December 2011 I finally graduated college. I was so excited to be done with being a student and ready to transition into a life as a teacher. My plans for the future were not all that detailed, in fact beyond the summer I had no plans at all. I had no clue just what God had in store for me. During the months of March and April, I was applying for jobs all over the state of Illinois as well as countries such as Panama and Bolivia. After turning down jobs in both Panama and Bolivia, I began to wonder where God was going to take me. About a week after turning down my latest job offer, I applied to a school in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic and got the job.
I spent the months of June and July working in Monte Plata, Dominican Republic (see the Monte Plata page if you want to know more about that). I had an awesome summer as a summer missionary directing the summer school program in the Kids Alive International school in Monte Plata. I flew home for four very filled days of meeting with people and a very exciting and fun wedding. I then took off again for the Domincan Republic to begin my teaching career.
I have been here just over a week, and for the most part my expectations have been much exceeded. I somehow am living in a huge penthouse apartment with a bakery just down the block that has cheesecake and donuts, two things I never saw in Monte Plata. The school is quite large with two sport courts and a pool. Each classroom is air conditioned and they like to keep it cold. I have had quite a lot of work creating curriculum maps, syllabi, and lesson plans for my three preps (Algebra II, Geometry, and Pre-Calculus). I have been forced out of my anti-social comfort zone and am making new friends and colleagues.
It's a much different experience going from being surrounded by poverty to being in a very wealthy area although its not hard to find people in need. My ministry has completely changed, but God has provided a wealth of opportunities to share his Gospel in a Christian school where many of the students and some of the staff are not Christians. I'm getting more and more accustomed to where I am and what my job is going to be. The students begin arriving on Monday for school. We have spent the past week and will spend this week preparing for the school year to come and all the fun stuff that entails. I'm ready for it all to begin.
I spent the months of June and July working in Monte Plata, Dominican Republic (see the Monte Plata page if you want to know more about that). I had an awesome summer as a summer missionary directing the summer school program in the Kids Alive International school in Monte Plata. I flew home for four very filled days of meeting with people and a very exciting and fun wedding. I then took off again for the Domincan Republic to begin my teaching career.
I have been here just over a week, and for the most part my expectations have been much exceeded. I somehow am living in a huge penthouse apartment with a bakery just down the block that has cheesecake and donuts, two things I never saw in Monte Plata. The school is quite large with two sport courts and a pool. Each classroom is air conditioned and they like to keep it cold. I have had quite a lot of work creating curriculum maps, syllabi, and lesson plans for my three preps (Algebra II, Geometry, and Pre-Calculus). I have been forced out of my anti-social comfort zone and am making new friends and colleagues.
It's a much different experience going from being surrounded by poverty to being in a very wealthy area although its not hard to find people in need. My ministry has completely changed, but God has provided a wealth of opportunities to share his Gospel in a Christian school where many of the students and some of the staff are not Christians. I'm getting more and more accustomed to where I am and what my job is going to be. The students begin arriving on Monday for school. We have spent the past week and will spend this week preparing for the school year to come and all the fun stuff that entails. I'm ready for it all to begin.
Praying for your first day like a Dominican Teacher in Monday!!!
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