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.