Well, we're on our way home. Jessica has already seemingly left the country as we can't find her, which leaves those of us flying to the great northwest together (Rachel, Megan, and Kate) supporting each other as we leave the country and are ripped off by buying airport food. No Brandon, 600 pesos was not too much.........
The last week was so hard and good all at once. Saying goodbye to our families was every bit as hard as we had ever imagined. Many tears were shed, but we tried to remember that it was a celebration, which Kate worked on by having one last dance party by the car. Saying goodbye to our English classes and tutoring classes was a challenge, but a cake-walk compared to our parents, brothers, sisters, and other various family members we picked up along the way. One thing that we will all miss about the DR is the sense of family there and how we really all are family through Christ. Our last small group was amazing. We got to walk with the girls to where there was flooding last fall and saw all the new growth. We had a bit of a party there, and then we went and sang a bunch of songs together. It was hard for all of us to say goodbye and there were tears shed by Americans and Dominicans together. We had a goodbye party with the staff of COTN, which was amazing and really funny. We made fun of them, they made fun of us, and then we danced. Brandon won. He won a visor. Megan came in second and received "a money belt for the outside" (whatever that means) and Rachel finished third and received a creepy doll with no face, which her partner proceeded to draw a face on so she could see.
We left Casa Betesda and Barahona on Wednesday and played tourist for a while in Santo Domingo. You know you've been in the DR for two months when going to Santo Domingo gives you culture shock. It was good though. We tried to make the most of our last bit of time together in the DR and most of us managed to sleep less than 3 hours last night... success depends on how you define it, and that sounds like success to me.
Well readers, paz afuera (peace out). I hope you enjoyed reading our blog this summer.
Friday, August 15, 2008
Monday, August 4, 2008
Finishing the Race
The countdown is on... well, kinda. In some ways we just refuse to acknowledge that we are leaving in a week and a half. Other times we are excited to come home to our families and friends and the very many luxuries of the US that we take for granted...
~flushing toilet paper
~power and water 24 hours a day
~helmets
~air conditioning (or lack of need for it)
~personal space
~food options (what, when and how much)
~more clothing options than skirt or capris (and not needing to wear polos)
~showering with water pressure rather than a bucket (just for some of us)
This past week was a good one. We got to go to the beach with our host families and got pounded by the waves and hung out in the ice river in San Rafael, and then we went to Quemaito and played some softball and sat in the small rocks (as opposed to sand). We were excited to have a lot of space on the bus on the way to the beach, but then we stopped to pick up Karuna's neighborhood. We thought it would just be her family, but 15 people got on the bus at that stop, so... we had to share seats... All in all the day was pretty rad.
Tutoring continues to be an adventure...
-Luckily there has not been a lot of rain and the Don Bosco students are allowed to come to school. And Kate and Shannon finally figured out how to get the kids to work... stickers. "You can add 2+2? Here's a sticker..." "You wrote a-m? (not even the whole alphabet) Here's a sticker..." "You came to class? Here's a sticker."
-Algodon is always crazy in the mornings and it takes Karuna, Ingrid, 2 translators and the principal to gather together the kids, break up fights and teach the kids. The kids also love to intentionally call both interns "Karuna", and so were assigned to write Ingrid's name 12 times for homework. It seemed to work well until they began to call Karuna by Ingrid's name as well.
-Los Robles is rockin'. The kids are learning so much and it's so awesome to see them so excited to come to class. Normally when we drice up, they are waiting in front of the door with their notebooks, or they are waiting to jump on the bus. Either way, they are waiting for us. It's wonderful. Today there were actually two girls who waited on the road for us then after we passed started running behind us. Megan likes to make this comment every once in a while and makes Lauren laugh alot. She says "They are like little bugs. (Thlrp) haha. and shows how they latch onto the side of the bus. Anyways, they really are learning alot and today we got to divide them up into 2 groups, one in reading and the other for math. it was so exciting for Megan and Lauren to see their kids understand how to "borrow" when they are subtracting numbers in math class. They are the cutest little kids and on WEdnesday should all come to class with tatoos on themselves...ha. that should be a a sight to see..
Despite the chaos of the mornings, the interns continue to try and love on the kids, share the Bible with them and just connect and play. The Lord really has been working in the lives of the kids. Last week, one of the interns had the opportunity to pray with a 12 year old girl in Algodon, Margarita, to accept Jesus into her heart. The conversation really came out of nowhere as Margarita was just waiting around with the interns for the van to pick them up, singing a Christian song to herself. The simple question of "are you a Christian" allowed the girl to say no, but that she wanted to be one. It's been really encouraging to see that the Lord is moving and uses us when we respond to his promptings.
