semana santa.

It's spring break... known here as semana santa! I have been so incredibly thankful for a week off from school and a chance to see some of my favorite people this week. My heart is full and it has been such a blessing to spend time with people who I haven't seen in a while. It's hard to believe that March is over and that Easter is in just a few days. The month has been full of birthdays and celebrations and salmonella and conversations that were only by the grace of God. Special moments at the orphanages and teaching math again in Spanish. Late nights and early mornings and lots of coffee and homemade cookies and smiles and joy and laughter. Bible study and ice cream in styrofoam cups and teaching my five-year-olds how to subtract. March was full of the Lord's grace and glory and I continue to feel overwhelmed with gratitude. He is good.

Here are a few pictures from the past few weeks...

One of my students coloring a map of the Dominican.

Another one of my students with an "S" worksheet.

Paper beads... Dominican style :) A friend of mine is now making these to sell down here.

We finished up these bracelets by candle light one night when there wasn't power.

Emilee, Jose, and I in Jaibon.

Hope each of you are doing great :)

celebrate.

I absolutely LOVE celebrations. I love finding the extraordinary in the ordinary and finding little reasons to celebrate life. Holidays and birthdays are some of my favorite days because when I wake up in the morning, the whole day already feels special and full of excitement.

February was full of celebrations and I'm being reminded of all the little gifts the Lord has given me every day. Little things that are often hidden under the surface, but waiting to be celebrated. Toothless smiles and fresh coffee and eating dinner by candle light and the sound of the ocean and the feel of sand beneath your toes. Sounds of my students telling other kids that we all love each other in our class and the sound of rain on a tin roof. Tons of hugs and twirling the twins around until we all feel sick and pink cookies for Valentine's day and sunsets in Jaibon. Black skies filled with thousands of stars and 21 voices screaming "Profe" and making paper beads with friends. Bags full of fresh passion fruit and telling stories of memories from five years ago and hearing five year olds pray. Nothing is ordinary. It's always extraordinary and there is always something to celebrate in the little details in life.

And so we celebrate life... :)

Valentine's day... with the crazy "heart people" that Christine's students made at school.

Bebo's birthday with some of my favorite people.

life is meant to be celebrated.

rain.

It's been raining since 5 am this morning which makes today kind of like a snow day in the States. I went to school this morning and only 1 student showed up, meaning I got to come home early. When it rains a lot, it brings the same sort of feeling as when it's snowing... the town shuts down, kids don't go to school, people make soup and stay cozy in their houses, and it's one of the few times when you can wear sweatpants and a sweatshirt and not be sweating. I love it. So I'm curled up on the couch with a good cup of coffee (of course) and thought I'd post a few pictures...

This is our "teapot." Here you don't find people making tea with teabags because you can just go out in your backyard, pick some leaves off of several trees, and make some pretty amazing tea. I've been sick and this is the tea that a friend made last night for my cough.

I absolutely LOVE the ocean... so thankful to live so close.

Truth. Our chalkboard :)

Two precious little boys that I love dearly :)

happy valentine's day.

love!

blessed.

Blessed seems to be the only word I can find to express life right now. There is this indescribable knowing deep down in my soul that this is exactly where I am supposed to be. And even on the extremely hard days, I wake up each morning thankful to be able to live and love people here. There is so much joy in the little moments, the precious smiles, the heart-to-heart conversations over big cups of coffee, the hugs from my students, the crazy things that five-year-olds say, the gift of watching the twins grow up, the opportunity to live within an hour bus ride of both orphanages... the list is endless.

Last weekend, we took a trip to the opposite side of the country to see five precious souls that I love with my whole heart. Jose Luis, Indiana, Nena, Joanni, and Luz Maria used to live in Monte Cristi at the orphanage, but now live with their mom. It was incredible to be able to see them again and the weekend was full of laughing, getting our hair done, reading books, singing, coloring, hugs, and all the other fun things that we used to do when we lived together. Blessed.

