It's Saturday morning and I should be doing homework, but after three solid weeks of Spanish classes and homework, I'm taking a little mental health break. We started class on September 5th, and since then we have been immersed in a five week college course, worth 3 college semester credits. One of the college students remarked, after we got our our first graded assignment back, "What are you guys worried about, you aren't doing this for a grade ..." No, we are not in this for the grade. We are doing this in part, out of necessity, but mostly out of a deep desire to be able to communicate with the Dominican people we work with and those we interact with in the stores and streets of Jarabacoa, Santiago, and anywhere else we venture!
Our schedule looks pretty much like this:
Between 6:00 - 8:00 a.m., wake up, have quiet time, and then breakfast ...
Between 8:00 a.m. and noon, work on Spanish homework ...
We break for lunch somewhere between 12:00 & 12:30 ...
Then it's back to the books until it's time to trudge down the hill to attend class at the base ...
We attend Spanish class from 3:00 - 6:00 p.m.
Following class, we take a little time to unwind and eat dinner ...
Somewhere between 7:00 and 8:00 p.m., it's back to the homework until we can't keep our eyes open ...
Go to bed, wake up, and do it again the next morning!
On the weekends, we sometimes travel down the mountain to grocery shop, we attend church but then pretty much the rest of our time is spent doing ... you guessed it, more homework!
We have been told that verbs are the heart of any language. Some verbs that describe what we have experienced in the midst of language learning are (mostly in their gerund form =): Challenging, annoying, interesting, exasperating, gratifying, stressful, valuable, perplexing, useful, puzzling, thought-provoking, taxing, satisfying, vexing, fulfilling, provoking, nerve-wracking, delightful, frustrating, worthwhile, infuriating, and rewarding. It just depends on the day ... sometimes on the moment!
I think one of the things we are looking forward to the most when this is all over is reconnecting with our co-workers and friends. While it has been a tremendous gift from everyone we work with to be able to set aside our job responsibilities to concentrate solely on learning Spanish, one of the things we love the most about this culture is that it is a very warm culture that puts great emphasis on relationships. Because of the pace of this course we are in, we haven't had much time for that lately.
The reality of our living in the DR is that we will spend the rest of our days here learning to communicate. In 1 Corinthians 13:1-3, we read, "If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal." Please join us in praying that in the midst of our learning to "speak with the tongues of men" we don't become a noisy gong and lose sight of the reason that we are here, to love in a way that it is evident that Christ lives inside our hearts and we are here to serve Him.
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Catching Our Breath!
It has been exactly 3 weeks since our last summer team left and we feel like we are finally catching our breath! We not only survived the summer but we learned SO much and are beginning to feel like we may actually be able to do this! You may laugh but we've had a few days in the last couple of months where we had our doubts.
What a whirlwind we dropped into that sunny day way back in June. As we said before, from day one we dove right in to do what we had come here for. None of our "jobs" are difficult; there is just a lot that has to be done. The first thing we learned is that every day of a two-week outreach brings a different list of things to accomplish that day! We never had a clue of the amount of work and coordination that goes in to running a "simple" outreach. But we have learned how to schedule transportation and housing, plan a menu and figure food amounts for various team sizes, divide up a 2-page-double-column shopping list, check out of a grocery store in a store full of people who speak a different language, pack a van full of groceries, schedule the cooks, the cleaners, and the maintenance crew, order bread, coffee, and snack food for hungry American students, sort and distribute donations, wash load after load of clothing and bedding teams leave behind and sort and distribute that. Surely there is more on that list of "things to do" but you get the general idea! All we can tell you is there were nights where we forced ourselves to stay awake because 7:00 is just too early to go to bed!
With the busy summer months behind us, we took a little time to relax and get rested. We drove up to the north coast and spent a few days at the beach and drove through some incredible countryside to see more of this beautiful island nation that we now call home. In the next couple of weeks, we will be able to finally unpack the rest of our belongings and maybe hang a picture or two. We will also spend more time with Cheryl learning as much as possible before their departure for Nicaragua. In September we will begin more Spanish - please pray that we learn much!
