i love jaibon.

I figure it's time for a random update blog :) so here goes...

As my last blog mentioned, my parents were here a couple weeks ago. It was great! My parents, along with the parents of most of the other leaders came down for what we affectionately deemed "family week." We loooved showing our parents around where we call home!

Last week, I spent time finishing some last minute things before craziness starts with all of the spring break weeks here. I finished all of my literacy modules... lots and lots of lesson plans... who would have thought I would still be lesson planning after graduation?!

Last week I tutored the five oldest kids at the orphanage in Monte Cristi. We did M&M math, percents, graphs, ratios, probability, and all those other things you can tie in to eating candy :) My brain hurt after trying to teach all of those things in Spanish, but it was fun!

I am in love with two little twin girls at the Monte Cristi orphanage, named Ari and Arianni. They are three years old and full of spunk that makes them seem years older than they supposedly are. The other day we were tossing a ball to Arianni for a good hour with each person having to say, "ready?" The person receiving the ball had to say yes before you were allowed to throw the ball. It was great :)

Last week we had several "rain days." Equivalent to those snow days that everyone is having in the States, just not quite as cold :) When it rains, it basically shuts down the whole town because the roads are made of dirt and when dirt gets wet... it turns to mud! And lots of it. We had a couple of adventurous days filled with trecking through puddles and sinking in mud while hoping not to fall... it was hilarious.

I moved to Jaibon (the other orphanage) yesterday! I will be here for 5 weeks and I am sooo excited. I just love it here so much! The past two days have been great and I enjoy every minute that I'm here. The boys that live here are great and so full of life and joy. The women who cook here make my day every day. I love spending time with them too. So now my days consist of leading groups from high schools, churches, and colleges. I wake up early to fresh coffee, reading, and conversations with Jaqueline, Betsaida, and Fefa. We work and teach all day and eat the best food I have ever had for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. At night, we have activities with the boys who live here and have become a part of my family. The days are filled with many "Oh Jaibon"s because things always happen unexpectedly, but it's the beauty of living here. I see God in smiles and creation and conversations and sunsets. Cows and goats are herded past our common area daily and we eat food made from completely natural ingredients. The older Dominican women melt my heart and crack me up all the same time. God is good. He is beautiful and faithful and I am so thankful to be here.

I love and miss you all so much! And that's the truth :) Come visit :)