This is Doulos

Three and a half months exactly since I moved here. Even though I have been through a roller coaster ride of emotions, from the feelings of inadequacy and failure to the pure joy and disbelief of how incredible my life is.  Through it all, one thing holds so true, the place where I am serving is exactly where God has hand picked for me to be at this moment in my life.

Jonathan Ramm, our technology guy, just made two incredible videos that I would like to share with you that tells the story of the life I live everyday.  The first tells what we are about at Doulos. 

Doulos Discovery

I honestly tear up every time I watch that video, knowing that it is not just words being said but it is truth that I see happening every day at work. Words can not express how thankful I am to be apart of a place that is so focused and effective at changing the lives of the next generation.

The second video is an invitation to come to learn and serve with us.  We host service learning trips that take visitors on an adventure to learn more about the world around them in a real and authentic way.  I invite you to come and learn along side of us. 

Come, serve and learn 

There is a coral reef trip at the end of January and a clean water trip in March.  Please let me know if you are interested in coming to join.  :) 

But most of all, I just love sharing what is going on here at Doulos. I love that we can all be apart of what God is doing around the world.  Thank you for serving in the location that God has placed you.  He has a purpose and plan for each of us and is doing great things in all parts of the world. 

 Love.

Faith like a Mustard Seed

One day, God told a man, “Go push that mountain.” Because this man wanted to please the Lord and obey what He had said, everyday this man went and pushed the side of the mountain. Everyday the result was the same, the rock would be unmoved but the man continued as the Lord had commanded. One day, Satan came along, “Why are you pushing this mountain?  You are but a measly man, how can you make a difference in pushing this mountain?”  The man, discouraged, went to the Lord and lamented that he felt like all of his work pushing this mountain was in vain.  In a gentle voice the Lord responded, “Your work has not been in vain, look at how strong you are.  I did not ask you to move the mountain, I just asked to you to push.  In faith you did what I asked each day.  I have grown you and now come rest in my arms and watch as I move the mountain for you.”

           

Each morning, my class has devotions.  The story we have been studying this week is the story of the mustard seed growing into the largest tree in the garden from Matthew. I made an activity sheet for my students that said “Con fe como un semilla de mostaza, tu puedes hacer grandes cosas con DIOS!”  With faith like a mustard seed, you can do great things with GOD!  As I glued mustard seeds to each worksheet (thank you Anna :) ), I asked the students “With faith this size, what can you do?”  Move mountains!  “Who do you need to do that?” DIOS!  What a great lesson I was teaching my students, but was I really living it?  

Today, throughout the day, I felt very discouraged.  I felt as though all of this that I was pouring into my students was not good enough and that it was not impacting their life at all.  I felt like I was trying to do the impossible (the things as simple as teaching my students to walk in a straight line, let alone the complex and profound).  I came home feeling defeated, wanting to just make a quick dinner and go to sleep early.  Instead, Frai and I started talking.  I shared briefly how I was I feeling and the above story was her response.  She did not know what I was teaching in devotions, she had just read this story today and wanted to share it as an encouragement. 

What a Big God we serve that He would orchestrate all of this to teach such a powerful lesson.  Even though I feel as though I am pushing and pushing with no result, God is working.  I just need to do in faith what he has asked me to do (love and teach my students).  He is the one growing and shaping me as I struggle each day, and in the end He is the one who will move the mountains.  Even the ones that are WAY too big for me to even imagine moving. 

I just want to encourage you, where ever you are at, what ever God has asked you to do.  Even though there are days that you feel like you are pushing and pushing and getting no where, God sees your faithfulness.  He is making you stronger through the process and ultimately, He is the only one who can and will move that mountain.  All we have to do is be faithful, rest in his arms, and watch as he does the impossible.

Bamboo

So...  I may not have a Target to run to every other day to buy something I need, but I do have a plethora of natural supplies.  Living here I have been challenged to use the resources that are available to be creative and to make beautiful things.  A wonderful thing about living in a tropical country is the ability to use the environment and natural beauty. 

