Women's Conference at IBEM

This past October, our church had their annual Women’s Conference. I think this might have actually been the first women’s conference that I have ever gone to and I really enjoyed it. Women from all over came to the conference. Not just the women from our church but from other churches in San Pedro to La Romana, Santo Domingo and even Santiago! Our speaker was Damaris Carbaugh and she was not only a good speaker (at least from the Spanish parts that I could make out), she was also a really good singer and did a mini concert for our church the next night. I could see her passion for the work and encouraging others to dive into the Word as well. She spoke to us about God’s grace giving us peace. She also urged us to get into the Word every day and soaking it up. The real thing we should be concerned about is the inner condition of our heart and we can nurture it by growing closer to God and staying in His Word. She spoke from the book of Philippians which happens to be my favorite book in the Bible, even though it is usually very convicting as well. For the small group sessions, I got to enjoy I was able to learn how to make a simple necklace, how to deal with your children from a Biblical manner, how to teach child Bible stories/lessons and make it interesting and doing sign language to Christian songs. 

 

Singing together at the start of the conference

 

Our speaker, Damaris Carbaugh

Dominican National Anthem

The other day a fifth grader asked me what the American National Anthem was and strangely enough, another Dominican student in my class started to sing it. Besides being a little bit comical, it reminded me about a huge difference in the culture here as compared to the US. Every school morning, at a set time, (7:45) the students in every classroom stand up and sing the Dominican National Anthem. The police station next to the school also plays it every day at 8 in the morning for the community to hear. There is a high level of respect for the national anthem in the Dominican Republic, which is great. Even if you are not personally singing the song, if you are close to those who are, it is common courtesy to stop what you are doing and stand quietly, until the song is completed. Sometimes even people on the street will stop if they hear it and then continue on walking once it is complete. Sadly, this is not the case in the United States. It is not to say that people don’t respect the national anthem it is just not as highly revered. In fact, there are some people in the United States that don’t even know the whole the national anthem and can’t sing it. Even in the schools, students say the pledge of allegiance, but I remember many times when there were students who didn’t stand up or didn’t sing it and the teacher never said anything about it. But here in the Dominican Republic, you can walk into any classroom and see all the students standing up straight and tall and singing their national anthem with pride and vigor. It’s so cool to witness and reminds me that there are so many things you can learn and appreciate when you are living in a different culture. 

I wanted to put up a video of them singing the national anthem, but unfortunately it wouldn't upload. Sorry.But here is a photo of the students in grades 1st through 4th at assembly. 

Friday Morning Assembly

Gracias a Dios!

Well, I have been here for more than two months now and there are so many things I can praise God for.

1. “Cooler” weather has finally come and it has been glorious!!! I no longer feel like I am sweating constantly and this makes it much easier to teach my classes and also improves the concentration of my students during class. It is definitely not cold here, but it is a refreshing change and oftentimes, I get to enjoy a cool breeze since my classes meet outside under a tent.

2. I feel a little bit more prepared with my classes and now have a better understanding of what my students need. Also, I am really enjoying the tutoring sessions. It gives me a chance to work with the students one on one and we are able to converse more and do more interactive activities.

3. The power hasn’t gone off too much recently!

4. The Lord has kept me safe through everything.

5. I have been able to enjoy times with friends. This past weekend, we were able to go to the first opening baseball game in San Pedro and got to cheer on Las Estrellas (The Stars) to victory!

 

At the baseball game

6. My ipod is working!!! A couple weeks ago, I went to wash my sheets and accidently scooped up my ipod in them. I had filled the washer and had just turned it on when I heard a noise and instantly knew what it was. I quickly retrieved it and threw it in a bag filled with rice. I had no hope of it ever working again, since it was probably in the water for a good 5 minutes. But praise the Lord, He literally performed a miracle. I went to turn it on 5 days later, to check, not really thinking it would work, but it did and there is hardly any damage to it!!! It truly is a blessing from God because many times I use my ipod to look up words in Spanish that I don’t know to better help my students and to also call my family back home.

