Well, it seems I always have an excuse why I haven’t been updating my blog…and it’s normally the same excuse…a crazy, busy life, and lack of internet. So many things have happened, but here’s the basics. I’ll be home soon, so you can always ask for more details!
These past few weeks we’ve been busy at the school re-doing a lot of our procedures. Things were just not working the way we had hoped, and thanks to some amazing new friends that gave us a lot of great ideas, we came up with new rules and procedures. The kids are adapting really well so far! We just finished up for the summer and most of the kids did amazingly well in my class. Some kids really surprised me! It amazes me to see how far the kids have come. I think back to the first week last year when I realized that many of the kids didn’t even know their colors in Spanish. It definitely provided a challenge! My oldest group now knows about 40 verbs, past, present, and future tenses, everyday objects, and so much more! They’ve made me extremely proud to say the least!
It’s also been a huge change to have our own classroom walls! My room now has a ton of colorful posters hanging up! Unfortunately they keep falling down because of the crappy sticky tack. But it’s so much less distracting for the students and even for me when we can’t see the other classes! We even got doors put in, so that helps even more! Once we get the money for a ceiling, it will be even better because the noise level will also go down. The guys also got my board hung back up, so I finally have a “normal” classroom! Who knew one could be so thankful for walls! A huge thanks to everyone who has helped us get this far!
One day, Jen and I went down to the batey to get Jony, one of the school students. The plan was for him to sleep at our house and then Shawn and Jen were going to take him to the capitol very early the next day so that he could get testing on his head from when he passed out. But first, we had to find him! Unfortunately, not even his mother knew where he was, so we waited a little bit at his house. Every time I visit there, it reminds me how much I have and I feel blessed, but also ashamed at how much I take things for granted. Think about water for example: In the US, I rarely ever think about how much water I use, unless we’re in a severe drought…which barely ever happens. Or of course when dad yells at us for taking too long of showers! Living here in the DR, I know what it’s been like to not have water…and of course we complain about feeling dirty, with no way to shower, wash clothes or dishes, or anything. But we have no idea what it’s like to literally have almost no water ALL THE TIME. I watched Jony’s grandmother washing clothes in a bucket of water that looked like she had taken a small shovelful of dirt and mixed it up in the water and then started washing clothes. How fortunate we are to have so much water! I love that God uses something like that to reset my thinking and to realize how He has provided for me over and over. Don’t forget to give thanks for even the little things in your life. Don’t take anything for granted!
As I was talking to Jony’s mom, I recalled when I had first come last year and we were visiting the kids that were enrolled to go to school. Wilkyns made me talk to them because he likes to make me uncomfortable! I was so discouraged though, because barely anyone understood me, so I just made him say everything after the first few houses. This time, I was able to have a full conversation without any translators!!! Who would have thought that God would use a country girl like me in a foreign country?! I get made fun of for even my English when I’m in the US! But even though I’m not fluent and my accent is quite lacking, God has allowed me to be able to talk to the people I love! God is SO good! Don’t ever say that you can’t do something, because I never imagined this for my life. Keep seeking God’s will for your own life and you will be amazed! Then, when something extraordinary happens, God gets all the credit!
After waiting for Jony a little while, we decided we would return later in the van since it isn’t safe to be out on my bike after dark. He still hadn’t been seen once we came back, so we sat there, in the dark, for about an hour, waiting. During that time, I was surrounded by kids, some from the school and some not. It could have been frustrating, but it was probably the best part of my day! The kids were showing off their English. I was showing off what little French I remember. The girls were playing with my hair. They were singing and clapping to songs in Creole. We were just joking around and laughing. Gosh I love these people! It makes me wish I lived closer to the school so that I could hang out with my kids outside of the classroom. Some of the girls that I can barely ever get to talk were talking my ear off that night! I am so thankful for that time! Jony finally came home and was excited because he’s been asking me to see our house since I first came! Unfortunately, while in the capitol, no tests were done and they were told to return a later day. He went back again recently and they told him which tests he needs to get done. It includes a wide range of tests, so keep praying!
