Reflections from Fall Semester

Some of you may have realized that you haven’t heard a whole lot from me (Christen) this past semester; whether it was my lack of blog updates, emails, or phone calls.  I apologize for being so distant – that was not my intention.  We began preparing for the school year in August and I feel like I have been running on pure adrenaline ever since then!  As most of you know, I am pregnant and due this March.  It has been such a joy going through the different phases in this process and learning to trust the Lord when I clearly have no control over my situation.  The month of August was a rough one for me though, filled with nausea, vomiting, and being way too tired.  Plus I was scared all the time – how much of what I was feeling was because I was pregnant?  What if I had eaten something bad and that’s why I wasn't feeling well and it was hurting the baby?  Is this how you’re supposed to feel when you’re pregnant?  My mom never really experienced much sickness while being pregnant and I figured that it would be the same for me – man was I wrong about that one!  It doesn't help that my doctor speaks only a few words of English and I am in a developing country – it was very easy to let fear begin to sink in and take hold of my life.  On top of all these crazy changes going on in my body, I had a school year to prepare for.  They don’t teach you what the first week of school is supposed to look like in student teaching and I feel like last year I failed at it miserably.  My goal this year was to present a clear classroom management system that would help students know my expectations in all situations and more time would be spent learning instead of dealing with behavior problems.  Any time I was not sleeping (whether on a couch or the desks in my classroom), I was figuring out just how I would communicate that to my middle school students. 

A constant theme for me this past semester was how God is so faithful.  It seemed that whenever I was lacking something – whether ideas in the classroom or rest – He would provide; it was just a matter of my asking Him and giving up my control to allow God to take the lead.  One of these ideas came in my classroom management.  Last year was a huge learning experience for me and I felt like my classroom management was constantly changing – I never had a clear set of expectations for my students.  This year I spent the first week of school clearly communicating to my students what I would be expecting of them this semester from their behavior to school work and how I would be pushing them not only in science but also in their English development.  I am confident that my classroom management has been an area of success for me this year because of my ability to listen to God’s voice and allow Him to be in control in my classroom!

I had three classes to prepare for this semester – 6^th grade devotionals, 6^th grade physical science, and 7^th grade Earth science.  I figured planning would be a breeze this year compared to last year since I've done it all once before, right?  Wrong!  As I took out my plans from last year and began to prepare for this year, I realized even though everyone else thought I had everything together last year, I really didn't.  My plans seemed like a big joke to me!  What had I done?  My students must not have learned anything!  There was so much to change, so much to improve upon.  I instantly began to recognize my need to completely re-vamp all I had done last year.  I realized that this second year of teaching that I thought would be such a breeze was actually going to be filled with many nights and weekends of taking work home.  Although there was so much to change I found that I was able to create clear learning targets for my students that were actually aligned with curriculum standards.  There was some awesome learning that went on in the classroom this fall where students were active participants instead of instruction being teacher-centered.  It’s amazing the amount of learning that takes place when students are active learners instead of just waiting for the teacher to feed them information!

Last year my least favorite class to teach was my 6^th grade devotionals class – probably because I had never done anything like that before and really felt unqualified to do it.  It is tough when it’s just you coming up with curriculum and the Bible is so vast – where do you begin?  And what do 6^th graders need to know?  This year, to help me be a little more on top of my game, I met early in the year with our discipleship director, Patrick Pace, and asked him for some advice.  I knew the theme I wanted to incorporate for the year – What is true about God? – But how do I teach that?  Last year we received training from ACSI (Association of Christian Schools International) for Biblical integration in our classrooms – he suggested I start with that.   We began the year discussing what is truth?  What is the difference between absolute and relative truth?  Then we started to dive into the Bible and see what is true about God, creation, mankind, moral order, and purpose.  Students learned specific biblical principles that they will (hopefully) begin to look for in their content classes and the world around them.  We closed out the semester by talking about what is true about the Nativity story – many kid’s (and our own) perceptions of Christmas are skewed by gifts and stories of Santa Claus they have heard growing up – but we looked deeper at what events really took place leading up to, during, and after the birth of Christ.  I plan to continue the theme of “Truth” when we return from the holidays as we dive into the Gospel of John.  

