see you soon!

Hello all,

I have come to the realization that I am not good at blogging. Please forgive my lack of updates that have been here during my time in the DR. But the good news is that I will be home soon, so I can tell you stories, share my heart, and show you pictures in person soon!

I have truly loved my life here in the Dominican

Republic, but am heading toward the 'next chapter' in my life. The job hunt. I have some really great connections in Cincinnati schools, and progress is actually being made, and have already planned to visit schools to meet and discuss my future career goals/ideas.

Living so far away, in an impoverished country where phone access and internet is not always available and/or consistent, makes it very difficult to communicate as necessary with schools in the states. I had a phone meeting once while I was sitting on top of the roof here at the orphanage, and in the midst of communicating where I was and to apologize if we got disconnected... we got disconnected. I really want to be intentional to pursue a teaching career, and to my knowledge there are not many teac

hing jobs available at the time as is, so in order to

persistently pursue a teaching job, I have decided to cut my time short here and to come back home.

I'll be coming home March 26th. This is only about 6 weeks earlier that I had originally committed. The decision to come home has been such a roller coaster ride, and I have made the decision through lots of prayer and seeking wisdom with

people I trust in my life both at home and here in the DR. While my initial instinct is to not want to come, after thinking it through I have concluded that that would be the wisest step for me to do. I want to be looking for a job persistently, and it is necessary to do that while living in the same country as where I want my job to be. The job hunt has added stress and some anxiety to the work that I am doing here at the orphanage and in Monte Cristi, so my attention a

nd heart has been divided. I am looking forward to focusing in on the job hunt as an exciting point in my life, and not as a stressful, emotionally draining point, as it has been here recently. I realize that being home will not necessarily guarantee

a job, but it will be easier and more natural to communicate as I need to.

As my departure grows nearer and nearer, my heart longs to be home more and more. I have been 'homesick' more this past month than I ever have in the six months that I have been here. It seems so close, yet so far away. It seems so appealing and exciting to be back with everyone I love so much at home, but absolutely breaks my heart to leave my Dominican 'family' and all the children who live here in my community. It is su

ch a bittersweet feeling.

A week and a half will come as it comes, and I want to as

k for prayer in these specific things as my Dominican life comes to a close:

- that I would not want the time to rush by, that it would go at a healthy pace

- to make the most of every moment I have here

- to let the job hunt rest for my last few days... it will still be there when I get home, and I don't think it's worth adding to the emotional stress of leaving this beautiful country

- to be intentional with my relationships I ha

ve built here. I was to continue investing in them, and I do not want to draw away from them, in fear of becoming 'too attached.'

- that my new outlooks and perspectives that have grown in me here would follow me home, so that I can apply what I've learned here to 'normal life' a

t home.

- we have spring break teams here for 6 weeks, and I have been team leading, which is exhausting! Prayers that I would continue se

eking God for my strength and resting in His presence

Thanks so much for reading this! Here are a few pictures of the sweet little faces I will miss so much:

Luz Maria

David

Yenny and Yessica

a dominican christmas

My mom and I on Christmas morning with the "mellas" who live at the orphanage, just after opening gifts. These girls are Ari and Arianny, who are five-year-old twins.
We split the boys and girls gifts on separate tables, and called them up one by one to receive their gifts. Here are a few girls opening the gifts that my mom and I brought down for Christmas. The gifts they receive on Christmas are mainly brought down by volunteers. It was so sweet to see their faces opening and enjoying their gifts.
Some boys from the orphanage waiting anxiously yet very patiently to have their name called to open their gifts.
The girls' gifts!
Indiana and Yanina eating dinner on Christmas Eve. It is a very rare occasion where the volunteers get to eat dinner with the kids! They were all wearing new clothes and did their hair special for Christmas Eve.

The food line... 40+ kids and lots of volunteers to feed... SO much food! And delicious! A Christmas spent with little ones I love so much and that I will never forget!

hello again, dominican republic!

Hey all,

After two months of being in Cincinnati, my eye has completely healed and has returned to functioning properly! The iritis is cleared, and the doctor said things look good for now, but it is possible that it may flare up again. At least now I know the symptoms of it, and I know how to go about treating it!

