Visitors!

I have been so blessed to have two sets of visitors these past few weeks. My best friend, Melody, her boyfriend, Chris and my other college friend, Cory, were our first visitors this month. It was so nice to have Melody here with me, because she was my roommate during my semester abroad here in 2007. It was exciting to visit with our host families and friends again and remember our very fist experiences in the Dominican. The whole time I was simply blown away at God's faithfulness and provision. 3 1/2 years ago, I would never have imagined myself returning to a place that I was so scared to go to in the first place. I am only 23 years old, but God has challenged me so many times in my life plans . The fact that I am here is proof that he really does know best.
Our friends were excellent sports about going along with our crazy lives here. Besides visiting old friends and family, they helped us tutor kids at school and joined in on a birthday celebration for a boy at church. Yankaury,a new Christian, has spent alot of time with our group of friends at church. He had never had a birthday party before, and he told our friend, Jim, that all he wanted for his 17th birthday was to hang out with his friends. So...we surprised him!



After our week in Jarabacoa we of course hit the beach :) Here are some of the pictures from our beatiful weekend at Playa Durada.



This past week was Semana Santa, the equivalent of Spring Break in Latin Culture. I was so lucky to have my parents come visit me for most of the week. Amanda's parents were also visiting, so did a lot of traveling together.
I loved having my parents here in Jarabacoa. This place has been a big part of my life since I was 19 and it meant alot that they could be here. My parents met my students, rode motos, experienced a moto flat tire, ate real Dominican food, met my Dominican friends and host families, and drove with me through capital city traffic! I think they now understand some of the joys and frustrations that can come with living overseas!
After spending time in Jarabacoa we went to a north coast beach for two days and then down to the capital, Santo Domingo, on the south coast. Again, God's provision was apparent as we traveled across the country. We hit a few "bumps" along the way, one of which literally took out the power steering on our rental mini-van. Luckily, we had just come off the winding and narrow mountain road less than 5 minutes before and had entered onto the country's main (straight) highway when it broke ! The sight of our fathers (neither of whom speak Spanish) trying to communicate the concept of a power steering pulley to some helpful Dominicans is something I will never forget. Luckily, the rental company was able to switch the van out for a much nicer, but smaller, SUV. Our smallest passengers, my mom and friend, Rachel, had to take their seats with the luggage in order for us all to fit. Once we were on the road again we realized that this new vehicle's battery was not at it's best and we had a couple of close calls in the middle of heavy city traffic. Lets just say that Dominican vehicles are not the most reliable machines on the planet.
Despite the vehicle issues, we really did enjoy our vacation! Here are some pictures from their visit.