Jarabacoa-Round 2!

(Maybe that should read "Jarabacoa-Round 3!")

Okay, its official. I am a horrible blogger. Ironically, I love to write, but as you might find out in the following paragraphs I am perhaps too busy for my own good, so blogging often goes on the back burner.

Well, this is going to be a quick update on my life. Nothing too fancy or too detailed, (or edited!), but I feel like I should write something!

After spending a very short, but very sweet summer back home in Illinois I'm back in Jarabacoa! I'm so glad I came back. Living here is so much easier the 2nd time around. Its fun being here and actually enjoying the life I made here. I think you know a place is home when you can walk into the vegetable market and the vendors immediately know you. I love it :)

As for teaching, I am really enjoying that the second time around too. This year is a big reality check though. I know it might not sound like it to you fellow American "edgies" and teachers, but 19 kids is alot for our school to have in one classroom.The rooms are small, there is no air conditioning, and children here are just raised to act very differently than most children in the States. Oh, and most of them don't speak or understand alot of english. Joy! Needless to say both the 1st grades at JCS are packed with kids and Kristin, the other teacher, and I are both exhausted. But I am learning alot and growing so much as a teacher.

Brian is also in my class again this year. He is a special needs boy who is from the barrio (the slums) right behind my house. It has been so so exciting to see the improvements he has made since last year. He knows so much English and his behavior is miles beyond what it was last year. God is so good :)

Brian and his friends will come over every once in a while and hang out. Its fun, but also dangerous. I hate to be so blunt, but some of the people who live in the barrio are hard to trust. There were actually some things stolen from the house below us this last week by some people from the barrio. They use kids to get into small places and that's what happened in this case. Anyways, its been rough knowing how to handle ministering to these boys. They need so much love and care, but we also never know if they are being sent by adults to steal. Its a really sad reality of living here. So, if you think of it, pray for wisdom. And pray that the stolen belongings be some how compensated for. Also, they think that the man who robbed the house is the same man who was connected to another robbery that same night. He stole a moto, kidnapped an underage girl, bought a bunch of drugs and took off for another city. In this country the sex slave industry is huge. Its actually #3 in the world. Pray that that girl is not sold as a prostitute and returned home. I don't know her personally, but she is from our neighborhood.

Speaking of all that, Kristin will be leaving JCS in January to start a safe house for girls that are rescued from sex trafficking. In fact, they have already started the house and I was just there helping them set up and hang out with the girls. I am so happy for her and her husband, Dave, to start this new ministry. Kristin is my best teacher friend here. She is so great at school and has taught me so much about teaching. Its going to be hard teaching without her.

God is incredible. Everyday I am learning more to trust in him to give me the strength, peace, love, patience..(the list goes on) to live here. He is teaching me what it really means to have a relationship with him, like he is my friend. Its so hard sometimes, but knowing him is so worth it.

Post comments, or write my on facebook. I want to hear about whats going on on the home front!

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.

Motorcycles in Manaboa

Hello Friends! I know I have been bad at keeping up with my blog, but my friend, Jim, just showed me how to post a slide show! I thought I would try it out with these pictures from a recent motorcycle trip. Enjoy!

A White Christmas

JCS ended classes on the 21st of December and I was finally home for Christmas on the 22nd! This meant that I had one day to unpack, do laundry, and do some last minute shopping before our family celebrations started on the 24th!

Luckily my family "took off" the 25th from Christmas craziness and we had a day to work around the house. It was actually very nice to not have to do something that day. That evening we ordered in Chinese and went to see a movie. How American are we :) It was actually one of my favorite days of break. We relaxed and enjoyed each other and that is just fine with me.

I got a new camera for Christmas..yeah!! (All my blog pictures since November have been stolen from various friends' computers).

My two and a half weeks home were so so great. It was just what I needed after a crazy first semester of teaching overseas. I don't think I realized how much I missed my family, friends and life in the States until I was actually there after a 5 month absence.

Here are just a few highlights of my trip...

(Melody, I totally stole some of these from your facebook. I guess I am still in the habit even with my new camera.)

Christmas with the family

(I have decided that my family needs to take more pictures...)