My time at home was relaxing, refreshing, and I had sweet times with friends and family. I really enjoyed my time home. Being back in the states for so long caused me to feel kind of settled in again, only to anticipate leaving again and to eventually face another transition back into life in the DR. As friends are moving on with life after college... living in new apartments, accepting real jobs... all those things began to have a luster to me, and I went back and forth of wishing I was at that stage in life as well. However, the more I thought and prayed, the more excited I got to return to my work in the DR. God still has plans for me to fulfill here, and I walk daily, not thinking/worrying about the future too much, trusting Him and His purpose each step of the way.

My mom is down here with me for her Christmas break from school. We flew into Puerto Plata together to stay at a resort for three days, then arrived at the orphanage on Wednesday. I was welcomed here at the orphanage with children running behind the taxi chanting my name. When I stepped out of the car, I was bombarded with little Dominican hugs and questions about my eye. I also had sweet letters and a welcome sign from my roommates who I lived with in the fall who have now returned to the states. I had a great welcome back.

Christmas here with all 40ish kids at the orphanage was absolutely amazing. I will try and post some pictures within the week.

So, here I am, back again... enjoying the weather much more this time... sunshine with a slightly cool breeze... not hot and sweaty all the time!

Thanks for all your prayers and encouragement through these crazy life changes! :)

Back in America

My life has drastically changed over the past three days. As some of you have probably heard, I am currently living in the states, not the Dominican Republic.

When I arrived at the orphanage in Monte Cristi, my right eye was looking pretty red. Thinking it was from the stress of traveling and lack of sleep, I brushed it off as nothing. A week went by, where it was getting worse, so I went to the clinic to see a doctor in town. He gave me medication which made my eye feel and look a little better at the time. Within the next couple of weeks, my eye was still not looking the greatest, and I then began to have blurred vision in my eye. I went to Santiago, to the best hospital around the area, to see an eye specialist, and was given two new medications to use. I used those, and my eye still was not healing back to normal. A new pain came in my eye on Monday, and after having a month without clear vision, I decided to call my doctor at home. I was advised to come home as soon as possible to get it checked out, especially since the problems I was having was with my eye, which has the potential to be serious. I wanted to wait to fly back because my boyfriend was supposed to visit the DR the following week, and I of course wanted to be there while he was. It sounded pretty urgent to figure out my eye problems, so I decided to pack my book bag and go.

I got a one-way plane ticket on Monday, and flew home to arrive in Cinci Tuesday night. Wednesday morning I had an appointment with an opthalmologist. I told him what I was doing, and how I was hoping to be able to fly out Saturday. After checking out my eye and doing a few tests, he came to the conclusion that I have something called iritis. He explained that iritis is a non-infectious problem internally of the eye. I'm glad I decided to fly home because he told me that iritis can potentially lead to blindness. He also told me that I needed to be on 'close watch' and that he would not allow me to leave the country again until my eye has healed, so I can be under proper treatment. The doctor said that I am to stay here for a month at least, and maybe two months. He gave me new eye drops to use, and I will be going back Friday morning for another appointment.

What I know about iritis: it is not an infection, it is an inflammation within the eye. It is not contagious, so I did not "catch it" while I was traveling. It was just coincidence that it showed through on my day of travel. Iritis will always be in my body, meaning it may arise later on in life again. The good news is that I now know the symptoms of it, so I can go to a doctor right away if I am to ever get it again. It will not spread to my other eye. The doctor compared it to arthritis in the sense that it is an internal problem, and that it does not spread. Tomorrow morning, at my appointment, he will do some tests to try and find out the cause of the iritis.

So, here I am, in the states, with lots of mixed emotions. I'm glad that I came back and that I caught it in time to keep my vision. I've jumped into life in America so abruptly, without time to really process or even think about what life here is going to look like the next couple months. I had just gotten to the point in the DR of really feeling settled in, really knowing the girls I live with there, the music program continuing off of a good start, growing in relationships with the kids at the orphanage, and having the perspective of "This is where I live now, my home is here in the DR for a long time." To arrive at all these points was so great, only to leave them with a big question mark of what's next.

