Mom and Dad's visit!

For the second time since I moved to the DR, my parents came to visit me!  Unfortunately, their flight was cancelled due to the hurricane, but that wasn't about to stop them!  They rented a car, drove overnight to Pittsburgh, got new tickets, and got on a plane at 6:30 am, arriving in Puerto Plata only an hour after their cancelled flight would have arrived!  Now THAT's dedication.

We had a great visit together!  We stayed in a lovely condo in Cabarete (a treat for me!), went to my favorite beaches and restaurants, and went out to the village to see the school and shop at La Tienda.  We rode public transportation - they were great sports and even rode motorcycle taxis!  Dustin and I played a show the night they got in, and then led worship at church the next morning, so my parents got to hear me make lots of music while they were here!  It was fun to introduce them to my friends, show them the changes at the school, and of course sit on the beach or swim in the ocean and talk.  I am so grateful for my parents and for how they continue to love me, bless me, and guide me.  I'm grateful that they want to visit me here and that they want to understand my world - even trying to speak some Spanish!

Here are some pictures (the only ones, actually, that we took while they were here - oops!) from our snorkeling morning!  We had beautiful weather their entire trip!

extreme classroom makeover

The last two weeks have been prep weeks for the teachers at the Park Care Center.  We spent three days at a wonderful teacher workshop in Jarabacoa, then dove in to prep our rooms for the year.  I'm coordinating early education this year, which means I'm overseeing/responsible for 4 grades in 2 classrooms with 2 teachers and 2 teacher's aides.  We're totally recreating our early education program this year - new curriculum, new classroom setup, and new schedules that include circle time, read-alouds, and learning centers.  So we had a lot of work to do!  When we arrived at school last Thursday, our first day of prep, this is what the classrooms looked like:

The school carpenter was in the process of sawing apart, reinforcing, sanding, and varnishing two walls of bookshelves so that we could use them in the classrooms.  After finishing the bookshelves, he sawed the metal legs off some old desks, somehow got the desktops off, and built new desktops for them.  Those old desks are now tables for two in our preschool/kindergarten classroom!

This Thursday, the furniture was finally done, the whiteboards were hung, and the games and manipulatives were divided between the two classrooms.  We had a LOT of fun moving bookshelves and desks, decorating the rooms, and setting up the learning centers.  Preschool and kindergarten kids have art, books, phonics, construction, and "casita" (imagination/house) centers.  1st and 2nd graders have art, books, phonics/writing, construction, and math.  Now the rooms look like this - quite a difference!

The 1st and 2nd graders start school on Monday.  The classroom is ready, the teacher... will be fine.  He's feeling a little unsure right now, which is fine, so I'll spend lots of time in that classroom the first few days.  But I'm confident that once he gets into the routine of how the schedule works, how the lessons laid out in the curriculum book work, and how to use the discipline system we agreed on, he'll be more than fine!  The younger kids will start later in the week, as we still have lots of work to do to get the teachers familiar with the curriculum.  (For anyone interested, our 1st and 2nd graders are using Rod and Staff, and our little guys are using Estrellitas.)

Please keep praying for us as we start the school year!  I've talked with the teachers a lot about how we're learning how to do this together.  What works, we'll keep, and what doesn't work, we'll get rid of and try something else!  Pray for wisdom for me as I learn how to empower the teachers.  Praise God for the changes we're making, that my boss is on board with everything!  I'm so excited about what this year holds!

immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine!

At the end of summer program, we award prizes (packs of cookies!) to the top four or five students from each class.  These are kids who have done the best both behaviorally and academically throughout the summer.  This summer, a miracle happened!  As the 2nd graders were being called, my coworker Ruben read three names, and then paused.  He made sure he had everyone's attention, and then dramatically yelled, "And for the first time ever, making history... JULIO!!!!!!"  Everyone screamed and cheered and clapped!

