last day in constanza

today we are wrapping things up here. weve done some gift shopping and we are going to clean our apartment, pack, and then go spend the afternoon with the kids. we made them cookies and have cards and gifts for each of them. they will be so surprised! then we say goodbye tonight because we leave early tomorrow morning for jarabacoa. yesterday, sarah and i decided to have our own church service and it was one of my favorite memories here. we went up to the roof of our apartment with our ipods and sang worship songs together and then we went through each kid at the ark and prayed for them individually. it was so wonderful to bring these kids before the Lord and really pray specifically for them. Its easy to say a big blanket prayer for all of them, but with as well as we know them, it was great to pray different things for each one because they are all so different. i have loved my time here in constanza teaching the kids and learning more about the dominican culture. The Lord has strengthened my faith and taught me how to trust him more. My worldview has expanded and my love for missions has grown. I want to thank all of you who have been reading this and praying so faithfully. It really makes all the difference and I feel so supported and encouraged. Im excited to tell stories and share pictures!

i really cant believe that we´re done teaching. friday was our last day. it was really special because thursday and friday the kids were on like the best behavior that they have been this whole time. it was a great way to end. then last night we had a pizza party at the site with all the kids. they loved pizza...oh my gosh, this one kid grabbed a stack of like six or seven pieces and just had the biggest smile on his face. then we played in the dark and took a ton of pictures. it was so fun to have a going away bash without having to say goodbye just yet. today we are having lunch with a missionary, then doing some souvenier shopping and working out. sunday is church and chill, and then monday is cleaning our apartment, packing, and saying our goodbyes. Gods timing is so perfect because last week i was definetly not ready to leave or be done, but now its just the right time. it will be very sad and hard to leave, but im ready to be home. the Lord has taught me so much about him on this trip, especially about his faithfulness in every situation and teaching me to trust him with the big things and the small things because he is in it all. if you could pray that the last few days would be filled with showing Gods love right up to the end and that the goodbyes wouldnt be too hard. i have a feeling that there will be a lot of tears...

hello

hey there. sorry its been awhile. today is our morning off and then we have the afternoon with the big group of kids. then we only have two more days of curriculum! crazy...we think that we leave on tuesday to go to jarabacoa and the beach and then i fly home on thursday. this has been such a rewarding experience. it has been amazing to see some changes in kids over this month. one girl who is really spunky and gave us a run for our money for the longest time, is starting to have a change of heart. the other day she started listening to us and obeying the first time, and she was being so kind to her brothers and sisters. i really affirmed her good behavior and we talked about the fruit of the spirit in her life. its so neat to see God work in a childs heart. ive also been reading whats so amazing about grace by phillip yancy. wow that is a great book and it has been really helpful for me to think more about grace, and being here it has really hit home. Gods grace is amazing. it costs everything for the giver and nothing for the reciever.

last week

hey frienders
i cant believe that we only have one more week of teaching. this week was a lot of fun with the kids and a team that was here. on friday they left and said all their goodbyes. it was really strange to be on the other end of that, to see the team and the kids crying, but to not be part of the leaving. i really cant imagine what next week is going to be like when we leave. im very sad already. on wednesday, the team did a program for the kids and i was able to do a lot of translating, and i´ve also had a few other translating opportunities for the team. that is something that i really enjoy doing. last night we had a girls night with libby, the missionary, and had dinner and watched chick flicks..it was a lot of fun. today the other interns might come but we´re not sure, and then tomorrow we have church and then i think relaxing or going out and exploring. im loving getting to know the kids and the missionaries better and learning more about the ministry. the Lord has been so near to me. please pray that for this last week, i will make the most of every minute to share Christ´s love with the kids, that i will be encouraging to the people i work with, and that i will be listening to the Lord for things that he wants me to do this week. See you all soon.

hello all...well i dont really have any earth shattering news or exciting updates today. we had a great morning with the kids though and things continue to go well with the summer school. tonight we are going to movie night at the ark. they are going to bring a projector and put a sheet on a wall outside and we will watch a movie with all the kids. im sure it will be a blast. the Lord continues to be faithful and is providing for my every need.