Jessica and Rachel are still having a good time helping out with the clinic. Last week and continuing on into this week they are working on vaccines in Don Bosco, the last batey for the Vaccine Project. The little kids are actually really excited to see them (after receiving the shots) and are the self-declared assistants of our american doctors (ie Jess and Rachel).
Brandon continues to serve all of us by safely navigating the treacherous roads and invest in each intern as well as his host family. They will be the most sad when he and Shannon have to leave, and literally are holding the two of them hostage for a few days after the interns return home.
As we start our last full week of ministry we have lots to look forward to:
~On Tuesday is the softball game between Los Robles and Algodo to end the softball ministry with excitement and show the fruit of all the girl's hard work and practice. The girls will get to come play at a stadium near Altagracia, Fundacion.
~For the last two times of small group in Algodon we're hoping to continue Bible study and conversations about our worth in the Lord. The girls also loved doing arts and crafts (We finally finished making journals after 4 full small group sessions) so we also have a few other artsy things planned.
~This is also our last full week of english and tutoring. The english classes are planning on playing Twister, which should be entertaining
~On Saturday the interns transition from the host families to Casa Betesda with a dinner. This is sure to be an emotional night, with lots of tears and hugs. Hopefully all the interns will make it as some of the families have declared that the interns will not be leaving on Saturday, but rather will stay forever.
Random Highlight:
~On our journey to Los Robles, a group of soldiers yelled at us in the bus... being the curious, cautious Americans we are, we stopped... they needed a ride, so they all piled in. Then Lauren proceeded to give them all Tums, because they thought it was candy...
Please continue to pray for us, our health, and team unity, and that we would continue to finish strong, investing in our host families, the kids and each other!
~flushing toilet paper
~power and water 24 hours a day
~helmets
~air conditioning (or lack of need for it)
~personal space
~food options (what, when and how much)
~more clothing options than skirt or capris (and not needing to wear polos)
~showering with water pressure rather than a bucket (just for some of us)
This past week was a good one. We got to go to the beach with our host families and got pounded by the waves and hung out in the ice river in San Rafael, and then we went to Quemaito and played some softball and sat in the small rocks (as opposed to sand). We were excited to have a lot of space on the bus on the way to the beach, but then we stopped to pick up Karuna's neighborhood. We thought it would just be her family, but 15 people got on the bus at that stop, so... we had to share seats... All in all the day was pretty rad.
Tutoring continues to be an adventure...
-Luckily there has not been a lot of rain and the Don Bosco students are allowed to come to school. And Kate and Shannon finally figured out how to get the kids to work... stickers. "You can add 2+2? Here's a sticker..." "You wrote a-m? (not even the whole alphabet) Here's a sticker..." "You came to class? Here's a sticker."
-Algodon is always crazy in the mornings and it takes Karuna, Ingrid, 2 translators and the principal to gather together the kids, break up fights and teach the kids. The kids also love to intentionally call both interns "Karuna", and so were assigned to write Ingrid's name 12 times for homework. It seemed to work well until they began to call Karuna by Ingrid's name as well.
-Los Robles is rockin'. The kids are learning so much and it's so awesome to see them so excited to come to class. Normally when we drice up, they are waiting in front of the door with their notebooks, or they are waiting to jump on the bus. Either way, they are waiting for us. It's wonderful. Today there were actually two girls who waited on the road for us then after we passed started running behind us. Megan likes to make this comment every once in a while and makes Lauren laugh alot. She says "They are like little bugs. (Thlrp) haha. and shows how they latch onto the side of the bus. Anyways, they really are learning alot and today we got to divide them up into 2 groups, one in reading and the other for math. it was so exciting for Megan and Lauren to see their kids understand how to "borrow" when they are subtracting numbers in math class. They are the cutest little kids and on WEdnesday should all come to class with tatoos on themselves...ha. that should be a a sight to see..
Despite the chaos of the mornings, the interns continue to try and love on the kids, share the Bible with them and just connect and play. The Lord really has been working in the lives of the kids. Last week, one of the interns had the opportunity to pray with a 12 year old girl in Algodon, Margarita, to accept Jesus into her heart. The conversation really came out of nowhere as Margarita was just waiting around with the interns for the van to pick them up, singing a Christian song to herself. The simple question of "are you a Christian" allowed the girl to say no, but that she wanted to be one. It's been really encouraging to see that the Lord is moving and uses us when we respond to his promptings.
