So today is Monday! We got to go back to our sites today with the Hume group who is here for just one more week. We are seriously getting spoiled by them and are going to have a hard time letting them go. Tonight we did the servant hood challenge and again it amazed me that God can work in my heart with a simple thing as even just watching foot washing, and praising God! This night was just as great when I participated in in a few months ago if not better, completely changes you and your outlook on serving here or anywhere for that matter.
So everything is great here! Beth our other intern friend is a little under the weather and really bummed about it all so keep her in all your prayers. Other than that everything is great I guess, Genesis is amazing the kids are amazing. I am learning so much from them everyday, way more than I could ever teach them in all the time that I am here.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Day 12 and 13!
Yesterday was a fun yet exhausting day here in the Dominican. We took our team out on an excuhertion to the Upper Falls which I found was a lot easier the second time doing and for which I am thankful for. I got to sit and enjoy the veiw yesterday and I was amazed yet again at Gods beutey. We also took our team into town for some shopping and experiencing the night life of Jarabacoa. It was my first time leading a team through town and got to say it was kind of cool!
Today I got to sleep in and it was amazing!!! Cant get to used to it though tomorrow we start with our weekly rutine of wake up at 630am... Have to say that it has become part of my favorite time of day. I have been loving this Sunday! It is so relaxing and I have been able to really think about some of the things that have been on my mind lately. The quiet time that I spend here is quickly becoming a nessessity and a want for me which is so different from when I was back home. I am quickly realizing how much I was missing and how God is showing me now.
So here we go onto our third week here!
Today I got to sleep in and it was amazing!!! Cant get to used to it though tomorrow we start with our weekly rutine of wake up at 630am... Have to say that it has become part of my favorite time of day. I have been loving this Sunday! It is so relaxing and I have been able to really think about some of the things that have been on my mind lately. The quiet time that I spend here is quickly becoming a nessessity and a want for me which is so different from when I was back home. I am quickly realizing how much I was missing and how God is showing me now.
So here we go onto our third week here!
Friday, January 28, 2011
Day 11!
Well its the end of our second week here in the DR and I would have to say that it has already been a journey so far for sure! There are so many things running through my head right now I don’t know where to start, but I know I have to keep an open mind and let God work His way and me not mine.
That quote that I was talking about last night about having joy and in doing the work God has for me goes like this, "We have never let go of our plan long enough to see that Gods plan might be better than my plan. Then we have no joy because we get our plan and we find out how empty it is." I really feel like God is filling my life right now with all the things that are of Him and I have complete joy in what I am doing here and with my work especially in Genesis.
We went around the circle at our site today and shared our highlights and lowlights of the week and we had trouble coming up with lowlights! It has been such an amazing week with these students and I have felt it as much as they have if not more. Tonight we sat around the camp fire and sang a bunch of worship songs and it was really a perfect ending to the week!
There leader kind of ended with mini sermon for them but it kind of struck me as well, he said never to be content where you are in your relationship with Christ, always be striving for more. That kind of was a wake up call because for the past week I have felt content in where I am at and I am not saying that is a bad thing at all I am exactly where I am supposed to be, but I have a long way to go with my spiritual journey and it sounds weird but not being content to stay where you are at is exactly what it will take for me to keep pushing myself forward on this journey that God has put me on here in the Dominican Republic!!!
That quote that I was talking about last night about having joy and in doing the work God has for me goes like this, "We have never let go of our plan long enough to see that Gods plan might be better than my plan. Then we have no joy because we get our plan and we find out how empty it is." I really feel like God is filling my life right now with all the things that are of Him and I have complete joy in what I am doing here and with my work especially in Genesis.
We went around the circle at our site today and shared our highlights and lowlights of the week and we had trouble coming up with lowlights! It has been such an amazing week with these students and I have felt it as much as they have if not more. Tonight we sat around the camp fire and sang a bunch of worship songs and it was really a perfect ending to the week!
There leader kind of ended with mini sermon for them but it kind of struck me as well, he said never to be content where you are in your relationship with Christ, always be striving for more. That kind of was a wake up call because for the past week I have felt content in where I am at and I am not saying that is a bad thing at all I am exactly where I am supposed to be, but I have a long way to go with my spiritual journey and it sounds weird but not being content to stay where you are at is exactly what it will take for me to keep pushing myself forward on this journey that God has put me on here in the Dominican Republic!!!