last night, a missionary from another organization came to hang out with the team. she shared her testimony and the story of how she got here. it was so encouraging. one really neat quote that she shared that i just cant get out of my mind is this. a missionary is just a nobody serving a somebody. and that doesnt just go for someone with the missionary title, shouldnt we as christians be living like that too...

we just got back from a great morning with the kids. the book for this week is called the little white duck and we are learning about pond animals. one activity was to play follow the leader and act out animals. so we were running around the houses acting like butterflies, frogs, fish, and ducks. it was really fun. this weekend was really fun. we were able to relax and get some things done on saturday and then go out for pizza and watch princess bride with the team that is here, and then on sunday we went to church and then went to the waterfall with the house of kids that didnt go last week. the water is freezing cold, but of course the kids jumped right in! yesterday i was able to call my family for the first time in four weeks! it was so great to hear their voices.

fin de semana

good morning. it looks like today will be a nice break and a chance to get some laundry, cleaning, and shopping done. tonight we are going out for pizza and watching a movie with the team that is here and the missionaries so that will be really fun. well also be doing planning for this next week and getting our apartment ready for a girl who will be staying with us these last two weeks. pray that i would treasure every moment here and make the most out of every opportunity to serve. peace out.

hello all. today was a good day. our morning went really well and the kids were much calmer than yesterday which was a blessing. we had some people from a work team over to our apartment for lunch so that was fun to be little hostesses! we also found out that some of the interns that are in jarabacoa might come to constanza next weekend to come hang out and go hiking. that would be so much fun! this weekend looks pretty busy as another team is coming and we are going to be doing some prep work for a sponsorship program. then on sunday i think we are going to the waterfalls again with the other house of kids which will be so fun. they have been counting down the days. ive been able to talk with the missionaries and other people and ask a lot of questions and learn about their ministry experience and ask for advice. im really trying to seek counsel on what to do from here and i got some great advice yesterday. a few people encouraged me to keep trying all different kinds of ministries, maybe even do something that doesnt involve kids, or go to europe or africa, just see whats out there and where my nitch is. so im just continuing to ask God to show me where i should go and what i should be thinking about for the future. i know that he will show me the way and i just need to be patient and trusting. its really exciting to dream and wonder about where God might take me!

cant believe how the time has flown by

hello all...
i just cant believe that its thursday. time seems to fly here. we have tomorrow and then only two more weeks of teaching the kids...ahhh so crazy...im trying to treasure every moment because they seem to be flying by so quickly. we had a little bit of a crazy morning with the kids. but overall they have been so good. we just had an off day today. hopefully in the afternoon they will be a little more calm. haha. i think this afternoon we are also going on a barrio tour, which is going to an extremely poor neighborhood and looking around and maybe visiting a family. it is such an eye opening experience and the poverty is unbelievable. hey i found out some great news yesterday. all the children at the ark (the orphanage) need 8 sponsors and as of yesterday, all the children are fully sponsored. praise God! now they will be looking for more sponsors in the fall when the care center opens for the kids that will be coming to school. im getting to know the kids really well and i feel like im past the stage of oh theyre so cute and this is just so fun to actually knowing them, knowing what makes them tick, seeing them in different situations, and really being heartbroken over them, i mean dont get me wrong i still think theyre cute and that it is fun, but being with them for a longer time has really given me a different perspective. hope everyone is doing well. thanks for all the comments...so encouraging!

waterfalls.

