Monte Plata...It's been 6 years

Here are some pictures from my short trip to Monte Plata. Kyle, Emily, Jenilea, (other KAI missionaries who teach English at our Care Centers in either Constanza, Caraballos, or Palo Blanco) and I went to talk with and watch Rebekah, another Kids Alive missionary, teach English. Rebekah is the new director of English programs for the DR. She has been teaching English for about 3 years and is wonderful! Apart from watching English classes, this trip was really meaningful to me as I have not been back to Monte Plata since I first came six years ago.


The orphanage I helped build over 6 years ago in Monte Plata.

The now completed and open orphanage called Casa Monte Plata through Kids Alive. I had no idea I was helping build an orphanage for Kids Alive at the time!


Inside one of the houses in Casa Monte Plata.

At Casa Monte Plata.


View from Casa Monte Plata


This is where I originally decided I wanted to go abroad to serve.


This is the same room I stayed in six years ago.


Kids Alive school in Monte Plata.


Kyle, Emily, Jenilea, and myself getting ready to watch Rebekah teach English.

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.

Doing Laundry in the DR

Here's a little bit about doing laundry in the DR...


This is a typical Dominican style washer. There are four steps to washing clothes. First, I fill the left side with water from a hose (but not too high as there is no lid) along with detergent. Then I put my clothes in and turn on the spinner for about 15 minutes. Then put my clothes in wringer on the right side (which has a lid) for about 5 minutes. While the clothes are being wrung out I drain the now dirty water from the left side and refill with hose water. Next I put the clothes back in the left side for about 15 more minutes to rinse out the soap. And last I put the clothes back in the wringer for 5 more minutes. Hanging clothes to dry is a whole different art. It took me about 2 months until I could get everything hung up in less than 20 minutes AND without dropping any of the clean clothes in the grass/dirt.

This is where I hang my laundry when it looks like it's going to be a sunny day.

Doing laundry here is a strategic thing. Everyone hang dries their clothes outside because no one has dryers. So, if you get stuck doing laundry on a day when it starts to rain you end up having to be creative. We found some rope, not even long enough to hang across my whole room, then had to find random places to tie the ends to. Then I had to figure out how to keep my clothes from sliding to the middle. I ended up putting a pair of running shorts between each hanger and that seemed to work pretty well with the fan blowing on them.

Puppies!

Here are some updated pictures of Feliz, Rosita, and 8 new puppies. I can't believe I went from never having a puppy before to having 10 dogs at one time!


Rosita (on the right) follows Feliz wherever she goes. Rosita is growing very quickly. She tries to play with the puppies but Feliz (on the left) is protective and won't let her get close, but Feliz lets Rosita wrestle and jump on her all the time.


This is a picture of most of the puppies the night they were born.


There are four girls and four boys, two black, two chocolate brown, two light brown, and two white. Typically, Dominicans do not want girl dogs because they don't want (and don't have) the money to pay for the dogs to get spade. A lot of times girl dogs get left in the streets (which is how we ended up with Rosita).

All the puppies have their eyes open now and are up walking around and climbing all over each other.

My Thoughts

Last week was a rough week in many ways for me. Here are some thoughts from my journal...

My mind has been occupied with thoughts about my future, frustrations, and doubts. And although I have had a thirst for the Lord I have let distractions come between me and spending the time I really need with God each day. I have been analyzing my time here so far, thinking about the future, letting myself get frustrated about my Spanish abilities (or inabilities), and doubting what may or may not come instead of focusing on today and resting in what God Almighty has in store for me.
Matthew 6:26-27, 33-34
"Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?... But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."
I have been reminded to pray and leave all my frustrations in God's hands. Although teaching English has been very challenging and not what I initially expected to do here and may feel discouraged at times, I am encouraged to know that I am meeting a need with Kids Alive and for the students at Anija.
Psalm 37:4
"Enjoy serving the Lord, and He will give you what you want."
The Lord has been faithful this week in providing encouragement, wisdom, and fellowship from many new friends and family in Christ. This week (and always) I am trying to remember Colossians 3:17,
"And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him."

Here are some pictures from a walk I went on recently. This is one of my favorite routes to walk/run.

Playa Dorado

I had the opportunity to go the beach with a few friends last weekend. It was perfect timing as I was feeling a need to escape for a couple of days. The water was warm, the weather was beautiful, and having an all you can eat buffet was not bad either. :)


A view of the front of the resort, VH Victoria Resort.


The resort had a nice golf course.


My first time being at the beach in the Dominican Republic since 6 years ago.


Emily, Jenilea, and myself after a day at the beach. Emily is a new missionary with KAI and is at our site in Caraballo which is close to Playa Dorado. Jenilea is one of my roommates and works at our care center in Palo Blanco which is about 3 miles outside of Jarabacoa.


I liked that there were trees surrounding the beach. We took nice walks along the shoreline.

There was a big storm the second night we were at the beach.

I am on the left jumping besides Amanda and Kristen. Amanda works at Doulos, an all English speaking school close to Anija and Kristen was here visiting her sister Erica (who also works at Doulos).

I bought my first painting and met the artist! I bought the dark blue paintings on the bottom left.

Doing a handstand on the beach was a little easier than at the waterfalls. :)

A Day of Celebrating Sports

Last week the schools in Jarabacoa took a day to celebrate sports. What a different experience this particular day/weekend was compared to the last 8 or 9 years of my life when I was either competing in the Arizona High School State Championship or the GSAC Championships for cross country. These were always very intense, structured, and competitive days. But this day in Jarabacoa started with all the participants representing their schools in a big parade walking through town. Everyone ends up at El Colegio de Los Padres, a huge Catholic school in Jarabacoa. There were mostly 7th through 12th graders with a good hand full of 3rd-6th graders. Some of the sports included were soccer, basketball, volleyball, baseball, running, and even chess! Now, you would think there was a lot of planning involved for this event, not here in the DR! Anija arrived to the school and no one knew what was going on. There were different age categories, each playing at different times but no one had really coordinated anything. Basically, it was craziness trying to figure out who was playing which sport, when, and where. Overall, after a long day, the kids had fun, no one got hurt, and we even had a couple of teams and individuals win medals! Here are some pictures from the day.

Preparing to walk in the parade and represent Anija.

Excited for the days events!

Anija's cheerleaders!

Some of the 8th graders who play soccer.

Moises and I rode in a van instead of walking.

El Colegio de Los Padres

Waiting with Winifer for the next event to start.

Some Anija girls hanging with Anija's Director, Miriam.

Anija boys in action.

On the soccer field.

Hanging out with a few of the 3rd graders that got to come. It was a long day!