. My Dominican friends, in most instances, can understand what I am attempting to say.

"ARE YOU SURE Dominicans speak Spanish. I can't understand a thing they are saying." This was a re-occurring thought during our first few months here. The Caribbean Spanish accent reflects this laid-back, easy-going culture. I wonder if Hispanics who learn English think the same thing when they visit the deep south, or New York City.

"ELLEN THERE ARE TANKS in the streets." It was our second month in the DR and we were living in the rectory of the church. At 5 o'clock in the morning, a loud rumble woke us up. The church has a 8 foot block wall around it and all we could see over the wall were the tops of tanks as the rumbled down the street. It was February 27, Dominican Independence Day, and we didn't know there was a big military parade scheduled for later in the day. There were a few tense moments, before we figured out what was happening.

THE SINNERS WERE FISHERMEN: Learning any language is filled with embarrassing moments. We've chosen to laugh at those times, and keep using the language. Here are some of those moments that we have either heard or performed ourselves. When Bob was reading a prayer which included "pecador" which means sinner, he kept using the word "pescador" which is fisherman. A young male priest learning Spanish was talking about how "embarrassed" he was. One problem - he was telling them how "pregnant" he was. Or, how about our friend Alex who needed to buy a material to prevent water leakage. In his "English-Spanish" he was telling the hardware store employee that he wanted to buy condoms. He didn't know why the employee was laughing until he returned to the work site.