We got the opportunity to go camping at an amazingly little known place about an hour from where we live called Mata de Maiz. We drove the van part way and then we carried everything down a super steep road…next time, I’m not packing so much lol! But it was all worth it! Jen and I pulled out all our country girl knowledge and got the fire started, made dinner over the fire, thanks to Pinterest, had some awesome Reese’s s’mores thanks to my thoughtful boyfriend, and everything else involved in camping! Once everything was set up, we all put our bathing suits on and went swimming and jumping off rocks…when it was pitch black and the water is freezing, but it was so worth it! We’ve returned two more times since then, with friends, and got to explore some more! It is one of the prettiest places I’ve ever seen…I feel like I’m in a movie when we’re there. I probably took 40 pictures of every different angle! As we were driving along, we passed a ton of banana trees and coffee plants and I couldn’t help but think how weird it still is to realize where I’ve been the last two years...still seems unreal at times.
Ears to Hear recently received a donation for fix-signal, solar powered radios to pass out at the radio station in St. Marc, Haiti. To practice, Wolfgang, a friend who has a small plane, flew over the school and dropped a few radios. Unfortunately, we didn’t tie our knots very well the first time and all the parachutes came disconnected from the radios…but those things seemed indestructible and still worked even after crashing to the ground. The second time we did it, we fixed the knot problem and the parachutes worked! Then the real fun began when people tried to steal them. I had to talk one guy into giving me the one back…definitely surprised myself with my Spanish skills. Another guy was tackled because he was trying to take one that a adventure camera had been attached too…always some type of excitement here!
I’ve had the opportunity to do a little bit of traveling, which I’ve been hoping to do for awhile now. This is a beautiful and extremely diverse country. One of our adventures was possible when we were asked to be in a Dominican movie that will be appearing at film festivals around the world, and then released in theatres! Don’t worry, you can ask for signature when I get back to the US! For the filming, we drove about three hours away to Bahia de las Aguiles, a very secluded beach that we pretty much had to ourselves. It wasn’t as pretty as we had hoped, but still an awesome experience! And we got to ride a boat!
We had another team from Mt. Vernon Church in Mississippi come down! Part of the team hosted a dental clinic while the other half worked on digging and pouring the footers for the future medical clinic. So many teeth were pulled, gigantic teeth! I got to help translate some, but my main job was trying to calm frightened children. Most of the patients were my students and it was so hard seeing them in pain, but I’m so glad that I could be there for them! I could somewhat empathize with them…sort of. I thought I was in pain when I got a bad toothache a few days before the team came…I couldn’t lay down without my head feeling like it was gonna explode. I can’t imagine what some of these kids have been putting up with for so long. One boy had a tooth where the nerve was completely exposed. Others were just rotted away. They’re definitely stronger than I am!
We took about 45 people to San Rafael, a freshwater river and beach area, to celebrate a successful school year! The kids were so excited. Only seven of the kids had ever been there before. On the van ride there, with 26 people in an eleven passenger van and the rest in a truck that’s supposed to hold 11, the kids were singing all kinds of songs, but the coolest thing was to hear them singing, “God is so Good.” What an amazing experience and such a huge blessing! First, some of the kids received awards for superior performance, behavior, and attendance. At the river, the kids that didn’t know how to swim were hanging all over me. At the end, we all washed our hair in the river! Probably the cleanest some of them have been in a long time! These kids never cease to make me smile! I had such a great time!
I have about a week left here in the DR. Part of me thought this day would never come and the other part of me doesn’t want it to be here already. Last year, I felt as if I was torn in two, like I wanted to be in both places. At this time last year, I knew that I would be returning to the DR for a second year, so it made life a little easier. I didn’t have to say goodbye, just see you later. This year, I’ve put off reality for as long as possible by staying busy. The realization is hitting hard that I may never see my kids and the people that have become like family again. I know God has a plan in all of this, but I can’t help but feel that I’m tossing these people aside, especially when my kids tell me that they’re going to forget their English and that I have to be here to see different things in their lives…but I’m going to miss all of that, and I can’t make any promises because who knows what God has in store for me now. How do I say goodbye to the people whose hands I’ve held when scared, who’ve cried with me, who’ve picked me flowers and colored me pictures, who’ve become my shadow, who have shared countless laughs, who have hovered together when thieves seem to come from every direction, who make fun of my Spanish, who’ve shared all those fabulous, awkward moments, who have been a part of every part of my life for the last two years. How do I say goodbye? This coming week, I guess I’ll figure out that answer, so stayed tuned and please pray!
The school is still looking for English speakers to volunteer for the next school year, so if you are interested and have any questions, please contact me!
