My Story...

Hello! Thanks for visiting my blog. I will be spending the next two years in the Dominican Republic and am excited to use this space to share news with you. God has placed a calling on my heart to venture out and teach in the mountains of the Dominican Republic at Doulos Discovery School. I will also be working with an outreach ministry, called Young Life. Please take some time to check out the links for both of these organizations. Thank you so much for partnering with me on this adventure!

10.05.2013

Year FOUR!

The Top Ten pictures of the beginning of a new school year (in no particular order)...

Young Life Staff Meeting
Emily, Me, and Melisa (Katie was missing, so we sent her these pics)
FUNdations!!
Alicia (3rd grade teacher) and I are excited to pilot this Phonics program at Doulos!

Rebekah (now a Senior at Doulos!) cooking dinner with me.

PhotoShoot!  Rebekah and I


Couch Olympics!
My dream come true...  Our first YL Event of the Year.  Teams carried couches through the streets of Jarabacoa to complete a Photo Scavenger Hunt.
Here's my team of tenth graders at the gas station!

The team of Seniors with their couch!

Third grader, Alidanfther, working on her Color Poem

Rubi proudly displaying her finished Color Poem

dear Friends being silly during a picnic to celebrate Megan's 25th birthday
Melisa and I drove down the mountain on Megan's Golden Birthday (25 on the 25th) to buy 25 ounces of ice cream with 25 toppings at Sweet Frog.  She was there everyday with friends, her third grade students, or high school girls when it opened last Spring.  She had gone twice the night she died.  Melisa and I had fun celebrating her in that way.
I hope you enjoyed a little glimpse into life here in the DR.  Thank you for your continued support in so many ways as I embark on a fourth year here.  Love and peace to you.

5.14.2013

Live As You Are Called


"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose."  Romans 8:28
This year has been a year of learning... learning to live as I have been called.  I love to look, observe, and compare...and in turn my joy is robbed from me.  My eyes have been opening to the incredible ways I am being used just by living as I am called.  There is great joy in being single and watching the Lord pour out His love through me.  There is a sweetness in being free and available to the Lord’s nudging.  I am not always faithful to that call; however, I am learning.  I am learning that if I am faithful to live as He has called me, that I am often left speechless by what He does around me. 
Expedition Night
Another night of celebration!  Third graders created an Ancient Egypt museum.  Fourth grade students became experts on Incan civilization.  Fifth grade learned about immigration and ran a simulation of a journey to America.  Below are pictures of my classes and here is a link to a video on YouTube that shows snippets from all of the class projects: PK-12.  Enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=hfWnk8di_t0

Marlen and I beginning the mummifying process
(Three students became experts on how to make a mummy, with the end result being to actually make a mummy! - well, sort of.)

Me, Adrian, Natan, and the mummy

And we have a mummy!
Adrian, Natan, Alicia Powell (3rd grade teacher), Marlen, and Me

Ancient Egyptians Anais and Albely

The fifth grade girls and I 


3.19.2013

Community

“Your ways, O God, are holy.
What god is so great as our God?
You are the God who performs miracles;
you display your power among the peoples.”
Psalm 77:  13-14

Hannah
Many of you know that some dear friends here recently had some complications with the birth of their daughter.  Hannah was in need of care that could not be provided at the hospital, here in the DR.  As I watched my friends from the outside and prayed with them, I was amazed at how clearly the Lord shifted pieces of the puzzle.  Many of you, who don’t know the Byker family at all, came forward with information, prayers, finances, offers to help...  We are all so connected and I was moved to tears often because of your generosity and concern for my friends whom you do not know personally.  One of the biggest hurtles for the Byker family was not having U.S. insurance...In less than 24 hours, they had over $50,000 donated from people all over the world to contribute toward hospital costs and Med Evac.  Then, CHOP (in Philadelphia) took them on as a charity case and they are now safely in Philly getting top care for Hannah.  I share this with you for a few reasons.  So many of you followed along with Hannah’s story via my Facebook page as I reposted Joe’s updates and I thought you might be interested to know a little more.  Also, it is stunning and awesome to watch the Lord make a way.  Psalm 77 says, “  You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples.”  If you would like to continue hearing about Hannah and how you can help the Byker family, you can visit their website at: 