Julio* has been in 2nd grade for three years now.  He is a fighter.  He has a reputation for always being in trouble, and he probably spends more time in the office than any other kid at the Care Center.  I personally have been physically attacked by him multiple times, including having rocks thrown at me and being scratched with staples!  The staff of the Care Center has been praying for him daily for years.  The director has talked with him, with his siblings, with his mother.  And finally, this summer, God got through to Julio.  He finally made progress in learning to read.  He only got in trouble a few times in the 5 weeks.  He smiled because he was actually happy, not because he had just beaten someone up.  I am SO grateful that his teachers chose to acknowledge his change!  When they called Julio's name, he walked up on the stage and got his award full of pride.  Everyone made a big fuss over him, telling him how proud they were of him and how wonderful it was that he won for behaving well and learning a lot.  When the kids were dismissed, his face was still glowing with pride and happiness in his accomplishments!  I am praying hard that he continues to let God work on him this year and that he is motivated by his success this summer.

That's what my work here is all about.  That's what Kids Alive is all about.  Creating environments where kids meet God.  Teaching them about and demonstrating God's love, grace, and compassion.  And then sitting back and watching transformation take place.  Transformation that can only come from God.  What a testimony to the staff and kids of the Care Center to see that God loves and changes even kids who it's sometimes tempting to give up on.  I am overwhelmed by God's persistent love, that he never gives up on Julio, and that he never gives up on me.  I remember that while it may not be as visibly drastic as the change in Julio's life, my life has been transformed as well.  And I am mystified that an all-powerful God who controls the universe is intimately involved in the lives of each one of us.  Wow.  I pray that Julio will continue to be a reminder of these things on the days when it doesn't seem like transformation is taking place in Caraballo.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever!  Amen. (Eph 3:20-21)


*The child's name has been changed.

random thoughts on despedidas

(warning: this blog is a little of a hodgepodge...)

Summer is a high turnover time in the missionary community, and this summer was no exception.  In the last two months I have said goodbye to three summer interns, four missionaries in Montellano, two Kids Alive missionaries, and my dear roommate Lauren.  Wow.  I have also said (more temporary ) goodbyes to my sister Molly, who was here for the summer and to several people who will be back in a few months.  In less than two months I will say goodbye to another two Makarios missionaries.

Goodbyes (despedidas) mean parties.  We threw four goodbye parties for Lauren - with our church, with our ladies' Bible study, with our Dominican friends, and with the Mak staff/Montellano gringos.  Lauren and I also took a goodbye vacation to Santo Domingo for a long weekend and had a final roommate dinner at one of our favorite restaurants.  Amidst all that, however, the strongest feeling we had was of gratefulness and amazement - God has done incredible things for us here in providing community.  Instead of sadness, we were struck by the ways God has blessed us here.  Even as I returned home to an empty apartment after Lauren left, I walked in the door and was overwhelmed by the truth that God is good.  That's one of the foundational spiritual principles we studied at missionary training, and I have clung to it this summer.  And now, a few hours after taking Molly to the airport to return to the US, I am still clinging.  Even if I don't feel it in the moment, I will declare God's goodness to me, and I will praise him for whatever it is that he is doing to my life this summer!

I don't have much insight yet into how God will use all these goodbyes.  Right now they mostly feel hard.  My home, which is more a group of people than an apartment, is now scattered across the US and the DR.  I will have a new roommate soon, but home, my place of stability and security, is changing.  I have to trust that God, as my unchanging Rock, will continue to be where I find my true home.  I also have to trust that my will is often not God's will, and that his will is always better.

A scripture that I have read and reread the last few weeks is Psalm 116:7 - "Be at rest once more, oh my soul, for the Lord has been good to you."  Rest.  Peace.  God's goodness.  Pray with me that I will return to my rest, and that I will find that rest only in the Lord.

A song that I have listened to over and over:  Thy Mercy, My God by Sandra McCracken.  Listen to it and read the lyrics here.