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Day 10!
Wow in the double digits of being in the DR!!! I don’t think that it has really set in that I am here for so much longer but when I look around at my surroundings it seems like home already! Its going to go way to fast for me I think...
So today was another awesome day at Genesis, I am falling in love more and more with the students there as we continue to get to know each other. I am also finding our more about myself in all this... I haven’t got it all figured out but God is for sure showing me some things and is working in my life, possibly in ways that I would never have thought already. I feel like this is where I am supposed to be. It is fun to get up in the morning now and to go and do something that has meaning and gives me joy to do, reminds me of a quote I will have to get that tomorrow I don’t want to miss quote it...
Today we had our dinner in the community with our team from Hume, it was really good, and we had a lot of fun! I will be sad to see them go for sure but we only have a week in-between this one and our next outreach so it will also be nice to get some one on one with the students at Genesis as well.
Cant believe that it is Friday tomorrow already! Until then!
So today was another awesome day at Genesis, I am falling in love more and more with the students there as we continue to get to know each other. I am also finding our more about myself in all this... I haven’t got it all figured out but God is for sure showing me some things and is working in my life, possibly in ways that I would never have thought already. I feel like this is where I am supposed to be. It is fun to get up in the morning now and to go and do something that has meaning and gives me joy to do, reminds me of a quote I will have to get that tomorrow I don’t want to miss quote it...
Today we had our dinner in the community with our team from Hume, it was really good, and we had a lot of fun! I will be sad to see them go for sure but we only have a week in-between this one and our next outreach so it will also be nice to get some one on one with the students at Genesis as well.
Cant believe that it is Friday tomorrow already! Until then!
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Day 9!
So today we were a little more organized at our site, which is awesome, because I like to be organized lol! We had a good time with the kids today and got a lot accomplished with there therapy I feel. The three students that I have working with me are amazing!! They are taking to this like they have been doing it forever! They are amazing people and have an awesome heart for the Lord and it is so good to see that.
Tomorrow is a big day for us we have some meetings at the school and our regular day there. Tomorrow night we have dinner in the community which is going to be exciting! So I cant wait to share it with you all tomorrow!
Until then!
Tomorrow is a big day for us we have some meetings at the school and our regular day there. Tomorrow night we have dinner in the community which is going to be exciting! So I cant wait to share it with you all tomorrow!
Until then!
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Day 8!
Another amazing day here in the Dominican Republic! It was also our first day with the team at our sites which was really cool. This team right now is awesome they are so willing to serve, and the group that is with us at Genesis are fantastic with the kids. There are 7 of them if I can remember all there names I will be doing very well, so there is Autumn, Sarah, and Travis with me in the Physical Therapy and there is Samantha, John, Garret, and Chelsea... I think that’s right, that are working in the classrooms.
So Amy, our site leader recently took on director of Genesis which is making it more difficult for her to work in her physical therapy site, so I am helping her and kind of leading it right now...Not going to lie when I first found out I was a little nervous with that but after today and with this group I am feeling a lot more confident with it and this group from Hume makes it so much easier. They took what I had to tell them and ran with it!!!
This morning Jason (who reminds me a lot of Jeff Atherton) lead devotions on Luke 8, "The Parable of the Sower." He put it in a way that I had never thought about it before and hit home ending it by saying "never forget where you came from." Meaning we can go out and sow the seeds and they will fall on all 4 of the soils, but if we are not right inside, with our heart for the Lord, how can we expect to do His work well and plant the seed to grow if we ourselves are not growing...We were all there at some point in our lives, we were and are all sinners. I have been also reading the book of Ephesians and chapter 2 talks a lot about this. In being one with Christ, verse 4,-5 "But because of his great love for us, God who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in our transgressions- It is by grace you have been saved.
On a fun note for tonight, it was culture night for the team and our first one as interns! Let me just tell you... SO much fun! After a few minuets of trying to remember the Meringue Jeff and I finally figured it out and had a blast! I think it might become my favorite night to watch teams as well. Another side note, you can actually see the stars here at night. Sitting up and looking at them tonight was definitely one of my highlights so far, and "God of Wonders" comes to mind. God is truly amazing!
