Last Day

After almost 8 months of working at the school in Mata Gorda, the last day came. It was a sad, sad day, but I truly felt the impact that I had on the kids as during the morning orientation each of the kids stood up and said some sort of a fairwell message to me.



I don't think that I can write anysort of closing message to sum up my trip, I'm not quite ready for that yet. But I can say that God did an amazing work in me while I was there, and I am excited to see what He will continue to do as I return.

Ya Se Leer

Centro Preescolar Hogar Cristiano in Mata Gorda was please to present their first set of graduates. We graduated 4 girls who had achieved the goal of reading proficiency. They will now move on to 2nd grade.

The graduation started with a procession behind the flag.




Each of the graduates performed a demonstration of their reading ability and were presented with a certificate.



Here are the four graduates from our school with their padrinos.

Capital Siteseeing

The summer interns and I took a trip of our own to the capital to see the sights.

Our first stop was Tres Ojos, which is a set of three underground lakes. It was absolutely amazing, I'd never see anything like it before. Unfortunately, the pictures don't quite do it justice...






We spent some time in the old Colonial District, where there are old buildings from when Colombus first came to settle on the island.

Beach Trip to Puerto Plata

The summer interns and I were treated to a weekend at the beach in the middle of a busy summer. It was a great weekend of relaxation and bonding. Thanks SI!

Field Trip to the Capital

After 2 semesters of saving peso by peso, we were able to take the kids on a field trip to the capital, Santo Domingo. We loaded all the kids from both preschools, as well as all the teachers and several parent helpers onto a bus for the 3 hour trip to the capital.

Our first stop was to Trampoline, a children's museum, where the kids were led on a guided tour through exibits about space, the earth, the human body, and natural wildlife of the DR.





We then took the kids to an aquariam right by the ocean. It was amazing seeing the kids running through the aquarium saying things like, "look! There's Nemo!"




Many of the kids had never seen the ocean before and kept asking if it was just a big river. It was so fun to see them all so excited about seeing new things.




It was truly a treat to spend this day watching the kids learn so many new things and have so many new experiences.

Campamento

Two weeks ago the two SI schools joined together for a week of Vacation Bible School. We brought all 48 kids to the SI base for days filled with Bible Stories, games, dancing, swimming, and art. The children look forward to this week every summer and it turned out to be very successful once again. Here are some pictures from our fun week....

The children listening to a Bible story:


Coloring a picture after Bible lesson:


Gunny sack races:


Dancing the Hokey Pokey:


Swimming in the pool at the end of the day:

Family Visit

I was soooooo blessed to have my parents and brother visit me last week. It was amazing to just get to see them after being away for 6 months but it was also a great time of sharing with them this new part of my life. It seemed so natural to bring them here. My mom worked with me at the preschool and my dad and brother were put to work with the construction guys helping build the new base. It was a great time and I am so thankful that they were able to come here and see this place that I love.

Here we are at Salto Baiguate:


Dad and Jacob with the construction guys:


Mom with Yadira, one of the girls from my school:


The Lombard Family and all the teachers from the 2 SI preschools:

A day at the Pool

This past week we brought all the kids from the school to the pool at the SI base. It was such a fun day and the kids would not stop screaming all day because they were so excited! Here are some pictures of the kids having fun at the pool.

please pray....

To all my friends and lovers:

I come before you all today asking for prayer. Please pray for me specificially as I am considering the next step for my future after I finish my time here in the Dominican Republic. Pray that God would be clear in His calling and that I would be sensitive to listen to that calling.

Thank you. I know that God has something great planned.

love Katie

Playa Dorada

During my vacation time this week Chelsea, Anna and I decided to go to the beach for the day. We took the bus for about 3 hours to Playa Dorada, on the north shore. It was an amazing day. The beach there was so beautiful and the water was so calm and warm. Eventhough we ended up spending more time traveling than actually at the beach, it was all worth it. Despite the sun burn that I came home with.

Haircuts

Since I have been here I have acquired quite a reputation as a haircutter. I think the official count now is about 15 haircuts so far. Here are some cute pictures of my newest customer, Mia Marcela, the daughter of the dentist, Vanessa.

My Day as a Dentist

The school is on vacation for a few weeks so I have had some time to relax and visit some of the other SI sites. Here are some pictures from the day that I spent at the Dentistry office, assisting Vanessa.



It was fun to get to do something different for a day, but I don't think that sucking spit out of people's mouths is exactly my calling. :-)



Praise God for Dr. Vanessa, who is helping so many people with her dental ministry!

love, love, love

A few weeks ago I was blessed to have my friend, Marissa, come for a quick visit. Here are a few pictures of her helping out at the school.

It was so fun for me to have her here to share in this experience with me. The kids fell in love with her too. We had a great week together loving on those precious kids, touring my new home town and sharing a little Dominican culture.