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).

House Photos!

By popular demand, here are some photos of our home!

A front view of our Dominican home :)

Right side view from our front balcony - those are banana and lime trees below!

Left side view from our front balcony - our neighbor's tin roof home and beautiful trees.

A front view from our balcony of the mountains and part of our neighborhood.

Another view from our front balcony of our neighbors home and chicken coop. They have been incredibly helpful to us in our first weeks in our home and are always "a su orden"

(at your service)!

Our perf cabinet that Joe constructed for us to put our clothes in :)

It's nice to no longer be living out of suitcases!

Our kitchen. The bowl with the towel over it is homemade pizza dough which we ate yesterday for Joe's 28th birthday lunch! It was delicious!

Hope you had a great weekend and are enjoying the beginning of fall wherever you are.  SDG

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