These are just a few pictures from the trip...

Joanni, Nena, Luz Maria, me, and Emilee when we first got to their house.

Indiana, Luz Maria, and Nena with their mom.

Me and Indiana

Precious Luz Maria

The whole group

blessed.

fotos.

Happy 2012! It hasn't even been two weeks into the new year, but already God is moving in incredible ways. Thank you for all of your prayers and constant encouragement! These are some pictures from the past month...

Andres... one of my favorites.

Yasmine, Paola, Yessica, and I on Christmas Eve. Noche Buena is full of huge dinners and new clothes and lots of photos.One of my students at our Christmas party on the last day of school.Galan taking a break from one of the most intense games of Monopoly I've ever played.Waiki. More monopoly.
Christmas Eve dinner at the orphanage in Monte Cristi.Arianni... sooo grown up.And her twin sister, Ari!Yessica.Gregory hanging lights on the tree in the entry way of the orphanage in Jaibon.Our infamous greca (coffee maker) that exploded (literally!) in our kitchen...

Emilee in the aftermath of the greca-explosion. We may or may not have brought the hose inside to clean up the mess :)

Hope you had a wonderful Christmas and New Year's :)

glimpses.

Cuidad de Luz :: City of Light. The name of the school where I teach definitely describes the kids in my class. They are all so full of so much light and joy and life and I love each of them so much. All 23 of them. Here are most of them a few weeks ago...

In a lot of ways, we do things you may have done in Kindergarten. We learn letters and play with blocks. We learn to count and cut and paste. We sing songs and learn Bible verses.

We like to take pictures and play at recess. We have special helpers and win prizes for good behavior and attendance. We don't always enjoy doing work, but most days we leave with smiles on our faces.

We write in notebooks and love to color and are always practicing our handwriting.

But in other ways, we do things very differently. We speak Spanish instead of English. We bring plantains and yuca for snack instead of oreos or pringles. We bring pesos to buy our snacks and there is always enough for everyone.

We talk about where I'm from and how most of them haven't seen snow before. We still like to play with pogs here and get excited about the ones that come as prizes in our potato chips. We sing a different national anthem than I'm used to singing every morning and my students call me Profe (Pro-fay).

But mostly, we just LOVE. And so while there may be a few tiny differences, we are mostly all the same. Kids are kids and no matter where they are from, they find joy in the simple things. And so the more time I spend with them, the more I get to see glimpses of life through their eyes... and through His. I'm so blessed.

life.

The past few months have been so full of all things old and new and beautiful and difficult and life-giving. My heart feels fully alive here and I can't imagine being anywhere else. It seems that the longer I am here, the more I can't imagine leaving. Though it seems hard to explain, I can only say that my heart was made for this place.

I love my students to no end. Teaching was harder than I ever expected at first, and the only way I made it during those days was through the Lord's strength and wisdom. But time has passed, all my teaching background has come back to me, and now I find myself missing my students on the weekends and loving being able to spend part of my days with them. As I fill out their report cards, I find it hard to believe that it's already December and the school year is almost half over.

Em and I spend Saturdays in Jaibon at the orphanage and with friends and family there. The boys at the Jaibon orphanage are and will always be a huge reason why I am here. I can't imagine not being involved in their lives as they grow up.

Em and I with Luis Alberto and Jonel in Jaibon.

Our Sundays usually consist of planning and spending time at the orphanage in Monte Cristi. We are blessed to have roots in this town already. As we dream of real change, freedom, redemption, and hope, we have realized again the importance of roots, time, and trust. Discipleship doesn't come quickly and true trust is established through lots of ups and downs. And that's what we want to be here for.

We started art/sewing classes for girls a couple afternoons a week. The classes are definitely at the beginning stages, but we are excited to see where the Lord will take everything. One of my heart's deepest desires is to see women here understand their worth and value and find true freedom in their identity in Christ and who He has created them to be. Poco a poco.

Be looking for more pictures and updates soon, but that is a short overview of life here :)