I stepped onto the island in September, 2006, expecting to be here for 5 weeks. 4 years later, I am beginning to pack my bags for the trip back to Oregon. This is such a time of mixed emotions as I say good bye to so many things that have become "normal" and think forward to the amazing things that are ahead. Our baby boy is due around November 6th, so the doctors want me there by mid-September for safety with flying and follow-up. As I watch this belly grow, I know it is a good decision to get home while it is still safe to travel! I plan to head back at this time to prepare for what is the most exciting journey ever!
We are still waiting for word on Ariel's visa, but prayerfully hope he will make his interview and be approved in time to make it to Oregon for the birth. We made the decision to have the baby in the States either way, trusting that it is the safest and wisest decision for both the baby and me. Our plans for the moment are to be inthe U.S. for a few years before returning permanently to the Dominican Republic. We are excited, nervous, and anxious as we anticipate all that awaits us. Please pray for the many transitions we will each be facing in the months ahead which include a change of culture, language, jobs, becoming parents...and the list goes on! We have seen God's amazing providence for our lives and know He will walk us through each step of this.
Although we are thankful to have medical insurance, it will only cover 80% of the birth and after care. Along with coverage for the baby's insurance, we will need approximately $5000-$6000 for the coming months to cover co-pays and insurance. Please pray with us that the money will come through as God always amazes us with the way He provides.
If you are interested in supporting in ths time, you can also donate through the Kids Alive website and find my name under "Around the World", then "Dominican Republic". Support can also be mailed to the address at the bottom. Thank you for trusting me enough to support me through all of this. I have learned an endless amount of lessons that will continue to mold and shape me for a lifetime.
With much love, Jessi
Support can be mailed to Kids Alive, noted for Jessi Dixon Veras at:
Kids Alive
PO Box 2117
Valparaiso, IN 46383
A few weeks back we got to celebrate with Francis and Milka as she celebrated her birthday! We went out to pizza together and had a fun time talking and being together. Frayme is growing like crazy and as smily as ever!!
The wedding was lovely and I was thankful to be there and a part of it. We got to catch up with old friends who we surprisingly don't see very often! Josie came back for the wedding which was one of my favorite parts!! Congrats to Jhon and Nany on their marriage!!
A container ship was sent down from the States packed fully of donations. After passing through immigration in Santo Domingo, it was finally released for delivery. It was a huge container and it got stuck in the first river crossing at 6 in the morning! Alberto was able to find a tractor willing to pull it through the river and out of the mud
It made it to the school after having to grate the next river crossing and lifting electrical wires with plastic pipes! We couldn't believe how full it was.
It is awesome to see what happens when so many people work together, on both ends of the deal! This took huge amount of time and effort to collect and pack the container, and lots of sweat and muscle to unload it on our end. It'll be so worth it all to see these guys jumping around on their new playground and enjoying all the other goodies on the container!
They did it! After lots of work, the team was able to finish painting the new cafeteria expansion. It looks incredible and it's going to be awesome to welcome the kids back to a bigger and better cafeteria!!
It's hard to believe, but our summer program has already come to an end. We have a 5 week program that is very similar to VBS. This summer, we had a fantastic turn out and the attendance was impressive! On the last day, the kids presented some of the things they had learned through their classes and we had a special lunch. As they headed out the door, they were given a gift bag with donated clothes and shoes and the team that is here helping us this week got to be involved in this whole day. I also got to love on Angelica, one of our teachers bitty little 3 week baby (she's just about 6 lbs now!)
Well I got back on Wed afternoon 1.5 weeks ago to receive our first summer team Thursday! This group came from Indiana and worked hard moving wheelbarrowful after wheelbarrowful of dirt and rocks as well as laying the foundation for the stairs up to our second story! They sweated a lot and worked hard and I bet they're in weather shock back in Indiana now!
My time in Oregon was happily filled to every last minute! It was incredible all that I was able to do and be a part of. My brother ran the Newport Marathon on my last weekend, so I got to stay the whole weekend at the beach with his family and my parents in a house they'd rented months ago. We got to rest (except for John who ran 26 miles), go to the tide pools, eat a lot, visit the beach, and let my mom go crazy with taking pictures. I loved it all, especially time with my neice and nephew...I just can't get enough of that!
Heather and I became friends in Kindergarten and today we got to get together again! We haven't seen each other for years, but talking today felt like it had been no time at all. When we were little I wanted to marry Heather, that's how close we were! I didn't understand that it doesn't work that way...I even wrote her name on the wall. It's funny how kids think, all I knew is that she was such a good friend and I wanted it to stay that way forever. I'm happy that we are still friends after these years!!
My dearest and bestest friend, Julie, came to visit for the weekend and it was such a great time. She brought her 3 month old little man, Drew with her, and I was so happy to get to meet him. 
We kind of love Twilight (I know, we're 30, but whatever). As lots of the movie was filmed here in Oregon, we went around (with my mom, who was equally as excited) to all the sights where the movie was filmed. Our first stop was the Carver Cafe where Bella and her dad ate all the time, then to the rocks where Edward sparkled and tried to scare Bella because he was so strong.
Drew finally gave up by the end, and this was one of the few times we saw him crying. He is such a good baby, so cuddly...I hope I get one like this! Thanks Julie for making the trip, you're the best! 
On Thursday we celebrated Mother's Day and the last day of school at the Care Center. It was a fun day to be together and watch the kids at their finest...they LOVE these days! They started, as usual, with a special lunch at noon. We've started giving them their lunch in a take-away box because they always take a little home for their families, which I think is so special.
At 2:00, the kids came back dressed in their best dresses and shirts for the start of the Mother's Day program. Each child is allowed to invite someone, hopefully their mom, so they can share the day with them. There are songs and skits and plays, a few poems and acrostics, and the kids go crazy for it. 
