Que Hermosa

It is absolutely beautiful here. I don't even know where to start!















In the wee hours of Saturday morning mom drove me to the airport, had a little bit of a stressful (aka not trusting God) time checking in but we made it! The flight was gorgeous--the Atlantic from above...wow.

It's rained a little each day I've been here. And by "a little" I mean "for a short time," and in that short time, a lot of water comes down. The day I arrived I experienced the hardest rain of my life--including that time I was in a hurricane in Florida--while I was traveling from the airport to the car that was picking me up. Exciting for sure :) The rain is really nice because it keeps it cool. This to our left is a picture of the storm this afternoon sitting atop Mount Isabella (as in Queen Isabella of Spain). The view is from my bedroom window.

On a short drive from Santiago to Puerto Plata you are likely to see about 10,000 different types of flora and fauna, donkeys parked on the side of the road every few miles, and "motos" (motorcycles, both private and public, as in moto taxis) galore. Traffic here is more like one giant game of chicken. Somehow, always, everybody wins. I haven't seen a wreck yet! ...I think Americans maybe just don't know how to drive...

Saturday afternoon I arrived at the Makarios House, my home for the next six weeks! I share a room with the other intern, Marissa, and a full-time staffer Katy. We share the house with two full-time guys, Jody and Reiley, and all the groups that travel through to volunteer and donate their time :) An Austin Stone youth group is here this week, lending a hand at the school, doing construction, etc. They're great! After putting my bags down we played some War, chatted a bit, and then I headed out with Sharla (the director) for training with Marissa at "the beach." We ate, prayed, planned, learned, and enjoyed creation. We also saw some of the darker (sadder) sides of the DR (in the form of young prostitution), which was heartbreaking. Don't mean to be a downer, just want to be real. It's strange to see such beauty and such ugliness juxtaposed against one another. In America we tend to hide it, which blurs things, and may be good and may not...

Moving on, the beach is beautiful, the waters clear. Marissa and I went swimming on Sunday afternoon after concluding our orientation with the rest of the group. We rode "public" back, which is a giant van/mini bus with a tree and a fish painted on the side (that's how we knew it was the right bus) that travels between Cabarete (the beach/training site) and Puerto Plata (where we live). We rode the bus (probably designed to seat 15) with about 26 Dominicans, including a sweet old, toothless man and his chicken, which we found out was going home with him to be dinner. Sweet man, poor chicken :(

This morning I went with the Austin Stone group to the school to paint the classrooms. We discovered the expert way of cutting painter's plastic, in case any of you ever want any tips. The classrooms look great and I'm discussing with the teachers and director of operations about possibly a painting mini-mural or teacher's aids onto the walls. We shall see!



Met some precious little kids today just hanging around near the school. Talked with a neat woman, her daughters, and her mother. Their house was beautiful and colorful and made of sheet metal. I hope to get to know them better later.






This afternoon I went into the city with Robin, one of the teachers, who will be my partner this summer for my photo/bio/media project. We had a great time walking along the boardwalk, planning, talking, looking at the old fisherman's boats floating in the harbor, etc. Oh, and I bought fresh squeezed pineapple juice. I saw the man squeezing it out of the pineapple. It is as incredible as it sounds. And it was only 70 pesos! (Translation: 2 bucks!!!)

Alright, SORRY this got so long! They'll fluctuate, but this is more of an intro to a lot of what it's like and what we'll be doing.

Prayer requests:
-Health (didn't feel super hot earlier...took some antibiotics and a 2 hour nap and feeling much better!)
-Humility
-Servant's attitude
-Spanish

Love you all! Keep in touch :)

From of old no one has heard or ear perceived, no eye has seen a God besides You, who acts for those who wait for You. You meet him who joyfully works righteousness, those who remember You in your ways. Isaiah 64:4-5