As many of you may remember, Doulos is an expeditionary learning school.  Each semester students have a unit of focused study that involves learning through experience whether that is field work or learning from experts in a particular area of study and culminates in a night of celebration sharing work with parents, community members, and Doulos staff.  This semester I was tasked with being in charge of two expeditions at once.  7^th grade would be focusing on a unit on caves which was the same as last year; however, 6^th grade’s expedition changed this year and it was my job to create/plan their new, more curriculum-aligned expedition.  I already knew that there was much I wanted to improve upon for the 7^th grade cave expedition.  I wanted it to be much more curriculum-based instead of purely informational.  With help from our new Curriculum Coach, Danae LeMoine, I was able to focus our cave unit on building upon what students had learned throughout the semester.  By activating prior knowledge, students were able to apply what they knew about Earth’s waters, rocks and minerals, weathering and erosion to help them learn more deeply about caves.  We were unable to find any cave experts this year to talk with students but were still able to visit a cave on the North Coast which included a lagoon that you could zipline into!  The kids had a great time and it was so fun to see them applying what they learned as they saw in real life the different cave features that we had been discussing in the classroom.  Our final product was a brochure that the students created for the Cave we visited (Cueva Dudu) that will be passed out to future visitors.  Expedition night found our students acting as tour guides for the life-size model cave they created in a corridor behind our amphitheater.  Students did an awesome job and took so much ownership of their work – I hardly oversaw any of their work but was so impressed with the quality of what they did.

7th grade students in front of the entrance to the cave

Students swimming in the lagoon and checking out the underwater  stalagmites

Abel jumping from the zipline!

The life-size cave model packed full with Middle School students!

Although the 6^th grade expedition was a work in progress and there is much to be improved upon for next year, it still was very successful.  Students were able to apply what they had learned about energy transfer and use the steps of the scientific method to help them investigate applicable questions on energy.  Students were able to plan an experiment and test their hypothesis thanks to a ton of collaboration from my fellow middle school teachers.  Their final product was a brochure they made for parents with recommendations of different products that used less energy (light bulbs, fans, vehicles, batteries, etc.) based on their findings.  Students also wrote lab reports that were based on high school requirements and made exposition posters that shared their work in Spanish for their parents.

Annaly, David, and Frandi comparing amperage between an incandescent and CFL lightlbulb.

Ariela, Marcos, Heidi comparing amperage between a box fan and rotating fan.

Maria Jose and Ashley compared MPG between cars with a diesel and gasoline engine.

6th grade students presenting their findings

Overall the semester went great.  Although it required a lot of work and I was exhausted all of the time, it was so awesome to hear students literally PLEADING with me to give them a test because they understood the learning targets!  It was also amazing to see our community rise up to help me in any way they could, whether it was for expedition night, lesson planning, or a friend being there when it had been a tough day.  Finally, I felt most blessed to have Joe.  His support this past semester has been unmatchable.  Many nights I would come home, unable to do anything but lay on the couch.  He would take care of dinner, take care of dishes, our dog, and sometimes even help me grade papers.  I am constantly amazed by the love Joe has for me and the servant leader he is in our family and at our school.  God has truly blessed me and I cannot help but give Him thanks for all I have!   My prayer is that you would experience His abounding love as I have and pass it on to others.  Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Joe, me, and snowflake baby B at a Christmas party!

I am Pharoah

Several weeks ago, I was reading the story of the Israelites leaving the land of Egypt and their exodus from the slavery they suffered under the Pharoah.  As I read through the plagues suffered by the Egyptians and the terrible circumstances they endured before finally (reluctantly) allowing the Israelites to leave, I starting to feel a little bit sorry for them.  Yes, they had subjected the Israelites to harsh treatment, killed Israelite male babies, and probably been involved in countless other examples of incredibly poor treatment of God’s people. 

The Great Pyramids of Egypt

But did they really deserve to have ALL of their water turned to blood?  To be covered in frogs?  In gnats?  Or flies?   To watch all of their livestock fall sick and die?  Be covered in boils?  To have most of their crops destroyed by hail?   Then, the remaining crops eaten by locusts?  To live in complete darkness for 3 full days?  Witness the death of their firstborn?  When I list it out, it sure sounds like a LOT to endure, right?   

Silly Pharoah, just let the people go!

However, as I looked deeper, God spoke a truth to me.  Time and again, after God had given a respite from a particular plague, Pharoah hardened his heart and denied the immense power that God had just demonstrated.  He promised to release God’s people, but as soon as the hard times had passed, he decided that he just enjoyed having the Israelites around to do his bidding too much to let them go freely.  Surely what he and his people had just endured was the worst they would see.  Then came the next plague and again, he would remember his own insufficiency to protect both him and his people from whatever the “plague du jour”  was.  He begged Moses to pray to his God to deliver them from whatever they were suffering.  Then, wash, rinse and repeat, he hardened his heart and refused to release the Israelites from their bondage.  How dense could Pharoah have been? 

