On Pursuing Your Passion: Santo Domingo 2024

Last week, I had the honor of spending a few days with the piano teachers of the IBO Music Academy in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. We spent several hours each day discussing all things piano pedagogy. I don’t think I could have enjoyed the week more! The Dominican people are genuinely kind and thoughtful, and the teachers at the IBO Music Academy are the same.

I went to the DR as part of a team from William Carey University. I had visited last summer with a group of students. We spent a week touring some of the schools and universities in Santo Domingo and holding masterclasses in the IBO Music Academy. It was there that I met their wonderful team of piano teachers and began building a relationship with them. Over the last year, we have held Zoom classes on piano pedagogy and one has sent me videos of her and her students playing and asked for critique. I fell in love with the country and its people during this visit, so when the opportunity to return this summer presented itself, I jumped on it!

We left the campus at 3:30 Tuesday morning and headed to the New Orleans airport. From there, we flew to Miami, then to the DR. We were greeted by Carlos, the head of the IBO Music Academy. Carlos took us to the church, where we were able to sit in on an IBO Music Academy orchestra rehearsal. They sounded amazing! It was so hard to believe that some of those students had been playing their instrument for less than a year!

That evening, we had dinner with the church choir and orchestra then joined them for rehearsal. After this, I went to my host home – the family of a student who is now at Carey because of our trip there last summer. I loved staying in their home and immersing myself in the culture. Her brothers were excited to have a visitor from America, and her parents were such kind and gracious hosts.

Over the next two days, while the rest of the team was busy in meetings with government officials and heads of music departments in universities arranged by the head of the IBO Music Academy, I met with the piano teachers of the academy. They have added a couple more teachers to their team this year, and one of the students I coached last year is now playing for the church and is heading to conservatory!

We packed A LOT into a short time! Our days were spent discussing all things piano pedagogy – how to introduce a student to piano, when to begin introducing scales, how our approach as teachers to new material affects the student’s mindset, and much, much more! And we read lots and lots of music. This was so fun! We talked about playing for church and how to incorporate movement for fidgety students. We discussed how to keep students interested in classical music when they think it’s boring. We talked about how to teach Bach and shared books that have helped us as piano teachers.

It is incredibly important to have a supportive community as teachers. When you are teaching privately, you might go a whole day or more without talking to anyone but your students and their parents. Having a like-minded team of supportive friends who are in the same career can keep loneliness from becoming debilitating. They can share ideas for how to help that student that seems stuck and you don’t know what else to do. They can encourage you when you begin wondering if your work really matters. Your team lifts you up and you encourage them – it’s a beautiful cycle.

We had a little downtime each day, and I was blessed to be able to spend it with my Dominican friend Aylen. We met on my visit last year and have stayed in touch throughout the year. Aylen is one of the piano teachers at IBO Music Academy, and she is also a cellist. She is a brilliant musician and a beautiful soul. We had lunch, coffee, and went shopping – you know, what besties do!  There was a booth in the shopping center selling jewelry made from the Dominican national stone larimar. Larimar is found in the cavities of volcanic rocks. When the rocks erode, the stones are carried to the beaches and streambeds where they are collected and made into stunning jewelry. The tumbling of the stones onto the sand result in a polished, shiny exterior. Such a beautiful lesson for life, isn’t it? These gorgeous stones do not even exist until they have been through a fire. They are then polished by being thrown, which just adds to their value. Trust me, we will definitely be coming back to this later!

The second night, my hostess and her friend took me to downtown Santo Domingo. The sun was extremely hot that day and they could tell I needed more than just plain water, so they took me to a beautiful outdoor restaurant where we sat on the roof and drank coconut water with lime. It was so refreshing! The rest of the group met us there and we all enjoyed some relaxing conversation as we sat under a pavilion and watched the afternoon rainstorm. We had dinner at a restaurant on the ocean and got to watch the sun set as we enjoyed our traditional Dominican meal.

On the third night, my hostess and her family welcomed our whole team to their home for a dinner prepared by the women of the family – my host’s mom, my hostess, and her sister. They decorated their patio area and fed us an absolutely delicious meal then showered us with gifts. It was both touching and humbling. The Dominican people have such a tremendous capacity for giving.

The next day, our team began our trek home. This trip was an adventure to say the least! We experienced delayed flights, having to deplane and change planes because of a failed engine (that was thankfully discovered BEFORE the plane took off!), and waiting for the new plane to be refueled. We were originally scheduled to be home around 2:00 am Saturday. If I remember correctly, I pulled into my apartment a little after 6:00 am. It was much later than we wanted, but we were home and we were safe. That’s all that matters.

Now back to the larimar. (Y’all knew this was coming!) Over this trip, God reminded me of when He had called me to ministry when I was 15. Soon after that, I felt God’s call to missions. There were several times over the next few years that I thought He was leading me overseas. I wanted to go. I wanted to follow this calling! But God knew I wasn’t ready.

Until now.

God showed me on this trip – 35 years after He originally called me – that this was what He had planned for me all those years ago. This was what He had called me to when I was 15, and it looks nothing like I thought it would. I have always been drawn to Latin American culture and to the Spanish language. I love the vibrancy of their music, their excitement for living, and, of course, their food. So I have always wondered if I was meant to serve in some sort of ministry in a Spanish-speaking country. Turns out, I am – but in a different way than I ever expected!

The specifics of God’s calling are so much more beautiful than I ever imagined they would be! I get to teach piano teachers how to teach, and I get to do it in Spanish! (Granted, my Spanish needs a lot of work, but that just gives me another goal, right?) Teaching piano + teaching teachers + Spanish culture??? Isn’t God amazing?!

In order to be prepared to fulfill God’s calling on my life, though, I had to go through some fires. I had to be expelled from the volcanic ash and brought to life again. I had to walk through the deepest of valleys and experience walking with calloused feet and a permanent limp. I had to live through the unimaginable to testify of the unexplainable. Just like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, I had to personally experience that God was with me in the fire before He could use me. I had to be thrown onto the beaches and have my rough edges burnished by the sand before I could even begin pursuing this calling.

Not that I have arrived. I know I haven’t. I know there is so much more I need to learn. That’s one reason I love exploring other cultures – you are reminded that there are hundreds if not millions of ways of being and living and moving through the world. You are reminded that everyone everywhere has a gift to offer and that by working together, you can make the world even more beautiful. You are reminded of what I say at the end of every episode –  each of us brings something unique into the music world, and there is room for us all.

What does this look like in the future? I am not exactly sure, but I know I will be returning to Iglesia IBO and the IBO Music Academy at least once a year for as long as I can. My goal is to continue building relationships with their piano teachers and to encourage their church musicians however possible. I am praying for guidance in how to specifically carry this out, and I am also praying for direction in possibly extending this ministry into other countries as well. God is never late, and I know He will open the doors to where He wants me to go when it is time. Until then, I will keep doing the next thing. I will keep teaching here in Hattiesburg. I will continue serving at my church. I will train piano teachers and teach my students. I will serve as director of Carey Music Academy and provide outreach into my community. I will be a light and do my best to love everyone as God does.

And that is my advice for you, as well, if you are unsure what step to take next. Do the next thing. Walk through the doors as God opens them. Serve where you are. Faithfulness in the little things will result in open doors. Keep going. Keep dreaming. Keep serving. Keep shining your light. The world needs your gift.

Much love, my friends.