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.
Monday, August 30, 2010
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
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
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
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