Sometimes it only takes only one experience to broaden your horizon. And that experience doesn’t necessarily have to be bad and the change does not have to be drastic.

In October 2015, 22 year-old, Alexis Deveaux participated in an annual mission trip with her job. Together with a Christian ministry they traveled to Santa Domingo, Dominican Republic, bringing over 30 suitcases of clothes and belongings for the women and children they would meet in the villages.

“My company is a praying one,” Deveaux says, “we do mission trips every year to give back.”

During her four day trip, Deveaux visited an orphanage called De Jesus Pasitos (Little Girls Room) in Boca Chica. Boca Chica supposedly is the number one city for prostitution in the Dominican Republic.  Immediately Deveaux says she was touched by the young girls, whose ages ranged from 13 months to 19-years old. All of them had been abused, raped and abandoned in some form or manner. The buildings the girls lived in had no AC or electricity. But what Deveaux says touched her the most was their happiness despite their hard realities. “I never expected them to be so happy, but I understood why because they felt safe,” she said.

Many of the girls Deveaux met, have never been to school and didn’t know how to read. But their situations had no impact on their spirit, which Deveaux describes as pure joy and love for God. “The fact that they loved God despite everything touched me and encouraged me to pray more and appreciate the stuff I have,” she said.

Deveaux said she walked away from her experience with a different outlook on her own situations.

“A lot of times we complain about the small stuff, even though we are truly blessed.”

Deveaux says she wants to go back to the Dominican Republic. The experience has also inspired her to travel to other countries. On her spare time, you can find Deveaux gracing the microphone with her singing or blessing it with her poetry at one of Tampa’s open mic venues. “Anything that has something to do with music and motivation is my dream.”

If you have an enlightening experience you would like to share with RoyalTee, email us at royalteemagazine@gmail.com.