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

Updating my Resumé

One of our New Year’s resolutions for 2012 has been to be better at staying in touch with friends and family back in the US.  Well, here we are in February and we’ve only posted to our blog once and emails and phone calls have been sporadic at best.  That’s the bad news.  The good news is that we (or at least, I) have never been all that great at communicating with far off friends and family, so our resolution of “getting better” is still achievable!  Anyway, the following is some of what happened in our January 2012.

When we returned to the DR on January 6^th, we both knew we’d have plenty to keep us occupied.  We were both able to detach ourselves for the few weeks we got to spend in the US over Christmas break, but toward the end of the break, our minds often wandered to what this semester would hold.  Just before Christmas break, I was informed that the Cafeteria that serves lunch to about a quarter of the school’s 250 students (and snacks and drinks to the rest throughout the school day) would pass to the school and fall under our umbrella starting in January.  Not only that, but our Executive Director was on a three state fundraising trip to the US for the entire month of January – therefore the majority of the Café burden would fall to me and our Managing Director, Tim.  

While the Cafe had been run as its own business for the past three years, it had experienced numerous issues and struggled to break even.  Obviously, as the Finance Director, I was quite apprehensive about the undertaking.  A solid half of our operating budget at Doulos comes from donors who sponsor students to attend Doulos where they would (financially) otherwise have no such opportunity.  Needless to say, we are not in a position where we can afford to take on a money losing food service.  Therefore, since arriving back at school, I have been intimately involved in the daily operations of the Café Taino – from ordering, to cashiering/sales, to accounting (obviously) – I’ve done it all. 

Overall, the first month of running the Café under the banner of Doulos Discovery School has been a pleasant surprise.  January was a short month (only 13 days of classes where the Café served lunch) and we still broke even.  I am looking forward to gathering a full month’s worth of data to see where we stand, but it looks like with a little work and a few more tweaks, things will work out just fine.   I’ve also learned a lot about trusting God through this experience – I was fairly apprehensive about the possibility of the school losing money through taking this on, but God has provided for our needs as He always does.  It sure has been encouraging (although exhausting for the first month back).  The other positive is I get to interact with students of ALL ages at the school more now than I would have ever though possible.  I think I know more kids names now than some of the other teachers who have been here for much longer than we have!    

All this is to say that I have been updating my resumé this month – not because I am looking for a new job, but because of this big change that I’ve experienced in my work during the month of January.  I now have experience with Mergers and Acquisitions (taking on the Café as a new “business segment” of our school) and Restaurant Management.  One thing can surely be said for working for non-profits; you will never be lacking for titles. 

Christen has been busy in the classroom and continues to be a fantastic science teacher who all of her students really seem to enjoy.  (I will leave her stories for her to share, but I had to mention what she's been up to).  

As always, we hope this finds you happy, healthy, and living in God’s grace.  We LOVE to hear from you and are looking forward to our first visitors THIS month!

SDG

MORE Adventures / An update

(Christen writing) We hope this post finds you all doing well.  It seems that it has been way too long since our last “real” update on what has been going on in our lives so here is the run-down.

October came and went at an incredible speed.  We had report cards, which is always a crazy and confusing time that causes lack of sleep.  After all of the report cards were passed out, Joe surprised me with a night away in Cabarete – a beach town about 3 hours away – for some much needed R&R.  We returned home feeling rejuvenated and ready for the next quarter of school to begin.

Relaxing for a night at the beach

Cabarete (and basically all of the beaches here) is beautiful!

Joe has spent a lot of his spare time making furniture for our house.  The newest addition is an awesome “island” for our kitchen.  We do not have much storage or counter space so that has really helped out, especially for me who loves to cook and be in the kitchen J   He also painted an accent wall in the kitchen and our house is feeling more like a home with each completed project.  Not having a TV has been great too (in my opinion – Joe is missing his college football)!  It leaves a whole lot of extra time for Joe and I to be a couple – walk the dog together, cook together, work out together (using Joe’s TRX trainer that he got when he went to Afghanistan), play games together, etc.  Part of me dreads ever going back to the United States where there seems to be so many distractions!

Part of moving to a foreign country and living without many of the luxuries we are blessed with in the United States means that we must be a little more creative about having fun.  We have been introduced to a vast variety of “fun” here.  This is generally played out in theme parties.  Some of the other missionaries here, Harley and Abby McAllister, had a Star Wars Party for their three young boys.  They each were able to invite one friend and their teachers (I am their oldest son, Kaden’s 6^th grade teacher).  Joe and I showed up to the party with our makeshift costumes as Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia.  The party was a blast!  They had various games prepared – a race to build several Lego guys based on drawings, Piñata – Jabba the Hut style, and my personal favorite – light saber fight!  We even had a guest appearance from Yoda (our friend’s Tim and Whit’s 3 day old little girl). 