As I reflected further, God revealed a second truth to me.  I DO THE SAME THING!!!  I am the same as Pharoah.  I’ve never had to endure a river of blood or watch all of my livestock die – shoot, I don’t even have any livestock – but I act the same way.  God has blessed me so abundantly and when things are easy, my mind wanders to what I don’t have that I think for some reason I need.  What am I missing out on?  Where could I find “X”?  My heart is hardened just like Pharaoh’s was.   When things are hard, I turn to God and ask Him to get me out of this situation, to relieve the pain, to take this obstacle out of my path.  And when he does, how do I respond?   I return to complacency and my heart is yet again hardened.  

My prayer is to live consistently – that I will give thanks, rejoice, and be content in the good times but also that I will persevere and trust our good, all-powerful, and loving God when I go through trials of all kinds.  Solely by God's grace is this great challenge possible.  Will you join me in this prayer today and ask God to soften our hearts and continue to mold them for his purposes?

Soli Deo Gloria (To God ALONE be the glory)

Work Team, Anniversary, Year Two, and MORE! (Aug and Sep 2012)

It's been a busy two months since returning to the DR at the end of July.  Here's a brief recap and some pictures:

From July 22 - August 1st, Joe hosted a work team of 20 high school students and 5 leaders from Hill Country Bible Church in Pflugerville, TX (just outside of Austin if you're as confused by the name as I was).  It was an absolute pleasure to serve alongside this group and get to know them during their ten days in Jarabacoa.  They did a great deal of work both on the new classrooms on our schools campus as well as helping prepare the campus for the new school year.  Although it's a lot of work and long hours hosting a group, both Christen and I came away feeling refreshed, rejuvenated and encouraged by all of the good folks from Pflugerville that gave of their time to serve alongside us at Doulos!  Thank you HCBC leaders and students!

Giving HCBC group a campus tour - at this point of the construction site

After a long week of work, the building and construction site looked a LOT different!

On their final night in town, the group prayed for us as we began our second year.
The entire week with this work team was an incredible blessing!

Saying farewell to a great group of folks at the Santiago airport.

Immediately after dropping the work team off at the airport on Wednesday, August 1st, Joe joined the rest of the Doulos staff for our annual two week orientation.  This time included days of service preparing our campus for the new school year, reviewing school policies with both new and old staff, and professional development days to help teachers get back in the mindset of educating and equipping servant leaders at Doulos for another year.  We wrapped up our two weeks with a staff retreat outside of town at our director's home in the mountains.  It was a great way to refocus our vision on Christ and remember why we all have been called to serve at Doulos.

Before our second school year started, we celebrated our four year wedding anniversary.  As we reflected back on the past four years, we thought about all of the people who have challenged, encouraged, and been a part of our marriage and were reminded again of how truly blessed we've been.  So, thank you for being a part of our lives and the role of encouragement you've played!  

Celebrating four years of wedded bliss!  (at least most of the time, anyway)

School started on August 22nd and it's been non-stop as usual!  Just a few days into the new school year, both Christen and our Managing Director, Tim, celebrated their birthdays.  In typical Doulos fashion we held a joint theme party for the event.  You may remember that last year, we did a GI Joe party (if not, you can read about that one here).  This year, the theme was "The '70s," and boy, were there some great outfits!

Christen, me, and Keren (our Exec. Dir. Krista's daughter) at the '70s party

Tim and Whitney's adorable flower child, Charlotte

The Brady Bunch even made an appearance!

Since then, we've had our first visitors for this school year - Joe's parents came through from September 10-24th.  It was a great time visiting with them and we even got to share in the celebration of Joe's dad's 60th birthday!  For the special occasion, my mom took us all to a beautiful restaurant up in a very nice development called "Jamaca de Dios" (or, God's Hammock) with a great view of the entire Cibao valley that surrounds us.  It was a very special time spent together.  We also put them to work during their time here - dad fixed up and painted a room at school during his week here and mom helped Christen in her classroom both weeks AND made us some curtains for our guest room that any and all visitors will very much enjoy in the future!  Thanks, mom and dad!

The view from Jamaca de Dios.  Impressive.

Happy 6-0, Pops! So glad we got to celebrate with you!

One of my (Joe's) goals for this year was to hike Pico Duarte, the tallest mountain (elevation 10,128 ft)  both on the island and in the entire Caribbean.  So, two weeks ago,  several other men who work at Doulos and I embarked on a Men's Advance weekend hike to summit Pico Duarte.  We left at 5am on a Saturday morning and returned the following Monday (Sept 24th was a national holiday here) at around 4pm.  All told, we hiked a total of about 35 miles in 3 days and by the end of it, we were pretty doggone tired.  It was, however, a great trip and I am glad that I did it!  

