Busy life!

This last Saturday was Pachi (Patricia - 3rd grade teacher) and Ricardo's wedding. It was very beautiful. I got to spend the time previous to the wedding with her and her family. It was a lot of fun and I was blessed by what God is doing in their lives. Check out the pics online! ->

School is kind of crazy right now. It's the big push to the end of the semester and finishing up everything. Please pray for unconditional love for the kids. I am struggling as they continue to push limits that have been set from the beginning of the year. Jr high kids are different from little kids in that they NEVER stop trying to push the boundaries.

I am so thankful for each one of the jr highers and am blessed as Jesus teaches me to die to myself and my desires a little more everyday. Thank you for all your prayers and please keep praying. Love to all!

God is good!

I got back from a week in the states. I went to my dad's wedding. It was absolutely beautiful and it was encouraging to be with my new step-mom. She is a huge blessing from God. Check out the pics! I definatly arrived encouraged and ready to finish the school year! God is good!

Extraño el Otoño

Well, here I am in the states. The wedding is two days and counting. It's all very exciting. My friend Renae asked me last night what do I miss about here and what do I miss about the DR when I am here. The answer to both is the people and the relationships that I have. God is so faithful in providing community wherever I am!

It has been a very busy week, meeting with donors, meeting new family, seeing old friends and preparing for a wedding. Today I am spending with my dear friend Beth Reid (www.bethjreid.blogspot.com) in her spanish class. Her students are pen-pals with my jr high students and I am so excited to share with both classes and take pics to show my kids.

I miss the colors of fall. I have taken many pictures of the leaves, like the one shown. Chico is one of the most beautiful places in fall and it's been fun wearing winter clothes (even though everyone else tells me that it is really hot here for right now, I don't believe them).
Thanks for all your prayers and support. Keep praying!

Only God brings Peace!

Just like this picture, my life is a constant struggle to maintain balance. With teaching full time, doing youth ministry in the community, teaching adult English classes, being in Discipleship class at my church and trying to maintain my relationships (very important here), I am very busy! God is always re-directing me and helping me establish boundaries.
Despite high anxiety, the Lord is faithful in bringing peace. Just rest in the Lord!
Please pray as I will be traveling on Saturday back to California. My dad is getting married! What a blessing. It is hard to leave everything here right now, because I will miss a lot and will have a lot of work to return to. The Lord is faithful in helping me focus on one day at a time.
Our kids did their Manabao presentations last week (I have never been prouder of them) and tonight some of them will share on a local TV station. Our school is very revolutionary here in this country. I can't wait to see some of you. Don't forget to check out the pics - I put them all in the right direction! Coming soon: More pics from Manabao!

Manabao for three days!

Outdoor Education Week is officially over. Thank you for those of you who were praying. It has been an exhausting week. I put all the pics on, so you can check them out. Some of them are sideways, but it's 6pm on a Friday and I'm still at school, so give me some time to get them worked out.
Basically we spent three days, Monday, Tuesday, & Wednesday in the mountains. We packed all our stuff in and had three days of class in the mountains. I taught Math class, which was building a bridge. Check out the pics - the kids built an awesome bridge. They also had Science class where they learned about the water cycle and how to keep water clean (a big problem here - dirty water). They had Social Studies class where they learned from two Haitians what it is like from their point of view and what the other half of the island is like. They had Language arts class where they wrote poems about the nature. They learned how to build their own shelters, make their own fires, and get water from a natural flowing source. They learned about God's creation and how special they are in God's eyes, how they were known by him before He even created them and that he is crazy for them. Yesterday they spent the day preparing their presentations, which they gave today. It was an awesome week! I will be posting more funny stories in the week to come, so be prepared. But in the mean time, check out the pics.
I love you all and am so thankful for your encouragement! :)