So until tomorrow, hasta luego!
So Amy, our site leader recently took on director of Genesis which is making it more difficult for her to work in her physical therapy site, so I am helping her and kind of leading it right now...Not going to lie when I first found out I was a little nervous with that but after today and with this group I am feeling a lot more confident with it and this group from Hume makes it so much easier. They took what I had to tell them and ran with it!!!
This morning Jason (who reminds me a lot of Jeff Atherton) lead devotions on Luke 8, "The Parable of the Sower." He put it in a way that I had never thought about it before and hit home ending it by saying "never forget where you came from." Meaning we can go out and sow the seeds and they will fall on all 4 of the soils, but if we are not right inside, with our heart for the Lord, how can we expect to do His work well and plant the seed to grow if we ourselves are not growing...We were all there at some point in our lives, we were and are all sinners. I have been also reading the book of Ephesians and chapter 2 talks a lot about this. In being one with Christ, verse 4,-5 "But because of his great love for us, God who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in our transgressions- It is by grace you have been saved.
On a fun note for tonight, it was culture night for the team and our first one as interns! Let me just tell you... SO much fun! After a few minuets of trying to remember the Meringue Jeff and I finally figured it out and had a blast! I think it might become my favorite night to watch teams as well. Another side note, you can actually see the stars here at night. Sitting up and looking at them tonight was definitely one of my highlights so far, and "God of Wonders" comes to mind. God is truly amazing!
So until tomorrow, hasta luego!
Monday, January 24, 2011
Day 7!
Well we have been here for a week! I cant belive it... We will start getting into our ministry sites this week and I cant wait to see all the kids again! Our first outreach group got here today as well, they are with a program that is through Hume Lake, I belive the Joshua program, that could be compleatly wrong, but its cool because they are all coming from what could be our "backyard" in California! I am excited to get to know them and the group that will be working with us in Genesis.
So there are a lot of people here. When they said 60 people I was like oh cool this will be an experience! To see them all in the dinning room is another story it is loud! Which is a change from the past week but it is nice to have people around, probably wont get to know all of them for sure but a great way to start off our spring program here in the DR!
It was such a deja vue moment when all the team arrived today in the vans, and I have to keep telling myself that I am an intern now, and wont be leaving when this outreach is done in two weeks. So ready or not here we go again!
So there are a lot of people here. When they said 60 people I was like oh cool this will be an experience! To see them all in the dinning room is another story it is loud! Which is a change from the past week but it is nice to have people around, probably wont get to know all of them for sure but a great way to start off our spring program here in the DR!
It was such a deja vue moment when all the team arrived today in the vans, and I have to keep telling myself that I am an intern now, and wont be leaving when this outreach is done in two weeks. So ready or not here we go again!
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Day 6!
Its such a relaxing Sunday afternoon here in the intern house, which is going to be nice before tomorrow starts with our first outreach. Church was great this morning and I found myself understanding a lot more of the sermon than I thought I would but I still have a long way to go, another goal of mine before my time here is over. So yea not a whole lot going on here today.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Day 5!
This week seems to have gone by very slow!!! This is a good thing! This place, this city, Jarabacoa, Dominican Republic is very quickly becoming my home, I love it here and the people here are amazing. It has been great this week seeing the city and getting to know our way around the town and our sites and I cant wait to dive into it on Teusday. I am kinda bumbed that it is a four day weekend here and that I cant go back to work on Monday. This would never be the case back home in Cali lol!
As for today, Josh and Vicki took us up to the Upper Falls, one that I have not been to before in previous outreaches. We drove up the mountain again in the bed of the truck, love it, to where we needed to start our hike. We climbed down the mountain, into this beutifull canyon like place where if you looked you were surrounded by walls of tree and vine covered rock, seriously something out of a movie! We had lunch here and talked a little about what we were going to be doing with this next outreach comming through. Can I just tell you I am really excited to have them come! I know what God can do in this place and I want everyone to experience it for themselves.
