saturday

hello everybody! i dont have any big news right now, just saying hi. we have the weekends off, so today we are just running some errands and relaxing. continue to pray for God´s wisdom in every situation.

a heavy heart

today i was with some kids who just break my heart. i cant really go into their names or stories, but you cant imagine what some of these kids have been through and how their past has affected them. today i was just holding a boy, wiping his tears and blowing his nose. That was the only need i could meet out of so many, but my heart was just breaking wanting to do more. pray for these kids, though you dont know their names or their faces, lift them before the Lord. they are your brothers and sisters. this world is full of so much pain and problems, and yet the Lord is our joy and our hope.

one week in constanza

today is our one week mark of being here in constanza...sometimes it feels like we just got here and other times it feels like its been much longer. the summer school continues to go well. we love our class. this week we are reading stellaluna and learning about bats and birds and also reading charlotte´s web. they love the stories. the crafts have been really fun too and it turns out that they never want to keep what they make, they always give it to us, so we leave with a big stack of projects that we hang up in our apartment! yesterday we had a free morning and a meeting and then in the afternoon, we had kids from the community that will be coming to the school on the campus that will open in the fall. so, it was a little crazy, but we did some relay races, played outside, and did crafts. there is also a work team here this week so we went to dinner with them last night. they are fun to hang out with and have been really encouraging. today we go back to the orphanage in the afternoon and are there tomorrow and then this weekend we might go to a basketball game with some new friends we made. please continue to pray that we will be an encouragement to the people we are working with and that the kids will see jesus love in us. the Lord is very near, an ever present help.

climb every mountain...search high and low...any sound of music fans?

yesterday we climbed a mountain. to the top. about halfway up i really didnt know if i was going to make it, but we did. and the view was amazing. we could see the whole town and the surrounding mountains, just breathtaking. God´s work is wonderful. we went to church in the morning with the missionaries and a work team that is here. it was a small service with some worship songs and then a great sermon on matt 24 and 25, it was great to be worshipping with believers from this culture. this morning sarah and i had our first day of summer school and i cant tell you how well it went. we spent time in prayer and were so excited to go, but we were both a little nervous, but God was our strength the whole way through. we have 16 kids from the orphanage in our class. we had Bible time, story time, snack and play time, craft time, and circle time. as much as we are trying to show love to these kids, we feel so flooded with love. every kid gave us the craft they made and put our names on it...what a gift....they were also so attentive and eager to learn. we are so excited to be working with these kids everyday, its just a huge blessing from the Lord that we get to spend time with them. we have a little break now and then in the afternoon we have stations of games and crafts, english lessons, and math lessons. the Lord has been so faithful. praise him praise him!

hey hey

it turns out that we had some free time today so we´re back at the internet cafe. let´s see what´s happened since i last updated. in the afternoon we met our neighbors, the people who live under us, they are renting us their upstairs apartment. we went over and they welcomed us right in. we sat and talked with the husband and wife and their two daughters who go to the university but were in town for the weekend. we were planning on just stopping by for a minute but we ended up having coffee and chatting for quite a while. our next adventure was going to work out. dave took us (by motorbike...so fun) to the gym where he goes and we got a one month membership. we can run outside right by the gym, and ride bikes and do the stairstepper inside. so, im riding the bike yesterday, listening to super loud techno music and out the window i can see the mountains...not quite like pontiac, ya know? then, it was time for dinner. since our fridge and stove are now working we were able to make mac and cheese and we cut up a pineapple and ate outside on our little balcony. then we worked on curriculum and laminating books and some good girl time. this morning we were planning on sleeping in, but you just cant when you hear the dogs barking, people outside talking, and of course the motorbikes! so, we had an early start and explored the town a little, made some copies at a bookstore for our lesson plan, and then decided that we really needed to do laundry. the only problem is that we dont have a washing machine, but that didnt stop us. we bought some laundry soap and washed our clothes in the bathtub and hung them all over our apartment to dry...haha...then we went to the project to play with the kids, and then back to the apartment to chill for awhile. after we´re done here at the internet cafe i think we´re going to go shopping with our neighbors that we met yesterday and then work out before dinner. thanks for all the comments and prayers. everything is wonderful and life here is always an adventure... sarah and i laugh all the time! sometimes it just hits us that we´re here and we burst out laughing....ttfn!

hello from the DR!

