In the Swing of Things

It’s been about two weeks since our last update – we really are trying to be diligent in updating our blog, but there is just so much to do that sometimes it’s hard to find time.  That reminds me of a quote I read this week in a book I’m reading by Chip Ingram called Good to Great in God's Eyes: “You’ll never have enough time in your schedule – you have to make time!”  Clearly, I need to make time to update this blog, so this is a lesson I am working to internalize. 

Rather than just tell you about what we’ve been doing this week, I am going to let some pictures (and captions) do most of the talking. 

Camping trip to "Spirit Mountain," Manabao, DR.  We stayed in these shelters last weekend on Friday and Saturday night with two other couples from school.  The view is amazing and we enjoyed a relaxing weekend.

Obligatory campfire picture.  We camped with Rob and Meghan (R) and Keith and Kerrie (L)



Christen enjoying the great swing at Spirit Mountain....



.....And the view while on the swing!  Amazing

This is the view from our bedroom door that we get to enjoy each and every morning.  I don't think it will ever get old!

This week, I want to share a bit about our work here so that you get an idea of what we do in a typical week. 

Christen has been busy teaching and is really getting into the swing of things in the classroom.  She is doing a great job with her middle school students.  The highlight of teaching science so far this year for her has been using soccer to teach students about the scientific method.  In addition, her 9^th grade health class has been a blessing in disguise (she wasn’t especially prepared to teach this class) as her students are engaged and interested in the subject matter each time they meet.  Overall, she really appreciates the fact that she can start each day by giving her students a big hug and spend time talking about what is really going on in their lives during devotions class. 

I’ve been working on numerous projects, but one of my main thrusts thus far has been getting the school’s peso account in order so that we can have more transparent financial statements and reports this year (and in the future).   Primarily, this involves ensuring invoices go out and payments are received for tuition, class trips, and other similar items.  In addition, we are working to improve the tracking and logging of expenses and other costs the school incurs for various reasons.  Since much of this has not been done in great detail, I spend much time trying to give more granularity to the income we receive and expenses we incur on a daily, monthly, and yearly basis.

Over 50% of the students at Doulos Discovery School are on need based scholarships, which means that their families are responsible for only a small portion of the monthly tuition payments and the rest is covered by donors who “adopt” a student for a year (or typically, for several years).   In addition to a portion of the tuition, parents are required to put in a certain number of hours of sweat equity at the school doing things like cleaning, repairing broken items, cutting the grass, etc.  

Because the school relies so heavily on donors to cover student tuition and educational expenses and desires to provide the best possible education with outstanding teachers, is not financially possible to provide salaries for the North American staff members at the school.  Essentially, Doulos has decided that their mission is to provide a quality education for as many students as possible, no matter their family’s economic situation and is trusting God to provide the teachers and funds to support them.  Therefore, each staff member (yes, including us!) is responsible for raising their own financial support to fund their being at Doulos (this includes all living expenses, flights home, insurance, etc.).  

In addition to accounting for tuition payments and other receipts at the school, I am responsible for reporting to each of the missionaries (staff members) at the school the status of their support account – or the status of the account that pays their salary & living expenses – funded by their supporters.  Eventually, I will also run the payroll system for all North American staff and generate financial reports for the board and other interested parties.

As you hopefully can see from the pictures and the narrative, we’ve been quite busy and are finally settled into a “normal” schedule.  While challenges obviously present themselves daily, we continue to trust God and strive to abide in His love whatever our circumstances.  We hope and pray that you are doing well! 

SDG

PS: For those of you who asked, we will take pictures of our house THIS weekend.  Sorry for the delay!