What keeps me here

End of summer program

What an amazing day it was today! It was the last day of summer program for the kids and it was a game day. The kids got to do lots of different games, crafts, and then had a special lunch of hot dogs and french fries...for many of which it was a first! They were all given a bag of goodies which had toys and some sweets to take home. The biggest hit of all was the umbrella hats!!!
(Tommy and Wilson, first graders, cuddling Estefani and Gira, Marquito & Andres)

I love each one of these kids so much, I hate to see them have a last day...but hopefully I'll still see them around the village.

(Jessi & Andres, Zeneida & Jeta, Pablito and his new amazing hat, summer interns-Tommy, Amanda, Emily, Gina)

Park Care Center staff along with the summer interns.

Put to use

I got to use my new otoscope twice today! So thankful to be able to actually look in ears when kids tell me their ears hurt. How cute is little Julio by the way? This is my baby Princesa's older brother...she's going to be really cute!

Yay for supplies!

Yes, that's right, we officially have a shiny, real, amazing otoscope! I can't wait to be able to use it...I've already got a client waiting for the morning! It's so fantastic to have so much support and people willing to help meet our needs. Very, very exciting.

Boys

Baby Jonathan is doing so much better after only one week. He's been well taken care of all week and is now laughing and playing and climbing...being a real baby. He's still tiny for a 9-month old, but he's on his way to growing up! Here's Aaron and Jonathan trying to impart some manly vibes with him as he's constantly surrounded by girls!

more and more

5 eggs today...things are looking up!

Huevos

One more egg was laid today...and inside the nesting box. What good hens we have, and smart too!

Finally

Well after almost 3 months of waiting and watching...we've got eggs! Our lovely little hens laid 2 eggs for us yesterday and it was an exciting day. We put them in the nesting boxes so that it'll encourage them to lay inside the box and not on the ground. Hopefully this is the start of many happy egg-collecting days!

Donations

So when the electricity is out for days (or so it seems) and it's hot and sweaty, it's photos like this that keep me happy. We got these "hats" donated by the last group and they are nothing less than amazing! Layne and Tommy decided to try them out and they loved them.

Weekend in review

It was a busy little weekend. Saturday our team left after 2 great weeks of solid construction and hard work. The classrooms are really coming along and I can't wait to see a new group of 4 year olds this fall! Sunday I went to the village because there is a big soccer tournament for the next 3 months. I got to cuddle little Jonathan for a bit, who was being starved by his mom and is now being re-hydrated and nourished while plans are made for him. I never actually got to see the game as it started so late...but I was able to talk with lots of friends and play with my kids so it was all worth it. Princessa even came and played with me for a bit!

Tough guys

These are two of my favorite boys...so long as I'm allowed to have favorites that is. They both have really tough exteriors but look what happens when you get to know them, hug them, and love on them-they smile and love back! I've seen so many changes in these two over the year and I hope to see more as they continue at the school and grow up. Life can be hard in the village, either having no parents or 12 siblings, each kid comes in with their own story, their own background, their own issues. I only hope that the love I get to give them reaches a part of them.

Sin Agua

So for water in the house, we have two big black tanks on the roof. When the street water arrives, it fills up the tanks and we use that in the house. So what happens when the street water doesn't arrive for a few days and you have 20 people showering, flushing, and washing dishes?? You run out! We had a big truck come with a fireman's hose and fill up the tanks...for only 500 pesos ($16). Hopefully street water comes later in the week as it'd be great to not have to do that again!

Just a day

What a week, I can't believe it's already over. The team worked really hard and got the two classrooms well under-way and ready to lay block. Gira (top left) is still as cute as ever and is really warming up and loving on everyone which is great to see.

Today was an amazing day, despite everything. I was given the day mostly off by my fantastic Kids Alivers and I went to a new beach with friends and then came home to flowers and more flowers from friends that are so pretty (my friends and the flowers!). I'm reminded how special my days are here, how loved and protected I am, how supported I am...and I'm thankful to have gone through another "day".

