Half Marathon!

So here we are, the last day of November, and I have not blogged a single word about this fall in Philadelphia. I mean, I am a little busy with school... (that's an understatement!) Brief overview of my life: I student teach 18 little kindergarteners alongside a wonderful mentor. When I'm not student teaching, I take lots of classes and write lots of papers. And in my free time this fall, I have been... wait for it... RUNNING! Some of you are probably scratching your heads, because of all the things I identify myself as/with, running is absolutely not one of them! But back in June, I decided I wanted to become a runner this year. So Dustin and I registered to run the Philadelphia Half Marathon, and I started running. A short bout of vertigo in August set me back a few weeks, but I picked it back up and trained for three months, running up to ten miles along the Schuylkill River on what seemed like the coldest mornings of the week!

Then came November. Dustin arrived on the 13th, and we had a wonderful reunion after being apart for 5 months. On Sunday the 18th, we woke up ridiculously early and made our way over to the art museum. And we did it! We ran the half marathon and both met our goals: he got an impressive time, and I finished! 13.1 miles. It was fun to have my parents and the crowds cheering us on, and to be able to entertain myself people-watching the other 30,000 runners! After the race, we went to Quakertown and had a party with most of my extended family - to celebrate the race and for them to meet Dustin.

Never did I think I would run a half marathon. Never. Remember Pico Duarte? I could hardly walk 13 miles then! So even though I have no desire to do another race, I am glad that I did this one. It forced me to make exercise a priority during these crazy transition months, and it made me a healthier, stronger person. (sounds cliche, but it's true) After the race, we went to Quakertown and had a party with most of my extended family - to celebrate the race and for them to meet Dustin. I will maybe (no promises, though!) add another post soon about Dustin's visit.

Here are some pictures for you! The first set are race pics. The white thing around me is a foil heat sheet (emergency blanket) - that was the first thing they handed us when we crossed the finish line because it was so cold!

Pics from Quakertown: post-race hot tub session (definitely good for sore muscles!), fun with Katy, ice cream sundaes (recovery food, right?), and early Christmas presents from my parents.

sobering statistics

The World Economic Forum recently published its 2012-13 Global Competitiveness Report. This annual report ranks 144 nations based on various criteria including infrastructure, macroeconomy, health, education, market efficiency, technology, and innovation.

The data on the Dominican Republic is sobering.

Of 144 nations, the DR ranks 105 overall; it ranks 20 out of the 24 Latin American nations. (1 is the best) But the individual indicators' rankings tell the real story. I'll group them into two categories: corruption and education. (all rankings are out of 144)

Corruption:
Favoritism in decisions of government officials: 144 (in other words, the worst in the world)
Wastefulness of government spending: 144 (again, worst in the world)
Reliability of police services: 143
Diversion of public funds: 142
Public trust in politicians: 138

Education:
Quality of primary education: 143 (second worst in the world)
Quality of math and science education: 142
Quality of the educational system: 137

Wow. If that's not a call to action, I don't know what is. I feel an added weight and a sense of urgency as I think about returning to this country, knowing that its leaders are hugely failing the people, especially in education. The public school education the children I love so dearly are receiving is the second worst in the world! So what do we do? I know what I'm going to do - study hard this year and become the best teacher possible while learning as much as I can about systems and oppression and fighting those things. Then I'm going back home to the DR to make a difference for the few children I can reach.

What about you? What will YOU do about this? I hope you will be informed - read part of the report, or all of it, or another report, or articles - do something to make yourself more aware about the state of education and corruption around the world. If you want to do more, consider partnering with Kids Alive as we work with some of the most at-risk children in the world. There are many organizations working hard to improve kids' lives, but Kids Alive is the only one I can personally vouch for. Our staff cares deeply for the children we serve, we see them at least 5 days a week, and we care for their spiritual and physical needs as part of a holistic program. We train children to become leaders in their own countries and communities, believing that the best way to rescue a child is not to take them to the US but to mentor and nurture them in their own communities, empowering them to make a lasting impact. If you would like to join Kids Alive's work in the Dominican Republic, consider sponsoring a child in one of our programs. You can read more about sponsorship by clicking here.

If you're interested in reading the WEF's Global Competitiveness Report, you can find it by clicking on the image below.

praise and prayer

I am officially 1/5 of the way done with grad school! Wow! Lots of reading, writing, thinking, and crying in the past two months, but I made it - praise God! Thank you for your prayers as I transition back into life in the US and into grad school.