So I wanted to use some bamboo for a project I was making.  I told Frai and her brother Luis.  Luis's response... "Oh I know where we can get some. Let's go!" 

Here's our adventure.  :)

We walked down the road…

We crossed a river…

We found bamboo shoots…

How Beautiful is my new home?  Serious.

We cut bamboo…

I also cut some bamboo with that same machete

We encountered a bee hive…

We smiled for the camera because the trip was a success….

Notice the awesome Machete

We crossed back over the river…

Yes, I followed in after him with the smaller pieces.

 

And Then I began the creation of bamboo project #1…

Beautiful Bamboo!

 My earrings finally have a home.  

Final Product!

  Best part...I made this for completely free!  With more ideas and projects to come! So excited.

Sites I see...

Some pics of my everyday life...

Doulos!!


At Doulos, Upstairs Cafe Taino... This is like the teacher's lounge... not quite the typical teacher's lounge.


The Garden that was designed and planted by previous students. And yes that's a open water pond... with piranhas :) A highlight for my students has been watch a turtle eat a dead fish. Que Chulo!


Motos everywhere. Soon I will have my own :)



I'm on the back with Frai and Brian... We're driving down the street I walk down everyday to get to school. Love it!


Darian is Frai's 3 year old nephew who comes over almost everyday. We play a lot. I LOVE his laugh and he brings me so much joy. When I'm working on school stuff on my computer at home, he usually crawls into my lap and asks to take pictures and videos of himself. haha


This is my beautiful and wonderful assistant Natali. She is with me in the mornings but we are working on approving her to stay the whole day with me. I love her. (and my kids are hard at work doing math stations in the background!)



And here I am teaching... Gosh I love my job!

There are some sites I see... Hope you enjoyed! :)

My students!

So I thought that you may want to see the faces of the bundles of joy I get to spend my days with. In these pictures they are working in their groups at centers. It's probably their favorite time of the day.



Here the all are... table by table...




Thank you Mary Lurhs for donating the wonderful teaching supplies like number bingo (above) and pattern blocks (below). Your many gifts are a blessing each day as it helps my kids grow and learn!



Aren't they awesome? Wish you could meet their little (and some VERY big) :) personalities. haha.

One cute story.... I was joking with the kids that I lived here at school (you know the thought in every kids mind that the teacher lives at school) well after I said this, Joseph, whose mind is usually in the clouds... looks at me and says in spanish,"Ms. Rachel, I have a place for you to sleep at my house. You don't have to live here!" haha It was so cute! I then assured them that I do have a house that I live in. haha...

First graders seriously keep my life interesting as they are learning and growing.

oh yes... and here I am with my kids!


More to come! :) Hope all is well!

School days... :)

So we’ve had 8 days of school so far... and I would say it has been quite the rollercoaster.

Day 1: SURPRISE… my students don’t understand anything I’m saying in English! YES! ☺ Break out every Spanish phrase and translation I got, cuz I’m translating everything today! Haha Even though I felt like it was chaos… Sara, our teaching coach here at school, explained that as long as no major blow out occurred… it was a success…. So, Day 1, chaos=success??? Sure.

Day 2-4: Routines are being established… less chaos each day. I’m learning about each student. I have a GREAT group of kids… lots of really good kids who want to do well. One who LOVES to talk alllllllll the time. Even if he’s not talking to someone ☺ and one who LOVES to touch things and move… he now has a beanie baby tiger to pet during group time. It really is a great group of 18 students and I’m excited for the year.

Day 5: Whooooaaaa. What did I get myself into? It finally hit… Most of my students, although good kids at heart, come from very little structure and have not been ingrained with the belief to follow instructions and obey an authority figure in their life. Looking back on this day, I also think I had expectations for these first graders that were way beyond their age and maturity level which caused a great deal of frustration in me. On top of everything, I don’t speak their language and without my words, I felt powerless as a teacher.

