Bienvenidos a mi casa!

In Spanish, this means "Welcome to my house." And I mean it. Welcome. :)

Since most of you won't be visiting me in Monte Cristi, I thought it would be fun to give you a quick tour of the place - at least my little portion of it. This way you'll have a better idea of where I am and what I'm doing. (I still don't have the best grasp on what my job is, so don't feel badly if you don't fully understand why I'm down here. I'll let you know as I figure it out. :)

Well, here it is. Home. (For the summer.)

I was really surprised with my accommodations when Eric brought me to my room. It was A LOT nicer than expected. I have a full size bed and my own personal bathroom!! I don't even have my own personal bathroom in Michigan. Who would have known that living in a developing country would be a step up in my world? :)

Also, since I've been here, Eric has installed a ceiling fan in my room! I have to admit, I feel more that a little guilty about living in such nice conditions, especially when I see how the majority of the community lives... It makes me all the more thankful for what I have, and all the more aware of what I really don't need in order to be comfortable.


To top it all off, I have a really great view from my roof - which is easily and safely accessible to me by stairs. (Don't worry. I'm not being dangerous...yet. Just kidding.....well, kind of. :) )

This is the view at night. In the distance you can see the ocean. I love to come up here after dinner and read. It's so peaceful....and you get a good breeze. :)

Also, from my roof, I can see "El Morro" which is the mountain. And by the, I mean the. There's only one. At least there's only one you can see from my roof.

The building you can see at the bottom of this picture is one of the "ramadas" where our volunteers and interns stay. They are simply cement floors surrounded by "fence walls" and topped with a tin roof. (Which is NOT rusted...in case you were wondering. ;) ) Again, it makes my house look like a palace. In the next post I'll show you the orphanage and explain a little more about our connection to it...

For now, since you've seen a little bit of my piece of the world, let me fill you in on what a "typical" day looks like.

• 8:00 am - Breakfast
• 9:00 am-11:00 am - Vacation Bible School/Camp Program. (This week we are spending our mornings at "La Ciudad de Luz" (The city of light) elementary school, and our volunteers/interns are facilitating a VBS-type camp. Our theme is "Celebrating the Life of Jesus through the Holidays!" We celebrated Christmas yesterday. :) Feliz Navidad! )
• 12:00 pm - Lunch
• 12:30 pm - Siesta. (Nap time!)
• 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm - Vacation Bible School/Camp Program. During this time we visit a batey (pronounced "bah-TAY"), which is a small village-type area in the middle of a plantation. We run the same program as in the morning, for kids (and adults) of all ages.
• 6:00 pm - Dinner
• 7:00 pm - Evening activity. (This ranges from movie night with the kids at the orphanage, to team reflection time, to walks into town for ice cream...a personal favorite. :) )
• 9:00 pm - Separation time. This is when we leave the "orphanage side" of the property, and let the kids go through their nightly bedtime routine.
• 10:00 pm - Quiet time. (This is when Beth goes to bed - if not before. She has embraced the fact that she is not in college anymore, and therefore she cannot stay up until 1:00 am with the interns and still be fun to be around the next day.)

[Volunteers arrive and depart on Saturdays. Orientation is Sunday (along with church), and our trip to the market and the beach, along with closing, is Friday. (This makes for a busy weekend!) ]

That's "kind of" how our days go. It changes a little every day, but that's the basic outline of what "should" happen. There are some holes in the schedule to allow for travel time (some of the bateys are almost an hour away), as well as time to hang out at the orphanage, shower, rest, etc. Also, when it rains here NOTHING happens. So, we do stuff around the property like sort donations, clean, fix stuff, pump water, etc. By the way, don't let me forget to tell you a funny story about pumping water..... :)

And, I know. I still haven't told you much of what I do. Here's what I know so far:

Eric and Amanda Woods (campus minister, and family, from CMU) have been here since February serving as "Team Leaders" for the volunteers and interns. This basically means that they are in charge. They coordinate and oversee volunteer arrivals and departures, meals, in-country transportation, maintenance, intern morale, spiritual growth, being a liaison within the community, VBS programming, other "in-country experiences", etc.

That's a lot of work. So, I came to help. :) Some of my specific responsibilities include meeting one-on-one with the female interns (we have 15), leading group reflections, leading intern meetings, hugging homesick volunteers, and desperately trying to learn Spanish...among other things. I don't feel like I'm doing a lot, but Eric continues to thank me for being here, so maybe my presence is enough. I will feel helpful, though, on Wednesday and Thursday of this week when The Woods Family takes a much needed break from Monte Cristi and goes on a mini vacation...leaving ME in charge! Please pray for me those days.....yikes!

I'll have to be honest...when I arrived last Wednesday, I was immediately ready to be back in Michigan. I can't fully explain why, but I was extremely overwhelmed with...well, everything. I came to help, but I had no idea of how much help was needed. Coming in the middle of the week didn't help either. It seemed that everyone was already comfortable with each other. I was the "new kid". Not only that, but I was also the "new boss" - so to speak. It was awkward. I felt very "out of the loop". This quickly changed, however, and I've since become very comfortable here with the people and circumstances. I've also begun some significant friendships, which has been a true blessing. It's been a long time since I've been able to sing and pray and share with others in my age bracket! I'm looking forward to the continued development of these dear and necessary relationships.

And no, this is not code for "I met a boy." Sheesh...

On that note, I think I should quit. I have so much to say, but I respect the fact that you still have a life outside of reading about mine. But, I must say, thanks for sticking with me this long. And thanks for the prayers. I can feel them...even now. I'm thankful for you. :)

I will write more soon. Until then...

Sé que Dios tiene la esperanza darle, porque Él me lo ha dado. (I know that God has hope to give to you, because He's given it to me.)