Christmas cooking with Melody

Friends in Chicago

Brothers! Way to go Andrew.

Gingerbread house with my two best friends! :)

Thank you for all your prayers for safety and transitions as I have been traveling back and forth!

Peace and Blessings,

Jo ♥

Christmas Crazy

Well, I am very overdue for an update so I am going to chunk everything into a few posts.

Before I begin to tell you all of our 1st grade Christmas activities, I should remind you of the way most kids are right before the holidays-hyper! So our normal energy level was heightened...just a little.

Christmas Program

Every year JCS has a Christmas program in which each class presents a Christmas song, dance or skit. Of course, as over achieving 1st graders, we decided to perform two songs: Donde esta Santa Clause? and Rudolph. Kristin and I combined forces and worked hard to coordinate music, costumes, and of course, the children for the performance. Our first song went as planned... for the first 30 seconds, after which our music went out. But the kids didn't miss a beat. I was so proud of them. They kept singing as loud as they could. And so did I :)

Snap shots from the girls' dressing room while we were waiting to go on stage...

Here is a little of our version of Rudolph. If you listen to the end you might notice the "Dominican-ized" ending. Usually where we would add "like George Washington", we said "like Pablo Duarte", one of the Dominican founding fathers.

That night Kristin and I also performed a dance to Joyful Joyful ( Sister Act style of course) with our dance class. 3 songs back to back made for a crazy night but it was so much to fun to enjoy it with all the kids.

After the program with my roomies :)

Christmas Party

Kristin and I also joined forces once more for a Christmas party at my house. We had lots of crafts, cookie decorating and a short Christmas-themed gospel presentation. A very fun day, but I am still finding glitter in my house!

Christmas cookies!

Christmas Banquet

That night JCS held its annual Christmas banquet fundraiser at one of the local hotels. It was a very fun evening with lots of food, merengue dancing, and visiting with my students- three things that make for a very happy Johanna :)

A few of my boys all dressed up. It doesn't look it, but I promise they were very happy to see me! C'mon boys, smile!

Amanda, Allison, Me and Anna

Dominican-style Christmas is a lot of fun! Crazy, but fun. However, it never really felt like Christmas in 70 degree weather. I actually started missing the cold and of course, snow! Who would have thought. Needless to say I was ready to be home, cold and all, with my family for Christmas.

Feliz Navidad!

Peace and Blessings,

Jo ♥

Thankful

For my November update I have decided to go with the Thankfulness theme. Original, I know.

A little over a week ago my mom called me asking if I had seen any specific ways God had answered prayer since being in Jarabacoa. There were a few things that came to mind right away, specifically in the area of provision. God had provided me with the position at JCS, the finances to get here, and friendships to encourage me along the way. Everything has been so exciting and amazing. But to be honest, once I got here I think I lost my drive to pray. While I still pray, it has not fulfilling. I have not been relying on prayer anymore.

When my mom called me I felt convicted right away, because I knew I hadn't been relying on God through prayer like I should. The verse Phillipians 4:16 came to mind after I talked to her. It says:

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, in prayer and thanksgiving, present your requests to God."

When Paul wrote about prayer, he wrote about thanksgiving. Do I pray with thanksgiving? Do I live with thanksgiving? Do I live everyday thankful to God through prayer?

Honestly I had never really thought of prayer like this before, but it is very striking.

If I am thankful for the blessings and even difficulties in my life, I would let God know that on a daily basis. I would give thanks. Its not simply saying the words "thank you", but submitting my everyday thoughts and actions to him, because I am thankful. I am thankful to my Father that he has given me a life to live: both physically and spirtually. And the best way to to say "thank you" is to give it back to him.

Here are some ways that God has truely blessed me -in both good times and bad.

-Health: I surprisngly almost made it through November without getting sick! Those of you who were tracking my life here three years ago may remember an infamous spider bite that started out my semester. Well, the same type of spider...or whatever it was...decided to leave its mark on me once more, only on my leg. Long story short I was out of school for the three days before Thanksgiving break. Only a bite, you say? Well the bite turned into an infection and walking was very painful. Not to mention the fever and vomitting that came along with it! Fun!