And as one team was sent on the plane, another one arrived 2 hours later. We've got a full week ahead again as the school continues to be blessed by the work and friendship that they bring!

Beach day

We spent the afternoon and evening in Cabarete at the beach. It was a nice time to hang out and swim and enjoy the sun. The best part was dinner at Casanova, one of the greatest restaurants. Not such a bad evening!

P.S.

Their luggage all arrived on Monday night and we were all very excited.

Dump day

We spent yesterday morning in the Sosua dump. It was interesting to walk through and see it all. There are all sorts of people who work in the dump, sorting bottles and plastic, food and clothes. Trying to find things to eat, sell, save. It was a hard reality that this is their daily life...they were there yesterday, they will be there tomorrow. I don't know where their hope comes from to keep going back, to keep looking through the garbage alongside the cows. They sang for us and then we gave them a bit of lunch and water, and even that whole process was hard to take in. It reminds me that the difficulties I face in life are nothing. They are absolutely nothing.

First full day

We had our first full day with the Plano Bible team. We had to shuffle things around a bit because luggage didn't arrive and going to the beach isn't as fun without swimsuits. We went to Haitian church then went up the Puerto Plata mountain on cable cars and walked around for a bit. It's been a good day and we're still hoping for the bags to make their way here...or else it might be a long week in the same clothes!

Growing baby

I just have to show off how cute my little Princesa is now. She can roll over completely and is smily and happy and I love her so much.

Flexibility

Our newest team arrived yesterday afternoon...all 16 of them, with no luggage! Apparently the connection was too tight in Miami and not even one suitcase made the switch. They are being great though about it all and hopefully we'll see 30 suitcases on our doorstep later today! Looking forward to another fun week ahead.

My life

What is this life that I live that is hard to fully understand? Why is this now such a part of who I am? I long for others to know this, to see and feel as I do.

This is my life. It's waking up to the roosters at 5 am, then music from the loud speakers at 6:30. It's greeting Domy my neighbor in her salon next door and having oatmeal with cloves and milk for breakfast. It's the joy of my day to hear my kids singing after lunch, clapping and smiling, their tough exteriors wiped away even if for only 20 minutes. It's dirt roads, potholes, crossing rivers to get to the school, cane fields, rain and sun and heat. It's Spanish and Creole, rice and beans and plantains and yucca.

I feel like my life here is built on relationships and moments I get to spend with others. It's hearing Big Wilson speak English, hugging Zenida closely, watching mischevious little Vldamir get in trouble again. It's listening to Lydia's wisdom and watching Alberto' faith. It's getting special coffee made for me because Zeneida knows I love it. It's having Gira on my back saying to her dad "Papi, mira!" And it's watching Princesa grow, holding her tight, cuddling her when she cries.

I think this life is hard to understand because it has taken me so far away. But it's not about leaving family and friends, it's about finding them wherever I am. Yet, it's leaving, but it's not forgetting or loving any less. If anything, I cherish even more the time I am given with my family and friends.

When no electricity, bucket showers, dirt in the elbow crease that almost never seems to wash away, and a regular application of DEET have become such a way of life for me, it is hard to imagine anything else.

To be with these children, with those around my, that's what my days are. To not only share Jesus' joy with them, but to truly find it in their eyes and hearts. If only for today little Frankie knows that he is loved, that is enough for me, my job is done.

What started as a 5-week trip has now become my heart and my passion. It's tracing an 8 year old's hand because she can't write her name yet on a card to her sponsor. It's giving kids a chance, a help, a hope. Even if it means organizing yet another bag of clothes, translating one more time the same thing, or getting another fungal infection, I will take it all!

This is my life. Sometimes hard to undersand, seemingly chance for me to end up here, but feeling that it has been planned for years, these are my days. Sharing love, finding joy, letting go of self to discover something greater. I understand this life. I love this life.

And as rain echoes from the tin roof next door and the little girl in the street runs around in her undies chanting "lluvia, lluvia!", I feel at peace. For here, for now, this is where I belong.