By far, the hardest day I’ve had here.… and ironically, it was one of my favorite days here. It was a favorite because I was humbled so quickly and reminded so clearly that I am not the one in control or able to teach these students. It is ONLY through the Lord working through me that any change or impact will be made in these students’ lives. I know I needed to go through the process of humbling and the pain of realizing that I can’t do it myself in order to discover the beauty of God’s grace and power. I feel like it is in these hard turbulent times, the most beautiful things come.

A picture in God’s creation: I was just sitting by a river today where there was a bunch of rapids and little waterfalls. Now, I have always been completely fascinated by waterfalls and the power of the rushing water because I believe it show’s God’s power. But today, as I sat there watching the sheer power of that water, I saw it as a picture of the lesson I learned last week… that the beauty of these waterfalls comes from the turbulence of the rapids. That it is through the hard times that God is able show his power and might and ability to turn the most turbulent situations in our lives into beautiful things. What a great thing.

Day 6-8: Thank you Lord that I’m not in this alone and that You love these kids more than I could ever comprehend or know. Help me Lord to see them through your eyes and to be your vessel in growing, teaching, and investing in their lives.


Interesting facts:
• I currently have 52 mosquito bites on my body… 37 of which are on my ankles or feet.
• I’m sitting with Brian (the fourth grader I live with) who read that last statement and said, “you need to put one million mosquito bites”… because I have so many. ☺
• I have a class pet, his name is Mighty Mouse. He helps my kids learn and he keeps my feet from touching the floor when I am planning. ☺
• I sometimes have guests in my bedroom… and get to sing “La Cucaracha, la cucaracha… Na-na-na-na-na-na-na” while celebrating my new friends.
• I LOVE LOVE LOVE my job… and my house… and my co-workers and am reminded in the small things that I am exactly where God wants me right now.

I pray all is well with you and that through the all times in your life, especially the turbulent ones, you will find the peace of God to be real and powerful in your life.

First two weeks

Hello my friends and family!

So I can’t believe it’s already been two weeks since I first left the states. So much has happened that it would be a book if I tried to explain it all. But instead, I’ll go through the major stuff to give you a taste of what I have experienced thus far.

Home-stay: I am living with the Frailandia, the receptionist at Doulos and her nine-year old son Brian. I have loved living here so far. It feels more like a roommate situation, which I think, will make my staying here longer way more feasible. She is teaching me how to cook and clean Dominican and as time goes, she’ll do less and less for me as I become an independent Dominican. ☺ I have my own room…



And we have a beautiful living room/kitchen…



School: At Doulos, this past two weeks have been a mix of training and getting classrooms ready. Each morning we start with devotions and prayer. I love that our focus starts on Christ as we begin our work day. The staff is about half American and half Spanish-speaking (Dominican, Haitian, Puerto Rican, Colombian, etc.) so everything that we do is in English and Spanish… Which you know makes my heart happy. ☺ I’m reminded each time we get together how much I love this place and how grateful I am to be apart of team that cares so much about each other, our students, and the community.





This past week I have been working a lot on my room to get it ready for the students to come tomorrow (Wednesday, Aug 18). It’s almost there, I just need to do a couple more finishing touches and finishing planning the first day’s activities. I’ll post pictures of my room when it’s a little neater and all my posters are up. I have 20 students in a quite small room so you can be praying that the first day goes well and that they all fit. ☺ Pray that I make a connection with all of my students these first days of school and that it is the start of a great year.


Expeditionary Training: The school curriculum and philosophy of learning is all based on a type of learning called “expeditionary learning”. In order to learn to teach an expedition, the leaders of Doulos took us through an expedition on learning about the Haitian/Dominican relationship and how that is evident in sugar cane companies in the Dominican Republic. We did exploratory research about sugar cane companies and the use of Haitians in their plantations to cut sugar cane and produce it.