Thank you God that my infection is gone, that I am walking again and keeping everything in my stomach! :D

Friends: This brings me to my 2nd item on my list. I have never felt so popular than when I have been sick! I was so thankful for all my friends who took such good care of me and came to visit me. Melisa and Mandy: you are such good roomates. Thank you for keeping track of all my pills and keeping me hydrated! Jim: thank you for driving me all around town to find a doctor and an open pharmacy. Joan: thank you for walking back to the pharmacy in the rain after I left my perscription sheet at the pharmacy...I would! Mellissa: Thank you for being my "mom" :) Kristin: thank you for making our 1st grade Thanksgiving play happen in my absence! You are an awesome teacher and friend and I am so lucky to know you!

Thanksgiving Break: I was a little worried that I wasn't going to be able to enjoy my Thansgiving break to the fullest after getting sick. But no worries, I was able to eat all the yummy food that we had at the JCS fauculty dinner on Thursday. Dominicans don't celebrate Thanksgiving so I was very grateful for the fact that we actually had a turkey for the dinner!

Mandy and I also had our own Thanksgiving dinner with some Dominican friends from church. We wanted to expose them to the wonders of Thanksgiving food! So we spent all day cooking Friday with our friend, Jim. It was our first Thanksgiving meal on our own so we were pretty proud of ourselves. Even though we had to roast a chicken instead of a turkey, I think they were thourougly impressed.

10 hours of cooking and baking!

Amanda's new found calling: roasting chickens My new found calling: baking pies

The power would go out!

On Saturday some friends and I took a day trip out to Santiago, a larger city about 45 minutes away. It was my first time driving in this country. SO crazy, but so fun . Kinda reminded me of Chicago actually. Just even more intense! We took full advantage of our time there and packed our day. We spent the day site seeing, shopping at La Sirena (a large department store) and the mall, seeing a real life movie in the movie theatre, bowling, and eating at a resturant. Essentially we spent the day in the United States. Ha! Those things might not sound special to you all back home, but it definetley felt like I was living large!

Photo shoot at the statue Friends

So fancy... and so classy!

A visit home: While I have only been out of the States for 4 months, I am so grateful for my upcoming visit home at Christmas. It really gives me a sense of comfort as I finish the semester. Christmas just does not seem the same with 70 degree weather and palm trees. (Not that I am complaining-at all!) Thank you so much to everyone who have given financially to make my visit possible!

Answered Prayers: Help with Brian

In my last blog I wrote about one of my students, Brian, who just started at JCS this year. Since I last wrote the 2nd grade student teacher from Taylor Universtiy started working with Brian for an hour everyday on phonics. She is a huge blessing! I wish she could stay forever! I have also seen improvements in our tutoring sessions. I actually look forward to these days alot. I am able to give him the attention he needs and make activities a more exciting than his everyday school routines. Please continue to pray for Brian's transition into school. While I am very grateful for his improvments, he is still light-years behind the other students in many areas. He is not at the maturaty or academic level as the rest of the students and this acounts for some pretty difficult days.

Well. That sums it up for now. I can garauntee that December's update will be even longer due to all that is coming up!

Thank you all for your prayers. They are so appreciated.

Peace and Blessings,

Jo ♥

A very overdue update

Friends and Family,

I am so sorry that it has been so long! I apologize to any of you who have sent me emails or facebook messages that went unanswered. My life has taken off since the end of August and I have been in and out of internet access since then. However, as of yesterday afternoon we finally have internet in the house!

So many things have happened since my last post, so I will try to summarize my life as best I can.

Since then I have...

-Started School!

Yes, I am finally a real life teacher! 1st grade keeps me on my toes at all times, but I absolutley love my job. I only have ten students in my classroom, but I am not complaining! Here is a little backround on my students:

Many of the families at JCS are local business owners, politicians, doctors and lawyers. Because our school is bi-lingual and American based, families send their children there for a quality education, not because it is a Christian school. This differs from alot from Christian schools in the States, because a good percentage of the families are not believers. As a friend pointed out to me, most of them will follow in their parent's footsteps and become local leaders. So as Christians we JCS teachers have the incredible oppurtunity and responsibility to share God's love with both the current and future leaders of Jarabacoa.