So once you go down a mountain you eventually have to go back up it... not one of my favorite things to do but I am proud to say that I made it! (with a little stop and go lol) We will see if I do it again though might need to walk up and down our little hill behind the base a few more times. You deffinatly know that it is Saturday when you can take a nap which was the first thing I did when I got back from that!
I am reading this book that a great friend of mine gave me "An Invitation to a Journey" and one thing that I have gotten from it today is that in order to be doing the work that God is calling you to do you have to be being in Him, in a relationship with Him. The book puts it better and I had never thought of it in the way the auther explained it. So I want to be compleatly being before I do and that is going to be a goal of mine for the next several months here in the DR. Listening and letting Him take compleat control.
Tonight was so much fun!! After dinner we went over to Josh and Vicki's, Jeff drove lol, and we played a few games. I love hanging out with them here they are to fun!
As for today, Josh and Vicki took us up to the Upper Falls, one that I have not been to before in previous outreaches. We drove up the mountain again in the bed of the truck, love it, to where we needed to start our hike. We climbed down the mountain, into this beutifull canyon like place where if you looked you were surrounded by walls of tree and vine covered rock, seriously something out of a movie! We had lunch here and talked a little about what we were going to be doing with this next outreach comming through. Can I just tell you I am really excited to have them come! I know what God can do in this place and I want everyone to experience it for themselves.
So once you go down a mountain you eventually have to go back up it... not one of my favorite things to do but I am proud to say that I made it! (with a little stop and go lol) We will see if I do it again though might need to walk up and down our little hill behind the base a few more times. You deffinatly know that it is Saturday when you can take a nap which was the first thing I did when I got back from that!
I am reading this book that a great friend of mine gave me "An Invitation to a Journey" and one thing that I have gotten from it today is that in order to be doing the work that God is calling you to do you have to be being in Him, in a relationship with Him. The book puts it better and I had never thought of it in the way the auther explained it. So I want to be compleatly being before I do and that is going to be a goal of mine for the next several months here in the DR. Listening and letting Him take compleat control.
Tonight was so much fun!! After dinner we went over to Josh and Vicki's, Jeff drove lol, and we played a few games. I love hanging out with them here they are to fun!
Friday, January 21, 2011
Day 4!
Today was a really fun laid back kind of day... We got to sleep in! None of the sites are open today or on Monday because of a holiday here in Jarabacoa. We deffinatly took our time getting up and going this morning before we headed out on an excursion with Josh and Vicki to the lower falls. Its a pretty hike and the waterfall at the end of it is pretty cool! We stopped and had lunch at "the beach"(what the locals call it here), for a while and just talked and got to know eachother a little more.
We also went around the city to see where all the sites are located and got to know the town and country side a little more, all while riding in the bed of the blue truck. It was a little bumpy going up to Mata Gorda and Los Higos, and we might have gotten a little more sun than we wanted but it was so fun!
I love the quiet around here too, but we decided it would be fun to watch a movie this afternoon, Lion King 1 1/2, Kam you will appriciate this! As for tonight we will have dinner and maybe play a card game or two and have some laughs!
So to add we had dinner upstairs at Lowell and Cheryl's house followed by games and deffinatly laughter!It is amazing at how close we are all becoming just after a few days! And we have so many more left!!!
We also went around the city to see where all the sites are located and got to know the town and country side a little more, all while riding in the bed of the blue truck. It was a little bumpy going up to Mata Gorda and Los Higos, and we might have gotten a little more sun than we wanted but it was so fun!
I love the quiet around here too, but we decided it would be fun to watch a movie this afternoon, Lion King 1 1/2, Kam you will appriciate this! As for tonight we will have dinner and maybe play a card game or two and have some laughs!
So to add we had dinner upstairs at Lowell and Cheryl's house followed by games and deffinatly laughter!It is amazing at how close we are all becoming just after a few days! And we have so many more left!!!
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Day 3!
So today was the first day that we went to our sites, mine being physical and developmental theropy at the school Genesis. We arrived and were greeted by a few of the students and one of the teachers Maribel, who is the sweetest person. Our orientation consisted of walking around the school and getting aquainted with our surroundings and the students who are adorrable and make me laugh. First thing this morning a girl named Milldrid came up to me and gave me a hug and continued to climb and sit on my lap. She is the cutes thing ever! Because we really didnt have any theropy sessions planed today I sat in on Maribels class of students which was so much fun! I helped this little girl with her math homework and I feel bad but I couldn't understand the name she gave me so I will try again tomorrow. In the next few weeks when we have teams I will be helping Amy out a lot with the theropy aspects of the school as well as getting to know the students comming through. I am really excited to see all the groups this year and be able to interact with them.
