Summer School

It has been very busy here since my last post. I spent a couple days in Jarabacoa where we welcomed the new interns and then had a couple days of training for the summer school program, which involved all the Dominican staff and American staff of the summer program.  It is a very moving experience to see people from all over the island and the United States coming together for the same purpose to serve God through helping children at risk.  I love seeing everyone come together and worship the same God.
After training was over myself and the two interns assigned to Monte Plata and the nine Monte Plata staff packed up the bus and headed back to Monte Plata.  We arrived at the school after the shortest trip I have ever made from Jarabacoa to Monte Plata and got the interns suitcases up to their rooms.  After a few minutes of settling in, the girls jumped right into life in Monte Plata with a game of basketball (in barefeet of course). The girls have been so good about learning about the culture and wanting to experience as much of it as possible.
We began the summer school program on Monday with the most kids in attendance in all the summers I have been here.  The kids seem to really be enjoying being in school, which I believe is in large part to the staff that we have working here that truly care about these kids.  Part of my job besides organizing everything for all the classes is discipline for the kids that need to be removed from the classroom for a time.  Mostly kids get sent to me for fighting.  One such kid was sent to my office, and we talked about how fighting is not allowed in the summer school program and how it is a priviledge to be in the summer school program and how much fun it is, and I thought he seemed to be understanding it pretty well.  He was nodding his head with everything I said and looked pretty sorry for what he had done. I was getting to the end of our talk and I asked him if he understood that he can't fight in school and he said, "there's a guy who sells juice and candy over on the corner over there!" He was really excited about it. I'm not certain how much he heard about not fighting but he hasn't been sent back since, so I'm taking that as a good sign.
In the afternoons, we have been going out to the orphanage to do some math practice there.  We had been given a box with different math games to use with the kids.  They focus on fractions and place value which are areas that a lot of children here struggle with.  I wasn't sure how they would respond to having to do math, but they have been getting into the games and really want to play (it probably helps that if you win you get candy).
Things are going really well here.

Summer starts when I get to the Dominican Republic

I arrived at the airport in Santo Domingo on Monday night.  I had talked to some of the people here and had made sure someone would be there to pick me up from the airport.  I got all my bags and went through customs.  I then went down a series of hallways and finally made it to the grand exit area.  I call it the grand exit area because you walk down an aisle with people on each side waiting for their guests to arrive (kind of like the red carpet or at least that’s how I feel when I start my walk down the path).  Usually this is a very over-stimulating experience since there are so many people and faces and I am just searching for a few familiar faces.  Usually I walk past whoever is picking me up because I do not see them amongst the masses and it’s not until they call out my name that I realize they are behind me.  This time I expected it to be just like the others, so I began my walk down the aisle and kept walking and kept walking and as I reached the doors to go outside I began to wonder if anyone was ever going to call my name.  No one did.  I began to worry there had been some sort of miscommunication or that I had told them the wrong date, so I pulled out my Dominican cell phone thinking I could just make a phone call and find out when they were coming that was until I tried to turn on my phone only to find it was completely dead.  I worked up the courage to ask some strangers where a pay phone could be, and they led me to one. I thought I knew how to use a payphone but apparently not because I put my pesos in and nothing happened.  I tried to get them back and nothing happened.  A kind gentleman saw my plight and let me use his phone as I was dialing the number two familiar faces came toward me and I realized that my worst fears of being left at the airport were completely unfounded.  They took my bags we loaded the car and were on the way to Monte Plata.
               It’s been a good first week here.  I’ve been working to get everything set up for the summer program and everything seems to be in order.  I’ve even been able to watch some NBA finals even though it’s not the same not being at Grandpa and Grandma Miller’s with ample cream soda and candy, but it’ll have to do.  This week they’ve been doing their Vacation Bible School at the church.  They’ve expanded the VBS from being two age groups to three age groups, which means three sessions of VBS every day pretty much all day long.  I’ve only been helping at the VBS in the evening with the oldest age group.  We start at seven and get done around nine or nine thirty.  The kids may come late but by the end of it every seat in the church is filled.  It is a really large group that comes and in the other sessions it’s even more.  They tell stories from the Bible and the Gospel is shared every night.  Tonight was the last night and there were many who accepted Christ as their Savior.  Be praying for them that they grow in their faith and have someone come alongside and disciple them.  Be praying for those that heard the message but did not respond that their hearts would be open and they would remember what they heard.
               Tomorrow I will be leaving for Jarabacoa for training for the summer program.  It’s an hour drive to the capitol to catch a bus and then a three or four hour bus ride from there. It will definitely be a long day.