happy monday! i was so excited to go back to the summer school program today. its great to have weekends off to relax and get geared up again, but by monday im so ready to get back into it. we had a great weekend. we watched the missionarys kids all day on saturday and played rummy royal, a crazy game called heroscape and then watched starwars. on sunday we met the team and had a little worship service at the team house. its sarahs home church so its cool that she is close with all of them and it was great to meet them. then we packed up and headed to aguas blancas waterfall. so we all loaded in the back of the truck, and by all i mean like 15 americans and then the kids from the green house, it was so packed, kids sitting on laps, people squished, but so so fun. the drive was a little over an hour up the mountain with a beautiful view. then we got to the waterfall and it was just breathtaking. the kids got in the water and splashed around a little, we took a lot of pictures, and then had a picnic lunch. on the way back, many of the kids fell asleep in our laps. then we had dinner with the team and a time of worship. it was such a neat time and i have missed singing in english with other believers. then dave went through and gave us all the stories of the kids at the orphanage. for privacy protection reasons, i cant share any of the stories on here, but let me just tell you that it is unbelievable. these kids have been through some of the worst situations i have ever heard of. many of these stories i hadnt known yet, but ive been working with these kids for two weeks and ive noticed some things that after hearing the stories start to make more sense. i almost started crying when dave was telling us about some of these dear ones. its amazing to see them now, see how the Lord has rescued them from the pit and used people to show them love and bring them healing. knowing their past gives me more of a burden to show as much love, patience, and compassion as i possibly can. i have to give them all the love i can possibly squeeze out of my heart. its hard when you think about how easy we have things and how we grew up in a safe place with a loving family and then other kids just didnt. but praise God that they are in a loving home now.

funny fourth of july celebration story...last night two other interns and I went to a little cafe called cafeteria saray for the best chicken sandwiches and strawberry smoothies! then we had to go to the team house (house where american teams stay when they come) to pick up a matress for an intern that is spending the weekend with us. so, im sure we were quite a sight...three girls carrying a matress down the road! haha...and then we ran into our mormon friends who we met a couple weeks ago. we´ve had some really interesting discussions with them, but anyway, we saw them on the road last night, so its us five americans standing on the side of the road, with a matress, in constanza, wishing each other a happy fourth of july! its just a funny picture...today i think we will be doing childcare for the marriage conference that is coming up. i am loving every minute of my time here but it seems to be flying by. we only have three more weeks of teaching...i really dont want to think about leaving, so im trying to make the most of every moment that im here! peace out...

happy fourth of july

hey frienders...happy fourth! we are gearing up for a big weekend. tonight and tomorrow there is a marriage conference here in constanza and we might be helping with childcare and then tomorrow a team is coming from sarahs church. then on sunday, we have church and then were going to the waterfalls! im so excited. things in the summer school program are going really well. i cant believe that today marks the end of the second week of teaching. it is flying by. we are also getting to know the kids a lot better and its really exciting to see changes in some of them. one girl in particular was struggling at the beginning, but her whole spirit has changed. now, she is very affectionate, smiling, and has a peace about her that we didnt see two weeks ago. the Lord is changing all of us, isnt he? a few prayer requests. this weekend the name of the game will be flexibility. pray that the Lord would wipe away our selfishness and make us into servants willing to do whatever. no task is to big or too small. also pray that we would continue to be an encouragement to the people we work with and that we will reflect christ.

loving without conditions

its easy to love the lovely, well dressed, healthy, and kind. but are they the ones that desperately need to be shown love? please pray that i would show the same unconditional love that christ has shown me to those who need someone to just hug them or rub their back no matter how they look, how sick they are, or how they act. today was a battle...i kept reminding myself that jesus loves the least of these.

its me again

good morning! i just wanted to say thanks to all of you who have been reading, praying, and leaving comments. i really feel so loved and supported. thank you for all your prayers. the Lord has been faithful to provide for my every need, seriously, its mind boggling the way that he takes care of every little detail. well, this morning im sitting at a new internet cafe that im pretty excited about. the one i had been going to kept kicking me off the internet and randomly didnt work, so i think this one will work better. we have wed. mornings off, so we have some free time and then a meeting and then this afternoon we are with the kids from the orphanage and other kids from the community for a big play time. my favorite part of being here is the morning time with the 16 kids from the orphanage. they love what they are learning and i love seeing them excited about the bible, reading books, and doing crafts. yesterday, we were reading a book about animals and then the craft was to make lion masks out of paper plates. making the craft was a little hectic, but they were so cute. we took a picture with all the kids holding up their masks. many of them have not done too many arts or crafts, so getting out even simple things like paint, paintbrushes, paper plates, colored pencils, and scissors is a pretty big deal! I have to tell you that the Lord has just been so faithful to us. he is increasing my faith and he has never left us alone, he has always provided for us. i just cant get past this lesson....the lord is my strong tower, in him i take refuge! blessings from constanza