Jessica and Rachel are still having a good time helping out with the clinic. Last week and continuing on into this week they are working on vaccines in Don Bosco, the last batey for the Vaccine Project. The little kids are actually really excited to see them (after receiving the shots) and are the self-declared assistants of our american doctors (ie Jess and Rachel).
Brandon continues to serve all of us by safely navigating the treacherous roads and invest in each intern as well as his host family. They will be the most sad when he and Shannon have to leave, and literally are holding the two of them hostage for a few days after the interns return home.
As we start our last full week of ministry we have lots to look forward to:
~On Tuesday is the softball game between Los Robles and Algodo to end the softball ministry with excitement and show the fruit of all the girl's hard work and practice. The girls will get to come play at a stadium near Altagracia, Fundacion.
~For the last two times of small group in Algodon we're hoping to continue Bible study and conversations about our worth in the Lord. The girls also loved doing arts and crafts (We finally finished making journals after 4 full small group sessions) so we also have a few other artsy things planned.
~This is also our last full week of english and tutoring. The english classes are planning on playing Twister, which should be entertaining
~On Saturday the interns transition from the host families to Casa Betesda with a dinner. This is sure to be an emotional night, with lots of tears and hugs. Hopefully all the interns will make it as some of the families have declared that the interns will not be leaving on Saturday, but rather will stay forever.
Random Highlight:
~On our journey to Los Robles, a group of soldiers yelled at us in the bus... being the curious, cautious Americans we are, we stopped... they needed a ride, so they all piled in. Then Lauren proceeded to give them all Tums, because they thought it was candy...
Please continue to pray for us, our health, and team unity, and that we would continue to finish strong, investing in our host families, the kids and each other!
Monday, July 28, 2008
still hot and sweaty
We hear that the weather in June is bad (check), July is a little worse (yeah), and August is the worst... not looking forward to that... anyway...
Week 6 has begun! It's crazy to think that we are more than halfway done with our journey here. We have less than two weeks left with our host families and we have two weeks left of class. Our challenge (given by our fearless leaders) this week was to see God in new ways. That could be a difficult task because so many of us have already seen God in so many ways down here. Everything from smiles to conchos driving down the road carrying more than they should are reminders of God and his love for us down here.
We have been doing a Blble Study for some of the girls in Algodon and have been decorating journals with them. There is a common perception among Dominicans and Americans that we don't remember each other when the Americans leave, so we are writing in each other's journals (both verses and notes of encouragement) for reminders of each other. Our hope is that we can all remember that we are valuable to each other even though we only get to spend a short time together.
Here are some random personal highlights:
~Brandon and Shannon got the chance to go to a wedding... a cultural difference for sure, but had a good time none-the-less. And Brandon has has practiced his video game driving skills avoiding pot holes on the road to Los Robles.
~Ingrid went to the salon to get some wonderful curlers... twice... hopefully some pitcures will come later. She also attended a slightly awkward singles night at her church.
~Jessica has been giving multiple children shots daily, and the good news is that only some cry. She goes to the same church as Ingrid and went to the same singles night...
~Kate is finally healthy (the hospital visit from the concho driver helped a ton), but still only eating potatoes
~Karuna went to a men's (what?) Bible Study at church, but made up for it by buying 3 inch gold wedge shoes for church (the only shoes in her size in the whole store)
~Lauren enjoyed dancing with the Los Robles English class last Friday, including, but not limited to, two younger brothers that didn't really belong there.
~Megan went to Haiti (kinda)... she went to the border anyway... and has been mistaken for a Dominican translator with Americans wondering how she learned such good English
~Rachel had her hair braided by one of her 6 siblings... after making them a slip 'n slide
~Shannon got to experience shopping for a dress Dominican style, including dressing rooms that are about 100 degrees
Week 6 has begun! It's crazy to think that we are more than halfway done with our journey here. We have less than two weeks left with our host families and we have two weeks left of class. Our challenge (given by our fearless leaders) this week was to see God in new ways. That could be a difficult task because so many of us have already seen God in so many ways down here. Everything from smiles to conchos driving down the road carrying more than they should are reminders of God and his love for us down here.
We have been doing a Blble Study for some of the girls in Algodon and have been decorating journals with them. There is a common perception among Dominicans and Americans that we don't remember each other when the Americans leave, so we are writing in each other's journals (both verses and notes of encouragement) for reminders of each other. Our hope is that we can all remember that we are valuable to each other even though we only get to spend a short time together.
Here are some random personal highlights:
~Brandon and Shannon got the chance to go to a wedding... a cultural difference for sure, but had a good time none-the-less. And Brandon has has practiced his video game driving skills avoiding pot holes on the road to Los Robles.