After a wonderful lunch of rice, beans, and chicken, the traditional meal here, and it was delicious, we finished out our day in the class rooms untill the students started to leave for home. We had some down time before dinner tonight so we took the hike up the path behind the base, and it is a hike uphill but totally worth it for the view of the city!
For dinner we had Pico Pollo which is like fast food here, but it is chicken strips and tostonas which are fried plantains (dont know if I am spelling this all corectly or anything lol cus my computer thinks everything should be in spanish lol) and are very very good!!! Dinner was followed up by a game night at Josh and Vicki's house were I learned how not to play dutch blitz lol, and we also played a game of catch phrase also really cool!
As a day in a whole it was awsome, full of laughs with the students and Josh, Vicki, Amy and of course Jeff and Beth!! I cant wait for tomorrow. Its a holiday here so we are going to drive around the mountain and see all the sites as well as the waterfall, very cool! Have a wonderfull night and I will update you all tomorrow of my time here in the Dominican Republic!!! God is good and I cant wait to see what He all has in store for me here!
After a wonderful lunch of rice, beans, and chicken, the traditional meal here, and it was delicious, we finished out our day in the class rooms untill the students started to leave for home. We had some down time before dinner tonight so we took the hike up the path behind the base, and it is a hike uphill but totally worth it for the view of the city!
For dinner we had Pico Pollo which is like fast food here, but it is chicken strips and tostonas which are fried plantains (dont know if I am spelling this all corectly or anything lol cus my computer thinks everything should be in spanish lol) and are very very good!!! Dinner was followed up by a game night at Josh and Vicki's house were I learned how not to play dutch blitz lol, and we also played a game of catch phrase also really cool!
As a day in a whole it was awsome, full of laughs with the students and Josh, Vicki, Amy and of course Jeff and Beth!! I cant wait for tomorrow. Its a holiday here so we are going to drive around the mountain and see all the sites as well as the waterfall, very cool! Have a wonderfull night and I will update you all tomorrow of my time here in the Dominican Republic!!! God is good and I cant wait to see what He all has in store for me here!
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Day 2!
Another awsome day here in the DR!! We got up and an amazing breakfast lol made by Cheryl. We then had our orientation and went out into the city of Jarabacoa and took a walk around the city!!! I so much love it here! We also had lunch in town at El Patio which was very good had Chicken cordon bleu kinda American but it was really good lol! We also got to see where we will be working during our time here in the DR. I will be at the special education school Genesis doing developmental theropy with the kids and working along side Amy Green!! I am beyond excited to start this tomorrow! Our night was really cool too... we got to participate in the staff Bible study and Nate, I belive the site director here, had us write down some of our hopes and goals for this year and it gave me time to really think about what I want to get out of my time here. We then all as a staff took communion and it was a really great experience to be apart of. So far this has been an just an awsome experience and I am saying awsome so many times but it really really is! Oh and just to add the other two interns Jeff and Beth are awsome as well lol to many laughs already I can tell it is going to be a great spring for us!!! Cant wait to tell you all about tomorrow!!
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
We Made it!!!
Well we made it to the DR this afternoon!!! Everything went great with our flights except one minor delay in New York, so thats deffinalty a praise! We got here and were able to settle in and adjust to our surroundings which are pretty awsome, we are blessed to have such living! The weather here is great cant complain to much with it being in he 80's and the humidity not as bad as it could be for sure! So I am taking it all in and enjoying my relaxing first day here in the DR!!
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Here we go!
Well it has been a journey for me to get to this point. God has taken me down a path that six months ago I would not have even considered. On Monday I leave for the Dominican Republic! I truly believe that I am following the path that God had put down in front of me and can not wait to see what He has in store for me there. In the next 7 months I hope to share with you what God is doing in my life as well as every day happenings of my life in the DR! I am excited beyond words, so ready or not here we go!!!
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