Valle del Tetero, the beautiful valley we stayed in the first night of our hike up Pico Duarte

Scenic view along the trail

Almost there - the peak is in sight!

From the top ..... not the best view, but that's what happens when you
summit in the afternoon during an impending thunderstorm :) 

The men of Doulos after hiking Duarte!

This past week, Christen and I participated in our second "Outdoor Education Week," this year as the leaders of our particular trip.  We traveled with the 6th and 7th grade classes to the same coffee farm / camping area we went to with students last year.  It was another fantastic opportunity to interact with students.  Now that we have solid relationships established with many of them, it is all the more enjoyable to spend time with them outside of the traditional school environment and also witness growth in their lives.  

6th and 7th graders at the secret waterfall in Manabao

Christen and Joe at the waterfall

Last, but certainly not least, we are thrilled to announce to the entire blogging / facebook world, that Christen is PREGNANT!  She is now 18 weeks along and we are expecting our little bundle of joy sometime around March 10th.  To answer a few common questions: 1)We are not planning to find out the sex and 2) Yes, the baby will be born here in the DR.  Please pray that the baby continues to develop healthy and strong and that Christen has the strength to make it through her daily schedule while carrying this growing "load" :) 


Thank you for all of your love and support!  Please feel free to write, comment, facebook message, etc with news from your lives - we love to hear from you!  

Blessings, peace, and Soli Deo Gloria

Summer Rundown

It's now been over two months since our last post and with our summer coming to a close, we figured this is the perfect time to provide an update.  But bear with us, this could be a bit long........

On June 5th we left our home in the DR and began our trek to the states and the "Byker Coast-to-Coast Summer Tour 2012."  Air travel to and from the DR is fairly expensive, not because of the distance, but more so due to the fact that 1/3 of every ticket goes to cover the exorbitantly high taxes and fees that the Dominican government places on all flights entering and originating in the DR.  So, back in March as Christen and I were planning our summer travel, we found some pretty reasonable tickets which would take us directly to San Fransisco, CA with just one stop at JFK in NYC.  Unheard of for a flight from the DR to California!  With just one connection and a good price, we were sold.  However, there was one major drawback.....the flight departed Santiago, DR at 2am.  Needless to say, by the time we got to San Fransisco at 10:45am on the 5th of June, we were exhausted.  But, all in all, the first leg of our journey went well and we were happy to make it to California in just 12.5 hours of total travel time.

The next several days would be spent with Christen's family in Morgan Hill, helping to prepare for her younger sister Megan's graduation and open house.  In addition, Christen's dad, Mark, has helped with the local high school's "Safe and Sober Grad Night," an all night event at the school that is designed to keep the graduates in an environment where they can celebrate together safely and without incident.  Between helping set up for those events, we stayed very busy during our first week back in the US.

The three sisters together.  Congrats, Megan!

After the graduation and open house, the entire family (us included) packed up and left for a Hawaiian vacation to celebrate Megan's graduation.  It was a great time of relaxation and time with her family in a place that was very familiar to us - we stayed at the same Maui condos where we vacationed on our honeymoon.  It was great to revisit the island and be reminded of the beauty of that place and all of the fun we had nearly four years prior.

Beautiful Maui sunset 

Obligatory Lu'au photo :) 

After Maui, it was back to California for a couple of days, which were packed with more visits with family and friends, a trip back to Venture Christian Church (where Christen had attended when Joe was in Afghanistan) and a trip to Santa Cruz for Christen and to the Rauschnot hunting ranch for Joe.

On June 25th, we left California for Fort Walton Beach, FL to spend a few days with our good friends, Brian and Laura Nagle.  We were met at the airport by a very pregnant (8.5 months) Laura as Brian was still out of town for several job interviews. Despite missing Brian for the first day of our visit, we greatly enjoyed our time with the Nagles and even got to visit with other friends living in the Destin area one of the nights we were there.

Next we flew to Nashville, TN for the next stop of the tour in Manchester / Estill Springs Tennesee, which we previously called home before moving to the DR.  Our time in TN was excellent with visits to friends Michael, Sara, Brighton and Natalie Barnes; Eric, Katie, and Heidi Neel; Sue and Kevin Sipe; Daniel and Christy Sipe; Matt and Hollie Sipe; Alan and Faye Coleman; Buford and Carolyn Wilson; Randy and Ginny Wilson; Sabrina Wilson; Cameron and Sara Liner; Bob and Karen Nelson; Matt, Toni, Samantha, Erin, and Jessica Laubacher; and several other friends from our time at Arnold AFB in TN.  We had the opportunity to share about Doulos many times informally, but also were able to share more formally at our former church, First Baptist of Manchester, TN and at a small group fellowship time led by our friend Eric Neel.  Both were exciting opportunities to share about what God is doing through Doulos and how people can assist in the work of educating and equipping servant leaders for the DR alongside Doulos Discovery School.  Although our time in Tennessee was far too short (we are already planning on being there longer next year), we were deeply encouraged by the seemingly boundless love and support of our Tennessee family and packed up our rental car for Michigan feeling refreshed and motivated as we prepared for our second year at Doulos.