We than went to a batay or a Haitian community of sugar cane workers that is near Santo Domingo. There, I learned so much more than I could have if I only read and watched movies about it. (This is a huge part of expeditionary learning.) I saw small children with barely any clothes on and bellies bulging because of lack of nutrient and parasites, chewing on sugar cane for their only meal of the day. I heard a woman tell of the lack of clean water and food for her to feed her family and when she tried to grow her own garden, the guards of the sugar cane company took her food away. I saw the dozens of hands raised of those who do not have cedulas (or birth cirtificates) so they, nor their children can attend a Dominican school. I heard a young man tell us of the hope he had when he left his Haitian town as he followed the promises from the sugar cane works. I saw the burden of life weigh heavy in the eyes of an elderly man as he told us that everyday in the batay was horrific, but each day is better than his life in Haiti. I saw the oppression of racism and slavery in the lives of humans, just like you and me.




These are not easy things to experience or read about it, but it is through educating people that this is happening around the world that gives them hope that maybe one day they will not have to live like this. Please be praying for these families that freedom may come physically and that they may experience the life giving freedom that comes from Christ.

A major problem that this community faces is access to clean water. We brought with us 50 Agua Pure water filters (you can google the company, it’s awesome) that were bought by a Rotary Club in Texas. These filters require no electricity, can be used with river water and will last them as long as 5 years if they continue to take care of it. Krista, the director and founder of Doulos, did a training with the community members on how to use and maintain clean filters.


Krista Training the community

We distributed a filter to each household and got to see a little bit of the burden be lifted as we gave them the gift of clean water and a chance at a healthy stomach.



I think that’s all for now. Love you guys and hope you are all doing well.

Cuidate!

Rachel

Traveling Day!

July 31, 2010

The past couple weeks have been filled with lots of final goodbyes and packing. You would think that making a big move to another country would be stressful and overwhelming but that was not the case. Everything went so smooth. Yet another confirmation that I am walking in what the Lord wants for my life as I take this next step in my life.

As I was on the plane to Miami, I was just reflecting on the past years of my life that have brought me to this point. I truly believe that God started preparing me for this journey when I was a little girl, sitting in my parent’s dining room listening to story after story that Missionaries Mike and Mona Shields would tell. I remember so clearly thinking about how much I wanted to live a life full of adventure in Latin American for the Lord just like them. God continued to preparing, winning a free trip to visit missionaries in Mexico City, the many missions trips and prayer times as God began to stir my heart to live with and love people that may live a little different than how I grew up but so precious. There were so many people along the way to encourage and challenge me to grow and love people more. If you are reading this right now, chances are you are probably one of those people. Thank you so much for what you have meant to me.

Most of all, as I look over my life, I see how God has kept me and grown me into who I am. Though I may haven’t not always wanted been faithful, He has been so faithful. Always lovingly drawing me closer and closer to him. Words can not express how thankful I am and all that He means to me. Although, Jeremy Camp’s words in his song “My Desire” come close to describing some of what I feel.
“All my life I have seen where you’ve taken me, beyond all I have hoped and there’s more left unseen. There’s not much I can do to repay all you’ve done, so I give my hands to use.” The rest of the song express’s a desire to be emptied so in order to be used by God. As I start this next step in my journey, that exactly my desire. To be emptied of all the humanness I am so that God can fully use me in any and all ways.

Please be praying for safe travels (I have one more flight to the DR then a 45 min taxi ride) and quick adaption, as I get accustomed to my new home. You can also be praying for my host family and my future students. Like I just expressed, I want to be used by God in great ways as I learn, live, and teach in the DR.

Thank you so much for being interested in my life and this exciting journey God is taking me on. I’m thrilled to be finally creating my own crazy missionary stories and look forward to sharing then with all of you and the Shields once did with me! ☺ I will try to post updates often and try to get pics up quickly so you can enjoy the sites of the DR as well. I love you guys so much and know that I am praying for you as well!

In Him,
Rachel

First two weeks