I'll leave you with some pictures from the goodbyes, too, because a lot of fun memories have been made!  (And because blog without pictures is boring, right?)  Clockwise from the top left:  Lauren with the Dominican Makarios staff; our last beach day together; roommate goodbye dinner (which we had despite a national transportation strike!); goodbye party with church friends; Molly and I enjoying our sister goodbye night at a resort; Lauren and I enjoying an audio tour of a colonial fort in Santo Domingo; snorkeling together with the underwater camera!

Uganda!

Finally... I'm blogging about Uganda! My parents, sisters, and I spent three weeks visiting my aunt, uncle, and cousins who have lived in Kampala for the last two years. It was wonderful to spend time with my family, having fun adventures together for a few weeks. We went on two safaris to Murchison Falls National Park and Kidepo National Park - INCREDIBLE! I felt like we were in Planet Earth or, as my Dominican coworkers love, Animal Planet. We saw lions, elephants, hippos, rhinos, crocodiles, chimpanzees, giraffes, zebras, buffalo, antelope, antelope, and more antelope! The week we spent on safari was a week of marveling at God's work. His creativity - who would have thought of a warthog, honestly? His beauty as we watched the sun rise over the Nile and set over the savannah. His power in the sheer size and strength of hippos and elephants.

I had a lot of sweet time with the Lord during those three weeks. He was gracious in revealing himself to me in new ways through not only the animals, but also the people and culture of Uganda. We visited churches, shrines to martyrs, a refugee center, a children's rehabilitation center, the US embassy (what trip is complete without that, right?), and went to a cultural night of Ugandan music and dancing. I also spent a lot of time just sitting on a porch at my aunt and uncle's house, reading the Bible and journaling.

I don't have many cohesive thoughts or stories from my time in Uganda yet, because when I got home, summer hit full force in Montellano. So instead of stories, I'm just going to link to my photo albums - they sum up the trip pretty nicely. (Minus the 48 hours of travel each direction... did you know the Amsterdam airport looks like IKEA?)

There are two photo albums, more or less chronological... enjoy!

One: eating grasshoppers, brother lions, sunrise on the Nile...

Two: baby lions!, rhinos, culture.

Last Day of School

 

Tuesday, May 17th. The last day of school 2010-11 at the Park Care Center. It was a day of mixed emotions. I am so proud of my first graders! I am amazed at the growth I see in them and the work I have seen God do in their lives. Six of my eight students can read books, but all eight of them know they are loved and important. They came to me as the "reject kids," kicked out of regular first grade for either slow academic progress or bad behavior. I watched their confidence skyrocket, watched their behavior problems lessen and even disappear, and watched the "girl who doesn't know anything" become my best reader. They learned how to read, do puzzles, and treat each other kindly. They memorized "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" and have multiple favorite books. They learned to enjoy learning - that is worth more than any specific skill I could have taught them.

I am also amazed because I know that none of that happened because of me! God has used me in incredible ways and worked despite my weaknesses and inexperience this year. When I couldn't, he could, and he did. He has taught me so much about myself this year, not the least of which is that I love teaching! Like any other first year teacher, I've had my share of mountains and valleys this year, but God has proved himself faithful, constant, and more than sufficient. He gets all the glory for everything that happened in my little corner of the cafeteria.

I also felt a deep sadness, saying goodbyes today. I said goodbye to my kids, though only for a month. I said goodbye to having my own class. I said goodbye to teaching for a while, though I will spend time in the classrooms next year.

I think back to September, when I thought I would be doing one-on-one reading tutoring, and then was handed eight 6-year-olds. I felt so overwhelmed and inadequate - I had no idea what I was doing, and they didn't even recognize their names! Now, although I will be the first to say that I still don't have that much of an idea what I'm doing, I see progress and growth, and that excites me

Today we celebrated the end of school by playing the best review game EVER. I wrote syllables on marshmallows (non-toxic markers, don't worry) and threw them at my kids. They read me the syllable and then got to eat the marshmallow! We also sang the songs we've learned for every letter. (I say we because I learned as much about phonics as they did this year!) Then we watched a slideshow of various days of class throughout the year - the kids LOVED seeing photos of themselves and their classmates. I told them how proud I was of them, cried a little, gave them their artwork that had been decorating our corner all year to take home, and sent them on their way.