Lego-man building competition



Jabba the Piñata



Light saber fight - Obi Wan Kenobi vs. Jango Fett



Catwoman even made it to the Star Wars party (I think there was some confusion amongst the Dominicans)




Princess Leia with Yoda

Some highlights from October in the classroom include a debate in my 9^th grade health class on the topic of sleep.  After finishing a unit on the importance of sleep and the benefits it has for health, students had to defend whether or not it is “healthy” for teenagers to start school at 7 am (which is when school starts for our high school students).  The debate went amazing and our stellar judge panel (which Joe had kindly agreed to be a part of) ended up choosing the group who defended an early start to school.  After they finished and the judges had made their remarks, I felt like a proud parent looking on at all of my students – they really did a great job especially defending their group’s POV in their second language!

Another important and encouraging part of October was the huge transformation God did in my 6^th grade class.  If any of you recall, I spent many sleepless nights worrying about this class and their bad behavior in the classroom.  Being their “guide” teacher, I felt especially responsible for them and that their behavior reflected my ability as a teacher.  Through TONS of prayer, a devoted middle school staff, and help from parents, this 6^th grade class is unrecognizable.  They are quiet, respectful, come to class prepared, and are starting to (not completely, but it’s a work in progress) take responsibility for their actions.  Of course there are always things to work on, but these kids have become “my kids” and I am shocked at how much I love them.   

The end of October brought the beginning of Expeditions here at Doulos.   For those who are reading with quizzical looks right now, allow me to explain.  Doulos is an Expeditionary Learning school which means we get kids out of the classroom and out of the box in order to provide them with experiences for learning.  This semester 6^th grade’s science Expedition is discovering coral reefs – what they are, why they are dying around the world, why they are important to humans, and what we can do to help them.  Planning for this Expedition was overwhelming!  I really didn’t know much about coral reefs before coming here and now I was supposed to be an expert on it!  I studied up though and spent two weeks preparing my students for what would be some of their very first trips to the ocean.  Joe and I will include a separate post in a few days telling you all about our magical time at the secluded Playa Fronton. 

Finally, I want to say a special congratulations to (brother) Nick Rauschnot and Nicole Morrison on their engagement! 

We love hearing from you, so please keep the emails coming! 

Blessings and Soli Deo Gloria (SDG).

Faces of Doulos

This great video provides a quick snapshot of some of the faces of Doulos.  These are amazing kids from varied backgrounds who are receiving a unique educational opportunity.  Christen and I are truly blessed to be a part of what is going on here.  At present, Doulos is looking for 26 more families or individuals who are willing to partner with us and the student's families to allow them to escape the cycle of poverty through the quality, Christian education they receive here at Doulos.  Would you consider partnering with us and these children to help make a difference in a life?

On a more personal note, things are very busy here in Jarabacoa as the semester is in full swing.  It is amazing to think that it is already November.  As with anything, we often feel like we've been here for a very long time, but then we look back and it's hard to believe that it has already been three months since we arrived in the DR.  We are amazed each day at God's provision in our lives and want to thank those of you who have chosen to support us through prayer, letters, and financially. As Paul writes in Philipians 1:3-5, we "thank God every time (we) remember you. In all (our) prayers for all of you, (we) always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel."  As always, we look forward to hearing updates on your lives when you have time!

Have a blessed week and weekend!

SDG  

 

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!

The First Weeks: Part IV

A very happy Friday to all!  I apologize for the delay in posting this, but we’ve been VERY busy over the past two weeks.   I think after reading, you’ll understand!

Over the course of the past two weeks, we’ve had some fantastic opportunities to get to know some of the families of the students here at Doulos.  The first such opportunity was Sunday, Aug 21^st (right before we embarked on phase four of the couple shuffle) when we were invited to go to dinner at a recent graduate’s (Josue) home with Rob and Meghan.  Josue was one of the top students last year at Doulos and spent countless hours of his own time contacting colleges to attend.  His motivation and zest for life is amazing and he is truly an inspirational person.   This summer, he was accepted at Spring Arbor University in Michigan and worked out details to live with a family (which would defray many living costs for him).  However, he still had to fund his tuition which his scholarship didn’t cover, which was something on the order of $7,000.  Near the end of this summer, he still lacked $4,000 (at about the time we arrived) but God worked mightily and two and half weeks after we had arrived, he had full funding for his first year and was granted his I-20 paperwork (legal papers to say the student has enough money to attend school).   Anyway, dinner was great – typical Dominican food of rice, beans, and chicken along with fried plantains and fresh squeeze passion fruit juice (Christen’s favorite).  Josue’s family (mother Daniela, father Hector, and brother Daniel -11^th grader at Doulos) were great hosts and their joy and love for others despite how little they have materially is absolutely refreshing. 

