4th of July Weekend!

This weekend was filled with many friends, festivities, and fireworks! Here's a little overview...

Thursday evening was 8th grade graduation at Anija

Micah graduated from 8th grade this year and Michel (in the middle) was her teacher (as well as one of my closest friends in the DR).

I sat with Loida :)

The interns got to come to graduation as well.

Friday evening was Gran Circulo at the Ark

There were two new groups who performed at the Gran Circulo this week. The Haitian boys were one of the groups.

And the Gringos were the other! (look for more pictures later)

Saturday involved hiking Mogote and going to a ballet recital

Hiking up Mogote was beautiful!

The whole gang at the top of Mogote.

Taking a rest and splashing around in a little river for a little bit.

We went to a ballet recital for Chase and Natalie, two missionaries kids.

Sunday we went tubing down a river here in Jarabacoa (pictures to be posted later) and celebrating the 4th of July

We spent Sunday evening at the VanderMolen's celebrating 4th of July. There were a lot of people (missionaries, a work team, and visiting friends) along with great food, and a big fireworks show!

Kings Day

Celebrating Kinds Day with the kids at the Ark was a great experience. Kings Day is what we know as Epiphany, celebrating the 3 King's that visited Jesus after He was born.
In the Dominican Republic, Kings Day is the day people open their presents. The students at Anija that have sponsors but do not live at the Ark received gifts before breaking for Christmas but the kids at the Ark received their presents today on Kings Day. There were a total of 100 people KAI provided gifts for and each person received 4 gifts, a couple small and a couple bigger. There gifts came from donations that teams have brought, through donations of sponsors, and others were brought through KAI. I never thought of how much work putting gifts together would be but if you think of it, we needed to have about 400 gifts total! After one of our missionaries bought the rest of the gifts not donated, we spent a few days wrapping them and then transporting them to the Ark.
The morning of Kings Day, all of the house dad and guy missionaries cook a big pancake breakfast for everyone and the missionary kids and the rest of us help set-up, serve the food, pass out gifts, and clean up. It was such a blessing to be apart of this day and to see how each child living at the Ark has become apart of a healthy family and was able to celebrate the day by receiving gifts. Below are some pictures from the day.




You can see all the gifts piled behind Leslie.

Loida and I were there to help.

Thanksgiving Activities

How Thankful I am for where God has me at in life and for all the blessings He gives me throughout the midst of challenges and trials. I am so grateful for my family and friends who pray for me, encourage me, and support me in the U.S. and for the new friends and family the Lord has provided from my time in Guatemala and the D.R.
A team from California was here over the week of Thanksgiving helping with construction at the Ark, sports at Anija, and also with some medical things. Along with these things, the team had a whole day of fun activities planned for Thanksgiving (even though the DR doesn't celebrate Thanksgiving). Each missionary/bilingual person helped in one class as the members of the team rotated classes while doing activities with the students. I helped with 8th grade. Some of the activities included reading about the history of Thanksgiving (in Spanish), writing what they were thankful for, and making Wordless book bracelets. Another portion of the day was making Christmas projects such as ornaments, Christmas cards, and Popsicle stick frames as a gift to their parents or other family. The last activity of the day was Chapel time with some of the members of the team leading worship and doing skits.
The final event of the day was a big Thanksgiving dinner that the team prepared for all of the teachers and staff at Anija. I couldn't have asked for a better way to spend Thanksgiving if not with my family.
Below are some pictures from the day.


Two students who graduated from Anija shared their testimonies with each class.


Students made Popsicle stick frames.


Some of the 8th graders invited me to participate in a secret santa gift exchange. We both got Milky Way bars!

Some students shared what they were thankful for during chapel.

Worship time during chapel.


Here is a video of the 5th-8th graders at chapel during the Thanksgiving Day activities.

Rebekah, Judy, Loida, Michel, and myself at Anija's Thanksgiving dinner.