As I look back over the year, I can't help praising God. He has done marvelous things for me, and I am glad! Thank you for praying for me and my students this year!

Medical Adventures

Twice now I have had to go to a doctor of some sort in this country. Both times have been slightly hilarious because things here are so different than they are in the States!

Incident One:

In preparation for my trip to Uganda, I needed a Yellow Fever vaccine. In the US, this is how it goes (I think!): You schedule an appointment with a special travel doctor. You have your doctor's appointment, and you get the vaccine, which is HIGHLY controlled by the CDC. You then pay an exorbitant amount of money.

Here's how it works in the DR: I told my boss (a Dominican) that I needed a Yellow Fever vaccine but didn't think they had them in this country. He makes a few phone calls and the next day tells me they'll have the vaccine within a week. The next week, I show up at school and my boss tells me, "Hurry - they have the vaccine but you have to get there before 9:30!" (It's now 8:30, and the doctor is 45 minutes away.) One of my coworkers drives me and my boss's wife to the Health Center in Puerto Plata, where I see benches upon benches of people waiting to see a doctor. We walk right past all the people waiting, up a set of stairs, into a small office where there are two women sitting. My boss's wife introduces me, I show them my passport, they draw the vaccine - I don't see the vial, so I assume it's for Yellow Fever! - and shoot me up. Then they refuse to record it in my yellow book, giving me instead a Dominican yellow book, still validated by the WHO or whoever it is that validates yellow books. I think/hope/pray that they have written down all the necessary information so that they let me into Uganda when I arrive. We walk out, back past all the people, get back in the car, and go back to school. The whole thing took less than 5 minutes. You may notice I skipped the part about paying an exorbitant amount... I did not pay a cent. Vaccines are free in the DR - who knew?!

Incident Two:


I have now had the "gripe" (generic term for cold/flu/allergies) for almost 3 months. My head is full of nastiness, and the past few weeks I've had this lovely cough. After emailing with a friend who is a doctor, I decide to get a chest x-ray. I go to school this morning and tell my boss I need a chest x-ray. He goes and gets the same coworker who drove me to get my vaccine and tells him to take me to such-and-such doctor near his house. We get to the doctor's. I walk in and tell them that I've been coughing a lot and would like a chest x-ray. They write down my name (misspelled, of course) and my birth date and that I'm getting a chest x-ray. Then they charge me 600 pesos - about $16.25. The doctor takes me back immediately and does the x-ray. I sit in the waiting area for a few minutes until the image is ready. Here, if they read the x-ray for you, they charge you more. I figure, I have a friend who's a PA - why bother paying more than $16.25 for an x-ray?! I get the image, the doctor tells me I'm "malita" (a little sick) - no kidding! - and we're on our way. I ask my coworker if we can stop at a pharmacy so I can get some meds. At the pharmacy, I decide not to pay a ridiculous price for Singulair, not even for the slightly cheaper generic. I call my PA friend to find out what the Dominican version of Albuterol is, ask for it, and for $6 am the proud owner of an inhaler. No prescription, no ID, nothing. I love this country! My coworker then drives me to the Makarios school so my PA friend can read my x-ray. She diagnoses me and prescribes two other meds, which, thanks to the generosity of North American teams, she has ample supplies of. I am now adequately medicated in an attempt to get rid of my sinus issues and my bronchitis before I leave for Uganda in 5 days.


Moral of the story: good people to have in your life are bosses with connections, coworkers who will drive you around, and friends who are doctors. I WILL conquer the gripe.