Christmas Gifts!

A few pictures for sponsors :)

Thank you to all of you who sponsor kids thru Kids Alive (and for other organizations for that matter) and who sponsor me of course!!

Christmas Party!

Every year we have a separate Christmas party for the kids who have sponsors at Anija that don't also live at the Ark. We have about 150 kids who have sponsors. We had lunch together, sang Christmas carols, played a couple of games, and opened presents! Each kid received socks & underwear as well as a fun gift. Enjoy the pictures!

Waiting to go into the cafeteria to see what the surprise is...

Christmas presents!

The kids received more candy and an apple to start off the party!

Waiting to eat...

These kids all need sponsors still :)

Praying for the food.

Second graders with their presents

The girls LOVE anything princess!

Kindergarten with their presents

The kids thought my Santa hat and knee high Santa socks were so funny.

Here's a video of all the kids saying FELIZ NAVIDAD! to all of their sponsors :)

Celebrating Christmas!

Waiting in line for some goodies.

They were really excited!

Sweet Christmas gift bags.

Collecting more treats.

This day we celebrated Christmas with all the students at Anija including sponsored kids, Ark kids, and community kids. We had a separate celebration with those who have sponsors thru Anija the following day.

Christmas Time!

Here's a few pictures from the week before Christmas break!

Singing Christmas carols before school starts

I tried to follow along the best I could (in Spanish of course)

Preparing Christmas gift bags for every student at Anija

Waiting for the teachers to start their drama.

Waiting...

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Bible Study Girls!

These are the girls in my weekly Bible study! It's been great studying the Word together (in English) and knowing I have friends who are praying for me and who can relate to a lot of the things I'm feeling and the challenges of living in the DR.

(Kerrie, me, Lorraine, Erin, Sara, Melanie, not pictured-Sara E & Elise)

Christmas Dinner at the Ark

Every year the Ark has a special Christmas dinner. I was really glad I could go as I love seeing everyone in the Ark together as one big family. It was awesome to look around as we sang worship songs and praise God that many of these kids have accepted Jesus into their heart and that a seed has been planted in the rest of these children's hearts. It's awesome to see the difference in some of the kids lives just within the year and few months that I've been here and to think about where these kids have come from. Praise God for hope in Him!

Merry Christmas everyone!

Loida, Chanina, me, Rebeka

Waiting to eat!

The Ark's Director and one of the house parent's kids.

Winifer, Indiana, and I

Two of the Ark girls singing a song for everyone.

I love hanging out with these boys!

Thank You Cards

This week I spent a lot of time translating birthday and Christmas cards that sponsors have sent their kids. These are some of the thank you cards that the kids made to send to their sponsors. They always love doing crafts and especially doing anything that involves using stickers!

We currently need 160 new sponsors for our kids at Anija and a lot more within the rest of our Kids Alive sites. Sponsoring a child is how we fund the opportunities we give them to learn about Jesus, provide education, medical attention, meals, dental needs, and much more. If you've ever considered sponsoring a child or know someone who is, please look into sponsoring a child with Kids Alive this Christmas season. Thank you for your prayers for Kids Alive, our programs, and especially for our children and staff!

*I am the Sponsorship Coordinator for Anija so you can contact me directly by email, facebook, or my blog or click on the "Kids Alive" link on my blog for more information.

A few kiddos who need sponsors...

Teverns

Josuel

Christal

Paintings

This is fairly random but here are a couple of paintings I have bought since living in the DR. Although I purchased them about a year ago, they just got hung up on the wall today!

Update on Anija's Volleyball Team

Today Anija played in a volleyball tournament against 3 other schools. I am so proud to support our team as they have really come a long way. A fellow missionary, Jessica, (who works with Students International) has taken Anija's volleyball team under her wings and has really made a difference in their lives. These girls have practice three times a week, a Bible study, and an optional English class once a week. I have seen a difference in their attitudes on and off the court, improved sportsmanship, and of course better volleyball skills. The atmosphere at volleyball games and tournaments are always so uplifting with Christian music playing over loud speakers as well as a short devotional given by a guest speaker. Although I am not personally a part of coaching the team this year, I am very supportive, proud, and excited for the growth these girls have made over the past couple of months. I go to as many of their games and events as I can and I am their number one fan!

Anija Volleyball Team (including alumni of Anija and a couple extra girls)

All the teams that participated in today's tournament.

Over the last semester I kept track of how each class behaved, who checked out the most books, turned in their permission forms on time, obeyed the rules, etc. and 5th grade won! So we had an ice cream party to celebrate. I think I gained several brownie points with the class and hopefully motivated the other classes to behave better, read more, and be more responsible with their books.

Christmas Carolers?

We were greatly surprised by carolers during our ladies Bible study this week.

It was quite a sight!

Acto de Navidad

Here are some pictures from the Christmas program this week. Each grade performed a drama, dance, or song. They did such a great job!

Preschool-ABC class singing and dancing to a song

First graders performing

4th graders dancing to merengue music

5th graders waiting for their turn

Sixth graders singing

Perla, isn't she cute?! (and she still needs sponsors!)

Apparently I didn't get the message that we were taking a picture quite yet but Melissa and Lisa did! (these are the girls whose house burned down a week or two ago)

Diana and I (Diana is an Ark house parent-Yeraudy's house mom)

Michel, me, and Kenia (fellow teachers and good friends at Anija)