Friends Michael and Sara Barnes' adorable kids, Brighton and Natalie (with her first softball trophy!)

4th of July pig at Eric and Katie Neel's Amazing, Annual, 4th of July Extravaganza!

We spent the following two weeks near Rockford (just outside of Grand Rapids) Michigan at a cottage owned by Joe's dad and his siblings.  There we were able to spend some great time with Joe's parents and siblings and many friends and family members who live in Michigan.  Although the weather was incredibly hot  (especially the first four days when it was in the 100's every day) and the cottage is not air conditioned, we enjoyed relaxing by the lake during the day and dining with friends and family by night.  We had not been to Michigan in over two years, so it was a great time of reconnecting with many familiar faces and sharing about what God has been doing in our lives.  During our time in Michigan, we also had the great opportunity to share about our work at Doulos in front of the congregation of Seymour CRC, Joe's childhood church (from age 5-10 and again from 16-18 in Grand Rapids).  Following the service, there was a time of fellowship where we were able to connect with friends from the church and share in more depth about the DR and Doulos, which was fantastic.  A special thank you to Mrs. Barb DeKorne for arranging all of this for us!

After a great time in Michigan, we were Philly bound on a road trip with Joe's mom.  We arrived late on a Thursday night and spent the next five days preparing to head back to the DR for year two.  Amid all of the preparation, we also got to spend a good bit more time with Joe's family (sister Sarah, her husband Bruce, and niece, Eliana also live in Philly) and some AF friends stationed in the Philly area.  On Friday, July 20th, we began our trek back to the DR via JFK (this time, DIRECT to Santiago).  As we landed in the DR late Friday night, we started thinking about our next adventure - hosting a work team for the first time beginning in just under two days.  But that experience will have to wait until our next post (coming soon)........

Until then, we thank you again for reading, for being a part of our lives, and for those of you who hosted us this summer, THANK YOU again for everything!  We thank God for the great visit we had with many of you this summer and the opportunity to share about what God is doing in this unique community, through this unique school.  We are excited about year two and all of the adventures and experiences we will surely have - and we look forward to sharing them with all of you!

Soli Deo Gloria,
Joe and Christen


PS: Sorry that we don't have more photos.....we started out strong, but per our usual photographer MO, we lost steam about half way through the summer :(

Byker's Coast-to-Coast Summer Tour 2012

As promised, here's where we'll be this summer.  We'd love to see you if we're in your area!

June 5 -12 - Northern California

June 13 - 19 - Travel with Christen's family

June 20 - 25 - Northern California

June 25 - 28 - Fort Walton Beach, FL

June 28 - July 3 - Tennessee (Estill Springs / Manchester)

July 3 - 15 - Rockford, MI (and surrounding area)

July 16 - 20 - Philadelphia, PA

July 20 - Return to the DR

Email jr.byker@gmail.com or call (616) 780-7594 - we'll figure out a time to see you!  

Calling in the Bomberos

Calling in the Bomberos

There are just some things that you take for granted growing up in the United States.  Okay, maybe a lot of things, but these are a few that we have become acutely aware of during our first year in the D.R.  Homes in the US are so nicely outfitted with reliable, indoor plumbing.  They are supplied with electricity that rarely, if ever, goes out [unless you grew up in California in the 90s] and powers our every need, so long as we can afford the monthly bill.  Our cities/municipalities provide us with clean/potable water for drinking, showers, washing dishes and clothes, etc.  Those niceties, however, are rare in many parts of the world. 



Some DR power lines........not the safest looking setup, right?

The Dominican Republic is no exception - for the vast majority of people here, losing power throughout the day is normal life (“Se fue la luz!” is a daily used expression meaning “There goes the lights!”).  The DR produces most (86%) of its electricity by burning fossil fuels and the country’s power producers struggle to keep up with demand – thus frequent power outages.  Although this presents some problems (typically at night), it is more a nuisance than anything.  That is to say, one can get accustomed to using flashlights at night or taking a break from work when the power goes out. 