~Ingrid went to the salon to get some wonderful curlers... twice... hopefully some pitcures will come later. She also attended a slightly awkward singles night at her church.
~Jessica has been giving multiple children shots daily, and the good news is that only some cry. She goes to the same church as Ingrid and went to the same singles night...
~Kate is finally healthy (the hospital visit from the concho driver helped a ton), but still only eating potatoes
~Karuna went to a men's (what?) Bible Study at church, but made up for it by buying 3 inch gold wedge shoes for church (the only shoes in her size in the whole store)
~Lauren enjoyed dancing with the Los Robles English class last Friday, including, but not limited to, two younger brothers that didn't really belong there.
~Megan went to Haiti (kinda)... she went to the border anyway... and has been mistaken for a Dominican translator with Americans wondering how she learned such good English
~Rachel had her hair braided by one of her 6 siblings... after making them a slip 'n slide
~Shannon got to experience shopping for a dress Dominican style, including dressing rooms that are about 100 degrees
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
half-way there
This summer has been amazing thus far. We have been getting in a groove of tutoring in the morning and teaching English in the afternoon three days a week. The other two days we have an amazing group of teenage girls in a bible study in the mornings and we get to play softball with some of them in the afternoons.
The current rage is to hang out at the clinic/hospital in town. Ingrid set us off on the way with a night stay, and then Kate decided that Ingrid wasn't going to have all the fun and she stayed for two nights. Currently Rachel is there, and we have yet to know how long she will stay. Hopefully no one else joins that club. Aside from clinic stays, parasites and amoebas abound, so please keep our health in your prayers.
This past weekend we had to say goodbye to Andrew and Jenna, which made us all sad, but most of all probably Brandon as now he is the only male on team estrogen. Before they left we got to go on a midway retreat which was an amazing opportunity for bonding the team together (minus the sickie who will remain nameless). We got to go to an amazing beach and other cool stuff that the writer of this update doesn't know about because she was the sickie. All this was possible due to an extremely generous supporter, so thank you to whoever that was.
It's sad to think that we're already halfway done with our summer here. We have just over two weeks with our host families left, at which point most of us will shed at least one tear (some a lot more than that). Our host families will all miss their hijas nuevas (new daughters) and we will be leaving part of our hearts with them when we go.
Enough of the future tears... here and now is amazing. We are all working on soaking in every moment for all it is worth and not letting any of this amazing summer pass us by.
The current rage is to hang out at the clinic/hospital in town. Ingrid set us off on the way with a night stay, and then Kate decided that Ingrid wasn't going to have all the fun and she stayed for two nights. Currently Rachel is there, and we have yet to know how long she will stay. Hopefully no one else joins that club. Aside from clinic stays, parasites and amoebas abound, so please keep our health in your prayers.
This past weekend we had to say goodbye to Andrew and Jenna, which made us all sad, but most of all probably Brandon as now he is the only male on team estrogen. Before they left we got to go on a midway retreat which was an amazing opportunity for bonding the team together (minus the sickie who will remain nameless). We got to go to an amazing beach and other cool stuff that the writer of this update doesn't know about because she was the sickie. All this was possible due to an extremely generous supporter, so thank you to whoever that was.
It's sad to think that we're already halfway done with our summer here. We have just over two weeks with our host families left, at which point most of us will shed at least one tear (some a lot more than that). Our host families will all miss their hijas nuevas (new daughters) and we will be leaving part of our hearts with them when we go.
Enough of the future tears... here and now is amazing. We are all working on soaking in every moment for all it is worth and not letting any of this amazing summer pass us by.
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Week 3
Well, we are most the way through week three of the internship. Things have been going pretty well. Of course, there are always some hiccups. But I have to tell you that I am so, so proud of our interns. They have been so flexible and self-starting. For example one of the events that we have had planned for a few weeks didn't go off as planned so we ended up having a free morning on Tuesday. Instead of getting upset or disappointed they simply said, "Okay, let's go find some kids." They ended up hanging out with some of the smaller kids and playing games with them. Shannon and I have been so impressed that after three weeks of living with host families, working in the heat, and facing some challenges, that there have been little to no complaints. We really couldn't have asked for or imagined a better group of interns.