Young Life 
WyldLife Camp and Work Crew
Last weekend, another Young Life leader and I took five high school Doulos students to Pico Escondido to be part of the Work Crew for Wyldlife Camp.  It was our first ever Work Crew experience together and it was awesome.  From Friday afternoon until Sunday afternoon, we cooked, washed dishes, cleaned bathrooms, washed dishes, chopped vegetables, peeled garlic, washed dishes, swept floors, washed dishes, served smores, washed dishes, ran a County Fair carnival, and washed dishes.  Before and during the weekend we talked about what it means to be a servant and honoring God with our service.  It was so much fun to be with this small group for three days.  It was also such an encouraging time because our Young Life team volunteered to be at camp for the weekend - 2 of us as Work Crew bosses, 2 on Work Crew, 1 on Program, 1 in the cabin with middle school boys (oh my...), and 1 as a superstar volunteer available for whatever needed to be done.  I am so encouraged by the people that I live and serve with daily.  It’s amazing to see people live like Christ and be His hands and feet.

Here are a few pictures from our latest shenanigans in YL...
Curt and I hosting (in gold!) Dominican Idol for YL Karaoke Night
**the sound system "failed" and Emily had to sing from an iPod
She rocked it!

Kate finishing her number from the iPod

The winners...

Jedely, Karen, and I


Doulos 
My parents have made the comment that Doulos is a special place.  Doulos is the hub of all that is swirling around - the good, the challenging, the joys, the relationships, the academics, the celebrations...the list goes on.  This semester is flying by and we are almost ready to celebrate with another Expedition Night.  The third grade is exploring Ancient Egypt, fourth grade is comparing Incan life with Dominican life, and fifth grade is  experiencing Immigration. Below are a few pictures from Revolution (our bi-weekly all-school Friday gathering) this semester.

Third grade

Teachers vs. Students
Danae vs. Rony
(racing to get the scarf first without getting tagged)

Natalie vs. Saul


Friends, as always, thank you so much for your continued support.  Please continue to pray for the Byker family and for the Doulos community.  

2.17.2013

Ash Wednesday

"I don’t know what you’re doing, but I know who You are...”  JJ Heller

Pain.  Hard to understand and make sense of it.  There’s been a lot of pain among the community of Doulos this year.  People that surround me and whom I live life with everyday - students, YL kids, coworkers - are hurting... deeply.  There has been death, substance abuse, loved ones moving away, depression, accidents, and general sadness and heaviness for all that is whirling around us.  There have been questions and conversations.  As I enter into my own pain, or someone else’s pain through my love for them, I can see the Lord meeting us there.  A friend shared this excerpt from a book she is reading:  

"Why is heartbreak so universal? It's universal because we're feeling something as old as the world. Something God feels.... The cross is God taking on flesh and blood and saying, "Me too." This can transform our experience of heartbreak. Instead of being something that distances us from God, causing us to question, "Where are you?" every poem by a lover spurned, every song sung with an ache, every movie with a gut-wrending scene, every late-night conversation and empty box of kleenex are glimpses into the life of God."

"The more we open ourselves up, the more vulnerable we are. The more exposed we are, the more in hurts. The more we let someone in, the greater the risk."
Sex God by Rob Bell

If I have been even more absent than usual, it’s because I haven’t known how to write about life here these days... but a good friend told me to just write, because you all want to know.  And you want to pray.  So, friends, please pray for my precious friends down here.

The community here has become dear to my heart and one of the most precious moments came to me this past Wednesday.  My women’s bible study gathered as we normally do on Wednesday nights, but this time we shared in an Ash Wednesday service together.  One of the women put together a service for us to follow and the five of us reflected, sang, prayed, communed, and put ashes on each other in my living room.  It was beautiful.  Beautiful to remember tradition.  Beautiful to be together.  Beautiful to be on our knees together.  Beautiful to partake in communion.  Beautiful to reflect on Christ as we put ashes on each other’s foreheads.  I pray Lent is a time of reflection for us all.

Life continues on here in Jarabacoa and there have been some amazing blessings and joyful moments with my classes and with Young Life these past few weeks.  I hope to share those with you through pictures soon.  For now, here is where I am.