Water, however, is a much larger problem on the island.  Christen and I experienced the challenge of water scarcity first hand.  Over the past month as on multiple (3) occasions, we found our water cistern completely dry.  The month of April was incredibly rainy, causing the rivers in town to rise and become very dirty.  This presents problems for the water company as the water that they provide to homes and businesses is simply diverted river water stored in large reservoirs and then delivered to individual residences and businesses via aqueducts.  However, when the water is filled with sediment and other foreign objects (including trash, sticks, mud, etc), the company typically just shuts off the aqueducts rather than having to deal with stopped up water pipes, etc.  This all makes sense, but when the rain continues for two weeks straight, it presents water-users with quite a predicament!  And that is where Christen and I found ourselves just two days before her grandparents, Chuck and Helen Benjamin, were set to arrive to visit our home and see what goes on at Doulos Discovery School, where we work. 

Our patience was wearing thin on Wednesday after already having spent two days without water in the house.  We showered at friend’s homes, bought five gallon jugs of drinking water just to flush our toilets, and the dishes were piling up in the sink.  Not knowing when we would be getting water and expecting these visitors in just two days, we had to act.  

We weren't quite this bad, but it was getting there!

We knew that the firefighters in town (Los Bomberos) were capable of filling a cistern with their 2,500 gallon water truck because our school, when faced with a similar problem, has called them to provide water.  Although my Spanish is quite good, I still often struggle with understanding people whom I don’t know over the phone.  Because of this, I admittedly was a bit nervous to call the Bomberos and try to explain what we needed, where we live, and ask about the cost for this service.  In addition, Americans (Gringos) are often quoted a different price than a Dominican would be, so although I knew it would cost significantly more than our “normal” water, I wanted to make sure I wasn’t totally getting ripped off.  After rehearsing in my head what I needed to say (so that it wasn’t totally obvious that I was a dumb gringo), I called the Fire Department at about 6pm on a Wednesday.  They gave me a quote and I said, “Sure, can you come tonight!?”  They informed me that they would head our way “ahorita” (soon), which here can mean anywhere from 5 minutes to 2 hours.  Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised to see the large water truck bumping down our narrow road about 15 minutes later. Although the cost to fill the cistern was pretty steep (1,500 pesos or about $40) compared to our normal $9/month water bill, it was MORE than worth it when Christen returned home from her Bible Study that evening to see the joy on her face when she heard we again had water.  I think she almost dropped all of the dishes she had brought with her to wash at a friend’s house when I told her that the cistern was (half) full!

Although the water from the Bomberos only lasted us 3 days (we were again without water for almost two days when Christen’s grandparents were in town - they were GREAT sports about it), it was a Godsend and reminded us of the tremendous blessing it is to have grown up in a country that has an abundant water supply.  Calling the Bomberos to provide our home with water is definitely a story that we will chalk up under the category of “ONLY IN THE D.R.”!   

Thanks for reading and to those of you who support us financially especially, THANK YOU for helping to provide us with water this past month!  We are so blessed by all of you and pray for you often. 

Soli Deo Gloria

The Doulos Difference

*This is slightly dated, but is a story that we really wanted to share

If you've been reading our blog for a few months now, you probably have a good idea of what Doulos Discovery School (where Christen and I work) is all about.  However, for those newer readers, allow me to recap.  Doulos is a Christian school in the central mountain town of Jarabacoa, Dominican Republic.  In addition to being a Christian school, Doulos is an expeditionary learning school - put simply, a good portion of our students' learning comes through experience rather than simply classroom intensive instruction.  And in addition to being a Christian, expeditionary school, we are a discipleship school that seeks to educate and equip servant leaders and disciples for Christ.  And finally, in addition to being a Christian expeditionary discipleship school, we are a financial equal opportunity school.  This means that exactly half of our student body attends Doulos on need-based scholarships, while the other half of our students are full-paying. One of the main reasons that Doulos exists is to provide a faith-based community where financially privileged students interact and build strong bonds with students who have grown up in poverty - to bridge economic, cultural, and even religious divisions in the community.  

That said, I'd like to share about the experience of one particular student that we've had the opportunity to get to know in our first year here.  (I will refer to him as Josh as the pronunciation of his name will likely be confusing).


Josh grew up in Queens, NY, the son of a Dominican father and an American mother.  He visited the DR (where his dad lives) every summer and spent the rest of the year in school in New York.  Being a bright student, Josh was accepted into an Economics and Finance High School in NYC.  In addition to being a good student, Josh is a pretty decent baseball player - he is a lefty pitcher with a pretty good hook on his curve ball.  Because Dominicans idolize baseball, his father encouraged him to continue playing throughout high school.  After his sophomore year, while on his yearly trip to Jarabacoa this past summer, Josh's dad suggested that he stay for a while and work on his baseball skills - if he could improve a little, he may have a shot at making it big.  After some convincing, Josh finally agreed that it would be a good experience.  However, being a serious student, he also wanted to find a school where he could continue his studies and transfer his credits back to his US high school.  He and his dad happened upon Doulos (the only US accredited school and one of just two English/bilingual programs in town) and he enrolled for the semester. 