Now I'm off to Colorado for a week of Debriefing and Renewal at MTI, the same place I did my pre-field training. (SPLICE - check my blog posts from August 2009 to read about that.) I am ready. Ready for rest, for help processing my time in the DR, for counsel on transitioning even though I know I'm going back, for being surrounded by people who understand exactly what I'm going through. SPLICE was such a sweet time, and I have high expectations for DAR!

I need your prayers always, but especially this week. I'm expecting encouragement and refreshment, but I'm also expecting hard emotional work, questions, and reflection. Here are some specific ways you can pray for me while I'm at DAR:

1. That God's truth would reign in my life, allowing me to recognize and reject any lies that I'm believing.
2. That I would be refreshed by my interactions with fellow missionaries and DAR staff, as well as alone time (reading a book for pleasure? yes please!)
3. That I would gain helpful insight about this strange lifestyle that is furlough - trying to plant myself firmly in America but knowing I'll be back in the DR in a year.

Here's a little info about DAR:

"DAR provides a safe and confidential place for you to reflect on the issues that have touched you deeply. It involves more than talking about your field experiences, although that’s the place it begins. Quality debriefing can lead to renewal. Going through this time of transition with other cross-cultural workers is vital. The insight gained from those with similar experiences provides both a sense of being understood as well as a fresh, objective perspective. The primary emphasis is on recognizing God’s hand in past events and anticipating the next step for which God is preparing you."

Finally, here are two photos from summer so far - I have enjoyed being able to spend more time with my family and reconnect with friends, and managed to squeeze a few fun weekends into my crazy class schedule!

for pondering.

I'm taking Literature for Children and Adolescents right now. That means my bookshelf looks like this:

I don't know if you can tell from the picture, but there tally is as follows: 7 picture books, 6 juvenile chapter books, and one - yep, one - textbook. Don't you wish you were taking children's lit? Our professor also reads us a picture book at the end of each class while we sit on the floor! I love it!

Anyway, for class tomorrow I read a historical fiction novel called The Dreamer by Pam Muñoz Ryan (she also wrote Esperanza Rising). It's a great fictionalized biography of Pablo Neruda, a Chilean poet who won the Nobel Prize, who lived in the early/mid 1900's. My favorite part about the book was that every so often a page would appear with illustrations (by Peter Sis) and thought-provoking questions. So I thought I would share them with you, along with a few excerpts. A little thinking for a Monday.

Which is sharper? The hatchet that cuts down dreams? Or the scythe that clears a path for another?

From what are the walls of a sanctuary built? And those of a prison?

Does a metamorphosis begin from the outside in? Or from the inside out?

The words he had written wiggled off the page... surrounding Neftali in a city of promise. Humanity, Solidarity, Generosity, Peace, Justice, Love. Then a tiny, conceited word came along. Like a hungry termite, it began to gnaw on the tall words, chewing at their foundation, gulping their pulp, until they swayed, toppled, and collapsed. All that remained was one fat, satisfied syllable. Fear.

And the last one, which has deep meaning for me as someone who travels between "homes:"

From the window, he watched as miles of araucaria trees dwindled to a scattered few. Still, when the last piece of forest disappeared and all that was left were stark adobe towns, he felt as if a piece of himself had been left behind, too.

snapshots from los estados

a smaller version of the famous LOVE statue. on the quad.
I think... Penn is HUGE and seems to have about 5 quads!

I have now been in los estados for a month and a day. It feels a little like a whirlwind that keeps spinning faster - my first two days of grad school have been a little overwhelming! We're taking 2 1/2 courses in 5 weeks, which means in a week I will (on average): read 2 novels and 20 scholarly articles, write 2-3 paragraph reflections on each of them, write a paper (or two), give a 10 minute presentation in one of my classes, spend one afternoon working at a local arts camp, and spend two mornings working at a local summer school program. Whew! Scheduling all that and figuring out what I need to read and write which day is hard enough, not to mention actually doing it!

Penn's campus is gorgeous. This is not the
Grad School of Education building... mine
is not nearly this pretty!

There are good things happening in my life, though - it's not all reading and studying. Yet. I am enjoying living in Philadelphia, exploring and taking advantage of all city life has to offer. Coffee shops, libraries, microwaves, free water at restaurants, pretty paths to run on without getting whistled at, constant power and hot pressurized water, HUGE grocery stores... Although I walked into a grocery store the other day and left empty-handed because I only wanted a cup of lettuce - totally achievable in the DR - but had to buy at minimum a whole giant head of it! So there are still overwhelming moments as I transition back to life in the US. I'm usually able to laugh at them, thankfully.