After dinner, we completed phase IV of our couple shuffle and moved in with Patrick and Erin and their young daughter, Ezrie.  On Monday and Tuesday, we experienced our first Hurricane as Irene was bearing down on the island, although she did little to no damage to our area, save raising the river via some fairly strong rains for most of both days.  As usual the week flew by and we were busy with all of our normal responsibilities but still able to get several things done enabling ourselves to be more settled.  Patrick and Erin left on Thursday for a wedding in the states (just in time to get another taste of Irene!) and we house-sat for them over the weekend.  Wednesday afternoon we test drove a vehicle and had it looked at by a mechanic.  Since all checked out okay, we decided to buy it, which we did on Friday afternoon.  Not only was this fantastic news, but we also received news from our friends Eric and Katie in Tennessee that Joe’s car had sold earlier in the week!   God truly works in mysterious ways and His timing could not have been better.  Praise the Lord for wheels J



Our new "Mazduki"Jeepeta (Suzuki body with Mazda diesel engine)



On Thursday night (sorry, backtracking just a bit) we were again invited to the home of some students from the school.  One of the children, Jeddison, is in Christen’s 6^th grade devotions and sciences classes, so it was neat for her to see where he lives and to get to interact outside of the school environment.  Jeddison’s father, Robinson, grilled some of the best chicken we’ve ever had while Christen got to help the mother, Flarida, prepare the bananas (which were boiled this time) and beans for the rest of dinner.  Once again, the hospitality of the family was fantastic – we continue to feel so welcomed here!

After dinner with Jeddison's family (L-R: Rob, Meghan, Flarida, Jeddison, Robinson, and Ruby)

The weekend was very restful as we had a house to ourselves, which was much appreciated by both of us.  Our co-worker Tim turned the big 3-Oh (30 years old to the layperson) on Saturday, so we attended his GI Joe themed party that night, which was a lot of fun. 

At the GI Joe birthday party with Kerrie and Keith (our first hosts in Jarabacoa)

On Monday we finalized the lease for our NEW HOME in the DR and were able to move in to our very own place on Tuesday afternoon.  It’s been an absolute blessing to have our own space and a place to make our own, although outfitting it is certainly going to be a process.  Wednesday, we also got to bring home our new addition to the family, a Border Collie/Australian Shepherd puppy.  The Executive Director here at Doulos, Krista, owns both the mother and the father and was looking for good homes for the puppies after they had a litter of seven this summer.  His name is Patch and although neither of us were really “dog people,” we already love having him around!   

Christen and Patch (background, our salmon colored new home!)

That brings us to today, the 27^th birthday of my lovely wife of 3 years, so I’d like to publicly wish her the happiest of birthdays and MANY more.  Hope you all have a great weekend and, if you have time, fire us a quick email with an update on your lives.  SDG

The First Weeks: Part III

Thanks for returning to read more about our adventures!  This post covers our second and third weeks in Jarabacoa, which was filled with many more exciting experiences, new places, and still more changes. 

On Sunday evening, we started the second phase of our “couple shuffle” and moved in with another couple from the school, Tim and Whitney.  They too were amazing hosts and we really enjoyed our time with them!  We spent the first few days of the week at school with some free time to get accustomed to our new roles, set up classrooms, and other more administrative things.  As usual, our days began with all staff prayer, which continues to be an incredible blessing as we start our day each morning before God.  On Thursday, Joe and all of the other administrative staff spent the day working on improvement projects around the school ranging from installing new windows, cleaning up neglected areas which were in disrepair from the summer, and painting the outdoor basketball court/play area.  It was a good experience and just a day spent working on the physical buildings of the school gave Doulos a nice facelift! 




(Re)Painted outdoor basketball/volleyball/hopscotch/four square court at Doulos

 

On Friday August 12th, the entire staff spent the day at the local Young Life camp for an all staff retreat, which is a beautiful area removed from the city and higher up in the mountains.  We spent the morning praising God in worship and learned about service, primarily through the symbolic act of washing one another’s feet.  One of the main goals of Doulos is to train students to become servant leaders in their communities and throughout the country of the DR.  As a staff, we seek to exemplify the qualities of servant leadership in order for the students to have a model to follow.  It was an incredibly humbling experience and very valuable for both of us.  In the afternoon, we were given free time to swim in the pool, play games in the field, and just relax/hang out.  It was a great day!



