Thank you, thank you

Hi all,

This is going to be super short, but I just want to say thank you from the very bottom of my heart for everything. Thank you so much for your prayers, your words of encouragement, and your financial support. I'm just overwhelmed with gratitude. Thank you.

More to come on Monday or so.

audrey

Ya está viernes?!

Wow, I can't believe a whole week has already passed! To the left is the banana tree in our "backyard" that I'm looking at now as I type. Below are some sweet girls that hang out at the school each day. Look at that baby! :D






















This week was great--each morning going with the group from the Austin Stone to work on the Makarios school, each afternoon something different (city errands with Robin, Chichigua, etc). While the boys did some heavy manual labor on the addition to the school, us girls continued to paint the interior, organize, clean, and work on craft projects for literacy camp, which starts next week. The school looks great! I'll include more pictures later. For now, check out the work that some of the Stone guys were doing with Yeffry (Dominican for Geoffrey), one of the hardest-working young men you'll ever meet. (He looks a lot like young Walt from LOST, and he's heard this before, just fyi.)


To get to the Makarios school, you turn off of the autopista (highway, pictured at left) that runs from Puerto Plata, past the dirt road through the cane fields that leads to Chichigua (a batey to be described later) to Montellano (where the schools is), and then to Cabarete ("the beach"), onto the street Calle Silencio. Calle Silencio takes you into Montellano, and then after a couple of turns, you are on a little dirt driveway in the middle of the crowded town. The Makarios School driveway is shared with a few neighbors who live in beautiful, colorful, little wooden and metal homes. Our nearest neighbor, Adolfo, whose house is pictured below, made us some jugo de melón delicioso (really good honeydew juice, made from just honeydew and a lot of sugar). Christina, our Dominican teacher, told me that you can make any kind of juice with just a blender! I'm trying it when I get home. Anyways, It gets super muddy when it rains, so most mornings it's dusty but then mud central in the afternoons (pictured below). The school itself is yellow on the outside, now light aqua and mint on the inside. There are two classrooms, a mini-office, two bathrooms, a kitchen, and two closets. There is no glass in the windows as to help increase air flow. Each classroom is full of toys, books, and teaching materials, much like an American school, except that there are no desks, just big round tables, and everything is dusty.

A lot happened this week, way too much to relay back. That said, I'll give you a short account of my first time in Chichigua, one of the three bateyes served by the Makarios school. Bateyes were originally founded as mini-villages for those working on the sugar cane plantations. As time went on, the poorest people tended to congregate in the bateyes, and now these bateyes are scattered along the rich, green Dominican countryside, seated here and there between the cane fields. Chichigua is the smallest of the three bateyes we serve, and though around 100 people live there, I felt like the area was maybe an acre, at most. The houses reminded me a lot of the slums in Lusaka, constructed primarily of found metals that had been hammered flat, some houses acting as a quilt of ads for whatever company had originally used those canisters that now comprise their walls. Only a handful of the houses have floors.

The road to Chichigua is made of dirt, rocks, and potholes, runs through the canefields, and provides some of the most gorgeous views of countryside I've ever seen. As soon as we pulled up to Chichigua (we being me, Marissa my roommate/new BFF :), Robin, the teacher/my partner for my project, and Katy, my super funny other roommate), we are greeted by several Haitian children beaming with smiles and a game of dominoes being played next to el tanque, or Chichigua's water cistern that looks suspiciously like a rusted submarine parked a mile from the beach. The children are anxious to get to know the new gringas, Marissa y yo, and are full of questions for us. One child, Alfredo, is super interested in my watch and wonders why is says that the time is 13:20. I tell him that my watch is broken and I can't figure out how to fix it (that's my way of saying, in Spanish, that I got it stuck in military time on the way here...) and somehow little Alfredo punched just the right buttons to get it back into American time! Instantly we were best friends and I though I told him gracias! gracias! gracias!, I don't think he understood just how thankful I was. Subtracting 12 is difficult! ...Anyways, Alfredo proceeds to hold my hand as he gives me a guided tour of his neighborhood. We all then pause at the back of Chichigua to play with some of the children and talk to a woman, Elizabeth, who lives on the edge of the batey. One of my favorites is a little boy of about 2, Manuel, who during my first encounter with him was chewing on a broken butter knife. Though malnourished, little Manuelito has infinitely more energy than I do and wears me out! His favorite games are: grabbing leaves from the tree above my head, being tipped upside down/maybe trying to flip out of my arms?, and running and plowing himself into my legs. Great fun with little Manuelito! ...This has already gotten VERY long and there's so much left to tell, so I'll conclude Chichigua with a prayer request: that I would get to form some real friendships in my 5 remaining short weeks there. I didn't take any photos because I just didn't feel like it was appropriate to be taking snapshots of their situations when we aren't even friends yet. I want them to know that first, I'm interested in them, and second, I'm interested in sharing their stories with others, rather than just spectating. Ya know?

Okay, so that wasn't so short after all. Surprise! But here below are some pictures to illustrate the week:

Pictures of sweet/rowdy little niños that hang out at the school each day, asking for basura (trash), melón, and globos (balloons):














Qué preciosas!!















Below are two of the niños who hang around the school. Sweet moment, right? Right after this the two started peleando (wrasslin'). Oh, kids.


















