Eater Egg Hunt

On the last day of school before the Spring Break se had a little easter egg hunt. My Uncle Dan and Aunt Linda had sent me a care package full of Easter candy and plastic Easter Eggs. I decided to share the love with my kids at school and hid the eggs all around the school yard. They had so much fun looking for the eggs and enjoyed the special treat of candy inside.

The Transforming Love of Jesus

2 Corinthians 5:14 says that it is the love of Christ that compels us because Jesus died for all. In my life I come to realize more and more that it truly is the love of Christ that compels us to live our lives the way we do. It is his love that compels us to love. Even when there is no promise of love in return.

Meet Joel. He is a 4 year old at the preschool in Mata Gorda. This school year has been a test of the transforming power that God's love can have on a person's life, even a child as young as Joel. At the beginning of the school year, Joel was a bit nervous as he began his first year at the school. Even though he was one of the smallest children at the school, it soon became evident that he had learned how to stand up for himself. Instead of the sweet face that you see in the photo, Joel wore an angry, aggressive, and defensive face everyday. He was constantly fighting with the other children, getting in trouble and was just a generally unhappy, disobedient child. I soon found out that he came from a very rough, unloving, neglecting home life. I knew that more discipline would not change this child, but rather love was what he needed. I decided that everyday I would walk up to him first, before any other child, and give him a hug. This may not seem like a big deal, as most of the kids run at me in the morning for hugs, but for Joel it was something completely out of the ordinary. At first he was very uncomfortable with the whole situation, sometimes even running away from me or not even putting his arms around me. But I persisted. Every morning, he was my first hug. I would hold him tight, kiss his face and tell him that I loved him and that he was beautiful. From his reaction, I'm quite certain nobody had ever told him that before.

But you know what? It worked. This experiment in love really worked. Today Joel is a completely different child. He is the first to run at me now for a hug. Sometimes he even tells me that I'm beautiful. He now obeys his teachers, does his work, shares with others, and learns well. And it is all because he is loved.

Isn't that how God's love changes us as well? A love that compels us to live, think, and act differently. Because we know we are loved.

Día de Independencia

Today was the Independence day of the Dominican Republic. Instead of having school today we had a parade through the community of Mata Gorda. The kids dressed in red, white, and blue and we painted their faces with the flag. It was a great activity for the kids and something they look forward to every year.

Mata Gorda Blog

I have recently been put in charge of keeping up to date a blog that was created for the school in Mata Gorda. I will be posting news from our school as well as specific posts about some of the kids. You can check it out at:

www.sidr-ed-matagorda.blogspot.com

New New New

As some may already know, shortly after I returned from my vacation in the States I moved out of the house in which i had been living here in the DR. I then moved into a bigger, better, (and much older) house with my two dear friends, Amy Babb and Amy Green. Here we are sitting on the balcony in our newest purchase of rocking chairs.

I love the new house, although it has had its fair share of problems since we moved in. We still don't have the internet hooked up, but it should come any day now. Who actually knows, anyways, since the internet company has been telling us "today or tomorrow" for 2 and a half weeks now. Oh well.

The other new addition to my life is this sweet little puppy. She is a mix of Lab, Dalmation and Great Dane. She is a very playful little puppy and I can't wait until she is big enough to become my running companion. And with those three races in her blood I know she will be a BIG dog.

Here is a recent photo of me and my class!! Enjoy!

Dominican House Cleaning 101

I recently made the decision to move out of my current house and move into another house with two of my friends here, Amy Green and Amy Babb. After a long search we found the house we wanted and sealed the deal. Yesterday my friend and house cleaner, Nina, and I cleaned the house from top to bottom. I learned a few lessons about the proper way to clean a Dominican house.

Materials needed:
Hose
Bucket with soapy water
broom

Procedure:
Scrub every surface, cealing to floor with broom and soapy water. Rinse with hose. Sweep out excess water.

Conclusion:
A very effective way to clean a house, and actually quite fun to be spraying a hose inside the house. All the houses here are made out of concrete brick with tile floors, and any wood surface is highly varnished to protect it from the humidity and bugs, so the houses are literally water proof. Except for the electrical sockes in the walls, which I tried not to think about as I was spraying the wall with the hose....

So, today is moving day! I am very excited. I'll post some pictures of the new house soon.