"Pool" at the Young Life camp (filled by a mountain stream)

The next day Joe had an opportunity to hike up one of the rivers near town (called Rio Camu) with some of the other men at the school.  It was about a two mile hike up to two beautiful waterfalls with several fun stops along the way to jump off of 10 foot cliffs into deeper pools of freezing cold water down below.  While Joe was out hiking, Christen went to a pancake breakfast at a few of the other teacher’s house, got a haircut, and spent the afternoon finishing her classroom set-up. 

Hiking up the river

The destination: beautiful waterfalls

On Sunday, we returned to the church we have been attending , called “La Vid” (The Vine in English) with T&W.  The services are done mainly in Spanish, but from time to time, they do have translators for the sermon.  It has been a bit of a struggle for Christen, but in the long run, it should help her Spanish develop a bit quicker.  After church, we had lunch and relaxed and then later that afternoon, we began phase three of the “couple shuffle” and moved in with another couple from the school, Rob and Meghan.  We had a great week with T&W filled with laughter, stories and just generally good times.  At the same time, we looked forward to getting to know R&M better.  We even got their entire apartment to ourselves on the first night since R&M were housesitting for some friends who are missionaries with another organization in Jarabacoa.  While it has been great being with these wonderful couples, it was very nice to have an afternoon and evening to ourselves. 

Monday and Tuesday of the following week were local holidays, so work was “optional,” but since we both did not feel like we had gotten much done in the first two weeks, we decided to come in to school to get some things done (at least for the morning).  Tuesday marked our third wedding anniversary, and so after sleeping in and then spending a few hours at the school, we walked back to R&M’s and relaxed, went on a run (which turned into running in the rain as the weather took a turn for the worse right after we started), and just enjoyed one another’s company.  We dined that evening at a local restaurant called “La Parrillada” and had some of the best bruschetta either of us have ever tasted.  It was a very enjoyable, yet simple day and we are continually grateful to God for the strong marriage he has blessed us with and all of the great support and encouragement we receive from all of you (so, thank you)!



Celebrating our 3rd wedding anniversary at "La Parrillada" in Jarabacoa, DR



Wednesday August 17^th was the first day of school at Doulos and we were introduced to many new traditions here.  Every day begins at 8am in the amphitheater on campus with announcements, the singing of the Dominican national anthem, prayer, and what is known as a “Doulos” for the day.  Essentially this is some acrobatic act or “cool” move followed by pumping a fist in the air and shouting Doulos!  First the volunteer for the day who “has a doulos” gets up on stage to demonstrate and then the rest of the students and staff follow suit and the entire school does the doulos.  It’s been pretty entertaining what the kids come up with and always gives us a good laugh in the morning.    

Christen’s first day of classes went well for her.  She was a bit nervous, but God calmed her nerves and allowed her to use the great teaching skills He’s blessed her with to make an immediate impact on her students.  She is teaching 6^th grade devotions, 6^th – 8^th grade science, and 9^th grade health.  This means that she has five different classes to prepare for, which she says is “mucho trabajo” (a lot of work). 

Joe is also teaching a class, in addition to his Finance Director roles.  He was asked to teach a devotions class for high school once a week (on Thursday mornings) and decided to go through a sermon series (and book) by Chip Ingram entitled “Good to Great in God’s Eyes: Ten Practices Great Christians Have in Common.”  He has 17 students and is really enjoying the experience thus far.  Christen has also really enjoyed her students although the 6^th grade class has been quite difficult for all of the Middle School teachers. 

After school on Friday, we enjoyed a dessert party with friends from school which was to celebrate several birthdays from the summer which passed while they were back in the states.   We played some fun games and got to know some of the other staff a bit better in a social setting, which was really great.  The following morning we traveled with R&M to Santiago, the nearest city (about 45 min down the mountains) to go to La Sirena, which is essentially the Domincan equivalent of WalMart.  We were able to purchase several items that we needed to outfit our home and see a bit more of a bigger city as we drove through town to the store.  Despite being in the store for about two and a half hours, we both agreed that the experience was less frustrating than when we registered for wedding gifts three years ago!  To cap off the evening, we made a great Italian dinner at R&M’s and spent the evening playing Settlers of Catan and other games with three other teachers from Doulos. 

We continue to enjoy our time here and are amazed daily at the beauty of this part of the world.  More importantly, we are blessed to have a God who provides for all of our needs and great family and friends to share in these experiences with us!  We hope this finds you well and hope to hear from many of you soon!  SDG