We so enjoyed getting to know the people who have come through the base this summer - the interns, the team leaders, and the outreach participants (from age 1 to 75). We had many great conversations across the tables at meal times. We never grew tired of hearing how being in a new culture, experiencing new things and sharing the love of the Lord Jesus Christ has an impact on people's lives. We look forward to new teams coming and seeing some of the folks we have met return - we hope that some of you will be among them!
"Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen."
Ephesians 3:20 & 21
What a whirlwind we dropped into that sunny day way back in June. As we said before, from day one we dove right in to do what we had come here for. None of our "jobs" are difficult; there is just a lot that has to be done. The first thing we learned is that every day of a two-week outreach brings a different list of things to accomplish that day! We never had a clue of the amount of work and coordination that goes in to running a "simple" outreach. But we have learned how to schedule transportation and housing, plan a menu and figure food amounts for various team sizes, divide up a 2-page-double-column shopping list, check out of a grocery store in a store full of people who speak a different language, pack a van full of groceries, schedule the cooks, the cleaners, and the maintenance crew, order bread, coffee, and snack food for hungry American students, sort and distribute donations, wash load after load of clothing and bedding teams leave behind and sort and distribute that. Surely there is more on that list of "things to do" but you get the general idea! All we can tell you is there were nights where we forced ourselves to stay awake because 7:00 is just too early to go to bed!
With the busy summer months behind us, we took a little time to relax and get rested. We drove up to the north coast and spent a few days at the beach and drove through some incredible countryside to see more of this beautiful island nation that we now call home. In the next couple of weeks, we will be able to finally unpack the rest of our belongings and maybe hang a picture or two. We will also spend more time with Cheryl learning as much as possible before their departure for Nicaragua. In September we will begin more Spanish - please pray that we learn much!
We so enjoyed getting to know the people who have come through the base this summer - the interns, the team leaders, and the outreach participants (from age 1 to 75). We had many great conversations across the tables at meal times. We never grew tired of hearing how being in a new culture, experiencing new things and sharing the love of the Lord Jesus Christ has an impact on people's lives. We look forward to new teams coming and seeing some of the folks we have met return - we hope that some of you will be among them!
"Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen."
Ephesians 3:20 & 21
Sunday, June 19, 2011
We Are Here ... Home!
“I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me trustworthy, appointing me to his service.” 1 Timothy 1:12
This past Wednesday (June 15th) we touched down on Dominican soil ... home. For the past few months we have been on the road, living out of suitcases. What a wonderful feeling to know that we can finally unpack our bags and settle in somewhere!
Thursday dawned bright and early and we were off and running. During the summer months we have back-to-back teams that come for a two-week outreach. The Thursday before new teams arrive, we journey into Santiago and shop for the upcoming outreach. Our predecessors, Lowell and Cheryl, have this process down to a science and it is an amazing thing to behold! Our first stop was Pricemart (like Sam's Club) and in a little over an hour we had amassed 3 flat-bed carts and 2 shopping carts full of groceries. As we surveyed all those groceries we couldn't help but wonder how they would all fit into the van! Prior to the trip to the city, the back seats of the 12 passenger van are removed. What made this trip a little more challenging is that one seat was left in since we were along! The back of the van is lined with coolers which each get 4 frozen chickens tossed in. Packed around the chickens are the other meats and perishable foods. The non-perishable foods are packed into boxes and larger items (like gallon bottles of cleaners and gallon cans of ketchup) are stacked around the coolers and boxes, all the paper products go on top. By the time the carts were empty, we probably still had half the van left for our next 2 stops! Cheryl is a master packer - next shopping trip I'm taking pictures - you will be amazed! After a quick stop for lunch we were off to Nacional and La Cerena, two large grocery stores in Santiago, to buy the rest of the supplies on our list. By mid-afternoon we were on the road back to Jarabacoa thoroughly exhausted, especially as we contemplated unpacking and putting away the load of groceries now occupying the entire back of the van. Fortunately, once back at the base, there were people that jumped in and helped to get everything unloaded and stowed in plenty of time for the cooks to get dinner out on time. We will only have 3 more shopping trips with Lowell and Cheryl so please pray that we are quick studies!
