Rain

So it's been raining. A lot. The other night the thunder was intense, I have never heard thunder like that before. It probably lasted for over 30 minutes and it shook the windows and the house the whole time. Candace came up to sleep with me...that's how intense it was!

The rain is a mixed blessing. Being from Oregon, I LOVE the rain. I like grabbing a blanket and sitting on the couch and watching it. I like hearing it on the tin roof. I like even getting wet when I go out sometimes. But rain also means flooding. Flooding of houses that were rough to start with. Leaking tin roofs that were already weak fall in, families get wet, dirt floors turn to mud. Rivers rise and it means no school...we can't get into the village if the river is too high; we can't expect the kids from the other side of the river to cross, it's too dangerous.

So today Candace and I sit on the couch, napping, drinking coffee, talking, reading. It's been raining for quite a few days now. I miss my kids at school. I hope they are dry, I hope they get to sit on the couch and drink hot chocolate while their mom reads them stories. And then I am reminded of the hard realities. I hope the rain stops.

Beach day

To celebrate the graduation, we went to the beach for the afternoon on Sunday. It was cloudy and a bit damp, but still great to go out and talk and play...some were even brave enough to get in the water. We went to a new-to-me beach called Cangrejo which we were able to walk to from the house...like 40 miles away (or so it seemed!)

Moving forward

We have the Mercy Ships team here for 3 weeks and construction is flying forward! The septic, which was dug by hand, is almost completely finished which is that much closer to having the new bathrooms ready. The sidwalk around the gazebo is finished. The classrooms are nearly done...it's great! We (and by we I me they) actually just started digging the footings for 2 more classrooms which, to be honest, is overwhelming to think of! To have that many kids in the school will be amazing. I love watching the changes and being involved in something so great.

Adonai Graduation

It's the time of year for graduations! I went last night to the first one which was quite fun. They started out at the park and walked to the church where a million people packed in (it was HOT). After we went and had spaghetti with the graduates and chatted. Why do I get to be a part of these things? How did I get so blessed to live this life? I love it!

In preparation

Dear family

In preparation for being in Oregon for Christmas (Dec 19th-Jan 4th) I'll need a few things to make the transition easier:

-Please place a bin always next to the toilet...that's where the t.p. goes, right?
-Turn off all lights nightly at 5pm and on again about 9pm. Feel free to change the schedule without telling and turn lights off and on at will.
-I will need a constant heater near me to maintain 80 degrees
-Please find all sweaters, long underwear and anything warm
-I will need to be awoken each morning by roosters and motorcycles
-Remove all seatbelts from the car
-Replace all carpet with tile
-Instead of an umbrella, I'll just be needing a showercap
-All coffee will need to come in a plastic cup. Oh yah, I drink coffe now.

Thanks for getting things ready. See you at Christmas!

Jes :)

Yubi's 25!!

We went to Yubi's birthday party last night which was fun, as usual. Yubi is one of the teachers at school and also goes to church with us. We had a group of gringos which was always entertaining and even had to perform at birthday song for her.

Women's Retreat

I got to go to an amazing women's retreat this weekend. It was so great and I was surrounded by incredible Dominican women and learned so much. We talked and talked and talked some more. They're still amazed that I can wash my hair daily and I don't have to wrap it around my head at night...and were stumped at the eyelash curler, we continue to learn from each other!!

Good things come to those who wait

Sorry I've been a bad blog-updater, I'm working on it tonight, so long as the lights stay on. Check in later, I'll do my best! Sorry.

Youth group

Tonight our little dinner for a few turned into all the youth in the church! It was excellent in the end and fun to have everyone over. It's been amazing to be a part of this church and how they have welcomed me in and made me really feel like I am a part of them. The friendships I have made in these last few months are so great and I look forward to building on them in the time ahead. So it turns out I can still be a part of youth group...who would've guessed?!

Roof is on!