A lot has been going on this week. Jessica and Rachel joined a group of nurses from the COTN clinic who've been traveling to the bateyes to give tetanus vaccinations. It's pretty amazing. The people out there haven't had them so they've been giving shots to people anywhere from 3 to 95 years old! (See picture below). Monday Wednesday and Friday mornings have been filled with summer school tutoring for smaller kids in Algodon, Los Robles and Don Bosco. (See pic) This is mostly working with the real young kids on reading, writing and math. The afternoons have been English classes. Some of the interns have been teaching conversational Spanish in the bateyes while Megan and Ingrid are teaching a beginners class for kids from town. A few other things have been going on. Andrew, with the help of two American high-school students, has been building shelves for the wear house and will then be organizing and inventorying it. This is a huge job. Pray for him as he leaves next Friday and is really hoping to finish it before then. The girls have also been coaching softball in the bateyes on Tuesday afternoons. At the end of the summer the girls will play each other. As you can see A LOT is happening! Here are some prayer requests as we continue this work.
Prayer requests:
- We've had a couple interns get sick with Amoeba's. Pray for their recovery and for the health of the rest of the interns.
- The interns will be spending the entire weekend with their host families. This can be tiring when you don't speak the language and aren't used to the living conditions. Pray for endurance and that they would find joy with their families.
Thank you for your interest and prayers. Your support is making this summer go so well!
Jessica giving a tetanus vaccination.
Lauren tutoring the kids in Los Robles.
A lot has been going on this week. Jessica and Rachel joined a group of nurses from the COTN clinic who've been traveling to the bateyes to give tetanus vaccinations. It's pretty amazing. The people out there haven't had them so they've been giving shots to people anywhere from 3 to 95 years old! (See picture below). Monday Wednesday and Friday mornings have been filled with summer school tutoring for smaller kids in Algodon, Los Robles and Don Bosco. (See pic) This is mostly working with the real young kids on reading, writing and math. The afternoons have been English classes. Some of the interns have been teaching conversational Spanish in the bateyes while Megan and Ingrid are teaching a beginners class for kids from town. A few other things have been going on. Andrew, with the help of two American high-school students, has been building shelves for the wear house and will then be organizing and inventorying it. This is a huge job. Pray for him as he leaves next Friday and is really hoping to finish it before then. The girls have also been coaching softball in the bateyes on Tuesday afternoons. At the end of the summer the girls will play each other. As you can see A LOT is happening! Here are some prayer requests as we continue this work.
Prayer requests:
- We've had a couple interns get sick with Amoeba's. Pray for their recovery and for the health of the rest of the interns.
- The interns will be spending the entire weekend with their host families. This can be tiring when you don't speak the language and aren't used to the living conditions. Pray for endurance and that they would find joy with their families.
Thank you for your interest and prayers. Your support is making this summer go so well!
Jessica giving a tetanus vaccination.
Lauren tutoring the kids in Los Robles.
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Bueno tiempo a la casa
Well, we've been here for about a week and a half now. And, finally, after much preparing, English classes have officially started! It's was great to be finally out in the bateyes today. We had English classes in Los Robles and Algodon. We've also been teaching a class in the office that has been going great. We have a couple more prep days before we start turtoring next Monday. It'll be great to be in our full rytm come then. Please pray for us as we get ready for full days. And here's a picture to show you that our morale's still high, even when we were at the Casa all day.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Yay for the first post of the summer from the Dominican Republic! All the interns arrived safely to the Dominican Republic, and are now transitioning to their new life for the summer in Barahona. This first week has been a great time for the interns to become orientated to the life and culture of the Dominican Republic. The scavenger hunt was just one way for the interns to get to know the city, and as you can see in the pictures the interns had to acquire a live chicken and various other items from town. The rest of this week has been spent moving into the host families and preparing for teaching the English classes. This weekend the intens and their host families are going to the beach, so that should be lots of fun. There will be more pictures to come, (they take a long time to upload here), but rest assured that all the intern are thus far safe and having a great time.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Meet the Interns
This summer a group of college aged interns from across the U.S. will be meeting up in the Domincan Republic to serve the Dominican National Staff of Children of the Nations.
Interns include: Andrew Neal-Orlando, Fl; Jessica Wise-Reno, NV; Karuna Luthra-Seattle, WA; Rachel Longton-Spokane, WA; Jenna Bishop-Orlando, FL; Megan Gryko-Seattle, WA; Ingrid Harper- Memphis, TN; Kate Maxwell-Seattle, WA; and Lauren Mims-Marylille, TN.
Interns include: Andrew Neal-Orlando, Fl; Jessica Wise-Reno, NV; Karuna Luthra-Seattle, WA; Rachel Longton-Spokane, WA; Jenna Bishop-Orlando, FL; Megan Gryko-Seattle, WA; Ingrid Harper- Memphis, TN; Kate Maxwell-Seattle, WA; and Lauren Mims-Marylille, TN.
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