Little did he know the plans that God had in mind for this time beyond baseball.  Over the course of our first semester, I had the chance to interact with Josh several times and I was always impressed by his maturity and his intelligence.  He was always very thoughtful and respectful, but I honestly knew very little about him.  Then, towards the end of his time here, I had a few opportunities to actually talk to him and hear about what was going on in his life.  An amazing story emerged of a confused young man who grew up not knowing anything about Christ.  However, through the unlikely experience of coming to the Dominican for several months, God worked mightily in his life and He came to accept Christ.  He often told people "I thought I was coming here to play baseball, but God had much different plans for me.  Now I am a part of a much bigger story." Not only did his testimony give me (and all of our staff) great joy, but the way that his entire class rallied around and encouraged Josh was a thing of beauty that only God can bring about. 

At the end of March, Josh headed back to NY to finish the school year at his high school there.  The night he was set to fly out, his classmates decided to throw him a going-away party, which Christen and I had the privilege to attend.  It was amazing not only to watch Josh show Christ's love to others and encourage them, even as he was the one preparing to leave, but also to witness this group of 17 year olds laying their hands on him and sending him off with a prayer for peace and encouragement.  The maturity and level of relationship that many of these kids have with our Savior is such a blessing and encouragement to us and we continually thank God for the work that he is doing in this place.  It truly is the Doulos Difference.

Thank you for being a part of all that is going on here; whether it is through prayers, financial support, encouraging words, reading our blog, thinking of us, or all of the above.  

As we near the end of this school year (we are done in just over a month), please pray that God would continue to work in this community.  Pray for teachers and staff to fill vacant positions such as 3rd Grade, Middle School English, High School Geography and High School English.  Pray that God would continue to strengthen us and help us to finish this school year strong!  We know He is faithful!

Thanks for reading and Soli Deo Gloria!

jrb 

It’s already (the end of) March???

I started writing this blog update two weeks ago and its focus was on what had happened in the month of February.  It is now the end of March which means there is even more for us to tell you about.  This is going to be a long one, I hope you can make it to the end!

I have been quite busy in the classroom.  Sixth grade has been studying the classification of matter (elements, compounds, and mixtures).  Seventh grade was in a unit on erosion in February and are now in the middle of their science expedition on caves.  Eighth grade was  studying classification of living organisms and created field guides on specific animals (one vertebrate and one invertebrate) that they shared with the fourth grade students (who had been studying classification as well and shared the books they made with the eighth graders).  It was so fun to see both 4^th and 8^th graders sharing their products that they had worked so hard on!  Now they are also in the middle of their science expedition which is focused on freshwater ecosystems.

February brought the first round of progress reports for second semester.  It seemed that over Christmas break, many of our students forgot how to behave in the classroom and what it means to be a responsible student.  Over half of all of our 6^th and 7^th grade students (8^th grade was the exception) were failing one or more classes.  Instead of meeting with each parent individually and saying the same thing over and over again, the middle school team decided to plan a meeting for all parents of students who were failing.  Our focus was to be on a number of things including test results, curriculum standards, student responsibilities (behavior, homework, quality of work), and good examples of student work.

We began the meeting by showing our parents the results of a country wide test comparing Doulos student’s scores on math, Bible, and reading comprehension to other students in public schools around the country.  The results were staggering and showed Doulos students scoring up to 50% higher on math and reading than their public school peers.  While I admit this test did not take many variables into consideration – the majority of public school students come from low socio-economic situations compared to Doulos where half of our students are on scholarship, or difference in class sizes – it is hard to say that students at Doulos are not far ahead of their public school counterparts, especially after spending time in the public schools on various occasions and talking to public school teachers. 

