An end and another new beginning :)

It has been a while since I have posted an update... things have been just a tad bit busy :) Last week we did camp in the afternoon at a local church. It was probably my most favorite camp of the summer! I felt like I was looking into the face of Jesus through those precious children. The last day I spent most of the afternoon holding a two month old baby girl. That alone would have made my week :) But God had other little blessings in store for us. Wednesday afternoon the pastor invited us over to her house for cokes and crackers. In the DR we have to be careful with EVERYTHING we eat outside of the orphanage because of parasites. When we got to her house she had the cokes in glasses with ice already in them. Ice is something that we are constantly aware of because it could be made with bad water. After talking with her about the cokes and ice, she assured us that they were fine for us to drink. I sat back down with the interns, spoke a disclaimer about drinking at your own risk and proceeded to drink my glass of coke :) Some drank theirs, others didn't and we went home joking that the next day there would only be five interns who weren't sick to run the camp. Though suspicious of getting sick, most of us agreed we would rather be sick then to turn down the hospitality this woman was showing us. We thought that that was an amazing gift, but the next day she invited us over to her house once again for cokes and crackers. This time, however, the cokes were still in sealed bottles (they had been sitting in ice so they were already cold) and the crackers were still wrapped. This may seem meaningless to some, but the fact that she took the time to show us that we wouldn't be getting sick was one of the most humbling acts I have ever seen. I saw the beauty of hospitality and Jesus shining through this woman who was using her precious resources to buy cokes and crackers for 15 Americans... twice. We were overwhelmed by her gift to us and left that day overwhelmed by the sacrificial heart of the Dominicans who are living in poverty, yet still giving all they have to us.

We spent Friday at the mangroves in Monte Cristi. Mangroves are one of two kinds of trees that grow in salt water. We celebrated Morgan's birthday by watching the sunset on a pier and eating at a local pizza place.

Rachel, Page, Morgan and me at the mangroves!

We spent the weekend planning and preparing for the Olympics that we started with the boys that live at the orphanage on Sunday afternoon. We broke them into 4 teams and they have been competing in different games all week long. It has been so much fun! Tonight when we announce the winners, we have a medal stand and a festival afterwards to celebrate. The boys' favorite thing we have done all summer was a festival that we are recreating tonight. Yesterday we got to take the boys to the beach for the first time! It was so much fun seeing their faces and watching them sprint out of the bus and jump in the water. These boys have become so precious in my heart.

Alex at the beach!

Part of me has not wanted this week to come all summer. Saturday is the end of the official summer internship/Bible camps program. The interns that have been here the whole summer are leaving on Saturday. I will be so sad to see them go, yet at the same time, I can't wait to hear all of the stories about how they are changing the world back home. I have been so humbled and blessed to be able to see people's lives changed here. I have been given the gift of investing in girls and seeing their whole world change. They have fallen more in love with Jesus and that is everything I have prayed for. God is so faithful! Also, this week ending means that I move to Monte Cristi in 1 WEEK!! How crazy is that?!? I am so excited to be with those kids over there that have become my family!

One major prayer request I have is for a little boy named Danis. Danis is 11 and just got to the orphanage last night. His 4 younger brothers and sisters still live with his mom in another city. I think it's sometimes hard for us to grasp the concept of why some children stay in their homes and others get placed in orphanages because this never really happens in America. This morning I heard crying from up in my room so I walked down and found Danis sitting on a curb sobbing. I sat down next to him, rubbing his back, crying with him, and praying that God would bring him peace and show him love. Danis misses his family like crazy. Please pray that he would feel the Father's love in unexplainable ways and that he would develop strong relationships with the other boys at the orphanage. Through interactions with Danis, I saw glimpses of Jesus in Jose today. Jose is 12 and also lives at the orphanage. Some of us talked to Jose about how Danis needed a friend right now because he was sad. Not really knowing what to say, but wanting to help, Jose walked up to Danis and asked him to play a game with him. Jose sat patiently with Danis and simply taught him how to play a new game. The smiles on Danis' face were priceless. Seeing Jesus in 12 year old Jose brings me cold chills. These boys here have such a genuine childlike faith that makes me fall more in love with my Savior each day.


Sorry this was so long... guess I should update more often :) I love ya'll tons and miss you mucho!



This is Coral and Joanni... two of the girls that live in the orphanage in Monte Cristi! Living life there sooooooon :)