hey everybody. well, im finally here and everything is going so well. right now im sitting in an internet cafe that is pretty close to where im living and i just wanted to write an update about whats been happening in this corner of the world! thank you so much for all the comments and emails. i feel very loved and supported and i know that there are many faithful prayer warriors interceding for me too, so thank you.
well, the flights went really well. i flew with other interns from chicago and then met up with the rest in miami. we landed in santiago, went through customs and stuff and thankfully all our bags made it. then, some missionaries picked us up and took us to a missionary family´s home in jarabacoa for some dinner and then suprise...a birthday cake! then, we split up to a few different apartments for the night. the apartment we stayed in was beautiful. the next two days we went through training. the kids alive staff did a great job preparing us for the summer. the first thing we did was split up into groups and go on a scavenger hunt in jarabacoa. we had to exchange money, buy tylenol at a pharmacy, go to an internet cafe, buy a lightbulb, buy milk, go to a fruit market, and a few other things. it was so great to get out in the community, ask questions, and see how things work. so, the rest of the training was about culture, kids alive expectations, and then a time when other dominican teachers came and we were trained on how the curriculum works for the summer school program. then yesterday, we split up and headed off to the different locations where we will be serving. dave, a missionary, came and picked up me and sarah, another intern that i will be working with. so, we loaded up the van and then started the long trek up the mountain. it was about a 2 hour drive with a beautiful view as we got higher and higher into the mountains. my heart was pounding and i was so excited. this day had been a long time coming. dave asked us if we wanted to go see the kids first or move into our apartment. that wasn´t a tough choice for me. kids! we got out at the orphanage and headed to the house and as soon as i saw the kids i ran to them and i was flooded with love as they remembered my name and started hugging me and climbing all over us. i can´t really put into words how wonderful that feeling was. i have missed these kids so much and it was just wonderful to be back. then, we ate dinner with the rowleys and dave and had a great time of fellowship and catching up. we are staying in the upstairs apartment right next door to the missionaries. it is a really nice place. we each have our own bedroom and bathroom, a kitchen, a dining room, a living room, and a little balcony. we love it. we added some decorations this morning to make it a little homey. then this morning we went to the missionaries house and talked with libby about the summer school curriculum. it was all prepared for us and i think it will be really great for the kids. we will be working with the 16 kids from the orphanage in the morning with the curriculum that involves bible, reading, stories, crafts, and games, and then in the afternoon there will be stations of tutoring, computers, and outside games and crafts. then on wednesday afternoons we will be working with a bigger group of kids. the kids alive staff has done an amazing job having everything laid out for us in a very easy to understand way. before the trip i was wondering if we would be left to figure out a lot on our own, but they have helped us so much. im really excited to be working with the same kids everyday, helping them learn and get prepared for school, and building relationships with them.
im so happy right now i cant even really explain it. i havent been here long, but i love love it. we will be starting the summer school on monday, so we have this weekend to relax a little and prepare. a few prayer requests....that the program with the kids will be fruitful, that we (sarah and i ) will be an encouragement to those we are working with, and that we will fall more in love with Jesus this summer.
love you all...i should be able to post updates once a week, so until then, adios!

hours away...

to all my dear readers, (haha.... Kara!)
well, 12 hours from right now, i'll be on the plane to miami. then, later in the afternoon our flight takes off to santiago. i'll be in jarabacoa for training for the first few days and then on to constanza where i will be for the rest of the time. as soon as i find an internet cafe, i'll try to update everyone on what's happening. thank you so much for your encouragement and prayer. today, as i was commissioned in church and talked to many people afterwards, i felt so supported by my church family- thank you so much! oh p.s. if you want to leave me comments on here, i'd love to read them. i changed the settings so that now you can leave a comment even if you don't have a google account; just click anonymous and then sign your name so i'll know who you are. or you can email me at emily.r.bill@moody.edu. Happy Summer :)

two days until takeoff :) i found out that i will be flying from o'hare with two other interns to miami where we will meet the rest of the group and then fly together to the DR. it's always nice to not travel alone. i don't really have any other updates right now, except that i really can't believe it's finally here!

.preparations.

well, the flights are being confirmed, the passport is out, and the suitcase is getting full. it's almost time to go! last night my mom and i went to walmart and i got all sorts of fun crafts and projects for the kids that i will be working with at the summer school program at the orphanage. i have one suitcase completely full of kid stuff. last year, we did a project with googly eyes and the kids loved them, so i made sure i got a bunch! a lot of things that we take for granted like being able to buy googly eyes, pipe cleaners, or pom pom balls are such a big treat for these kids. i'm so excited to help these kids learn through the summer school program and build relationships with them.
i can't believe that i'm leaving in a few days. all semester at school i just kept thinking, "oh yeah, in the summer when i go to the DR" thinking it was so far away, but all of a sudden its here. i'm so excited, but i have to admit that i'm a little aprehensive too. i'm not really afraid of anything, its just a lot of wondering about the unknown. the life of a missionary is a life of flexibility and not always knowing exactly what is ahead, but knowing who you are following.

So....what are you doing?

Here's what the trip is looking like:
On June 16th, I fly to Miami and then Santiago, Dominican Republic with several other college interns. We will be picked up by missionaries at the airport and we will then go to a town called Jarabacoa. There is a Kids Alive school and orphanage there and that is where we will be trained for a few days. Then we will all head in different directions to several other towns in the country to partner with other Kids Alive missionaries. I will be with one other girl in Constanza working with missionaries there. Last summer I went to Constanza with my grandparents and a group from their church, so it is exciting to go back to a place where I know people and know a little about the ministry. We will be living in an apartment next door to the missionaries. Our main task is to help teach a summer school program at the Kids Alive school. I don't know a lot of details about this, but there is a curriculum we will be following and other things that we are preparing on our own. There also will be opportunities to work with the kids in the orphanage that I met last year. There may be some translation work, or helping the kids with projects to send back to their sponsors. We will also be shadowing the missionaries and helping out with the ministry in whatever way we can. I am so excited for this internship because I feel called to serve the Lord overseas and I have a passion for children at risk. I think this will be great to see what life is like on the field, missionary responsibilities, partnering with the national church, and just seeing what God is doing in the Dominican Republic, specifically in the lives of children!