On Friday we had the day off and were able to unpack the bins Mary Ellen and the Jupiter Christian School team brought down in March. As familiar things began to appear and get put away we began to feel even more at home. On Saturday, Mary Ellen worked with Maggie in the donation room and Dick had his first experience with Dominican driving, helping Lowell shuttle teams that were leaving the base. Aside from the near miss he had on a narrow bridge with a semi he fared pretty well! Tomorrow will be the real test as he does a series of airport runs with Lowell.
We spent today going to church in the morning with our friend and house-mate, Amy (who runs the Special Ed school), ate a delicious lunch prepared by Cheryl, reviewed what we can expect as this new outreach begins with Lowell and Cheryl and did as much resting as we could for all the activity that is to come!
Please continue to pray for us as we become familiar with our job responsibilities, practice the Spanish we have learned, learn MORE Spanish, and continue to settle in. In spite of most everything being new and different, we are happy, we are among friends, and we are at peace knowing that the God who has called us will equip us for the work He has for us to do!
“Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.” 1 Timothy 1:17
This past Wednesday (June 15th) we touched down on Dominican soil ... home. For the past few months we have been on the road, living out of suitcases. What a wonderful feeling to know that we can finally unpack our bags and settle in somewhere!
Thursday dawned bright and early and we were off and running. During the summer months we have back-to-back teams that come for a two-week outreach. The Thursday before new teams arrive, we journey into Santiago and shop for the upcoming outreach. Our predecessors, Lowell and Cheryl, have this process down to a science and it is an amazing thing to behold! Our first stop was Pricemart (like Sam's Club) and in a little over an hour we had amassed 3 flat-bed carts and 2 shopping carts full of groceries. As we surveyed all those groceries we couldn't help but wonder how they would all fit into the van! Prior to the trip to the city, the back seats of the 12 passenger van are removed. What made this trip a little more challenging is that one seat was left in since we were along! The back of the van is lined with coolers which each get 4 frozen chickens tossed in. Packed around the chickens are the other meats and perishable foods. The non-perishable foods are packed into boxes and larger items (like gallon bottles of cleaners and gallon cans of ketchup) are stacked around the coolers and boxes, all the paper products go on top. By the time the carts were empty, we probably still had half the van left for our next 2 stops! Cheryl is a master packer - next shopping trip I'm taking pictures - you will be amazed! After a quick stop for lunch we were off to Nacional and La Cerena, two large grocery stores in Santiago, to buy the rest of the supplies on our list. By mid-afternoon we were on the road back to Jarabacoa thoroughly exhausted, especially as we contemplated unpacking and putting away the load of groceries now occupying the entire back of the van. Fortunately, once back at the base, there were people that jumped in and helped to get everything unloaded and stowed in plenty of time for the cooks to get dinner out on time. We will only have 3 more shopping trips with Lowell and Cheryl so please pray that we are quick studies!
On Friday we had the day off and were able to unpack the bins Mary Ellen and the Jupiter Christian School team brought down in March. As familiar things began to appear and get put away we began to feel even more at home. On Saturday, Mary Ellen worked with Maggie in the donation room and Dick had his first experience with Dominican driving, helping Lowell shuttle teams that were leaving the base. Aside from the near miss he had on a narrow bridge with a semi he fared pretty well! Tomorrow will be the real test as he does a series of airport runs with Lowell.
We spent today going to church in the morning with our friend and house-mate, Amy (who runs the Special Ed school), ate a delicious lunch prepared by Cheryl, reviewed what we can expect as this new outreach begins with Lowell and Cheryl and did as much resting as we could for all the activity that is to come!
Please continue to pray for us as we become familiar with our job responsibilities, practice the Spanish we have learned, learn MORE Spanish, and continue to settle in. In spite of most everything being new and different, we are happy, we are among friends, and we are at peace knowing that the God who has called us will equip us for the work He has for us to do!
“Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.” 1 Timothy 1:17
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