7. I live right across from the school, so I get to sleep in extra late in the morning. Also, if I am running late, I don’t have to worry about getting a motorcycle taxi, I just walk across the street! It is also nice with tutoring because it is so much more convenient and I don’t have to spend money to get a ride to the school and I get hungry during my break, I can just walk over to my house to grab a snack!

God is so good, every day, even when I fail Him and I can’t help but praise Him for all He has done and how He has given me the strength to get through every day. 

Some things you may not know about the DR:

1. There are little convenience stores called colmados everywhere within the town of San Pedro and people use them to get basic supplies and water. Since the water is not safe to drink here, colmados sell 5 gallon jugs of water for about 50 pesos a piece (a little bit more than a dollar). So when you need some water, eggs, rice, coke, or whatever other little thing you need, you can call up your local colmado and they will deliver it to you for free of charge!

2. Taking a motocycle taxi is a common form of transportation. All you have to do is find a motoconcho (usually by a corner) and then tell them where you need to go in town and they will take you there. Depending on where you are going, it only costs between 30 to 50 pesos for the trip.  It is also not that uncommon to see 3 or 4 people on the same motorcycle.

3. Hissing is a common way to get someone’s attention, so oftentimes if you are walking somewhere motoconchos (motorcycle drivers) will hiss to get your attention and ask you if you need a ride.

4. Change is super important around here. In the DR, change is like gold. If you have too big of bills, people won’t accept your money and will just ask if you have something smaller. For example, the motoconchos rarely have change for anything bigger than 100 pesos (which is about $2.50) and you will have to ask before getting on the motorcycle if they can make change or not.  But if you are lucky, they will drive to a spot where they will break the change for you. I am constantly finding myself checking my coins and scrounging up all the small change I can find and if I don’t have any change, I will often have to go to Jumbo and buy something so I can break my money.

5. Power outages don’t stop us!! Several times at church the power has gone out, but no one really stops during the service. Even if it is pitch black, the church service continues on and we keep singing our songs or the pastor continues to preach until the generator is turned on and begins to work.

6. When it rains, it usually doesn’t last very long and Dominicans will often just wait out the rain. But if it does continue to rain, many of them will just stay in their houses if there is nowhere that they need to be. Also, during the rainy season it is always important to keep your umbrella with you, cause you never know when it might start raining and for how long.

7. It is hot around here a lot, which you probably knew, but because it is so hot it is not uncommon to see women using umbrellas when they’re walking to keep the sun off them and provide some relieve. Umbrellas are not just useful for when it is raining!

 

One Month Down

            I have been here over a month and yet each day is always different and full of surprises. Slowly, but surely, I have gotten into my school routine and am starting to get to know my students a little bit better. I am excited to get to work with them each day in small groups, but also nervous about successfully helping them improve in their English.  When I arrived, I soon found out that I would no longer be doing advanced English classes.  Instead, I would be working with students in grades 2^nd all the way up to 8^th who were struggling with English. This was a big change for me and I was unsure of how well I could do the job since I am still working on my Spanish. But I am doing it, with the Lord’s help, and little by little I am seeing improvements in my students!

            So far this new year has been challenging in many different ways, from the different struggles at school to apartment problems. But I feel that the Lord is trying to teach me how to be content wherever I am, no matter what issues I face. It is so easy to be content when everything is going well and perfect and life seems easy, but throw no electricity in your bedrooms and bathrooms for a week or no water for two days and it becomes a lot harder to be content. But then I remember all the lovely people who are supporting me and encouraging me to serve here in the DR and I realize how self-centered I am being. I don’t really deserve anything, yet the Lord has showered me with so many blessings. I have recently been encouraged by the amount of people who have sacrificed to support me here. It has been just amazing to see how in such a short amount of time, the Lord has allowed me to raise my funds to come serve in the Dominican and it is a reminder for me that this is where the Lord has called me to serve at this time. Not only that, but the Lord has surrounded me with godly people who are challenging me to be better in my walk with Christ and have been so supportive and encouraging. I am truly blessed here and I am excited to see how the Lord will be working in the coming months. 

Shopping along the Conde!