What a production! Saturday was the day to fill in the roof on the classrooms and bathrooms. What an incredible project. A whole team was brought in who has a lot of experience with this and it was interesting to watch...and a lot of work for them. So now the roof will "set" for about a month and we'll otherwise be moving forward with all the other projects that are to be done! We are still set for bringing in a new class of 4 year olds in November which is exciting and overwhleming. I took applications for 4 hours and had 167 kids that want in...now we have to pick about 50. It is overwhelming, the need is huge, how do you pick one poor kid over the other poor kid? It's hard but I trust that we'll pick the ones that need it the most and pray for wisdom in doing so!

Happy Thanksgiving

All is well...I knew it would be! Candace is back and settling into the swing of things and it is perfect. Today is Canadian Thanksgiving so we had mashed potatoes yesterday and corn on the cob from the street man today. We started sponsorship work like crazy today since Candace will be taking over that job (!!!!!!!) as I am freed then to work more towards medical and being a nurse! So many ideas abound right now about the direction I could take and the needs that we have. So for Canadian Thanksgiving, I say that I am thankful today that life is back to normal, that Candace is home!

HOOOORRAYYY!!

Candace is back!!! I'm so excited...life is good!

Ew

So unfortunately, the ugliest dog on the island, perhaps the world, has found its way to my garage. He is disgusting. He is skinny, losing hair all over, gross, and the worst part is that he won't leave. Anytime I go near he growls so it's quite hard to kick him out. Even harder is keeping him out because he's scrawny enough to fit through the bars on the gate. I hope he doesn't die in my garage...

Retreat!

What an incredible weekend! I went on my first Dominican church retreat! It was so fun. I was a little nervous as I don't know people that well in the church yet, but that was one of my main reasons in going. Anyhow, it was so much better than I expected (it always goes that way) and I made lots of new friends and got to know many more people. We slept little and played a lot but it was well worth it!

As I shared a cabin with Dominican women, I also learned a few things...mostly about hair! I stepped out of the shower and as I was walking to my bunk I heard one lady say in shock "she got her hair wet!" You see, Dominican women wash their hair about once a week and otherwise keep it dry so that it doesn't get all kinky. Anyhow, they were also amazed that I don't have to dry my hair and keep it in rollers to straighten it, and that I can even go to bed without doing anything...they wrap their hair around their heads every night to keep it straight! Oh, the things that I'm learning! What a fun weekend!

Bye bye Etheridges

As quickly as they've come...they had to leave. Today we spent the afternoon in Playa Dorada which was so beautiful. It was amazing to have them here, it meant more than they will ever know! It's been so long since seeing them and hopefully won't be that long until the next visit!

Photos

So I thought I better put some more update photos on. The top two are baby Jessica who's already a month old. She's chubby and happy and doing really well. It's fun seeing how quickly she has changed and watching her grow! The bottom is of Princesa and her older brother, Julio, who loves her and kisses on her everday at school. It must be so confusing why his little sister is raised by someone else, but at least he knows her and loves her a lot. And of course, a photo of the amazing sunsets here... one of the great things about living in the D.R.!

Visit to the village

I got to take Dan and Sarah to show-and-tell at school yesterday and loved it! We walked around the school and to Caraballo and through the village. They played with kids and we had lunch with all of them and it's so fun to see them loving on the kids I get to love on everyday!

Etheridge time

It's been so fun having Dan and Sarah here...we've gotten to play a lot and just chat. We've been to beaches and waterfalls and the mountains and it's great! Really special to have them here with me. We're going to the village tomorrow which is always the best part of having anyone here!

Smiles

Yup, THIS is what makes me happiest each day.

Etheridge visit

The Etheridges have landed! Dan and Sarah flew in from England last night and will be here for 2 weeks. It is amazing to have them here, it's been a very long time since last seeing them. We've already had a bit of time to play in Sosua and catch up...but I'm excited that we still have 2 more weeks ahead. Dan managed to get himself a nice sunburn in the first 24 hours of being here, but hopefully that'll be brown soon. Looking forward to all that is ahead.