JCS starts in Pre-K 2 and goes through 12th grade, so most of my students have been attending the school for 4 years already. Their minds have been immursed in english since they were 2 years old, but language development is still a large focus of my teaching day. It has been fun trying to find ways to teach english vocabulary throughout the various subjects of the day.

A normal day includes Calendar, Bible, Reading Groups, Snack/Recess (of course!), Math, Phonics, Specials (Gym, Art or Computers), Lunch/Recess, Read-aloud, Handwriting, Spanish (praise the Lord-I don't teach this!) Social Studies or Centers.

As you can see we keep very busy, but we have lots of fun! I have a GREAT group of kids who are hardworking, sweet and absolutley halarious. They wear me out alot, but I am so lucky.

We just finished our firefighter unit this Friday. We ended it with a JCS FD ceremony were they were awarded their badges and hats for knowing firesaftey!

Here are more pictures!!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2032693&id=62401310

Teaching 1st grade wouldn't be as fun without my fellow teacher and friend, Kristin DeYoung! I am so lucky to have her guidance as I venture in my first year of teaching. She has also become a very close friend and I am so so blessed to have her in my life!

Kristin and I at Parent Night

-Moved Houses

In the middle of September my roomates and I moved down the road into a new house. A number of factors went into the desicion, but in short, we are now in a little more secluded (meaning, safer) and quieter part of the neighborhood. Our landlord, also our nextdoor neighbor, has been very helpful with the move and is Mr. Handyman himself. I am so glad he is around! We are the first renters of this place, so we are pretty blessed!

Amanda have already set our creative minds to work, but don't have much fruit from our labor yet. Photos yet to come!

-Found a church

One of my goals upon coming to live in the DR was to remain closley connected with Dominican culture by getting involved with a local church. Teaching at a English speaking school and working/living with fellow American teachers has given me plenty oppurtunity to stay connected with my own culture, but has made it too easy to remain closed off from Dominican culture. My first Sunday here I visited a church only minutes walking distance from my house called Amor a Quesquia. My roomie, Mandy and I have been going there since then and I know I have found my Dominican home church. Within my first few Sundays we met a group of people our age that we have loved getting to know. They have been incredibly welcoming and supportive of us being here. One of the things that I admire about the church is their closeness and obvious love for each other. After each Sunday service we head into town and usually eat a cheap meal out or pitch in to make a meal together. I am so excited to spend more time with these people that have made my transition that much easier.

We love to play Uno-Dominican style! Even when the power goes out!

-Joined a Bible Study

I have also decided to join a small group through Amor Quisqua. This has been a great way to know other people in the church that I might not get to know otherwise. It also gives me another oppurtunity to practice my Spanish!

-Started a dance class

Kristin and I have started an excersise/dance class for girls Grades 3-6. Each week we do a mix of kickboxing, zumba and yoga stretches. It has been so much fun to learn dances with these girls because they know how to move better than we do! Kristin and I thought it would be an excellent oppurtunity to encourage excersise through dance (something all Domincans know how to do!) that is both fun and edifying!

-Started Tutoring

While most of my students come from well off families and have been learning english for a few years now, I have one student who is in his first year at JCS. Bryan comes from a very poor family and has never been in an educational setting before, let alone a full day English speaking school. He is a VERY high energy little boy and obviously has an especially hard time adjusting to the langauge aspect of school. So we have started tutoring after school on Tuesdays. This gives me a chance to know and understand Bryan better as a child, not just as a student. We have so much fun doing different games and activities that I otherwise would not get to do with him. He is very fun and is always looking forward to "playing with Miss Craig" on Tuesday afternoons! ;)

Believe it or not, that has been a short summary! I look forward to hearing from people and being able to respond! Thanks so much for all your prayers thus far. It is a blessing to know that I have the love and support from people back home!

If you would please continue to pray for

-energy througout the week

-love for my students, even when I am tired!

-tutoring sessions with Bryan-that they would be benificial and productive, but also enjoyable for him!

-continued postive relationships with church friends

-improved Spanish skills. I am getting plenty of practice, but sometimes it is tiring!

Peace and Blessings,

Jo