Thanks for reading and praying and keeping in touch! Here are the praises and prayer requests that I have now:
Praises: i love the people here. Americans, Dominicans, everyone. I especially love the other intern, Marissa, and we've been blessed with some great time to share and pray together. It's been raining, still, so I'm not hot yet! Plus, praise God that I live in Texas and am used to heat.
Prayer: still feelin' a little funky, but it comes and goes. So just that I'd start feelin' great every day. Also, Spanish, humility (this is a scary prayer...and :/ slash :) has been being answered...), mom and Cody!, especially as mom makes some big decisions, and the people here. They need love and prayer.

love you all.

Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with enurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the corss, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
Hebrews 12:1-2

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

¡Falta Un Día!

For those of y'all looking for a quick update:
Yikes! It's 6:00 a.m. on Friday June 5 and I leave in about 23.5 hours. I have LOTS to get done today, things to wrap up here in the States (I like calling it that) so that I don't have to worry about them in the DR. God's continued to be gracious to me in all things. I've continued to feel encouraged and nervously excited, getting affirmation here and there about different concerns on this side of the Gulf of Mexico. I've been talking to myself and to Goldie (our dog) in Spanish for about a week now, just to practice so I won't be shaken and stirred when I arrive, and I have to say that I'm not nearly as worried about it as I was a week ago. I've even begun to think in Spanish! (I wonder if Goldie does...) Well, to make this shorter for those without a lot of time, prayer requests inlclude:
-Safety on the flights
-God picking up where the Spanish drops off and making good steps towards fluency in the next 6 weeks
-Mom and Cody, of course.
-Humility
-That I would remember it's not about me, but about God, the Dominican people, and the other staff and intern. Always.

***

For those of y'all who have a more luxurious schedule, here's a longer entry to entertain yourself/let me yammer on:
It's 6:00 a.m. on Friday June 5. This time tomorrow I'll be 30 minutes into the Delta 1854 flight to Atlanta, Georgia, after which I will then fly to Santiago, Dominican Republic where I'll arrive at 12:58 p.m. Ha. I always think it's funny when schedules are so specific...like we're gonna land at 12:58 p.m. I think it's a good omen, however, because 58 IS my favorite number ;)

Anyways, I can't sleep! I am debating whether I should lie here for another hour and a half or get up and start working on my To-Do List for today. At the beginning of the week there were 40 things To Do. I've done probably 38 of those, but then another 15 or so have been added. Will I get everything done? Maybe. Will it matter? Eh, not that much. To illustrate the feeling, however, for you Nintendo 64 fans, I feel like I'm climbing the stairs that take you to the first Bowser, but before you've gotten the required 8 stars, and the stairs just go on forever. Cody and I thought when we were little, before we had mastered Mario 64 and were still struggling a bit, that if we could just climb those red stairs for long enough we could circumvent the 8th star and cut straight to the Boss. Wrong. Plus, the time it took for us to pursue those infinite stairs in vain was more than enough for us to have figured out how to get that last star... I would have hoped that by 21 I would have learned that lesson, ya know, Do it right the first time, don't waste time. Sometimes I find have, sometimes I haven't. Really, though, I think a lot of life's about progress, 'cause who ever gets it right every time? If so, I'd like to meet them. (One day...)

Well, so I don't actually want to bore anyone or post into the infinite where it'll never get read--I'd rather save it for my impending book. Keep your eye out. Expect it to be on the shelves sometime in the next 10 or 30 years, depending on when I feel I've reached some sort of conclusion.

So I'll just say this: I'm super excited and nervous to be leaving tomorrow. My prayer is that I would just walk by faith, continue trusting God with perserverance, adhering to James 1:2-4, which say to consider it pure joy when you face trials of various kinds, for the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect in you that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. My prayer is that in trusting God I would be humbled, relying not on myself and nor focusing my thoughts and energies on myself, but on those around me whom I have been called to serve. Whoever would become great among you must be your servant and whoever would be first among you must be your slave. Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. (Matt 20:26-28)

Faltan Dos Semanas!

So I need to be practicando mi español antes de tener que hablar en español por un gran parte de las 6 semanas que estaré en la República Dominicana.

::translation:: I need to be practicing Spanish. Am I ready for this? Why didn't Makarios test my Spanish skills during my interview?! ...

Ultimately, let's be honest, I'm going to have to rely solely on God for my strength, endurance, faith, language skillz--everything--while I'm in the Dominican Republic (the DR). Thankfully God's been preparing me for this the last two years, as they've been a journey of learning to fully trust Him in all circumstances, no matter what, and no matter what I think my abilities are. Just as I think I have it pretty figured out--and by "it" I mean God, faith, my relationship with Him, his plans for me, etc.--He shakes things up again and I'm left with nothing but Him and no other option but to trust.

So I'll try to make these postings succinct, as I can tend to be verbose yet a little ADD and can relate to those who can't read more than a few lines.

Here's the deal: I leave for the DR in two weeks. I still have about $2000 to raise, but somehow I'm not yet worried. It'll happen! We had our first day of training today and it was really awesome. Just sitting around on the back porch of this mansion in Westlake, talking with the other staff about expectations, personalities, Truth, etc., was an awesome way to kick of this journey. I don't really have any expectations, because I've realized that they're never accurate and thus I have a hard time envisioning them in the first place. So I'm not really sure what to expect, but I'm definitely excited/sure I'll be humbled...yay! (just a little sarcasm...but deep down, where my heart is, I'm thankful).

T-minus 14 days until:
--Dominican children
--the Dominican beach .5 miles from our staff house
--no more A/C or flushing tp!
--doing whatever other people need me to for 6 whole weeks!