In addition to the "cosas" of life here, the people are turning out to be pretty great, too! I live in a house with 5 other girls in their mid-20's and have gotten to know 3 of them pretty well. My program at Penn is a cohort program, so there are 40 of us who take all our classes together and do our field work together. I am getting to know lots of them - a wonderful group of friendly, fun people from varied backgrounds - and am becoming good friends with a handful. Another HUGE PRAISE is that I found a church! It was the first church I went to, and I felt so welcomed by the people. They preach the Gospel every Sunday, eat dinner together as a congregation after church, have small groups, and have already recruited me to join the worship team! Praise God - I had prayed that finding a church would be easy (maybe not the least selfish prayer I have every prayed...) and he made it so easy! I am thankful for God's provision, faithfulness, and grace as I build relationships and ground myself here for the year.

Penn took us on a mural tour of
West Philly - so cool! This one
really struck me.

In the midst of all this, I do have moments when I miss home - my bed in Montellano, the beach, New Life Church, and of course the people - my kids, who sort of don't understand yet that I'm really gone, my wonderful Bible study groups, and Dustin. We've decided that long-distance dating is not fun, but we are confident that God will continue to sustain us, guide us, and grow our relationship through this time apart.

I still need your prayers, absolutely! Here are some specific prayer points:

• Pray for clarity of mind and a quick transition back into the academic world - reading, writing, time management, study skills, etc
• Pray for me as I sort through how my time in the DR has shaped my philosophy of education. This has come up numerous times in class already as I realize how differently I would answer a question than my classmates who approach the subject from a purely US-based mindset.
• Pray that as I get busier with school, I would be intentional about making time first for God, and also for relationships and life-giving/stress-relieving activities (I'm trying to become a runner...)
• Pray for Dustin and me as we work through long-distance, that we would continue to support each other well in our separate adventures (check out his blog to read about his Central America trip this summer!). We celebrated a year together this weekend, and I can absolutely see God's hand in our relationship. Pray for consistency and intentionality through the ups and downs and the crazy busyness of life. 

Caitlin, Julianne (roomies) and I celebrating the 4th of July
in Center City!

THANK YOU for your prayers, encouraging words, support, and love as I moved back to the States and began grad school. I have been blessed by so many of you - welcoming me excitedly, sending quick emails or texts, asking me how I am doing... thank you.

Buffering

As someone living in a third world country, I am all too familiar with the concept of buffering. If we want to stream anything off the internet – watch a video on YouTube, listen to a song online, or watch a tv show, we inevitably have to wait a few minutes for it to buffer – pre-load, if you will. When a video buffers, it loads a few minutes or seconds ahead of the moment you are watching. This ensures smooth playback. If you don’t let a video buffer (assuming your internet is not the incredibly fast internet we have in America), it jerks along, starting and stopping every few seconds, not able to keep up with itself.

Although I am not techy, I can make an analogy here to life. Under the advice of wise mentors from Missionary Training International, I took my first four days back in the United States as “buffer time.” These days were both types of buffer – first, the ‘streaming to avoid choppiness’ definition; second, a shield or cushion to lessen a shock or impact.

I spent those days on the Susquehanna River in Central Pennsylvania, sleeping, spending lots of time with God, processing, journaling, hiking, kayaking, sitting outside in the sun, reading, relaxing, and eating my weight in strawberries! It was a time of solitude, a time for me to be renewed after saying painful goodbyes so that I was energized to say hellos. It was time for me to be sad about being in the US without feeling the tension of everyone around me being excited for me to be in the US.

And God blessed me that week. He restored my soul, comforted me in my grief, brought me joy through his creation, and reminded me of his steadfast faithfulness. The past three years have been nothing but evidence that God is indeed faithful, that he provides abundantly to meet all of my needs, and that his sovereign purposes are for my good.

