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!

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

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