Year Three!

"Ask me whether 

what I have done is my life."  

(words taken from William Stafford’s “Ask Me”)

In reading Parker Palmer’s Let Your Life Speak, I ran across this William Stafford poem.  These words intrigue me as I begin my third year in the Dominican Republic.

Am I letting my life speak here?  Or am I letting the busy-ness of responsibility take over and letting my true purpose get lost?

I had the most refreshing and life-giving summer I’ve had in a very long time.  I was blessed with visits from friends and family, time to read and journal, opportunities to share about life in the DR and meet with many of you, time to exercise, and time to enjoy sitting by the water.   I was blessed by the simplicity of life for a few weeks and because of that the transition back to the DR has been the easiest one yet.  

Third graders Nathan and Maralis

On the first day of school and I was SO excited to see the kids!  I am still teaching third, fourth, and fifth grade English.  My fifth graders this year are my third graders from my first year... it is so fun to have them for a third year.  I’m excited to see the high schoolers as well and spent an afternoon making cookies with a few girls last .  I feel blessed by the depth of relationships here and am excited for what this year will bring.

Third graders Adrian and Akiva

Please pray for this year and that I would not allow busy-ness to take over.  My natural tendency is to be busy for the sake of being busy.  Then I become overwhelmed.  However, this year I want to focus on the simplicity of living life with others and the lessons I learned this summer.  I am so thankful to enter into this year with you.  It is amazing to know that this is not just my third year investing in this community, but yours as well!  What a journey we are on together and I could not be more thankful for your support.  I look forward to sharing pictures and stories from the year ahead.

Much love and peace,

Sara