On my second day of solitude, I had a revelation. I’m currently doing a Bible study on the Psalms of Ascent by Beth Moore, and that particular day I had already done the lesson. I felt, for some reason, however, like I was supposed to do another day’s study, too – maybe because I’m about 3 weeks behind!! Anyway, I did the next day’s lesson, and a chunk of it was on bearing fruit. I realized that I was seeing this year in Philadelphia as a time of pruning and of preparing to be more fruitful in the DR when I return. How wrong I was! This year God has specifically planted me in Philadelphia to bear fruit! If I spend the entire year mourning the goodbyes I said and anticipating returning to the DR, not only will I miss out on blessings God has for me here, but I will miss out on the opportunity to bear fruit where God has planted me. He has ordained my time at grad school and my time in a long-distance relationship not only for pruning and preparing, but because he wants me to bear fruit in those situations. What a paradigm shift! I am so thankful that God revealed that lesson to me, and I pray that he would make me fruitful beyond what I can imagine this year.

Pico Duarte

We made it!

(Warning – this is sort of a long post, because climbing Pico Duarte is sort of a long walk…)

Two weeks before I left the DR, Dustin and I decided to have one last adventure together. Our challenge? To climb Pico Duarte. At just over 10,000 feet, Pico Duarte is the tallest mountain in the Caribbean. In 3 days, we would hike 30 miles and conquer an elevation gain of 6500 feet.

The National Park map of our hike with elevation changes

On Tuesday we headed up to Jarabacoa to make final preparations. We borrowed various items from friends to make our trip happen – a moto, a car, a tent, sleeping bags and pads, moleskin… THANK YOU to everyone who lent us stuff, let us stay at their houses, and fed us during our Jarabacoa days!

Early Wednesday morning we drove to La Cienaga, the most popular starting point for the trek up Pico Duarte. We met up with the head of the guide association – since the hike is in a national park, hikers are required to have a guide. He arranged for a guide, Victor, and two mules – a pack mule and an “ambulance” mule, just in case we had an emergency. What “ambulance mule” really meant was mule for the guide to ride and for me to ride when I couldn’t walk any more. Victor had me pegged from mile one, offering me the mule, “It’s ready whenever you want it,” but I was determined to reach the summit on my own two feet!

Juan Pablo Duarte, one of the fathers of the revolution

So we started walking. And we walked. And we walked. Up and up and up and up until I thought I couldn’t go up any more, and then still up! There were a lot of switchbacks, but even so the trail was steep. Add the altitude change to that, and I struggled. I’m pretty sure I became a rather unpleasant hiking buddy, but Dustin put up with me, encouraged me, and tried his best to make me laugh. Periodically throughout the hike, we thought we saw Pico Duarte ahead of us. We would ask our guide, and his response was inevitably, “No, that’s not Pico Duarte. You see the mountain we’re on now, the one behind it, and the one behind that one? Pico Duarte’s behind THAT mountain.” He would chuckle, and we would groan incredulously.

Me and Dustin at the summit

Wednesday evening, 9 hours of walking later, we arrived at our campsite, 13 miles up the trail. In a very melodramatic fashion, and almost in tears, I proclaimed to Dustin that I was so cold and so tired and my body hurt so badly that I would not be able to walk when I woke up in the morning, that there was no way I would make it to the summit, that I would have to ride the mule! Thankfully, though, I did sleep, and when I woke up my legs felt fine!

Thursday we had 3-ish miles up to the summit, then back to the campsite. We summitted at 11 am to breathtaking views. Mountains and valleys stretched endlessly in every direction. And we had arrived just in time – after 20 minutes, the clouds rolled in, so we headed back to camp. We spent a lazy afternoon resting, napping, and strategizing for the next day.

Friday morning. The first 5 miles of our 13 mile trek were uphill. Even thinking about facing another uphill made me want to cry! So for the sake of everyone’s emotions, and for the sake of making it down the mountain in a reasonable amount of time, we decided I would ride the mule. Best decision ever. My years of horseback riding came right back as my mule, Shrimp, navigated steep uphills, tight switchbacks, and even steeper downhills. Meanwhile, Dustin sprinted up the mountain, doing in 50 minutes what had taken us 2 ½ hours the other direction! After 6 miles or so, (read: after the hardest part) I got off the mule and hiked the rest of the way to La Cienaga. We made good time and had the afternoon and evening to enjoy with friends in Jarabacoa before heading back to the coast Saturday morning.

The mountains were BEAUTIFUL!

More than checking “Climb Pico Duarte” off our bucket lists, this trip was much-needed time for the two of us to get away together before I left and before the craziness of goodbyes started. It was restful in its own way, and aside from a few hours on day one, enjoyable. Definitely a wonderful memory to take with me back to los estados and a great adventure to end my time in the DR!