I know so clearly that God called me to the Dominican Republic. I worked so hard to create the curriculum I was using, and to raise an abundance of funds to provide for more than what I needed to be there. I'm at this point where I'm questioning my purpose and wondering why in the world He would remove me from where He so specifically called me. For now, I'm applying to school districts to be a substitute teacher for the time that I am home.

Amidst all these mixed emotions, I know these things to be true:

- God called me to the Dominican Republic on September 4, so I went in obedience.

- God does have a plan and purpose, which is specific and perfect for my life, even when I can't see it and even when I don't have answers to my questions.

- This timing is no surprise to God, and He will not give me anything I cannot handle.

- It's possible that I may not ever see the purpose as to why God has me here, but I trust there is a purpose, and that He is going to teach me things and build my character, and for whatever reason, He needs me in the U.S. to teach me.

- Blessings are coming from being here! I've been able to spend time with friends and family. I will also probably be able to attend a reunion with all of my college housemates (I was going to be the only one missing out of the eight of us!)

So, that's what's going on. The rumors are true, I'm back for a while. If you're around Cincinnati, and want to get together, let me know... I've got nothing else to do as of now, so I've got plenty free time!

Continued prayers would be greatly appreciated! Thanks! :)

This week was the first week of classes at the English Institute! The English Institute is a school that Orphanage Outreach opened and supports. Our long term goal is to have every student in Monte Cristi speaking English by graduation, so that they are able to get better jobs, and can further provide for their family. A Dominican who speaks even a little English has a better chance at getting a job than a Dominican who does not speak English at all.

My main position here is working in a local school in Monte Cristi, called John F. Kennedy, where I go around to each kindergarten to sixth grade class, working with another teacher to teach music. However, on Thursdays, I am teaching at the English Institute in the library. The students are able to take out a book, and we have games, songs, and activities that are centered around the English words they are currently learning in their English classes at the Institute.

Pictured here is my classroom, the library of the English Institute. I had so much fun decorating it while listening to music a few weeks ago! The teachers pictured are Kelly, Shauna, Karen and I.

We had an activity day with the kids who live at the orphanage, and my group did dress up and a photo shoot for our activity. Pictured here is Luz Maria, one of the youngest girls who lives here at the orphanage.

Here is Shauna and I. Shauna came two weeks after I got here, and will be here until May with me! What a blessing it is to have someone consistent to be my roommate, friend, and someone to walk through life with during my entire time here! : )

During free time, I am working with Yessica, one of the older girls who lives here, and teaching her guitar. She's been learning very quickly, and I love getting to know her more and more, and sharing a common love of music with her.

Thank you for reading, and please let me know how you all are doing and how I can be praying for you!

Videos!

Here are some videos so you can see what's going in action here in the DR!

Here is a video of me being interviewed about why I'm serving with Orphanage Outreach:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBMvoC7QpXw

Here is one of me interviewing another intern and some guys from Monte Cristi:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYOfyypKfv0

the capital

We took a trip to the capital, Santo Domingo for a "culture day." This is a street that we spent most of our afternoon on, looking at some Dominican crafts and enjoying the Dominican sun. It was great seeing a whole different part of the country than I have seen before, on the other side of the island from Monte Cristi.

Orphanage Outreach dress code everyday is an O.O. t-shirt, and a skirt or some sort of pant that falls beneath the knee. Here, Karen, Kelly, and I enjoyed a day without having to dress in the Orphanage Outreach dress code!

These are pictures of the oldest standing church in the western hemisphere. It's called Catedral Bsilica Menor de Santa Maria. The first brick was laid by Christopher Columbus's son in the year 1514.

Kelly, Sarah, Karen, and I : )

Again, with Sean, Sarah's husband. They're moving to Haiti in about a month to be doctors there indefinitely!

Karen and I climbed to the top of Fortazela Ozama, what a great view! We didn't take a historic tour, but we had fun climbing around the fort and enjoying the scenery.