After starting on the good note of student test results we went on to discuss the curriculum standards that teachers must follow here at Doulos.  Because we are an ACSI accredited school, we have adopted the Washington State curriculum standards and must get through a certain number of standards per year.  Our middle school math teacher attempted to explain this to parents so that they do not think we choose whatever we want, but that we have chosen a curriculum that will prepare their children to continue their education in the United States if they so desire once they graduate from Doulos.  After, I was the bad guy and discussed the general problems us teachers had been seeing with our students.  This included laziness, sloppy, non-quality work, not taking work and tests seriously, and behavior that resembled that of baboons.  Our geography teacher, Maggie talked about rubrics and how we teachers give our students specific guidelines for all of their work (students like to give the excuse to their parents that they don’t know what to do on assignments and that is why they are getting low grades!)  Lastly, our English teacher, Justine brought the parent’s attention to a gallery of quality student work that we had put together for them to see.  Overall, the meeting went very well and we have seen a huge improvement in most of our students since then!  Report cards come out next Friday and we will see how many students were able to improve their grades after the progress report talk.

Katie, Heidi, & Eric Neel

February was very exciting especially for Joe and me because it meant the welcoming of our very first visitors here in the DR!  Eric and Katie Neel (friends from Tennessee) and their 4 month old daughter, Heidi, came for 9 days to see just what it is we do here.  We began their trip by picking them up late from the airport on a Thursday night and driving straight to the beach.  After a 2 hour drive we arrived at 1:30 in the morning and went to bed shortly thereafter.  We spent a long weekend in Cabarete and spent a whole lot of time on the beach.  Heidi was a trooper and loved the water.  She had a good time putting her toes in the sand! 

Heidi with her toes in the sand and looking so cool

Katie, Heidi, Me, & Joe enjoying the beach!

On Monday we headed back to Jarabacoa and spent a restful day preparing for a week of hard work.  Eric and Katie had planned their visit to coincide with our school’s Service Week – a week where students are out of the classroom and helping in the community being the hands and feet of Christ.  On Tuesday we headed to school, baby in Bjorn, ready for a hard day’s work.  Joe and Eric accompanied a work team up to Manabao to assist in the finishing touches of a classroom that was built for a school there.  Katie and Heidi hung out with me and the 6^th grade class and helped us prepare for our service project which included going to a local public school, Escuela Rincon, and spending time with students there.  On Wednsday, Eric and Joe returned to Manabao to finish their work there which involved a whole lot of laying concrete (the hard way).  The girls went along with the 6^th grade class to the nearby public school where we passed out food, played games, and made “faith” bracelets with 5^th and 6^th grade students there.  In the afternoon we walked around town picking up trash.  Thursday looked much the same except this time Eric and Joe accompanied the girls with 6^th grade.  The week was exhausting and Joe and I were so thankful for friends who were so adaptable.  Heidi was the true champ, going wherever we went and being such a good sport! 

Joe & Eric outside the finished classroom

The concrete sidewalk - courtesy of Eric

Katie & Heidi hanging out with a student from Escuela Rincon

God really used to this week to teach me a lot about myself and what service really means.  I had been talking to my students all week about why we are called to serve others as Christians, putting others needs before our own.  We talked about a servant’s heart and that when we serve others, it is what is in our heart as we do these things that really counts.  As you can imagine, it is difficult to communicate this to 11 and 12 year olds.  After Wednesday I was cursing whoever had come up with this awful idea of service week.  I had been so frustrated with my 6^th graders – they just weren’t getting it.  I was trying to teach them that God cares most about our attitude in serving…………… and then I had one of those “aha” moments.  My attitude sucked!  How could I expect my students to have a servant’s heart if I was not setting that example for them?  Wow!  I returned to school on Thursday with a whole new perspective – even if a single 6^th grader did not walk away from this week understanding the reason to serve, it was ok.  God called Joe and me here to serve these kids, and if we do not have good attitudes about that – only looking at the bad, being easily frustrated – then our service is deemed null.  With God, it is all about the heart, and man did He do a work in mine that week!

Ysmayar, Abel, & me setting up food for the students at Escuela Rincon

Setting up at Escuela Rincon

Saying goodbye to the Neel family was very difficult.  We had such an incredible time with them here.  Our days were filled with work that glorified God and our nights were spent in meaningful conversation.  Not to mention, there was a whole lot of baby play time with Heidi!  As we have readjusted back to our routine here sans Neels, we cannot help be give thanks to God for the amazing people He has placed in our lives.  The Neel family is one of many who support what we do here and we know they keep us in their prayers always.  We are already looking forward to seeing them this summer during our cross-country travels!  Even better, they are already thinking about a time to come back again next year!  Now, we are anxiously awaiting our Spring Break and time to relax and regenerate before the mad dash to the end of the semester.  April brings with it our second visitors, my grandparents, Chuck and Helen Benjamin, who will be visiting for 17 days!  We cannot wait to share with them as we did with the Neel’s all the awesome things God is doing here at Doulos Discovery School!

Katie & Heidi saying hello to friend's, Tim & Whit's, little one, Charlotte, who is just 10 days older than Heidi