There were probably 50 kids that received special prizes this year for perfect attendence, best in the classroom, kitchen helpers, etc. It was nice to recognize them in front of the school and the families for their extra work, good attendance, and great behavior. I always thought I wouldn't be one of those moms that puts every ultrasound photo, etc. on the internet. Well, I'd just like to say I was wrong...here is the ultrasound from yesterday. It's amazing how much this baby moves and, well, it's all just amazing. It's just that I've already watched it a million times and this little baby is MY baby and I am still in shock and awe and love.
Just got back from our appt. with the doctor and the baby is doing really well. They typically do ultrasounds at each appointment, so we got to see the little one jumping and kicking and moving like crazy. It is so reassuring to see that little heart beating away. I've started to feel little flutters of the baby off and on which is even more exciting. Every step makes it more real, like Ariel said the other day, "You're really pregnant!". It sets in slowly for both of us, as we begin to comprehend that it's a BABY!!! I go between elation and being terrified, both of which I think are good really, as we talk about this little one coming into the world. I have dreamed and prayed for this day and am so thankful that this is what we get to share together. It has been a special time, and continues to be, as we watch this bebe-cito grow!
Just a little update to say all continues well. I'm so happy to have 4 days now without nausea and am hoping that more of those days are to come!
We've had a lot of questions about our plans, so a little briefing of our mini-plan is that we are hoping to deliver the baby in Oregon, alongside my family. Ariel's visa is in-process and we are hopeful that it will be through in time. We decided a U.S. delivery will be safest and most sure and, well, I was a Labor & Delivery nurse for 3 years and have seen too many births to stay here for it!
I'll be heading to Oregon on the 18th of May for 3 weeks and looking forward to having an appointment with the midwife. I've been seeing a doctor here who is excellent and have all the documents to take with me to the Oregon appt.
I'm excited for the days when I get to feel the baby moving! I have had to say good-bye to some of my clothes as they're a bit too tight now in the waist, but still don't really have a belly to show...but I know it's on its way!
This is such a fun time, most of it anyhow! There have definitely been the emotional times when I have those cries that leave you hiccuping for hours afterwards, but thankfully those are occasional and seem to be passing as well as I move into the second trimester. It's funny because when I don't have nausea or other things going on, I don't feel so pregnant. But then again, I'm so happy to feel good and with more energy!
I've got another appt in a week and will hopefully have another beautiful baby pic to share!
Ariel and I have been waiting for the days to pass to be able to announce that we are officially pregnant!!! Wow, it's still hard to believe, I feel like I'm just playing still, but it's so very true, there's just a little lime-sized baby growing in there!
We are so thankful that my body is healthy enough and that things are going well. I'm 12 weeks now and looking forward to the morning sickness (ironically which happens about 10pm for me), the tiredness (I've become a slug), and the pubescent acne to go away! I'm due Oct 31 (by ultrasound) or Nov 6 (by dates) and I know the time will pass quickly! My dear little friend Julie had sent me some pregnancy tests that are so awesome. They make it real clear-"Pregnant" or "Not pregnant", which at 5am makes a lot more sense than lines and dots and plusses! I then had to explain the "stick" to Ariel because they're not commonly used here. We did the blood test the next week, which thankfully also came back positive!!
Ariel has been amazingly good and patient with me. It has been an emotional rollercoaster with hormones up and down and taking me with them!! Sometimes he gets a little extra at work and will always come home with "American" treats like applesauce, turkey bacon, things that he knows will go down easily. Rice and beans and meat (the Dominican meal) hasn't been first on my list of things to eat, but I've been doing well with apples and tea and bread!
We went a few weeks ago for a regular ultrasound (they do more than in the US here) and got to hear the heartbeat and see the baby moving. I don't have words to tell how it made my heart want to explode with joy to actually see this little tiny thing with all his/her parts perfectly formed and actually moving like crazy in there! And the heartbeat...what a perfect sound that brings peace! We recorded it and I've watched it at least a million times a day since then!
So please be praying with us as we continue to trust fully in God for the growth and development of this baby, for a healthy pregnancy and delivery, for all the little details that are in His hands. We know that this baby is pefectly made, just how He wants it to be and even when my worry button gets pressed, I'm learning each day that this pregnancy, this baby, is in His control and that brings calm and peace.
Oh, what a blessing and joy and excitement to share with you all!
After 3.5 years living in the Dominican Republic, I feel like I'm pretty used to most things now. It doesn't turn my head to see 4-5 people on one motorcycle taxi, to see the pig hanging up after slaughter (although I don't like that!), or to see the horse-drawn cart pulling in vegetables from the countryside. But today, oh today, there were a few head-turners!
As you know, voo-doo is the official "religion" of the Haitian people. From all accounts, a woman went to a witch-doctor on Monday because she was sick, and he placed some mysterious white powder on her (or she ingested it, not sure). Anyhow, Monday later on, she is dead. Tuesday comes around and she is buried, I saw her coffin and the procession pass by in front of the apartment. Within a few hours after her burial, rumors start about her still being alive, that she has communicated with the outside world somehow and they need to dig her out. So, of course, hundreds of people head to the cemetery to...undig the dead. They pulled out her coffin and sent her to the hospital and by all reports today, the dead is alive again! Amazing. Can you imagine? This just doesn't happen in real life.
Last night and this morning it rained quite a bit which makes our ride to work muddy and bumpy. There are huge puddles and many places along the dirt road where it is covered fully by the water. This morning heading in, we saw two men on a horse...carrying a baby calf!!! Mama cow followed behind, probably fully confused about why her baby was mounted on a horse! Oh how I wish I had my camera, it was priceless!
